able and powerful demonstrations ever witnessed in this country held at St. James's Hall the 8th December 1876, and was presided over in the forenoon by the Duke of Westminster, K.G., and in the evening by the Earl of Shaftesbury, K.G., and at the former Mr. Richard was amongst the many speakers, and at the latter Mr. Gladstone delivered a great speech, worthy of his great oratorical powers.

Many and varied were the operations of the Eastern Question Association, established for the purpose of watching events in the East, for giving expression to public opinion, and spreading useful information, and as effective and telling in their restraining and constraining influence upon the policy of the Government; and perhaps the most influential were the rapid succession of publications compiled by able and well-known writers, bearing on the manysided aspects of the complicated Eastern Question, and covering the wide domain of the government of the Porte in its Asiatic and European Dominions.

The first of these useful and striking issues from the press was from the pen of Mr. Richard, on the "Evidences of Turkish Misrule," in which, as the South Wales Daily News wrote:

"The degeneracy, the brutalism, and the foul immoralities of the Turk, and the life-long suffering of the subject races under his sway, are painted in terribly lurid but faithful colours. Mr. Richard has rendered valuable service to humanity, and to the cause of civil and religious freedom before now; but civilisation itself is indebted to him for bringing into one compact whole such an array of evidence from historians, travellers, diplomatists, statesmen and Government officials, who were witnesses of what they describe, in proof of the incurable and deadly misrule of Turkey."

Whilst these efforts, happily successful efforts, were being put forth by Mr. Richard and others, to prevent England drifting into war, for or against Turkey, events of great significance were marching apace in the East, to which reference may suitably be made.

At the close of the year 1876, in consequence of the victories of the Turkish arms in Servia and Montenegro, the Russian Ambassador Ignatieff, presented an ultimatum to the Porte, demanding an immediate armistice, with a view to a Conference for the restoration of peace, and this proposal was finally accepted by the Sultan, and the Great European Powers.

The Conference assembled on the 23rd November, 1876, under the presidency of Safvet Pasha, the Turkish Minister for Foreign Affairs, and the Great Powers of Europe were represented by Germany, Austria, France, Great Britain, Italy, and Russia, who declared they were actuated by a sincere wish to arrive at a solution of the great Eastern Question satisfactory to Europe, and to the disaffected Provinces of Turkey.

After much deliberation and negotiation, the result of which showed considerable harmony on the part of the representatives of the Great Powers, it was resolved by the Conference that Turkey should be advised to carry out great concessions in the direction of internal reforms throughout the whole of her Empire, as the only means whereby its dismemberment could be averted, and the general peace of Europe maintained.

Unfortunately for Turkey these wise recommendations of the Conference were received by the Ministers of the Sultan with disfavour and resistance; and unfortunately, too, for the peace of Europe, the Governments of Great Britain, Germany, France and Austria, and others represented at the Conference, failed in their endeavours to induce Turkey to carry out the recommendations of the Constantinople Conference.

In consequence of this refusal by Turkey to adopt these measures of reform, and in consequence of the widespread disturbance and atrocious outrages perpetrated in many of the Turkish Provinces, the Czar declared to the Notables at Moscow his intention to act independently, and without the

M

approval of any of the Great Powers, Russia declared war against Turkey, and on the 24th of April, 1877, her armies advanced simultaneously into Asiatic and European Turkey.

It is unnecessary, however, to refer at length to the dismal record of those military events which characterised this War; the gathering of the Russian Armies in Europe and Asia, their advance from Bessarabia across the Danube into Bulgaria; and from Alexandropol into Armenia, a great military drama, in which scenes full of thrilling and painful incidents pass before us, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, but always exhibiting a ghastly spectacle of mangled humanity, a war of races and creeds developed in all its horror and repulsiveness.

On the last day of the year 1877 Turkey, in a despatch of great moderation, anxious to avoid a further effusion of blood, appealed to the Mediation of England, and to the honour of England her Government appealed to Russia, whether enough had not been achieved by the armies of both Empires to satisfy all questions of Military honour.

This appeal was at first unsuccessful; Russia refused on the ground that she would receive overtures only direct from her vanquished foes, but the appeal of England was not to be denied, backed by the voice of Europe, and by the movement of the British Fleet to the Dardanelles, was firmly pressed, and Russia slowly and sullenly gave way, by consenting to an armistice, and the preliminaries for Peace were accordingly signed at Adrianople on the 18th January, 1878.

In the little village of San Stefano, the plenipotentiary for Turkey, Safvet Pasha, and for Russia, General Ignatieff, surrounded with all the pomp and triumphs of a victorious army, deliberated for many anxious weeks over the exacting terms dictated by the Conqueror.

The conditions contained in this Treaty of San Stefano, signed on the 3rd March, 1878, sent a shudder through Europe, and evoked such a storm of indignation from the

public press and the public voice, that no Cabinet or Government could for a moment withstand.

Against these exorbitant demands, Europe and the Government of England vehemently protested, despatch succeeded despatch, courier after courier followed one another in quick succession to St. Petersburg, the British Fleet was ordered to move into the Dardanelles, the Indian troops were summoned to Europe, the Parliament voted six millions to prepare for an emergency, and for a time a great crisis arose which seriously threatened to involve England and Russia into a tremendous War.

Throughout this prolonged crisis, it must be acknowledged, that the Statesmen of both Nations did their utmost by their diplomatic skill, their forbearance and patience, to secure a pacific settlement, honourable alike to England and Russia, and satisfactory to Turkey and the provinces under her

sway.

Happily, at this serious junction of affairs, Russia was represented by a diplomatist of conspicuous merit, Count Schouvaloff, who with a great devotion to his country and the Government from which he was accredited, combined in a remarkable degree a spirit of conciliation, of moderation, of wisdom in counsel, and of energy in action, which largely helped to secure a solution of the delicate and difficult causes in dispute.

Finally, after three months of anxious negotiation, and subtle diplomacy, Russia yielded to the will of Europe by consenting to an European Congress to be held at Berlin, to which the Treaty of San Stefano should be unreservedly submitted for consideration and revision by all the Great European Powers.

In the month of June this important Congress assembled at Berlin, under the presidency of the Chancellor of the German Empire, Prince Bismarck: a great assembly of the leading Statesmen of Europe, Prince Gortchakoff for Russia, Count Andrassy for Austria, Count Corti for Italy, M. Wad

dington for France, Caratheodori Pasha for Turkey, and last, but not least, the venerable and astute Lord Beaconsfield, as the representative for Great Britain.

For several weeks this Congress of the Ambassadors of the Great European Powers, deliberated earnestly and anxiously on all the supremely important questions submitted to them for the pacification of the East, embracing among many others, the defining of the boundaries of Bulgaria, Roumelia, Servia, and Montenegro; the administration of Bosnia and Herzegovina, by Austria; the recognition of the sovereign independence of Servia and Roumania; the granting of complete political, civil, and religious liberty to the populations of every one of the Balkan States; and the readjustment of the Turkish Empire on assured foundations.

To the honour of the eminent Statesmen assembled at that Congress, a sincere and resolute determination was apparent to achieve a peaceful issue, and complete harmony prevailed on the many difficult and conflicting high matters of State policy submitted to them for consideration and decision.

This great international compact, the Treaty of Berlin, may be truly called a great historical landmark, for it transformed an Empire, removed long-standing causes of discontent, pacified provinces torn by dissention and misrule, placed barriers between rival forms of bigotry, stopped many avenues of foreign intrigue, abridged the Power of a Despotic Empire, and gave peace to Europe, which, let us hope, no Government or Ruler will attempt to disturb.

Before leaving this subject reference should be made to the

DEPUTATION TO THE BERLIN CONGRESS, consisting of Mr. Richard, Leone Levi, and Frederic Passy, for the purpose of bringing before the Representatives of Europe there assembled, the subject of International Arbitration.