VI. tinct duty. Our religion as established in this CHAP. 'country, came to us from the East, and there are 'feelings as well as obligations which never must be lost sight of. 'Now Turkey, in the condition which I have described, has by degrees fallen into such a state ' of decrepitude that, as I told you the other night, ' eager as we all are for the prolonged existence of the man (and that I am as desirous as you can 'be for the continuance of his life, I beg you to be'lieve), he may suddenly die upon our hands: we 'cannot resuscitate what is dead. If the Turkish Empire falls, it falls to rise no more; and I put ' it to you, therefore, whether it is not better to be provided beforehand for a contingency, than to incur the chaos, confusion, and the certainty of an European war, all of which must attend the 'catastrophe if it should occur unexpectedly, and 'before some ulterior system has been sketched. This is the point to which I am desirous you 'should call the attention of your Government.' Sir Hamilton Seymour adverted to the objection which the English Government habitually felt to the plan of taking engagements upon possible eventualities, and said that disinclination might be expected in England to the idea of disposing, by anticipation, of the succession of an old friend and ally. 'The rule is a good one,' the Emperor replied-'good at all times, especially in times of uncertainty and change like the present; still it 'is of the greatest importance that we should un'derstand one another, and not allow events to СНАР. take us by surprise. Now I desire to speak to 'you as a friend and as a "gentleman:" if England and I arrive at an understanding in this matter, as regards the rest it matters little to me; 'it is indifferent to me what others do or think. Frankly, then, I tell you plainly that if England 'thinks of establishing herself one of these days at Constantinople, I will not allow it. I do not <attribute this intention to you, but it is better on these occasions to speak plainly. For my part, I am equally disposed to take the engage'ment not to establish myself there-as proprie'tor that is to say, for as occupier I do not say: 'it might happen that circumstances, if no pre'vious provision were made, if everything should 'be left to chance, might place me in the position ' of occupying Constantinople.' On the 20th of February the Emperor came up to Sir Hamilton Seymour at a party given by the Grand Duchess Hereditary, and in the most gracious manner took him apart, saying he desired to speak to him. If your Government,' said the Emperor, has been led to believe that Turkey ' retains any elements of existence, your Govern'ment must have received incorrect information. 'I repeat to you that the sick man is dying, and we can never allow such an event to take us by 'surprise. We must come to some understanding.' 6 Then Sir Hamilton Seymour felt himself able to infer that the Czar had settled in his own mind that the hour for bringing about the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire must be at hand. VI. The next day the Emperor again sent for Sir CHAP. Hamilton Seymour, and after combating the determination of the English Government to persist in regarding Turkey as a Power which might, and which probably would, remain as she was, he at length spoke out his long-reserved words of temptation. He thought, he said, that in the event of the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, it might be less difficult to arrive at a satisfactory territorial arrangement than was commonly believed, and then he proceeded: 'The Principalities are, in 'fact, an independent State under my protection: 'this might so continue. Servia might receive.the 'same form of government. So again with Bulgaria: there seems to be no reason why this province should not form an independent State. As 'to Egypt, I quite understand the importance to 'England of that territory. I can then only say, that if, in the event of a distribution of the Otto'man succession upon the fall of the Empire, you 'should take possession of Egypt, I shall have no 'objection to offer. I would say the same thing of Candia that island might suit you, and I do ' not know why it should not become an English possession.' 'As I did not wish,' writes Sir Hamilton Seymour, 'that the Emperor should imagine that an English public servant was caught by this sort ' of overture, I simply answered that I had always 'understood that the English views upon Egypt 'did not go beyond the point of securing a safe ' and ready communication between British India VI. CHAP. and the mother country. Well, said the Emperor, induce your Government to write again upon these subjects-to write more fully, and to 'do so without hesitation. I have confidence in 'the English Government. It is not an engage'ment, a convention, which I ask of them; it is a free interchange of ideas, and, in case of need, the word of a "gentleman;" that is enough be'tween us.'* the Czar's the English Government. Reception of In answer to these overtures, the Government overtures by of the Queen disclaimed all notion of aiming at the possession of either Constantinople or any other of the Sultan's possessions, and accepted the assurances to the like effect which were given by the Czar. It combated the opinion that the extinction of the Ottoman Empire was near at hand, and deprecated the discussions based on that supposition as tending directly to produce the very result against which they were meant to provide. Finally, our Government, with abundance of courtesy, but in terms very stringent and clear, peremptorily refused to enter into any kind of secret engagement with Russia for the settlement of the Eastern Question. These communications of January and February 1853 were carried on between the Emperor of Russia and the English Government upon the understanding that they were to be held strictly secret; and for more than a year this concealment was maintained. It will be for a later page to show the ground on which the engagement for * Eastern Papers,' part v. · VI. secrecy was broken, and the effect which the dis- CHAP. closure wrought upon the opinion of Europe, and upon the feelings of the people in England. The Czar was baffled by the failure of his somewhat shallow plan for playing the tempter with the English Government; and an event which occurred at the same time still further conduced to the abandonment of his half-formed designs against the Sultan. When Nicholas came to the singular resolution of declaring war against the Sultan in the event of his rejecting Austria's demand respecting Montenegro, he imagined, perhaps, that his counsels were kept strictly secret; but it seems probable that a knowledge or suspicion of the truth may have reached the Turkish Government, and helped to govern its decision. What we know is, that Result of the demand made by Austria was carried by Leiningen's Count Leiningen to Constantinople, and that, having been put forward in terms offensively peremptory, it was suddenly acceded to by the sagacious advisers of the Sultan. Count mission. upon the the Czar. This last contingency seems to have been unfore- Its effect seen by the Emperor Nicholas. At first, the tidings plans of kindled in his mind strong feelings of joy, for he looked upon the deliverance of Montenegro as a triumph of his Church over the Moslem. But he soon perceived that this sudden attainment of the object to be sought would disconcert his plans. He found himself all at once deprived of the basis on which his scheme of action had rested; and except in respect of the question of the key and VOL. I. G |