We are glad to know, for the sake of European pence, that our remarks a few mornings since on the cession of Dalcigno were rather premature than ill-founded. The Porte did its best so to make use of the jealousies of the Powers as to dissolve their agreement and frustrate the naval demonstration, but the new machinery tried by Mr, Gladstone and Lord Granville has done its work, and one piece more of the Berlin treaty is satisfactorily executed. By numerous delays the Sultan almost succeeded in making the world believe that his diplomacy would be too much for the united intentions of the Powers, and the vacillation of the French, who openly announced that, though their ships had joined the international. fleet, they would not be allowed to take any part in coercive measures, nearly broke up the international concert, Now machinery is apt to work with some roughness at the first attempt, and this concert of the Powers has been no exception to the rule, But the work is done. Unfortunately it has not been done without some fighting, fighting for which the Turk is entirely respon. sible. Like another Frankenstein, ho conjured up the Albanian monster to impose on the fears of Burope and bar the progress of the Montenegrins; but the monster has turned on the hand that called it into being, and the Turks have hed to fight to dispossess the Albanians and hand their town over to Prince Nicholas. We should all rejoice that this satisfaction of the ambition of the Black Mountaineers has quenched one of the fires of European disturbance, and the mode in which it has been done has created most valuable precedent when similar questions come before the arbiters of Europe, It is curious, as the Pall Mall remarks, that Conservative speakers in England with the same mouth praise Lords Benconsfiold and Salisbury for the Berlin treaty, and blame Mr. Gladatone for trying to execute its hitherto unfulfilled conditions. But there is some reason for this apparent inconsistency, Ever since the last Tarko-Russian war broke out, Liberal states: have endeavoured to show that it might have been avoided bad England not withdrawn at the time of the Berlin note. They have declared that Turkey dared not defy the united summons of Europe; bat the late Government refused to listen to the argument, It now appears from an inspired article in the Nouvelle Revue that the ulterior means of pressure contemplated by the framers of the Berlin memorandum was a joint naval demonstration by the Great Powers; and had the late Government displayed as much wisdom in acceding to this as Mr. Gladstone has done, the war might have been avoided and Tarkey would not have lost 60 large a slice of Ler Raropeau and Asiatic possessions. Wo are informed now thathadthe Porte held out to the last against the naval demonstration, oar Government was prepared to seize the port and town of Smyrna asa material guarantee, and it was when the Sultan found that we were in earnest, and that with all his attempts to detach some of the Powers, no one of them would come to his assistance,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.