With regard to the Eastern Question it cannot be said that Lord Salisbury's speech has given quite such general satisfaction. With regard to the unwisdom of isolated action all parties are agreed; but those who have interested themselves most deeply in the woes of the Armenians are disappointed that the noble Marquis should have gone quite so far as he did in finding excuse for obstacles which other nations have placed in the way of a settlement of the Eastern Question. At the very time that Lord Salisbury was speaking news was reaching us of another terrible massacre 5 and it certainly cannot be called creditable to the Powers that nothing is done, Lord Salisbury commends the continental Powers for their extreme anxiety to avoid a European war; but this very anxiety to avoid war would be sufficient to prevent war even Turkey had been carved up, if it were not that mutual jealousies, fear of each nation that she would not get a fair share of the under, were not even stronger than the fear of war. Considerable dissatisfaction, too, is felt among Liberals at Lord Salisbury's declaration that it is only through' the channel of the Sultan—the "Great Assassin "—that we can hope to bring relief to the Armenians whom he evidently desires to exterminate. One other important declaration was made in Lord Salisbury's speech. It was that the Government do not see in the present problem in the East any cause for relinquisling a single acre of Innd we at present occupy. This declaration was taken, and no doubt intended, as a direct denial of the rt published afew days earlier to -tho effect that Cyprus was to be relinquished and granted an autonomy. There are, however, a certain member of people who still believe that there was more than a little foundation for the report; and they remind us that premature disclosures have been met with a more decided contradiction and have nevertheless proved afterwards to be correct. "I happen to known personally
source; and Iam inclined to think that a that the report ete, from a very reliable view which was expressed in private conversation the other day by Sir Charles Dilke was probably the correct one. The report was pretty. near the truth at the time it was made, but it is 60 no longer. The Government in fact let it be understood they were ready to relinquish Cyprus in order to pave the way to a good understanding with Russia, but that Russia intimated that she did not, require any such renunciation at England's hands.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.