with, and the Navy of England once more become the right arm of the nation. "Whereon, under the good providence of God, the wealth, safety, and strength of the Kingdom chiefly depend." And the Mercantile Marine, a real British Merchant Service, a real source of wealth and strength. instead of being alien to all the true instincts and interests of the nation.

On these two points therefore it is unnecessary to say another word, but with respect to the others it is desirable to point out how a remedy may be applied and the nature of that remedy.

When it is remembered that for centuries there has been a good feeling on the part of England towards Turkey, unquestionably reciprocated by the Sublime Porte, it does seem passing strange that such a revulsion of that feeling, as claimed by a certain section of English politicians, could have taken place; but this is easily explained. There can be no doubt that "atrocity mongers "have contrived to gather round them a by no means contemptible number of noisy political agitators, who have succeeded in arousing a certain amount of hatred against the Turk. John Bull, however, is so generous, and withal sharp to see through interested motives, that this state of affairs would not have prevailed even to the small extent which obtains but for the fact that he had suffered severely in his pocket, and that Turkey stood at the head of the list* of those owing him money. The loss of hundreds of millions does not improve the temper, and until Turkey can show her set purpose to pay in full, there is no doubt that estrangement will be the result, especially on the part of the immediate

* List of unredeemed Loans:Turkey,principal unredeemed, £196,300,245; interest overdue, £11,423,593.

2,638,599. 9,388,580,

Peru,

32,953,000
27,903,800

2,817,162.

Uruguay,

Total, £335,094,423.-The Times, Thursday, March 1st, 1877.

3,164,800

189,888,

creditors. Once let Turkey commence in earnest to settle her debts, and, without doubt, her old friend John Bull will hold out his hand once more. Happily for Turkey, this can be done by her at once without distracting her attention from the war, and without in any way straining her exchequer.

Let the Ottoman Parliament offer a concession for a railway from Alexandretta on the Mediterranean to Kowait at the head of the Persian Gulf, a distance of 920 miles, and let the Ottoman Parliament annex to this concession a belt of the land on each side of such railway, which will take the course so well known as the Euphrates Valley route. This land to be employed solely in liquidation of the Turkish debt; for there is no doubt, if the matter was properly laid before the creditors of Turkey, that a freehold plot of land, especially such land as that of Mesopotamia, would be accepted in exchange for a bond of £100 nominal, now unfortunately unsaleable at £10. There is reason to believe that such a plan would be readily accepted by the Turkish Government, and that by its means the Turkish indebtedness of 208 millions sterling could soon be brought within manageable proportions, and that with great advantage to all concerned. Such advantages indeed as the following:

FOR TURKEY,

1. A restoration of confidence in Turkish good faith.

2. The settlement of a district of great natural fertility, now not only lying waste, but a source of constant trouble and expense to the Turkish Government.

3. A new source of revenue and strength to the Porte, and a consolidation of those friendly relations so essential between Turkey and England.

FOR ENGLAND.

1. A quid pro quo for money advanced.

2. Close proximity to a boundless grain producing country, by means of which the ever-increasing overplus population of the United Kingdom (20 millions even now) could be readily and cheaply supplied with bread.

3. The opening of the most direct road to our Indian possessions, shorter, more speedy and less liable to interruption than any other, moreover strategically of the first importance to maintain the integrity of our Indian Empire,

The Treaty of 1856 guaranteeing the neutrality of the Ottoman Empire was repudiated by England, on the 30th April, 1877, by the Proclamation of Neutrality.

EASTERN QUESTION ASSOCIATION, 28, CANADA BUILDING, WESTMINSTER;

BY

CASSELL PETTER & GALPIN,

London, Paris & New York.

THE SCLAVONIC PROVINCES OF THE

OTTOMAN EMPIRE.

ADDRESS AT HAWARDEN.

ON January 16th, the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone gave a reading in the schoolroom at Hawarden, founded on Miss Muir Mackenzie's and Miss Irby's work on "The Slavonic Provinces of the Ottoman Empire." The room was crowded from door to door. Amongst the company were Mrs. W. E. Gladstone, Miss Gladstone, the Rev. S. E. Gladstone, and Mr. W. H. Gladstone, M.P.

Mr. Gladstone said :-My friends and neighbours: My object in addressing you this evening is not to meddle, even for a moment, with any portion of the political questions that at this moment deeply interest the country. I do not mean to say that my subject has no bearing upon those questions, because everything that relates to the interior state of Turkey and the condition of the Government there may be said to have an indirect bearing upon them. But I shall not say a word which can be understood to belong properly to the province of English politics. My object really is to give a little information, and I will tell you why. I think that, as a general rule, the English people feel that it is difficult enough to understand their own affairs, much less those of other people; and that is the principle upon which I have always been very much disposed to act. I have invariably held, and have often contended in Parliament, that this nation and its Government were already overweighted, and that we had undertaken more responsibilities than we could properly discharge. Consequently, I always regret any measure, from whatever quarter it comes, that tends unnecessarily to increase our responsibilities; but that is no reason why we should flinch from responsibilities that have been already incurred, when they amount to honourable engagements; and undoubtedly we have incurred responsibilities in the nature of honourable engagements with respect to Turkey. We have meddled in the affairs of the East-whether from motives of policy, whether from motives of philanthropy, whether for the preservation of the