If it is necessary for England to form a defensive alliance with Turkey
as a crippled Power, with Russia actually established in Asia Minor, why
should we have waited until Turkey was mortally stricken, when by an
earlier alliance we could have at least saved Asia Minor in its
integrity? We have let the lion into the house with a boast that we will
turn him out in the event of further roaring, instead of having
prevented his entry in the first instance.
Under all the circumstances of the risk and responsibility assumed by
England in a defensive alliance with Turkey under the title of a
Protectorate of Asia Minor, the Cyprus Convention is highly unfavourable
in its conditions. The island should have been simply conveyed from
Turkey and transferred as a free gift to England, as a position
necessary for her occupation under the probable contingencies of the
Anglo-Turkish alliance, and it should have at once become a portion of
the British Empire. Had this course been pursued a mutual confidence
would have been established; on the other hand, all back-doors would
have been sealed, as we should have been bound by all the laws of honour
to defend Turkey to the last extremity in Asia Minor.
Russia, in Kars, occupies a position which affords an unbounded horizon
for political intrigue. The various Turkish Pachas and other district
authorities throughout Asia Minor have witnessed the irresistible
advance of Russia, while England stood afar off, and only assisted
Turkey with her good counsel.
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