Mr. Lowther, Under-Secretary for the Colonies, made on Wed- nesday
a speech which he no doubt considered a model of dis- cretion. He declared that at no time had her Majesty's Govern- ment thought of an alliance with Turkey, and that its twofold object had been to preserve peace and protect the interests of the country. That is the most vague, and therefore unobjectionable of assurances, but Mr. Lowther could not avoid letting his real sympathies peep out. " The Sick Man,' if too much sat upon, was quite capable of rising from his couch, and of showing courage, and how fields were won." Considering that it is the British Ambassador who is " sitting upon " the " Sick Man," that is a strong sentence, as is also the one in which Mr. Lowther repudiates any intention of coercing Turkey. That would be "to be the cat's-paw of wanton aggression, or the tool of lawless intrigue." Which are the Turks to believe, Lord Salisbury, who tries to convince them that they will alienate England by ".show- ing how fields are won," or Mr. Lowther, who tells them that the Government, though not prepared for an alliance with them, is heartily on their side ?
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