The Turkish Government replied on the 17th inst. to the
Note of the Powers ordering the cession of Dulcigno, by a despatch which is full at once of evasiveness and menace. The writer declares that the Sultan is ready to cede Dulcigno, but that he requires time, assurances that the Mussulmans shall be protected in their faith, and further arrangements for the protection of Podgoritza, and a withdrawal of the naval demonstration. Without these preliminaries, the " repose and tranquillity of all Ottoman subjects will be disturbed," and " that state of things would give rise to a crowd of grave and unfortunate events, and the cries of despair of the population would carry the agitation among the European and Asiatic populations of the Empire." In other words, the Porte would let loose the Mnssulmans on the Christians. These threats will, in the present condition of affairs, only compel Europe to consider whether it is safe to leave Christians in Constantinople, without the protection of an ironclad fleet sufficient to hold the city in permanent awe. A massacre of the Ambassadors, who would be the first objects of popular hostility, would precipitate the Eastern Question.
