There is also unquiet over the Anglo-Turkish Convention. It was
supposed that this was arranged ; but at the last moment the French and Russian Governments determined to apply pressure to the Sultan. It was reported at first that this had taken the form of a French Note, endorsed by Russia, in which Count de Montebello spoke of English dishonesty towards Turkey, and promised active support if the Sultan would refuse to ratify the Convention. It is doubtful, however, if this "Note" is anything more than a report drawn up by a dragoman of a conversation between the French Ambassador and the Sultan. It is more certain that a memorandum was banded in to the Porte by the French repre- sentative, in which he stated that if the Convention were signed, France must safeguard her intereste "in Syria and else- where ;" while a similar paper from M. de Nelidoff made a similar allusion to Armenia. The Sultan naturally hesitated, asked Sir H. Wolff for delay, and may in the end refuse the ratification. By the latest accounts, however, he was swerving towards the British side.
