Mr. Goschen was entertained on Wednesday by the City Liberal
Club, at the Club-room, Walbrook, Sir John Lubbock taking the chair, in the necessary absence of Lord Granville, who had not yet sufficiently recovered from his attack of gout to preside. In his speech, Mr. Goschen referred to his conscientious difference from one or two of the bases of our modern Liberalism, remarking that the Liberal Party is a large- hearted party, and that there is room in it for varieties of opinion. He then went on to refer to his year at Constantinople, and to the "not unkindly chaff" with which his reminiscences of the diplomatic dinners at Constantinople had been received. Mr. Goschen, however, was impenitent. He could not promise that he might not at some future date refer, even with unction, to the dinner he was then receiving. But be should have left quite a false impression, if he had suggested that his life at Constantinople was not, on the whole, one of almost unrelieved anxiety. He described graphically enough the utter anarchy of the empire,—the movements of the Albanian League,—the indepen- dent action of a Kurdish chief against Persia,—the effervescence among the Druses,—the universal bankruptcy,—the famine,— the rush of starving multitudes who came in from the territory annexed by Russia,—to say nothing of the great difficulty of all, the Greek and Turkish quarrel. A Turkish pasha had told him that they had "fifteen Irelands in Asia Minor," and no doubt "the Turkish pasha under-stated the case. Finally, Mr. Goschen expressed with much warmth his obligations to Lord Granville and Mr. Gladstone for their genuine and hearty support of him ; but it was, perhaps, noticeable that Mr. Goschen thinks of his political connection with Lord Granville as being closer than that with Mr. Gladstone.
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