But the second speech was not so satisfactory. In it
Lord Derby reiterated his adhesion to the policy of neutrality, but indicated, rather than expressed, his differences with the deputa- tion on the subject of the unimprovable character of the Turk. What we had done in India to reconcile different religions, he held that the Porte might possibly do in Turkey. If Christian States had grown so wonderfully in tolerance for the Jews since the middle-ages, why should not Mahommedanism grow in tolerance for Christianity ? As to the Bulgarian massacres, there had been provocation, there had been exaggeration, there had been pure invention. In short, Lord Derby did his best to soothe Turkey and to depreciate the wrongs of the Insurgents. If an oppor- tunity for mediation should occur—and Lord Derby said to the first deputation it was "not an unlikely event "—he is determined to have a reputation for having thrown equally-wet blankets on both the combatants.
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