Mr. Courtney addressed his constituents at Liskeard yesterday week, speaking
first of the great effort made to carry us into war for Turkey. Coming back last year from a short holiday, he said, he met one of the present Ministry in Pall Mall, and was told that "if the Russian army crossed into Bulgaria, England must treat it as a cases belli ;" and almost immediately afterwards Lord Beaconsfield made the celebrated Mansion-House speech, which all the country understood in a similar sense. This was prevented by Lord Salisbury, but under other forms the danger reappeared, though, in Mr. Courtney's opinion, all fear of our going to war for Turkey is now over ; still, he could not look back 'with satis- faction on our conduct, for he believed that the frightful carnage now going on might have been prevented, had we co-operated as we ought to have done at the outset with Russia and with Europe to put an end to the mischiefs of Turkish rule. Mr. Courtney may be right, and it is certain that we ought to have made the attempt ; but changes so radical as are needed in Turkey are rarely indeed effected without a great war.
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