THE SULTAN AND THE POPE.
[TO THE EDITOR OF THE Seecrriamel SIR,—I do not remember to have met with the remark that Lord Beaconsfield and the present Government, whatever they may say about their devotion to the integrity and independence of the Ottoman Empire, obviously do not believe in its permanence. The purchase of the Suez-Canal shares is intelligible on no supposition except that the Government expect a break-up of the Ottoman Empire, and wish, morally if not materially, to strengthen our hold on Egypt.
We have heard something, though less than might have been expected, about the necessity of our maintaining the alliance with the Sultan of Turkey as bead of the Mussulmans of India. I suppose those who sympathise with the Turks, whether from dis- like to Christianity or any other cause, are mostly ashamed to put this reason forward. But let me ask those who so think how the attempt to govern India through Constantinople would morally differ from an attempt to govern Ireland through Rome? The mere suspicion of such a policy in Ireland would be most damaging to any British Government. If tried, it would fail as utterly as it deserves to do ; and though I do not know India, while I do know Ireland, I am certain that the parallel policy in India would
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