M. Delcasse has published a Yellow-book containing •the despatches, or
part of them, upon the Turkish question of last autumn. The drift of their contents is already accurately known, but they prove very clearly two points upon which there was some doubt. One is that the French Government distinctly threatened the Sultan that unless he yielded they would retain Mitylene ; and another is that the Russian Government throughout supported that of France. It would seem, moreover, that the rupture, though it may have been suggested by M. Constans, was in the end carried out under instructions which originated in Paris. M. Delcasse, in short, was determined to show that his policy was resolute. The British Government did not oppose the occupation of Mitylene, though its tone was formal, Lord Lansdowne only "taking note " of the announcement, and hoping that " the difficulties would receive a prompt solution." The French Ministry, in fact, availed themselves of a rather feeble en- deavour on the part of the Porte to evade payment of just debts to revive their own prestige in Eastern Europe. In this effort, under the protection of the Czar, who had just paid his visit to Fontainebleau, they succeeded, with the best influence on the electoral mind.
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