Mr. Cross's reply to Mr. Gladstone was halting and familiar
with even more than Mr. Cross's usual haltingness and fami- liarity. He was "bound to say" a great many things,—Mr. Cross is always " bound " to say what he does say,—as, for instance, that the early attacks on the Government in relation to Turkish affairs were very unfair, from a party which had done nothing to enforce reform on Turkey when in office ; and he enforced the conditional nature of the guarantee to Asiatic Turkey ; thus, "we had undertaken to guarantee Turkey against attack, but on the express condition that Turkey reformed her- eelf,"—nay, not only reformed herself, but reformed herself "in a way in which we were to agree." Clearly, nothing can be easier then than to dissolve the bargain. We have only to say that any reforms Turkey undertakes are not the kinds of reforms we meant, and it will be at an end. " We did not undertake," Mr. Cross added, "to reform her." Then, surely, we did not undertake anything which would be a security either for Turkey or for ourselves. We have simply engaged to offer a new motive for reform to an unrepentant sinner, who has never found any such motive for repentance strong enough. Such an engagement is hollow, and even absurd.
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