Lord Kimberley on Friday week; while receiving a depu- tation
from the Anglo-Armenian Association, made some important statements. He admitted that he was suppressing Consular reports upon the atrocities, because he feared their effect on opinion. His words were :—" Some speaker said the production of these reports would have a great effect on the public opinion of this country. That might be so. But I would ask you to consider whether it is necessary, as far as the Government is concerned, that public opinion should be more acute than at present." Lord Kimberley affirmed that Russia and France were heartily with us in the matter, but pointed out that though the Government was in earnest in its resolve to prevent these scenes in future, they wanted to do it without rousing the whole Eastern question. He seemed, too, embarrassed by the fact that there were Mahom- medans as well as Christians in Armenia,—in some districts a majority. All this merely points to the truth that Armenia needs a nearly despotic Christian Governor-General, not removable by fiat, who will treat all natives of the province alike, especially sending brutes of all creeds and nationalities impartially to the gallows.
