We must recollect that Turkey had bound herself to acquiesce in the decision of the Conference upon the Greek Treaty—that is, to defer to our mediation. Could we, as mediators, propose to Turkey to cede Attica, Negropont, and other possessions she now holds? and would we willingly bring the frontiers of the Greek state into contact with our Ionian Islands?
If Greece were to have a sovereign, Prince Philip of Hesse Homburg would be the best man for us—Austria would prefer him. France admitted that the wishes of Austria ought to be consulted.
France, however, rather wished for Prince Charles of Bavaria. Russia for a
Duke of Saxe-Weimar.
Aberdeen seemed to think there would be no great difficulty in carrying our point, and having Prince Philip of Hesse Homburg.
Peel said he thought we could not allow a treaty such as that signed by Turkey to pass without a remonstrance on our part. We referred to a letter of Dudley's, and to Aberdeen's recent instruction to Lord Heytesbury, and likewise to the various declarations of moderation put forth by the Emperor Nicholas. Several ways were started of expressing our opinion—a sort of circular to the Powers which signed the Treaty of the Congress—a declaration to Parliament.
The Duke suggested a remonstrance to the Emperor Nicholas to be communicated in the first instance only to Russia.
This seems likely to be adopted, but we are to have another Cabinet to- morrow.
In whatever we do we must endeavour to keep Austria out of the scrape, for there is nothing the Russians would like so much as the opportunity of marching to Vienna.
Not only it would be romantic for us alone to go to war to maintain the balance of power, but it would, in this case, be absurd indeed, for, if our armies had driven the Russians out of Turkey, we could not reconstitute the Turkish Empire. It is dissolved in its own weakness.
Great dissatisfaction was expressed, and justly, at the conduct of Lord
Heytesbury, who has been humbugged by the Russians all along.