The European Powers are slowly creeping towards the coercion of
the Sultan. Their union has not been broken yet, and it is stated that within a fortnight fifteen men-of-war will be assembled off the coast of the Levant with orders to seize Smyrna, and, it may be, to blockade the Dardanelles. It is believed that the Sultan will yield, as be always does when in presence of force majeure; but if not, "more direct means" will be employed,—that is, a combined force will be landed in Macedonia. The Ambassadors, when acting collectively, cannot afford to be successfully defied by Constantinople, because, if they are, no Ambassador will thenceforward have any influence at all. The Pashas and their Sovereign hate them all alike, and if they can beat them when united they will defy them individually every day. The great fear now is that the Sultan will appear to yield, and encourage his agents to a passive resistance, with which it is most difficult to deal.
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