So completely secret does this Government keep its policy, that
it is impossible to ascertain whether the Fleet was ordered to proceed to Turkish waters or not. Reuter affirmed that it was, and that Admiral Hornby had issued orders to be ready to sail eastward in four days,—that is, on Monday last. That was peremptorily denied, and on Friday Renter's agent as peremp- torily reaffirmed that it was true ; and that although the order had been countermanded, the Fleet was held ready to sail within two hours. One explanation of these contradic- tions is that Sir Henry Layard has been empowered to issue orders to the Fleet, if necessary, and has issued them ; and another is, that the Government wish to frighten the Porte, without issuing orders producible on the demand of Parliament. It is certain that Constantinople believed the Fleet to be coming, if not into the Bosphorus, then into Turkish waters, and the effect of all this vacillation will be that the Fleet will be re- garded as the " phantom " Mr. Ward Hunt said it was. The odd thing is that the Porte did not see that the Fleet, unless it threatened Constantinople, could do nothing. Admiral Hornby could not bombard an innocent port like Salouica, and if he "threatened "the coast of Syria, the Divan would not care. He has no troops to disembark.
