Mr. APCoan, in a thoughtful speech founded on personal experience,
expressed the view that the Mahommedane suffered quite as much as the Armenians from the misgovernment of Armenia. Mr. Ashmead-Bartlett delivered a violent and foolish oration in favour of doing the justice to Turkey which the Berlin Treaty required, before we interfered on behalf of Turkey's subjects ; and Mr. Gladstone twitted him with his ignorance on the subject, asserting that, so far as he knew, not a single article of the Berlin Treaty favourable to Turkey remained unfulfilled ; and that as for the garrisoning of the Balkan line, Turkey had never expressed the least wish to attempt it. Mr. Gladstone also expressed his disagreement with Sir Wilfrid Lawson, and insisted that Armenia had the greatest possible claims upon Europe. The Government had never spoken of European concert as a specific for misgovernment in Turkey. What they had said was that without it the fiercest jealousies were excited, and therefore nothing solid could be gained. The case of Greece showed that whenever a great step in advance was taken, European concert was the security for its permanence. The Government intended to do all in their power, by the help of Europe, to secure for Armenia what the Treaty of Berlin promised.
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