Would it not be possible, as one warning to Turkey,
to denouncs the treaty under which we hold Cyprus ? That treaty binds the Sultan to grant reforms to th1" Armenians, but it also binds us to defend Turkey against Russia, the consideration being the grant of the island. It would be, of course, impossible to surrender the Cypriots to a man like Abd-ul-Hamid, but we might take a plebiscite of the people, and transfer Cyprus to Greece, a destiny which they would be sure to choose. Greece would, of course, have :to pay to the Sultan the £500,000 which his Majesty fixed some years ago as the capital value of his tribute from Cyprus, but that could be easily arranged. We should lose very little, for Cyprus is not a useful place of arms, and we should, we believe, convince the Continent at once that we were not all- grasping. We shall never again fight for the Turks what- ever happens, and we do not, we confess, like holding territory assigned to us in consideration of a promise which it would be a wickedness to keep.
