[Footnote 164:  Parl.  Papers, Turkey, No. 30 (1878); also Reminiscences of the King of Roumania, chs. x. xi.]

The peace of Europe now turned on the question whether the Treaty of San Stefano would be submitted as a whole to the Congress of the Powers at Berlin; England claimed that it must be so submitted.  This contention, in its extreme form, found no support from any of the Powers, not even from Austria, and it met with firm opposition from Russia.  She, however, assured the Viennese Court that the Congress would decide which of the San Stefano terms affected the interests of Europe and would pronounce on them.  The Beaconsfield Cabinet later on affirmed that “every article in the treaty between Russia and Turkey will be placed before the Congress—­not necessarily for acceptance, but in order that it may be considered what articles require acceptance or concurrence by the several Powers and what do not[165].”

[Footnote 165:  Lord Derby to Sir H. Elliot, March 13, 1878.  Turkey, No. xxiv. (1878), No 9, p. 5.]

When this much was conceded, there remained no irreconcilable difference, unless the treaty contained secret articles which Russia claimed to keep back from the Congress.  As far as we know, there were none.  But the fact is that the dispute, small as it now appears to us, was intensified by the suspicions and resentment prevalent on both sides.  The final decision of the St. Petersburg Government was couched in somewhat curt and threatening terms:  “It leaves to the other Powers the liberty of raising such questions at the Congress as they may think it fit to discuss, and reserves to itself the liberty of accepting, or not accepting, the discussion of these questions[166].”

[Footnote 166:  Ibid.  No. 15, p. 7.]

This haughty reply, received at Downing Street on March 27, again brought the two States to the verge of war.  Lord Beaconsfield, and all his colleagues but one, determined to make immediate preparations for the outbreak of hostilities; while Lord Derby, clinging to the belief that peace would best be preserved by ordinary negotiations, resigned the portfolio for foreign affairs (March 28); two days later he was succeeded by the Marquis of Salisbury[167].  On April 1 the Prime Minister gave notice of motion that the reserves of the army and militia should be called out; and on the morrow Lord Salisbury published a note for despatch to foreign courts summarising the grounds of British opposition to the Treaty of San Stefano, and to Russia’s contentions respecting the Congress.

[Footnote 167:  See p. 243 for Lord Derby’s further reason for resigning.]

Events took a still more threatening turn fifteen days later, when the Government ordered eight Indian regiments, along with two batteries of artillery, to proceed at once to Malta.  The measure aroused strong differences of opinion, some seeing in it a masterly stroke which revealed the greatness of Britain’s resources, while the more nervous of the Liberal watch-dogs bayed forth their fears that it was the beginning of a Strafford-like plot for undermining the liberties of England.