IN THE WAR AGAINST RUSSIA. 139 The blaine of beginning the dispute which led chap, on to the war must rest with the French Govern- ' inent ; for it is true, as our Foreign Secretary f,'e Fienc!'. declared, that ' the Ambassador of France at Con- i^a.nJ,'caus' ' stantinople was the lirst to disturb the status '"'=■'"' ^^'" ' quo in which the matter rested ; and without ' political action on the part of France, the ' quarrels of the Churches would never have
- troubled the relations of friendly Towers.'* For
this offence against the tranquillity of Europe the President of the liepublic was answerable in the first instance ; but it must be remembered that at the time France was under a free Parliamentary Government ; and it is just, therefore, to acknow- ledge that the blame of sanctioning the disinter- ment of a forgotten treaty more than a hundred years old, and of violently using it as an instru- ment of disturbance, must be shared by an Assembly which had not enough of the states- man-like quality to be able to denounce a wanton and noxious policy. It was the weakness of the gifted statesmen and orators who then adorned the Chambers that, like most of their countrymen, they were too easily fascinated by the })leasure of seeing France domineer. But at the close of the year 1851, the France known to Europe and the world was bereaved of apparent!}' that the separate engagements with France were either entered into quite wantonly, or else as means judged to be needful for preventing the French Emperor fro!n tlirowing himself into the arms of llussia.
- See 'Invasion of the Crimea,' vol. i. pp. 43 to 56 of Cabi-
net Edition.
