They came to
that conclusion nearly half a century ago. I do not think they
have altered it now. The danger, if the Ottoman Empire should
fall, would not merely be the danger that would threaten the
territories of which that empire consists; it would be the
danger that the fire there lit should spread to other nations,
and should involve all that is most powerful and civilized in
Europe in a dangerous and calamitous contest. That was the
danger that was present to the minds of our fathers when they
resolved to make the integrity and independence of the Ottoman
Empire a matter of European treaty, and that is a danger which
has not passed away."--_Mansion House speech, Nov. 9, 1895._
The veteran premier stated the fear of modern statesmen that Turkey's
fall would involve all civilization in a calamitous conflict. The
prophecy pictures just such a catastrophe, in these words:
"He shall come to his end, and none shall help him. And at that time
shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which standeth for the children
of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was
since there was a nation even to that same time.
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