328 THE NEAR EAST. 



in British hands, no reasonable grounds for British 

 suspicion of Russia in regard to the Mediterranean 

 could exist. The dominating note which sounded 

 throughout the whole suggestion was jealousy of Ger- 

 many. " Germany," it ran, " has, it is true, made her 

 appearance in the field. German intrigue at Constan- 

 tinople has latterly been strongly in evidence, but the 

 solution of the Russian problem can and will be found 

 without particular reference to Germany. The Ger- 

 mans may yet find that they might with profit have 

 been content to wait inevitable developments around 

 the Euxine before putting so many eggs into their 

 Baghdad basket." 



The whole scheme is delightful, but — and they are 

 rather big buts — despite the sanguine anticipations of 

 its author, I am inclined to think that Germany would 

 have a good deal to say In any such arrangement, to 

 say nothing of the Turks, who might not unnaturally 

 commit the mistake of supposing that they had some 

 claim to a voice in the matter of the partition of their 

 own country. Finally, all mention of the future of 

 that vast portion of the Ottoman Empire which 

 stretches . from the Black Sea on the north to the Bed 

 Sea on the south, and from the Mediterranean on the 

 west to the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean on the 

 east, is conveniently ignored. The head is to be 

 severed, but what of the trunk ? " Where the carcass 

 is, there will the eagles be gathered together." 



The Russian press, moreover, were at considerable 

 pains to lay emphasis upon the incompatibility of 

 British and German interests in general, and in con- 

 nection with the Baghdad railway in particular, and 

 the chorus of their congratulation, when the cold re- 

 ception accorded to the scheme by the House of Com- 

 mons in the spring of 1903 became known, was inde- 



