of Antwerp from the Dutch, and to deliver it over to the
King of the Belgians.[43] If England had not then joined with France,
Antwerp would have remained with the Dutch, or the attempt to take it
would have led to a war in Europe. The third occasion was when Mehemet
Ali's army occupied Syria, and when he was constantly threatening
to declare himself independent and to march on Constantinople; while
Russia, on the one hand, asserted that if he did so she would occupy
Constantinople, and on the other hand, France announced that if Russia
did so, she, France, would force the Dardanelles. The Treaty of July
1840, proposed and brought about by the British Government, and the
operations in execution of that Treaty, put an end to that danger;
and, notwithstanding what has often been said to the contrary, the
real danger of war arising out of the affairs of Syria was put an end
to, and not created by the Treaty of 1840.

I am well aware, however, that some persons both at home and abroad
have imbibed the notion that I am more indifferent than I ought to be
as to running the risk of war. That impression abroad is founded upon
an entire mistake, but is by some sincerely felt, and being sincere,
would soon yield to the evidence of contradictory facts. At home that
impression has been industriously propagated to a limited extent,
partly by the legitimate attacks of political opponents, and partly
by a little cabal within our own ranks. These parties wanted to attack
me, and were obliged to accuse me of something. They could not charge
me with failure, because we had succeeded in all our undertakings,
whether in Portugal, Spain, Belgium, Syria, China, or elsewhere; they
could not charge me with having involved the country in war, because,
in fact, we had maintained peace; and the only thing that was left for
them to say was that my policy had a _tendency_ to produce war, and I
suppose they would argue that it was quite wrong and against all rule
that it did not do so.

But notwithstanding what may have been said on this matter, the
transaction which has by some been the most criticised in this
respect, namely, the Treaty of 1840, and the operations connected with
it, were entirely approved by the leaders of the then Opposition, who,
so far from feeling any disposition to favour me, had always made a
determined run at the Foreign Policy of the Whig Government. The Duke
of Wellington, at the opening of the Session of 1841, said in