of
the Jews in Russia had been received from the English consuls, and
could not but inspire sentiments of the utmost pain and horror. But
the matter being an internal affair of another country, it could not
become the object of official correspondence or inquiry on the part
of England. All that could be done was to make casual and unofficial
representations. All other actions touching the question of the
relations of the Russian Government to the Jews were more likely to
harm than to help the Jewish population. [1]

[Footnote 1: On this occasion Gladstone merely repeated the words of
the Russian official communication which had been published on the
eye of the Mansion House Meeting in the hope of scaring the
organizers of the protest: "The Russian Government, which has always
most scrupulously refrained from interfering in the inner affairs of
other countries, is correspondingly unable to allow a similar
violation of international practice by others. Any attempt on the
part of another Government to intercede on behalf of the Jewish
people can only have the result of calling forth the resentment of
the lower classes and thereby affect unfavorably the condition of
the Russian Jews." In addition to this threat, the _Imperial
Messenger_ endeavored to prove that the measures adopted by the
Government against the pogroms "were not weak," as may be seen from
the large number of those arrested by the police after the
disorders, which amounted to 3675 in the South and to 3151 in
Warsaw.]

Another telegram sent from London on February 14 contained the following
communication:

In the House of Commons, Gladstone, replying to Baron Worms, stated
that no humane purposes would be achieved by parliamentary debates
about the Jews of Russia, Such debates were rather likely to arouse
the hostility of a certain portion of the Russian population against
the Jews and that therefore no day would be appointed for the
debate, as requested by Worms. [1]

[Footnote 1: Compare the _Jewish Chronicle_ of February 17, 1882.]

In this way matters were smoothed over, to the great satisfaction of
Russian diplomacy. The public and Government of England confined
themselves to expressing their feelings of "disgust" at the treatment of
the Jews in Russia, but no immediate representations to St. Petersburg
were attempted by Gladstone's Cabinet. For the same reason the English
Prime Minister refused to forward to its desti