a general
war.

Irvine, an English loan jobber, saw the Duke yesterday with the same offer.

The joke is that Rothschild is to pay the money for the Turks, and to be
made King of Jerusalem.

Aberdeen began by begging we would first settle the Greek question. He
brought a paper the Russians were willing to deliver in containing a sort
of apology for the 10th Article, and declaring that it by no means
interfered with the powers of the Conference. We took a great deal of time
in considering whether we should not suggest some alteration in this
paper--some is to be proposed--not very essential.

We had a long discussion as to the name of the new State. At last it seemed
to be thought 'Sovereign Prince of Greece' was the best. Aberdeen thinks
he shall have little difficulty about the Prince. The Russians agree to the
description given; but I dare say they imagine we mean to describe a
different man. I suspect they think we want to give them Leopold.

Aberdeen read a letter he proposed sending to Lord Stuart, the purport of
which was that we wanted to know what he meant to do towards redeeming
France from the responsibility she had incurred and made us incur by giving
instructions to Count Guilleminot, stating the terms of peace and the
moderation of the Emperor--instructions which misled our Ambassador, and
induced the two Ambassadors to give assurances to the Porte which events
proved to be unfounded.

The letter, I think, likewise desired him to enquire in what form our joint
representations as to the amount of the indemnity were to be made. To these
the Ambassadors have pledged the two Cabinets.

There was a great deal more in the letter which is to be left out. It went
into the details of the treaty, or rather of its effects.

The offer is to be made to the Turks of an independent Greece, from the
Gulf of Volo to Missolonghi, or of a Greece under Suzerainete, with
Negropont, and the line from Volo to the Gulf of Arta.

I think we are all agreed that at the commencement of the war it was our
interest to take as little as possible from Turkey--that now it is our
interest to make Greece a substantive State, which may hereafter receive
the _debris_ of the Ottoman Empire. [Footnote: This may explain the
apparently illiberal views of many of the Cabinet as to the Greek
boundaries. They saw the difficulty of any halting place outside the
Isthmus of Corinth, short of a wider boundary even than that ultimately
adopted.]