alliance with the Sultan,
and her influence at Constantinople was supreme, there could not be any
doubt on this subject, for a Caliph at Mecca would be practically beyond
her reach; but since the Crimean war English influence has seldom been
paramount at Constantinople. Still, English statesmen have probably
reasoned that, even if he were decidedly unfriendly, it was better to
have a Caliph who had something to lose, and who, on occasion, could be
reached by a British fleet and bombarded in his palace, than one in the
deserts of Arabia, who could not be reached by pressure of any kind,
either diplomatic or military, who might proclaim a holy war without
fear of being called to account for it. There is always a great
practical advantage in dealing with a responsible person. Then, again,
the late Sultans have manifested no inclination to rouse the fanaticism
of Mohammedans against Christendom. They have been only anxious that
Christendom should forget them, and leave them to manage their own
affairs in their own way. Under these circumstances no English interest
has demanded the consideration of the question of the Caliphate. It is a
religious question which no Christian Government could wish to take up
unless forced to do so. Whatever the Turks may believe, it is certain
that no European Power has any inclination to enter upon a crusade
against the Mohammedan religion. Even the Pope of Rome, who in former
days decreed crusades against the Moslem, is now on terms of the most
friendly intimacy with the Caliph. England not only carefully protects
the rights of Mohammedans in India, but she has used all her influence
for years to strengthen the Ottoman Empire and discourage all agitation
against the Caliphate of the Sultan.

Such has been the policy of the past. But circumstances have changed,
and long-cherished hopes have been disappointed. The effort to reform
and strengthen the Turkish empire has failed chiefly because the Sultans
have been unwilling or unable to abandon the strictly religious
constitution of the Government, and to distinguish between their duties
as Caliphs, and their duties as civil rulers over a mixed population of
various sects. This failure has led to most unhappy complications in
Europe, to the dismemberment of European Turkey, and to a great
development of the influence of Russia, the Power most unfriendly to the
existence of the Turkish Empire. It is now clear to all the world that
Turkey cannot b