he was finally pardoned.
Shefket Pasha, whose punishment was also promised, was afterwards
promoted to a high command. Parl. Papers, Turkey, No. 2 (1877), pp.
248-249; _ibid_. No. 15 (1877), No. 77, p. 58. Mr. Layard, successor to
Sir Henry Elliott at Constantinople, afterwards sought to reduce the
numbers slain to 3500. Turkey, No. 26 (1877), p. 54.]

It is painful to have to add that the British Government was indirectly
responsible for these events. Not only had it let the Turks know that it
deprecated the intervention of the European Powers in Turkey (which was
equivalent to giving the Turks _carte blanche_ in dealing with their
Christian subjects), but on hearing of the Herzegovina revolt, it
pressed on the Porte the need of taking speedy measures to suppress
them. The despatches of Sir Henry Elliott, our ambassador at
Constantinople, also show that he had favoured the use of active
measures towards the disaffected districts north of Philippopolis[103].

[Footnote 103: Parl. Papers, Turkey, No. 3 (1876), pp. 144, 173,
198-199.]

Of course, neither the British Government nor its ambassador foresaw the
awful results of this advice; but their knowledge of Turkish methods
should have warned them against giving it without adding the cautions so
obviously needed. Sir Henry Elliott speedily protested against the
measures adopted by the Turks, but then it was too late[104].
Furthermore, the contemptuous way in which Disraeli dismissed the first
reports of the Bulgarian massacres as "coffee-house babble" revealed his
whole attitude of mind on Turkish affairs; and the painful impression
aroused by this utterance was increased by his declaration of July 30
that the British fleet then at Besika Bay was kept there solely in
defence of British interests. He made a similar but more general
statement in the House of Commons on August 11. On the next morning the
world heard that Queen Victoria had been pleased to confer on him the
title of Earl of Beaconsfield. It is well known, on his own admission,
that he could no longer endure the strain of the late sittings in the
House of Commons and had besought Her Majesty for leave to retire. She,
however, suggested the gracious alternative that he should continue in
office with a seat in the House of Lords. None the less, the conferring
of this honour was felt by very many to be singularly inopportune.

[Footnote 104: See, _inter alia_, his letter of May 26, 1876, quoted in
_Life and