THE ATTACK ON LORD JOHN RUSSELL. 339 object of shielding the Sultan's dominions from chap XII Russian aggression, it was perhaps on the whole ' more effective than the plans which the Western Powers had put forward in the Conference-room ;* and even as regarded the object of publicly humbling Russia, and winning in that way a ' trophy ' to show in lieu of Sebastopol, it was not altogether deficient; for, to prohibit the Czar from increasing the number and weight of his ships of war in the Euxine beyond a given fixed limit, was in principle nearly the same as forcing him to lessen their strength. With respect to its bearing on the more imme- diate course of events, the plan showed alternative prospects : — it would either drive the Czar to make peace on the terms we have seen, or com- pel him to face a new enemy already in arms on his frontier. To understand the bitter need that there was Thedead- p i . , , , . ,, lock in front tor bringing about some sharp change m the ofsebasto- existing condition of things, one must turn from Vienna to the Chersonese, and recall some idea of the state of the war at the time. When Lord John Russell penned his despatches of the 18th of April, the prospect of taking Sebastopol by dint of the siege as then constituted was judged to be beyond measure dismal.t General Canro- bert, as ever since February, was still enduring
- The experience of 1877 has a close bearing ou every such
question. t See ante, chaps, vi. vii. viiL
