Affairs at London were then in the hands of that skilful and determined statesman, Disraeli, soon to become Lord Beaconsfield.

It is impossible to discuss fully the causes of that bias in his nature which prejudiced him against supporting the Christians of Turkey.

Those causes were due in part to the Semitic instincts of his Jewish ancestry,--the Jews having consistently received better treatment from the Turks than from the Russians,--and in part to his staunch Imperialism, which saw in Muscovite expansion the chief danger to British communications with India.

Mr.Bryce has recently pointed out in a suggestive survey of Disraeli's character that tradition had great weight with him[93].

It is known to have been a potent influence on the mind of Queen Victoria; and, as the traditional policy at Whitehall was to support Turkey against Russia, all the personal leanings, which count for so much, told in favour of a continuance in the old lines, even though the circumstances had utterly changed since the time of the Crimean War.
[Footnote 93: Bryce, _Studies in Contemporary Biography_ (1904).] When, therefore, Disraeli became aware that pressure was about to be applied to the Porte by the three Powers above named, he warned them that he considered any such action to be inopportune, seeing that Turkey ought to be allowed time to carry out a programme of reforms of recent date.