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care that the newspapers should not print anything that he did not like, and that the ignorant people should be told freely what a great and wise man he was. In this way he managed to do pretty much as he pleased for some years.

4. The Derby Ministry.-Not long after the close of the Great Exhibition Lord John Russell's ministry resigned, and the Protectionists came into office. Their leader was the Earl of Derby, and their chief man in the House of Commons was Mr. Disraeli. They dissolved Parliament, but the majority of the new Parliament was against them. They gave up Protection, and declared that they would accept Free Trade. It was of no use; the majority would not support them, and they had to resign.

5. The Coalition Ministry and the Eastern Difficulty. They were succeeded by a ministry known as the Coalition Ministry, because it was formed of two sets of men, the Liberals and the followers of Sir Robert Peel. The Prime Minister was the Earl of Aberdeen. They had not been long in office when fresh troubles arose in the East. The Emperor of Russia, Nicholas, was of the same religion as most of the Christian subjects of Turkey. He and all his subjects would have been glad to set them free from the rule of the Sultan. He was also a man with a very strong will, who governed his own subjects very harshly, and who wanted to make his power felt outside Russia. He proposed to the English Ambassador at his Court that part of the Christian provinces of Turkey should be set free and placed under his protection, and he offered to let England

take Egypt and Candia too if it liked to do so.

Such

a proposal was sure to shock the English Ministers. They did not wish to see Russia gaining any more power in Turkey than it had had before, and they did not think it honest to settle the question by an agreement which would have allowed them to rob Turkey in the south if they would shut their eyes whilst Russia robbed it in the north.

6. War between Russia and Turkey.-After a time Nicholas resolved to do alone what the English Government would not help him to do. He required the Sultan to give him the right of protecting all the Christians of Turkey. If this had been granted, Nicholas would have been far more powerful than the Sultan. As soon as a dispute arose between the Sultan and his Christian subjects, a Russian army would have marched in to take the part of the Christians. The Turks naturally refused to give way, and Russia then sent troops to occupy the Danubian Principalities, which are now known as Roumania. England and France, Austria and Prussia, joined in supporting Turkey, though they wished if possible to prevent war. Nicholas insisted on his demand, and the Turks insisted on refusing it. Turkey declared war against Russia. The Turks defended themselves well on land, but their fleet in the Black Sea was destroyed by the Russians. Then the combined English and French fleets entered the Black Sea, to defend the Turks. From that moment it was certain that there would be war between Russia on the one side and England and France on

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the other. In the beginning of 1854 war was declared. Austria and Prussia remained neutral.

7. The Invasion of the Crimea and the Battle of the Alma-An English and French army was sent to Varna, in Bulgaria. The Turks, however, defended themselves so well on the Danube that this army was not needed there, and before long the Russian troops left Roumania. In the English Ministry there was one man who was not content with this success. Lord Palmerston urged his colleagues to put an end to the power of Russia in the Black Sea. He was supported by the Emperor of the French. It was therefore determined to attack the great fortress of Sebastopol, in the Crimea, where the Russian navy was safe under strong batteries of guns. Orders were given to Lord Raglan, the English general, and to Marshal St. Arnaud, the French general, to invade the Crimea, taking with them a small Turkish force. They landed to the north of Sebastopol, with 64,000 men in all. As they marched southwards, they found the Russian army drawn up along the top of a hill beyond the river Alma. They crossed the stream and marched up the hill. There was not much skill shown by the generals on either side, but in the end the Russians were driven off, and the victory was won.

8. The Beginning of the Siege of Sebastopol.— Some people have thought that if the conquerors had pushed hurriedly on, Sebastopol would have been taken. Instead of that they waited, and, marching round the head of the harbour, they attacked Sebastopol on the southerr side. Even then

some have thought that the allied armies might have forced their way in with a rush. But they did not try it, and prepared for a regular siege. Sebastopol was not to be taken in that way so easily. There was inside it a vast store of guns, and of everything needed for defence. What was more than this, there was a man of genius, General Todtleben, inside it. He set to work and fortified the place. The guns of the allies were not enough to beat down the fortifications.

9. The Balaclava Charge and the Battle of Inkermann. Then came the fight at Balaclava. The Russians attacked, and were driven back. An order was sent to Lord Cardigan, who commanded the light cavalry, to retake some guns which had been captured by the Russians. He misunderstood it, and thought that he was directed to charge into the midst of the whole Russian army. The poet Tennyson has told the story how, when Cardigan gave the order, the brave men rushed to their death, knowing that all they could do would be in vain. They would not set an example of disobedience. Very few escaped. As a French general who was looking on said, 'It is magnificent, but it is not war.' Thousands more were to perish because the generals did not know how to lead their men, and the Ministers at home did not know how to provide for them. At Inkermann there was a great battle. The few English troops were surprised in the early morning by the thick columns of the Russian army. They held out for some hours, till the French came to their

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