e. The friendly feeling of the
Congress towards the English P.P.'s[20] would have changed, and they
probably would have agreed to no amendments, requiring that all
the seven copies of the Treaty should be recopied. In short, Lord
Clarendon felt that he had no choice but to take upon himself the
responsibility of signing to-morrow; but he has suggested that Lord
Palmerston's private letter should be converted into a despatch,
in order that the sole and entire blame should rest with Lord
Clarendon....[21]

[Footnote 20: _I.e._, Plenipotentiaries.]

[Footnote 21: For the chief stipulations of the Treaty, see
_ante_, Introductory Note to Chapter XXV. In addition to the
actual Treaty, an important declaration was made as to the
rules of international maritime law, to be binding only on
the signatory powers, dealing with the following points:--

(_a_) Abolition of Privateering.
(_b_) Neutral flag to cover enemy's goods, other than
contraband of war.
(_c_) Neutral goods, other than contraband of war, under
enemy's flag, to be exempt from seizure.
(_d_) Blockades to be binding must be effective,
_i.e._ maintained by adequate marine force.]

[Pageheading: TERMS ARRIVED AT]

_Viscount Palmerston to Queen Victoria._

PICCADILLY, _30th March 1856._

Viscount Palmerston presents his humble duty to your Majesty, and in
submitting the accompanying letter from Lord Clarendon, he begs to
state that he informed Lord Clarendon by the messenger yesterday
evening that all he had done and agreed to was approved, and that he
might sign the Treaty to-day. It was to be signed at half-past twelve
this day.

Viscount Palmerston begs to congratulate your Majesty upon an
arrangement which effects a settlement that is satisfactory for the
present, and which will probably last for many years to come, of
questions full of danger to the best interests of Europe. Greater
and more brilliant successes by land and sea might probably have been
accomplished by the Allies if the war had continued, but any great
and important additional security against future aggressions by Russia
could only have been obtained by severing from Russia large portions
of her frontier territory, such as Finland, Poland, and Georgia; and
although by great military and financial efforts and sacrifices those
territories might for a time have been occupied, Russia must have b