ith the known opinions of the Court of
Vienna; and at the same time Russia formally declared that she could
never accept that condition[211]. As Germany took the same view the
Porte agreed to expunge the obnoxious clause. The Government of the Czar
also objected to the naming of Prince Alexander in the Convention. This
unlooked-for slight naturally aroused the indignation of the Prince;
but as the British Government deferred to Russian views on this matter,
the Convention was finally signed at Constantinople on April 5, 1886.
The Powers, including Turkey, thereby recognised "the Prince of
Bulgaria" (not named) as Governor of Eastern Roumelia for a term of five
years, and referred the "Organic Statute" of that province to revision
by a joint Conference.

[Footnote 211: _Ibid_. pp. 96-98.]

The Prince submitted to this arrangement, provisional and humiliating
though it was. But the insults inflicted by Russia bound him the more
closely to his people; and at the united Parliament, where 182 members
out of the total 300 supported his Ministers, he advocated measures that
would cement the union. Bulgarian soon became the official language
throughout South Bulgaria, to the annoyance of the Greek and Turkish
minorities. But the chief cause of unrest continued to be the intrigues
of Russian agents.

The anger of the Czar at the success of his hated kinsman showed itself
in various ways. Not content with inflicting every possible slight and
disturbing the peace of Bulgaria through his agents, he even menaced
Europe with war over that question. At Sevastopol on May 19, he declared
that circumstances might compel him "to defend by force of arms the
dignity of the Empire"--a threat probably aimed at Bulgaria and Turkey.
On his return to Moscow he received an enthusiastic welcome from the
fervid Slavophils of the old Russian capital, the Mayor expressing in
his address the hope that "the cross of Christ will soon shine on St.
Sofia" at Constantinople. At the end of June the Russian Government
repudiated the clause of the Treaty of Berlin constituting Batoum a free
port[212]. Despite a vigorous protest by Lord Rosebery against this
infraction of treaty engagements, the Czar and M. de Giers held to their
resolve, evidently by way of retort to the help given from London to the
union of the two Bulgarias.

[Footnote 212: Parl. Papers, Russia (1886), p. 828.]

The Dual Monarchy, especially Hungary, also felt the weight of Russia's