But Alexander had not entered upon the war for the sake of conquest, but to punish Turkey for her crimes against the Bulgarians and to deliver them from her power. Hence the terms of the treaty of San Stefano were specially in the interest of the subject Christian races that were under the rule of the Sublime Porte. The treaty established the independence and boundaries of Montenegro, Servia and Roumania. It constituted Bulgaria an autonomous principality with a Christian government, a national militia, with fixed tribute; its boundaries carefully defined, included over sixty-five thousand square miles with a population of nearly four million Christian people. The Ottoman army was to be withdrawn and the irregular forces, the Bashi-Bazouks and the Circassians were to be absolutely excluded from it. The Russian army of occupation was to consist of fifty thousand men to remain until the new government should be firmly established (for the term approximately of two years.) All Danubian fortresses were to be razed and Bessarabia restored to Russia. Kars, Batoum, Ardahan, Bayazet and certain surrounding territory to be ceded to Russia, and Armenia to be guaranteed protection against Kurds and Circassians, and besides this territory, a war indemnity of a paltry $250,000,000. This is all that Russia claimed for herself at the close of a victorious campaign that had cost her $600,000,000 and the loss of nearly one hundred thousand men. This was the sacrifice she had offered to free her Bulgarian fellow Christians from the power of the Turk. Russia was the master of the situation and had well earned the right to dictate her own terms when the Sultan sued for peace. Already the British Government had declared that they would not permit any power to interfere with the freedom of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus, and that they should protect Constantinople from becoming the prize of conquest. The Parliament had been convened in January (17th) 1878, and in the Queen's speech there was this sentence: "I can not conceal from myself that should hostilities be unfortunately prolonged some unexpected occurrence may render it incumbent on me to adopt measures of precaution. Such measures could not be effectually taken without adequate preparation and I trust to the liberality of my Parliament to supply the means which may be required for that purpose." In the debate that followed the Marquis of Salisbury said, "If you will not trust the government provide yourselves a government you will trust." The danger flag was waved ominously bearing the insignia of the Russian bear. On February 8th, the House voted a war credit of an additional $30,000,000, and on the same day five British war vessels were ordered to Constantinople. Troops were ordered to Malta from India, and Disraeli, the Premier, significantly declared "that in a righteous cause England would commence a fight that would not end till right was done."