3. A law to guarantee that the direct taxation of Bosnia and Herzegovina should be employed for the immediate interests of the province. 4. A special commission, composed of an equal number of Mussulmans and Christians to superintend the execution of the reforms proclaimed and proposed. 5. The amelioration of the condition of the rural populations. The Grand Vizier, Midhat Pasha, replied, that he was preparing a Constitution which would, he believed, embody these and other measures of reform. The Powers trusted his integrity and disposition to promote these reforms; but even though the entire Imperial ministry saw clearly the evils out of which the insurrections had grown, it were in the face of centuries of deceit and the cruelty and the intolerance of Islam, to believe that the Porte would of its own volition enforce these reforms against a hostile Mussulman sentiment. The Powers waited for months until on May 1st, 1876, without having received the honest approval of the Sultan, the outline of the Constitution of Midhat Pasha was published. Now note this fact--that on the 14th of May, when the representatives of Russia, Austria-Hungary, Germany and Great Britain, met at Berlin, desirous of sustaining the good intentions of the Grand Vizier and agreed upon a paper known as the "Berlin Memorandum," which provided for a guaranty by the great powers of the several reforms which had been already proclaimed, when all the others had signed it, knowing that only by such a broad guaranty could the reforms ever be enforced, Great Britain refused to sign it on the ground "that it must obviously and inevitably lead to the military occupation of Turkey." The Memorandum fell to the ground by the action of England, who was not willing to stand with the other powers and compel the enforcement of the reforms demanded. England was alone responsible for that failure. But worse than that, with all the enormities of the Bulgarian outrages which took place during the sessions of the great powers, just coming to the ears of the horrified nations, England sent her fleet into Besika Bay, on the 26th of May, as if to say to the other powers, "Hands off, let Turkey alone, no reforms are needed." Two or three weeks after this demonstration, which had had its effect in assuring Turkey that England would stand by her, the fleet withdrew to its former harbor.