Gladstone, on the other side, pointed out the dangers of this policy. “What, sir,” he asked, “was a Roman citizen? He was the member of a privileged class; he belonged to a conquering race, to a nation that held all others bound down by the strong arm of power. For him there was to be an exceptional system of law, for him principles were to be asserted, and by him rights were to be enjoyed that were denied to the rest of the world. Is such the view of the noble lord as to the relation which is to subsist between England and other countries?” Such, at all events, was the view of the House of Commons, for Mr. Roebuck’s motion was carried by a majority of forty-six. However, on both sides of the controversy, protection was considered as an obligation involving great and far-reaching responsibilities. This conflict gives us an idea of the difficulties with which the question of the protection of the Jews in the Ottoman Empire was beset. At the conclusion of this memorable debate, which took place on June 24th, 1850, [Sir Robert] Peel [Bart.] (1788‒1850), in a brief speech of singular eloquence and wisdom, expressed his “reluctant dissent” from the motion, and uttered his final caution against perverting diplomacy, “the great engine used by civilized society for the purpose of maintaining peace, into a cause of hostility and war.” Needless to say, the Opposition had no intention whatever of blaming the Government for undertaking the protection of the Jews. There was only a difference of attitude, not one of principle, between the Palmerston Government and the Opposition. The Opposition became alarmed about the dangerous consequences which they thought likely to result from certain steps taken by the Government; the Government, on the other hand, had to consider carefully every new scheme of protection for the Jews, particularly after the conflict with Greece in the _Don_ Pacifico case.