Justice, humanity, England’s promises, the arguments with which she had opposed her enemies, demanded that her tutelage should not suddenly cease. She and France were now the protectors of the Ottoman territory and its outlying provinces; they were the masters of every military position; every sea was traversed by their fleets; every port was full of the merchandize required for their vast armies. Nor was their supremacy one of force alone. Whatever may have been the feelings aroused by their policy, each class and creed had learned to respect their motives and to acquiesce in their presence. Whatever may have been thought on racial and religious grounds, certainly material interests in the end prevailed over every other. Every business man saw clearly that his own prosperity was enhanced by the presence of two wealthy nations, in need of large and constant supplies, and willing to pay liberally and at once. In their hearts they had no wish to be again reduced to a miserable traffic with their own bankrupt Government, or with the poverty-stricken towns of the Turkish and Persian interior. The peasants who tilled the ground had gained wherever local tyranny did not rob them of the just rewards of their labour. The landed proprietor had also become wealthy, and had no reason to regret the Western crusade, which gave his possessions a fourfold value. So tangible was the advantage, and so soon did the Turks acquiesce in what affected only their patriotism and self-esteem, that it was doubtful whether even the most bigoted Mussulman wanted the evacuation of the country by the Allied armies. Englishmen, of course, looked upon the advancement of Turkey in a different light from that in which it was seen by its own people. Still, even Englishmen could not fail to realize that if they withdrew there was no doubt that the old stagnation would immediately return, and that it would even become worse than before, for old fame and the habit of command kept the Mussulman in his pre-eminence, while the “_Rajah_” was accustomed to obey, and the foreigner was a mere sojourner, who cared for nothing but his own peace and prosperity. Now all was changed: the Turk was still master, without the authority to rule; the Christian was without rights, but had felt his power; while every country had its adventurers or capitalists in the land, each with his own scheme launched or prospective, and all agreeing in the demand that this rich land should no longer be the heritage of sloth and fatuity. Peace was signed at Paris――where a Congress of the Powers had been in session――on March 30th, 1856. The integrity of the Ottoman Empire was guaranteed by the Powers; reforms were promised by the Sultan; Russia renounced her protectorate over the Danubian principalities, and ceded a strip of Bessarabia to Moldavia; the Black Sea was neutralized. The Congress united in the “Declaration of Paris,” which laid down some principles of international law.