He reminded them of all that was implied in
the Roman boast, _Civis Romanus sum_, and urged the House to make it
clear that a British subject, in whatever land he might be, should feel
confident that the watchful eye and the strong arm of England could
protect him. This could not be resisted. _Civis Romanus sum_ settled
the question.
Mr. Gladstone's reply was a masterpiece. It was exhaustive and
trenchant, and produced a great effect. He first spoke upon the position
of the Government and the constitutional doctrines which they had laid
down in regard to it, and then severely condemned the conduct of the
Premier for being so heedless of the censure of the House of Lords and
in trying to shield himself behind the precedents which are in reality
no precedents at all. With reference to the Greek question, he
repudiated precedents which involved the conduct of strong countries
against weak ones. The Greek Government had put no impediment in the way
of arbitration. Instead of trusting and trying the tribunals of the
country and employing diplomatic agency simply as a supplemental
resource, Lord Palmerston had interspersed authority of foreign power,
in contravention both of the particular stipulations of the treaty in
force between Greece and England and of the general principles of the
law of nations.
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