"I opened the Chambers to-day with a short and powerful speech from the throne, which I am sure will make no unfavourable impression in Europe. The disturbances in Herzegowina could not be passed over in silence, but were mentioned with such caution that public opinion cannot be disquieted. Our relations with the Turks are strained: they will not grant us even the smallest concession; they actually refuse to concede us the name Roumania; all this is to their own disadvantage.... Greece has begun to stir; deputations from Thessaly, Epirus, and Crete have appeared in Athens, and their proposals have been very favourably received. The aggrandisement of Greece is the only salvation for that unfortunate country."
_From_ PRINCE CHARLES ANTHONY, _December 1875_.
"The Eastern Question will shortly be solved; what could only have been expected to happen in the course of years will have already come to pass. The chief point is that France and England have at length begun to realise that the 'sick man' can no longer be helped. Turkey perishes through the financial ruin she has brought upon herself! For the distant observer it is interesting to note that the eyes of all are turned towards Roumania, whose moderation is highly appreciated everywhere. This moderation is the only means by which Europe can be prepared for the approaching independence of your country--an independence which must be founded on the belief of its necessity, and when it comes, must come as a surprise to nobody. I congratulate you on your political reserve and on the art of waiting, the exercise of which you seem to have mastered in opposition to the character of the Roumanian nation. Precipitate action would be a great mistake, and could not be excused, even were the peace of the country at stake; the whole of Europe would discountenance Roumania if she were to arouse a Continental war....
"I would willingly send the Crown Prince an extract from your letter, but I must tell you that he has at present no influence either on home or on foreign policy, the direction of which lies exclusively in the hands of the Chancellor.
"In this Eastern Question Germany only occupies the third place after Russia and Austria; but, when the decisive moment for weighing the respective interests of those two States arrives, you will find that Germany has reserved for herself the option of placing her weight on that side of the balance which seems most advantageous to the development of the German Empire...."