Note 29 — Chapter II · A LAND OF DUST AND ASHES (DIARBEKR AND MARDIN)

These oppressed nationalities cherish pathetically futile hopes of British intervention, recognizing rightly that England is the only disinterested power. But the only power ever likely to interfere effectively is Russia; and though those who have tried Russian rule have found themselves bitterly disillusioned, it must be admitted that the Russians preserve better order than the Turks. What the country needs is a set of self-sacrificing administrators, with no axe of their own to grind, who will devote themselves solely to the good of the people. No other nation can furnish such administrators as England: and no other nation so obstinately refuses to recognize their worth.