I have already personally acknowledged the letter, and have told him that I am at his disposal in the matter, and I am hopeful that upon those lines there may be set up a system of consultation, so that Any Threatened Crisis, any crisis that looms on the horizon at the end of the twelve months, can be anticipated by friendly meetings between those who are mainly concerned.

Whereas Lord Palmerston would have met a Threatened Crisis with a squadron of frigates, today the Prime Minister and his colleagues throw in not the Navy, but a squadron of public relations officers.