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 GREECE BEFORE THE WAR OF 1 897. 213 At King Othp's departure in 1862 the king- dom was confined within the same narrow limits which i^'liad occupied when he came to the The statesman-king Leopold at that e had been building up a strong state in Bel- King George, the new king who took the throne in 1862, brought to Greece on his arrival the news of the annexation of the Heptannesos. The resigning of the protectorate of the Heptan- nesos was a generous gift from England, and it was all the more appreciated because it was un- expected. It appears that the generosity was the expression of England's satisfaction at hav- ing got rid of King Otho. It certainly grati- fied the wishes of the islanders and it was considered a striking mark of friendship, and this gave rise to the greatest hopes for the future. Not all the statesmen of England agreed as to the cession. Lord Derby wrote to Lord Mal- meiroy on December 22d, 1862: "I think the measure at any time one of very doubtful policy, but the present moment appears to me singu- larly ill-chosen. It strikes me as the height of folly to make a gratuitous offer of cession, and to throw the islands at the head of a nation in