Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 8.djvu/386

 354 CHANGE WROUGHT BY THE COU1ISE TAKEN. CHAP XII. say with Mr Gladstone that it still cherished hopes of peace founded, on parleys open through vote of the Austria) came after many days to a vote which commons, expressed its regret for the failure of the negoti- ations carried on at Vienna, and declared that it would continue to give every support to her Majesty in the prosecution of the war until a safe and honourable peace should be attained. The Confer- ence kept formally open until the 4th of June; From the day, the 21st of April, when France and England declared their instructions exhausted, no real negotiation took place in the Conference- room ; but allocutions intended to operate upon the opinion of Europe were there made on the 26th of April and on the 4th of June. Prince Gortchakoff on that last day made speeches which tended to show that his Government, though ap- proving in the main of the Austrian proposal, would still always refuse to accept that part of its terms which sought — in a measure— to limit his master's 'sovereign rights.* If this were true, it would follow (as Count Buol had said he believed) that the acceptance of the Austrian proposal by the Western Powers would have drawn Austria into the war. On the 4th of June 1855, this long open Con- ference closed. V. change When rejecting all the proposals put forward about by the by Austria, France and England did more than and then closed.
 * Eastern Papers, No. xiv.