The Russians' actions had left the British completely at a loss. They had never imagined that the Tsar wouldn't care in the slightest—or rather, that Nicholas I's concerns would be on an entirely different wavelength from theirs.
It was already May. The ice on the Baltic Sea had melted, making communication by sea possible, so the Russians had replied much faster this time.
With neither the French nor the Russians of any use, the British had no choice but to rely on themselves.
But that brought them back to square one. To keep Britain from causing Austria trouble in 1848, Franz had found them far too many distractions.
From North America to South America, from the Central American isthmus to the Far East, from Ireland to New Zealand, the British faced one problem after another. Their burdens had long since exceeded their limits.
Note: Britain lies in the Northern Hemisphere, near the Prime Meridian and at a latitude of over 50 degrees north. The country directly opposite it on the other side of the Earth lies in the Southern Hemisphere, near the 180th meridian.
The country that fit these conditions was New Zealand, located around 175 degrees east longitude and 40 degrees south latitude.
Although John Russell was hardly an especially shrewd prime minister, he could still see that Palmerston was trying to pass the buck.
But there was nothing he could do. As prime minister of Britain, he was going to have to shoulder the blame.
But how were they supposed to deal with the Austrians? Were they really going to organize an army of several hundred thousand and fight on Austrian soil?
Setting aside whether they could win, the cost of the war alone was beyond what the British Government could afford at the time.
The Bank of