 While awaiting an appointment with the Sublime Porte, Oliphant traveled to Romania to discuss his proposed agricultural settlements with the Jewish communities there.The long-awaited meeting with the Sublime Porte finally took place in April 1880, and was a complete failure; Oliphant and his plan were dismissed.In the opinion of Henry Layard, British Ambassador to the Sublime Porte at the time of Oliphant's visit, the effort failed because Oliphant spoke about how the return of the Jews to Palestine would bring the second coming of Jesus – language and ideas that the Sultan found uncongenial.