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Leader (1850-1860), 19th August 1854, Edition 2 of 2, Page 18, %m TMM ZtfEUk B EIR. . [&J.TOWDA*;

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    • %m TMM ZtfEUk B EIR. . [&J.TOWDA*;

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      A Russian Pamphlet.* 0 The Russian Quest...

      -jrefciremedt'of iieutral cities to appeal ,-with . ^ studied calmness of 'tonesandman affectation of injured i magnanimity ,-front-the -diatribes o ¥ ^ political ; passion Ito' ^ iriirias . unWajeclby the tumult of the . crowd . " Brussels has become . the ( classic and tthosenrspotwkerefrom we may obtain "Russian views « of the xvarsandiof tthe ^ Eastern Question generally . Let us . take advantage > of : a 'visit 1 so-that pleasant and lively capital , to correct our prejudices and to ^ disabuse our minds of erroneous and unjust impressions . " We enter the library at the Place Roy ale ( where we are living surrounded by . polished Muscovites en conge , and where even at the idhle d'hole our ' national animosities have been temperately rebuked in . perfect Trench by a disguised Tartar ) , and ask for-the " last pamphlet on the Russian questionl "; We are presented with-an 'imposing -semi-official Jodkinff 'publication in - &\

      li ^ ht -. blue = cover , ( consisting of-soineir 70 spages ,-and . entitled " -La Guerre vsfcOinenti sesGausesetses-Consequences , par unMahitant . de I'Muwope JContineniale . " Weare . struck a * onee with the mobly vague . and severely cosnio- ; Eoii tan designation under . which ithe author of . these pages shrouds nis name : ¦ am"the vulgar . ' * An 'Inhabitant of Continental'Europe on the ' Causes and-^ Consequences dfthe ' -Waf" surely promises all that we can conceive of -mostj unbiassed and judicial . -We therefore ^ propose to our readers ito accpmpanyi the Inhabitant of Continental . Europe ^ through his agreeable and truthful purvey , toping to convince -them how vilely Russian policy has been maligned and misinterpreted by the . aiigry ; passions of the hour , and how penitently all who : love mankind shoukLpray for-the success of the righteous « ause of Nicholas .

      In a few introductory . sentences . our "Inhabitant icommends his books io Continental Europe .. and yprincipallyy to France . -He would even hayei -dedicated it to Napolepii ^ III ,, if it Werepeirmittedftb'dedicate an anonymotis work to a / Sovereign . Hei p oiot opening . a ^^ ipplitical discussionybut a simple ] analysis ibased on tue ^ infl e ^ ible ; lpgi < 5 < of history , tie placeshis work under ; the auspices of superior minds , aridireCuses ; to . ^ hisopinions to the outrages and rCapsices-bfrpoleniical journalism . At the sauie time , having sincere convictions , anda conscience free from all p ast engage- xnents , in his present ^ position :. > si ] ence would be j : an ignoble tribute to the Authority of the doriiinant opinion , 't he ^ iriost tyrannical of all authorities . He Will iiot expose himself : tq search ^ iaftfer ; the tr uth , 'ihuried jtast now under an avalanche of falsehdbd . sind . idle talk of . theihour . He offers no solution

      <) f the great ; prp"bleni . in which Jievsees theexpiation of that crime of the nations of "W " esterri EuEPpe in ithe ^ fifteenth century ^ when they suffered the last bulwark of Easi ^ rn . ^ hristendoBQi-Jibat ancient capital of the regenera , . tidn of all Europe , to be thrown down ; Time alone ,, whose eternal light u somtinies lost jbr a moment in the Mafkness of hianan , destinies , can solve this . momentous problem . In the first chapter , " An J » hal > itant of Continehtal Europe '' considers tie respective policy , of the belligerent jppwers since the ' Congress of Vienna , ^ e- ^ ll-f tot aUow the origin of-1 ^^ tfew fanatical monks : > to ^ assign this foumpery cause l-to : a sacrilegious war is ; ^ b ut ift new pr oiaimtioni Qf tthose : saiictuaries . IKieiHply * I ? iaCesvare , : like the dn ^ icine tp ^ mere pretext and occasion ; .: Jthe real source of the crisis is to be found in an attentivei study , of 4 he respective attitudes of ithe . great European lowers . since the Congress of "Vienna . " "

      This overture-is wpi ' thy of the baton ; of Mr . David TTrquhart . The ^ pcrformance now begins . The key note-is struck in < the second chapter : 'the dominant theme that runs through the whole performance is the selfish and . 'devouring ^ mercantilism . of England . Ever . since the fall of Napoleon , we are tptdv the chief barrier to the commercial supremacy of Great Britain bas been— -Russia , As soon as Russia entered into the family of European states , the salutary effects of'her influence were experienced at Paris -and ^ Vienna . England is -too ^ practical , to dr-eam of the ' ' conquest of iEmrope .. \ she iis -content -with India . jHer-. anlbition as . limited . ito ; the te-< ductioxiiof all JEurppe to ithe . condition > of . Portugal-, politically , industrialli ) y . ¦ and . Qommerci ( iUy . . And . here we . ljav . e a > striking . picture . of . the consequences of Frqp Trade , -which An Inhabitant of . Continental Europe might almost + ht

      have ' . borrowed 'from . the enli j ene'd columns of a Protectionist journal . ' ^ he ^ ew'econtnnical'systena ^ naugurated ^ byiSir" ( Robert'Peel , the decay of ^ agriculture , rnnd the irinnite industrial development ; in > a Avoid , mil the tondendicsiof themewdoxnestic : polioy of the AUnrted ; ICingdpmrinxake theiinonQpoly _ jof iaanufactjuiing , indugtry At the . expense * of . the- Continent . a . condition x > f . life and pf progress . This . 'doctrine at Free Trade , is a new political r-eligion , "invented'for the -exclusive prdfit oif < i country which , with one hand imposes commercial 'treatieg , while Tri * h : theother'ifcTeduce 3 iit 9 'tariff , * mtf'draws'lip- —flourishjing revenue-tables . This religion has its adherents vand 'imitators , < who forget the fate of Portugal ; of Turkey , of India , and of all the counitrics whore a . system so favourable to English commerce is already producing its infallible results- ^ tho , paralysis txt iiU ; indu 3 tRy , < pf jail financial jespurces , the l'ediiC ' , tion of . localiArade , and navigation ta ^ the > rtf / e ( Of ,, purv © yoriof , th e . industrial . aneiKppoU 3 , ; iTnpesing permanent tribxites in . the form tof ^ periodical Joans to v ^ over conlinuou 3 ideficit 9 , and'sappiim , the very / foundations QJ (' iiTiationttliin (

      lo-{ pendjanee . 3 uoh iar . o i ^ ho ( Conflequoncsos , p , f dExeo . Trade , to . « H . natiqna , not strong . enough to hear . it-r'to -all , bub JEngland . , Suoh ; is . the , uniyevaal . dQnai ~ nation , of ithut unrighteoua Eower , w . 3 ib trusts . to , her floating , oitadola at vevery station , . to uta briatling jcooks at Gibraltar , at JMftlta , at . Corfu , at Aden , ^ tct ho Xlapp , . at Jlopig ) Kong ; , to ihor private dominions in Kotith ^ Amovicrt , in Indm , in pBoiy . nosia , , in ithe Antilloa ; 4 o , make , the wpi'ld . her mavkot ,,-and all : tUe , nations . of tho . oax'th hor producers of raw material und ConauiKOFa- of . lfertmanufactured industry . Thfjte are some men , exoluima the inhabitant of ContinontHl Europe , swith j « at isuijpwse , w . ho . accept this theory aa a benefit to innnkind . \ Vo , « oe hi ; ifc . a roal calamity , a waterial , mid moral obstacle . to tltc dovolapnoent of * universal . progress ; < since every monopoly , even were < it a benefit , i < aa ,-contvaivjdoUhe . dinineila u ) as it 4 s to human nature . The reader / will not fail 4 fco fallow the ( inflexible logic which ,. after denouncingdiho aystom of Free-Tra 4 ofund . tho , rcciproci ) by of oxahangos , aondennna every monppoly in those forcible and even -solemn terms .

      "TPhe writer now strikes another note : the importance of a "Russian alliance to France . The Emperor Aloxandor wasalwaya anxious , in 1814 and

      1815 , to preserve the integrity andinfluenco of France , -while England has always endeavoured to convertfFraJaaeiinlo tbe instrument of her " own purposes . It was England that conspired , in 1814 , with Austria and Talleyrand , for the dethronement of Murat ; England practised unsuccessfully every cajolery upon theprudence of Louis X . VIII . and the chivalrous pride of Charles X . It was the providential accord of France and Russia that produced the noblest result of which contemporary politics can boast the Hellenic , kingdom—while England repudiated Navarino . Our writer ' sets us an example of unselfishness . Cordially as he detests us , he . points out the hidden dangers of our path . The following passage is lmost worthy of the most prophetic moments of Protectionism : — ¦ " We believe that this tendency to commercial domination is fatal to old ' England herself : it creates a'factitious existence under the imposing apparatus of Jaer metallic and territorial wealth , of a fabulous credit ,-of an

      industrial - prosperity infinitely developed by the most powerful inventions of modern . science . We believe that England is expiating her outrages on the liberty of the world by the progressive demoralisation of her own . people , and by tlie inevitable decay of the very institutions which have borne her to so greats height of prosperity . " Anew'Refbrni'BiU is the inevitable consequence of'Free Trade : andsome fiiieday England will find herself in the hands of a Beaaocratic Pftrliament , elected . Iiy- a population : of naanufacturing operatives . This accounts for the desperate but instinctive and farsightied opppsitlpa of the English aristocracy to a Reform-. of Parliament .

      The writer is riot a pessimist in respect of England ; he accords a long respite to us ^ yet :.. but he sees the- signs of our moral ,-preceding our material , decadence . England will long weigh on tlie destinies of the wotld ; and neyervhias she better understood her interests- than now . Unfortunately thoseinterestsare ^ The . peace , the . prosperity , and the union Pf tlie natiphs cotnposing the great European family would evidently he the ruin of Englaria . This is iinother singuTai ^ conception ^ of' tli e effe cts of reciprbcity of exchanges—rin other ^ words of that % Free Trade of whichEngland sets the example . The conduct of England -m the last . gi-eat war was purely . selfisli : ' she combated the . vRevolutipn Avithput . earnfisfchess ,: ^ ratlie ± ^^ for the sake of prolonging a struggle . than for preserving the nipnai-chjr ; but when JSTappleon threatened her commercial supremacy , she threw her whple strength into the

      struggle , and sought to seduce ^ Charles X .. iiitp a war against ^ Russia in 1628 , wieh 'Russi ^ fought , as rio \ y , upon the i ) atiube , to avenge her honour and 'her Church baihed . in the blpod of two patiiarehs , of thirty bishops , and many Iiundreds and : thousands of her fellow Christians- " The iaking of Algiers was the . proximate cause of the rupture teivveen England and Charles X . The British Government rejoiced in the fall of a Government which had been able tp restore to ^ F ^ het by Ldms 2 t"IV . and Ifapblebii . 'liouis Philippe , was obliged to clihg to the English alliance ; the first effect of whicii was the quadruple alliance ,, resulting in the vassalage of Portugal and the revolutioiUsing of Spain , while

      m the East . a new era was inaugurated by tlie Treaty of Adrianople . and the generous ; cohduct of Russia to vaiiquished Tiir-key . . In 1833 tlie revolt of Mehemet Ali was encpimtged by England and , in pursuatJce of the servile policy of Louis Philippe , by - Forance . It was then that liTissia found herself , compelled to put an end td the insurrection by sending a fleet and an army into the Bosphorus . No doubt the Treaty ot iljnkiar Skelessi > wsis less . disinterested as n moval result than the material result of the occupation of the 3 osphorus ; but nevertheless it was foreign to any thought of invasion or to any menace to the security of-the Porto . No ciilightened person ever credited the designs attributed to Russia , and the Jiihabitant only writes for the enlightened .

      ' England tried to get up a coalifciPn against "Russia ; but all she could obtain ifrom France was ; a protest considering the treaty null , as Russia considered ithe protest null . / England was repulsed , and compelled to yield to the just rights ., of Russia in the affair of the Vixen , which was a simple ' seizure of contraband of war on a blockaded coast . This repulse , however , England has never forgotten , and she now calls Europe to arms to avenge it , "Thus , continues 'the Inhabitant of Continental Europe , wns the penco of the world -preserved 'from 1-833 to 1840 . In the meanwhile the policy of the English Government completely wore round . 'JCliat policy had been to separate Egypt from . Turkey and to acquire complete control of the

      jLacluvlic , preparatory to . future possession . The writer here proceeds to expose the designs ofEngland upon Egypt , studiously concealed , while the importance of Constantinople is exaggerated . England would , perhaps , even give'Constantinople to ' Franco for 'tlie foundation of a Latin Empire which Russia wpuld spend ( her J « ist rouble to resist , on condition of taking Eg . y . pt for . he ' rself . Of iEgy . pt she would make a inilitawy . and , cQmmer ; ciuL station , . which she could keep , with from 10 , 000 to 12 , 000 men , against all contingenoies so long as she rotftina her maritime supremacy and . her Indian Empire : it WPtilcl bo oply a ne > y pwof of her mercantile perspicacity to seize a . possession which would bring her a Tuvenue equivalent to tho cost of Constantinople to France . Independently ofthoinationii ] , commorcial , and political advantages of Egyp . t , to . England , it ' would fortify her sy 3 tcm of Freo Trado .

      i / he ^ chief productions of 'Egypt arc Avheat and cotton , iEngland is gradually renouncing the cultivation of wheftt , ; which , was committed to tlta race of Adam as a divine law . In 1853 England was at tho morcy of tlics Empei-or of -Russia -for ifood . As to cotton , that other . duily . bread ol millions , flho'is-dependent on tho United States ofAmovioa . Imngino , then , the importiunco of Egypt to England I In 28 /> l another Eastern Question was on tlio point of arising in Egypt . England had invested enormous capital iu tho construction of i \ railway , after dissuading Abbas Pasha from tho project of dyking , tho Nile , whioh had already absorbed immense aums . Tho Porto protested' agoinst thu pecuniary engagements contracted by her vassal in defianoo of tlio ftinduincntttl law of tho empire . Tho French Govornmont warmly socondod thu wotoat of tho Porto , while England whs riinposod to take tho purl ; of Abbas I ^ ialta , At that moment tho cordiality now existing between tho French and English Govurnmonta did not osiiat . English diplomacy , however , through the medium of Forid Efl ' cndi , solved thia question amicubly , autl

      %M Tmm Ztfeuk B Eir. . [&J.Towda*;

      % m TMM ZtfEUk B EIR . . [& J . TOWDA *;

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 19, 1854, page 18, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_19081854/page/18/