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    "" "UJfits " states the Christian religion and its churches . ; Court of Russia has added , that in demanding from ' tho Ottoman Government a testimony of its . fidelity to its anterior engagements , it had in no respect intended to attenuate the authority of the Sultan over its Christian subjects , and that its only object was to obtain explanations , of a nature to prevent every motive of doubt and every reason for ¦ misunderstanding with a friendly and neighbouring power . The sentiments manifested by the Sublime Porte during the last negotiations prove , on the other hand , that that power was ready to recognise all its contracted oblig ations and to pay full attention , in the measure of its sovereign rights , to the interest entertained by the Emperor

    of Russia for a religion which is his own and that of the majority of his people . In' that state of things ^ the undersigned are convinced that the surest and most ready means of attaining the object desired by their Courts ^ is to make a communication in common to the Sublime Porte , to explain to it the . wish of the Powers to contribute by their friendly intervention to the re-establishment of peace , and to give it an opportunity of stating the conditions on which it would be disposed to treat . Such is the object of the _ collective note adjoined , addressed to the Minister of Foieign Affairs of the Sultan , and of the identical instructions transmitted at the same time by the Courts of Austria , France , Great Britain , and Prussia , to their representatives at Constantinople . "

    The following is the collective note , or , more probably , an abridgement of it ;—" The undersigned , representatives of Austria , France , Great Britain , and Prussia , assembled at a conference at Vienna , have received instructions to declare that their respective Governments behold with a profound , regret the commencement of hostilities between Russia and the Porte , and desire exceedingly , by intervening between the belligerent powers , to prevent any fresh effusion of blood , and to pnt an end to a state of tilings which menaces seriously the peace of Europe . Russia having given an assurance that she was disposed to treat , aud the undersigned not doubting that ' the Porte is animated with the same spirit , they request , in the name of ; their respective Governments ,

    to be informed on what conditions the Ottoman Empire would consent to negotiate a treaty of peace . " The Debate gives the following despatch as that bywhieh the Ambassadors of the Four Powers have been instructed to act in execution of the protocol of December 5 :- — "Monsieur , —The Governments of their Majesties the Emperor of Austria , the Emperor of the French , the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , and the King of Prussia , have seen with great regret the outbreak of war between Eussia and Turkey ; and , with the object of abridging hostilities as much as possible , and of effecting a rapprochement between the belligerent parties ,

    so important for the interests of Europe , they have thought it necessary to give a collective form to their efforts . "The note which-the representatives of the Four Powers at Vienna have received orders to address directly to his Excellency Redsehid Pasha , and of which they have had to transmit a copy to you , is a new and complete evidence of the identity of the views of their Courts , and of their warm desire to contribute by their union to the re-establishment of peace . I rely upon you , Monsieur , to second this conciliatory endeavour by your exertions , and have only further to indicate to . you the counsels which you , with your colleagues , will have to give to the Ministers of bis Majesty the Sultan . _ .

    " The various documents which have emanated from tho Sublime Porte , and tho character of moderation with which they ai-e marked , authorise us to hope that you will find JRedschid Pasha disposed to admit that the propositions of the Four Courts arc as much conformed to the interests as they are to the dignity of the Ottoman empire . We place candidly before the Sublime Court a question to which it will respond in the same spirit . We are convinced that it ¦ will circumscribe tho contest which is now pending between itself and the Cabinet of St . Petersburg within its truo limits , and that all its cares will tend to resolve it without importing foreign elements into the actual war .

    " In tliis hopo , and acknowledging that jt belongs to tho Turkish Government to reply to tho communication which is made to it in such a manner as its wisdom shall suggest , we at the same time consider that wo may be permitted to call its attention to the points on which it will be sure to find us in agreement with it . " Tho Governments of the Four Powers would bo p , hid should the Sublime Porto declare , in the first place , that Austria , France , Great Britain , and Prussia have not too much presumed on its conciliatory intentions in believing it to bo still animated with tho deairo to tc-rniinato on favourable conditions the difference which has arisen between it

    and Russia , und atill ready to come to an understanding for this purpose with the otlior Powers . That , recognising tho assurance . which Russia , lms on several occasiono given , that it demands no now conceHsions Hor lights infringing upon the sovereignty of tho Sultim , the Divmi is ready to renew its off « r » and to discuss tho form in which peace shall bo re-estubliHhed , flubjoct to tho condition of not being culled to accede to any of the donuuids which have boon already refused , and to conclude an arrangement for tho evacuation of tho Principalities .

    ''This diucuflttion would naturally tako place between an Ottoman and Russian negotiator , ouch furnished with plenipotentiary powers ; but , iu order to fa . cilitu . to tho _ agreement of tho two parties , tho plenipotentiaries so designated would not treat apart , but in presence of representatives of Auntriu , Frfluco . Great Britain , and 1 ' riiHuin . " Wo can iinuerstand the ronsoiut which doubtless would not permit the Sublime Porto to negotiate with Rueujui in a Krt of its territory occupied by tho urinu of this Power . iskui , on its Hide , would have objections to negotiate in any town of Turkey . It would bo proper . theii to leuvo the two parties to make choice of a neutral territory , mid wo » b « t «» i « therefore from designating m > y particular place . '' The object wMch the Four Courts propose would not bo completely obtained if tUo opening of tlio proUuihttiry

    pourparlers of peace were not at the same time the signal for the cessation of . hostilities- ; but we . believe-that the Sublime Porte will have no good reason to oppose the conclusion of an armistice , the conditions of which might be afterwards debated , if it obtained from us the assurance that the terms in which it should declare , itself disposed to treat would be equally accepted by Russia . It is , in any case , a demand which it might address to us ; and , on the hypothesis that the terms proposed by the Ottoman Government should not be such as Russia should at first consent to , we would yet advise the sending of .-a . Turkish plenipotentiary , and the appointment of a town where the plenipotentiaries of Russia and Turkey might meet the representatives of the Four Courts .

    " The various points which I have just passed under review , and the observations by which they are accompanied , have the complete consent of Austria , France , and Prussia ; and it is therefore to be desired that Redschid Pasha will look at them in this light , and make them the groundwork of the communication which we all expect from him . You will inform us of the reception which may be given to this communication ; but we can hardly think that 'the - . Sublime Porte , weighing the advantages which such : a combination offers to the Ottoman empire with the risks which always wait on war , will . hesitate to enter into the path opened for it by an amicable intervention . "I ask you , Monsieur , to repair with your colleagues to Redschid Pasha , to read this despatch to iiiuy and foriify it with the authority cf your advice . "

    The Moniteur adds , " We have nothing to explain as to the authenticity of the documents thus g iven to the public . If they are false , it is a culpable manoeuvre ; if they are authentic , it is an unpardonable indiscretion . The Government has taken measures to prevent the recurrence of such events . " This ebullition of the Moniteur shows that the French Government is annoyed at the publicity given by the partisans of Russia to documents which were intended to be private , and which afford abundant evidence of the tardiness with which the Powers treat the invader , of Turkey , and the roughness with which the Sultan , is called upon by his allies

    and protectors to do their behests . It seems strange that , with such an opinion of the publication in question , the Moniteur should have lent its aid to the spread of the evil . If ( to use its own words ) the documents thus made public are false , why does it assist , in a culpable manoeuvre , by circulating them ? If they be correct , why does it contribute its part to a publicatien which it ; qualifies as " an unpardonable indiscretion " ? However , it appears that M . Persigny sent for the chief editor of the Debuts , questioned him as to the sources of his information , and concluded by threatening him with a " warning " in the' event of any future indiscretion .

    The so-called Russian victory at Sinope is proved to have been sheer butchery , even according to the official Russian despatches , published in the Journal de St . Petersburg , and the circumstantial accounts , compiled from the statements of persons present at the engagement , and published in the Invalide littsse ( the official naval and military Russian journal ) of the 11 th inst . We abridge slightly the condensed abstract of this Russian report from the Times of yesterday : — " Admiral Nachimoff was cruising on the coast of Anatolia , when he perceived a squadron of Turkish ships in the roads of Sinope . He must have seen that the Turkish flotilla was already inferior in strength to his own squadron , for he had then with him three two-deckers , and

    six frigates ; but , not content with this advantage , he sent the steamer Bessarabia back to Sebastopol to fetch three liue-of-battle ships of 120 guns each ; arid it was not till these ships—the Ville de Peats , the Grand Dulco Constantine , and the Tri Sviatitelia—hud joined his own fleet that he proceeded to reconnoitre the position of the enemy . These three-deckers joined in tho night of tho 27 th of November , —they must have been sent for some thico or four days before , —and the battle was not fought till the 30 th . So that the whole operation was planned and executed with the utmost deliberation , and there was ample time for the Turkish authorities in fciinopo to have received reinforcements if they had sent for them . On tho iJOth , between 9 and 10 a . m ., with a favourable north-cast breeze , tho

    Russians entered tho roads in two divisions , under cover of fog and rain , which concealed their approach until tlioy wcro within 500 yards of the Turkish frigates . The Russian Admiral's ship , tho Empress Maria , and the Ville de Paris , leading tlto port division , dropped their anchors , and tho Turlcs opened their fire . Tlio heavy three-dockers did terrific execution , and several of tho Turkish ships wero blown up by shells from tho Rusi-iun I ' uixlmns guns . At two o clock the filing ceased ; three Turkish frigates wero in flames , and the transports altogether sunk . Tlio Turkish portion of the town of Sinope was on fire , but , by ono of those portents which only occur in theso sacred contests , wo arc informed by tho bulletin that tlio conflagration respected the quarter inhabited by the Greeks . It does not appear that any portion of tho crews or treasure , on board had been landed . On tho following morning wo nro further told that nothing remained of tho twelve vobaela

    composing tlio Turkish squadron except a t > loop and a corvette run ashore , und tho Damiutln Egyptian frigate , all of which wor « then ordered to bo burnt . In theso small vessels were found O . smun Pa . slm , tlio admiral , wounded in tho log , u few officers , and about eighty men . Theso appear to bo tho sole survivors <> f an armament which must havu nuin ,-bored the day before several thousand aouls . In this manner , us we arc informed by Prince Monschikott' in hi * dospatcli , ' the orders of lib Imperial Mujoaty have bom most brilliantl y executed . ' It ia impoaaiblo to have further proof that thin catastrophe waa not ilie result of u casual encounter , but a deliberate aaauult vn tho vesscla of Turkey uud tho town of Sinopo , which waro supposed to bo under tho protection of tho French and English jfloets . Tho ltuuaians remained in tlio roadatoad of Sinopo until the 2 nd of December , and it was not till tho 4 th that they returned to the port of iSebiwtopol . From thouo dutt' 8 it may bo inferred that , when tlio iniolliijcnoo of tko but llo reached . Oouatautinople on tho

    evening of the 2 nd , it was not too late to give effect to Admiral Dundas' bold and seamaulike proposal of immediate pursuit .: To make Sebastopol with a breeze from the northeast , the Russian fleet must have sailed considerabl y to t he west-of : the Crimea ; and , had tho operation proposed been executed as rapidly as it-was conceived ^ we mi ght have heard by the . same , courier of the . outrage and of the punishment it merited . " V This Russian account" ( says the Daily News "jg professedly founded upon that viva voce iuformation which Mensclrikoff's despatch , published yesterday ; stated Lieutenant-Colonel Skolkoff , a spectator of the action , was to furnish at St . Petersburg . They were thus even of less value as evidence than would be the formal report of Admiral

    Kachimoff himself . Such as they are , however , the y are published by the Russian Government ,-and we learn that they form the subject of boundless rejoicings at St . Petersburg .- It will be noticed that the number of Russian ships brought into action is carefully concealed . But when it is considered the squadron by which the Turkish ships at ; Sinope was first discovered was large enough to have for its commander Admiral Nachimoff , the commander-in-chief of the Black Sea fleet , before it was reinforced b y the three 120-gun ships and the three steamers from Sebastopol , it will bo perceived that the Russian force must have been , as su perior in numbers as in weight of metal . Osman Pacha , when taken was found lying on the deck of

    his frigate , with , his leg broken and his head terribly wounded . Letters from , Odessa of the 8 th state that the gallant admiral was a prisoner in the arsenal at Sevastopol Tho other prisoners lie on the casemates , and are all wounded or burnt . Since the affair at Sinope , the Russians appear to have fancied that their own ports were in greater danger of attack , for both at Odessa and Sebastopol land batteries have been provided in great haste , and command the sea for a considerable distance . " . Prince Menschikoff's bulletin of this battle thus affixes the responsibility of the aggression upon the Emperor of Russia . It commences as follows : — " Yesterday , on the 28 th of November , bis Majesty the Czar received the following report from his adjutant , Prince Mensohikoff : — -

    " ' The orders of your Imperial Majesty have been most brilliantly executed by the fleet of the Black Sea . The first Turkish squadron which ventured to enter into a contest with your ships has—on the 18 th instant— -been annihilated by Vice-Admiral Nachimoff . We had one officer and 33 sailors killed , and 230 wounded . '" The intelligence of these victories was received , we are told , with enthusiasm at St . Petersburg . On the 8 th thero was a Te Deum of thanksgiving for the success of the Russian arms , in the chapel of . the Winter Palace , at which the Emperor and Empress , the different members of the Imperial family , the members of the Council of the Empire , the senators , the Ministers the high dignitaries of the Court , the generals of the army , and the admirals of St . Petersburg were present . On the same day a Te Deum was sung in all the churches of the capital , and a salute was fired by the f rtresses of St . Petersburg . In the evening the city was illuminated .

    "The Czar ordered that those who had admission at Court should repair to the Winter Palace for a general thanksgiving . The ladies apprared in the Russian nationa . dress , and the gentlemen in grand gala . In all other churches of the capital public prayers of thanksgiving w ere offered , an-1 tho population came in crowds to join the service . The inost 2 > ious Czar thanked the Lord of Lords for the success of the victorious Russian arras which triumphed , in tke sacred combat for the orthodox fi 1 ™' ^ Authentic intelligence from Erzeroum to the 17 th of November confirms all tho reports of Turkish successes at the cutset of tho campaign in Asia . Up to that date , wo now know for certain that Selim Pasha had carried moro than cne fort on tho Black Sea ; that Abdi Pasha and Ins lieut-nants had defeated the Russians in several encounters at

    Valdi , Doozce , at Baya / . ed , twice at Gumri ( tho Russian Alexjindropol ); and that the main army , numbonng upwards of 550 , 000 men , under Abdi Pasha , had left Kara , ana crossed tho Georgian frontier , leaving a , force of 10 , 000 men to keep in check the important fortress of Gumri . bo iai all is clear ; but from tho confusion of dates in tho useor tho old and new style , wo aro unable to rely on any intelligence since received . Wo know for certain that the Russia ia claim three victories which , it is certain , wero won by u . »> Turks—ono at Aznr , ono at Bayonder , and ono at Cxumi . It would appear that tho Turks have extended their awn * over a largo space of territory , and it is probable tliat i « great victories announced by the Russians on their own m have been gained , if gained at nil , over isolated dctuclinu u , of I ho Turkish armj . Tho Russian despatch states tliao Abdi Pnsha was defeated at Alml-Tsicko by General n - dronchofi ; Governor of Trobizondo . But this is hardly 1 « ' - bable , because Alml-Tsicke lies out of tho mam lino oi

    Turkish operations . . _ , . jll 0 We Hulijoin a specimen of a Russian bulletin , it " - to the inventiveness of General Andronihoff , and our re «" - will agree whh uh , throws tho fonts of Munchuuaon n » W i shade . It i » the climax of the despatch relating tlio »« " ¦ of Alml-Tsicko . Tho combat ondod at sunset ; tho enemy entirely disappeared . r * i , n most " I cannot help considering this combat as one | . tn f ° " ,, H . extraordinary , and , I iriiglitHay , unprecedented font on ^ A strong cannonude of five hours' duration , a violent . < ^ grape and inuskotry , hiHtingtwo hours , und finally aeon » with sword and bayonet , for four hourw , and during «¦ I" | w on tho mountains , and over broken ground , eouici i Buutiiincd with honour , but by tho valour and indeiivuj , ^ intrepidity of Uuwiau troops , and prove tlmt thoro cx » ^ obatuclo lor warriors animated by tho Orthodox l «» » ^ at the voice of tlio august monarch have taken "" " ](!( J reli gion , sovereign , and country * Nor can thoro Do o ^ ^ for an army whicli repeatH tho words of it « nioniircii , Domino xpentvi - -non confundar in aternum I fl jin . If thero still reinainod any doubt of tho » £ grMalv fro , n racter given to tho war by UuBsia , tlio latest « cc 0 "" . J oU [ d Bucharest of an notion ut Matschin ( opposite Ibxaut j

    Untitled Article

    loon TBE DEADER . [ Saturday ,

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 24, 1853, page 1230, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2018/page/6/