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Leader (1850-1860), 9th September 1854, Edition Town of 2, Page 858, Untitled Article

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      A RUSSIAN PAMPHtET . * IV . ( Conclusion . " ) ¦ £ \ V ^ xepeat : tbe , caution that tbrou ^ i ottt-thesa Artic les it is the u Inhabitant of Continental Europe" who speaks . We do bat report . 3 However . melancholy may be the prospects of the war for Europe , it may be that the moral and political regeneration of the East will be the . providential , result-of the crisis we deplore , and which Russia is accused of having provoked \; Russia may claim the double glory of having served as the instrument of" the . divine decrees , and of having understood the Eastern question better than . the _ statesmen of the West . AVhat the Emperor of

      liussia treated as an . eventuality in 18-52 ,. when he invited . England to come to an u « dfirstandiiig * tb prevent the disasters which , the decline of the Ottoman Empire involved i is an accomplished , fact in 1854 . Though the principle of the integrity and independence' ' of Turkey is still in vigour , we can scarcely believe . itt the political vitality of aa empire whose capital is surrendered to a > fQr , Bj ; idable fleet—whose provinces are held by an arrny of occupationwhose populations ^ are abandoned , to revolt—whose central government is under ; the-avowied ; protection of an ambassador ^ and whose local au thorities areuiiderthe sjirveitlance of consular agents who impose laws which are incompatible with tlie : supreme law of ; the preservation aad" even the existence of tb ^ -euopice .

      What did Piiiibe . Mie . tternich . say in the Austrian note of ; Aprik 20 ,. 1841 , Tvliicli may bef 6 tuadin ^ thefBlue Book £ ThePorte had spontaneously claimed the ; gp 6 d , offices-of JbastfiEt to obtain theguarantee , of her- existence ' by recijirocaVengagenaents between the great P ^ bwers off Europe . Prince Meitteriaicl ^ vprpcte , " v ^ S t-ate whichplafces- itself under : t ^ Stafcej loses ?; tfa ^ flbwiaK ofiitss independence : siibmits- itself to the will of the i ^ xot ector ; for the guarantee , to be efficacious , must include the right of ' pp <) tectpratei and ? if ' a single protector- is an ihcuinhrance , a collective j ^ 'Qtectpi rate la an . in ^ ple ^ bTfe , burden . "' Events haye marched rapidly since the date of that note ,, but , the surviving expression of ' integrity ; and independence ^ . " an e ^ res sioa never applied to a . State , really independent ' , inspires the TttrksV ( those new aidepts in ^ e public law of Europe ) with

      ^ nfrdence-enduglrto brave the poiver-of "Russia . . Itwaaih ^ sgecia ^^^ 3 ? r ipeipled an ^^ ^ in succession , that ahdiaced ? th ^ Eitip ^ EprNicholas * : morally interested ; ih ; av ^ tihj * the ; disasters ^ ba ^ fc \ t ^ eate ne # iiie-Eas ti tataa ^ pv ^ r tureeto England . Certain documents of j cor ^ esjibrideuce ,. injfcended to be confidential ; iiave Been betrayed ^ to pub-Ifcitjr as if ; th ) ey ; e ^ osed ' a ^ itibug designs of "BUssiav J ^ y one who reads TO thr ^ f ^ ci ^ ¦ rarfous : conversations hebad ^ ith tie En ^ per ^ -eeU ^ t ? ,- wili ; re 0 o ^ piise on the one side aiiftasculine frankness of conduct' ini . that lasteffort-of ; a ntan , who Bayihg ^ cdnvife tibns - and-the cpur a gevtb avow ^ them , ^ plirijja / . thpse . xfej / icjance which arfej the resort of

      diploina « y 4 ; ajaai ^ hoss ver ^ y . laigiiage , inspires confidence- liy its Tmaceustonied familiarity- Qfriihe p ^ eRside will be observed' a diplonxatisi who makesi-a priiicip lqof distrust , repl y ing b j generalities and' commonplaces 4 ander » - Tglpyingwordsonly to dfsgpse his-thoughts . Ito tu . e ; dfeptha 6 f the * secret and confidential' ( the title bestowed upon iheSef EngJiahr r ^ por . ts- ) may be detected ' , a , predetermined treachery which * he published documents brings to light . In these the . English Minister * rartiscrjtbes : the wordsof the Emperor , and interprets tiieir meaning : by , his own personal suggestions , not forgetting , as a man of shrewdness and experience , to leave himself- a-door of escape by remarking more than once iwitbgracefulrQandour ,. thftt he ; thinks he has forgotten the precise terms- of the conversation ; " W ? emay / suppose that : the : opposition . to any extension of

      the territory of the Hellenic kingdom ,. of -which , we find , no trace ; in < tlie documents emanating from , the Kjissian . ( vJiancery ,, and which is neither « onsonantt , mth , the feelings , of th < v Emperor Nicholas , noi ) with Russian interests , is am instance ) ofi having forgotten tlie precise tennis / if > it be not an adroit-imrentiattioftSir G . HL , SQyjpnoui ^ deBtine& to pira . duoe its effect , in , due fieasonj . We know that besides , the ofiifcial , deapatcltesi , written to appear « ooncr- orr later .- ia the : Blue Booksy . the , English , diplomatic agents , malce frexjueixteusa of ; private- correspondence ^ -vyilwoh oftew , leaves no trace , in the ? oreign « ofl ( icei Eonhaps it , is there that the solution , of this ingenious problem may be < soughtt 2 T , o daubtifc : became England , whose policy . it is to prolong the status quo -of the East , and to isolate Russia , to avow her belief in the vitality of Turk ey * and ; to . accuse Russia of- seeking to precipitate the fatal dinoU ^ &nt The European ' prepsanterprets-the Emperor ' s words by , thq light : of the , awr bassadbr ' s ' confidential' transcript , and' oven ascribes * to Russia the design ^ rtak hjjos ^ pasiw of the Prihoi ties and of Bul

      <; g pall gaiia . To give an air ^ v ^ aHy tpn , phantom , it was weceasary to invent a material , interest f 6 r K . ^ 8 Biito wihore , 8 he : ha , d only a , moral and roligjou ? . intoriosti the restoration of tM'mstito ^ GhruiHamty , and'ihe suppression of a political , anomaluj and . apermanentmenawtothe jma ^ e of Oe worl& What , neither Sir Q , H \ Seymour ' s version of the Emperor's words , nor the bolder and less skilful interpretaiwon ^ ot . 'tho . presfr have * y « to been able to distort , is > the clear , aiul formal * k > elavattop of tlxo Emperor N 46 holas . J , That he- did ! not moan to , seize € Jonstat \ tmoplo ) no * desire , any torxitowal' extension , any conquesk lit That He hnW not acceptcdf the- inheritance of projects formed by lus ancostresa , th _ o Einpvess- Gathering m This , declaration from the mouth of a . Sovereign wKont ? iot avew Imeneinies oanaccm * of ha » ing < brok < in \ hi& > word during tw&ity-. cigM years of Us reign , is-of immense significance , and suffices . alone to , red « oe to their proper' worth all those oalUmn » 6 us suBpioiona wJiich , have been ( fabricated out of the despatches of Sir G . Hamilton Seymour , The commentators on these despatches have abstained from noting a woble attaigeRorpua though ^ wJtfch . eBCftnodUhQ diplomatist , at the end oflxis despatch of Jaimary 22 , 1853 . It . is thi 3 : « It would bo a noble triumph ftfl ; tttci civilisation of the nineteenth century to succeed in filling up the venl * wiiieli . l&e . catonebn . oft tho Mfyhomotan , relf ^ on has madft , in Ewf ^ u

      and to do this by measures , of . precaution adopted , by the two eQvernments which are . cnieflymterested . in : the destinies ^ af Turkey . " TJhese are noble words » a » d they . do . honowr- to Sir . Gv H Seymour . The diplomatist , we perceive ^ involuntarily feels the influence of the noble frankness of the Sove reign who honoured : him with , his . conadence . That despatch was written fresh from , the Emperor ' s lips , and the minister forgot for a moment Tallev rand ' s , precept , neven to obey first impulses too often good After riper reflection , he returns in ; the following despatch to his phlegmatic denial of any cause foa * apprehension in the- East : at the very moment when the Montenegi-ine iusurr . ection produced a crisis : when the French ambassador had coolly

      declared to the Porte , that toe trench fleet was ready to proceed to the Coast of Syria to settle the Holy Places dispute , after making a demonstration at Tripoli , which encountered , the protests of the consuls of England and the United . States , This avowal of the English diplomatist has since become a formal and eloquent condensation of that government , one of the two ¦ most deeply interested in the destinies of Turkey t whose loyal and frank co-operation in- the policy suggested b y the other government would have , ensured that glorious iriumji / i to the civilisation of the nineteenth century , and whose systematic malevolence towards its rival has abandoned that civilisation to the hazards of war .

      Facts are , after all , the surest intex-pretation of words * If Russia had dreamt of the conquest of the East for herself instead of t \\< s Christian restoration of ' the East for the . sake of ker nationalities , Prince Menschi ^ off would have been ? escorted by a fleet with 15 , 000 troops : and : instead . of sending some time-after 80 , 000 anen tp . occupy the Erincipalitles , as a warning to Turkey and to Europe , a force of from 30 , 000 to 40 , 000 men would have , crossed the Danube in ; one nianth ; would have deposed all ; the Tjirkiah authorities in RpumeJia . ; , swept away , the feeble ; garrisons that held ; the fojriresses ; . aiul , wi 1 ^ o \ tf ; encouiital ? u > g , any resistance , wowld have takm Constantinople . At thattiuoe there was . scarcely ; a ; force of 12 ^ O ; 6 o meii scatterecl . o . ver . the wh-ole surface , of Ejirooeaxi - Tuikey ,, excepting the-: weak , garrisoq . of the capital .: the Mussulman , populations wer& iiptjiinaticisd ( Z , and . would have received

      the - Russians witli alacrity ; ; As sqpn as ; the ' -. IJussian- ' . ainbassadorr reached Gonstantinople , Bxirope expected resolute and ; energetic : acts o . n the part of Russia .,, andsuch . would have been , the surest arid inost , raj > ia . solution , of the crisis whichVonly assumeel niore serious p ^ rppprjipus whea Russia hesitated and ; temporised * Eyen the . unanimousA voice at th ' e continent :. niigUi have suggeste . d . to Russia the designs she ^ had mo < , and ( she , means of ; realising . them . More than one plan of cainpaign was furnished tb ^ Russia by the jpurnal § . If we are accused of exaggerating the opportunities of Russia for a campaign in Roumelia v or iai Asia , in the , spri » gi , of last year ,. we have only to refer tp the assertions of the English Goyerhtilent itself : notably to the declaration oj LordAberdeen . ^ We say , t hen > that fiicts prove the purely peaceable intentions 6 f Russia in the East ^ -as the first condition of a pacific settlement ,

      she insisted on the emancipation of the Christians . This measure would have gradually b-ufc infallibly produced , without shock , or -vioience , the suppression of the Turkish regime which , survives the . existence of the . Ottoman Empire ,. considered , as an ihdependen . t polifcy . To ihis ^ Christian restoration . of thei East the Western , Powers have preferred ^ the . resurrection of the Mussulpaan body politic ; . of a Power whose decease is clearly enough : manifested t > y the efforts of tho ' se , who take ; credit for a ,, miracle when they , produce soaiegalvamp convulsions in a , cprpse . They prescribe an heroic remedy , for the , Ottoman Empire b y depriving-the Sultauiof the principal attribute of sovereignty , the prerogatjive of making peace , by , condemning , his people to ifight fox a . dead canae , and tp fiUsify their ancient , fnith , and institutions a , t the bidding of a civilisation winch to them , ia . dissolution . That : civilisation , has developed ne , w , energies of life in a . i *« ig l * hourin £ state . But . that state was Christian ,, a \ xd , God cpmuaitted the destinies : of ^ civilisation , to Pe , tev . J . and . not . to the Sultan , Lord Palmerstpn said in Parliament last year tliafcno nation had made more progress in the last thirty years thflu . Tin'key . Christendom has . little cause to feel ' . flattered by , this compliment ,. It would , have been . more e ? 4 act to say

      that . nO i nation h ^ is wore self-denyingly sacrificed herself to Manchester . Takp one instance . Thirty years since ! Damascus and Aleppo possessed mprfithan thirty thousand looms of excellent ailk and cpttpn . stuffs . Wow there are , pex'ha , ps > from a thousanfl to twelve hundred in those two cities . A , former meinwer of finance ,. Salvtsti-Pacha , who was gpvernor of Damascus in . 184 Q , . struck with the dgstitution of acity once tlie most flourishing in thi ^ Empu'e , calculated , that : Daniascus alone had lost about 120 , 000 francs of net labour , profit ppr day ., Eyeryone knows the present state , of Turkish finance though the tajfes have been tripled during , the present roi « n . The moral progress of Tux'koy is represented by that prastx-ation of au - thority , and that consciousness of impotence which are the sure , signs of docny . MussTihnanfnnaticism is said to be extinot because it bui'ies under the ashes

      of its- grandeur its hatred of Christians . Is Lord Stratford , albeit omnipotent'fo * the councils of the . Porto , sure that his Turkish porter , a well-paid menial rises , when his I < ordship . passes , by , and exclusive principlb and . show it in their religious hatx'od . How shall theTpka , whoso political and social code , nay , wHoso country is the Koran , accept the principle of equality and of political union with the rams ? In wjUat sense can the idea of progress' bo appliod to a people whose religious law prescribes : I . Polygamy ; H ; Slavery ; III . Conversion "by force to the law of Muhomet ; tv Contempt fox * ' infidels , ' , consequently , the inequality of civil an 4 poUfcioal iiights ; V . The annual ransom of Ins lifq hy ovovy aubject Avho ' professes tiie law ot Islam , 5 VL Death to every apostate fi ' iom Ishun , and to every main coiwictoil of having spoken i 11 of the * Ftiophct ; ' VII . Tho

      necessity of killing tho infants of : Royal blood for fear oi eompx ^ omismg tlie ftuficeasion . Xhialaat low ia observed nxoro atrictly than the lftw against wine , Sult « ix . ^ Ah »» ou , t who oven died oi" delirium , baneris , endeavoured , from . hisx . oxicesaiv * alleotion- fo ^ - hian dwighteR , manried toHalib Eachtv , to make an exception to tho law which condemns tho princes and : princesses to die within forty days after birth . Tho young Sultana wiaa > indeed / allowed

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  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 9, 1854, page 858, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2055/page/18/