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Leader (1850-1860), 14th October 1854, Edition Town of 2, Page 971

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      Untitled Article

      TO CORRESPONDENTS . Wisher . " —We saw the paper , rant . "—Combat our views , without personal allu-> ssible _ to acknowledge the mass of letters we re-Their insertion is often delayed , owing to a , press Br ; and when omitted it is frequently from reaite independent of the merits of the comiaunica-5 cau be taken of anonymous communications , er is intended for insertion must be authenticated lame and address of the writer ; not necessarilj ication , bat as a guarantee of his good faith . cations should always be legibly written , and on : of the paper only . If long , it increases the diffiflnding space for them . t undertake to return . rejected communications . for the Editor should be addressed to 7 , Welling-: et , Strand , London .

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      Untitled Article

      IE QUESTION OF THE DAY . . estion of the day has been , raised by berdeen in . his speech in answer to the of the Lord Provost and Corporate 7 his county town . First Minister , speaking , no doubt , in me of the Ci'own which -views with bis services , and of the Cabinet which ssarily controls , has declared that it n . e to carry on war an hour longer absolutely necessary . The question lay is- —" What is a necessary war ?

      . Aberdeen very probably meant , in down this Ministerial axiom , that if > pol be taken the war ought to finish : that the necessity of the war ceases ihe Russian fleet and fortress in the > ea being destroyed , the integrity and idence of the Turkish Empire are not serted but secured . Lord John Russell , bt , spoke the views of the Governhen , in his last speech of the session , that Constantinople could never be

      red safe from Eurasia so long as Sebas'ae in the hands of Russia . But is the of whom Lord Aberdeen—not being aister of a party—should be the lnouthin agreement with the Premier- that : ought to finish at Sobastopol ? question of the day would soem to be What are we at war for ? Lord ston seemed to think it was for the nance of the- integrity and independt' the Ottoman Empire . Lord < 3 ranemed to think that it was for tho

      pursecuring the French alliance , Lord sen seemed to think that it was because Id not help it . Tho English liberal oomed to think that it was for tho 3 of doing a mischief to Austria . The i press generally seemed to think that for tho purposo of defending eivilisa-But" no ouo has aa yet attempted an -e definition ; and every one ' s ideas on bject become confused by conaidcrat' Lord Aberdeen ' a refbrenco to the

      ility of nu unnecessary war . One lone sooma clear , that thuro could havo eaco if the Cssur would havo permitted i ho is , therefore , tho author of an uniry war , and is , consequently , a great il ; so that a eocondary question of tho Should tho punishment of bo grout a il bo wholly reuorvod for hia Mukor ?

      Lord Aberdeen expects to get at peace now—utterly careless of further punishment of the conscienceless despot . But how does Sebastopol lead to peace ? ! No doubt Turkeyis safe as against Russia , if the Crimea be replaced in her possession . ; and no doubt England and Prance can hand over to her the Italy of St . Petersburg to become the Isle of Wight of Constantinople . Yet what guarantee has Lord Aberdeen ( unless he is continuing confidential communications with

      the Czar ) that Russia is jas ready as Turkey and as England to come to peace ? Russia , so long as Nicholas represents Russia , will not concede the Crimea ; Russia can afford a long war of mere resistance ; Russia will not accept of the peace which even Lord Aberdeen would now give her . We are , consequently , ifc would seem , in for a very long war ; and , at this point , cabinet and country should come to some understanding as to what is a necessary war . In other words , as to what we are at war for ?

      The Liberals will have a political war against Russia—against the Absolutist system in Europe . They are good enough to accept the alliance of Louis INapoleon and to mourn the loss of the Greneralissitno St . Arnaiid , who , fresh from the 2 nd December , Leaded the troops of Prance in defence of civilisation ; but they compensate for this stern suppression of principle , 'in favour of expediency , by repudiating the Austrian alliance . They do not demand that war be declared against Austria , but they rather desire that Austria

      may be induced to declare war against its . The Government , which has no policy , of its own , has to calculate this public opinion , and the more respectfully that the Conservatives are in opposition , and niay , in consequence , have a tendency to revolutionary politics . This public opinion will take advantage of the obstinacy of Nicholas to force the Government into following the attack on Sebastopol by an attack on St . Petersburg ; while Louis ' Napoleon , whose interest it is to sustain a war which amuses his nation and secures

      him the - prestige of the British alliance , will have much to say in demonstration to Lord Aberdeen of the continued necessity of hostilities . Now , our Government drifted ii ^ to this war ; and they will go on drifting . Lord John Russell is a clever man at making popular discoveries . Jle lias been in statecraft for half a century , and yet it was only last session that he discovered , < c amid cheers , " that the independence , which he thinks we should maintain , of Turkey , would be a delusion so long as Sebastopol

      harbour menacingly floated a Russian fleet . It is not impossible that ho may detect some analogous objection to tho foi'tifications at Crontstadt ; nay , that ho may iu another exciting session point a " manly" speech by confessing to a litb of blunders , in tho admission that for the safety at once of tho West , and of tho En at , Poland must re-appear on the map . AVe , for our own part , are counting on such contingencies , arising out of the competitions of public men for public applause , and honco our doubts whether it is not an

      advantage that , in a war which develops into a political war , we have been enabled to proas two despotisms into our service , whilo engaged in crushing a third—tho greatest of all . Lord Aberdeen said , in tho course- of one of his over-cautious speeches of lust session , that it would be lolly lixing beforehand what should bo tho conditions of peace—thai ; tho conditions would depend on tho character ol tho wnr . At that thno Uio Haying was ondor tied as sagacious , and doubtlosa it was ; but at tin a moment Russia ia found out ; our war with her ia as simple an afluir na our war with China ; us States , both tiro impositions —they ax'o Mima , not Pmvora . It ic < then ,

      quite time that our Government , if it is to lead tho nation , should say what will bo the conditions of peace . By entering on an inquiry of that sort , they would come to a clear definition of what is a necessary war . The political difficulty , as to the conditions of peace , would perhaps be diminished , if the business-like English people were to instruct their Government that Russia be required to pay for the expenses of the war—though ifc should last longer than the House of Romanoff .

      Untitled Article

      ENGLAND IN THE CRIMEA . Ii ? the battle of the Alma were even a less conspicuous victory , it -would still render the 20 th of September memorable in the opinion , of Europe , and dear to England and France ; for it is the first occasion on which the Allies found themselves side by side on the same battle-field , staining Russian soil with their blood , shed on behalf of the great cause which the " Western nations have sworn shall succeed . Whatever there is in the two armies of daring , of discipline , of steadiness , was made eminent on that day ; and to us English , there is manifold satisfaction , for

      proof was afforded that forty years of peace , and forty years of devotion to the till , have not deadened the spirit , nor ¦ weakened the force , of the British people . The same rock-like ranks that stood any shock-: the same resistless lines that yielded to no obstacle : the , same cool warriors who fight fiercely but manfully : exist now as they existed forty years ago ; and the [ Light Division , which fills such a conspicuous place in former campaigns , the Higlilanders and the Irish , dash forward as gallantly now . The British army is true to its traditions , and has added " The Alma" to a . long roll of glories .

      Nor have the gay soldiers of Erance ceased to be what they were half a century ago . Eager , impetuous , skilful , ready always to assail anything , and . carry , everything that men can . carry , the brave children of martial France behaved on the Alma as they ever behaved in tho day of battle ; and , while they defeated the Russians , the Russians might bo proud to meet with defeat at the hands of such troops . Prompt in . manoeuvre , rapid in the assault , they were more- than a m atch for the dogged stubbornness of tho liussians , who know how to stand , but who know aaot how and when to

      manoeuvre . . . So many details of this already famous fight have reached us , that we have little difficulty in describing the well-foughten field . Early on tho morning of tho 20 th the Allies were in lino upon the right bank of tho Alma ; and the rough work of the day was visible to all . They had marched from the * Bulgauak in a widely-stretched array , tho 1 ' reneh and Turks near tho sea , tho English inland , to tho rear of the ^ French left ; so that their lino of inarch was longer than that of tho Prench . At some distance from tho

      Alina tho armies halted and took food ; and hero tho generals plainly saw tho great strength of tho Itussinn position . Prince Monschikoll' had postod his men across * tho routo which led to Sebastopol . On tho southern bank of tho Alma tho ground rises from tho sea shoro for aeveral miles inland . Rugged and abrupt on thowost , tho hills swept eastward in tho form of an amphitheatre , tho lowosfc in tho centre , and tho highoHt pcnlca to tho oiwt , ov right , ol tho position . Tlio "round intervening between tho hill on tho right and tho HifI ' d on tho Idfc was cut up by deep gullies , winch Horvod m winter to carry ell ' I lie forronts , and hwuJI tho narrow « tivnm «> f Uio Alum . Tho slopo was clom-ly planltMl with nrtillery , while on tho ri"ht , u regular covered field-work , mounting

      Untitled Article

      'UKDAY , OCTOBER 14 , 1854 . ir

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      nothing so revolutionary , because tliere is f so unnatural and convulsive , as- the strain things fixed when all the-world is t > y th . e very ts creation in eternal progress . —De . Arnold .

      Untitled Article

      tober 14 , 1854 . ] THE LEADER . 971

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 14, 1854, page 971, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2060/page/11/