The Press. — London, England, 1853-10-15 00:00:00

. . . . 4° "°. • • .4K/ . . . #l'6 4 /%.*‘' • , •;, . i ( ' ( I T • / . • • • ' .rt.l4k i ,4 . t • . _ 1 :- :• ' 2 U.; 7 . . . • - ',' •z '‘' '- 1 ••••••••'-- - • , eli _ ...., , , A .. , ts,.\_. i rt $ No. 24.—VoL. I. (C't ptss. LONDON, SATURDAY, (04'7'0HYR IM% THE Emperor of %ce% is the inheritor of a great imperial scheme, which, for upwards of a century, has been in a state of successful, and, latterly, of rapid, development. As his reign has been long, as his abilities are consi derable, and as he is a man of strong charac ter, ho has enjoyed ample opportunities of ad vancing his object.. We are not prepared to say that the mews of which he has availed himself are more unjustifiable than those which usually realise the purposes of imperial ambition. We are not anxious to inainbiin that the invasion of the Danubian principa lities is a more heinous act than the invasion of Affghanistan by the Queen of Great Britain, or the appropriation of Algiers by the King of France. We will not consider the last Russian aggression as a matter of tiny or justice : we will consider it only as a matter of policy. For a great inland nice to reach by conquest, in this age of civilisation and political equili brimu, the shores of two oceans is itself a pheno menon, more alarming if' possible from its pros pects even than from its results. The Sallie in stinet that has brought the Muscovites to the Gulf of Bothnia and the Crimea, to the Baltie and the Black Sea, will never endure that their colossal empire shall be restrained by a MARE ci.Aust:m. The Sound and the Darda nelles are in the imperial scheme as neves sary to Russia as and Normandy were to France, or Scotland and Ireland to England. Every statesman is convinced that, possessing these two positions, the universal dominion of Russia would, with time, be pine. ticable ; and every one knows that these two sovereign positions are now held by two weak rowers. That is the " Russian Question." It is not a mere question whether Russia should attack our Indian territories; it is a question not merely of the conquest of India, but of Italy, of Germany, of Europe; of the substitution of new laws, new customs, new creeds, and new principles of action, through out the most civilised portions of the globe ; of the supremacy of a new race, and the pre do minanee of a new religion. The decisive part which Russia took in the fall of NArotEox gave her a natural and an irresistible ascendancy in the Congress of Vienna, and the Imperial scheme wits then ilroportionntcly advanced, notwithstanding the prescient but fruitless efforts of Lord CASTI.E• ItKA4:II. Fl'4llll that petit' it Was the, effort both of British and Austrian statesmen to arrest its further development, and it should have been of the French ; but Russia neu tralised the hostility by pritetising on the of the eider Bourbons, and on the death of Mr. CANNING commenced a series of hantssing movements, which then, as in the present instance, forced Turkey into a decla ration of war. That struggle ended in the I LONDON, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1853. PRICE SIXPENCE. treaty of Adrianople ; and the English Minis ter who permitted, and in a great manner occasioned, that disastrous settlement was Lard ASERDEEN. The secret despatehes of the Court of St. Petersburg which were obtained front the portfolio o f the (hand Duke CoNNTANTINK itt the suck of WalailW in 1830 attest for ever the indecision, the want of energy and resource, the servile deference. to Russia, of the present Priem. Nlinister of England. From the period of the Reform Bill to the late resignation of Lord lbotay. English Ministers, of all parties, have attempted to fulfil one paramount duty—namely, to repair the consequences of the maladministration of our aflitirs by Lord AstanEEN in 1.420. Even, when under Sir HONEST Pr.m., Lord AHERDEEs resumed the seals of the Foreign-office, he was himself, though constrained, to a certain degree not an exception to this principle. King Louts Pmn.urex was then in the aceendant, and gave the tone to our foreign poliey ; anti uncompromising resistance to Russian aggression was the cardinal principle of a Sovereign otherwise devoted to peaee. The fall of the Orleans dynasty in 1548, ap parently terminating that "cordial understand ing " between England and France, which, though retarded by the folly of the elder Bony lions, was, in fact, the inevitable consequenee of the preponderance obtained by Russia, seemed to remove the great barrier to the advancement of " the. scheme." Simulta neously, I.ord Am.:III4:EN violently reverted to his Russian predilections, and, we have reason to believe, in personal eommunieation with the Russian Court, spared no efforts to prevent any renewal of the mutual V 4 Inlidenee existing between the two great Western Powers. TI gh a timid man, Ine had re course, in order to gain his end, to some des perate expedients. Lord PALMERSTON was the objeet of his incessant intrigues. Though not then a responsible adviser of the Crown, Lord A to:anExN, at any rate, Teillailled a member of the Privy Conned, yet he hazarded a secret eorrem deuce with foreign agents, in order to embarrass and subvert a British Minister. His machinations were partially betrayed to the Whig Government.and Lord Jou,: !Lessem. properly denounced him as the agent of a foreign conspiracy. There was (Wen ali inten tion at the time of bringing I.orel Anzinizxx's conduct before the House of Contnoms, and of addressing her Majesty to strike his name front the list of Privy Councillors. The high est, influence was called into play to prevent this startling disgrace. The rnotnent that Lord AnEnnEuv aseer taineel that Lord IKanT was resolved to main tain and to cherish the French alliance, he withdrew from the late Government the in sidious support that he had at first proffered them. All his efforts were now directed to decry Lord Mxtmcsauftv, and to hold up the ruler of France to public distrust and reproba tion. The influential relation» of Lor,l Am.:n -ov.1t?l with our public journals enabled him for a time to succeed in this aim. The pat • See re tary of State for Foreign Affairs—one of the most indefatigable men ever entrust-el with public business, who combines this capacity for labour with great knowledge of the world, and who sorreeiled iu everything he under took was the °Newt of unceasing attack eluriew t h e whole of his ministry by the lius• sian journals, metier the direct and immediate inspiration of the present Prime Minister. These journals teemed, too, with daily philip pics itkainst the Emperor NAPOLEON. whom lAOI4I IIEBDEEN 11alaituully lletielibeti ill lily collVersalliolis with diplomatists us a person not to be trusted, and as animated by vindie tive feelings toward,. England. The whole of the invasion palate was the entire creation of Lord Ancaom , :x. Finally. he was installed in 'Ave amid an invective delivered against the Emperor of the Frew.ls by Sir .1. tittAllAM, and a ribald assault on the honour and morals o f the French people by another of his eel. letwues. Under these circumstances, lAIIII ABERDEEN, whose support the Russian Minister at our Court eftllVllBl4ed among influential persons in this country, being established in power. and the " cordial understanding" nut only demo fished, but the ruler of Emile.% spoken of in high platers as OW ellelay of the 01leell of ENtILAND, the hour seemed to have arrivesl when Russia might strike the final blow ; and Prinee MENsenssswr appeared at Constanti nople. But the wisdom of the Emperor NAroI•KON. superior to all passion, has battled these machinations. For mouths Lord Aumt mxx bus exerted every art to induct' our French allies to retire in disgust front the controversy. His purpose has been pose trated, and the loyalty of France has baffled his manoeuvres. When, by the wise resignation of Lord Dun', who was cognisant of all his intrigues, he was forced prematurely to form his Cash ball A lIEIIDEEN ealelltatßai uu a tranquil term, great financial and commer cial prosperity, and peas.e preserved by a secret understanding with the Kremlin. Ile had, indeed, some colleagues who might be troublesome, but these he intended to control by Court, influence. A series of blunders has blown this &brie into stir. Lord AIIEIMEEN, Prime Minister of England, is vaned upon t o act, owl to alas whist :"I'st sleelare war against Russia. l'olweiv. , Lora A in:stswEs deelaring „war against Russia! 11'llat, a termination of austere intrigues ! Ile sits in at estilinet, ill a critical period of our history, between two culineut statesmen, one of Olson, lire yens ago, 4444911 NA him as " a piers. of antiquated " and the otherof wits all e.ens snowed its the agent of a fsweign conspiracy. We are not Slll'lol'6o'll to hear that in such II 1140. i. al the 111114 Ile has 11111*Mt. The B a lls has raise When grave pomposity van Iltr b 111 itilhg for %wisdom, moroseness IsO yourage. WI! 114 , 81* that he is quite prostrate. and mutters of his rig/mica/ " to I.lllle with the situation. Bid the world lusts decided that his own dess'rilrtioat of his sictivivoteivs is bill limited. CUBA AND TIIE TRAI)E. Tut: Cionmittee lately appointed to inquire 111t4I the treaties between I:riflin. Split , . Powtittvil, respecting the Afriemi t• trafill% 1111941•116'11 their report to Parliitinelit few days before the close 4,1 the session, and Si One if the erlilenee Ift , Whirl' Illei KIM*. • appearvil, we print in 4,111. present number. We sincerely trust that these re. ' mailable statements may lea4l to mom,• practical remtil! , It . that. 11114111 till., point Spun hos long systema ica Ily e%a,1e , l her esivagement M with ottr ,„.ht.s an al with the other maritime powert. s