The Press. — London, England, 1854-02-18 00:00:00

FEBRUARY 18, 1854. ample information that Russia was preparing military forces to carry out her objects, whatever those objects might be. They had similar advices in March, and again in April. It was true that Count Nesselrode's answers to representations on this subject were evasive ; but there were the like accounts from our own consuls and agents in or near the countries where the forces were being collected. How was this information received by the Government Merely by sanguine hopes that the Emperor of Russia would refrain from further increasing his forces or abstain from using them. The Government, he urged, " had distinct intimation that the Emperor of Russia was not likely to recede from the demands made by him, and that he was about to march his troops into the 'wind pilities. But what was the language of the British Govern ment at the that moment, when the occupation of the princi palities was not a fait aeeumpli, but when it was stated that, in the event of the rejection by Turkey of the demands of Russia—demands which the British Minister at Ccmstan tinople, with his colleagues, was declaring to be derogatory to the dignity and independence of Turkey—the Russian troops would march into the principalities anti take posses sion of them as a material guarantee ' for the fulfilment of treaties? Was there any language of remonstrance heard from the British Government ? Was there any at tempt to point out the gross injustice which Russia was &mut to commit, to throw the responsibility upon the Emperor of measures which would inevitably throw Eu rope into collision, and to point out to him that, if he drew the sword and took possession of territory which did not belong to him, lie would be responsible for all the fatal consequences that might ensue ? Not a bit of it. The Se cretary of Foreign Affairs on the tith of June wrote a des. patch to the British Minister at St. Petersburg, in which he said : " The Eniperorteannot doubt the warm feelings of frienthihip towards himself entertained by our Gracious Sovereign, and his Imperial Majesty must be also aware that it is alike the duty and the desire of her Majesty's Government to maintain the most cordial relations with Russia, feeling how essential such vela- Cons are to the pace of Europe, and viewing, as they do, with alarm and abhorrence whatever may tend to the interruption of that peace. Iler Majesty's Government do not believe that Europe can be in danger of the terrible calamity of war from a question such as that which is now pending at Constantinople: they do not believe that the door will be finally closed against an arrangement which to them appears to be still practicable ; and they venture, therefore, to hope that the demands of Russia may be confined to the recapitulation of existing treaties and their tine fulfilment, but without seeking to extend that influence over the Greek subjects of the Porte that Russia must always and ne cessarily exercise.' It was upon language such as this that the Emperor of Russia must have founded the conviction that he expressed, that (treat Britain would never go to war upon a question like the present. So far as their lordships' knowledge ex. tended, the despatch he had just read was the sole re monstrance which at the outset of the dispute the British Minister thought fit to make against the flagitious occupa tion of the Wallachia n and Moldavian principalities with out a pretext of excuse, except that the Emperor seized them as material guarantees for the fulfilment of treaties that he knew Turkey never would accede to, and which the British Minister at Constantinople had encouraged Turkey to resist and refuse, promising her in so doing the help of the British Government. (Cheers.) Was that the tone and language likely to act upon the Emperor of Russia or to turn hint from his cherished purpose ? The language of the Emperor had been consistent throughout. He had taken up a position from which it was impossible for him to recede, and which Count Nesselrode told Sir G. Seymour he could not advise the Emperor to recede from. No, he could not recede after taking the step of crossing the Pruth ; but if the Government had pointed ont to the Emperor of Russia that it was impossible that England and France could suffer him to take possession of the principalities, and that they were acting cordially together, and would not witness a violation of the independence of Turkey—if they had done this before the Emperor of Rus sia had committed himself, if such a representation had been firmly and temperately made, it might, and he had no doubt would, have had the effect of checking that inva • sion of a neutral territory. ( Cheers.) If that had been the language of the British Cabinet to the Emperor of Russia, not concealing from him that a breach of treaty would bring down upon him the united resistance of England and France, the Government might have secured that peace which they were so anxious to maintain. (Hear, hear. )" Looking towards the future, he saw no hope of avoiding war. On what could Lord Aberdeen found any such expectations? Could he hope that the Emperor of Russia would suddenly recede from his position ? If so, was it not the strongest condemna tion of the noble earl's former policy, by showing that there were no grounds for not having earlier assumed a firm and hostile attitude? He utterly disagreed, however, with Lord Grey's opinion that Turkey ought to be abandoned ; and, if the Government were in earnest when embarking in war for her support, he promised to waive all minor controversies and ques tions in order to support them in prosecuting a just and righteous conflict. The Earl of ABERDEEN remarked that whatever course the Ministry had happened to pursue they would have been equally certain of condemnation from their opponents. As the case might be, they would have incurred the reproach of rashness or of timidity. He proceeded to contrast the speeches charged with allegations that might provoke a vote of censure, if not wanant an impeachment, with the vague motion for some papers which was their in effectual conclusion. He reiterated his belief that THE PRESS. war was not yet inevitable, and justified the measures which he had taken to avert it, even though they ran counter to the generous sympathies of the country. Following this justification through many details of the recent proceedings, he submitted that the public might rest satisfied with the assurance that every requisite preparation was making for war, though some sanguine spirits, of whom he counted himself as one, might believe peace not quite beyond hope. The Duke of ARGYLL and the Earl of AIitEMARLE spoke a few words, after which the Marquis of CLANRICARDE replied. He justified himself from the charge of asperity, and reiterated his conviction that if the Czar had been made clearly to understand from the beginning that his pretensions would be resisted he would have abstained from pushing his projects. The noble marquis then withdrew his formal motion, and the discussion terminated, having lasted from five o'clock to one a.m. MILITARY RATIONS AND STOPPAGES. Replying to a question from Lord W. Graham on Monday, Mr. S. Mr:nal:fa stated the details of the arrangement which had been made with regard to the pay and rations for the troops. At the present moment the soldiers were supplied with rations in four different ways. Troops sta tioned abroad were supplied through a fixed stoppage on the payment per day. In Ireland the troops were ra tioned by regimental contract; and the stoppage oscil lated with the price of provisions up to a maximum of lid. In England the troops were supplied by public contract, but likewise with an oscillation depending on prices, up to a maximum of lid, and if it exceeded that the Government paid the difference. The artil lery and household troops were also supplied on the regimental system. At this moment, owing to the high price of provisions, the cost of the rations had come up to the maximum. In former years it was constantly a maxi mum ; but in those times, when the comforts of the soldier were less cared fur than at present, the troops had not the advantage they enjoyed now, of three meals a day. The result was, that now,when the ration had reached the maxi mum of lid., it was almost impossible for the soldier to provide himself a due quantity of food. Under these cir cumstances the Government had considered what arrange ment should be made to supply the deficiency, and it was proposed that., in lieu of having a charge for the soldier oscillating with the price of food, there should be a fixed stoppage of not exceeding sd. a day. That change was introduced last year. There would be periodical revisions of the accounts, so that in case prices fell there should be no chance of the soldier being made to pay more for his rations than their cost price, though often he would pay less. In the present year, for example, there would be a deficiency to be supplied from the public revenue on the account of rations, amounting to between 120,9001. and 130,0001. GUANO. Col. &Ain called the attention of the Commons to the unsatisfactory state of the guano market in Eng land, arising, as he alleged, from the conduct of the Peruvian Government, who had purposely restricted the supply of the article, and turned the trade into a close monopoly. Mr. CARDWELL assured the house that every effort had been made by successive Administrations to induce the Peruvian Government to adopt a wiser and more liberal course with regard to guano, and hoped that their endeavours would ultimately prove successful. Sir J. GRAHAM was cognisant of some recent dis coveries which promised a supply of the article from sources over which Peru had no control. The discussion then dropped. THE AUTOGRAPH LETTER. In reply to a question from Mr. Disraeli on Thursday, Lord J. RtiSISEI.I. expressed his belief in the authenticity of the letter from the Emperor of the French to the Czar, lately published in the Mortitettr. The intention to tranandt such an autograph letter lied been communicated to the English Ministry, who arpmved of the step, conditioning only that its tenor should concur with the terms proposed by the Conference of Vienna. For the precise phraseology of the letter the British Goveninient did not hold themselves responsible, but they considered the act of the Emperor Ns aeon highly laudable as an effort to prevent the breaking out of war. TENANT RIGHT. Sergeant SHEE Introduced on Thursday his Tenant Right Bill. He thought it best not to wait, he said, until the bill promised by the Government on the subject, null which was to be intro duced " elsewhere." had found its way down from the I,ords. At the same time he did not intend to push his measure beyond the preliminary step, merely wishing to have it la id before the house in order that when the time came for considering the Ministerial proposition hon. members mightknow something of what other parties proposed to do on the subject. He proceeded to describe the principles and details of Lis scheme, which were nearly the same as those of the hill he had introduced lest session. Its effect, he believed, would prove equally beneficial to landlords and tenants. After a brief discussion, leave was given. PUBLIC PROSECUTORS. • On the motion of Mr. T. 0. Putt.t.tnotte, leave was given on Tuesday to bring in a bill for the appointment of public prose cutors, to whom should be entrusted the conduct of actions be rme the criminal tribunals. The present spitem, as the hon. member contended, fostered private animosity, enhanced ex pense, and led very often to the defeat of justice. In the course of a briefdiscussion which this motion produced, the AIITORIKEY•GENERAL expressed an opinion that the pro gramme of the measure now proposed was susceptible of im provement, and stated that the Government mere devoting se rious attention to the subject. WINE DUTIES. 151 The house was invited on Tuesday by Mr. OLIVEIRA to record an opinion that the duties now levied on wines were excessive and impolitic, anti ought to be reduced to one uniform rate of one shilling per gallon. Although the approach of war seemed to render any proposal fur reducing a tax exceedingly inopportune, the hon. member insisted that a permanent increase in the gross product mould accrue from the suggested diminution in the rate of thu wine duties. At present Ito showed that the consumption was retrograding, having fallen considerably since ls2l. heading va rious opinn.us and producing many computations in support of this position, he proceeded to urge the expediency of his pro posed remission for the sake of public morality and health, its tending to supersede the use of ardent spirits, to diminish crime, foster trade, and stimulate the commercial intercourse carried on with the wine-producing countries. 'l'ne supply of the article he declared to be practically unlimited. After pur suing the subject at considerable length, Mr. Oliveira professed his unwillingness to emikarrass the Cliencellur of the Exchequer at • critical moment, and withdrew the resolution which he had commenced his address by announcing his intention to propose. The SVE\NEit remarked upon a proceeding which he character ised as extraordinary, and trusted it would not drawn into • precedent. The motion was then withdrawn. lortign an Colonial iittllignut. PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE. PARIS, February 10. THE letter addressed by the Emperor of the French to the Emperor of Russia produced an immense effect in Paris and the departments. It was con sidered as the last parting word of peace, which would be met by no favourable reply. The public funds fell considerably on its publication, and have since continued to decline. It is said that no written answer will be made by the Czar, but a verbal one will be brought by the recalled French Ambassador at St. Petersburg, M. de Castelbajac. The Patrie, having stated that this answer had already been received by the Emperor at the moment his letter appeared in the Meniteur, received a severe rebuke and contradiction in the official journal, and also a second avertissement. The onerous part of the affair is, that the friends of the Patrie affirm that this information emanated from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. M. de Rothschild is reported to have signed yester day a contract with the French tiovernment for a loan of 150,000,000 f., and engages to refund to the Bank of France the sums lately advanced. L'Ami de la Religion, a religious journal as its name indicates, has just received a premier aver tissement fur an article which appeared in its columns containing an attack on the law of primary instruc tion. This law has given great offence to the clergy, and caused the retirement of many of that body front the Board of Public Instruction, and among other distinguished prelates that of the Cardinal Uousset. An important law is preparing for the abolition of la mort eivile. Under the present code any person condemned to civil death can accomplish no legal act, or administer to his own property or that of his children, he being in the eye of the law non extant. The projected visit of the Duke and Duchess of Brabant to Paris is adjourned for the present. On Tuesday the Emperor, accompanied by the Minister of State, the Prefect of the Seine, and the Prefect of Police, inspected at the Port St. Nicholas, on the river Seine, the screw-steamer called Laronsi guiere of 700 tons, just arrived from Bordeaux. His Majesty was received on board by the owners, Messrs. Montani, of Paris, and Festugit•re (bro thers), of Bordeaux, and by the builder of the vessel, M. Arman. The Emperor inspected every part of this ship, constructed upon an entirely novel plan, and destined to solve the question whether under any imi roved system Paris can become a seaport. The present undertaking has fully succeeded, having contended with heavy weather at sea, and arrived in Paris by the river Seine—a feat hitherto considered impracticable for large vessels. His Majesty ex pressed his entire satisfaction at the result obtained, and then proceeded to view the works carrying on at the Louvre, and thence returned to the Tuileries. An Englishman calling himself Cavendish, and declaring himself to belong to the noble family bearing that name, has been condemned by the Assize Court of the Seine to fifteen years' imprison ment, with hard labour (travattx forces), for swin dling. He was an old offender, and had married several women, all living. His last victim was the proprietor of Meurice's Hotel, in the Bite de Itivoli. The case of Mrs. Adrian Hope was brought before • the courts again, and she obtained an order to ke&p her children until a divorce should be obtained in , England; and further, that the sum of 30,000 francs • should be paid to her by Mr. Hope within three days. Both rarties are residing (of cottrle separately) in Paris at this moment.