The Press. — London, England, 1855-11-17 00:00:00

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Whatever is intended for insertion must be authenticated by the name and address of the writer, not necessarily for publica tion, but as a guarantee of his good faith. Advertisements sent from the country must be accompanied by a remittance or a reference fur payment in town. - t - tx .Pritgg. LONDON, SATURDAY. NOV. 17, 1855. POSTSCRIPT. THE EMPEROR'S SPEECH. The " Exposition " of Paris was closed on Thnrs•- day with the most imposing ceremonies. The de- corations of the building, and the general arrange meats of the ceremony, were unusually picturesque. The Imperial Court, accompanied by squadrons of the Cent.-Gardes and Cuirassiers, left the Tuileries at noon for the Exposition, where the Emperor and Empress were received by Prince Napoleon, the Imperial and Foreign Commissioners, and con ducted to the throne in the centre of the transept, his Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge being seated on the right of the Empress. After a short interval, Prince Napoleon advanced and read the report of the Commission, to which the Emperor, rising, in a clear and audible tone, replied as follows: " MESSIEURS, "The Exhibition which is about to close offers to the world a grand spectacle ; that is to say, whilst a serious war is being carried on, every quarter of the, universe has united in Paris the most distinguished men of art, science, and industry, there to exhibit their productions. By such union, under similar circumstances, such a result is due, I am induced to believe, to the general conviction that the present war threatened only those who provoked it, that it was pursued in the interest of all, and that Europe, far from seeing any danger from the future, would rather find an assurance for independence and secu rity. Nevertheless, in sight of so many marvels placed before us, the first impression is a desire for Peace—Peace alone, in ',truth, can develop still further these remarkable products of human intelli gence. You should, therefore, each of you, desire as I do, that this Peace should be prompt and durable ; but to be durable, it should clearly resolve the ques. tion from which the war emanated. In brief, Europe must pronounce herself, for without the influence of universal opinion, the communications (lettres) between the great powers only threaten to be prolonged ; whilst, on the contrary, if Europe decide to declare who is right and who is wrong, it will be a great step towards a solution. In the present state of civilisation to which we have arrived, the success of the armies, however brilliant they may be, are only transitory. It is decidedly public opinion which always carries the last victory. Each of us, then, who believes that the progress of agri culture, industry, and commerce of a nation contri butes to the welfare of every other nation, and that the more reciprocal interchanges are multiplied the more national prejudices will be effaced, inform your brother citizens on returning to your homes, that France has no jealousy against any people—that she has sjinpathy for all who desire, like herself, the triumph of right and justice. Tell them that if they wish for peace, they must at least make vows for or against us; for hi the midst of a grave guropeau THE PRESS. conflict, indifference is a false calculation, and silence an error. As for us, who are allies for the triumph of a grand cause, let us forge arms with out suspending our manufactures—without para lysing trade—let us be as great in the arts of peace as in the arts of war. Let us be strong in union, and let us put our trust in God in order to triumph over the difficulties of the day and the chances of the future." At the conclusion of his address, his Majesty, who was enthusiastically cheered, descended from the throne and distributed the prize medals when the ceremony was concluded and the imperial cortege returned to the Tuileries. VIEWS AND OBJECTS OF THE WAR PARTY As it is of some importance to discover what are the precise views of that party amongst us which clamours so loudly for the prosecution of the war, irrespective of the objects for which the war was commenced, we have read with some attention the elaborate articles on War Politics which have ap peared in some of our leading reviews. Here, if anywhere, we might expect to gain the information we seek. The writers, it is to be assumed, must have studied their subject; they have time to ma ture their ideas ; and they have ample space at com mand for their expression. Let us hear what they have to say. We take up our old friend Blackwood first, as he promises to satisfy us on the very point we are anxious about—What are we fighting for? This is a question often asked, and Blackwood volunteers a satisfactory reply to it. There is some difficulty in getting to the marrow of the article, as the writer is a master of the ejaculatory style. Such sentences as " England awake! it is now or never!" are of frequent occurrence. " Who can refute a sneer ?" asked PALEY. Who can reply to an ejaculation ? say we. What answer can be given to an " Alas !" a " Gracious Powers !" or a " Great Heaven !" The writer shows that in 1791 apprehensions were enter tained of the designs of Russia upon Constantinople. Well, the danger has been long foreseen, and at last it has been met; but are we necessarily to continue the war after the cause for it has ceased? Is not a peace which shall secure Turkey—and no other is thought of—better than a war which must waste her. Every one must have heard the rolling laugh which follows a jest in a theatre. The quick-witted take it first, laugh, and follow the dialogue ; the merriment spreads, and at last there is a roar from some thick skulled fellow who catches the past joke just as other people are laughing at a new one. Some of our war ad vocates are as slow of comprehension. They apprehend thenecessity of war when quicker intellects perceive that the necessity for it has passed. The article in Blackwood should have been published exactly two years and a half ago. It would then have been in season. But what are we fighting for? That is really the qnestion,—not what should have been done in 1700 or 1791. " There is no mystery in the matter," says Blackwood. " The answer is simple," we are told:— Russian influence overrides many of the Courts of Ger. many, and hinders the national sympathies and desires from finding an echo in the breasts of their rulers. Strike, we again say ; at the military strength of Russia, —strike firmly and unsparingly. With every blow her far spread influence will ebb back from the face of Europe,— the fetters, not less potent because moral, will fall from many a State, and each people will have an opportunity of developing its powers and institutions in its own way. That is what we are fighting for. This is at least intelligible. We are to fight the battles of people who are unwilling to fight for them selves. We are to shed freely the blood of our coun trymen, and to burden our industry for ever, that " the Teuton races of Central Europe," as the writer elsewhere says, may have an opportunity of develop ing their institutions in their own way. Would it not be fair to say to these Teuton nations—lf you desire liberty, you must win it for yourselves? Our expe rience of the action of that liberty which is thrust upon a people is not very favorable. It is probable that when the Teuton States appreciate liberty and desire to possess it, they will find out a way to obtain it for themselves. It is worth remembering that the express object for which Blackwood declares we are fighting, is to forward some undefined political move ment in Central Europe. If this be true, can national Quixotism go further, or can a severer satire he pro nounced on the war party? England—practical, hard-working England—is to heedlessly ruin herself that she may induce the much•smoking, beer-loving Teutons to consider the question of political liberty. Another war advocate in the North British Review, while strongly of opinion that this weir should be a war for the freedom and reconstitution of Europe, can see his way only to two points—that Russia should be driven from her Transcaucasian provinces, and that tie Grimes ho4ld be permanently wreste d from SATURDAY, her dominion. As to the first point, it i s of little practical importance, and we sincerely hope that General WILLIAMS and OMER Pam& may satisfac torily settle it without need of assistance from th e Allies. The Crimea is a more important point. We have to obtain possession of it first, and then we have to consider what is to be done with it : The Crimea, then, must never again be in Russian hands. But what are we to do with it? Only one thing can be done. It must not be given to Turkey, for we can have no security that she would be able to keep it against Russian arms, or diplomacy, or gold. Moreover, she governs so ill, that it would be questionable morality to give one additional square mile over to her imbecile rule. It must not be assigned either to France or England. or to any first-rate power, because this would be a danger to Turkey only second to that arising from Russian occupa. tion, and because its possession would give an inadmissible predominance in those seas to any great nation. It must be in the hands of some power which cannot use it ansWs— which no one fears—which has and can have no sinister or dangerous designs. Sardinia is such a power. She will hold the Crimea in trust for the peace and interest of Europe. Assign it to her under the guarantee of a general European treaty; fortify for her the two great roads which connect it with Russia, assist her for a dean of years with a subsidy equal to the expenses in which the pus. session will involve hen—and the " Eastern Question" will be settled in the most effective, enduring, and economical mode possible. Sardinia would be able to maintain the Crimea against a coup de main; against a deliberate and prolonged war, she would be backed by the common forces of all the parties to the general treaty of the pacification. According to this, then, we are to continue the war for an indefinite period, that the Crimea may be given to a power which "no one fears." How is it to be supposed that Sardinia, even with the aid of an English subsidy, could permanently hold the Crimea against the might of the Russian empire? Is it likely that peace would be more durable—which is the great point—with the Crimea in the hands of Sardinia, as a barrier to Russia, than with such a barrier to her advance as the Turkish empire, guaran teed by the Western powers, would form ? The idta that the Crimea alone could be wrested from Southern Russia is a delusion. The peninsula mutt belong to the power which holds the mainland, or to one or other of the great maritime powers of the West. And what, then, would become of Turkish independence? A writer in the British Quarterly Review is so en thusiastic in favour of war that he lauds its advan tages, and insists that it is necessary to the vigorous life of nations. He reads history backwards. He supposes that nations have perished through love of peace, when the true lesson is all the other way,— nations having usually perished or fallen through excessive ambition and continual strife. In the opinion of this writer, the great object of the war should neither be to stimulate the Teuton races, nor to give the Crimea to the Sardinians, but to recon stitute Poland. When we have effected so much, we shall be at liberty to settle with the German powers. It is, strange to say, in the last number of the Edinburgh Review that we find the most moderate views on the policy of the war put forth. The saga cious writer supposes that, practically, the objects of the war have been attained : As far as this country and France are concerned, the capture of Sebastopol and the destruction of the Russian Black Sea fleet accomplish the most prominent and im- mediate objects of the war. Of the four principles laid down in the past negotiations as the indispensable con ditions of peace, some are partially and some effectually attained One of the fundamental conditions and securities of that alliance [the French] has been the moderation of its object, and the disinterested character of the war. . . . When we hear extravagant pretensions raised—when we are told that the power of Russia is to be annihilated, her territory dismembered, the oppressed nationalities of Eastern Europe roused to insurrection, and the war pro longed with unrelenting fury fur objects which formed no part of the original designs of the allied powers—we answer that none of these exaggerated views are to be found in those treaties of alliance on which we mainly rest the success of our cause ; and that to endeavour to engraft on our present successes schemes of conquest, or exten sive changes in the territorial condition of Europe, would be to place that alliance in jeopardy, and in fact to begin another war for objects of a far more questionable cha racter, These sentiments will not be new to the readers of THE Passe. We quote them for the sake of the agreeable contrast they present to the wild and dis cordant views of the war party. Is the nation willing to trust itself to the guidance of that party, with Lord PALDIERSTON at its head' This is a question so pressing, that the solution of it cannot long be delayed. On one side we have a party committed to extreme and extravagant views for the positive extension of hostilities, the objects being of a character with which England has no national concern, and on the other a party which, in the emphatic words of the Emperor NAPOLEON, seeks a " durable peace "j by "clearly " resolving the question from which the war ems " nated." The progress of events will merge all politicians into those two parties alone—and they irl4 be eseeutially Democratic and Conservative.