The Press. — London, England, 1855-12-22 00:00:00

1105 Government that it is likely to prove equally successful with that laid down by its organ in India for obtaining a remunerative revenue from tho swamps and jungles of Pegu. ENGLISH WARS. WAh has its littleness as well as its greatness —its dirty side as well as its bright one ; and with this inequality between them—that its virtues are of necessity confined to the sub ordinate actors, and its vices to those in autho- rity. Hence it is that the gallantry of soldiers and generals has been so often rendered use less by the selfishness of statesmen and the infatuation of kings. As the struggle pro ceeds, new designs are grafted upon old ones, Ad fresh views of conquest continually adopted, till its original features become nearly invisible. National animosities are sharpened ; particular interests become inwoven with general ; lust of territory is engendered; and unattainable aggrandisements float before the eyes of the victors. Of this truth our old continental wars will furnish many striking examples. Begun very frequently from the best. of motives, and prosecuted sometimes with remarkable vigour, in their results they were commonly failures; and this, simply be cause, like raw gamesters, we never knew when to leave off, and either could not or would not remember that while the scope of the contest was thus indefinitely enlarged, our means of sustaining it remained exactly the came. The war of the Grand Alliance was under taken to prevent the union of the Crowns of France and Spain, and to secure the latter to the Archduke CHARLES of Austria ; and this ou the simple and intelligible ground that the junction of those two powerful kingdoms would endanger the liberties of Europe. But mark the course of events. The Allies were at first victorious everywhere, and the results were soeedily conspicuous in the proposals for peace submitted by Louis to their consideration as early as 1706. They were rejected, and again proposed, at the well known congress of .Gertruydenberg, in 1709. Louis consented to resign Spain, the Indies, and the Nether lands, on condition that PHILIP should possess the Crown of either Na:;les or Sardinia. At this time we must remember that PHILIPS an tagonist, the Archduke, had become heir pre sumptive to the empire, and that the Emperor was in failing health. Even MARLBOROUGH himself admitted that such terms were accep table; but they were again rejected. In 1711 JOSEPFI I. died, and CHARLES became Emperor, yet the war was still continued, though no shadow of an excuse remained. And now the Allies began to experience the evil results of their late obstinacy. Far from renouncing his &aim to the Spanish Crown, the new Emperor clung to it with more tenacity than ever. England and Holland were in a hopeless di lemma. If they gave their support to the only other eligible candidate, the Duke of SAVOY, they arrayed against themselves the united forces of Spain, France, and Austria. If they continued in the interest of the latter, they were stultifying their own conduct, by per mitting the uniGn oftwo first-class Powers, and protracting the war for the sake of the very object it had been undertaken to prevent. Yet, this is what they actually did,—England, indeed, for a shorter period than the rest, though, dating from the Congress of Creamy denberg, for more than two years; but the Austrians and Dutch for nearly five. With what result ? CHARLES lost the Crown which five years before lie might have worn, and Louis regained many of the advantages which five years before ho had lost. Yet Englishmen have been blamed for wishing to terminate this ridiculous contest. As long as the war had been confined to its original object, this coun try had been the life and soul of it; but as loon as it was changed to a war of extermina tion against Louis, the case became totally different, and the scheme, as we have called it, ridiculous—the expulsion of one prince Whom it was useless to expel by the conquest of another whom it was impossible to conquer. THE PRESS. The war of the Austrian Succession was undoubtedly necessitated by our previous en gagements with that Power. Yet there is every reason to suppose that its object might have been gained in much less time, and at a much less sacrifice. Lord CHESTERFIELD, who had been induced to join the Ministry on the dis tinct understanding that their intentions were pacific, seeing early to have perceived that peace was procurable had his colleagues been honest. On the refusal of the distinct pro posals transmitted through Sir JOHN LIGONIER, CHESTERFIELD resigned, warning his Majesty at the same time that he would soon have to accept worse• His prediction was verified in less than a twelvemonth: we ourselves, indeed, lost nothing by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle beyond the expenses of a superfluous cam paign. but our Allies were disgusted Both the Empress and the King of SARDINIA fared worse than they would have done a year or two sooner ; the former lost Silesia, the latter• Placentia and Finale. The reason of this is notorious. The Duke of NEWCASTLE hated CHESTERFIELD, and the Duke of CUMBER LAND loved military command ; and to the pri vate interests of these two men we are indebted for the most inglorious appearance or, the conti nent of Europe the country has ever made. We have been irduced to recal these cir cumstances to the attention of our readers, lesi for the sake of what they prove than of what they suggest. We do not assert that they contain any exact parallel to present events ; but they do show most clearly, first, the tendency of war to enlarge itself, to escape from the limits of its original intention, and to flood the world with useless bloodshed ; secondly, the proneness of men in power to convert it into an instrument for their own purposes ; and, thirdly, that the two most accomOished statesmen of their age, and without comparison the best acquaintel with foreign affairs, BOLINGBROKE and CHESTER FIELD, pronounced against wars which lost sight of their original objects, or were con tinued mainly for the advancement of party purposes. The war with Russia is yet in its earlier stages, and if judiciously managed need never overflow the channel in which it has hitherto rolled. War to prevent the dismemberment of Turkey is a definite thing. War against the constituted Governments of Europe is a definite thing too. But anything between these is a vague and intangible dream. If we go on indulgltig in absurd declamations about dragging down Russia and defying despots, we shall find ourselves drifting into a limitless and purposeless contest, which we shall dis cover too late we have not the means to con tinue with effect, nor the power to recede from with honour. GENERAL CANROBERT, when in Copenhagen, one evening returned somewhat earlier than usual to his apartments in the Hotel d'Angleterre, and found a strange man standing at his secretaire, which had been broken open, or opened with a false key, and so busily occupied in examining his papers that he did not observe the general's entrance. In high indig nation, the general seized a candlestick or some sharp cutting object, and tiung it at the thiet's head, who, turning round, either received a severe wound in the eye or had his eye knocked out. The object of the thief, it is believed in Copenhagen, was purely of a political nature. THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT have levied a new tax upon Poland of twenty centimes, or an equivalent, upon every peasant, as a voluntary contribution for the benefit of the defenders of Sebastopol._ BARON IVERTHER, Prussian Minister at St. Peters burg, is said, in a conversation with Count Nesselrode, to have spoken strongly in favour of peace, and to have pointed out to the Russian Chan cellor the possibility of a change in the policy of Germany should the terms of peace be refused by Russia. Count Nesselrode is reported to have re turned but one reply to all Baron Werther's repre sentations,—" Russia will never treat while there is a single foreign soldier on ber territory." EICOUNT SCHWERIN and the Liberal party in the P - russian Chambers have given notice of a motion which will bring before the Chambers the question of Government interference in elections. The motion declares that in the recent elections the liberty of the electors wa. seriously interfered with, and the law demands a thorough investigation. TETE BAVARIAN LEGATION at SL Petersburg has lately taken upon itself to represent the interests of Sardinian as well as French subjects in Russia. SATURDAY, arttsponbturt. THE NAWAB OF I'HE CARNATIC. TO THE EDITOR OF "THE PRESS." Sir,—Certain papers having, in reference to the decease of the late Nawab of the Carnatic, asserted that he was the last of his race, I, as a relation of his Highness, beg to observe that such assertion is at variance with fact, as his Highness the Prince Azeem Jah Bahadoor, paternal uncle of the late Nawab, is still living and has male issues, and the title of this Prince to the succession of the Carnatie Musnud was formally recognised by the Honourable the Court of Directors, in their general letter, dated 14th January, 1829, as follows : Para. 10.—We disapprove of the principle of this arrangement, but under the peculiar circumstances of the case, the Nawab being an infant, and in delicate health, and the Naib-i braokhiar being next his heir in ease of his demise, the appointment of Dr. Scott admits of justification. The title of Prince Azeem Jah Bahatloor as successor to the Carnatic Musnud was further recog nised by the Madras Government, in a Minute of Consultation dated 29th September, 1843, as follows : • - The Most Noble the Governor in Council is of opinion that the individuals named in the margin have no claim to the privilege of exemption from the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, and accord ingly directs that their names be struck out of the lists received with the foregoing communication, Gholam Moortaza Khan, and Syel Curreemood Dean. His Lord ship in Council observes that his Highness the Prince Azeem Jah Ilahadoor (the late Naih-i•Mookhtar) does not hold that place in the list to which he is entitled in consi deration of the position he has lately occupied in commu nication with the British Government, and of that which he still holds in relation to his Highness the Nawab, and to his sueesaion to the Musnud, &c. May I crave a place in your valuable and indepen dent journal for this communication.—Your 1 usable servant, HAFIZ SUDROOL ISLAM KHAN. London, Dec. 18, 1855. =u elution ]nitiligentt. WESTMINSTER. — The evangelical Radicals are about to put Mr. Westerton forward to supersede Sir John Shelley. BRADFORD.—Mr. Charles Dickens (!) and General Thompson, it is stated, will be solicited to contest this borough at the next election. LINCOLN.—Major Sibtliorp, the son and heir of the late member, and Mr. Seely, a merchant of Lincoln, have both issued addresses to the electors, and are carrying on their canvass with great activity. Major Sibthorp in his address says My political principles are essentially Conservative, anti in the event of my being elected I shall support the per manence and wellbeing of the constitution of this great country; but T shall, nevertheless, lend my earnest aid to ameliorate and reform all proved abuses. I am fully con vinced that the true policy of Conservatism is to progress with the spirit of the age, to adopt sound measures for the promotion of social advancement, and to encourage the growing intelligence of the people by a more extended system of national education. Although a firm supporter of the Protestant religion as established in these dominions, 1 sin, at the same time, an unflinching advocate for civil and religious liberty, desirous that every religious denomi nation should exercise its rights, free and unfettered, as guaranteed by the prudence of the Legislature. He adds that he shall support the present Govern ment as long as it prosecutes the war "with the energy and spirit becoming a great nation taking a conspicuous part in the destinies of the world;" and that while he considers it the duty of Parliament to entertain pacific proposals, be shall resist any terms unlikely to secure an honourable and lasting peace. —Mr. Charles Seely, who has several times con tested the representation, and was actually returned in 1841, but ousted on a petition, is a thorough Liberal, and as an advocate of the war considers that "certain changes are necessary in our public depart, ments, so that our vast resources, our wealth, our mechanical skill, and, more than all, the bravery of our soldiers, may be brought to bear with the greatest effect upon the enemy." ROCHESTER.—Mr. Bodkin, Q.C., and Mr. Martin, jun., are continuing their canvass with energy. The contest promises to be close. STAFFORDSHIRE (North) —Mr. Smith Child, we have reason to believe, has acceded to the wish of his committee, and will not at present resign. TAVISTOCK.—Mr. John Trelawney, formerly member for this borough, has been invited to stand in event of a vacancy. THE PRUSSIAN GOVERNMENT IS believed to have addressed a despatch to Rus-ia last month, urging the acceptation of the third point, under the allied interpretation. Russia is stated not yet to have replied. THE RUSSIAN SHOPKEEPER, according to reports from Moscow, is losing 164 confidence in the paper money, and secretes his own gold, paying his volun tary subscription or gifts to the State in kind.