The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-11-13 00:00:00

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1855

PEACE, OR WAR?

THE rumour which was current a short time since
• -
as to a contemplated coalition between liressm
DISRAELI, GLADSTONE, and BRIGHT,' with the 'View
of promoting a termination of the war and .substituting
such an unnatural alliance for the present Ministry,
may be -classed-amongst the idle speculations to- which
general dissatisfaction_with the existingstate of things
often gives rise. Such a rumour could not be true, is-
far,at. least as Mr.. DISRAELI is concerned, as it is well
known that the Conservatives as
_a' todthiave'tOo much
regard -for-the national-honour and thetrUeliiteFests.'
of Great Britain to allow them to be frittered7awv.inT
order to gratify a sordid motive for selling more,
calico: It has, however, assumed a new phase, and
Lord JOEcN RUSSELL is spoken of as the colleague of
the renegade Peelite and the Manchester Quaker, to
agitate for peace at any price; and, following up the
tactics of the Free Trade movement, a League has been
attempted to be foilned with the avowed object of
putting a stop to the war. -With- the exception of
some few who would sacrifice every consideration for 1
the gratification of the present moment, and imperil'
the maintenance of civilisation, so long as they could
save their own paltry contribution towards the defence
of it, we cannot believe that such an appeal would
meet with a response from the people of" England. It
is so- utterly pitiful and knavish, such a confession of
self-degradation, that it is alien to the free and manly
spirit which animates our countrymen of all classes.
This truth is so evident, that" the' plausibility of Mr.
GLADSTONE is brought to bear upon the question, and
the public mind is amused with specious sophistry
in the attempt to 'Show that the object of the war
has been answered with the capture of Sebastopol, that
Turkey has' been effectually rescued from the aggres-
sions of Russia, that further prolongation of the con-
test' can serve no other purpose than to humble the
power of RUssia, and that we ought not to be regard-
less of the - balance of power, to maintain which the
war was undertaken.

Let us admit, for the sake of argument, that the
destruction of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea and
the `demolition of the fortress of Sebastopol were all
that the Allies proposed to themselves to accomplish,
when -war was dedared against Russia in the begin-
ning of last year;is‘there any man so insane as to
argunUat propeSatiei.peaCe. can Co* from the con-
querors ? Has Russia bated one jot of those preten-
sions with which she commenced-the contest, by
sending her armies across the Pruth to take forcible
possession of the provinces of Moldavia and- Walla-
chia P Or has she in any way receded from that
policy which foia century past has made the subju-
gation of Turkey the object of her ambition, as a
preparatory step to universal dominion, which, under
such circumstances, it would be difficult, if not almost
impossible to resist P By now withdrawing from the
contest, or even by taking the initiative in negotiations
for peace, we should be virtually admitting defeat in
the face of victories unparalleled in the history of
warfare-. Every advantage over the foe has been
gained. by hard blows ; defeated in every encounter, he
is sullenly obdurate in holding on by the remotest
chance of ultimate success.; and for us now to relax-
our exertions, because the dastards of the Peace-party
have no honour nor faith but in finding a market for
their , cotton 'goods, would be virtually to undo all
that has been - done, to confess a fear of Russia
prostrate, that we did not feel when she was in the
zenith-of her power, and to break for ever that alliance
with our gallant neighbour, which of itself, supposing
it to continue to the end, will prove the salvation of

Europe.
It has been asserted that since the entry of the
Allied forces into the Crimea the war has assumed an
aggressive character, and consequently cannot be
justified upon The principles of justice, which could.
alone reconcile it to a Christian people. This is not
true either in fact or in inference. The aggression
was committed by Russia when her armies crossed
the Pruth; and were on their way to Constantinople,
had they not been stopped by the valour of the Turks,
at that time unaided. All that has since taken place,
therefore, has been of a defensive character, in order to
secure material guarantees against a repetition of the
outrage; and no better proof could be afforded of the
ultimate intentions of Russia, and the necessity of
taking every proper precaution against their realisa-
tion, than the extraordinary defences of enormous
military and naval stores at Sebastopol. It is also
falsely asserted that all this enormous sacrifice
of men and money has been made in order to save
Turkey from the fangs of her relentless enemy, and
to enable her to maintain her position among the
independent kingdoms of Europe ; and that in con-
sequence the war presented the anomaly of Christian
nations in league for the defence of the infidel. Such
an assumption is taking but a very narrow and super-
ficial view of the question at issue. The independence
of Turkey was but an incident arising from the
circumstance of her being the first object of attack on
the part of Russia, the foremost barrier against the
encroachments of despotism which threatened tof
overwhelm all Europe. It was an onward step in a
danger which has long been impending, and it was
fortunate for the interests of humanity and civilisation
that the Western Powers united to repel the invasion
before it had become too powerful to resist. The
supineness or folly of previous Governments allowed
Russia to pursue her stealthy course of territorial
acquisition unrestrained and almost unheeded. She
has possessed herself of Poland and Finland, of the
provinces on 'the northern shores of the Black Sea,
and in every direction, east, south, and west, until her
empire stretches over the greater part of the northern
continent both in Europe and Asia. She has estab-
lished by diplomatic arts, which have ever been un-
scrupulously used as means to conquest, an influence
in Austria, Prussia, Germany, and even in Greece,
so that resistance could only be looked for from
England and France, which alone possessed the means
to cope with their mighty antagonist.
Under such circumstances, we have much reason to
be thankful that, not only has the danger been seen
and appreciated, but that, by a fortuitous combination
of events, the two great Powers of Western Europe
should have entered into a mutual alliance for the
cause of national liberty. If we persevere, there can
be little doubt that the German States, relieved from
their fears, which now make them the dupes and the
victims of Russian policy, will awake into vigorous
and independent action; but if we recede from the
contest, or listen to any other terms than uncon-
ditional surrender, we shall have sunk from our proud
position of national supremacy, destroyed for a long
time, if not for ever, that prestige which could alone
give weight or influence to Great Britain in the
councils of European nations, and have helped to
forge those fetters upon national liberty which we
shall have rendered more galling by the attempts we
have already made to break them. We have no other
course to pursue, than to prosecute the war at any
hazard, and at any sacrifice, until Russia has been
compelled to sue for peace. Our national honour,
and even our future existence as one of the great
powers of Europe, depend upon the issue of the
struggle. We may be called upon to make further
sacrifices, but the issue will be glorious, for it will be
t
a lasting peace ; whereas,o withdraw at the present
juncture, would be but a hollow truce, to he followed
by consequences far more disastrous.'

A LETTER from Amsterdam states that the Bank of Hol-
land has raised its rate of discount for commercial bills from
3 to 4 per cent. The discount on railway securities remains
as it was, at 4 per cent.