The Press.
London, England, 1855-03-17 00:00:00

SATURDAY,

On the first intimation that was given of
the intention of Russia to send an army into
Hungary, Lord Palmerston was incredulous.
" The Russians," he said, " had entered Tran-
" sylvania only for the protection of the fron-
" tier towns." For this incredulity he had,
however, some grounds, as in a despatch to
Sir Stratford Canning he wrote (April 24,

1849) :
I have to acquaint you that Baron Brunow has stated to
me that it is nut the intention of the Emperor of Russia,
in consequence of the retreat of the Russian detachment
from Herrnaustadt, to order his troops to advance i
n onto
Transylvania, or to take any part in the civil war w
raging in that province or in Hungary.
But only a fortnight later came the Vienna
Gazette, announcing that Austria had asked
for the assistance of Russia, and that it had
been " promised by his Imperial Majesty with
" the most noble promptitude." To the notifi-
cation from the British Minister at St. Peters-
burg of this intended interference, Lord
Palmerston contented himself with this dry
reply :

VISCOUNT PALMERSTON TO MR. BUCHANAN.
Foreign-otlice, May 17, 1849.
Much as her Majesty's Government regret this inter•
Terence of Russia, the causes which have led to it, and the
effects which it may produce, they nevertheless have not
considered the occasion to be one which at present calls
for any formal expression of the opinions of Great Britain
on the matter.
Then came the question whether Turkey
should submit to her provinces being tra-
versed by the Russian troops on their way to
Hungary, and it is truly stated by Mr. Watt
that Lord Palmerston counselled neutrality
and submission. He wrote to Sir Stratford
Canning (July 7, 1849)
The Porte ought, for its own sake, to maintain and
assert the neutrality of the Turkish territory as far as it is
able to do so without coming into hostile collision with its
stronger neighbours.
As the result of Lord Palmerston's versa-
tility, he is enabled to disarm the hostility he
has provoked by one course of policy, by
rapidly changing it for another. When the
Hungarian contest was ended, the Porte, which
had been counselled to submit quietly to the
invasion of its territory for the purpose of
crushing the Hungarian cause, was encouraged
to resist the demand of the victors for the
delivery of the refugees who claimed the pro-
tection of her soil. The British fleet anchored
in Besika Bay to support the Porte in its
refusal ; but the success achieved by Lord
Palmerston in this his first and only effort
to oppose Russian influence was counter-
balanced by his failure in attempting to com-
pel the Government of Greece to submit to
the extortionate demands of Don Pacifico—an
attempt which endangered our alliance with
France. Count Nesselrode repaid with in-
terest the repulse he had sustained in Turkey,
and Lord Palmerston was again saved by one
of those dextrous acts of submission which no
one is more skilful in performing.
That policy of absolute concession to Russia
which up to this date had marked Lord
Palmerston's dealings with Turkey was yet
more conspicuous in his administration of
foreign affairs when he yielded to Russian in-
fluence in Persia, and when, contrary to the
faith of treaties, Poland was incorporated with
Russia in 1832, and the independence of
Cracow was extinguished in 1836.
It was when Lord Palmerston first became
Foreign Secretary that Mr. Mc Neil. the
British Envoy in Persia, pointed out the sys-
tematic attempts of Russia to undermine
English influence at the Court of the Shah ;
but he was simply told to act in concert with
the Russian envoy, and that "the interests of
" Russia were the same as those of England."
Later, when the throne of Persia was dis-
puted, England afforded aid in troops and
money to the Russian nominee ! And,
finally, on some insult offered to the British
embassy, Mr. Mc Neil was recalled, and the
field was left open to Russian intrigue.
The outbreak of the Polish insurrection in
1832 was a critical period in the existence of
Russia. Its success would raise an effectual
barrier against her aggression ; its failure
would enable her to achieve her long medi-
tated design of making Poland an integral
part of her empire. The attitude to be
assumed by the other European powers be•
came therefore a consideration of the hifhest