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

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No. 96.—VoL. 111.

LONDON, SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 1855.

PRICE SIXPENCE.

russ.

cally a war of the Emperor NICHOLAS ; provoked
by his aggression and maintained by his
pride; and whether we attribute his sudden
death to one of those convulsions by which the
Court of Russia has not ttnfrequently shaken
off a ruler whose conduct placed the Empire in
a false position, or whether we refer it to na-
tural causes, it is evident that the motive for war
expires with the life of the Monarch whose un-
justifiable ambition provoked it.
For the interest of peace, it is fortunate that
the Emperor NICHOLAS had already conceded
all the points nominally in dispute, and that
the Vienna Congress was about to open its pro-
ceedings. Had this not been the case, the
Court of St. Petersburg might have felt itself
bound, from respect to the memory of the late
Sovereign, to have protracted the contest; but
the successor of NICHOLAS, in forwarding pacific
negotiations, will seem only to be fulfilling the
last-expressed wishes of the deceased Em-
peror.
It would be criminal to protract hostilities
one moment beyond the period when terms
of peace are substantially decided. We ima-
gine that the Russian Government will now
eagerly receive any proposal for the suspen.
sion of hostilities ; and the Allies are too gene- 1
rous to wish to profit by the consternation
which the death of the Emperor must excite
at Sebastopol. As the Plenipotentiaries of
the European Powers are on the point of
Bas-
sembling,
suppose that the whole question
must now efs in their hands, and that no
obstacle can xist to the immediate conclusion
of an armistice, which will spare the further
effusion of blood, and be received with rejoic-
ing by the whole civilised world.
The %Emperor NICHOLAS was born on the
25th of Able, 1796, and was consequently in
the fifty-ninth year of his age. His eldest
SOD, ALEXANDER NICOLAIWITCH, was born in the
year 1818, and is now in his thirty-fifth year.
He is reported to be of a mild and amiable
disposition, and there can he little doubt will
be favorable to the conclusion of peace, should
his accession to the imperial Throne not be
disputed.

please, the result will always show that auk
suffrages must be practicaq for a " Yea" or
" Nay between Whigs and Tories. It cannot
possibly be otherwise in a parliamentary sys-
tem. Every attempt to form a third party
has always failed: neither CHATHAM nor CANNING
succeeded in their struggles to retain political
power by hovering between the two connec-
tions that have always divided Parliament
between them.
Such being the case, it behoves every Con-
servative " unattached " to look closely to the
grounds on which, at such a moment, be
refrains from hearty co-operation with that
great party, which is still the most powerful
connection in the Legislature. Neutrality in
times like these is a most serious responsi-
bility. We heard Mr. GLADSTONE quoting
BURIE with reverent approbation a few even-
ings since, and we could not help recollecting
what that philosophic statesman wrote upon
neutral politicians : " I would not," he remarks
in his " Policy of the Allies," " take a political
" neutral as my arbitrator in a dispute for so
" much as a fishpond, for if he reserved the
" mud to me, he would be sure to give the
" water, that fed the pool, to my adversary."
It is only ton true that, with the best inten-
tions, mere neutrals are often the dupes of
their own plausible impartiality. •
Nor are neutral politicians ever likely to be
popular or powerful in Eugland. The genius
of our national character is averse from what-
ever partakes of Vacillating infirmity. Manly
minds will always have an attachment to
whatever is clear, prompt, and determined.
On this point, popular instinct sympathises
with the keen perception of Lord Bacox as to
the importance of " boldness, boldness, bold-
ness "in governing mankind. And who ever
read or heard of a bold body of neutrals ?
Men of experience will at. once grant the
truth of these plain views; let us now see how
closely they bear upon the future course of
Conservative action. We are convinced that
the exigency of the crisis must compel all
Conservatives to bury those differences which
prevent them from energetically acting to-
gether. The Conservative party never had a
nobler duty to discharge than now. It was
originally formed after the Reform Bill to
steady the public mind, to preserve our me.
naced Church Establishment, and to rescue
the property of the country from the incroach-
ments of a levelling Radicalism, that aimed,
as Lord DERBY said, "at Americanising our
" institutions." In these great objects, the
Conservative party triumphantly succeeded.
It defended the Altar and the Throne from the
assaults of internal faction, and compelled the
" Liberals" into the adoption of a more mode-
rate conduct.
Twenty years ago the Conservative party
saved the Constitution. It must be its duty,
as it will be its glory, in 1856, to save the
country.
For let us not be deceived as to the immi-
nent nature of the crisis. At the present
moment England is threatened with the
greatest danger that can befal a free State.
It is in peril of being ruled by a succession of
weak Cabinets, unsupported by great parties,
and oscillating between ephemeral factions.
The oligarchy of the Whigs is not maintained
by the opinion of the people. It is no more
than a clique of haughty patricians, who
falsely raise a democratic cry, and secretly
deride their gulled followers out of doors.
The Radicals have neither the staff nor the

LONDON, SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 18,53. i

DEATH OF THE EMPEROR
OF RUSSIA.

"PRESS" OFFICE,

Friday Night, March 2.

TELEGRAPHIC despatches were received at
the Admiralty, this day, from her Majesty's
Ministers at Berlin and the Hague, an-
nouncing the death, between twelve and one
o'clock this forenoon, at St. Petersburg, of
his Imperial Majesty the Emperor of RusstA
The alleged cause of his death was " a
stroke of pulmonary apoplexy."

It is stated that the Earl of CLARENDON,
her Majesty's principal Secretary of State
for Foreign Affairs, has left London for
Boulogne, in order to confer with the Em-
peror of the FRENCH.

This startling event, if it prove authentic,
may have such important consequences on
the pending negotiations, that we shall
refrain from communicating the highly au•
thoritative information which has reached
us during the week on that subject. We
will merely add that the sanguine hopes in
which the diplomatists of all countries have
recently indulged, that an almost immediate
peace was at hand, had, especially within the
last three days, become clouded,
The visit of the Emperor of the FRENCH
to the Crimea has been postponed, in con-
sequence of the refusal of Prince NAPOLEON,
on the plea of ill-health, to accompany his
Majesty. Irrefragable proofs of the active
relations of Prince NAPOLEON with the al-
leged party of disturbance, both while in the
Crimea and during his residence in France
since his return, have rendered it impossible
that his Imperial Highness should remain
in France during the absence of the Em-
peror of the FRENCH. Notwithstanding maw
disagreeable circumstances, every confidence
is, however, reposed in the energy and sound
judgment of his Majesty LOUIS NAPOLEON.

THE death of the EMPEROR OP RUSSIA is one of
those stupendous events, so far exceeding all
rational calculation, as to throw other topics
Into the shade, and give a totally new aspect to
the politics of Europe. The war was eutphati-