The Press.
London, England, 1857-06-06 00:00:00

jortign dorrtsponbtutt,

THE DANUBIAN PRINCIPALITIES.
BUCHAREST, May 19th.
IT is difficult to depict the state of indignation into
which the Moldavians have been thrown by the way
in which the Commissioners have treated them. It
is needless to recapitulate the thousand modes of
petty tyranny and oppression practised by Vogorides,
the Kaimakan. The French Commissioner has
accordingly applied for his recall ; but, as not only
Austria but the English Government has thought
fit to approve of the tyranny of the Kaimakan, of
course the Porte will uphold him. Vogorides has
one claim to the respect of the Moldavians; he mar-
ried a lady of the country, Miss Konaki, who brought
him sixty thousand ducats a year in landed property !
By her right he claimed to be a Moldavian boyard.
But Yogorides has spent nearly all her property, and
he is about to divorce his wife, without imputing the
least fault to her. The Home Minister of Moldavia,
Basil Ghika, did precisely the same thing ; married
a wife with large fortune, spent it, and then divorced
her! Let it not be supposed that this is the habit
of Moldavia. When divorce takes place, the fortune
is always restored. Where it is not, infamy marks
the perpetrator of so great a crime.
England has entered into an arrangement with
Austria by which both are to defend the union, and
then England is to name the prince in Wallachia and
Austria the one in Moldavia. In obedience to this
arrangement, Sir Henry litilwer supports the claim of
Alexander Ghika, the present Kaimakan, to be Hos-
podar.
The four exiles—the two Golescos, Bratiani, and
Rosetti—remain at Rutschuk, where, by-the-bye,
there is a report of three houses having been fired
upon. The Kaimakan has proposed to let in the
Golescos if they would sign a promise to abstain
from politics. The Golescos are boyards and fart
landed proprietors, chiefly known for their enmity ro
Russia and their great ability. The wife of cne of
the proscribed applied to Sir Henry Bulwer. He
replied that he felt for the hardship of the case, but
that in his position he could do nothing.
Everything in fact goes on in the Principalities as
Russia would desire, for in reality it is not Austria
that is likely to profit, but Russia; for Russia
keeps aloof from the present policy of oppression,
and pretends at least to sympathise with all the
wants and all the grievances of the people. Their
gratitude consequently is becoming deep, however
silent, both to France and to Russia, whilst their
abhorrence of Englishmen, Austrians, and Turks is
in equal proportion. Should the present policy
towards the Principalities be persevered in, and
should a war at any time arise, Russia will have but
to send arms across the Pruth ; the Roumans of
themselves would soon drive Turk and Austrian out
of the country, and join themselves to Russia.
No country could have been more averse to the
Russians than the Roumans were; but since the last
two months that they have felt the tyranny of the
Turk, the treacherous ill-will of Austria, and the
indifference of the English Government, the
Roumans aro becoming Russian to a man.
This is not so much the case as yet in Wal-
lachia as in Moldavia. The Moldavians, to
avoid Vogorides, would welcome Gortscha-
koff himself. As to the Wallachians, they must
endure for another term of years the present hos-
podarite system. We may be assured, however, they
will shake it off when they can.
If the consequences of the policy of the
English Government were confined to Moldo-
Wallachia, it would be bad enough ; hut the cha-
racter we have gained there will stick in the minds of
the whole Levantine race. Will the rayahs of Turkey
trust to England for emancipation when they see
England rivet the chains of the Rottman ? England
has done nothing for the Christians of the East ;
they number millions, and in their hands are the
future fortunes of the East. But we have taught
them to put trust in France and Russia, and to curse
the name of England as the flatterer of Austrian and
of Turkish prejudice.

THE HISTRII3UTION 01' THE VICTORIA CROSS (the Or-
der of Valour), will, it is understood, take place early
in the ensuing month. The precise day has not been
decided on. Her Majesty will personally award the
decoration to those gallant men entitled to the
honour, and the ceremony will take place on the
parade in front of the Horse Guards, as was the
case when the Crimean medals were distributed.
ScnEw STEAM Stool" Cordelia, 11, Commander
Vernon, has been for several days in Plymouth
Sound. She made a successful trial of her engines,
and it is expected that her destination will be the
Red Sea, where she will be employed, in conjunction
with the Imaum of Muscat, to protect British ship-
ping engaged in the guano trade at the Kooria
Alooria Wands.