The Express.
London, England, 1855-04-11 00:00:00

THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE.

—•—
THE internal administration of Turkey may be es
corrupt and feeble as people say ; but the Divan can
draw up and interpret diplomatic papers with skill at
least equal to that of any Christian Cabinet. The
ambiguous language in which the terms propounded
by the Government of St. Petersburg, at the first
Vienna Congress, for the settlement of the Oriental
disputer, were expressed, deluded the Ministers of
France, England, and Austria ; bat the Divan de-
tected their subterfuges at once. And the instruc-
tions given by the Thum to their representative at
the present Vienna CJnferenoes are characterised by
the utmost firmness and the moat delicate tact. Not
a single phrase occurs in them that can compromise
one right of the Porte, and not a single phrase that,
by indicating distrust, can give umbrage to its Allies.
The unaffected, quiet, dignity of this document cannot
be =epee% d. If the Ottoman Empire is doomed to
fall, as the admiring pulsate of Russia would have
us believe, it will fall with the heroic decorum of a
CS- as at the base of POMPEY'S statue. AALI
PACRA'S instructions prove that the statesmen of
Turkey are animated by a high and delicate sense of
national dignity that ought to command respect;
es the exploits performed by the umy under Oman
PACHA —notwithstanding the wretched meaner in

which it is officered—prove that the courage and
power of eadurance of the Turkish people is un-
abated. Though we have not hesitated to describe
the grasping and lawless ambition of the Russian
Government, the dissolute avarice and falsehood
of its agents, and the callous tyranny of
both, in the plainest words the English
language affords, we have omitted no opportunity
of doing justice to the natural high qualities of the
Russian people or race. Rude though the nation be,
and perverted as many of its best kelicgs are, by
the influence of a bad government and worse church,
we can trace throughout its whole history scintilla-
tions of kindly dispositions, of daring enterprise,
and of indomitable powers of endurance. Our
desire for the Russians is to see them divested from
dreams of external conquest, and thrown back upon
their own resources, to develop the natural wealth
of their extended empire, and work out their own
emancipation from tyranny and priestess& If the
states disks can be placed in safety from the aggres-
sions of the Muscovite Government, and Poland and
Finland rescued from its talone,our prayer for theßus-
sian nation will be, ego perpetwo. And our feel-
ings towards Turkey are the same. Widely though its
populations differ in character from the Russians,
they too have many estimable qualities, which
national independence and more frequent intercourse
with peoples of the European civilisation cannot fail
to develop into excellence.
It could be wished that the friends as well as the
foes of Turkey showed themselves penetrated with a
more sincere conviction of this truth. French and
English statesmen profess to be animated by a desire
to defend the independence and promote the regene-
ration of Turkey as a nation; bat it may be doubted
whether they adopt the best means to attain
these ends. Occasional 'moistens§ • nation may
receive from more powerful allies, but to keep
it independent, to advance it in civilisation,
must in the main be its own doing. It must be ea-
couraged to work out its own salvation ; if it is to be
allowed or obliged to remain passive while others are
fighting for it, or trying to drill it into some alien
form of civilisation, its case is hopeless. Now it can-
not fail to strike every one that, throughout the whole
of the present troubles, the Turkish Government and
people have been eysternatically kept in the back-
ground. France and England fight for Turkey and
negotiate for Turkey. When Russia seeks to gain a
point, by hard blows or diplomatic wiles, it thinks
of France and England, and scarcely takes Turkey
into account. When Austria seeks to temporise—
to commit itself to nothing and gain some
petty advantage—it is satisfied with bewildering
the brains of French and English diplomatists, and
coasts upon Turkey following their lead implicitly.
The chroniclers of the war, and the commentators

upon it, dilate upon the efforts of France and Eng-
land, and rarely honour Turkey with a passing
notice. All this is mainly owing to the imperious
manner in which Franca and England take upon
thenmelves to act for Turkey, scarcely condescending to
observe the external &meant of consulting the views
and wishes of their prottige. This is bad policy in
more senses than one. It prevents Russia and Austria
from recognising Turkey as a member of the great
republic of nations. It depresses the spirits of the
Turks, deprives them of their self-respect, and effeo-
tinily deadens that principle of active self-reliance
which is indispensable to the very existence of a
nation.

But the dictatorial manner in which the great
&mean Powers presume to interfere in the
internal affairs of Tarkry ie more mischievous still.
Railed is, perhaps, of all European governments the
least disposed to meddle in the domestic concerns
of Mbar states; and yet Eog!and is continually in-
terlines in the most unwarrantable manner in the
internal administration of Turkey. There is, for
example, a circular addressed by Lord STIATFoItD
Da RIDCLUra to the English Consuls in Turkey, on
the 20th of last November, and which we this
dax present to our readers for the snood time. A
copy of it was transmitted to every use of these
functionaries, along with oopise of the arsie, in-
structions, sad sows relating to the four messures
adapted shoat that time by the Divan for the im-
provement of the judicial administration of the Otto-
man Bolpire, After expatiating on the importance of
48.1 Illeftervs, and the aiiisty of the British Go-
verment to me them firmly sad hwasla7 =Med
tato sleet, Lord IlvaArsoun DI EOCWIII thus
exbbets oar eameder authorities is the Levant
To the esemplhhotent of We pied (Meet. I peceive
that per watchful atteaties, emei the salmis* ej pew
etch may be weesdally eseledre. The Terklak aathod•

n ~5.: i %I

ties, on whom, is tA • first HISUIRCe. defUlfll4 Mil faithful
aufereement of the measures is question, have some tradi-
threat prejadinse teevereome, and many adverse istersals to
withstand, is the IPUTCUS of their duty. At a distant* Ileac
the seat of govarnammt, they saturally eland in wed. ef, ,
support, adasuitiou, and eneouragegirent: nor in tho pireaMit
moat iceboats mid eeedisl state's! ottrelations withtarkey,
ears olds of this kind ducted to them 'frees a better source
than from yea and your colleagues elsewhere--; situated,
as no doubt yes are, by the spirit of that alliance
which holds the too countries together in close
co-operative solos. I ought, however, to remind you
that the most friendly interference is thou matters which
immediately wooers the internal affairs of the empire, re-
quire to be condueted with prudence, and a jut respect fur
rights of sovereign or of local jurisdiction. Your vigilance
may be 'remised, your advice may be gine, the Magog/a
eves of ruseastraue may be used, without transgressing
the limits of propriety; and, is ease of failure, sour
reprasessintions fo the GOOMMIPtig ei howls, end also to the
Emboss, hero, will afford Mat preyed of redress, which,
though more fleetest, may not on that account to of las osr-
taus eject.

The issuing of such instructions by the English
Minister at Constantinople was a more extreme mea-
sure of interference between the Ottoman Govern-
ment and its subjects than even Russia attempted.
Russia claimed only a protectorate of the SULTAN'S
subjects of the Greek rite: Lord STLTIVILD DE
HEDCLITFE asserted a protectorate of the SULTAN'S
subjects of every race and creed. In virtue of his
own pelf arrogated authority, he established courts
of appeal throughout the Turkish Empire,
whose decrees were to be enforced with "certain
effect" by the English Government or the English
Embassy. Such conduct on the part of the English
Government seems to warrant similar Goaded on the
part of every Government which has oonsnls in Tur-
key. It dethrones the SULTAN, and establishes in his
stead an anomalous and ausrchisal rule of five or six
Powers, independent of each other, guided by dif-
ferent principles of policy. It perpetuates a state of
latent antagonism or hostility among these Powers;
it subjects the inhabitants of the Ottoman Empire to
Governments imperfectly acrainted with their social
mediae°, opinions, or sentiments ; it prevents the
introduction of an honest and efficient system of Go-
vernment into Turkey ; it perpetuates the moral
abasement of the races inhabitiug the Ottoman Em-
pire ; it converts our Levantine consuls into spies
and irresponsible prefects of a foreign Government ;
it crushes that independence, and nips in the bud
that promise of future civilisation in Turkey for
which our rulers pretend to be fighting.—Daily
IVews.