The Press.
London, England, 1854-03-25 00:00:00

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No. 47.—VoL. 11.

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LONDON, SATURDAY, MARCH 26, 18.54.

IN the year 1844 the Emperor of RUSSIA
visited our country. An estrangement having
then taken place between England and France,
his Majesty deemed the season appropriate
for the advancement of a long• cherished pro-
ject, and he seized the opportunity of per-
sonally accomplishing it, with the co-operation
of an English Minister, between whom and
the Court of St. Petersburg there had existed
for thirty years relations of extreme confidence.
That Minister was Lord ABERDEEN, then
Secretary of State in the Government of Sir
ROBERT PEEL.

Assuming the speedy dissolution of the
Turkish empire, his Majesty wished to in-
duce England to join with Russia and Aus-
tria in the arrangements, which the new dis-
tribution of territory would require, without
the concurrence of France.. Then, as on sub-
sequent occasions, the Emperor desired
neither treaty nor protocol—all he wanted
was an engagement between " gentlemen
and therefore, of course, "secret and confi-
" dential."

The Emperor succeeded in his first object.
By the advice of Lord ABERDEEN he addressed
himself to Sir ROBERT PEEI. and the Duke of
WELLINGTON. His Grace was al ways favour
able to the Russian alliance. Sir ROBERT
PEEL, full of tariff's, was entirely governed,
with respect to external politics, by Lord
ABERDEEN. It was definitively settled in
1844, between the Emperor of RUSSIA and the,
English Government, that the partition of
Turkey, when it became necessary, should be
transacted by Great Britain and the two Im-
perial Courts without France.
Having obtained this great result, the next
point of the Emperor was to precipitate a state.
of affairs in Turkey which should justify its.
partition. The means were ready ; they were'
twofold ; for success, their application only,
required the sanction of England. These two.
courses were—firstly, to interfere in the'
government of Turkey under " treaties from'
" the engagements of which the Porte has. a'
" constant tendency to extricate itself, reckon,.
" ing on the mutual jealousy of the Cabinets •"'
secondly, to vindicate " the interests of iti;e'
" Christian population of Turkey."
England, under the influence of*Lord ABER-
DEEN, agreed, in 1844, that both these courses
should be open to Russia without creating
" jealousy ;" in other words, that Russia should
prepare the anarchy necessarily preliminary to
partition. And the Emperor quitted England
with a conviction often repeated by him, and
shared by Lord ABERDEEN, that the Ministry
of Sir ROBERT PEEL would last as long as the
Ministry of Sir ROBERT WALPOLE. The policy
of CATHERINE was therefore virtually accom-
plished.
On his return to St. Petersburg, the Em-
peror instructed Count NESSELRODE to draw
up a Memorandum embodying the under-
standing arrived at during his recent visit, and

LONDON, SATURDAY, MARCH 25, 1854.

forward it to Baron BRUNNOW, accompanied
by a private letter from the Emperor to Lord
ABERDEEN, in which he begged that if any
inaccuracy were found in the document it
might be corrected; but that, if approved, the
Memorandum should be accepted and pre.
served as " the key of the relations between
" Russia and England."

The Memorandum was accepted as that
" key." Lord ABERDEEN, we understand, de-
cided that it should not be registered among
the ordinary papers of the Foreign-office, but
that it should be preserved among the most
secret archives of the State. We have reason
to believe that a note was drawn up describing
the circumstances under which the agreement
had been arrived at, and that it was expressed
in that note that, whenever a change of Admi-
nistration took place, the retiring Secretary of
State should personally deliver this secret
Memorandum to his successor. This will
explain a somewhat common expression of
Baron Bartmcow to his most intimate friends
during the last anxious months of his residence
among us. His Excellency was in the habit
of saying, "I am tranquil so long as Lord
" Aberdeen is Minister. The Key of the
" Policy of the two countries is in his pos-
" session—the Emperor will never depart
" from it."

The speedy and sudden overthrow of the
Government of Sir ROBERT PF.EL battled all
the plans of the Emperor. His Majesty was
one of the " foreign conspirators " who, ac-
cording to Lord JOHN Russzta., worked with
Lord ABERDEEN to destroy the Whig Ministry.
They did their best, but failed. When Lord
PALMERSTON was at length driven out, it is
said the Emperor had great hopes of Lord
GRANVILLE. That delicate flower was, how-
ever, nipped in its bud. Lord MALMESBCRY
was, we have reason to believe, sounded, but
the attempt was never repeated. At length,
in order to secure peace and Parliamentary
Reform, Lord ABERDEEN unexpectedly became
First Minister ; and the news had scarcely
reached St. Petersburg before the Emperor,
with an excitement hardly dignified, sends for
, Sir HAMILTON SEYMOUR, and recurs to the
policy of the Memorandum of 1844.
, Our respectable and astounded Envoy, who
was, not in the secret, seems to have thought
he,was making vast discoveries when he im-
' parted his trembling conjectures and hesi-
tating ,suspicions to his principals. Although
about to quit the office, which he occupied
duly-for a few weeks, it fell to Lord Jolla
RUSSEIA. to notice the first overtures. His
Lordship, probably after consulting with Lord
ABERDEEN, who knew the Secretary would
soon be relegated to "national education,"
indites a well-sounding, historical despatch,
in which, without repudiating artition, lie
remarks, with some naiveté, "that ,there is
" not as yet sufficient cause for ijAtimating to
" the Sultan that he cannot keep. peace at
" home, or preserve friendly relations with his
" neighbours."
•.9
To console, however, the Emperor for. this
slight difference of opinion, and- to prove his
own competence fer the office he mitsabaut to
relinquish, Lord JOHN reconnneads ithe Em-
peror to confine himself at present to "that
"protectorate over the Christian subjects of the
"Porte, no doubt prescribed by duty and sanc-
tioned by treaty" !
And this is the protectorate that we are now
going to war to resist!

PRICE SIXPENCE•

But, before the ink is well dry of this masts' -
stroke, a more congenial spirit holds the pen
of the Secretary of State. Lord Cum:linos'
acting, as he has throughout, under the imme-
diate directions of Lord Alum:was, loses not
a moment in putting affairs in order. Lord
JOHN, without knowing it, has arranged the
protectorate, i.e., the means of preparing for
partition. Lord CLARENDON devotes his energies
to the greater theme. Au his predecessor
modestly hinted that the Sultan could yet
preserve " law and order," Lord CLARENDON,
the moment he is in office, and only a few
days after Lord JOHN'S despatch, desires the
Queen's Ambassador, in his famous instruc-
tions, to tell the Sultan that he can pre-
serve neither. And, having laid this founda-
tion, renews the secret or partition correspon-
dence with the Emperor, expressing how
charmed he is with the " generous conti-
" deuce" of his Majesty, and "how gladly they
" comply with his wish, that the subject
" should be further and frankly discussed. "
The only fault he seems to find with the
Emperor is, that his Majesty has done little
towards solving the real difficulties, by merely
stating what lie will not consent to in dealing
with the " heterogeneous materials of the
" Turkish empire." This is a " salutary
impulse " !
It is but fair to the Emperor to observe,
that his Majesty seems to have been the first
who threw some cold water over the partition
portion of the memorandum policy. Affairs
did not turn out as ripe as he had anticipated.
The Montenegro dispute blew over. It was
evident that the Emperor was content in
having revived the first portion of the scheme;
and that, for the moment, ho intended to con-
fine himself to the furtherance of the second.
So he told Sir Hairwros fairly that MENSCHI -
KOFF was at Constantinople with his demands
(compensation of the Greek Church, and ob-
servance of violated treaties, " from the en-
" gagements of which the Porte has a constant
" tendency to extricate itself. trusting to the
" jealousy of the Cabinets"), that he would not
be " trifled with," and that " if the Turks did
" not yield to reason they should to force. "
All this was in complete agreement with 1844.
No wonder the Ministry agreed to the Vienna
note.

One of the many imprudences which Lord
JOHN RUSSELL periodically commits was to
accuse the Emperor of RUSSIA of " duplicity,"
and to stigmatise the conduct of his affairs as
" fraudulent." It was this stigma which
led to the publication of these scandalous
despatches, which no wise statesman would
have authorised. They, at least, prove the
frankness of the Emperor of RUSSIA, both as
to his ulterior designs and his present inten-
tions. But they prove more. They prove not
merely connivance on the part of the Prime
Minister of this country, but complicity. How
is such a man to on a war which is to
baffle designs of alig ho is an accessary !

THE POOR LAW REMOVAL AND
SETTLEMENT BILL.

Mn. BAltilaS course on the Removal and
Settlement Bill has been marked by even
more than the usual inconsistency of his
colleagues. Up to last night it had been dis-
tinctly stated that the abolition of pauper
removal—a measure most desirable, but, at