The Press.
London, England, 1857-02-28 00:00:00

THE CRIMEAN INQUIRY•

in answer to another question,
The PREMIER said that. 1,0001. apiece bad been
offered by way of honorarium to Sir J. Dl‘Neill and
Colonel Tulloch, by whom, however, the proffer had
been declined.

THE CHINA DEBATE.
The adjourned debate on the late transactions at
Canton was resumed by
Mr. S. WARREN, who, after an emphatic denial of
all party prejudices, pronounced a heavy censure
upon the British representatives in China, and, by
implication, on the Government at home. The
ostensible ground of difference was, in his opinion,
nothing but a flimsy pretext for proceedings which
Sir J. Bowring would never have undertaken if he
had not felt assured of support and countenance
from his official superiors.
The LORD ADVOCATE remarked that when appeals
were made to justice, the house should remember
that some justice was due to the functionaries who
were required at a great distance from home, and
under very serious responsibilities, to do their best
in vindication of British honour and interests. Two
charges he said had been alleged against them—that
they had committed a breach of international law,
and inflicted an unjustifiable punishment for a slight
wrong. On the former point he contended that the
right of protection claimed for the Arrow was
founded upon an ordinance which the Chinese them-
selves had recognised for many a year without re-
monstrance. The Chinese authorities had from the
beginning placed themselves in the wrong, and ob-
stinately refused reparation under circumstances
that led step by step to all the consequences that
followed. The pretence founded on the expiry of
the lorcha's register did not apply. The character
of the outrage depended upon the animus with which
it was committed. The Chinese evidently designed
to perpetrate an insult on the British flag, and there
was no course left but to take prompt notice of the
wrong, and require a fitting measure of redress.
With respect to the alleged severity of the retribu-
tion inflicted, he urged that it should not be merely
measured by the final cause of disturbance, which
might be of' insignificant proportion in itself but
was the crown to a long series of injuries, and the
exponent of issues of the greatest possible importance.
Mr. WnrrEstnE rebutted the legal assumption of
the Lord Advocate, referring to the " supplementary"
treaty with China; the terms of which, he urged,
necessarily overrode any mere ordinance of a colo-
nial governor, and the purport of which, as he inter-
preted and applied it, fully exonerated the Chinese,
and left the British functionaries responsible for the
atrocities subsequently perpetrated. Contending that
the proceedings of Sir John Bowring and Mr. Parkes
were wholly unwarrantable, be called upon the House
of Commons to mark its indignation at a crime which
outraged humanity, and cast discredit on the national
profession of Christianity.

Mr. HORSFAI.I. opposed the motion, believing, that
the British Commissioner had kept strictly within
the bounds of international law. He proceeded to
defend the Liverpool merchants against certain
charges that had been thrown out in the course of
the debate.

Lord ROBERT CECIL enforced the necessity of put-
ting some check upon the representatives of England
abroad, to prevent the recurrence of events which,
like that under discussion, entangled the country in
crime and peril.

Sir C. 14APIER urged that Admiral Seymour had
done nothing but his duty. The British flag was
insulted, and his course was clear.

Lord GODERICH considered that Sir J. Bowring
had seized an inauspicious moment to urge a very
questionable claim. That functionary, in his opinion,
deserved the censure of Parliament.

Mr. BENTINCK could not vote for the motion,
although approving it upon abstract principles,
because he apprehended the complications that must
ensue in China if Parliament interposed by a vote of
censure with the serious questions now pending
between the British and Chinese authorities.

Sir M. BERKELEY eulogised the forbearance and
humanity displayed by Admiral Seymour.
Sir J. GRAHAM also vindicated the admiral, and
extended that vindication partially to Sir J. Bowring,
whom, however, he characterised as more remark-
able for the honesty of his intentions than the dis-
cretion of his acts. The 116 n. baronet then reviewed
the recent transactions in detail, arriving at the con•
elusion that the lorcha Arrow possessed no title to
be treated as a British vessel. He believed that the
colonial licence granted to it was invalid from the
beginning, but, if not, bad certainly expired. He
repudiated the whole principle upon which this
licensing system was based, commenting on the evils
that would be produced if aliens, by a species of
quasi naturalisation, were to be enabled to shelter
themselves under the protection of a British flag.
But the transactions were worse in policy than in
law. Sir J. Bowring had evidently seized the oppor-
tunity to solve the rexata vuestio of access to Can-
ton, and for that purpose had pressed to ortrowitioa

SAtrRDAY,

a claim which successive Secretaries of State had,
after deliberate consideration, deemed it expedient
to leave dormant. Lord Granville, Lord Alaliiies-
bury, and Lord Grey had positively prohibited all
aggressive operations against the Chinese; and the
partial relaxation of this prohibition by Lord Claren-
don did not suffice to relieve the Commissioner from
the charge of having exceeded his powers. In a
national point of view, he inquired whether it would
redound to the honour of England, that, after saving
Odessa and Helsingfors, her admirals had bom-
barded Canton. For his own part he would wash his
hands of innocent blood.

The ATTORNEY GENERAL examined the question in
its legal bearings, addressing his arguments chiefly
to the speeches in the House of Lords, and justify-
ing the course adopted by the British representatives
at Canton.

On the motion of Mr. R. PHULIMORE, the debate
was then again adjourned to Monday next.
The house adjourned at half-past twelve o'clock.

THE PERSIAN NEGOTIATIONS.

The i‘ord of Brussels publishes the following,
under date of Paris, 22nd instant :
I have only just time to add a few words to my despatch
of yesterday, respecting the Anglo. Persian difficulty. As
I telegraphed to you, that question is settled. You ate
are aware that one of the claims advanced by Lord Strat
ford recently at Constantinople, and which Feronk Khan
thought exorbitant, was a demand for the dismissal of
the Prime Minister of the Shah, the Sadr' Azam, Mirza
Aga Khan. . . . .

England has relinquished this demand. The Sadr'
Azam will remain in office.

The second claim of England, upon which the London
Cabinet strongly insisted, was still more exorbitant.
The English Government desired that, on Mr. Murray,
the Britibli representative at Teheran, resuming his office,
he should receive twice the visits of the Persian authori-
ties before returning them. This demand could not he
complied with by the Shah. This also has been set aside.
Mr. Murray will be received with all the honours due to
his rank, but the Persian Government will not have to
perform an act which would have lowered it in the eyes of
the people, and to the humiliation of which it never could
have consented.
But Persia has consented to receive English Consuls in
all the towns where there are Russian Consuls.

Herat will be restored on the one hand, and Bushire on
the other.

Such are the more important points which I have to
communicate to you on a question which the English
Government was very anxious to bring to a settlement.

On the 24th, Le Nord's Paris correspondent
adds

The arrangement between England and Persia is not
finally concluded, as it has hot yet been signed. Advices
from London are waited for.

.T: e Times Paris correspondent, under date of the

25th, writes :

The proposed convention with England specifies that
England shall henceforth be treated as the most favoured
nation, that is, as Russia, with respect to commercial
advantages ; and, moreover, that she shall have a right to
found an establishment in the Isle of Barrack and another
in Ormuz. These conditions would appear to be inde•
pendent of the evacuation of Rent by the Persians, and
the abandonment of liushire by the English. The English
Government had demanded the right to appoint a Consul
at Balfrush, a port of the Mazanderan on the Caspian
Sea, but the Persian Envoy alleged that the existing
treaties with Russia contain a clause prohibiting foreign
diplomatic agents from residing on the shores of that sea,
and no other foreign power has an agent there. But she
may enjoy the right of having Consuls on several specified
points in the interior of Persia, and ou the shore of the
Persian Gulf. If the conditions to be submitted to the
English Government be accepted, Ferouk Khan will
probably go to London, merely for the ratification of the
treaty between us and Persia.

On the day following the Times Paris correspon-
dent writes :

The summary of the conference with the English Am-
bassador has, I doubt not, been regularly despatched to
London, and the last which was more conclusive—if the
term " conclusive " can be safely applied to it—promises,
RS I have said, very favourably. The draft may have by
this met with the approval of our Government, and, for
aught I know, the treaty may be signed in Downing-street;
but the important point is the ratification at Teheran—and
of this no man can be certain.

It is but an act of justice to state that throughont the
whole of this affair the Emperor Napoleon has acted in a
straightforward, disinterested, and honourable manner,
and, so far as can be judged by his words and acts, his
earnest desire has been to remove every obstacle, and to
facilitate a satisfactory solution of the question.
I learn that the Russian Ambassador in Paris, as well
as the Persian Envoy, deny the existence of the treaty
between Russia and Persia, said to have been ratified at
Teheran on the 18th of Janua•y ; and the Nonl gives a
similar contradiction. I need hardly say that the non-
existence of that treaty requires some authority less
interested in keeping it secret than either of the parties
just mentioned. The existence of the treaty is neverthe-
less affirmed in other quarters, and it is even whispered
that, for the cession of the portion of the territory in
question, including Mount Ararat, by which Russia would
command the pass of Ilayszid, and which had been long
coveted by Russia, the latter has engaged to give Persia
the assistance of a corps d'arrni:e and a permanent gar-
rison of 5,000 men at Ijent, iu 080 the War With glig"4
COUtinUed

FEBRUARY 28, 1857.

foreign 6orrtsponbtutt.

BEEssErs, Feb. 25.
THE morning expresses from Paris convey the
intelligence of the Persian differences having been
brought to a termination. The original demands
of England were incompatible with the common
respect that a nation owes to itself, but the Whig
Government, having a dread of the motion of Lord
Derby, incontinently withdrew its exorbitant preten-
sions. It is well understood on the Continent that
Lord Derby and Mr. Disraeli rule in Parliament, and
that the Whig Government is gifted merely with an
unhappy potentiality to yield every point, without
honesty of purpose, and lacking the power of dis-
cretion. The Whig Government primarily insisted
that the Sadrazam, Mirza Aga Khan, the favourite
and confidential Minister of the Shah, should be dis-
missed from his post; that Mr. Murray, the British
Envoy, after having made a triumphant entry into
Teheran, should receive the reiterated visit of the
State ofdcers—that is on two separate and distinct
occasions—the sec3nd giving them the guise of
petitioners forj grace—before the envoy should be
called upon to return the compliment. These re-
quirements were too preposterous to be insisted
upon, when in anticipation of the castigating anim-
adversions of Lord Derby. The four principal
points agreed to are as follows :-1. The evacua•
tion of Herat, with a stipulation to abstain from
interrerence in Affghan affairs ; 2. A restitu-
tion to the Imaum of Muscat of the posses-
sions of which he had been deprived by Persia; 3.
The Charge d'Affaires of her Britannic Majesty to
make a formal entry into Teheran, and to receive a
complimentary visit (reception d'honneur) from the
Sadrazam or Grand Vizier of Persia; 4. Consuls to
be appointed in such towns that the English Govern-
ment shall deem advisable. No treaty has as yet
been signed. Since the arrival of the Count de Kis-
seleff at Paris, matters have taken a more conciliatory
turn. He has bad long conferences with Ferouk
Khan. Benda-Bassi, it is said, will not be restored
to the Imaum of Muscat, neither will England ob-
tain satisfaction for the expenses of the war. What-
ever arrangements may be entered into respecting
Southern and Eastern Persia are perfectly apart from
the affairs of Northern Persia and those parts
abutting upon the Russian frontier. Russia has a
specific treaty with Persia, and will come to no col.-
dial understanding with England whilst a Wliig
Government remains in office. The Government of
the Czar, rejecting and contemning an insincere and
lip Liberalism that clings to a retrograde Austrian,
Whit, and Papistical policy, seeks the rather an
alliance with Conservative progress, that shall develop
national resources, inspire confidence amongst
nations, and promote commercial prosperity by
peaceful and harmonious co-operation. It has been
proved by practical demonstration that such a state
of things is incompatible with the existence of a
Whig Government in England.
Russia is beginning to abandon her exclusive and
protective system. In 1827, when the first assurance
companies were established in St. Petersburg, an
imperial ukase prohibited the securing of property
in foreign offices. Adopting sounder views of com-
mercial policy, permission is now granted to make
use of foreign channels, thus bringing the Russian
companies in competition with those of London.
The rates of assurance in St. Petersburg have been
immediately lowered, and this prudent alteration has
brought a large increase of business. An agency
office of the Royal Insurance Company of London
has been already opened. Large advances have
also been made with the sanction of Government to
the proprietors of gold mines in the Oural district.
Nothing but a fair outlay was wanting to convert
these gold mines into one of the most lucrative ad-
ventures of Europe.
No symptom of a preparation for removal from the
Danubian principalities can be discerned amongst
the Austrian battalions. It is, besides, well under
stood that in the event of withdrawal the army will
be stationed upon the Moldo Wallachian frontiers.
To prepare the statesmen of Europe for the conse-
quences of this hostile attitude, the Gazette of Vienna
declares the protectorate of the Principalities to
belong of right to the border States, to the exclusion
of England (devroit etre absolument devolu aux
puissances litnitrophes). Backed by a Whig
Ministry, Austria dares to beard Russia, a proceed-
ing not in accordance with the intention of France.
The firman for the convocation of the Divans " ad
hoc" has been taken to Jassy by Kaboul Effendi,
and to Bucharest by Kiamil Bey. A word in regard
to this firman may not be inopportune, and, indeed,
parliamentary attention should be properly directed
towards it. By the provisions of this authoritative
instrument the electoral lists are to be revised by
gommitlees entirely composed of Government agents,

THE PRESS.

by governors of districts, presidents of the courts of
justice, and mayors of the municipalities. This has
been done with the consent of the European
diplomatists; yet these same caused to be expressly
inserted in the firman an injunction to restrain
governmental interference ditectly or indirectly.
This is not bungling, but an Anglo-Austrian
Kaimakan of Moldavia and his secre-
taries, instruments of Austria, have busied them-
selves in preparing the electoral lists. Orders have
been sent into the provinces to exclude all peasants
—second-class voters—not belonging to " Separa-
tist" landlords. And the rejected will have to appeal
to the very committee that directed their expulsion.
Such presidents of tribunals as have declared them-
serves favourable to a Moldo-Wallachian union have
been deprived of their offices; and some of the
Ministers have resigned temporarily, in order to
become candidates for a seat in the Divan. Amongst
the latter are MM. Istrati, Vogorides, and Gregorio
Balchi. To say that the Ministers of Austria and
England are not cognisant of this conspiracy to gag
the popular voice would be an absurdity. Little
respect is paid by Austria to the provisions of the
Treaty of Paris—a disreputable lino of conduct that
the Whig Government does not repudiate. A
trespass, by implication, not permitted to Russia,
may be perpetrated by others with impunity. The
fact is made plain in the courteous answer of
Prince Gortschakoff to Lord Clarendon on the Rol-
grad matter. C. A. H.

lortign nab• Cliental 3nttliigente.

THE WAR WITH CHINA.

Accounts from Hong Kong, of the 13th of Jan.,
state that a numerous Chinese fleet had attacked the
English squadron, and subsequently retired in good
order under the forts of Canton.

Admiral Seymour had disembarked troops and
burnt the greater part of the suburbs of Clinton.
The Reet belonging to the Chinese rrbels had
formed a junction with that of the imperialists at
Whampoa.
The Chinese had also made an unsuccessful
attempt to retake Tea Totum Fort.
The Europeans on board the steamer Thatle, in
all eleven persons, had been treacherously murdered
by assassins in disguise among the native passengers.
The steamer was carried off, and abandoned after
being dismantled.
The Government of Hong Kong had increased the
police force, and were taking precautionary measures
against incendiarism.
PERSIA.

Intelligence from Bombay, of the 2nd inst., states
that Mr. Murray had arrived at Bushire.
The English had established their head-quarters
at Bw,sorah.

Intelligence direct from Bushire to the 17th of
January, states that the troops were still unmolested
by the enemy. An attack had been made by detach-
ments of cavalry and horse artillery on a depot of
Persian stores and ammunition twenty-two miles
from the camps, and the object attained without loss.