The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-10-19 00:00:00

)anube

So far from allaying our fears, respecting a hos-

lie issue, they are rather increased by the haughty

belligerent tone assumed by the EMPEROR, in

cision ?"

ization

it might have been invidiously asserted that the
SULTAN'S pacific policy, as displayed in the Mani-:
festo, was sheer hypocrisy, had it not been 'for the,
indulgence still granted to the GzAn.,..in. affording
,the period of fifteen days, in order that he might
have time to forego his right to those " material
guarantees," now basely and falsely occupied by
his miserable serfs. And this extraordinary act
of clemeney,:considering the merits of the caie,:is
all,the more 'surprising from the fact, that conscious
of his strength, and of the assistance. of the Anglo-
French Powers, whose squadrons now float in the
Dardanelles, he might, with impunity, have shown
no forbearance, and still less mercy, but haVe the
matter.ore speedily, and no doubt for him, satis-
factorily, discussed by a more terrible agency than
either diplomacy or manifestos can employ.
The Emperor NICHOLAS, then, will have to lose
no time in cteciamg upon I.lle coui6e, 01 ucuu.Li. •
he intends to pursue. Delays are dangerous.
He must make quick work of it, now or never.
His crown, and dignity, if such he has, are at stake:
Can he safely risk them both by .one false act?
" War is a game which, were, nations wise, kings
would not play at." But for the. AUTOCRAT to mea
sure swords with the SULTAN, NV04141 be not merely
folly; but madness. In the event of his deterniin-
ing so to act, would it not be wise of. the country
to pronounce the verdict on their EXIPEROR of non..
cornpos mentis? and obtain a new successor to the
throne; thus saving Europe the necessity of doing
so. But should NICHOLAS follow the example of
FERDINAND of Austria, he will escape that dire inflic-
tion known in this country as " Beat the Bear !"

THE- position which the affairs of China are
assuming, calls for. the prompt attention of our.
Government. From the advices last received from
Canton, it appears that the lives and property of
British subjects would be seriously jeopardized in
the event of hoStilities actually taking place be-
tween the Christian "rebels" and the Imperial
troops., The presence of the British fleet in the
Canton waters, may be sufficient to protect the
lives of our subjects ; but should the threatened
reduction of the city of Canton by fire be accom-
plished, the loss of British property must be very.
considerable.
Here, then, we have a direct cause for immediate
interference between the belligerent parties ; and
it becomes a great question of diplomacy, which
party we should recognize as having the power, de
facto, in their hands, and who are henceforth to be
Considered by this- country as the constituted
authorities of China. Much as we wish to see the
Chinese nation released from the bonds which

have hitherto restrained them, still our business is
simply to deal With the materialisms of the nations
with which we are .carrying on a commercial and
civilized intercourse. The capabilities of China,
rather than its wants, are therefore the subjects of
which we have to treat. .

In dealing with the Chinese people and govern-
ment,
under the present Emperor,, and, indeed,
nearly all his predecessors, the lives of British 'sub-
jects, together with their property, have been
exposed to imminent danger from the sudden out-
bursts of savage dictation on the part of the Chinese
rulers, who have always found a ready means for their
execution in the gross fanaticism of an uncivilised
population. In many cases the cupidity-and ex-
tortions of the Chinese authorities have been yielded
to for the sake of peace, and to secure the lilies and
property of our merchants. And even up to this
moment the rivers of China, on which we have the
greatest traffic, are infested with pirates of the"
mast fierce and terrible character. These are, one
and all, serious discouragements to our trade with
a country whose products we need for our daily

use, and whose people, under proper government,
would be our largest and best • customers for
manufactured goods. •

It then becomes the duty of our Statesmen

enquire carefully into the nature and probable suc-
cess of this spontaneous movement on the part of
the Chinese people,' which is said' to have for its
Object the establishment of a civilized and
.more
substantial form of Government. The idea .of
dealing with this question in China, as we would
in civilized countries, Where " Emperors" and

"rebels" figure on the frontispiece of the disastrous
drama of civil war, is perfectly preposterous, while
to rid the people of uncivilized countries of the
power of inhuman and impotent monsters, such as
the Chinese Emperors have ever bee a, is one of the
great missions Of civilization itself. In-China, we

THE NORTHERN DAILY TIMES

or calculated. It:reference, however, to thehistort have, at present, three distinct duties to perform.
of the: last War may furnish some :data upon which. First ;—to secure , the continuance of the most
to forma, pretty correct estimate. It behoved perfect respect for the British flag. Secondly;—
then, not only the British CABINET, but the other to obtain the right we enjoy `S,Mong
civilised na
European Powers, to: ward off, as long as the tions—the unrestricted privilege of free intercourse
slightest chance'of an amicable settlement could be with the people of every, pc34tion, of the Chinese
entertained, the recurrence of an event likely to Aominions ; and thirdly, the right of free cora-.
produce. as great, or more terrible disasters., And menial intercourse for our shipping with the sea
surely, if success should attend, even at this ad- and inland ports of the Empire. These are our
vanced period, the efforts; of our owji and other rights
.ns a Civilized, ,and our; interest as a great
Cabinets to -effect a reconciliation between the commercialeountry ; and it matters not hoW outre
hostile Powers, none will regret the procrastination and impolitic it might. appear to break throUgh
of negociations, productive of so signal and happy the international law' which•binds civilized states,
i result. '• there cannot be, .nor should not be,
~any delicacy
Thq Manifesto- addressed by the PORTE to the in throwing aside our existing engagements with
European Powers, is- characterised by a mild, just, a ruler such a's the. Chinese Emperor really is ; and
and conciliatorypolicy, which reflects upon the Otto- entering into new compacts With a large section
Man government, the highest honour, and is calcu- of the Chinese people who hold out to us a more
latedto subvert those illfavoured libels -on the substantial guarantee, than we have at present, for
,Turkish character, so busily circulated by raisin- the furtherance of our trade, commerce, and civil-
formed persons. It will certainly bear to be-placed -
in juxtaposition with any that has yetemanated
from the, diplomatic pen of Prince MENSCHIKOFF,
or, is- likely to iitoCeed from such a highly civilized
quarter. On such an occasion, and under such ex-
cessive provocation, the moderation of itstone is
iMparalled:,—" Even supposing," - says the Mani-
estO, "that Russia had a subject of complaint in.
7elation to the Holy Places, she ought to have cir-
n.imscribed her- actions and- solicitations within
the limits of this question alone, and ought not to
Lave raised pretensions which the object of her
complaint could not sustain. She ought not, how-
ever, 'to have taken measures of intimidation, such
as sending her troops to, the frontiers, and making
naval preparation at Sebastopol, on the subject of
a question' which might have been settled amicably be-
tween the two Powers. 'l3 ut it is evident that :svlio.t
has taken place is totally contrary to an intention
of amicable settlethent." Yet, whilst the PORTE
affords such unmistakeable evidence of a pacific
,disposition, and administers such` gentle reproof to
the CZAR, it fails, not either to assert its own dig-
or display its honour.- It is not seeking a
pretext' for quarrel, then, to insist, as Russia
has done, upon the question of the privileges of,
the Greek China' granted by the OttoMan.Govern-
ment, privileges which the Government believes
its -honour, its dignity, and its sovereign power,
are concerned in maintaining, and on the
subject of which it can neither admit the in-
terference, nor the surveillance of any Go-
vernment. Is it not Russia which ,has occu-
pied with considerable forces the Principalities of
Moldavia -and Wallachia, declaring, at 'the-same
time, that these provinces should serve as a gua-
rantee until she had 'obtained what she desired?
Has not this act been considered justly by 'the
SUBLIME -PORTE as a violation of treaties, and con-
sequently as a casus UM Have the other Powers
themselves been able to come to any other de-

There are many other arguments that we might
here adduce in support of the . course we have
suggested; but we cannot, we repeat, be induced
to lose sight of the materialisms of those vast
commercial interests , and requirements we' have
to deal with- in this particular quarter of the
world; nor could we find, perlialis, a subject more'
replete with importance to our mercantile, Or of more
lively interest to our general readers.. Among the
products we draw from China, the most conspicu-
ous iS, Our recently adopted antidote to intemper-

ante--that solace to the withering spirits on 01
hearths—Tea. Nor does Tea • occupy. the sc

position• of primary - importance in •the list o
China's products. Silk has become with us a!
great a requisite in the embellishments and adorn
rents of our advanced State, as the wool of ou
domestic sheep, which contributes so largely t
Our bodily 'health .and comfort. •

The Sugars of Siam again, came as a timely ai

to our growing necessites for increased supplies
moderate prices. The Silver of China, came also 'as
an opportune addition to our monetary peWer. The
employment of our shipping in the Chinese Seas,
has sustained our ship-owners, when other chan-
nels of trade were unremunerative, and, in many
cases, were totally abandoned. If all these advan-
tages are to be taken into account, when calculating
the value of ~our commercial relations with
nation circumscribed by a savage dictation, and
paralysed by unequalled horrors,what'estimate shat
we form of the mutual advantages to be deriver
by England and, the Chinese people, from a fro
and unrestricted intercourse with China as a libera
itid Constitutional Empire ? Where the Chines
iitve hitherto supplied one of our wants, they eoull
hen send us an hundred=fold, and where the;
iave consumed one hundred pound's 'worth . of our
nanufactures, they could consume 'one-thousand.
The powers of production and consumption of
300,000,000 of people, inhabiting a territory whirl
possesses, every variety of climate and soil, are, it
fact,. almost. incalculable ; and when We see tha
new vents are required to. sustain the increase it
our own means of production, the duty which ow
Statesmen have before them is too manifest ti
require the occurrence of any great event to stip°
elate them to immediate action. Setting aside th
temporal and spiritual well-being of the Chines(
'it is our bounden duty to seize all moral means
which present themselves, to secure supplies of
those necessaries which contribute so much to our
comfort and advancement. To have made war
upon the poor, benighted Chinaman- for the, attain-
ment of these ends, was -not the course which
humanity would have suggested, or expediency
could justify. But, when we find the voice of a-large
body of the Chinese people raised in favour of
Christianity civilization, we are h.,arirt as a
to them tne Liam. yr ,J.,,therhood,
and to sustain them within the pale of a long

protracted emancipation. . .
The time has now arrived. when England may
fairly take advantage of a current .of events which
will not only .elevate the Chinese in the social scale
of modern-- enlightenment, but which will secure
to British subjects those political and commercial
privileges which have been sulong: withheld by
the savage policy of a long succession of Chinese
Emperors. The propriety and expediency, in fact,
of at once recognizing and subsidizing the Chinese-
patriots, is without a parallel. .But. should a pre-
cedent be required, we, would mention the recog-
nition of the independence of Mexico, and the
Sclith American Republics, at a moment when the
patriots of those countries were in open rebellion
with the.parent State, with which we were on the
most friendly terms. In thess cases we had to pass
by all the:nicest points 'in international law, and
to swallow a perfect-bolus of that honesty, of purpose
which has distinguished our diplomacy in other
instances.

The recognition of the independence of Texas
the United States Government is another case
point, in which we find the independenee of
rebels," fully recognised and sustained by a na-
ion interested in the well-being of its own people,
well as in that of the Texans. We there fore,

hope to see a proper degree of foresight and sym-
pathy displayed by our Cabinet in the cause of
Chinese Emancipation,