The Sun.
London, England, 1855-05-11 00:00:00

Irantee the territorial independence of Turkey. Again, the
second object of the Third Point was to put an end to the
preponderance of. Russia in the Black Sea ;, but here Russia
answers that her maritime superiority arose only from her for-
mer treaties, and from the isolation of the Porte, and that it
lay at the choice of 'Turkey to' turn the balance of maritime
power in the Black Sea to her own advantage.- . At one mo-
ment it suits-the policy of Russia to represent Turkey as a
dying man, -and at another to speak, of. her ns a formidable'
rival, though, at least, she cannot be both. : The ascendancy
of Russia in the Black Sea-is of recent date, but it is not the
less complete, for she, owes it to the, conquestS which in the
jest ce.Auli and in .1813 wrested from-the Ottoman Empire
.the,northern shores of those waters. The geo,graphical char-
acterlif 'that coast,'tlic'eourse of the great" ricers, the posses-
sion of Sebastopol, and even the prevailing winds and cur-
rents of the Elaine, all concur to giVe to the great northern
empire; which extends frail.. the Danube to the Caucasus,_ an
overwhlming preponderance Over that State which still holds,
-the-Bulgarian and Asiatic coast:: The Russian has accumn-•
latecl all the means of attack the Turk cannot even boAst
of ,an efficient means •of 'defence at the mouth of the'
Bosphorus. The attempt .to sheer that' the . Ottoman em-
pire is not exposed to' danger from the Russian
fleet is a bareca,ed imposition. on the' credulitY , of
Europe ; and if the_Russian vessels had sailed for Constanti-
nople.with 20,000 men on the daY after Prince Menschikoff's
return from his mission, the 'Emperor Nicholas would have
realised his predictions. If ever Europe again leaves Russia
in nconditionto strike such a blow the opportunity will not
a second time be throw. away.
`But Prince Gortschakoff went even further. He argued that

the existence of the maritime power of Russia in the Black Sea
might become essential for the protection of Turkey against
the fleets of England and France, and that if the Black Sea
were disarmed there would be no security against the action
of those Powers upon Constantinople. It is difficult to imagine
a grosser sophism. England and France are cordially united
for the defence of Turkey, but they cannot be united against
her, and if,.by an improbable change in events, one of those
Powers were in arms, as in 1807, against her, the other would
become the more closely allied to her; yet,' with extraordi-
nary inconsistency, after having adverted to this danger of an
attack on Turkey by the Western navies, Russia proposes in
the next sentence that the Straits should bo .opened to ships j
of war of all the Powers ! So:that in the course of this paper,
destined to' how in what manner Russia would allow her own
maritime preponderance to be abated, she argues—first, that
she has no necessary maritime preponderance at all in those
waters;; and, secondly, that the weakness of Turkey is such
that the maritime power of Russia is needed to protect her
from the aggressions of the Western Powers. This is what the
Russian Plenipotentiaries call " uniting their efforts to put
the scheme in operation with frankness and sincerity." We
sap, on the 'Contrary, that to offer these extravagant asser-
tions add arguments to the Conference in satisfaction of the
just demands of Europe was to violate the spirit of the letter
of-that moral engagement which Russia haddeliberately con-
tracted on the opening of these negotiations.
What, then, does the position of Austria become ? The
Cabinet of Vienna does not dispute that from the Bth of
August to the 26th of April the proposals of peace were fairly
discussed on the basis and in the manner indicated by the
Austrian Minister. Count Buol distinctly declared that the
Emperor's mind was made up to adhere, at all risks; to his
engagement with the Allied Powers; and he stated in closing
the Conference that the Russian counter-propositions did not
contain any satisfactory solution of the difficulty. We are
entitled therefore to assume that Austria hai not changed her
ground, and that she is entirely with us in principle ; but
we have no certainty, and, indeed, it is a matter of great
doubt, whether she is or will be with us in action; in other
words, the risk appears to her too great ; the stake is too
hazardous to be lightly played for. The military occurrences
of the last three months, the hardships of the winter cam-
paign, the unexpected duration of the siege of Sebastopol, the
reports current in Europe of the losses sustained by the Allied
armies, and the evident resolution of both France and England
to concentrate all their efforts for the present on the Crimea,
have undoubtedly had the effect of rendering Russia, more
arrogant and Austria less bold. We had all along foreseen
that the Conferences of Vienna would prove altogether abor-
tive, unless some military achievement occurred in the in-
terval to decide those questions which the sword once drawn
can alone determine ; but until the French and English
armies in the Crimea have shown that they are fully able to
accomplish what they have undertaken we neither inspire
sufficient fear to our enemies nor sufficient confidence to oar
allies. The mystification of these Conferences and the langour
of some of <our adherents may all be traced to the want of
energy and activity manifested by the Government, and
before we can compel Russia t 6 be in earnest in making peace
we must prove that we are altogether in earnest in making
war. But, if any further justification of the war be needed,
it will be found, in spite of Lord Grey, in the papers now laid
before the country.