The Sun.
London, England, 1853-05-23 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

THE EASTERN QUESTION.
• (From the Times.)
The short period of time which has elapsed since
the extension of telegraphic communication to the
extremities of Europe has already served to demon-
strate the difficulty and danger of drawing any
positive conclusions from the incomplete, and
sometimes inaccurate, information which reaches
us by this extraordinary instrument ; and, al-
though, it is our duty to give publicity to the in-
telligence transmitted to us in this form, it is
impossible to place the same degree of reliance
upon it which may be given to the regular and
detailed reports of our correspondents abroad.
Thus it turns out that the statement current in
Paris on Thursday last, and which was also trans-
mitted to us by electric telegraph, to the effect that
news had been received of the acceptance of the
Russian 'ultimatum by the Porte, was incorrect ;
and in place of it we are informed by similar means
of communication that some .occurrences of an op-
posite character and of considerable importance
have taken place in Constantinople.
According to the last account of the state of
affairs, the Porte resolved on the 10th inst. to
reject the convention which Prince Menschikoff
had proposed for its adoption on the sth ; and, as
the demand of the Russian Envoy had been
couched in severe and menacing language, great
apprehensions were entertained that he would at
once give effect to the painful measures at which
he had already hinted, and quit Constantinople.
He appears, however, to have resolved of his own
accord to postpone, at least for some days, this
decisive step ; he voluntarily intimated that he
should not withdraw until the 14th, in the hope
that this further delay would still leave the door
open to some arrangement. That period had not
expired at the date of the intelligence which has
been forwarded to us, but we are further informed
(though without any distinct account of the causes
of such an event) that on the 13th inst. Rifaat Ali,
the Minister of Foreign Affairs, ceased to occupy
that post in the Government, and had immediately
been replaced by Redschid Pasha.
These are events of serious importance ; and, if
the intelligence we have received be confirmed, the
Turkish Government is, perhaps, at one of the
most critical periods of its existence. From the
inquiries we have been able to make, there is every
reason to believe that the facts we have stated are
correct • but until the arrival of the mails we can-
not pretend to offer a connected narrative of these
transactions, or to reason with entire certainty on
occurrences which are still surrounded with so much
mystery and contradiction. It is, however, certain
that a variety of circumstances had combined to place
the Sultan and his Ministers in a most painful and
humiliating position. The SultanaVa.lide, mother of
Abd-ul-Medjid, had just expired when the Russian
Ambassador assumed increased arrogance of tone
and demeanour ; and the communications made by
him to the Sovereign with whom he professed to
be treating on amicable terms were transmitted in
the form most galling to the pride of the Sultan,
at-the very moment his feelings were already
excited and afflicted by private sorrow. The Sul-
tana Valide was- a princess of energy, who had
taken a more active part in public affairs than is
common among the women of the East ; and she is
believed to have not unfrequently strengthened the
feeble hands of her son. She died of a swelling of
the knee, aggravated to a formidable disease by the
gross ignorance and bigotry of the Turkish physi-
cians ; and her loss was never more likely to be
severely felt. Throughout the empire the hopes
and religious enthusiasm of the Christian popula-
tion are excited by the interposition of Russia on
behalf of their church ; and, if no results followed
a mission to which such important consequences
have been attributed, the reaction against Maho-
medan supremacy might become still more formi-
dable. The Russian Envoy professes, indeed, to
demand no more for the orthodox church of the
East than the Sultans and Caliphs have conceded
to their Christian subjects from a remote period.
But there is an essential difference between con-
cessions or edicts of toleration granted by a sove-
reign Power to a portion of the population living
beneath its sceptre, and an engagement to the same
effect in the nature of a contract with a foreign
State. The Russian Governmentsis the less justified in
proposing such a contract, inasmuch as it cannot
be contended that the privileges of any of the
Christian subjects of the Porte are in danger ; and
if those privileges did require further protection,
they would become an object of just solicitude, not
to one Power alone, but to all Christendom. The
evil of such demands lies not so much in the con-
ditions they are calculated to enforce, as in the
proof that nothing is wanted but hardihood and a
strong will to enforce them. Nor are these and
similar acts of interference the causes of the decline
of the Ottoman empire ; they are its natural and
inevitable effects. The Power which, scarce a
century ago, sent foreign ambassadors to the Seven
Powers on a declaration of war, and required that
those who came to treat with it should leave their
shoes at the gate, is now condemned to listen to
propositions and to language which no Sovereign
can hear with impunity. The disposition of the
Ministers of the Porte seems to have been never-
theless to run the risk of rejecting the convention
demanded of them, although it is not alleged that
they had received any specific assurances of sup-
port from the ambassadors of European powers ;
but they probably speculate on the impression
that such an event as the abrupt departure of
Prince Menschikoff from Constantinople would
produce in the world. If it be true that Redschid
Pasha, who was lately in complete disgrace, has
succeeded Rifaat in the office of Foreig,eMinister,
that change would indicate still more determina-
tion on the part of the Divan to brave the conse-
quences of the rejection of this treaty ; for, al-
though Redschid has been shown to be guilty of
grave delinquencies, according to the European
standard of character, in the conduct of public
affairs, he is of all the Turkish statesmen the most
opposed to !Russian influence, and the recal of
such a Minister in the present crisis is in itself a
revolution in the Government. It is, indeed,
possible that this change, assisted by the post-
ponement of Prince Menschikoff's departure, may
lead to the adoption of some modified arrange-
ment between the two Courts ; but the fact is un-
questionable that ',the Russian Envoy did, without
provocation, resort to those threats which are
usually the prelude to more serious hostilities ;
and that the only pretext for this conduct was to
support demands which, in accordance with the
positive assurances of the Russian Government, he
ought never to have made. The next few days
must determine the result of these transactions,
which we do not attempt to prejudge ; but either
alternative is likely to increase the perils of the
Turkish Empire. If it yields, it gives Russia an
unexampled right of interference over the Chris-
tian populations ; if it resists, it runs the risk of a
collision which may lead to consequences of far
greater moment in Western Europe. The safest
expedient in such a position would be the proposal
and acceptance of some other form of agreement
which might save the honour of both parties, and
this we hope may still be the result.

(From t 1 e. Post. ) •
It is well for the peace of Europe that a crafty
intrigue has not prevailed over an honest policy,
and that guaranteed rights have not been subverted
by the artful encroachments of Russian ambition.
We are happy in being able to announce to the
English public, that the ultimatum which Prince
Menschikoff presented to the Porte on the sth of
May was rejected on the 13th. It appears that
the Russian Ambassador, who had, in the first in-
stance, demanded an answer on the 10th, granted
a delay, and that subsequently to that date Red-
schid Pacha, who was lately displaced by Russian
influence, was appointed Grand Vizier, and that
the answer given by that Minister to Prince Men-