The Sun.
London, England, 1853-10-05 00:00:00

LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 5, 1853.

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

THE EASTERN QUESTION. DECLARA-
TION OF WAR BY TURKEY AGAINST
RUSSIA.

(From Ike Times.)

A formal declaration of war by Turkey against
Russia may too probably precipitate Europe into
the perils.of the struggle so long foreseen, but so
anxiously evaded. It is much to be lamented that
the rulers of the Ottoman nation did not suspend
their decision on so momentous a point until they
could obtain the voluntary concurrence of those
powers on whose aid they must eventually rely,
but, excepting on this point of omission, there can
be no complaint made of the step now announced.
It was admitted on all sides, and distinctly alleged
in the Ministerial note of the British Government,
that a cases belli was actually constituted by the
passage of the Pruth and the armed occupation of
the Danubian Principalities ; nor can the right of
the Sultan to meet this aggression by a declaration
of war be possibly impeached. The sovereignty of
the Ottoman Government is one of the points
which has been most strenuously maintained in the
pending dispute, and this sovereignty, it is evident,
would he absolutely destroyed if the right of mak-
ing peace or war were denied to its representatives.
The Sultan, in short, by declaring war,: does nothing
but what he would have been justified in doing
three months ago, and, though we may regret that
such a resolution should have been independently
adopted by a dependent Government, it cannot be
held to have forfeited its slaims-to stippo#.—
It is impossible, moreover, to deny that the
position of affairs was sufficient to provoke the
Turks to a summary decision, and it is, indeed,
matter of surprise that they should have foreborne
so long. The Emperor, of Russia, first by the
demands of Prince Menschikoff, and afterwards by

the unscrupulous exposition of Count Nesselrode,
exacted concessions from the Turkish Government

incompatible with its administrative independence,
and, as a guarantee for the surrender required,
seized upon and occupied the provinces of Wal-
lachia and Moldavia. By these proceedings Russia

possessed herself of a material equivalent, and
could therefore afford, without loss or anxiety, to
leave the original question in suspense. This sus-
pense, however, was in the highest degree injurious
to the Turks, who were thus driven to the alterna-
tive of either satisfying an unjust demand or
acquiescing in a loss of territory.
The French and British Governments, which
have committed themselves unhesitatingly to the
cause of the Sultan, will, of course, not withdraw
their support when he takes a step which they
have already acknowledged he would be justified in
taking. We may still hope, perhaps, that concession
on one side or forbearance on the other may pre-
clude the extremities of actual war ; nor is the
change, indeed, in the position of affairs quite so
serious as it may appear. Considering the disposi-
tions and preparations of the two Governments, the
situation of their forces, and the prospects placed
before them, the mere declaration of war can add
but little to the existing realities of the contest,
unless followed up immediately by offensive opera-
tions. Yet, as the Danube rolls between the two
armies, and as the passage of such a river by either
force in the face of the other would be a most

desperate enterprise, it may possibly be some time
before we receive intelligence of active hostilities.
But, whatever may be the character or incidents
of the struggle, one opinion only can be formed of
the aggression which has provoked it. Different
views may well be taken of the destinies of the
Ottoman 'Empire, but the judgment of civilised
Europe has been pronounced without variation on
the conduct of the Russian Government. The
demands of the Czar for a new spiritual protecto-
rate were totally unwarranted by any facts before
the world. The Greek Christians had not been

subjected to any recent or extraordinary disabili-
ties, and, so far from claiming the protection
so officiously offered to them, they were notoriously
suspicious of its purport. As far as Russia was
entitled by any existing treaty to rights or privi-
leges in connexion with the Ottoman subjects, her
pretensions were fully admitted, nor was it so much
as alleged on the part of the Czar that they had
been in any degree impeached. If what he desired

was nothing but the maintenance of existing com-
pacts, this guarantee, although manifestly super-
fluous, was entirely at his disposal ; if he desired
anything more, he was clearly not entitled to exact

satisfaction by 'force of arms. It was undoubtedly
competent to the Russian Government to enter
into negotiations with the Porte on this or any
other subject ; but to prefer a gratuitous demand
upon an independent State, and then to back this
requisition by an immediate act of war, was an
outrage upon common justice no less than European
law.

Some allowance might possibly have been ex-
tended to the Emperor Nicholas if he had simply
desired to receive conditions at the hands of the
tChoinsfeexreenucsee iwnsatseatdakoefnaftretlosheimof
hthetTheurakrsr,e;gbanuttt
and unjustifiable tenour of Count Nyeso.selrotde s last
dispatch. This dispatch, in oliectint, no to the
source but to the substance o. f the Turkish modifi-
cations, proclaimed undisguisedly the intention of
the Czar to thrust his • tee'rvention, for purposes of
political aggrandisement, upon the internal admi-
nistration of the Turkish empire. It was impos-
sible, in fact, after the avoiewsuialooivhiincthenttihoinssd?ocu-
ment contained, to rely any longerneteupona mere
iEnniteprperroertatiaodn
aoefeetphtaetd.parHti which the
de-
clared through the manifesto of his own Minister,
pointed unmistakeably to such an aggression upon
Ottoman independence that no option remained
between firm resistance and unqualified concession ;
and, as the latter alternative could not be adopted,
it became the turn of the Czar to receive an ulti-
matum from the hands of others. We entertained
hopes that conditions based so manifestly upon
justice, and backed by the universal opinion of
Europe, might find acceptance without the neces-
sity of an appeal to arms. We should be reluc-
tant even now to forego this expectation entirely,
for it is understood that at Olmiitz the Czar dis-
claimed in most emphatic terms any desire or in-
tention to interfere with the internal administra-
tion of the Porte. Words, however, are -but of
little value, and, if Russia persists in abiding by
demands declared inadmissible, she must be pre-
paredindiseptsd foroeenco war,unter but ready to a
the resolute hostility
even thisofPowers
sad alternative rather than forsake the duties they
owe to Europe at large.
The European Governments, whatever may be
the accidents affecting their respective positions,
are all fully convinced of the necessity of meeting
Russian encroachments, by a vigorous resistance.
This obligation, however costly or unwelcome, is
one which cannot be repudiated. The Czar has
already experienced the utmost moderation and
forbearance from the representatives of the other
Powers. His acts of open war were for some time
were
is spiritual
tpmcthf i
rohomreeiuttuffnuhpnetaeaci l
Ntritittenso a
sf
suffered to escape the notice they merited. His
pretensions were all considerately received, and
every right to which he could show the smallest
claim was admitted and confirmed. As far as re-
garded the Christians, whose security he made the
pretext of his proceedings, the fullest assurances
ai
vs
ewaonutl
authority
oinvestn.ty
i.n theth eOtto-
manodvebregrnesalpletchteodse.
All that was refused was such a right of interven-
tion
esselrode's dispatch claims
privileges and sitahlinoeu:Sultan that their
Empe-
roreif mattersnßudominions.ssia with
may be enjoyed by certain other
rinighditsstoinveetrtle27oo,ooo of the Sultan's subjects which
This, subjectsit o
isf their
perfectly
own residentpla in, e ein
in
d Turkishnto
ptentate s over
territories.
be conceded
of ussia abundant
without giving the Emperor of Russia
facilities for becoming: Emperor Turkey also. The
European Powers are not desirous that this con-
summation should take place , they
are anxious to
avert it, if possible, by peaceful negotiations, and
at a less cost than that of a general war • but 'f
matters are actually brought to extremities, ' and ' lthe
Czar still refuses to recede, he must be
e prepared to
encounter the full force of the
hostility he has thus
provoked.

( From the Morning Herald.)
So we have now two dispatches from Vienna—
the one announcing that Lord Westmoreland had
declared at Olmut;that England would not support
the Turks, if Russia agreed not to consider the pas-
sage of the Dardanelles by our ships of war as an
infringement of the treaty of 1841 ; the other, that
the Divan had taken the initiative, and declared
war against the northern Colossus.
The astounding and unheard-of baseness with
which the truth of the first statement would brand
the Coalition, is not, considering their antecedents,
sufficient to authorise us in asserting that it is false
there is, in fact, nothing in the shape of submission
to the Czar of which the present Administration is
not capable. _

The second report, if true, is merely the com-
mencement of that contest which, in our view, has
been inevitable since England first showed the

white feather, by not acting at once in firm resist-
ance of the occupation of the Principalities.
We are, then, to conclude that the dogs of war
are once more let slip, and that the contest which,
for good or evil, is destined to change the face of the
globe, has really commenced. Now will be seen
the truth of the great Duke's assertion, that the
British nation cannot have a little war, at all events
in Europe.
We, at least, have never attempted to disguise
from our readers that the war, which wo still be-
lieve might have been averted by timely courage
and resolution, exerted six months ago, would,
when it did come, be one on which England must
stake her position as the leader of civilisation in
Europe and Asia. It was only yesterday we de-
clared our opinion that the vacillation and pol-
troonery of our rulers had brought matters to such
a pass that would require the appearance of a
mighty army of Englishmen and Frenchmen in the
valley of the Danube to stop the Czar effectively.
That assertion we made and still maintain, in order
to show our readers the nature of the contest in
which the miserable policy of Lords Aderdeen and
Clarendon has involved, we say unnecessamfrly in-
volved, the country. We speak of the fact as ac-
complished, for we do not believe that English-
men are as yet reduced so low, by a policy which
sees in trade alone the object for which a' nation
should exist, as that they should now shrink back
from the conflict, when by so doing they must vio-
late every engagement which honour holds dear,
and surrender every claim to independence, honesty,
and courage. In fact, by shrinking now, England
ttt once becomes a mere trading nation, and the
fate ,of Venice may serve to prove how short a time
mercantile supremacy can be maintained when the
naval and military powers to protect it have been
surrendered.
It is now absolutely necessary that Englishmen
should look matters in the face as they really are.
For a long time our journals have maintained that
the power of Russia was a house of cards, which
would crumble to pieces at the first broadside—
and that Nicholas himself was a bully, who would
shrink into imbecility at the first demonstration of
firmness on our part. If so, it is a great pity that
a little of that powerful specific was not tried long
before he had advanced to a position from which
there was no retreat without placing himself in
the pillory of ridicule for all ages to come. This
species of ribaldry, however, is only on a par with
the boastful assertion that the great fortress of
Sebastopol, with all its shoal water and outlying
batteries, can be blown out of the water by a
few war steamers. The fact is, England must
make up her mind to a contest of which the world
has hardly seen the equal—never, except that iu
which she struck down Napoleon, as she will strike
down Nicholas if she be only true to herself, and
place her destinies in strong hands. The man who
quailed before Smith O'Brien is no match for the
Russian Autocrat • nor is the power which rolled
back in ruin and defeat the broken remnants of an

army of 500,000 men, in 1812, one which we can
afford to despisa. At the commencement of the
present year the Czar had collected an army of
80,000 soldiers to enforce his demands on the
Porte ; but diplomacy and Aberdeen have done
their work, and 300,090 would not now count the
host which will have held almost undisputed pos-
session of the northern bank of the Danube for
nine long months before the season arrives when
we can make an effective effort to remove them.
Again--as we declared all along must be the
case—Austria is joined with Russia for weal or woe.
It is of no use pouring forth the phials of wrath
and abuse upon this decaying empire : her position
is one of necessity. The despotism of Austria can-
not expect, as she does not deserve, mercy from
the rising power of the people whom she has for
centuries ground into the dust ; and it is not to be
supposed that the long evenings at Olmutz rolled
over without its being impressed on the mind of
Francis Jor,eph that Italy was lost for ever ; that
the despotic powers must stand or fall together ;
and that Austria must seek compensation on the
eastern shores of the Adriatic for that which she
will inevitably lose upon the western coast. The
fact, however, of Austria being coerced by dire ne-
cessity, now that the moment of decision has ar-
rived, to take part with Russia, only renders it the
more necessary that she should put forth her
whole strength, for well must her rulers know
that this will be her final struggle for life or death.
Italy she cannot hope to hold, once the western
powers declare against her, but with Russia to aid
she may still expect, we hope erroneously, to keep
her gripe upon the throat of Hungary, and her
heel upon the neclf of Poland.

Our object in entering into these details is simply
to point out that England and France will have to
gird up their loins and tax their utmost energies
before they can hope to relax the hug with which
the northern bear has clutched the Danubian pro-
vinces, and to warn them that a whole year of imbe-
cility and. procrastination has quadrupled the diffi-
culties of the task of dispersing the storm which
now lowers over Eastern Europe and. Western Asia,
a task upon the effectual fulfilment of which de-
.

pends, perhaps, the existence of England, certainly
the freedom of the world. In proof of this we have
only to refer to the first paragraph of foreign cor-
respondence that strikes our eye. There we find
that Russia is at this moment engaged in reinforc-
ing and provisioning her garrisons on the south-
east coast of the Black Sea. Pote Anaklia and
Port St. Nikolai are to be placed in a condition of
defence, while her forces are advancing in the
neighbourhood of the Araxes and of Erzeroum.
Now, had we acted in a manly and straightforward
manner, and dispatched part of our fleet to Trebi-
zonde during the summer months, the sending of
these reinforcements would have been rendered
impossible, even if we had not—as we might have
done—taken possession of the forts themselves.
The thing itself is bad enough, but what must the
Asiatic tribes think of the courage and energy of a
power which, for a long year, has neglected such
an opportunity.
Again and again we reiterate, England must now
prepare herself to fight, once and for all, for her
own independence, and the rights of all nations,
civilised and uncivilised, whose liberties are threat-
ened by Russia. There is not a point of the earth
where the machinations of the Czar cannot be traced
—from nearly under the North Pole, and close to
the Icy Sea—where his agents are undermining the
Swedish Government, by interfering with the
rights of pasturage held unquestioned by the Fins
and Laps for untold ages—to the northern frontier
of China and the banks of the Indus. Everywhere,
—in Persia, on the Danube, in Affghanistan—
wherever there is a friend of England to persecute,
or an enemy to irritate and excite against us, there
we shall find the Russ. Well may the words of
the poet, applied to the Andes, be paraphrased
as a description of this huge and overweening
power :
" Where Russia,' giant of the Eastern Star,
With war's red' standard to the winds unfurled,
Looks from her throne of ice' o'er half the world."
We tell the people of England it will not do to
entrust the conduct of this mighty struggle to feeble
and imbecile hands. It is a work which will task
the strongest heads and most powerful arms. It is
nevertheless, a struggle, which, under Providence,
may be the means of restoring England to her
senses, but at all events, of this we may be certain,
that it will scatter to the winds the delusions which
we have been raising into idols for the last 20
years ; and the knowledge that such must be the
case is the true reason why Whigs and Peelites
have stopped at no baseness—no meanness—no
concession of England's honour—to postpone, even
for a time, an event which they are well aware
must dash to atoms the miserable fallacies by
which they have for long years deluded and misled
the nation, whose own grasping cupidity had deli-
vered it into their hands.

(From the Morning Chronicle.)
By the declaration of the Ottoman Council, that
the claims of Russia are to be resisted by war, one
step further has been taken in the march of
European history ; and like every step hitherto
taken on the side of the Porte, it is blameless.
We may even allow it is entitled to the fullest
sympathy and to the frankest support—sympathy
from all who can understand what, in the last re-
sort, is due to a nation from its chiefs, when its
independence is assailed—support from all who can
comprehend the disgrace and the danger of per-
mitting the triumph of violence and fraud over
right. By thus placing its own determination on
unmistakeable grounds, the Porte does not impede,
but facilitates the action of its friends ; and this is
equally true, whether that action is to be exerted
in the direction of peace, or of preparation for war.
It would be waste of argument now to show, once
more, the real nature of the " magnanimous"
moderation which are still inclined to attribute to
the framers of the Nesselrode Note. All know in
their hearts, and almost all now admit with their
pens, that any retractation or modification of the
Russian claims will be due to the convincing logic
of the force arrayed in her front. In this point of
view, the attitude definitively taken by Turkey
strengthens, to an immeasurable extent, the
bands of France and England, as actually nego..

tiating, not less thhn as possibly belligerent
Powers. By the firmness which has appropriately
followed so much forbearance on the part of the
Porte, the diplomatists of the maritime Powers
are placed in a clear position, and furnished
with unanswerable arguments. They can now,
better than before, bring to the mind of the Em-
peror and his advisers a full conviction of the
consequences of persisting in the course hitherto
followed by Russia. Not that the councils of
France and England have ever been either hesi-
tating or doubtful, but the Porte, by fixing the
point from which it will not depart, and by declar-
ing that Turkey is prepared to repel force by force
will have removed all colour of uncertainty from
the arguments of the representatives of the West-
ern Powers. And they, we may feel assured, will
not fail in a duty which has now become at once so
imperative and so easy as that of making the Em-
peror Nicholas see that he stands, at last, face to
face with the demon which he has so wantonly
evoked—a general war.
Whether the status belli, which was commenced
by the invasion of the Principalities, will be at
once converted into active hostilities, it would be
premature to speculate at this moment. The in-
telligence before us, however, although of the most
momentous character, is, in one point of view, not
unfavourable to such chances of peace as the force
and fraud of Russia have left to the civilised world.
In the meantime, our course is clearer, if possible,
than] it was before. Russia must recede, for we
cannot. Whether the support given by the West-
ern Powers tc the Porte, in diplomatic discussions,
is now to be exchanged for the hostile presence of
their fleets in the Euxine—with the inevitable re-
sult, of the absolute annihilation of Russian ships
and commerce on that sea—is an alternative which
it rests with the Czar to decide. The dispute has
been tending for months to this solution, and it
must come to it at last, if the Czar is still deaf to
the voice of reason. The spirited resolve of the
Ottoman Council will not be the cause of such a
determination of the quarrel, and it may facilitate
and hasten a more peaceful issue.
Under cover of the military display and festive
splendour of the Olmutz meeting, serious discus-
sions have doubtless been going on, and the world
has been listening, with perhaps an overstrained in-
terest, for the escape of any indications of the views
of the Imperial comrades. The ruse of uttering
abroad that which it is convenient to have gene-
rally believed, rather than what is really intended,
is said to be neither unknown nor unpractised by
the diplomatists of Russia ; and consequently any
expressions on their part, in favour of peace, cannot
be viewed without suspicion. It may be that the
Emperor has disclaimed all desire to persist in a
course of isolated action, apart from the rest of
Europe, and having for its object the subversion
of the Ottoman Empire ; but such assurances must
now be regarded as a doubtful security for his for-
bearance, should circumstances favour his designs.
On the other hand, however, they may be really
indicative of a sincere readiness to effect a just and
honourable accommodation ; and, in that case, we
should much regret if the steps taken by the Porte
should throw any obstacle in the way of so desirable
a result. The declaration of war, however, ought
not to diminish the desire for peace, and it is more
than possible that the Olmiitz Conference may lead
to the resumption of the Vienna negotiations, and
with the fairest prospect of a successful issue. It
has already been pointed out that the step taken
by the Ottoman Council ought to strengthen the
hands of their allies ; but it must not be forgotten
that the prudence of the Czar is more to be depend-
ed upon than his magnanimity, and that the Sultan
has to guard against craft as well as force. Efforts
to mislead opinion will not be wanting, so long as
a single point remains on which a distorted view is
possible. When a special announcement from
Olmiitz pompously announces, as a matter of con-
gratulation in the interest of peace, the Emperor
of Russia's alleged declaration that he will not re-
gard the passing of the Dardanelles as an act of
war, if the use of the fleet is limited to its osten-
sible object, viz., the protection of the Christians,
it is difficult not to smile at the condescension for
which our admiration is claimed. Another mean-
ing, however, may be given to such a declaration.
To misrepresent the advance of the ships to Con-
stantinople as a step in the interest of Christians
against Turks, and mg-therefore not to be resented
by the Czar, was, in the mouth of the flatterers of
Russia, a mere effort to throw some obscurity over
the resolution of the Western Powers, which that
step clearly indicated. But, coming from Russia
herself, it may have a further drift—to establish a
precedent, and lay a ground for future interference.
It might, on a future occasion, be convenient to
j ustify an advance—on the pretence of protecting one
portion of the Sultan's subjects against another—
by an appeal to the example of au unresented in-
terference on the part of France and England in a
case which, however dissimilar, yet afforded the
shadow of a parallel. The Court of St. Petersburg
has used arguments quite as fallacious before now.
The passage of the Dardanelles, however, has not
yet assumed a character so decidedly hostile as to
close the door to pacific overtures ; as it may be
treated as a maritime equivalent for the invasion of
the Principalities. For the present, however, we
are glad that the Czar regards it in the light of a
quiet comment on the passage of the Pruth.
Nevertheless, it is on a full apprehension, on the
part of the Czar, of the real bearing of the step
which has been taken by the Western Powers
that we are to rely for the promotion of his peace-
ful intentions ; and on a just view of the forces
arrayed against him, of the improbability of moans,
and of the risks of calamitous failure, he may well
have declared his readiness to retire on terms com-
patible at once with the peace of Europe and with
his own honour. Whatever those terms may be,
however, they can never remove the stain which
rests upon the character of a potentate who has
committed an inexcusable act of useless violence.
Unless a campaign has actually been begun, Prince
Gortschakoff may re-cross the Pruth, without dis-
grace ; and the withdrawal of extravagant and
unjust pretensions at the same time of the invad-
ing force, will be some atonement for the anxiety
and suspense in which Europe has been so long
kept. Should the renewed efforts for peace give
birth to another form of agreement, no doubt it
will be politely expressed towards the Emperor.
Diplomatists are the last people in the world to
forget the courteous and prudent maxim which
bids us,to build a bridge of gold for a retreat-
ing enemy. They must take care, however, that
their bridge is not so constructed as to tempt or
facilitate a future advance. Events have given
warning already of the danger to which those who
frame N otes for the acceptance of St. Petersburg
expose the peace of the world. The good sense
and acuteness of the Mahometan Cabinet de-
tected the pitfall which had escaped the notice of
the Conference, and thereby freed, not only them-
selves, but the Western Powers, from a peril
which they will not incur again. Agreement is,
perhaps, still possible, and is more than ever de-
sirable ; but no terms which do not clearly provide
for the maintenance of the rights of Turkey, and
for the future security of the world, against claims
so unfounded as those which have been so pertina-
ciously pressed, will be admissible on the part of
the Western Powers, endurable by the Porte, or
acceptable to the people of England.

(From the Morning Post.)
The intelligence from Constantinople, which we
published yesterday, if it cause no surprise, cannot
but excite regret that the diplomacy of Europe and
the efforts of her statesmen, have as yet, so signally
failed to settle a dispute in which right is all on
one side and wrong alone on the other. There ap-
pears now to be every likelihood that the force of
arms and the chances of war will soon be engaged
in solving difficulties which the negotiations and
conferences, the notes and circulars of the Cabinets
of Europe have been so slow to overcome.
On the 26th ult., a Grand Council, convoked by
the Sultan, and numbering one hundred and
twenty-two civil and religious dignitaries, from
amongst the most experienced and distinguished
of his subjects; met to consider the rejection of the
modifications of the Vienna Note by the Emperor
of Russia, and the course to be pursued consequent
on that rejection. It was resolved by the Council
that it would be contrary to the dignity and sub-
versive of the sovereign authority of the Sultan,
to sign the Vienna Note without the modifier
tions suggested by the Divan ; and thlt,eli
bonsn
much as the Czar declarel those
to be totally inadmissible, and refusedint°tod.
his demand for an eaLapinent destructive
on.y.
L independence of the Ottoman
tEmpiree
urcs necessary for
IvBeb dt°lire
eeed re-
mainedat forox;
eteh et
0 Counciladep t ttohaedivni.ersaees 1
, and to free his
the preservation of his Sultan
ecmepolf their invader.
dominions from the presetneleo
telegraph that ilia resolu-
tionsWe gather from thedistinctly to this effect, and
in question w
will inform us that
we have little doubettribeeuthtahvaet
btlieeennaecxtteidnuteploling,enneoet
by aof war—for war was effectually
hostilities commenced by the pas-
ssiaange proclaimed
troopsof the
to
pruevtha—cubut
theby a
psruimnemipoanlistiteosat
the
onnuces-
declarationand