The Sun.
London, England, 1853-09-20 00:00:00

THE EASTERN QUESTIoz

(From the Press.)
The answer of the Czar to the recommendation
of the Vienna Conference that he should accept the
modifications of the note proposed by the Porte has
at length been receives. He pasitiVely refuses to
concede those conditions which the Sultan has po-
sitively stated he cannot and will not dispense with.
The labours of the Conference have therefore come
to nothing, and the prospectiof a pacific solution of
the difficulty is more distant now than at any time
since the crisis began.
_ . .

We are assured that our Ministers are not dis-
couraged. " Nothing has occurred to affect the
substantial merits of the case. * * * The ques-
tion remains precisely as before," writes one of their
organs of yesterday; " the only fresh intelligence
is favourable to peace," says another ; while aelhird
insinuates that " there is no new reason to prevent
Russia from acquiescing in a peaceful settlement of
the quarrel." We are told that " the dispute has
already been reduced to a question of form," though
the facts before the writer's eyes compel him to ad-
mit that " if the Porte insisted on supplementary
conditions when it was less able to enforce its will,
and less deeply committed to a policy of resistance,
there can be less expectation of its dispensing with
these conditions at a moment when the war party
is clearly in the ascendant."
As Russia will not yield to the reasonable condi-
tions of Turkey, it is now assumed that Turkey
must yield to the unreasonable conditions of Russia.
The Conference, on receipt of the Emperor's refusal,
sent proposals to the Sultan that he should recal
his words—that he should sign the note he had re-
fused to sign, and be content with an assurance
that the Conference would put any interpretation
on the note agreeable to the Sultan himself. Our
Government conceives that he should accede to this
request ; that, as he is the weakest party in the
quarrel, it is only reasonable he should give way
to the stronger ; and that, discarding all consider-
ations of right and honour, and all respects for
the opinion of his people, he should humble him-
self at the feet of the haughty enemy who has wan-
tonly invaded his dominions, and whose troops,
encamped on Turkish territory, are savagely cla-
mouring for the extermination of himself, his
nation, and his faith. "It will be well if the
Sultan sign the note." "We trust that the Turkish
Government may be induced to defer to those
representations which the mediating Conference
will be called on to renew. ct It
is hard to expect that they (the mediating Powers)
should support Turkey in a declaration of war."
We lay the more stress on these sentiments, as
it is notorious that they proceed from leading
members of the Government. They are not light
words hr.sedlessly written, but the deliberate
opinions of men who now hold the reins of empire.
In the same papers in which these counsels are
given, the intelligence from Turkey emphatically
states that " the Sultan would lose his life if he
were to accept of dishonourable conditions."
Can any one doubt what his answer will be,—
what, in fact, it must be f The publication of
Lord Clarendon's answer to the Russian manifesto
shows what language our Foreign Minister held
only two months back. On the 16th of July last,
Lord Clarendon wrote to Count Nesselrode—" If
ancient rights exist, and are observed by Turkey,
Russia has no cause of complaint against Turkey.
But if she seeks to extend those rights, then is
Turkey justified in closely examining the nature of
such fresh demands, and in refusing those from
which her independence and dignity would suffer."
In this sentence is contained full justification of
the course the Sultan has hitherto pursued ; and
when he is requested to abandon those modifica-
tions of the note which he conceived essential to the
dignity and independence of his Government,
what other reply need he make than to lay his fin-
ger on this part of Lord Clarendon's dispatch, and
say,—You have my answer there !
Will England dare to withdraw from the side of
her old ally, should he persist in acting on those
principles of policy which she has taught him are
essential to the maintenance of his kingdom as a
sovereign and independent State ? No art of so-
phistry—no verbal juggling—can get over those
recorded words of our Foreign Minister. There
they stand, shaming the dastardly counsels which
are now urged on the Sultan, and justifying him
in adhering to the views he has already firmly ex-
pressed.
He has not taken exception to any merely vet.-

bal formality ; it is to the substance Of certain con.
ditions in the Vienna Note, affecting his rights of
sovereignty over large bodies of his subjects, that
he reasonably and consistently objects. The pro-
posal of the Conference is, that those conditions
should be read in a "non-natural" sense ; that
they should not be taken to imply what the words
do imply ; that the Porte should give up the point
now, and trust to the moderation of his formidable
foe, and the protection of the mediating Powers,
for an interpretation of the clauses in a sense es-
sentially different from their plain and obvious
meaning. Is it likely that this insulting sophistry
will be favourably. listened to ?
It is to the armies on the banks of the Danube
that attention must now be directed, rather than
to the Conference at Vienna. The wisdom of our
Government has brought the belligerents face to
face. On one side the success of unprovoked ag-
gression them
has intoxicated the troops with confidence
in the might of their arms, and mad dene
with desire for conflict and victory, and on the
other a sense of insult and wrong .has aroused a
atorui of indignation which the efforts While dip
we
have been been deluded by expecting peace from macy will scarcely be able to repress.
nego-
tiation, Russia and the Porte have been actively
battle. At the moment when wd ere a
preparing for the last and desperikte issue of the
that orders were about to be given for the evacua-
tion of the Principalities the Russians. were actively
quests ;" and, as we learn by the latest telegraphic
engaged in fortifying themselves in their " con-
dispatches, were concentrating a vast body of troops
on the line of the Danube. The Sultan reviewing
his levies at Unkiar Skelessi, and with a manifesto
of war, urgently appealing
lesstc s mo
ofn
ohisthan
people, to the courage and fan,-
Gortscha-
koff and his savage proclamation, exhorting his
soldiers to annihilate Paganism, and those who
t h e readym iijta
r fory
Pie
publication,
of is not
would oppose Russia M the sacred IniSsion, with
its blasphemous rallying cry—" Long life to the
God of the Russians !"
The meeting appointed betveeen the Czar
Nicholas and the young
Emperor Francis, on the
23d inst., at Olmutz, indicates the contempt with
which the former is disposed to regard the proceed-
ings of the Conference. England is the party most
interested in thwarting his ambitious schemes ; but
what can he care for the representations of a power
which, since the commencement of the quarrel, has
not dared even to be consistent even in timidity,
but has manifested the extremes of weakness by
continual vaccination ?
When, for the hundredth time, we are positively
assured that terms of settlement have been agreed
on, and that peace has been secured, we shall be
startled from our dream of repose by the announce-
ment that a great battle has effectually cut short
the subtleties of diplomatic negotiation. From the
hour that the Russian armies had crossed the Pruth,
war had virtually commenced. Had England, in
the consciousness of her magnificent strength, for-
bade the aggression, and dared, even though she
stood alone, all consequences of her righteous act
in a righteous cause, the perils which now threatens
the peace of Europe would have been checked in
its origin. The right moment for .effectual media.

The CHAIRMAN stated that the directors had convened
the first meeting of the company at the earliest period
they could, in order to give the shareholders the oppor-
tunity of electing the directors, named in the act, or of
appointing others in their place. The act incorporating
the company had received the Royal assent on the 20th
of August. He believed it was the first bill in the late
session that was read the second time, and it was nearly
the last bill that had received the Royal assent. It had
met with considerable opposition its progress through
Parliament from the Shrewsbury companies, which
caused considerable delay and expense. the railway
was proposed to commence by a junction vah the Ox-
ford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton Railway, near
Hartlebury, passing along the valley of the Severn to
Stourport, Bewdley, Bridgnorth, Coalport, Broseley,
and Coalbrookdale to Shrewsbury. To give them some
notion of the value of the traffic in the district
through which the line was intended to pass, he
might mention that at Stourport there were 1,000
persons employed in ironworks and in the manufac-
ture of worsted and carpets. Stourport had risen very
rapidly within the last 50 years, and had only been
stopped by the want of railway communication with
other districts. It was stated in evidence before Par-
liament that by means of railway communication the
trade of the town would be increased five-fold. There
were 4,000 inhabitants in Bewdley, which was not a
manufacturing place, but several gentlemen resided
there, and it would yield a large passenger traffic. Pas-
sing to the next place on the line, there was a large
manufactory which paid 2,0001. a-year for the convey-
ance of goods and materials, the whole of which would
come over their line. Bridgnorth was a large town,
and had considerable carpet manufactories. It was
greatlywwiatnntesosefs beforerailway
the
ecocommmmoditatetie at accommodation,the busi-
ness would and it was
when the railway pissed near the town. Coalbrook-
stated
dale was the chief place on their line for traffic, which
by
be increased five times its present amount
yn
would be greatly increased by the railway. Coalport
was the next place, at which there was the largest
china manufactory in England. It was second only
to the one at Paris. There were 700 persons em-
ployed in it, and they imported all their materials
with the exception of coal, and those materials
uwpoutlhde
Severn,overpass they the SceavmeerntVo aßlleryoselayil,wawe rsiyi. Fe
a
were the most extensive concerns for the manufacture of
theresng
fire-bricks and tiles, and the traffic to and from these
places was immense. They also carried on a large trade
with the West of England. Besides this, limestone was
found in immense quantities, and the article was in great
demand in South Staffordshire, and could be had by
means of their railway at a much cheaper rate than from
North Wales. They expected a large traffic in limestone
and other minerals. The ironworks of the Coalbrook-
dale Company employed 4,000 persons, and a large
quantity of materials were continually conveyed to and
from the works. At Madeley there were very important
works. In the intervals between the towns were rich
agricultural districts, dotted with country seats up to
Shrewsbury, where the line would join the Shrewsbury
and Birmingham Railway. The length of the line was 41
miles, and comparing the district through which it passed
with others like it, but having railway communication,
he found that it resembled more the districts through
which the Shrewsbury and Chesterand the Midlands Rail-
ways passed than any other. The line was estimated
to cost 600,0001. A net revenue of 30,0001. per an-
num would give them a dividend at the rate of 5 per
cent., and by estimating the gross receipts at 401. per
mile per week, on 41 miles, they would have 85,280/. to
meet that and the working expenses. He estimated that
the traffic would pay 71 per cent. on the outlay.
Mr. PARSON suggested the propriety of the directors
not proceeding immediately to make calls in the present
state of the money-market, but to wait until money
could be obtained more easily.
The CHAIRMAN said, it would be very indiscreet to
press their friends for money, although they were anxious
that no time should be lost in carrying on the works at
the proper season.
Mr. W. REED, a director, explained that they would
not call for money at present, and that anything like a
serious amount would not be required until the spring.
It was probable that Mr. Nicholson would carefully re-
survey the line and ascertain where savings in construc-
tion and earthworks might be effected before preparing
the contracts for the works.
After some further observations, resolutions were
passed, electing Mr. Thorp, Colonel Forester, M.P.,
Mr. W. Reed, Major Tyndale, Mr. Parker, and Mr.
Tiil directors of the company ; fixing the salary of the
secretary at 5001. per annum ; appointing Mr. Richard-
son and Mr. Phillips auditors, and allowing each of
them 251. per annum ; and allowing 5001. for the past
services of the directors.

A vote of thanks was given to Mr. Grazebrook, who
retired from the direction on account of the state of his
health, for his valuable services to the company ; and
also to the chairman and directors, after which the
meeting separated.

COLEFORD, MONMOUTH, USK, AND PON,

TYPOOL.

The first general meeting of this company was held
on Wednesday at Usk, Mr. C. Bailey, M.P., in the
chair.

The report stated that, after a lengthened struggle in
both Houses of Parliament, they succeeded in obtaining
an act for the above railway, which received the Royal
assent on the 20th of August last. The original design
was to carry the railway through the Forest of Dean to
Awre, there to form a junction with the South Wales
Railway, and by that means to effect a direct commu-
nication with Gloucester and London ; but the com-
mittee of the House of CominonS, not being satisfied
that the mode by which the proposed line was intended
to be carried through the Forest of Dean was the best
adapted to meet the wants of the district, declined
granting any powers beyond Coleford, which has thus
for a time become the eastern terminus of the line. The
company have thus gained undisputed possession of
powers to make a central line through Monmouthshire,
and thence to Coleford, where it reaches the iron ore,
coal, and limestone, and from which place the directors
have no doubt of being able to extend the line through
the heart of the Forest to some point on the South
Wales Railway, so as to secure a through communica-
tion to Gloucester and the metropolis.
The OEtAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the report,
said, he had no doubt the shareholders would come for-
ward and render the directors their most strenuous co-
operation in carrying out the undertaking. It was cal-
culated that 160,8001. would enable them to complete
the railway. The ore which would be conveyed along
the line would produce 50,0001. per annum ; the pas-
senger traffic and the carriage of limestone and other
materials would produce a very good dividend. The
length of the line would be 23 miles, and every acre of
land through which it passed would be enhanced in
value. The line would run through 160,000 acres of
land, and, at 2s. 6d. per acre, would yield a revenue of
30,0001. per annum.
Mr. T. BROWN seconded the motion.

Resolutions were passed adopting the report, electing
the directors, and appointing the secretary and auditors.
It was stated that Mr. C. Bailey, Mr. T. Brown, Mr.
T. Powell, Mr. G. Cove, and other shareholders, had
doubled their original subscriptions to the railway ; after
which many new parties came forward to take shares in
the undertaking.
The proceedings concluded with a vote of thanks and
a dinner to the chairman.