The Sun.
London, England, 1853-09-26 00:00:00

RUSSIA AND TURKEY.

Beside the note from M. de Nesselrode which
has already been publinhod, we are informed that
there is another from, the pen of the same Minister,
quite as important, and in which the real designs
of the Emperor of Russia are expressed without
disguise. Such as this document is described it
would appear to demonstrate the absolute neces-
sity of the modifications made in the Vienna
note by the Divan, and it explains the motives
which induced the Czar to accept, without remark
or comment, as without hesitation, that note, as
also the reasons of his refusal to admit the changes
made in it at Constantinople.
The Czar and the Grand Duke Alexander, heir
to the Crown, arrived at Moscow on the 13th inst.
On the 19th inst. the Chancellor, Count Nessel-
rode, and Baron Meyendorff, the Russian Ambas-
sador at Vienna, arrived at Warsaw.
_ _

The details given in Constantinople letters of the
15th and 16th are tranquillising. The rejection
of the Turkish modifications to the Vienna Note
by Russia was known. The Sultan refused to sign
a declaration of war against Russia.
Accounts from Constantinople, Sept. 12, state

that the public mind was in a state of considerable
agitation. On the 10th, a body of about 40 softas,
or students of the Koran, presented themselves be-
fore the Council, which was then assembled, and
claimed an audience. On being admitted into the
Council Chamber, they produced a petition signed
by numerous ulemas and softas, praying for war.
The petition was principally composed of nume-
rous quotations from the Koran, enjoining war on
the enemies of Islam, and contained covert threats
of disturbance were it not listened to and complied
with. The tone of the petition is exceedingly bold,
and bordering on the insolent. Some of the principal
Ministers endeavoured to reason with those who pre-
sented it, but the answers they obtained were short,
and to the point. The spokesman observed—
" Here are the words of the Koran : if you
are Mussulmans you are bound to obey. You are
now listening to foreign and infidel ambassadors
who are the enemies of Faith ;we are the
dren of the Prophet ; we have an army, and that
army cries out with us for war, to avenge the in-
sults which the Ghiaours have heaped upon us." It
is said that on each attempt to reason with these
fanatics the Ministers were met by the answer,
" These are the words of the Koran." The present
Ministers are undoubtedly in a state of alarm, since
they look upon the present circumstance (a very
unusual event in Turkey) as but the commence-
ment of a revolution, and fear to be forced at the
present inopportune juncture into a war. It seems
that three petitions have been presented by these
softas, one to the Sultan, one to Mehemet Ali, the
Seraskier, or Commander-in-Chief, and one to the
Council. The party of Redschid Pacha believe the
affair to have been instigated by Mehemet Ali, who
has been from the first openly and avowedly in
favour of war. The two latter Ministers do not
work well together, and consequently each would
be glad of the other's fall. Should a popular move-
ment urge the Ministry to declare war, the peace-
ful and reasonable policy of Redschid Pasha would
of course be at an end, and so would his services,
while Mehemet Ali would become practically the
chief man in the Empire ; whereas, should these
unhappy questions with Russia be settled by the
acceptance by the Emperor of the note of Redschid
Pasha, the latter would acquire thereby immense
influence and consolidation of power, with the con-
fusion of all his rivals.
The rumours of a peaceful termination of the
question are undoubtedly unpalatable to a large
body of fanatics, who have under their eyes only
the spectacle of? the marching of their own troops,
and who, unable to judge of the power of other
States, think that Turkey is invincible. More-
over, the conduct of the Western Powers on this
occasion has undoubtedly shocked the feelings of
the mass of the nation, who have lost all confidence
in the good faith of England and France. The
Ministry is much puzzled in their endeavours to
ascertain how far the body of the nation agrees
with the sentiments expressed in the petition,
whether, in short, public opinion supports the
movement of these softas, or whether their bold
address has originated entirely within the walls of
their mosques and tekes. Most of the old inhabi-
tants of Constantinople are greatly alarmed, having
in their minds the recollection of former bloody
outbreaks, but these were in the time of the Janis-
saries, and since their destruction no lawless move-
ment of the kind has been heard of.
Accounts from Galatz to the 28th of August
mention that the Rusians were sending reinforce-
ments, and orders had been given for the 3d, 4th,
sth, and Gth corps d'armee to march into the pro-
vinces. This will make up about 250,000 men,
and even more, with the Cossacks, gendarmes, &c.,
which always accompany a corps. It would appear
to be quite decided, that the Russians do not quit
these Principalities for the winter. Their con-
tracts for provisions and forage are made for seven
and nine months, and it is not likely this would
be so were they expected to be recalled before the
spring.
Owing to the scarcity of shipping, grain was ac-
cumulating, and there was in store at least 200,000
kilos (about 300,000 quarters).
Many Russian officers have been heard to talk
disparagingly of their own troops, and in Russia
they were recruiting as fast as possible--every man
they could get was immediately enlisted ; and at
Galatz, even, they talk of raising volunteers.
The Vienna Presse, of the 21st instant, informs
us that—
" A decisive step has been taken in the Oriental ques-
tion. The Conference of Representatives here has re-
jected the proposal made by France to send a Collec-
tive Note to Constantinople to allay the anxieties of the
Porte. Graf Buol-Schauenstein declared that the Aus-
trian Internuncio, Baron Bruck, had received the most
positive instructions to procure the acceptance of the
note of arrangement without alterations. The repre-
sentatives of France and England declared that the most
essential point in the whole matter at issue now was,
to strain every effort to attain the signature of the un-
modified note, and that Lord Stratford de Redcliffe and
M. de la Cour in Constantinople were already instructed
to that effect."
Under the same date, 21st, we learned by tele-
graph from Vienna
"At the repeated wish of the British Minister the
Vienna Conference has occupied itself again in the last
few days with the urgency and expediency of a collective
step, and at last came to the resolution to have a col-
lective decimation made by the representatives of the
great Powers at Constantinople to the effect that the
Vienna Note in no way endangers the sovereignty of
the Sultan, as the Porte apprehended, and which appre-
hension had given rise to its former doubts. There were
not to be any further assurances given collectively.
The maritime forces assembled at Besika, and in
the Bosphorus, comprising the British and French
squadrons, and shortly also a Dutch fleet, and the
Turkish and Egyptian fleets lying in the Bay of
Buyukdere, form together a naval force of almost
unprecedented strength. The Retribution (British
steam-frigate) and the Caradoc are anchored within
a quarter of a mile of Therapia, the residence of
Lord Stratford de Redcliffe.
A letter from Malta of the 20th states that two
corvettes, laden with provisions had left for the
fleet at Besika, and that merchant ships were hired
to convey from Tunis to Constantinople the contin-
gent, amounting to 12,000 men, which the Bey had
placed at the disposal of the Sultan. The convoy
was to be accompanied by the steam frigates