The Sun.
London, England, 1854-01-16 00:00:00

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

(From the Press of Saturday.)
A secret negotiation carried on at Constantinople be-
tween Lord Stratford, her Britannic Majesty's Ambas-

sador, and Redschid Pacha, while the public negotia-
tions were conducted, at the same time, by the ambas-
sadors of the Four Great Powers with the Porte, ter-
minated in a surrender, on the part of the Sultan, of

all those points which the Divan, by a large majority,
had previously decided to maintain. The instant the
news of this surrender transpired, Mehemet Ali, the
brother-in-law of the Sultan, and the head of the Pa-
triotic party; a man of honour and energy, violently
protested against the course, as he affirmed, thus surrep -
titiously obtained. The popular indignation was con-
siderable. The students, the most numerous and
powerful body in the city, moved ; Redschid Pacha
was charged by Mehemet Ali with having been
previously convicted of 'taking bribes from Russia;
the people were reminded that Prince Menschi-
koff had insisted, in March, on the dismissal of the
then Minister of Foreign Affairs, and that, at the dicta-
tion of the Russian Envoy, Redschid Pacha had been
appointed in his stead. The excitement became great.
Redschid Pacha, panic-struck, resigned, and fled for
refuge to a palace of the Sultan on the Bosphorus.
Tranquillity was ultimately only restored by the menaces
of the English and French admirals, who thus, instead
of defending the Sultan from the Russians, discovered
that their real mission was to defend his Highness from
his own subjects. Much of what occurred on this occa-
sion has been concealed and suppressed, but our readers
may rely upon this statement. The whole facts are
before us ; but the intimation that we are now permitted
to give will throw light upon late events otherwise very
obscure.
Notwithstanding this outbreak, and the exertions of
Mehemet Ali, the conditions thus obtained from Turkey
by the British Ambassador through his influence with
Redschid Pacha became and continue the basis of the
propositions since forwarded through Vienna to St.
Petersburg. They are not, as has been erroneously,
though authoritatively, stated, an Ultimatum. They
therefore admit of negotiation ; and, with only a mo-
derate allowance for the modifications which under such
circumstances occur, the arrangetnent, even if accepted
by the Czar, will resolve itself virtually into an adop-
tion by the Porte of the spirit of the ,Menschikoff treaty.
Peace may thus be preserved by the subjugation of
Turkey being postponed. The ancient treaties are to
be renewed ; and, as regards the provinces, the language
employed with respect to their evacuation is merely
the language already gratuitously used by the Czar him-
self.
The circumstances above detailed are the circum-
stances referred to by anticipation in our leading article
of the 17th of December, when we warned our readers
ithat "an enormous diplomatic conspiracy was hatch-
ng," a warning followed up by some details then for
the first time mentioned, and to which we must again
refer.
Notwithstanding this desperate resource on the part of
England, the enterprise may yet fail ; for our perplexed
and, as it will ultimately prove, ever•blundering Govern-
ment, while a promising negotiation was on foot, and
before they could receive the answer of the Court
of St. Petersburg to the Turkish propositions, which
had been prepared in deference to the feelings and
private intimations of Russia, though fit, in consequence
of the affair of Sinope, to order the entrance of the
fleets into the Black Sea. To change the circumstances
while a negotiation was proceeding which you wished to
succeed is a capital error. It will allow the Czar, if he
wishes, to take new ground.
Lord Aberdeen mutters " War," in-case the Turkish
propositions are not accepted. One almost begins to
fancy Lord Aberdeen has been maligned. It really
would seem that he did not understand St. Petersburg.
The propositions will not meet with such a fate from
Russian diplomacy. They will be considered, and we
shall commence the new year with a new phase of nego-
tiations. In the meantime, alas ! poor Turkey

SUPPOSED SUICIDE.—On Friday information was for-
warded to Mr. C. C. Lewis, coroner for the county of
Essex, of the discovery of the body of a man in the river
Lea, near Ships Hole, Westham. The deceased is
described by Sergeant Grant, of the K division, as being
about 26 years of age, 5 feet 8 inches high, with long
dark hair. His attire consisted of a pair of Witney
trousers, blue cotton waistcoat, a blue striped shirt, and
a black silk neckerchief. The body (which was in a
most decomposed state) was conveyed to the Union.
Tavern, Westham, to await an inquest.