The Sun.
London, England, 1853-08-17 00:00:00

had the right to put her own construction on her own
treaties." Shortly after, on the 15th of August, 1843, just
ten years ago, my noble friend the member for Tiverton,
with his usual ability, made a well-known speech on the
policy of the noble earl, in which he gave-a masterly sketch
of our true policy in the East. (Hear.) I refer to that
speech, because it enables me to contradict the assertion of
the noble lord, that papers are never given whilst negotia-
tions are pending. Why, the noble lord the member for
Tiverton then moved for papers during negotiations, on
the ground that part of the papers had already been given.
He hoped his noble friend would rise and utter similar
sentiments to-day, for the facts of the case were strictly
analogous. (Cheers.) •By her success in that transaction
Russia showed that she was mistress in Servia, and could
check any rising independent nationality in that quarter.
Since that time she has completely carried out her policy
in the Danubian principalities. Taking advantage of the
national movement in 1848, she expelled from those pro-
vinces every man of liberal and independent opinions.
They wefts now scattered as exiles over the face of Europe,
and their return to their native land was in consequence
of recent events rendered more hopeless than ever. By
the convention of Balta Liman, forced upon the Porte,
Russia has established her right to interfere in all the in-
ternal affairs of the principalities, and her present occupa-
tion has proved that Wallachia and Moldavia are now, to
all intents and purposes, Russian provinces. Independent
nationality is pretty well crushed in them. There remain
in Turkey the Greeks, and those
professing the Greek re-
ligion, for there is a broad though
notsufficiently
under-
stood distinction between them.A spirit of inquiry and
independence has sprung up amongst the Greeks, which,
- w
with their increased commercial intercouse with free
states of Europe, has for some time greatly. alarmed the
Russian Government. There is another cause for this
little imagined in this country
alarm, and one perhaps
the spread of the Protestant faith amongst the Christians—
of the East. It may be unknown to this house that,
mainly through the influence and teaching of the Ameri-
can missionaries, scarcely a town of any importance exists
in Turkey in which the nucleus of a Protestant community
had not been formed. The new converts were at first, as
was usual, subject to cruel persecution by the heads of the '
respective Churches which they had left—not, be it remem-
bered, by the Turkish authorities. At length Lord Stratford
and Lord Cowley obtained farmans of protection for the new
sect, which was reelgnised by the Porte as one of the religi-
ous sects of the empire, and received privileges accordingly.
The spirit of religious inquiry has extended from the Arme-
nians, amongst whom it first principally took root, to the
Greeks, and in some instances whole villages have embraced
thereformedfaith. The Greek clergy, backed by the Russian
mission, have done all in their power to check this move-
ment, and when persecution was no longer available, Prince
Menschikoff appeared at Constantinople. I will not
trouble the house with all the communications which have
passed between the Russian ambassador and the Turkish
ministers, but the note sent by him on the day of his de
parture, and which is far more important than it might as
first sight appear, proves beyond a doubt or cavil the whole
gist of the Emperor's policy and Menschikoff 's mission. It
will be observed that the distinction is drawn in this docu-
ment between the purely spiritual rights of the orthodox
Eastern Church and the other rights, privileges, and im-
munities of the clergy. By the new system of administra-
tion introduced into Turkey, the power of the Greek clergy
had been gradually curtailed, and the firmans lately issued
for the protection of those who might embrace the reformed
faith have taken from them the power of persecution for
religion's sake. The Russian Government has viewed with
the greatest alarm and jealousy this interference with the
temporal power of the clergy, who are nothing but the
tools of Russia, hence the distinction drawn by Prince
Menschikoff, and the resolution not to accept anything but
the entire concession of both spiritual and temporal privi-
leges, rights, and immunities. Whatever may be said to
the contrary, she has succeeded. Her great object has been
to crush the spirit of political and religious independence
which has manifested itself of late years among the Chris-
tian subjects of the Porte, and she will spare no effort to
effect that end. And this fact leads me to say a few words
upon a project with which certain parties in this country
and elsewhere have endeavoured of late to familiarise the
British public—the immediate establishment of a so-called
independent Greek Empire at Constantinople. Now, I
believe that this scheme, were there no political objections
to it, is based upon a fallacy. I will remind the house that
in the first place, the true Greek population of Turkey in
Europe is very small indeed when compared with the other
Christians subjects of the Porte. It certainly does not
amount to 2,000,000, if it indeed exceeds 1,750,000. As a
population the Greeks are confined to the province of Thee-
saly. Elsewhere they are merely scattered through the coun-
try in detached communities, living amidst the Sclavonians
said Bulgarians, who form the real Christian population of
Turkey in Europe. The language of these races is not
Greek—they differ from the Greeks in blood—they look
upon them with great jealousy, and for years they have
been struggling to throw off all connection with them by
refusing to accept Greekpriests for their clergy and bishops.
The Servians, to whom I look as the nucleus of the great
southern division of the Slave race, have completely thrown
off all dependence upon the Greek patriarch of Constanti-
nople, and have elected a patriarch of their own. (Hear.)
If we were to establish a Greek empire, as it is called, that
which occurred in the fifteenth century would inevitably
occur again. The Byzantine empire fell because it was
made up of a variety of hostile and opposite races—Bulga-
rians, Bosnians, and Servians—in fact, the veryraces which
still people Turkey in Europe—who became an easy prey
to the Turkish hordes. The inevitable result of placing a
Greek Government at Constantinople would be to throw
the whole of Turkey into the hands of Russia—(hear)—
and to render impossible a future independence for any
Christian race that might be destined to hold the Turkish
provinces of Europe hereafter. (Hear.) Moreover, there
is nothing very encouraging in the state of the modern
kingdom of Greece ; that experiment, at least, should warn
us for the present. (Hear.) In my opinion a Greek Go-
vernment at Constantinople would at this time be more
adverse to the spread of civilisation and of liberty than a
Turkish. (Hear.) The Greek religion is essentially a per-
secuting religion. I need scarcely remind the house of the
persecutions of the Romin Catholics in Russian Poland, and
of the Protestant missionaries and communities in Georgia
—nor that the first article of the Greek constitution de-
clares that proselytism is forbidden. The name of Don
Pacifico is certainly not forgotten by the house, nor the
annual persecution of the Jews by the Greeks. I am
aware that there are some who go so far as to say that it
would signify little whether Constantinople were in the
hands of Russia or not. As there is no British statesman
who would venture to coincide in such au opinion, it is
scarcely necessary to meet it with any serious argu-
ments ; but I will only ask this question—Are we
prepared to deal with all these great provinces which
snake up what is called the Turkish empire ? (Hear
hear, hear.) Remember that the moment the slen-
der tie which binds them together—Constantinople—
is broken, they must become the seat of anarchy and con-
fusion. It is very well to talk of driving the Turks into
Asia ; but how are we to induce the native Mussulman
population to consent to such an arrangement ? It should
be remembered that the Turks are merely a dominant
tribe, and that the far greater part of the population of
Asia are not Turks—it is made up of Synans, Arabs,
Jews, Armenians, Kurds, and a variety of other races,
only held together by the moral and political prestige of
the Turkish Government ; destroy that prestige by sub-
jecting the Sultan to the humiliation of being expelled
from Europe, and you let loose those wild tribes, and the
countries they inhabit would be the seats of anarchy and
confusion. Are we prepared to take possession of Asia
Minor, Mesopotamia, Syria, and Egypt, or can we allow
them to pass into the hands of Russia and France? (Hear.)
For we must do one or the other, as there is no dominant
family in any of those countries except Egypt. We should
not forget that although Egypt is a high road to India,
Syria and the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates form the
high road, and any power holding those countries would
command India. Moreover, the power which holds Con-
stantinople will ever be looked upon in the East as the
dominant power of the world, and with Russia at Con-
stantinople our tenure of India would always be a purely
military tenure. All those reforms which some of my hon.
friends who have been sitting on the benches near me have
been advocating for the populations of those vast posses-
sions—reforms in the value and importance of which I most
heartily agree—will be utterly impossible. But I will not
dwell upon this subject. Russia is well aware that no Eu-
ropean statesman would permit her to take possession of
Constantinople at this time. (Hear.) I will not say that
she does not look forward to the possession of that great
prize sooner or later; but her object now is to render all
independent nationalities in Turkey impossible, to weaken
the Turkish power gradually but surely, and to show all
those who would oppose her designs that any such oppo-
sition is not only useless, but will entail upon them her
vengeance ; in fact, to render any other Government but
her own ultimately impossible in Turkey. (Hear, hear.)
In this design she has entirely succeeded on this occasion,
and it is on this account that I contend that a great prin-
ciple is involved in the recent question, and that we ought
to have dealt with it accordingly. (Hear.) We have
committed, in my humble opinion, two grave diplomatic
errors. (Hear, hear.) In the first place, when Colonel
Rose learned that Prince Mensehikoff was prepared with a
secret treaty, a fact known to many persons at Constan-
tinople, aid that he had informed the Porte of his inten-
tion to force it upon her, forbidding it, under pain of the
Emperor's high displeasure, to communicate it to the other
powers, and when we learnt, not from mere report, but
from positive and reliable information, that the Russian
Government was engaged in preparing vast armaments on
the frontiers of Turkey and itt Odessa, we ought not to
have been satisfied with such assurances as the noble lord
has stated were given to us in London and St. Peters-
burgh—(hear, hear)—but we should at once have insisted
on an immediate disarmament, or such satisfactory proofs
of the pacific intentions of Russia as would have removed
all doubts whatever on the subject. (Hear, hear.) Our
neglecting to do so was a grave error. (Hear, hear.) That
error having been committed we had no remedy ; but we
had another opportunity, and committed a second error.
The very moment we were informed by Russia that she in-
tended to cross the Pruth we ought to have said to her,
" As soon as you enter the Turkish territory, we shall con-
sider it a cases belli, and bring up our fleet to Constants'
nople." (Cheers.) Ido not mean to say that we should
e
have gone to war ; but this would have been the effect ,
f
our declaration—all the treaties of Russia with the
anrd Porte
upon which she founded her pretensions to
in-
terfere with the Christian subjects of theproSaubltaaregewteodull
have been, ipso facto, by the law of a
(hear)—and we should then have insisted
thattoTivrhikeei
should enter into no new treaties with
d of which they
France and England were not privy rigaCl"we held such lan-
did not approve. (Hear, hear.)not
be-
ginning
guage with firmness, I think that Russia
in would
the
voer
dared to cross the Pruth, and r
we should, ty h
have brought this question to an issue. (Hear,
hear.) I
have little doubt that the Russians will now
evacuate the
It would not be worth the
while of Russia to engage in war with thewhole f
o Europe
principalities.
on account of those provinces intents
and were, to all
She has
and purposes,
her own. (Hear, hear.) acme.
t
me d Europe to their occupation without a case of war,
and she has shown that she may do with them as she
pleases, and that any one of their inhabitants who may
dare to oppose her will, will be subjected to her heavy dis-
pleasure. We scarcely know the importance of even her
present power over the principalities. I will put aside the
consideration of our trade---no insignificant consideration,
however—but I will observe that Russia now commands
the Danube, and can bring her intrigues to bear upon the
whole Sclavonian population of Turkey. (Hear, hear.) It
should be borne in mind that the principalities united to
Bessarabia—a province inhabited by a similar race—on
one side, and Hungary on the other, would cut in two the
great Slave race. It would seem that Providence had thus
placed this alien tribe in the midst of the Sclavonian
races that Russia might not, by uniting them under one
sway, acquire a power fatal to civilisation and freedom.
We have lost a golden opportunity of making these pro-
vinces the barriers to Russian ambition. (Hear, hear.)
To Wallachia and Moldavia, independent and united with
Bessarabia—a province which, by one of those fatal errors
we have so repeatedly committed, we have allowed to fall
into the hands of Russia—we must ultimately look, I los
lieve, for the only means of preserving Constantinople from.
Russia. (Hear, hear.) We have, we are told, to congratu-
late ourselves upon having achieved a victory—a peaceful