The Sun.
London, England, 1854-08-31 00:00:00

MISMANAGEMENT OF TILE WAR.

PUBLIC MEETING AT NE SVC..A.STLE-UPON-TYNE:
In compliance witlra numerous and influentially-signed
requisition, a public -meeting of the. inhabitants of New was convened in the Lecture Room, Nel-
son-street, " to consider and adopt measures to enforce
upon Government the effective snd bona fide prosecution
of the war with Russia, which," the requisitionists inti-
mate, " can be neither trifled with, neglected, nor de-
layed, by any g,ovt.rnment without betrayal of its trust;
nor such delay be suffered by the people without a most
grave and perilous dereliction of. its duty." The Lecture
Theatre was • crowded on the occasion by an assemblage
comprising between one and two thousand of the commer-
cial, trading, and industiiil biasses of the town and neigh-
bourhood. The Mayor of the borough (Ralph Dodds,
Esq.), presided, and was surrounded uPon and in the
Tinty
Council, and other inhabitants of the
principal town, of platform by a numberbf members of the

G. CRAWfillitY, Esq., one bf the principal promoters of
the meeting, and who was received with loud applause,
hating read the requisition convening the meeting,
The MAYOR rose to introdUce the business. He said he
had little expected to be called so soon .to preside over a
meeting of that description, for it was not long since they
had had a meeting which waif a very satisfactory one; but
as they found the Government had not done—at least
they thought it had not done.—(applause)—its duty, the
present meeting had. been called,
and he hoped they
would give every speaker a fair hearing. He begged
leave to call on Mr. Crawshay to propose the first resolu-
tion. (Applause.)
G. CRAWSHA.Y,
•
Esq., rose amidst renewed applause and
said—Mr. Mayor, and fellow-townsmen, it is sufficiently
evident upon the face of that requisition that this meeting
has originated in a feeling of dissatisfaction with the pre-
sent position of this countr-- in the war with Russia.
-(Hear, hear.) I will say on *behalf, not only of myself,
but of our valued-and respected' friend Mr. Attweed, that
if we have come forward on this occasion it is beeause we
have felt it impossible any longer to be silent with a 'dud
regard to our convictions and to that duty which we cone
. ceiveewe owe to our country. (Applause.). Gentlemen, it
would not have been necessery for us to have taken any
such step had the House of Coininons done its duty. But'
the House of Commons did nut do its duty ; end that ex,.
pression of opinion which was not made in that house we
trust to see given voice 40 in this meeting, and all over the
country.' ((A in
ware.) We are not, gentleenegoing to lay
befere you a plan . f campaign, nut a declaration of priu-
.eiples. lam :mare that some of the Government scribes
in the newspiyers deny that there is any principle at 1,11
in this war. But we are of a different opinion. i Now to
aseertaiii upon what principles we shook! o:.pose Russia,
het us consi,ler what are the principles and what are the
eliarecteristiei of Russia tie developed in that history, the
great facts o: which are known to every child, brit which
seem to be forgotten by her Majesty's Government'. (Hear,
hear.) Why, gentlemen, you all know perfectly well that l'
Ruseia ie a despitisin—most uurnitigated and most de- 1
grading--that it may be described as a government, of the
pi jest, the soldier, and the spy, in which the soldier is
above the. priest, and the spy is above both--(hear,
hears—and the Czar, he is the high priest, corn-
mander-in-chief,•and grand spy, all in one. (Cheers.) I
have no animosity, and the English people have none,
against the Russian people. I sin dealing with ;the Go-
vernment. (Hear, hear ) Now, gentlemen, if that Go-
vernment had been content to remain quietly. withiji
limits, and not to have troubled its neighbours, it would
have been no business of ours to meddle with it. But if
there be one fact in modern history better established than
another, it is that the despotism of Russia is essentially
aggressive—(hear, hear)—that it is the thought by day-
and the dream by night of that Government to conquer.,
to annex, any country whatever which it comes in con-
tact with. And, gentlemou, there is no fact more certain,
and we should refer forget it, that in this 19th eeutury,
in this age of Crystal Palaces and civilisation, here eve have
a brutal despotism incessantlyeudeavouriug to extend itself
to the utmost limits possible, and which endeavours to IA,C
COUVIiSh its ends by means most wicked, which sticks at
no crime, which stirs up dissensions amongst peoples,
which sets people against their rulers, and rulers against
their people, and strives by every possible crime tq spread
this brutal and disgusting Government all over the world.
(Hear, hear, and cheers.) It is not too much to say that
Russia has the fixed design of attaining to universal do-
mination, because the amount of the limits put to her pro-
gress is the resistance it will find, and nothing less.: Now,
gentlemen, such being the character of Russia, and such
her principles—are there no principles, no opinions,
opposed to Russia on the other side ? Is there no ley()
of liberty ? Why, gentlemen, I take it, that it is
on account of the hatred to those principles, and '
on account of the love of opposite principles, that
nine out of ten of the people of this country have given I,
their sanction to this war. (Applause.) If we could sup-
pose that the extension of Russian rule over Tnrke' would
have benefited Turkey, I maintain the people id this
country would not have suffered the Government to go to
war. But whatever faults Turkey might have, we re-
membered that after tho Hungarian war—(hear, hear)--
the Sultan of Turkey cast his shield over the refugees—
(loud applause)—and while, by so doing he marked himself
' out for the next victim of despotism, he at the same time
entitled himse4 to the sympathy and support of every
liberal-minded Tan in Euroo. (Loudeeheep.).-•• lic ni
there being no rinciple involved in thelwarah jfea
ie
lassie' asiert-that 'hiit'foithite by act, and the Suite t,
having identifial himself. arehr the cause of hity and l liberty, there would have been no war at auman 11. (Hear,
hear, and applanini) If the Sultan had been base enough
iii
to have delivered up Kossuth, the popular sentiment would
have been indifferent to her—we should hare had no war.
Lord Aberdeen, Mr. Cobden, and the Times, would have
prevented it ; and though we might still have contended
with Russia, it would have been upon some other battle-
field. Therefore nothing can be more false than to assert
that there is uo principle in this war. Either the war is a
humbug, or it is the commencement of a general European
revolt of the prineiples of justice and freedom against
those evil principles which have attained such undue pre
tbnuinancy in Europe by the influence of Russia, and our
Government may depend upon it that they cannot pre
dently or safely in their conduct of this war depart from
those principles, owing to their faith in which the people
have so nobly and heartily come forward and offered to be
taxed to support them to the last shilling in their purse,
and lose the 1 •st drop of blood in waging the war with
Russia. (Applause.) Now, having laid down our principle,
it will be an e..sier pia; ter for me to dodueLs from it what
we consider should be the objects of the e ar, and theMeaus
by which they slioutti be obtainel. We are simple enough
to believe that the principle object of the war is to break
down the power of Russia--(hear)—to the greatest extent
we shall find it practicable in the course of the war: Gen-
tlemen, we don't trust Russia. 1 would not trust her ail
inch. We want "material guarantees." Nothing else will
do. Having been compelled to draw the sword, we must
try to attain from it the utmost good possible ; and I think
the greatest amount of good would consist in bringing the
Czar down to his marrew bones, stud never talk about
peace till he humbly and penitently sues for it. (Cheers.)
So much for the objects of th'o war, and now for the means
of obtaining diem. PirA; there are the usual military
means, which the people have furnished so liberally to the
Government. We, of course, desire them to be used with
effeet. But what we most particularly desire attention to
are those moral moans that great moral force which the
the hands of England
previous history anal the crimes of Russia have placed in
which she has trodden down and oppressed. To explain •
what 1 mean, it
• , is enough to pronounce the names of Fin-
, ite the sympathies of those nations
Fin-
land, Poletud, and cieeesseie (Loud applause.) Now,
uottioaot tohfetil
friends, don't mistake me. We do not say even that we
are certain that it is in our power to make these countries
free. We know the old adage—
" Who would be free,
Themselves must strike the blow."
sameiswatrim theye ,if in
shouldthe
v(Aigpoprolauussep.r)oseßo
tunity of taking adventago of it in order to recover their
see coursean o of
oppor.the
freedom, and manfully exert themselves for that purpose,
what we do say is, that they have a ht to look for the
support and countenance of
_Englavnd.ri (Cheers) Gentle-
men, we ought to consider ourselves fortunate if such
events should take place, and ifPoland and other countries
should recover their freedom, because then, indeed, a most satisfactory termination would be, put to the war, and the
world would be in
of
- the,eece and delivered from the aggress '
sious and robberies of Czar. But, as I said before, I
do not on this occasion lay down plans of campaigns. We
are here to lay down principlee. But I will tell you, most
truly what we will not do. 'We will not barter the esteem
and sympathy of one honest patriotic refugee such its we
have here. (Applause, and cries of "Name.") It is M.
Worcell. We would not barter the esteem of a good and
brave man like that for the alliance of all the monarchs of
Europe. (Applause.) But, gentlemen, what have the Go-
vernment done? (Hear.) Why, they have sold the hopes of
England—(a Poland and the sympathies of
---ingland—(a cry or two of
"No, no," drowned amidst cries of ', y„.,, and vehement
applause)--they have sold them to Austria, and what for?
Not for her honest alliance—not even for her help in the
war with Russia. 'That would have been dirt cheap ' but
they have sold us cheaper than that—for that sneaking,
contemptible, equivocal occupation of the Danubian Pro-
vinces by the Austrian armies, after Turkey had rescued
them by her own gallant efforts, whilst the Austrians, too
much like our ow
entlen armies, were looking on. (Shouts of
"Hoar, hear.") Gmen, you will now understand our
principles ; you • will understand our objects, and the
means we would employ. According to the terms of the
requisition, the last question that remains is that of
what measures we can adopt to-night to give effect to our
views. Now, gentlemen, if the Government of this country
had shown by their conduct that they even approximated in
any degree to our principles,
to weshould have been satisfied,
as upon former occasions, have adopted a respectful
memorial to them, setting forth our views, and begging
them to give them their consideration. But they have so
completely separated themselves from us, and from the
great body of the English public, by this unhappy Austrian
alliance, that we should say lee, than the truth were we to
say that we ouget to confine ourselves to such a step.
Fellow countrymen the memorial which I shall read to you
contains an avowal of our want of confidence in the present
Government. (Tremendous cheers.) We coneitier it is impos-
Bible for them to satisfy the Austrian Government anti to
satisfy the English people; awl we wish them cleariy to under-
stand that they cannot have the confidence of the Austrian
Government and the confidence of the English people at the
same time. (Applause.) "Oh !" but sours good people
will say, " Austria is going to become liberal." You don't
know. I have beard it said Francis Joseph would he com-
ing some fine morning to Pesth to be crowned King of
Hungary, and grant the Hungarians all their rights a privileges. No, gentlemen, we don't know ;
and it nd
is pre-
cisely because we don't know that we shall not act
upon
such a supposition. (Hear.) In so serious a matter as this
we must be guided by facts; and what are the facts? The
facts are that this Austrian Government, of which our Go-
vernment is so enamoured, is a despotism very little bettor
than the Russian. (Hear, hear, and a shout of "It is
worse.") Worse, very likely. But we find that, snore
than that, Austria shares with Russia in the spoils of Po-
land—(shouts of "Hear, hear")—and the Austrian empire
would not exist at the present time, that is to say, it would
either bo a constitutional government, or it moult(' have
cease I to exist, had it not been for the march of the Russian
armies into Hungary only the other day. (Hear.) Why,
gentlemen, the Austrian Government are as
guilty of this war as Russia. If that base Government bad not invited
the Russian arming into Hallway, we should him hat), ,