The Sun.
London, England, 1853-10-04 00:00:00

DECLARATION OF WAR

TURKEY AGAINST RUSSIA

(BY SUBMARINE TELEGRAPH.)

A second edition of the Morning Chronicle

contains the following important telegraphic dis-

patch from their Vienna correspondent :--

Advices from Constantinople were received at
Vienna yesterday, dated the 27th ult., containing

Trost important news.
The Divan, at the Grand Council held that
day, resolved upon a declaration of war against
Russia.

Report says that hostilities have already be-

gun.

On Sunday night the Emperor of Austria left
suddenly, with the Prince of Prussia, for War-
paw, where the King of Prussia will meet them.

It behoves England to be forthwith on the
alert, and no longer to allow herself to be cajoled
by the timidity of the man, unfortunately, at this
critical period, at the head of her MAJESTY'S
Government. In consequence of that timidity
the honour of Great Britain has, for some time
past, been deplorably jeopardised. By reason of
the influence naturally exercised by the Earl of
ABERDEEN over the councils of the Coalition, our
foreign policy has been divested of all dignity
and promptitude, of all calm and consistent reso-
lution. It has, on the contrary, been rendered
thereby weak and, to the last extremity, vacil-
lating. Insomuch that our diplomatic negotia-
tions in reference to the Eastern Question, in lieu
of being at once brought to a satisfactory close,
as they might have been with a moderate show on
our part of vigour and determination—have been
lamentably protracted up to this very instant by
procrastination after procrastination. Examine
the foreign policy of England in regard to the
Russo-Turkish difficulty, and you will find that
from first to last it has been pusillanimous in its
acts, and. if brave in any way, bravo only in.
speech, courageous only in words, valiant only in
the remarks uttered by one or two of the more
energetic members of the Administration. It is
the truth—unsatisfactory though it may be—it
is the truth nevertheless. In this particular again,
as in so many others, the Coalition has been pro-
ductive of anomalies almost as discreditable to the
country as those which characterised the bewil-
dering alliance of parties in which the Cabinet
itself must be allowed to have originated. Incon-
sistency was the basis of the Government, and
therefore, reasonably enough, we might even say
inevitably, inconsistency has proved its most con-
spicuous consequence. Guided by the Earl of
ABERDEEN, the Cabinet of St. James's has contented
itself with making a series of very amiable, but, at
the same time, very pitiful representations to the
councils of St. Petersburg—at the precise moment
when the Russian AUTOCRAT is outraging the
common sense of Europe, the rights of Turkey,
and the laws of all civilised nations, by the mission
intrusted to Prince MENSCHIKOFF, by the march
of the Cossacks under Prince GORTZCHAKOPF, by
the insults offered to the Divan, by the passage
of the Pruth, and by the occupation cf the Danu-
bian Principalities. While the CZAR has been
acting thus vigorously in the development of his
ambitious project for the extension of his already
stupendous and unwieldy dominions—England,
under the rule of ABERDEEN, has been tolerating,
and not only tolerating, but herself taking part in
the delays and hesitations, the discussions and
negotiations of the Vienna Conference. The me-
lancholy result of all which is at this instant
before us—visible in a most perilous situation,
and audible in the most disastrous intelligence.

The situation is this :—that England having
allowed herself first of all to be deceived by the
Russian, is now permitting herself to be deluded
by the Austrian and by the Prussian Government.
The intelligence—which comes to us from 01-
miitz on the one hand, and on the other from
Cmstantinople--is this : that the CZAR has en-
tered into a secret and satisfactory arrangement
with the Cabinets of Berlin and Vienna, by which
the representatives of each will ultimately be
withdrawn from the Conference of the Four
Powers, giving full scope for the development of
the designs of the Russian Government—while a
Grand Council of Ministers, Paellas, and Memas,
numbering altogether upwards of a hundred of

the great dignitaries of the Turkish Empire, had,
on the 26th ultimo, recommended the SULTAN to
make a.declaration of war, having been summoned
by their Sqvereign to decide whether or not that
course had become advisable under the circum-
stances.

For this situation, ;.and for this intelligence, we

have unquestionably to thank the Earl of Anzit-
, DEEN, as the presiding influence in the councils of

ber Britannic MAJESTY'S Government. The dis-
/edit in all thigi, we believe in our conscience, is

due to that statesman personally. It belongs to
him mainly, if not exclusively, because, through-
out these disgraceful transactions in reference to
the Eastern Difficulty, he has unhappily occupied
the prominent and responsible position of Leader
of the British Government. It belongs to him
mainly, if not exclusively, because his foreign policy
has all along been notoriously warped by the warmth
of his Russian predilections. It belongs to him
mainly, if not exclusively, because we all know
perfectly well the patriotic sentiments cherished
by the Foreign Secretary, and the Home Secre-
tary, and the Leader of the House of Com-
mons, and the First Lord of the Admiralty,
and others of his able, but motley, colleagues in
the Coalition Government. Latterly, indeed,
those sentiments have been openly avowed in de-
fiance of the dictates of what is called Ministerial
discretion. They were avowed at Greenock by
Lord JOHN RussEnn—at Perth by Lord PALMER-
STON—and at Glasgow by the panegyrics pro-
nounced by that illustrious Foreign Minister upon
his distinguished successor, the Earl of CLAREN-
DON. A certain degree of culpability is shared,
of course, among those, and the rest of the Mi-
nisterial advisers of our Sovereign, for inasmuch as
they have consented thus to palter with the honour
of the Crown by yielding to the timorous and
unpatriotic policy of the Earl of ABERDEEN---by
permitting him thus far to obstruct anything like
vigorous action—by tolerating, in short, until now
those protracted and most disgraceful, because
most pusillanimous, negotiations. But that
culpability emanates, in the first instance,
as we have said, from the paltry policy-, and per-
verse prejudices, and unpatriotic predilections of
the aged Statesman, unfortunately, during this
juncture, at the head of her Britannic MAJESTY'S
Government.

Thanks to Lord ABERDEEN, therefore—intelli-
gence reaches England, simultaneously, that at
Olmiitz a new alliance has been entered into by
Russia, Prussia, and Austria, through the masterly
and wily machinations of the AUTOCRAT, and that
war has at length been boldly declared by Turkey,
according to the latest advices received from Con-
stantinople.

Hitherto in regard to this 'Pastern Question
England has blundered—but the blunders of the
Cabinet may be obliterated from the popular
remembrance by prompt and energetic acts of re-
paration.

War has been declared by Turkey—and, mean-
while, the KING of Prussia and the EMPEROR of
Austria are hastening to meet the Russian AUTO-
CRAT at Warsaw, and there to hold with him
friendly conference together—as FRANCIS JOSEPH
has already done at Olmiltz. The rational and
dignified course to be pursued at such a juncture
by the English Government, is obvious under ex-
isting circumstances. A yet closer and more cor-
dial alliance with the Imperial Government of
France ! The nomination of a vigorous instead
of a timorous Statesman to the post of First Lord
of the Treasury ! The confiding of yet larger
powers to our Ambassador at Constantinople !
The ordering of all our ships-of-war now in Besika
Bay to proceed forthwith to the Bosphorus, and
the instant despatch of our Channel Fleet into the
Mediterranean. ! These are the proceedings which
have now become imperatively requisite. They
are proceedings which may effectually baffle the
wiliest designs of the AUTOCRAT. Adopted—they
will maintain the integrity of the Turkish Empire
while rendering France and England the arbitrers
of the destinies of Christendom.

If " property has its duties as well as its
rights," it also carries with it cares and troubles
as well as comfort and enjoyments. The employer
of skilled labour of any description is peculiarly
exposed to trouble and annoyance ; he is but too
frequently placed between two fires--raked " fore
and aft " by those who supply a portion of his
capital on the one side, and the workmen engaged
in his services on the other. Here, the rate of
interest is suddenly and extravagantly raised, so
as to leave little if any profit for the luckless spe-
culator, whose time, labour, and personal re-
sources remain without remuneration. There,
the operatives, without regarding or taking into
consideration the movement in the opposite direc-
tion, or making any allowance for the embarrass-
ments and difficulties to which he is exposed,
clamour for increased wages, and threaten a
general strike, if all their demands, however un-
reasonable, be not complied with.
But it is not merely with respect to the rate
of wages that employers are subjected to vexa-

on and annoyance. In many instances they
are placed under the most minute and ri-
diculous restriction, dictated to as to whom
they shall employ and whom they shall discharge,
and the manner in which they shall conduct their
business, until, if they yield to all the requisi-
tions, they become little better than so many
puppets in the hands of those who, though nomi-
nally servants, become in time most tyrannical
and exacting masters, requiring unreasoning and
unresisting submission to all their decrees and
orders. Woe to any man who has the hardihood
to resist their imperious demands. If it be in the
power of "the body" to injure him in his business
—even to bring ruin to his family—no effort will
be spared, no stone left unturned to effect the
object. And not only is the ruin of the master
aimed at, but also of all the better disposed work-
men who refuse to join in the combination, or
who lend any assistance to the man who has fallen
under the ban of the confederacy. These men,
who deserve to be sustained and supported, are
ruthlessly consigned to the destitution which must
attend a total deprivation of occupation, and
masters are expected to become participators in
the offence by carrying out and executing the
judgments of the secret tribunals.
From time immemorial the confederacies and
unions of parties formed for the ostensible pur-
pose of protecting their own interests, but which,
generally speaking, have proved very detrimental
thereto, have been cognisable by law. Two or
more persons combining together for the purpose
of injuring any individual in his person, property,
or character, or even to effect a legal purpose
with a corrupt intent, or by improper means,
constituted a conspiracy, a serious offence by the
Common Law, which subjected the offenders to
fine and imprisonment. It may easily be con-
ceived that the associations above referred to
came within the province of the law, and that
the workmen became amenable to its stringent
provisions even when their objects were com-
paratively free from objection. By the 6th
GEO. IV., c. 129, however, the provisions of
the Common and the Statute Law which in-
flicted punishment on persons for meeting and
entering into agreements for the sole purpose
of settling the rate of wages or the hours of work
were repealed. Other agreements or combinations
bringing parties within the operation of the law
were, however, made punishable with imprison-
ment and hard labour, for any period not exceed-
ing three calendar months. But while parties
were authorised to meet for the purpose of set-
tling the hours and price of labour, especial care
was taken to protect the honest and independent
workman iu the free disposal of his labour against
any combination of his fellow-workmen. It was
therefore expressly enacted (a. 3) that any work-
man might make such terms, and agree to such
conditions with his employer as he pleased, with-
out regard to the rules of any trade-union or
society ; and he could not be compelled to be-
long to any club or association, nor be in any way
coerced by threat, intimidation, molestation, or
obstruction. The employer was also protected in
the liberty to carry on his business or manufac-
ture as he thought proper ; and no person could
lawfully interfere, or presume to dictate to him
what workmen he should or should not employ,
nor whether they should be paid by piece or day

work, nor the number of apprentices he should

keep.

It might be supposed that these enactments
were sufficiently explicit, that no mistake could
arise as to their interpretation, and that it would
be vain to attempt to disregard such clear and
unequivocal provisions with impunity. Yet such
is the case. The men still combine to control
their masters and fellow-workmen, and although
in the great majority of cases the majesty of the
law has been vindicated, and its violaters punished
for their offences, although the injury which they
have endeavoured to inflict upon others has almost
invariably recoiled on their own heads, they per-
severe in their futile efforts, and strive to defeat
the salutary enactments, although no greater mis-
fortune could happen to themselves than the full
and complete success of their unwarranted aggres-
sion. We find them still trying to coerce
masters as to the mode of carrying on their
business, and to send fellow-workmen to coventry
fer daring to accept employment from persons who
are placed under their tyrannical ban.

In our impression of Saturday we published a
report of the proceedings at the Guildhall Police
Court against several journeymen compositors, who
were committed for trial at the ensuing Sessions
of the Central Criminal Court for conspiring toge-
ther to procure the dismissal of a fellow-workman
named SPENCE from bis employment, in which we
regret to say they were but too successful. It
appeared that some time previously the printers in
the employment of Mr. Thuds struck, because
that respected gentleman thought proper to take a
greater number of apprentices than his journeymen
approved. They failed in achieving their object.
Their employer was firm, and they became aware
of the folly of keeping themselves and their
families without bread for the sake of establish-
ing the insolent assumption. The majority of the
recusants accordingly "struck" a second time, that
is to say they had the good sense to apologise for
their indiscretion, and to return to the occupation
they had voluntarily relinquished, and new hands
were easily obtained to supply the places of those
who continued obdurate. This concession, how-
ever, excited the indignation of " the body," and
Mr. TALLIS'S premises were specially TABOOED,
and a resolution passed that none of the men who
returned to or accepted work in that establish-
ment should be employed in any other house in
the trade. The unfortunate complainant had not
been working at Mr. TALLIS'S at or previous to the
strike. He was, however, " taken on" after its
termination, and for this act of disobedience to
the orders of the secret tribunal he became a
marked man, whose ruin was resolved on.
After some time he was, in consequence of the
slackness of work, discharged from Mr. TALLIs's,
and he subsequently applied for work at Mr.
JACKSON'S, which he obtained. It did not,
however, last long. The tyrannical edict was
to be enforced, and he was to learn
from bitter experience the disastrous results
of acting for himself without the sovereign per-
mission of the Society. He had scarcely been
in the employment, when two " chapels," or meet-
ings, were held, of the other hands, from which
he was carefully excluded. The matter was not
permitted to remain long in doubt. A communi-
cation was made to the foreman of Mr. JACKSON,
and poor SPENCE was summarily dismissed. Now,
what can be thought of the system which, if fully
carried out, would have the effect of closing an
extensive and well-conducted establishment, of
destroying the capital embarked therein, and
ruining the respected proprietor, simply for
doing what the law, not merely tacitly, but
distinctly and in express terms, authorises, while
those who refuse to join in the nefarious
conspiracy who are willing to accept a
fair day's wages in return for a fair day's
work—are to be involved in like destruction,
deprived of the trade which they had laboriously
acquired, and condemned to perpetual idleness,
and, of course, perpetual poverty, by the hard-
hearted despots who, in secret conclave assembled,
attempt to control the destinies of the trade. Such
matters cannot for a moment be tolerated; they strike
at the very root of society, and if sanctioned would
inflict a death-blow on the national prosperity.
The punishment of the misguided men, who have
rendered themselves amenable to justice, is not
sought ; but they and all others must be taught
that the majesty of the law must be respected,
and that it is too powerful to be set aside or
violated with impunity in accordance with the
dictates of an illegal, unconstitutional, and irre-
sponsible body, who shroud themselves in privacy,
and are ashamed and afraid to have their un-
warranted and unwarrantable proceedings exposed
to the light of day.

VISIT OF HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DIIRE OF CAM-
BRIDGE TO DORCHESTER.—On Saturday evening his
Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge made an official
visit of inspection of the two troops of the Bth Royal
Hussars, which, with the head-quarters, are stationed at
Dorchester barracks. His Royal Highness was accom
panied by Colonel Macdonald and suite, and proceeded
at once to the barracks. On Sunday morning his Royal
Highness visited Portland, where he examined the break-
water, and also looked over the convict depot. Having
taken luncheon, his Royal Highness returned to Dor-