The Sun.
London, England, 1853-10-08 00:00:00

LONDON, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1853.

Yesterday was rendered remarkable in our me-
tropolis -by two events eminently calculated to in-
terrupt the progress of Russian aggression, and,
in so doing, to vindicate the rights of Turkish
independence. Allusion is here made, of course,
to the meetings held, the one in Downing-street,
the other at the London Tavern ; the former a Ca-
binet Council, the latter a great popular demon-
stration. Let us confess at once that we regard
the last-mentioned as by far the more propitious
of the two occurrences. We are more sanguine
of its being productive of happy consequences ;
for we look to that assemblage of intelligent
Englishmen as to the commencement of a
generous agitation throughout the country—
an agitation which can alone be prevented by
the adoption of some more energetic and magna-
nimous policy by the Members of her MA-
JESTY'S Government. The mere circumstance
of the selection of Lord DUDLEY STUART as the
Chairman of yesterday's meeting at the London
Tavern was indicative that its character was one of
no small significance. It intimated clearly enough
that the object of the meeting was one at once chival-
ric and benevolent—a truth attested not only in the
speech delivered by the Noble Lord himself, but
by almost every remark that fell from the lips of
the principal speakers on the platform. Whether
it was a gallant sea captain who addressed the
masses there collected together, or whether it was
a popular novelist, or whether it was a liberal
member of the representative branch of the Par-
liament—each of the orators of the evening ap-
peared to be animated by those nobler and more
generous sentiments which, at these periods of
rational excitement, are not seldom heard beating
in the heart, or breathing from the mouth of your
more impulsive Englishman.

Yesterday's meeting called to our remembrance
could scarcely fail to call to our remembrance
—the first great aggregate assemblage, in that
same London Tavern, now some four or five years
ago, in reference to the pending struggle for
liberty on the part of the heroic Hungarians. It
was upon that occasion, we recollect, that the
member for the West Riding first startled the
common sense of men of even moderate education,
by that notable braggadocio that you might
crumple up Russia as easily as you can crumple
up a piece of paper. The boast has been repeated
since then again and again, usque ad nauseam,
until we doubt not, in sheer fatigue at its repetition,
the Honourable Gentleman bitterly regrets he ever
gave utterance to the observation. As the
crowning taunt against him in allusion to that
simile, it is curious that so long after the occasion
of its original employment, it was mentioned, as
it was last evening, in terms of such bitter deri-
sion from the same platform, and the same apart-
ment. And the individual who provoked the
laughter of the assembled crowd against that
memorable boast, was appropriately enough, a
member, not of the Peace Society, but of the more
national and popular branch of our warlike pro-
fessions. It was a man no less distinguished in
arms than Sir CHARLES NAPIER, who could not
refrain last evening from making such scornful
reference to the forthcoming demonstration of the
Peace Conference, announced for the 13th proximo
at Edinburgh. It must have warmed the heart
of the brave old Admiral to hear the hisses which
greeted his incidental mention of that approach-
ing Peace Conference at Edinburgh. It must
have amused him to listen to those well-inten-
tioned roars of laughter which were almost unwit-
tingly elicited by his assertion, " Well, I am a
peaceful man, and I am going there too"—and
which merriment he corrected by adding, " Why,
I am just as much for peace as Mr. COBDEN—just
as fond of my own comfort as he is of his, and I
should like to see this country happy, peaceable,
and prosperous, and every man in it enjoying
himself." Just, as much, say you, Sir CHARLES
NAPIER ? " Just as much for peace as Mr.
Comm r Rather more—we take it. For those
are the truer pacificators who would adopt energe-
tic and prompt measures of retaliation against a
lawless invader of the territories of its neighbour—
than those who, by their paltry pusillanimity,
hold out temptations for the yet further advance
for the tyrannous outragers of the independence
of peoples, and of the rights of nations, and of the
beneficent tranquillity of civilisation. Those, in
the instance before us, would have been the true
pacificators who would have answered the passage
of Russian troops across the Pruth by the instant
appearance of French and British men-of-war in
the waters of Constantinople. Those would have
been the real pacificators who would have con-
ducted the united fleets from Besika Bay to the
Bosphorus immediately intelligence was received
of the Cossacks having formally entered upon
the occupation of the Danubian Principalities.
Better, wiser, more effectual pacificators than
the men who could whine over the dreams of
the Utopian visionary, and in carrying out con-
sistency in their fantastic crotchet, venture upon
the utterance of the most craven sentiments within
the walls of the British Parliament, walls that have
seldom echoed the language of brazened pol-
troonery. "I am not fond of bloodshed," ob-
served Sir CHARLES NAPIER in continuation of his
allusions last evening to the ultra-pacific views of
Mr. COBDEN—" but my way is a very different
way from his." Thereupon the gallant Admiral
availed himself of the opportunity of referring, as
we have said, to the oft-mentioned declaration of
the Member for the West Riding of Yorkshire—a
declaration that, if taken as the guide to our fo-
reign policy, might, before long, in the form of
Jowl' BULL, remind one of the famous Bull with
the " crumpled horn" in the nursery ballad.

it."

" Mr. COBDEN," said Sir CHARLES NAPIER, " told
you some time ago that he could take Russia and
crumple it up like a bit of paper. (Much laugh-
ter.) Why does he not go now and crumple it
up? (More laughter and cheers.) Why does he
not go and crumple up the Russian armies in the
Danubian provinces ? (Cheers.) Why does he
not go and crumple up the Russian fleet at Sebas-
topol ? (Great cheering.) Why does ho not go
and crumple up the fleet in the Baltic ? If he
will only go and do that, he will save us an enor-
mous expenditure of money. But all this
crumpling up is only worthy of being
laughed at. (Hear, hear.) It is all non-
sense—all bothership. (Roars of laughter.)"
Yes—that is the word—and we thank the Admi-
ral for it perhaps only the more cordially because
of the difficulty we might find in discovering it in
the pages of JOHNSON. Yes, that is the precise
word—" it is all bothership." And the country
won't have any more of this same bothership—
no matter whether it be the bothership of a puling
Peace Conference or of a hesitating Coalition Go-
vernment.. It is the sense of this which is in-
ducing brave-hearted Englishmen to turn with
disdain even from the most illustrious of living
statesmen—as it induced Captain MAYNE REID
last night to speak derisively of a " political
dandy" when referring to a great popular favourite
like Viscount PALMERSTON. So profound is the
disgust inspired by the timorous policy of the
ABERDEEN Cabinet—so utter is the abhorrence of
the people of these islands for the criminal aggres-
sions of the AUTOCRAT—SO earnest is their sym-
pathy for the cause of Turkish Independence.

Wars and rumours of wars appear to multiply.
The great " European Journal," which has lately,
in our judgment, been dangerously peaceful in its
policy, is itself involved in a fearful duel. We
must say, that though in its relation to the chal-
lenger more in the position of the CZAR, and the
other party in that of the SULTAN, it is in this
case the feebler who provokes the fight. The
editor of the New York Inquirer and Courier, just
now in this country, takes up, as " a material
guarantee," we suppose, nearly three columns of
small print in the Times, to demand a "note"
from that journal promising never more to discuss
American affairs, especially never more to advert
to the hallowed. " domestic institution" of " in-
voluntary servitude." The Times steadily refuses
to concede its own rights, and the rights of the
English press. It tells its antagonist in language
which, with an exception or two that shall now
be nameless, the whole British press will certainly
endorse, "No one but a despot, ora man in training,
for despotism, ever demanded immunity from dis-
cussion ; but in spite of Emperors, in spite of the
Spanish Government, whatever it is, and in spite
of General J. WATSON WEBB, we shall certainly
continue our strictures on Russian, Austrian, Spa-
nish, and American affairs, as freely as upon Eng-
lish. It is the birthright of the Englishman, and
till he finds himself worshipping the God of the
Russians,' or a fellow-slave with the niggers under
the stripes and stars, he will continue to exercise

Russian ambition and audacity are quite outdone
by Mr. WEBB. The Times had actually quoted
with approbation an article written by this gentle-
man ; had bestowed upon America the praise of
abolishing the worst iniquities of privateering.
Forthwith the American editor avails himself of

this as a text for lecturing the Times and all
Englishmen on their utter ignorance of America
and all that belongs to it, ending with the de-
mand just referred to, that we all from hence-
forth presume not to discuss American affairs. It
certainly appears to promise little satisfaction to
Americans if even a little sincere commendation
calls forth such a wordy, angry diatribe as that of
J. WATSON WEBB. Like our contemporary, how-
ever, we shall feel most pleasantly at ease in
dropping such remarks as we see fit upon any
American matter whatever, social, political, or
even religious. We shall do so too with the con-
fidence that great numbers of Americans welcome
our observations, and, whether they agree with or
differ from us, prefer to know what we think.
The very " JOHN-BULL-ISM " which, as Mr.
WEBB affirms, prompts Americans to resent our
interference, prompts them also to demand that
we speak out all our minds. Even if we are on some
points utterly opposed to some American "Insti-
tution," as Americans are to some other peculiar
to England, so far as they retain the JOHN BULL--
ism which is native to us, they will prefer the
open antagonist to the timid trimmer, or the
venal apologist.

Mr. WEBB thinks that the best possible diplo-
matic representation between the two countries is
of little consequence, while the Press in each are
at war, and affirms that they are so at present.
We really did not know it. We are unconscious
in England of being engaged in an attack ; pro-
bably this is due to our " profound and utter
ignorance of American affairs," for he tells us the
American Press has been long acting purely "on
the defensive." Had we " known" America, we
should doubtless have known that she was waging
defensive warfare, and, indeed, we do now call to
mind plenty of paragraphs in our American papers,
chiding and rebuking in various ways supposed
English errors of judgment or temper towards
our brother JONATHAN ; for the most part, how-
ever, they rather amused than displeased us, and we
almost forgot that these things were possibly meant
for real paper war. We certainly wish the Press
of the two countries to keep the peace, but we
did not know that discussing malpractices in Ame-
rica just as we should do those of any English
county, or those of any European State, was
even au approach to war. _ _ _

But why, we would ask General J. WATSON
WEI3B, why this excessive sensitiveness on the part
of America to our free criticism of United States
matters ? We are perfectly unmoved by all they
write on ours. We merely endeavour to mend
all they can tell us of worth mending. Just
in this, however, lies the real cause of all
this editorial and Yankee soreness. It is just
because Mr. WEBB can mention nothing wrong in
Britain—our pauperism, our uneducated poor,
our prison cruelties, our wife-beating even—he
can mention no evil which we not only wish to know
of to its full extent, but which we are not also using
strenuous efforts to abate. On the other hand,
the monster evil of America is a cherished one.
The evil which corrupts business, social life, politics,
and religion ; the grand immorality, the funda-
mental iniquity of America, is upheld by laws
which would disgrace even Tuscany. Ame-
rica protects her sin and plants United States
marshals in all the Free States of the Union to
defend her sinners ; England, on the contrary,
employs her courts and her officers of justice
to get rid, as far as possible, of her moral
nuisances. We conceive that this simple
circumstance is the key to all American
displeasure with English attacks on slavery.
Americans know that it is the most unpardonable

77 •
iniquity Chtistendom ; the greatest disgrace of
modern civilisation. Yet they take no steps for its
mitigation, much less for its abolition. Were they
providing for the education of the negro—were
they training him, by partial labour for wages, for
a prospective emancipation—were they arranging
that all born after a near date should in any case
bo free—were they laying restraints upon cruel-
ties to the negroes, like those which made our
planters desirous to curtail the time of apprentice-
ship—were they, in a word, taking a single step
determinedly towards wiping off this foul blot on
the Union, they would be in no way disturbed by
the severest English denunciations of their national
crime. Nay, they would welcome them as strength-
ening the hands of the benevolent and high-minded
many against the avaricious few, who would
sacrifice every human and divine right to tyranny

and dollars. It is with nations as with indivi-
duals ; the man who really desires to break off a
vice thanks you for strengthening his resolution
by the strongest representations you can make of
its wickedness and danger.

Could_ we credit Mr. WEBB'S statement that
the admiration accorded to Mrs. STOWE'S genius
is resented by the great mass of the United States
people, even by abolitionists, it would indeed de-
grade his country in our eyes. He would per-
suade us that the popularity here of one of the
ornaments of her sex and of literature is an