The Sun.
London, England, 1853-11-11 00:00:00

Passage of the Pruth, of the Turkish Passage of
the Danube, of the British and French Passage of
the Dardanelles. Scrutinising the consecutive oc-
currences, as we have done, no less carefully
than we have the successive documents of which
they have been originative—we have judged, by a
consideration of them all altogether, as to the
policy pursued by the different Governments.
We have not judged rashly, but with the
caution of a calm and conscientious deliberation.
Of this, let the latest events and the last docu-
ment of any importance be taken as conclusive

testimony.
Those events—the passage of the Danube ef-
fected at various points by the Turkish troops
under OMER PACHA , followed up rapidly by the
defeat of nine thousand Russians (with a loss of
more than seven hundred killed and wounded) at

Oltenitza.
That document—the Imperial Manifesto, dated
the 21stpublished by the Czar
NICHOLAS organ, the Journal de
ofn October,
his
omcial and
St. Petersburg.
Receiving them simultaneously, we are con-
firmed by those most recent occurrences, and by
that latest document, in what has been our deli-
berate conviction from the outset, namely, that
Russia is resolved at all hazards upon the subju-
gation of Turkey—that the AUTOCRAT is deter-
mined, no matter what the consequences, to ac-
complish his designs, sooner or later, upon Con-
stantinople.

It must be admitted that precisely as the SUL-
TAN has been throughout consistent in his mode-
ration, the CZAR has from first to last been con-
sistent in his duplicity. Remember, he assured
the Chief Powers of Europe that his sole discus-
sion with the Divan had reference to the Holy
Places. And then came the arrogant demands
and the insolent bearing of his Envoy, Prince
MENSCHIKOFF. Remember, he intimated his respect
for treaties and his regard for the rights of nations.
And then came the movement of his troops across
the Pruth, and their occupation of the Danubian
Principalities. Remember, he announced that it
was simply from a precautionary motive that he
adventured upon that movement and that occu-
pation. And then came the haughty intimation
to the Hospodars of Wallachia and Moldavia, that
their allegiance was no longer due to their quon-
dam suzerain at Constantinople. Consistently
with all this, the pacific assurances so often reite-
rated by the Emperor NICHOLAS, personally at
Olmiitz, and indirectly elsewhere, have been sue_
ceeded by that bellicose Manifesto of the 21st of
October, in which it is intimated—mark the
words !—that " NOTHING REMAINS FOR RUSSIA
BUT TO HAVE RECOURSE TO ARMS, to compel the
Ottoman Empire to respect treaties, to obtain re-
paration for the insults with which the Porte has
replied to our most moderate demands, and to
our solicitude for the maintenance of the ortho-
dox faith in the East." So. War then be it. The selec-
tion is not England's, is not that of France, is not
Turkey's—it is the choice of the Russian AUTO-
CRAT. Whatever (with his consummate effrontery)
he may say about insults to be avenged and
treaties to be respected, History will declare in
characters of blood and flame whose was the in-
solence, whose the violation of the rights of an
unoffending sovereignty, whose the crime in this
deplorable rupture of thirty-seven years' tran-
quillity.

The case of SMITH, Protestant handbill distri-
butor ; BRENNAN, Catholic schoolmaster ; and
O'CALLAGHAN, Catholic magistrate, bids fair to
become one of no small importance. The case,
perhaps, which shall settle the legal amount of
liberty enjoyed by handbill distributors, and which
shall define in that direction the liberties of the
Press. To what extent a person may thrust upon
another's attention documents which it is not
unlawful to print, and circulate by sale or gift, is
really a very delicate question. It is not pre-
tended that SMITH, in " thrusting" a Protestant
handbill according to BRENNAN'S version, or in
" offering it," according to his own statement, did
more than the agents of MOSES and SON are doing
every day, or more than every distributor of
political tracts as well as religious tracts has done
from time immemorial. Of course, the more
usual practice is to punish the author of a publi-
cation, and not the generally humble agents who
distribute them, and it would seem that this is
the course which it would have been more manly
to pursue in the present instance. The publish-
ing of SMITH'S handbill is not denied, it is rather
gloried in. No witnesses being present, one party
says, " He thrust it upon me ;" the other rejoins,
" No, I only offered it." Now, setting aside ho w
very nice the distinction must be between " thrust-
ing" and " offering," how two perfectly truthful
men might differ in assigning a particular act to one
or other of these categories, it would certainly
need the judicial wisdom of a SOLOMON to decide
between the mutually contradicting witnesses.
There was every facility for prosecuting the pub-
lishers, at least, of the obnoxious handbill, and it
must now remain for ever doubtful whether the
bill was " thrust" or " offered."

But what is thrusting ? The great English
authority tells us that it is not only to " push, to
move with violence, to drive," but also to " in-
trude, to obtrude." Plenty of work, certainly,
is cut out for our Justices of the Peace, if every
obtruder of himself or his handbills may be sum-
moned, and held to bail even in his own recog-
nisances only. Our houses are intruded upon
perpetually with " bills left to be called for," and
our walks interrupted by urchins, who inform us
(to the serious interruption of our calculations, or
pleasant cogitations,) where the cheapest tea and
coffee is to be had. There is a well-known and
very large society in Paternoster-row (not to speak
of one in Lincoln's-inn-fields)
which publishes
myriads of tracts, designed to be obtruded in
every way upon the notice of those for whose
enlightenment they are intended. This society once
printed a large number of "Mr. WILLIAM WILBER-
FORCE'S Practical View of Religion," and some one of
the "Clapham Sect," probably himself or herself in
high life, thought it just the thing to enlighten
our graceless or fashionable aristocracy ; accord-
ingly, some thousand or more, bound in drawing-
room style, were actually sent to the very abodes
of the frequenters of ALBUMS. Shortly after, a
Duchess contrived to squeeze her carriage and
equipage into Paternoster-row, and, descending in
great wrath into the shop of the society, inquired
how they had dared to send her such a book.
The employes and officers meekly denied all know-
ledge of the act. " Who then had done it ?"
Alas, they could not tell. The footman was then
ordered to throw the parcel on the counter. They,
however, declined to receive it, as they had
not sent it—they could not have it thrust upon
them because some one had thrust it upon the
Duchess, and her Grace had actually to drive oft
with WILBERFORCE and her wrath in her carriage,
to settle the affair as all such affairs ought to bo
othder
settled. With the daily demand in each family
for shaving papers, pipe lights, hair papers, or
the public
uses, it really seems that Duchesses
BRINNANS need not trouble magistrates and
public with bringing the thrustees of books or
of handbills to justice. For ourselves, we gene-
rally take all that is thrust upon us in this way.
Summary justice is so easy that we never think of
any other,
unless
nin the happily now rare case of
what would
more than our anger.
Mr. O'CALLICIIIAx
of the offence to be, that
to consider the gist
" to disturb Baliithe
because alls feelings,
calcu-
lated handbill was
make him angry ;"and to
such
things were
bounPaeac toe which in
,
likely to create a breach of the
virtue of his office he was
But here, again, the magistrate certainly treads
on doubtful ground. BRENNAN was angry, cer
tainly, but it ought to have been shown that he
had reason to be angry. The proprietor of one