The Sun.
London, England, 1854-02-10 00:00:00

his capacity as a military administrator was far below
his zeal, and personally he has never ceased to be a rival
of Redschid Pasha, though sitting in the same Council.
It is extremely difficult to sound the motives and causes
by which these changes are brought about at the Porte,
where foreign influence and personal intrigue are the
chief elements in such contests for power; but with the
combined squadrons within reach of the Bosphorus, and
the influence of the Allied Powers paramount at Pera, it is
highly improbable that any change should have taken place
favourable to the demands of Russia. We know indeed
that such is the dread entertained by the Turkish Mi-
nisters of the fanaticism of the populace, that they found
themselves compelled to reject all terms of accommoda-
tion on that score, and, if we are not much mistaken, a
proposal to submit to Russia at the present moment
would go far to cost the Sultan his throne and his
Ministers their lives. Until more positive information
arrives, we are therefore strongly dispo4ed to believe
that the Ministerial change which has occured at the
Porte has been brought about by totally different means,
and that it is calculated to restore greater harmony and
unity of action to the Ministry. These objects
have, we know, been earnestly desired for some time by
the French and English Ambassadors, and we have, as
yet, no reason to doubt of their success.
So, too, we learn with satisfaction that Count Orloff
quitted Vienna ear'y on Wednesday morning, for it was
feared that he might make still further efforts to pro-
long his stay and t , recover his influence ; but we receive
with the greatest reserve the intimation contained in this
despatch, that he takes with him the positive assurance
that Austria and Prussia will remain neutral. That state-
, meat is entirely at variance with the latest and most di-
rect assurances of the two German Courts, which have
constantly refused to give any pledge of the kind.
We know with certainty from Berlin that Baron Bud-
berg's overtures have been so ill received there that
Count Orloff gave up his intention of visiting the Sing
of Prussia on his way back to St. Petersburg. No
such assurance could have been given in Vienna on be-
half of Prussia, and as for Austria, every expression she
has used, and every step she has taken in conjunction
with the allied Powers, has shown her anxiety to pre-
serve her full liberty of action. We therefore retain our
conviction that Count Orloff has failed in his mission,
and in all respects. It seems, however, that he did
produce a second instalment of propositions, somewhat
less absolute and inadmissible than his first demands ;
but these too were held to be inadmissible by the Con-
ference, and the negotiation came to an end.
Again, we are not surprised to learn that fresh evi-
dence has come to light of a wide-spread association of
the Greek Christians to take advantage of the present
:nsettled state of the empire to throw of altogether the
Turkish yoke. Some months ago we first directed pub-
lic attention to this subject as one of the great difficul-
ties of the question ; and, although the movement has
been checked by the successes of the Turkish army, and
perhaps, in some degree, by the more enlightened
policy of the Turkish Government towards its Chris-
tian subjects, we suspect that the leaders of the Greek
national party are only waiting for their opportunity
to give the signal of insurrection. An influential priest
has been arrested at Widdln, and some other agents at
Constantinople ; but it is not so much these semi-
Russian emissaries whom the Porte has to fear, as the
disaffection of the masses of its Christian population,
who are now exposed to all the horrors of war, without
being allowed to strike a blow in their own defence.
Nothing is more essential to the future welfare of the
East than that the Christians and their leaders should not
be taught to look exclusively upon Russia as their pro-
tectress, and that the measures of internal reform which
Lord Stratford de Redcliffe has continually urged upon
the Porte should not be defeated by the ingratitude or dis-
affection of those for whose benefit they are chiefly design-
ed. France and England, two of the founders and protectors
of independent Greece, can never lose sight of the perma-
nent interests of the Christian population of the Ottoman
empire. This very dispute has arisen from the refusal
of those Powers to surrender the protectorate of the
Christians, .and consequently the future destiny of the
East, to Russia alone, and nothing could be more fatal
to the emancipation of the Christianyaces than that they
should identify their own cause with that of Russian
ascendancy.'
The Moniteur of Wednesday last contains three des-
patches from the French Government to its agents,
intended to throw a clearer light on the conduct f:;.
France in the earlier stages of this affair ; and these
- communications are all highly creditable to the French
Minister, M. Drouyn de L'Huys. They are written
- with ac'inirable force and precision of languatze, joined
to great moderation in substance, and the utmost
consideration for the good understanding of France with
this country. They prove that, although the French
Ambassador had originally committed himself to acts of
serious indiscretion on the subject of the Holy Places,
and had even threatened to call up the French fleet to
the Dardanelles to back his demands on the Porte,
France had the-good sense to renounce, of her own
accord, this dangerous and unprofitable conflict. They
prove that she was uniformly prepared to act in con-
cert with this country for the defence of Turkey ; and
that when M. de la Cour was sent as Ambassador in
March last he was fully provided with instructions to
meet every contingency. Among these provisions, we find
one for the joint occupation of the castles of the Dardanelies
by the French and English forces, with the consent of the
Porte, in the event of the fleets being called up to Constan-
tinople, and we have yet to learn why that important and
prudent step was not taken when the fleets went up.
Engaged as the French and English Governments now
are in these proceedings, we hold it to be absolutely ne-
cessary to their success, and even to their safety, that
the allied Powers should have a decisive voice in the
government they have undertaken for the present to
support. It is impossible to allow the policy of Western
Europe, and even the operations of the combined forces,
to be in any degree at the mercy of an intrigue in the
Divan or the fall of a minister. As long as our inter-
vention lasts we are entitled to require all that is neces-
i sary to render it safe and effectual, and the first condi-
tion to be recommended is that the Sultan, who has in-
voked our assistance, should take no step which may
affect our position without the assent of his allies.