The Sun.
London, England, 1853-06-21 00:00:00

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LONDON, TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 1853.

Upon the occupation of the Danubian Princi
palities by the Russian troops war is inevitable.
It has been definitively decided, at least by the
Cabinet of the Tuileries, that the passage of the
Pruth will be regarded by France as a violation
of the compact of 1841, and that, considered thus
in the light of a casus belli, it must unavoidably
lead to a conflict between the forces of the Czar
and the armaments of the rest of the principal
potentates of Christendom. There is much ques-
tion, it would unhappily appear, whether the
English Coalition Government is prepared to
adopt the same energetic line of proceeding as
that sketched out for himself with an iron
and inflexible determination by the Emperor
NAPOLEON for the guidance of the Imperial Ad-
ministrators of France. It is hinted, indeed,
that the Earl of ABERDEEN—compelled for once
to abandon his old subserviency to the Court of
St. Petersburgh and to yield to the resolute policy
of his quondam rival, now his incongruous col-
league, Viscount PALMERSTON—it is hinted, we
say, that the Earl of ABERDEEN, though ready to
consent to support the DrvaN in the rejection
of the Russian ultimatum by diplomatic repre-
sentations, nay, even by despatching our mari-
time armament in the Mediterranean as' far
as the Channel of the Dardanelles, and even be-
yond the little intermediate sea of Marmora to
the waters of Constantinople, is, nevertheless, " at
bay," inasmuch as he refuses to regard as an
actual casus kW, the Russian occupation of the
Danubian Principalities ! So at least—on dit !
So at least—it is rumoured ! England, accord-
ing to these lamentable reports, is even now vascil-
lating as to the precise limits of her policy in refer-
ence to the dispute now pending between the SULTAN
and the AUTOCRAT. Forthwith, however, we must be
permitted to declare at once, and in the most ex-
plicit language, that we consider all insinuations
to this effect as in every particular incredible. It
is altogether beyond our belief at any rate that
any British Ministry—no matter what its ap-
parent lack of principle—should reveal at such a
moment, at such a crisis, and under such
circurastances--this wholly unparalleled pusil-
lanimity. Besides which, the Coalition is
pledged to a complete identity of views
in regard to this Eastern Question between the
Ministerial emulous
the at Paris and at London, be-
tween Courts of St. James's and the Tuileries,
between the ruling statesmen of France and
adviEng-
land, the political
Berg_ of Queen VICTORIA
and the Emperor NAPOLEON, To this course, we
repeat, they are solemnly pledged before the coun-
try and before Parliament. As gu tees, we may
refer to the explanations recently givento the Com-
mons by Lord JOHN RUSSELL, and to the Peers
by the Earl of CLARENDON. As additional assur-
ances to the same purpose, we may point
als of the Times, and to the
to the reluctant avow
eager and manly intimations of the Monitenr.
Added to which, instructions, we all know by this
simultaneously to the
time, have been forwarded
French and British Ambassadors at Constantinople,

empowering them to commend the immediate as-
sistance of the SULTAN and his Divan by the com-
bined fleets in the Mediterranean. England,
then, has obviously identified her policy in re-
ference to Turkey with the policy adopted in that
matter by the French Imperial Government.
That policy the world is conscious will prove one
worthy of the occasion in every particular—be-
cause the Chief of the State has spoken only very
recently in terms so bold, so explicit, and so mag-
nanimous through that memorable article in the
Pays signed by the Viscount de la GUERRONIERE.
France will not consent—whatever may be
thought of the pusillanimity of Lord ABER-
DREN France will not consent to tarnish
her laurels by dragging them through the
dust of paltry concessions to the ambition of the
AUTOCRAT. France would not consent to this,
we believe, at any time—for such is not in the
haughty spirit of her independence—but more
especially and more peculiarly she will never con-
sent to a course so mean and so utterly despi-
cable now that her councils are presided over by
the daring and resolute intellect of the Third
NAPOLEON. Neither will England ! We
proclaim it confidently—neither will Eng-
land ! We assert it to be our conviction
that, supposing it were at all possible (which we
cannot for an instant credit) that Ministers could
so monstrously betray their trust, as to yield to
the occupation of Moldavia and Wallachia by the
Cossacks, without regarding the passage of the
Pruth by Russian troops, as an open declaration
of hostilities on the part of his Majesty the Em-
peror NICHOLAS—the result would be the abrupt
downfall of the Coalition Government. A down-
fall complete and instantaneous, one brought
about by the outbreak of a wide-spread and
truly national indignation. Down would go
" all the talents"—down would go Whigs, and
Peelites, and Conservative Radicals, and Radical
Conservatives ! Not HUMPTY-DUMPTY himself would
ever have had such a fall, as would inevitably
have in such a contingency each Member of the
strong and stable Coalition ! That contingency
—a yielding at the eleventh hour to the insolent
advance of Northern Absolutism, a return to the
old-wife's policy of the dear and excellent
ABERDEEN, an abandonment of the chivalrous
views of PALMERSTON, a timorous permission of
the passage of the Pruth, an abject consent to the
Russian occupation of the Danubian Princi-
palities.

No ! We cannot credit for a single instant the
possibility of any such disastrous show of weak-
ness on the part of her Britannic MAJESTY'S
Government. We cannot believe that the honour
and glory of England will be so far disgraced by
the vacillating councils of any Administration—
what though it be an Administration presided
over by a worn-out Foreign Secretary transformed
into the nominal (but only into the nominal)
Chief of the Coalition. An entire accord is un-
derstood to exist between the views held upon
this Eastern Question by the French and British
Governments. Therefore we count upon the
calm and resolute development of a policy of
resistance to the ambition of the Cabinet of St.
Petersburgh. Therefore we look forward to the
continued support, at all hazards, of the valiant
course pursued, under alarming circumstances,
by the Divan at Constantinople. We look for all
this in the future—all this is looked for by the
vast majority of our fellow-countrymen. Eng-
land expects, the people of England expect, that
under this great emergency the Coalition will
acquit itself manfully of its responsibilities, or
that it will make way for more competent and
more courageous Administrators. England, in
other words, expects not only that Lord STRATFORD
DE REDCLIFFE be empowered to send for the British
Fleet in the Mediterranean—not only that our
maritime armaments in conjunction with those of
France shall proceed, if required, through the
channel of the Dardanelles to the inner channel
of the Bosphorus—but that under any and every
circumstance the crossing of the Pruth by the
Cossacks shall be regarded as a casus belli—that
the actual commencement of hostilities shall date
from the !Russian occupation of the Danubian
Principalities.

Personalities are dangerous weapons. Like
Australian boomerangs, they are apt to turn back
upon those by whom they are launched forth, and
unless very skilfully used, more frequently injure
the assailants than the assailed. Indeed, it often
happens that the party attacked is materially
benefitted. Public sympathy is strongly exerted
in his favour. An opportunity for full and com-
plete vindication is afforded. He is listened to
with attention and indulgence, while not only
distinguished friends, but honourable and high-
minded opponents bear flattering testimony to his
character and conduct. The wanton and virulent
aggressions that strike not at a party, but at an
individual, the only possible result whereof can
be an injury to the feelings of the man, not to the
position of the Minister, carry with them their
own condemnation and their own remedy. The
poison is attended by its antidote. The case of
the Honourable and Learned Gentleman the Soli-
citor-General for Ireland, which has attracted so
so much attention and occupied so much time
during the past week, affords a striking illustra-
tion of the accuracy of these views. Nothing
more beneficial to himself could have occurred,
and he may well feel proud of the result of the
discussions, which were not provoked by him or
his friends.

As Lord DERBY stated in the House of Lords,
there " have been very few cases in which so
many collateral issues had been joined to mystify
the consideration of Parliament." First, came
the " rusty bolt drawn from the battered quiver"
of a Noble Lord, which might safely have been
disregarded, had it not been followed by more
pointed shafts, aimed by more vigorous hands.
The accusations brought forward by the Marquis
of WESTMEATH as to the exact meaning of words
used in the heat of an election contest by an able
and energetic opponent, who naturally damaged
the prospects of the candidate supported by the
Noble Marquis, would be sufficiently answered
by the disclaimer of the Honourable and.
Learned Gentleman, without taking into account
the evidence of a highly respectable solicitor,
Mr. M`NEvIN, who "heard every sentence uttered
clearly and distinctly," and who was ready to
make oath that Mr. KEOGH "had never made use
of the improper language attributed to him, or
anything that could bear that or a similar inter-
pretation." Unfortunately, however, the matter
was not permitted to rest there ; the charge was
followed up by two Noble Lords of high standing
and position. One of whom, the ex-Premier,
spoke of the appointment of Mr. KEOGH as a very
unfortunate one, while the Earl of EGLINTON, who
had filled the office of Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland,
declared that it was " the least reputable made
by the Government."
This was language imperatively demanding
notice. Mr. KEOGH, who was present, having
accidentally heard at a quarter past five in the
evening that his name would be called in ques-
tion, communicated to the Duke of NEWCASTLE,
by whom it was repeated to the House, the fact,
that on the change of Government in 1852, and
before the Ministerial arrangements had been com-
pleted, he was asked by Lord NAAS, who had then
been nominated to the Chief Secretaryship of Ire-
land, although it was still doubtful whether he would
eventually fill that situation, " whether he (Mr.
.„, °GI') would accept office under the Earl of
icoounra;edtelytEßßY; iv:t.sthmisaneicisft;:s.
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