The Sun.
London, England, 1853-06-22 00:00:00

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LONDON, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 1853.

The AUTOCRAT, with the gravest face in the
world, is coolly endeavouring to prove black
white, through the columns of his official gazette,
the Journal of St. Petersburg. In that publica-
tion, on the twelfth day of this present month of
June, there appeared a remarkable document—.
very long, occasionally very obscure, throughout
sophistical, dogmatical, and altogether extrava-
gant—signed NESSELRODE. A translation of it is
given elsewhere in our impression of this evening.
It deserves a careful examination, and may hence-
forth be numbered, certainly, among the strangest
curiosities of political literature.
Russia assumes, in fact, from first to last, that
the CZAR has acted solely on the defensive through-
out all these recent negotiations. Such is literally
the gist of this elaborate and extraordinary cir-
cular note, dated the 11th of June, 1853, in re-
ference to the Turkish question, and transmitted
from the imperial councils of NICHOLAS to all his
diplomatic representatives, for the purpose of
being communicated by each of those Ambassa-
dors to whatever Government he may happen to
be accredited. The Sublime Porte the ag-
gressor 1 Can anything, we ask in the name of
common sense, of common honesty, of common
decency, be more extravagant 7 The AUTOCRAT
bearded by the SULTAN ! War provoked by en-
croachments wantonly made by Turkey upon the
rights of its colossal neighbour ! These are actu-
ally the deductions to be drawn from the docu-
ment signed NESSELRODE, dated the 11th of June,
and pablished on the following day in the official
columns of the Journal of St. Petersburg. Accord-
ing to the statement thus put forward by the
Russian Government, the CZAR has definitively
resolved to sever the Gordian knot which he is de-
clared to have wished all along to " loosen pacifi-
cally." As illustrations of these pacific intentions
on the part of the AUTOCRAT, it is particularly re-
marked by the circular note that the demands
made originally upon the Divan by the Councils
of St. Petersburgh had reference to a formal con-
vention, that they were afterwards modified to a
Sexed, and that ultimately they were reduced to
the requirement of a simple note to be addressed
by the Foreign Minister in the Russian capital,
by the similar functionary at Constantinople.
Unquestionably—all that is perfectly correct about
the Convention dwindling down into the Sened,
and the Sened into the Note. It is an old story
enough by this time in all parts of civilised Chris-
tendom. But it is equally well known that the
demands involved alike in the Note, Soled, and
Convention amounted to a flagrant violation of
the integrity of the Turkish Empire, and to
the virtual abandonment of its independence.
Had the Divan once accepted the Convention, the
Sened, or even the Note, European Turkey would
thenceforth have been only another province of
Russia—the SULTAN would thenceforth have been
nothing more than the tolerated vassal of the
AUTOCRAT ! And these are the demands, in the
enforcement of which upon the attention of the
Sublime Porte, the Russian Government claims
for itself the merit of having displayed a spirit of
conciliation. If so, then are insolence flattery—
spoliation beneficence—war peace—black white !
Why, the truth is so flagrantly perceptible in this
matter, the atrocious injustice of the course pur-
sued by Russia is so wholly unmistakeable, the
natural rights of Turkey are so impudently as-
sailed, without even the faintest vestige of the
shadow of a shade of reason, that, in spite of
every tendency to an opposite direction, England
and France witness the establishment of perfect
accord between their Governments. So manifest
is the reasonableness of the policy adopted by the
Port°, in opposition to that unfolded by the
Councils of St. Petersburgh, that a cordial alli-
ance is brought about between the Ministerial
representatives of the
_Court of St. James's and
the Court of the
ofTuiticries—in spite of every-
thing ! In spiteß. In
Cabinet being
presehnt Junctureluainr
conducted at the
Spbiytethaotf dear
and excellent AHEM)
r: ontb thise b sre
or sideka l e
jealousy felt in certain high
of the Channel towards the Imperial dynasty of
NAPOLEON ! In spite of the little mi
hatred, spleen, rancour, and envy
down and exiled Orleanists ! In spite of Counri
intrigue, Ministerial division, and out-of-doors
conspiracy ? The facts of the case are so very
plain, are so wholly indisputable, are so noto-
riouslyAPEki. contradiction—that
, there beyotanhdlisthheedrteialechmoosft
amicable relations
,-;,i,y,..-t are es
<$ ' - -1.:4A .7 etween the French and Fangliola
Governments-
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at once—inevitably--everything else to the con-
trary, nevertheless, notwithstanding ! Yet the
Russian Cabinet has, in the face of all this, the
unparalleled effrontery to talk of the Eastern dif-
ficulty as a gordian knot which it has sought to
" loosen pacifically," and in doing which it has
only displayed the most genial spirit of—what ?
—conciliation ! Having proclaimed this much in
a tone expressive of a profound sense of injury
and. of suppressed indignation, the document re-
ferred to intimates in so many words that the
gordian knot of the Turkish Question must at
length be severed.

Therefore, in all human probability, the Pruth
has by this time been crossed. Directly the Cos-
sacks shall have passed that river, the Russian
EMPEROR will have virtually declared open war
against Turkey, and consequently also against
the allies of Turkey—the two most formidable
among the European Governments. Either the
foes of Northern Absolutism must act then
vigorously, promptly, energetically, or not at all.
The day has gone by for temporising : it will be
the hour of abject submission, or of bold and
chivalrous retaliation. The commencement of
that retaliation rests, under existing circumstances,
not with France or with England, but with
the Sublime Porte—with the Supreme Coun-
cils at Constantinople. Let the Sultan ABD-
17L-111EDJID, declare war against Russia imme-
diately intelligence reaches the Divan of the
Cossacks having crossed the Pruth, and the
victory will be his in the end inevitably, because
England and France are pledged to support him
against the aggressions of his powerful and am-
bitious neighbour. England and France are
pledged to this support—not simply by their
diplomacy, but by their maritime, and, if
required, we doubt not also, by their military
armaments. Once committed to the struggle—
the allied races would allow but brief time to
elapse before the Russian eagle would be scared
from the waters of the Black Sea, the union-jack,
the tricolor, and the banner of the crescent float-
ing triumphantly in the Bosphorus and the Dar-
danelles.

The proceedings in committee on the Succession
Duty Bill were on Monday evening diversified by
a Ministerial defeat. The " landozracy," who
exhibited such shameful apathy on the Income
Tax, mustered strongly when their own interests
were concerned, and succeeded in carrying an
amendment, moved by Sir JOHN TROLLOP; in
respect to growing timber, by a slender majority
of three ! The division is, however, by no means
conclusive. It yet remains to be ascertained
whether the objection went to the extent of any
duty being levied on standing timber, or merely
as to the mode in which that duty was to
have been assessed. One Hon. Gentleman (Mr.
AGLIONBY) who voted with the majority, declared
that "he was in favour of a tax on timber, but
not in favour of the tax as proposed by Govern-
ment." One other person of a similar opinion,
would have converted the triumph into a defeat,
and it is more than probable that, if a division
had been taken on the proviso with which the
Right Hon. Baronet folloved up his partial suc-
cess, and which, if carried, would entirely exempt
growing or standing timber from the valuation
to be made for the purpose of assessment
under the Act, the Government would have
retrieved their position, and remained masters of
the field. This opinion is strengthened by the
division which subsequently took place on the ques-
tion that " the Chairman should report progress,"
which was rejected by a majority of 38 in favour
of the Government, which resisted the adjourn-
ment of the discussion, but eventually yielded in
consideration of the hour of the night, or rather
morning, to which it had been protracted. We
may, therefore, expect that a severe contest will
take place on any proposition that may be
brought forward, on either side, at the next
meeting in Committee.
Now, as to the abstract justice of the sug-
gestion for the exemption of every descrip-
tion of timber from the impost, we confess that
we can see no grounds whatsoever why it should
be placed on a different footing from any other
species of property, if the successor should have
power to cut and dispose of it as he thought
proper. It would have an immediate tangible
value which could at any time be realised, and the
longer the realisation was postponed the greater
would be the value of the property. We would
remind those who are in favour of its ex-
emption, that it is not productive property
only that is liable to the demands of the tax
collector. Any thing on which a money value
can is placed is subject to the charge, and
no adequate reason could be assigned that it
should be placed in a different category. But,
were it even otherwise, growing timber could not
be considered as non-productive property, for—to
say nothing of the annual thinnings, which fre-
quently produce considerable sums—there is a
constant increase, which might easily be estimated.
Although it may not be available every gala day,
it will certainly come at more distant intervals,
for as old DUMBIEDYRES said to the young laird
—" A tree will be always graving, Jock, while
yer sleeping." When, then, the successor is " not
impeachable of waste there can be no possible ground
for excusing him from the contribution which, in
justice and equity, he ought to pay to the national
Exchequer.

Another and a far more difficult question arises,
where the party coming into possession has no
power whatsoever over the timber, when, in com-
mon parlance, he is " not at liberty to cut a single
stick," except those which may be necessary for the
preservation and improvement of the remainder.
Here it would be obviously unjust to compel him
to pay for that which was not his own to deal with
as he thought proper, of which, in fact, he had
not the beneficial occupation ; while it would be
equally unjust to the community to permit such
property to avoid any responsibility, and to escape
the requisite payment to the State. There is
much difficulty, then, in offering a satisfactory
solution to the problem. The following plan,
however, appears to be tolerably fair to all
parties-concerned, much more so than many that
have already received the Legislative sanction.
We would suggest, then, that growing timber
should be valued on every succession, and that,
in the event of its being shown that the party
coming into possession has no right to dispose
thereof, the value of the annual cuttings
should be estimated, which might be regarded as
an annuity on which he should properly and fairly
be required to pay, and that the balance of the
valuation should be regarded as a deferred charge
on the inheritance, which the first person having
power to cut and dispose of the timber should be
required to liquidate, just as a person coming into
possession of property that has been in Chan-
cery is bound to satisfy the several Legacy Du-
ties that would have been taken out of the
corpus of the fund, if the party through whom
lie derived his title had come into actual posses-
sion. There are certainly objections that may be
urged to this project, but it appears to be a
nearer approximation to justice than any that has
yet been suggested. It would remove the tempta-
tion to evade the tax by tying up a property in
strict settlement, a course at all times objection-
able, and opposed to the best interests of the com-
munity, but doubly so when resorted to for the

purpose of escaping a liability created by the
fiscal laws of the country.

The exemption of timber, then, in any
case, or under any circumstances, should be
steadily resisted by every person desirous
of seeing the "principle" of Mr. GLADSTONE'S
measure carried out in its integrity by the equal
taxation of every description of property, real or
personal, settled or unsettled. The favouritism
exhibited towards the owners of real estate is

already sufficiently striking, without increasing
the contrast. It has been admitted by Mr. GLAD-
STONE himself, that land may escape on paymen t
of 205., where personal property of equal value
would have to pay 201., with perhaps 81. or 91.
more under the Probate Duties, and that the 20s.
might be liquidated by annual instalments spread
over four years, the first not being payable for 12
months, while the 81. or 91. for Probate Duty should
be Immediately paid, and the remaining 201. at the
end of the
year, when 25. 6d. would be required

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