The Sun.
London, England, 1854-03-11 00:00:00

Emperor of Russia was desirous of introducing andmain-
taining in Turkey. The endeavours of Russia could not
be mistaken ; they were traceable step by step through
a series of years. In 1845, the ambassador at Constan-
tinople wrote to Lord Aberdeen, stating that the efforts
of the Consul-General of Russia—who, by the way,
complained of persons seceding from the Greek Church
—had, in conjunction with the acts of the Greek priest-
hood, led to certain consequences.
if To this Lord Aber-
deen very properly replied that, the Russian Consul
complained of the effects of the teaching of the mission-
aries, he ought to abate somewhat his own religious zeal.
On a subsequent occasion Lord Aberdeen expressly stated
that remonstrances must be made against these religious
persecutions. In Sept., 1846, Lord Palmerston was in
office, and Mr. Wellesley wrote to his lordship, detailing
the atrocities perpetrated by Greek against Greek. It was
true, said Mr. Wellesley, that Sir S. Canning had ob-
tained a promise from the Greek patriarch that the pen-
alties of excommunication should not affect the civil
rights of parties, but that promise was constantly vio-
lated. After this time Lord Cowley obtained from the
Turkish Ministry a Vizierial edict of toleration, which
was forwarded to Lord Palmerston, by whom a copy
was laid before the late Archbishop of Canterbury
and the Bishop of London. Of this document, the
latter prelate spoke in terms of high approval, saying
that it was a full concession of their rights to all
denominats of Protestants. When was such a docu-
ment obtained from Russia ? (Hear, hear.) A cir-
cumstance which happened in the latter end of 1846
was too important to be passed over. The authorities
of the Greek Church cited a large number of persons to
appear before the patriarch, and they did so appear one
by one. Those who would not give in their adhesion to
certain views then advanced were treated with the great-
est severity. Under the measures then taken, many
Christian women and children were put in a state of
excommunication ; bakers were prohibited from selling
them bread, and water-carriers were forbidden to give
them water. At that moment, when matters had reached
their height, support came to them from a quarter from
which, perhaps, but little was expected. Redschid
Pacha, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, summoned the
patriarch before him, told him that liberty of conscience
was the rule of the Empire, and that he must desist
from the course which he had been pursuing. He (the
Earl of Shaftesbury) would here ask the house to permit
him to turn from his main object to say a few words in
praise of the noble lord who represented this country at
Constantinople. Mr. White, one of the missionaries
who had been in Turkey, had said of the noble lord that
it mattered not who was the victim of persecution ; for,
be be who ho might, the noble philanthropist was always
ready to fly to his relief. To his exertions many of the
measures which had for their object the alleviation of
the condition of the inhabitants of Turkey was to be
traced. (Hear.) Nor did his efforts cease until he had
obtained a firman from the Turkish Government, whereby
religious liberty was effectually secured. Up to the time
of which he was now speaking, the various edicts which
had been obtained were vizierial ; the measure to which
he now referred was an imperial edict, under the
sign-manual of the Sultan Abd-ul-Medjul himself. He
begged the attention of the house to the contents of
this firman, the terms of which were as complete as it
was possible for them to be. It ran thus :—" To my
Vizier, Mahommed Pacha, Prefect of Police in Constan-
tinople, when this sublime and august mandate reaches
you, let it be known that hitherto those of my Christian
subjects who have embraced the Protestant faith have
suffered much inconvenience and distress. But in ne-
cessary accordance with my imperial commission, which
is the support of all, and which is manifested to all
classes of my subjects, it is contrary to my imperial
pleasure that any one class of them should be exposed to
suffering. As, therefore, by reason of their faith, the
above-mentioned are already a separate community, it
is my royal and compassionate will that, for the facili-
tating the conducting of their affairs, and that they may
obtain ease, and quiet, and safety, a faithful and trust-
worthy person from among themselves, and by their own
selection, should be appointed, with the title Agent of
the Protestants, and that he should be in relations with
the Prefecture of Police. You will not permit any-
thing to be required of them, in the name of fee, or on
other pretences, for marriage licenses or registration.
You will see to it, that, like other communities of the
empire, in all their affairs, such as procuring ceme-
teries and places of worship, they should have every
facility and every needed assistance. You will not per-
mit that any of the other communities shall in any way
interfere with their edifices, or with their wordly mat-
ters or concerns, or, in short, with any of their affairs,
either secular or religious, that thus they may be free to
exercise the usages of their faith. And it is enjoined
upon you not to allow them to be molested an iota in
these particulars, or in any others ; and that all attention
and perseverance be put in requisition to maintain them
in quiet and security. And, in case of necessity, they
shall be free to make representations regarding their
affairs, through their agent, to the Sublime Porte."
This, then, was the whole secret of the movement of the
Russian Emperor. He saw that the circulation of the
Scriptures and the recognition of the rights of conscience
which was going on in the Turkish provinces would lead
to the recognition of civil rights and freedom. He
could not'place a cordon sanitatre along his frontier, and
a thought occurred to him to demand that things should
be remitted to the status quo ab antiquuin. He (Lord
Shaftesbury) believed that if this demand had been ac-
ceded to, all the advantages for which Sir S. Canning
had so long and so well contended would have been
swept away at one blow ; he could find no reason for
wonder at the imperial indignation which had been ma-
nifested against that ambassador, for by his acts
14,000,000 of the human race had been placed beyond
the schemoc of the Russian Emperor. He felt con-
vinced that the Emperor had set his heart upon the
object at which he now evidently aimed from the very
beginning of his reign. His predecessor, Alexander, was
a very different man ; the Emperor Alexander did all in
his power to curb the Greek church, the Emperor Nicho-
las to stimulate that church for the purposes of his own
aggrandisement. Alexander went so far as to issue an
order that all letters upon the business of the Bible socie-
*s should pass free, and that the Bibles should be con-
veyed without cost, In addition to this he gave a sum
of 15,000 roubles to the Bible societies. In a remark-
able speech upon the formation of the Moscow Bible So-
ciety, the Emperor Alexander expatiated on the benefits
of these societies, of which he had enrolled himself as a
member. In 1826 Nicholas mounted the throne, and
one of his first acts was to suppress the Bible Society.
Had Turkey ever done anything like this ? Undoubtedly
not. In truth, within the last twenty years Turkey had
done more for the advancement of Christianity and civi-
lisation than Russia had done during the 900 years of
which the emperor made so great a boast. He (the Earl ,
of Shaftesbury) was convinced that if Turkey had done
less in the cause of civilisation and freedom Europe
would never have heard of the Menschikoff note or of the
invasion of the Principalities. (Hear, hear.) Though
we were not going to war primarily for these objects,
yet we were not undertaking a war to establish a state
of things adverse to all improvement. He felt quite sure
that the noble lord the Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs would do his utmost to support Lord Stratford
in his exertions on behalf of the Christians of Turkey.
He could not sit down without saying that he thought
the forbearance and reluctance manifested by her Ma-
jesty's Government to push matters to actual hostilities
had been productive of the most beneficial results.
(Hear.) It had secured the sympathy of other countries,
above all, of that country which he (Lord Shaftesbury)
always desired that England should stand well with—
the United States of America. It had shown also what
we thought of war—that we were anxious not to rush
into it thoughtlessly, and that, even in our fallen state,
we looked upon it as a last resource. But, in addition
to all this, the course which had been taken showed
that England came to the contest with a determination
to take measurer to prevent its future recurrence.
(Hear.) Seeing, then, that the country engaged in
this war for no selfish purpose, but for the assertion
of a great principle, it was the duty of the house, and
of the nation, to offer up prayers to Almighty Provi-
dence to bring the contest to a speedy, a certain, and a
prosperous issue.

The Earl of CLARENDON—My lords, I shall ocoupy
your time but for a few minutes. I rise in the first
place for the purpose of telling my noble friend (the
Earl of Shaftesbury) that there is no objection to pro-
duce the returns for which he moves, and, in the next
place, to express to him my thanks for the interesting,
the important, and the opportune statement which he
has just made to the house with even more than his
usual ability. (Hear, hear.) My lords, there is no man
either within or without the walls of this house, entitled
to speak with the same authority upon the subject as
my noble friend, whose whole life has been devoted to
the diffusion of the knowledge and the attendant bles-
sings of Christianity ; who is not a mere subscriber, or a
general patroniser of the religious societies to which he
has alluded, but is their vivifying support and their
practical and laborious superintendent—(hear)—who is
therefore well acquainted with the proceedings of the
persons sent forth, and to state facts which are conse-
quently unimpeachable. I say that the statement of
those facts is most opportune, and is morever calculated
to allay the doubts and fears to which the noble earl
alluded, and to stamp with its true character the con-
test in which we are about to be engaged. My noble
friend characterised in proper terms the manifestos to
which he alluded in the beginning of his speech, when
he said that the charge brought by the Emperor of
Russia against England and France—that they were
taking part with the enemies, and against the pre-
eminence, of Christianity—was calculated to raise the
doubts and anxieties to which he alluded. But those
charges are only consistent with the course which has
been pursued throughout the transactions of the last
twelve months. Nothing, to my mind, has been more
culpable, but, on the !other hand, nothing has been less
successful, than the attempt which has been made to
give to this war, which Russia has forced upon Turkey,
a religious character. War, under any circumstances,
was a grave, an unmitigated calamity ; but a religious
war—a war in which men fight for their faith, in which
they bring themselves to believe that their deeds are
acceptable in the eyes of their Creator, is, as the experi-
ence of history teaches us, always accompanied by a
spirit which rouses the worst passions of human nature,
and affords palliations for the greatest acts of barbarism
and ferocity. I say this, my lords, that it is in the last
degree unjustifiable to give to this war a religious aspect,
to mask the truth with religion, and to invoke the bless-
ings of heaven upon such deeds ; but, as I said before,
I believe that this course has been attended with the
fate it deserves. There is no man out of Russia upon
whom it has imposed, and I believe the result has not
been far different in Russia. I believe that these ex-
citing appeals have met with but a feeble response
in Russia, not on account of want of the force of im-
perial will, for that is universal, not for lack of religious
zeal, for no nation possesses more or carries it to a
greater length—almost to the length of superstition—