The Sun.
London, England, 1854-03-15 00:00:00

It -7v

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 1854,

That Imperial Pharisee, the CZAR, whitewashes
his ambitious covetousness with pretences of reli-
gion ; he grasps his neighbour's territories, and
pleads that he does service to the Orthodox Faith.
Mr. COBDEN, we deeply regret to see, is beguiled,
unless he has descended to the most unworthy
special pleading, with the flimsy pretext ; and
there have not been wanting journalists of high
standing who, some nine months ago, were the
dupes to a great extent of the same absurdity.
If, however, the cry of defending IVlahometans
against Christians has deluded any one up to this
time, Lord SHAFTESBURY'S speech in the House of
Lords on Friday night has dispelled the delusion
for ever. Let every one who has ever had a scru-
ple of misgiving on the subject, which we never
had, read that speech for himself carefully
from beginning to end. It is a subject
on which Lord SHAFTESBURY, if any man,
is thoroughly at home. The bare facts,
however, which he so copiously enumerates, speak
for themselves ; and what do they say ?—" That
of late year's R.1.33it ht 3 don:; everything she
could to suppress, and Turkey everything she
could to advanc, th?. curia of Peotostant Chris-
tianity ttiroughoul; the w)rld"—.thtit th 3 real
cause of Ruisitn interference and the NUNSCHI-
KOFF mission was the dread entertained by Russia
of the great and increasing religions liberty enjoyed
in Turkey, and, above all, of the rapidly enlarging
circulation of the Bible in the Turkish do-
minions, while the circulation of the Russian
Bible in Russia is strictly prohibited. Ro-
man Catholics also can tell 1.13 of the horrible

has been no religious persecution on the part of
the Government. Local maltreatment of Chris-
tians by their M lhometan masters there may have
been, parallel with the parish squire bigotry,
which even in the last few years has b asted of
driving all Dissenters out of an English parish ;
but the chief persecution has been entirely
that of the Greek and Armenian clergy,
who have certain civil powers entrusted to them,
according to the corporate system of Turkey.
Recently, however, at the instance of Lord
STRATFORD, the Protestant seceders have been
authorised to choose their own agent, who is to
stand in the same civil relations to the general
Government as the heads of the Greek Church, and
to whom alone the Protestants are to be responsible.
There can be no doubt that it isjust all this religious
freedom, and the consequent growing popularity
, of the SULTAN'S Government, which is so hateful
to the intolerant and ambitious CZAR. Nothing
I could be more dangerous to his nefarious schemes
than that the Greek Church in Turkey, and all
• other Christians, should find under its
Government a liberty which they saw
denied in Russia. And they do find it.
And for honourable, just, and noble dealing
, with the various Christian communions under
its power, the last two reigns in Turkey have been
in most happy contrast with the selfishness, mean-
ness, and cruelty of the CZAR. As Lord SHIITES-
, BURY, followed by Lord CLA.RENDON, justly ob-
served, though we are not going to war for the
liberties of the Turkish Christians, yet it is most
consolatory to know, that so far from entering
on a war for Mahometans against Christians,
we are going to war for a government which
does equal justice to all, a government of
justice, order, and right, against one which
is the shameless oppressor of every class of
Christians, except the one which it uses for poli-
tical purposes. NICHOLAS has no more claim on
Christian than he has on civilised Europe. The
Turks have deserved well of both. The CZAR
can only point to the Bible Society and Protes-
tant missions suppressed, and to Catholic Nuns
flogged. The SULTAN can point to the Bible printed
and circulated actively throughout his empire,
to Protestant and Catholic Missions alike pro-
tected, and to firman after firman extending
religious liberty.. Which has the better title to
the sympathy of Englishmen, and we may add,
with reverence, to the aid of HEAVEN, no Eng-
lishman can doubt for a moment. Any one of us,
Protestant or Catholic, would infinitely rather
live beneath the Government of the SULTAN than
that of the CZAR. The SULTAN is certainly one
of the most honourable and tolerant monarchs of
Europe—the CZA.R one of the meanest and most
intolerant.

We hear of but one reply to Lord SHA.FTE3-
BURY, and that is, that all Christians are but dogs
in the eyes of the Turk, and he cares not what
they do. Seeing what sort of a dog his northorn
neighbour has proved, and what dog-like qu trrels
the rival churches in his own dominions are ever
engaged in, such a notion would not be very
marvellous in the mind of a Turk. We suppose,
however, any Ciiristian, not orthodox Greek,
would rather be' the SULTAN'S dog than the
Czaß's ; since the former lets us eat the crumbs
which fall from his table, but the latter kicks us
out of his house.