The Sun.
London, England, 1854-06-13 00:00:00

THE BASTEEN. QUESTION.

A weekly contemporary, ythose aonrces i f informattai on
foreign matters, appear to be of a very exclusive and trust- .
worthy character, has for minie weeks past affirmed, in the
most explicit terms; that the noble lord at•the head of the
Government has entered into an engagement with the Courts
of Vienna and Berlin to conclude an armistice with Russia,
preparatory to the establishment of a peace—based on the
state of matters which existed before—the moment that the
Czar consents to evacuate the Principalities.
The Press not only communicates this intelligence, bat
pledges- its character for the accuracy of it. And one of our
morning contemporaries not only transfers the article into hie
columns, but indorses its truth, on the authority of sources
of information peculiar to himself. Our weekly contempo-
rary, moreover, challenges the noble lord whose name it tin•
plicated, to contradict his statements, if ho can. That chal-
lenge has been before the public for ten days ; it was repeated
on Saturday last; and yet it has not been accepted. The
statement has not been contradicted. The truth of the alle-
gation has not been denied.
The matter is one of too grave a character to bo permitted
to rest where it is. Why does not some of the noble lord'.
peers put the question to him, whether there be any truth in
the statement! Why does not the Marquis of Clanricarde
put such questions as may elicit information as to the real
state of the case! The public, are vitally interested in the
question. It deeply affi3cts the national honour, as well as
the matecial interests of the country. The future well-being,
and even the peace of Europe, depend upon it, and therefore
the matter ishould not be suffered to remain in a state of nn•
certainty.

The assertion is not made in vague language. The charge
is made in the most specific terms. Our weekly contemporary
distinctly
goine
g eowsome time
gtehtehheseteewrurreeetkienseAhgotiations which had been
neaffifforteriniearmssom,
would
havesave thehee
been
honour
brought and t spareo a favourablet hu Austria
asr::Cae cibhnd
Prussia,i
1 conclusiont , s manner.
of withat hu
Czar,that mean, with the concurrence of Nicholas, to pees
an armistice to the belligerents, as a pre • • asio "
oa-gtersi
Conference of the European Powers, which is to arrant-% the
terms of a permanent peace. The concessions which Russia
is willing to make, if concessions they can be called, are, that
Austria shall have a joint eontrol over the navigation of the
mouths of the Danube,—that ships of war be pesnitled to
pass the Dardanelles--and that the treaty of Kainardji be-
tween Russia and Turkey be subjected to the construction
which the Conference may think fit to put on its provisions.
'All this Russia was ready to acquiesce in as far bask as
October last, before the united squadrons had entered either
the Black Sea or the Baltic. The whole affair ,therefore. is a
Muscovite dodge. -The movement has been made at the Antal.
gation of the Czar. And it must be admitted to by' Yeryili-
gallons expedient, for if the Western Powers should agree to
the proposals made by Austria and Prussia; Nicholas will be -
able to retire from the war, without any feeling of mortifica-
tion. He would be able to say that he had from the first ex--
pressed his willingness to accede to terms of peace on such
conditions. If, on the other hand, France aid England per-
emptorily refuse to accede to any Bich terms, Austria and
Prussia, acting on the suggestions of the Czar, will have a
now "more plausible pretext than before for remaining
neutral in the war between Russia and Turkey, and in that
way play the game of the Autocrat.
But the matter which moraimmsdiately concerns us to
know is this—Can it be true that the head of the English Go- ,
vernment has become a consenting party to this new device
on the part of the Courts of Vienna and Berlin, acting under
the inspiration of the Court of St. Petersburg i That is
-what
our weekly contemporary affirms, and-in the truth of which a ,
daily contemporary expresses his entire belief. - The country'
has a right to know whether the charge be well founded or
groundless. It is one of much toe grave a character to have
hanging over the head of a public man, without handseled,
if it has no foundation in fact.
And the noble lord himself, who cannot pretend ignorance
of it -for he reads both the journals in whose columns it has
appeared—ought to feel that he is bound alike in duty to him- '
self and to the country, to meet the allegation with a direct
denial, if it is destitute of foundation. His continued silent*
will be construed into a tacit admission of its truth; and should
it unfortunately prove to be true, it will be one of the most
serious charges that ever have been established against ale-
ulster of England in modern times. It will justify the terms,
" England's Betrayal," applied to it by our weekly contem-
porary. It is a sacrifice to the Czar of the honour and the
interests of this country. It is, besides, a betrayal of the
interests of all Europe.
And to complete the gravity of the affair, it will, if true,
be found that the noble lord, in becoming a party to such a
course of action, has done so without the knowledge or con-
currence of his colleagues in the Cabinet; for we cannot al-
low ourselves for a moment to believe, that the question had
ever been brought before a Cabinet Council, much less re-
ceived its sanction. If this be so there is not a man in the
Administration who does not owe it to himself to ascertain
whether the charge be true or not. The colleagues of the
Premier ought to remember that if the country sees so grave
an accusation in general circulation and uo contradiction
offered to it, the conclusion at which it will naturally arrive
is, not only that the charge is true as regards the noble lord,
but that they are severally implicated in it—for the country
cannot be expected to suppose that be would have taken so
important a step as virtually to concede everything to Russia,
without their knowledge and concurrence.
It is, therefore, ou all accounts, desirable in the highest
degree, that the real state of matters should be ascertained.
The public have a right to know what are the actual facts of
the case ; and were, that publib faithfully represented in the
House of Commons, questions would have been put before
now to the leader of the house, with the view of getting at
the real position of affairs. The country, unhappily, is not
properly represented in the Commons.
Bnt bad as matters are in this respect, surely some one
may be found in the house who will elicit the desired infor-
mation. What has come of Mr. Layard ? Ho used to display
independence, as well as information, on all matters bearing
on the Eastern question. But he, also, has been mute of late.
His voice is no longer heard. He not only has ceased to put
troublesome questions to Ministers, but ho has ceased to
open his lips at all. Mr. Hume, Mr. Roebuck, and Mr.
Thomas Duneombe, used also to display great independence
in the way of putting questions to the Treasury benches,
which more timid members had not the courage to ask. But
the prev4iling complaint in the Commons—a loss of indepen-
dence and of patriotism in matters of this nature—has wilted
them also. It is a very sad and unsatisfactory reflection that
such should bo the state of matters. We have, indeed, fallen
on degenerate days. A thoroughly independent and intelli•
gent man would, in the present position of matters, raise
himself in a few weeks to the highest pinnacle of Parliamen-
tary popularity. —Morning Advertiser.