The Sun.
London, England, 1853-12-07 00:00:00

LITERATUBB.

The Illustrated London Magazine.—Thii maga-
zine' which is one of those recently commenced,
numbers among its contributors many well-known
names. There is this month a pleasing sketch
called "The Power of Art," that proves the ele-
vating influence possessed by art even in the present
day. An " American 'Coon Chase," and a " Nor.
wegian Story," are among the contents, and a
history of the Danubian Provinces. At the pre-
sent time the following information may not be

and Cossacks overran the help
i
thewan-
dered
la bn ad c
uninterestingu "Goths,
ths,
.less provinces, but made no stay n them ; and their
original inhabitants, in their original helplessness,
anrauns,
(tfhoer ietlwa asnemaladl tiheeyhadhlidt)e
ko'fanthdeairgafionrienfhatahbeirt:
were resumed ; and the people, who some hundred years
before were called Hamaxobli, or dwellers in wagons,
were now turned `'Vlachs, or shepherds, and their country
Wallachia the Land of Shepherds. This was originally
the name by which the whole territory was designated ;
the word Moldavia signifying simply that part of the
Shepherd land drained by the waters of the river
Moldava, or Sereth.

" The government of the country, if government it
can be called, was the nearest approach to absolute
anarchy in which a community can exist. The Domnu
(Dominus), as he was then called, which is the same in
signification as the modern Hospodar, was elected by
the universal suffrage of the people—that is to say,
whoever was the strongest king. The knhabitants were
divided into two classes, Boyars and Peasants. These
are called, by a strange misapplication of the terms,
Nobles and Commons ; but there is, in fact, no distinc-
tion between them ; the Boyars being nominated at
pleasure by the prince from among the peasants, but
imparting no rank to their descendants and constituting
no order. The word signifies fighting-men or warriors.
But whatever it might have been originally, it now no
more signifies a warrior than 2.itter or chevalier means
a rider. It was a privileged class, a quasi nobility ;
only that their privileges were nut hereditary,
and that their creation was dependent on the will of the
prince, who himself owed his election to the votes of the
people. The descendants of Myrtshea, who was prince
of the country at the time of its invasion by Bajazet, are
still in existence, and are peasants ; while the grand-
father of the present Hospodar was a herdsman. The
evils of such a state of government, dining even a time
of peace and external tranquillity, may easily be con-
ceived ; but the external peace and tranquillity which
they had hitherto enjoyed was not destined to last.
" Hitherto Wallachia, had never--been brought into
contact with governments, or states properly so called.
The Roman empire, lingering about Constantinople and
its vicinity, was satisfied with existing, and never
dreamed of conquest ; and Russia was as yet the abode
of absolute savages. But a change was impending over
the fortune of Europe. Constantinople fell—a powerful
and energetic race assumed the throne of the Caesars,
and having consolidated its empire at home, turned its
attention towards its boundaries. The result could not
be doubtful ; Myrtshea, Prince of Wallachia, after a
vain attempt at resistance, submitted ; and Bogdan,
Prince of Moldavia, voluntarily acknowledged himself
a subject of the Ottoman Porte. Both provinces were
annexed to Turkey ; retaining, however, the free exer-
cise of their religion, and the power, such as it was, of
electing their own princes ; but, on the other hand, con-
ceding to Turkey an annual tribute and an absolute
monopoly of trade.
" But a new Power was rising upon the European
horizon, and the star of Islam began to wane. The
day of Pultava changed the fortunes of the Danubian
Provinces, and discovered in that lowest deep into which
they had been permitted to sink, a deep lower still.
" The results of that victory permitted Peter to con-
solidate the Russian Empire and to lay the foundation
for that enormous structure, which, enormous as it is,
does not seem to have attained, even yet, its complete
dimensions.
"But this very success drew on them the attention of
the world; and when Peter declared war against Turkey,
events such as these forced even the Mahometan to re-
member that the czars of Russia wore the descendants
of that Rurich who had compelled their predecessors at
Constantinople to pay a tribute.
"Constantine Brancovano, then Hospodar or Prince
of Wallachia, had, in defiance of treaties, agreed to as-
sist Peter with thirty thousand men, and to maintain
the armies of his allies. Had he remained faithful to
his treason, Wallachia would have been from that time
a Russian province:; but Turkey had not yet lost its
prestige of victory. Constantine became alarmed, be-
trayed the Czar (who, after a disastrous campaign on
the Pruth, was forced to conclude a hasty and disad-
vantageous peace,) and was most deservedly put to
death bp the victorious Sultan Ahmed.
botho n ‘ ‘ t
,Fh fearar ot m
ando
ft this
the
jealousy
ltime,oney however,
notpowerfulon
they became objects of
their own account, but
and rising nation, who, it
hadoperations
the p
r emight,
indeed it yittihmaed makebeen roef.
e ed
them an element of strength and a basis of future
pulsed ; but this had not been done so easily but that
Turkey had received some intimation of the extent of
this new danger.
" At-the breaking out of the Greek rebellion in
when Russia incited them to revolt and throw themselves
under her protection ; and in 1828, when, in conse-
quence of that ' untoward' blunder, the battle of Na-
varino, war again broke out, and the Provinces were
ioccupied by Russia, she was not suffered to profit by
her intrigues.
"The Sultan, then deprived of his Greek subjects by the
result of the war, and having no Christian to nominateto the office, restored to themlleeenpartriiniteigaen ofw electing
their their own governors.
A sorte
on the one side by
them ; but as the whole was guardedbasebusiness
was openly
the Turkish Commissioners,w
and avowedly to look after its politics, and on the other,
business was openly
Commissioner, whos,,
by a Russian
and avowedly to look after its religion, but secretly to
government also, the Wallachians
control and sway its
enjoyed no more real liberty
than they deserved or had
earned. "
It is evident that this state of things must be like
gunpowder in a
mine ---always ready for explosion, and
quiet for the present gu
only because the time for explo-
had not as yet arrived.
sion'' What is to be done with these provinces, is a pro-
blem for European statesmen. Turkey is unable to
hold them,
and Russia may not be trusted with them,
and by themselves they
cannot stand.
'
,‘ What fate Providence may have in store for these
unfortunate territories is as yet in darkness and sus-
pense—probably, p bably, the sword will decide. One thing is
Pense—' r°
•evident
gradually becoming evident, that on them, weak and
contemptible as they are, hinge the future fortunes,
not ofuss
R in and Turkey, but of the whole family of
European States."

ab 2511 :
drggold, the
PRICE OF GOLD.—The quotation of gold at Paris
ai snda which,llo
the about
t 3
exchange
cerhaF minen ngge
1i discountas i
at
Paris Mint
priceo (accordingnL oonfd3toi the last l.sahlsotorad.br.oie9ff peri
ilbi
ounce c
ite
flue
lrl
os
Itvasn
tdhaar
td
goldgold,
is gives
about exchangeaon.3B emroresnt
standard
Hamburg
dearerlin:
at the English
Paris than in London. By advicewshifeProh?
gives an exchange of 13.21 ; and, thei
priceiNiint opfrigeoeldof i 351.4127081.
Ipoldm.
sight is at NonedwonY
exchange at Ham-
paerrk,ounee
goldburg
iso no.
oLondon e
cent.
.shdoeratr
dearer
ii
nn being 3.24, it follows that
burg. The course of exchangel thanerk oni ni,
London
for bills at 60 days'aro;
of exchange between 091 per cent., and, the par
23.40 per cent., it follows England and America being 109
0.17 per cent. in fay
allowance for char
in-
terest, the present a of
importation of
LANDING NV that the exchange is nominally
charges
of England ; and, after making
transport and difference of
_rate leaves a trifling profit on the
gold from the United States.
Com ' !LITERS IN THE PORT OF LONDON.—
plaints continue to be made of excessive incon-
venience
experienced at the various docks and quays in
the port of London from the want of a sufficient number
of landing waiters. The quays are described as being
crowded with goods, while the numbers of vessels are
i waiting in the docks for officers to attend them. The
injury thus inflicted upon the commerce of this port itl
very serious, and, although attention has frequently been
called to it, no steps are taken to provide a remedy. The
pressure, moreover, instead of being temporary, is steady
and progressive. In 1837, when the staff was placed
on its present footing, the number of vessels reported
from foreign ports was 5,626, of 1,061,923 tons,
which had increased in 1850 to 9,914 ships, of
1,904,948 tons, while there is every reason to sup-
pose that when the accounts are made up at the end of
the present year the totals will be found to have doubled
th-ose of 1837, although the number of officers is p
cisely now as it was then. The Customs Reform Com.
mittee, in a report just published, complain strongly of
the grievance, and in the beginning of ~the coming
with the recently extended privileges along the water-
side, the opening of the new docks, and
the very large
increase of bonded goods received by
railway, it will be
still worse. 11