The Sun.
London, England, 1849-10-15 00:00:00

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS. '
FROM THE MORNING PAPERS OF THIS DAY.
CHRONlCLE.—Thoughtful politicians are still
by no means free from anxiety as to the possible con-
sequences of the misunderstandtng between the Sultan
and the Czar. After the events of the last two
years, he must be a bold man who should venture to
prophesy that there will be no wars, no invasions, no
pulling- down or setting-up of kings, no fresh insur-
rections or revolutionary changes, within a given
period, in any specified division of the globe. Russia
may descend like an avalanche upon the Danubian
provinces of Turkey, or fall like a thunderbolt upon
her capital. But, as far as we understand the language
of indications, or can interpret this writing on the
wall, we should say that she is safe for some time to
come at all events. Indeed, the unkind blow levelled
at her dignity and independence, can hardly fail to
give her great additional strength, as the just reward
of the firmness, courage, generosity, and confidence in
hitherto unappreciated resources, which it has called
forth. It is now clear that the wrecks of the
Hungarian army which took refuge in Widdin
consisted of several thousands. The Emperor of
Russia's demand (we are informed as from diplomatic
authority) is limited to three of the leaders, natives
of Russian Poland, whose alleged treason against
their liege lord is of long standing, and has nothing
to do with the recent abortive struggle in Hungary.
The palpable object of this demand therefore is to
give him a distinct locus standi, and so enable him to
back his brother Emperor with more effect; since it
is quite clear that, if the Poles are given up to
Russia, the Hungarians cannot be refused to Austria.
On the other hand, if Austria withdraws or modifies
her claim, the Czar would have scarcely the shadow
of a pretence for peremptorily insisting upon his own.
Virtually and practically, therefore, the decision is in
the hands of the Cabinet of Vienna; and we are
very much mistaken if they will allow their young
Emperor's sense of obligation to hurry him into the
fatal imprudence of risking a general rupture in the
present crisis of his destiny. To say nothing of the
undue aggrandizement of a powerfnl ally—the House
of Hapsburgh have more to fear than any Sovereign
House in Europe from whet Canning deprecated as a
" war of opinions." All that the God of Marriage
has bestowed upon them in the course of centuries,
might be torn from them by the God of Battles in six
months. The familiar couplet wears now a warning
and prophetic air—
" Bella gerant alii, to, felix Austria, nube
QllO3 dat Mars obis, dot tibi revs Venus."
If the Imperial friends, setting the public opinion of
the civilized world at defiance, were to club their
forces for the dismemberment of the Ottoman empire,
and their projects were to succeed beyond their
fondest expectations, there might come a fearful day
of reckoning for the youngest and weakest of the two.
Indeed, the chances are, that (by the time Lombardy
was lost, and Hungary, perhaps Poland, again in
arms) they would end by presenting an exact parallel
of the giant and the dwarf. " Come on, my little
fellow, this is glorious work. Glorious work for
you; but all the spoil falls to your share, and all the
hard knocks to mine. You have got more plunder
than you know what to do with ; but I have already
lost a leg, three fingers, and an eye." The Russians
of rank in Paris are said to shake their heads and look
grave at the notion of their Czar retreating from any
ground that he has once deliberately taken up. But
has he personally taken up the ground which common
report assigns to him ? May not his intentions have
been misunderstood, or his instructions exceeded ? Let
it be remembered that the concentration of so large a
body of armed refugees in a frontier fortress might
create rational alarm, and justify a friendly remon-
strance. The cautious and dignified attitude he
has preserved since the French revolution of Febru-
ary surely entitles him to the most favourable
construction of his motives until they are thoroughly
elucidated by his acts ; and every fresh version of the
occurrences at Constantinople confirms our original
belief, that nothing has happened of a nature to pre-
clude an arrangement satisfactory and honourable to
all parties. One version runs that the origin of the
affair was an intrigue in the Sultan's Cabinet; the
Islamite Lord Grey, having (it is said) instigated
Prince Radziwill to use strong language, with the
view of creating an embarrassment which might up-
set the Islamite Lord Palmerston. According to the
Debate, the autograph letter with which the Prince
was charged was in the terms following:—"The
revolutionary element has been put down. The war
in Hungary is terminated. I send you my aide-de-
camp to submit to you several demands calculated to
insure order." This appears to leave an ample mar-
gin for the exercien of forbearance and discretion in
the ambassador. The degree of each which he exhi-
bited may be partly collected from the reply : " Your
aide-de camp has demanded the extradition of
the llungarian refugees who have come to my
States for an asylum. That demand being of a nature
to cast odium on the two Powers, I have to pray your
Majesty not to insist on the point." In calculating
the probabilities of a rupture under such circum-
stances, the character of the Ambassador is an im-
p wtant element, and we published on Saturday a
letter from Widdin, which (even admitting our corre-
spondent to hive been misled by the prejudices of the
place as to the more serious charges) leaves little
doubt that the Prince was not a likely man to soften
down the asperities of an ungracious mission. The
correspondent of the D jbats states that he entered the
Sultan's presence uncovered, and merely saluted him
by raising his hand to his hat. The Sultan, it is
added, having demanded through his Minister of
Foreign Affairs the reason of so unusual a proceeding,
the Prince replied that it was the military salute; to
which the Minister's rejoinder was, that he came not
as a general but as an ambassador. If this be true,
it was fortunate for the Prince that the Sultan
did not follow the example set by a Czar
of Russia in the sixteenth century ; who,
when a Venetian envoy ventured on a similar
piece of insolence in the Muscovite Court,
ordered his hat to be nailed to his head. The re-
presentative of England entered as the unlucky envoy
fell dead, and instantly putting on his hat, he walked
to the foot of the throne, and dared the Czar to repeat
so horrible a breach of the law of nations on the
person of one whose countrymen would be ready and
able to exact a fitting atonement. Manners change
with times. The Emperor Nicholls is not more
likely to imitate the example of his ancestor, than is
Queen Victoria to imitate Queen Elizabeth when she
warned the Speaker of' the House of Commons that
his head would be in danger if he persisted in
bringing her lists of grievances instead of money
bills. But (with the simple change of Turkey for
Venice) there would be a certain degree of similarity
in the situations, if (which we do not expect) the Czar
should literally adopt the peremptory, although un-
authorised language of his aide-decamp. Nor
(we repeat) have we the smallest doubt of the
power or willingness of the British nation to make
good the pledge she has given for the due enforce•
ment of international justice and the protection of the
weak against the strong. Can we forget what was
effected by an English army landing on the coast of
Spain, when the entire Continent lay prostrate at the
feet of the greatest of modern conquerors ? Can we
forget that a handful of English sailors, co-operating
with Turks in defence of a Turkish town, tore (so
Napoleon stated at St. Helena) the empire of the East
from the grasp of that very conqueror, and reversed
the destinies of the world ? We recal these proud
passages of English history to neutralise the enervat•
ing influences of contemporary croaking, and because
distrust in our capacity for war may lessen our secu-
rity for peace. But the becoming spirit in which the
affair should be taken up and carried through was
admirably expressed by Canning in the concluding
sentences of his famous speech on Portugal :—" This,
then, is the reason—a reason very different from fear—
the reverse of a consciousness of disability—why
I dread the recurrence of hostilities in any part of
Europe ; why I would bear much, and would for-
bear long ; why I would (as I have said) put up with
almost anything that did not touch national
faith and national honour, rather than let slip the
furies of war, the leash of which we hold in our
hands, not knowing whom they may reach, or how
far their ravages may be carried. Such is the love of
peace which the British Government acknowledges,
and such is the necessity for peace which the circum-
stances of the world inculcate. I will '-push these
topics no farther. I return, in conclusion, to the
object of the address. Let us fly to the aid of Por-
tugal, by whomsoever attacked, because it is our duty
to do so ; and let us cease our interference where
that duty ends. We go, not to rule, not to dictate—
but to defend and to preserve the independence of an
ally. We go to plant the standard of England on the
well-known heights of Lisbon. Where that standard
is planted, foreign dominion shall not come."
TIMES.—We have permitted a few days to
elapse that we might observe whether publicity would
bring
any contradiction or explanation of a tale
which recently appeared in our police reports. Not
only, however, has no evidence of this character been
forthcoming, but the subject has been reproduced
to d
the
eprouced
under circumstances eminently favourable
cause of justice, and we are therefore warranted in
new recounting the following incidents as having
actually occurred in the 19th century in the capital
of the best governed country of Europe, In Store-
street, Commercial-road, there lived with decent
thrift, a few weeks ago, a working gunmaker, named
William Jones, who was induced, in one of those
transactions to which the poorer classes are driven, to
become security for an acquaintance to a certain loan
society at Stepney. The amount thus raised was
only 51 , and it deserves to be remarked, as dis-
tinguishing this case from others, that the poor man,
even after the consequences which we are about to
relate, still speaks of his friend as an honest and well-
meaning man, who deserved the assistance he re-
ceived. The loan, according to the custom of such
associations, was to be repaid, with its interest,
by specified weekly instalments, and up to a car-
tam period those conditions were duly fial-