The Sun.
London, England, 1824-04-21 00:00:00

BRITISH PRESS.

The Ottoman empire is every day tumbling to
its foundations. The dynasty of Othman, within
the Bosphorus, will soon be no more. That bar-
barous dominion, still spread over the fairest por-
tion of Eastern Europe, which has existed for
snore than five centuries, maintaining its rude en-
campment on the classic soil of Greece, and hold-
ing in basest vassalage the city of Constantine,
and the surviving remnant of the Roman empire,
is now pressed by the triumphant arms of its
Christian subjects, and the threatening forces of
the Russian Autocrat, and destruction hovers
over the towers of the Seraglio. This Power,
which once menaced all Europe with subjuga-
tion, when the haughty Bajazet threatened to
feed his horse with a bushel of oats from off
the altar of St. Peter's ; and the Grand Vizier Ku-
perli, little more than a century since, in 1685,
poured his whitening tents around Vienna, which
was only rescued by the valour of the chivalrous
Sobieski, has long been suffered to exist solely
from the rival jealousies of tlit. other European
Powers. But a domestic enemy is now pressing
its ruin, while an ambitious foe hovers on its
frontiers. The fine city of Constantinople was
taken by assault, by Mahomet the Second, in
1456, when Constantine Paleologus fell on its
ramparts. His heroic valour, aided by that of
the Venetian, Justiniani, long withstood the at-
tacks of the fierce barbarian; but Byzantium then
contained little more than a crowd of enervat-
ed and trembling slaves. The towering walls
of the great capital of the East had long bid
defiance to the assaults of the infidels who
thronged around it. Timour, who overran
all Asia with his Tartar cavalry, was pre-
cluded from further conquest in Europe, because
the mighty master of the East had not a single
boat to float his innumerable " Tomans" of horse
across the Bosphorus ; and the fierce Bajazet,
surnamed from his fury " Ilderim," or the
" Lightning," after vanquishing Boucciault and
the proudest chivalry of France before Nico-
.polis, sunk in his subsequent contest with the
•victorious Tartar. The Turk still includes within
"his desolating dominion in Europe the wasted
provinces of Wallachia and Moldavia, and the
fine and fertile countries of Bulgaria, Servia,
Bosnia, part of Croatia, and Dalmatia, Romania,
Macedonia, A lbania,Thessaly, Livadia, and the
Morea, with the Islands of Archipelago. The
latter have been the principal scenes of the revolt
of the heroic Greeks ; and for the last three
years the tyranny of the Moslem has been almost
unknown in the Morea and throughout the Gre-
cian Isles. The insurrection of the Christians
has now extended to Thessaly, and the warlike
Albanians are in arms against the Porte.

[MORNING POST.]
The baster Festival at the Mansion House, all
things considered, passed off with becoming pro-
propriety, and " the concentrated Dignity of the
City of London," alias Lord Waithman, took
every praiseworthy care to prevent any misap-
pi-ehension..from the presence of two of his Ma-
jesty's Ministers at " this great corporate feast."
His Lordship seemed, without sufficient rea-
son, we think, to dread that the attendance
of Mr.: Secretary Canning and • Mr. Wynn
might be construed into " personal feelingi
or prejudices," towards himself, or any " po-
Jitital bias " for his opinions on public af-
fairs, and accordingly assured his guests of the
contrary, and elicited a formal declaration to the
same effect from our distinguished Foreign Mi-
'lister. Lord \Vaithman is reported to have said,
with his usual politeness, that the " attendance
of Ministers certainly did honour to the city of
London, for they were there to pay respect to
ihe-Constitutional Authorities of the Metropolis
of the British Empire." And afterwards added,';
that " the Ministers present in doing honour to
the City of London, did equal honour to them-
selves," together with an amiable confession of
Ibis Lordship's own " freedom from all personal
prejudices." It was impossible for Mr. Secretary
Canning, in returning thanks for his health, dot
to notice some of the foregoing sentiments, which
•he did in such terms as will attach to the fame
of the existing Chief Magistrate. "If any per-:
• sonal feeling could be supposed to exist on 'the
• part :of his Majesty's Ministers towards the pre-
sent Lord Mayor," said he, " they were di-
•Nested of them on this occasion. They attended
t#uereto participate in the celebration of the
• great Corporate Festival of this great Metropolis,
to contribute the expression of their respect
tO the concentrated dignity of the City of Lon-
acrii.,,,_2(Applause:)—After a few more words,
flue night Hon; Secretary " congratulated the
Lord Alayor on the present tranquillity which
• prevailed, and hoped that he (the Lord Mayor)

would find an auspicious continuance of such an
advantage." We copy these sentences from the,
Journal under Lord Waithman's especial pa-
tronage, and of course they are reported in cor-
respondance with his Lordship's presumed wishes
and approval. May we hope that he will equally
understand and ruminate on the sound instruc-
tion they contain, or at least that the lesson
they afford will not be lost upon such of the
present Lord Mayor's political disciples as aim at
becoming the" concentrated Dignity of the City of
London." Lord Waithman's motives in his past
career of politics may have been the best ima-
ginable for aught we know, or, to use his own
words, he may always have been " regardless of
his public reputation." These are matters for
his own private consideration—but this we know,
that in turbulent and dangerous times, when the
safety of the throne, the freedom of the country,
and the happiness of the people were at stake, his
conduct was, to say the least of it,
highly impru-
dent. Well therefore might he be 46 congratulated"
on the present prevalence of tranquillity, for we
should regret exceedingly to see him placed in
a situation of exalted responsibility without
the probability of an " auspicious continuance
of such an advantage," during his Lordship's
Mayoralty. We are not therefore destitute of
hope that the remaining half of his civic reign
may pass over as innoxiously as the half which
has now nearly expired. In that event we shall
rejoice, as we could not well escape the chance
of his being some time or other raised to his pre-
sent eminence, that it happened when the greatest
firebrand that ever fell among the combustible
materials- of the Corporation of London could
effect but little mischief.

[MORNING SKRONICLI.3

SIR J. M-ALCOLM AND MR. LUSUINGTON.-

Which of these two gentlemen is finally to be
sent out to Bombay ? Public curiosity has long
asked the question, and public opinion has long
ago answered it. The very high character of
the former Gentleman, his tried firmness and in-
tegrity, his long acquaintance, both in civil and
military employments, with the customs, feelings,
and prejudices of those who are now expecting
their master at our hands, have combined to point
him out to all persons and all parties, not merely
as the fittest, but as the one fit person for the si-
tuation. This is no question of party. Sir John
Malcolm is no party man. W• publish no
laboured panegyric upon him. Those who
have enjoyed the pleasure of his company for a
single half hour will know that it is difficult to
write of him at all without it ; but it would he
unnecessary here. Panegyric is wanted to white-
wash a sinecurist, or gild a Treasury scribe.—

The man we speak of is too well known to be
aided, and too high minded to be gratified by
it. Mr. Canning is understood to be the enemy
who is now retarding, or preventing, the advance-
ment of Sir John. We should wish to ask Mr.
Canning, whether, as President of the Board of
Control'', he did not, on two distinct occasions,
recommend Sir John to the notice of the DireC-
tors us the most proper object of their choice,—
' first, on the appointment of Mr. Elphinstone,
and subsequently on that of - Mr. Munro ? A
large majority of the Directors—if our informa-
tion be correct, 19 out of '24,—are now in favour
of the claims of Sir John Malcolm,—of the man
who has been twice honoured by the preference
of the lion. and consistent Secretary. We doubt
not that it may be a very convenient thing to Mr.
Canning to get rid of Mr. Lushington. We
doubt not that the latter Gentleman, if appointed
to the situation, will admirably perform those
duties for which he has such admirable qualifi-
cations,—that
" Tn a sieve he'll thither sail,
And, like a rat without a tail,
He'll do, he'll do, he'll do !"
And we doubt not that the public voice, even in
this age of surpassing and surprising jobs, will
denounce the Bombay job as one of the most
surpassing and surprising jobs of all.—We can-
not but feel somewhat warmly on this subject,
because it is clearly a case of litigation between
merit and patronage, between justice and the
Secretary of State—because we know that Sir
John Malcolm is himself above all the petty

trickery of crouching and canvassing—and be-
cause we are well aware that this mention of his
claim will be read by him with regret, insufficient
though it be to express either the respect of the
country for his talents, or the esteem of the writer
for his ♦irtues.