The Sun.
London, England, 1870-11-26 00:00:00

ME !ASTERN QUESTION

We (Times) understand that Prince Citrfathakofflo
reply to Ind G'ranville's despatch hats been delivered at
the Foreign Office, but it was not received in time to be
sufficiently considered at yesterday's meeting rf the Cab'.
net Councit If we are not misinformed, it didl in fact,
artive just before the Cabinet met, and that i4all that
can be said with any pretence of accuracy. There was
no opportunity of submitting it to the consideration of a
single Minister before the body assembled, and when that
happened, and the note of the Imperial Chancellor had
been read, it was resolved to deliberate upon it at an
adjourned meeting on Monday. The public will gather
some encouragement from this result. If Prince
Gortschakoff had • simply adhered to the claims
set out in his first circular, there would have beeif
no adjournment, for deliberation would - have lagen
unnecessary.. The Ministry have had ample time to
consider what their conduct must be under this hypothe-
sis ; and there can be no hesitation on their part
about their conclusion, or on the part of the country
in supporting them in it. An adjournment, and es-
pecially an adjournment till Monday, is just evi-
dence that the Russian Government is not prepared
to abide unequitocally by the pretensions of the Chancel.
lor's Circulars, still less to embody them in instant action.
It would, however, be an error to suppose that the
Prince has withdrawn the claim to denounce the Treaty
of 1856 which he asserted on behalf of his master. • On
the contrary, he is reluctant to abandon his position ;
he attempts to justify his conduct by referring again
to the allegations of violations 'of the settlement by other
Powers. Lord Granville's complaint that Russia had an-
nounced a resolution to disown the obligations of the
Treaty, without having made any appeal to the other
parties to it to have it reconsidered, is, we believe, met by
a polite expression of doubt whether any such appeal
would haVe been attended with any success. The Chan-
cellor of the Empire does not desire to provoke war, but
heAis equally averse to the withdrawal of his first circular.
In this respect his new note is Prince Gortscha-
koff all over. We, on our side, are as sincere
as Prince GortschalA cau be in our desire to avoid war,
but we are resolved that the stipulations of the Treaty of
1856 providing for the neutralization of the Black Sea
shall not be broken under existing circumstances. They
may be modified or abandoned after deliberation at a
proper Congrence, but, until a Conference is possible
they must not be infringed in any particular. -
The .Daily Hews remarks : The reply of Prince aerts-

chakoff to the despatch of Lord Granville was received at

a late hour yesterday afternoon. The English public will
learn with regret, though without surprise, that this long-
expected document does not terminate the question which
its predecessor, the Circular of October 19th, so
ill-advisedly and mischievously raised. The Chancellor
of the Empire and his august master have not had the
courage frankly to acknowledge the mistake they have
committed, and to place themselves in harmony with the
,dictates of personal honour and political good faith. They
have not adopted the only possible means of reinstating
themselves in the good opinion of Europe and the
civilised world. The renunciation of their obligations
under the Treaty of 1856 is still itself unrenounced.
In theory and intention, if not as yet in actual conduct,
they Are untrue to their covenants. \Ve are Inclined,
however, still to hope that a Sovereign of the good inten-
tions of Alexander 11., and a statesman so eminent as
Prince Gortschakoff, will, in the end. be mindful of what
they owe, nOt loss to themselves and to Russia, than
to their plighted word. If the despatch which
reached England yesterday does not conclude
the e business in the most satisf..ctory manner,

it does not conclude it in the least satisfactory, for it dotes
nut conclude it aa. It loaves the question still open. If
it is not inspired by the spirit of frank concession, it
is as little framed in that of positive denial. No
absolute or peremptory non possumus places its
author and his Sovereign outside the range of
further discussion and negotiation. The mixed
and qualifieJ • character which, as we understand, marks
this destiatch of Trines Uortschakofr, makes it, in cps
sense, more difficult to ;teal with than if it were more
simple and peremptory. With frank concession and with
blank denial it would be easy to deal. A'yea which *is by
by means altogetho yea, and a nay which is not abso,
lutely nay, are not to be desimtehed in the same off-hand
way.

The Telegraph, in commenting on the deliberations in

the Cabinet Council, ye.3,erday, says: If Russia had
chosen a year ago to declare that she considered herself
no longer bound by the ordinary obligations of interna-
tional morality, she would undoubtedly have shacked the
moral sentiment of Eurom and her neighbours would
have taken those precautions which peaceful
communities adopt in the vicinity ol freebooters. But
it is hardly possible that any Power would have
advocated war to avenge an immoral declaration until
some attempt was made to follow it up by an overt act
of aggression. There at-ould have been no imminent
danger to the peace of Isliulpe; for England and Franco
would have 'speedily c'r.3.•,ke 1, a they dial before,
any unwarrantable pretension the moment they passed
from words to acts. Franco, however; has at
present het. hands full at home, and could not
spare a single soldier for foreign warfare. Eng-
land is all-powerful on the sea, but could not cope single
handed with Russia on land ; and Austria, the only other
Power that • Russia need greatly fear, might be held iu
cheek by Prussia, if we assume the fall of Metz to have
so .rippled France that Germany could dictate
peace, or at least overrun the country with.. her
irresistible hosts. That Russia should have
chosen., such a moment for declaring herself
free to violate the neutrality of the Black
Sea, in oentravention of the Treaty of Paris, seemed to
show a sinister design to steal a march on Europe, and
pounce upon her prey before any effectual resistance could
be made. It is the opPortuke choice of time and circum-
stance that has roused our suspioions and made us look
war itself in the face with determination, though with
horror, rather than endure B lawless policy which,
if allowed to prosper, would inevitably enthrone
a reign of savage force on the ruins of Eurogean civilisa-

tion. Any risk would be preferable to the ignoble and
short-lived security of standing idly by without a supreme
effort to avert so great a calamity ; for nations are but
collections of individuals, and the morality of
the units is not different from the morality
of the aggregate whole. Whatever be the
final solution of the tint ►ward problem with which Russia
has vexed us, there can, at least, be no question that
public opi►ion will sustain the Government in the resolve

that any violation of the Treaty of 1856 mutst 'be firmly
opposed.
If it is complained, the Standard observes, that certain
clauses are inconvenient to Russia to keep, the answer is
that they were devised and intended to be inconvenient.
In Securing a provision for the neutralisation of the Black
Sea, France, England, and Italy gave up all other rights
of conquest and all other fruits of tho war. They con-
sented to spare Russia the humiliation which at that time
they had the power to inflict, in consideration of
receiving the joint guarantee of. the Powers
that Turkey should be secured hereafter against
the aggressions of Russia. There was no advantage
gained by England and France by the treaty for which
a due and ample equivalent in substance was not given,
and it is therefore monstrous to contend now that the
treaty out to be abrogated because it bears hard on
Russia. Once more let us. clearly state the grounds on
which we ought to resist the Russian demands—on which
we ought to go to war, if necessary. We are willing to
consent to a rehearing of whatever case Russia may have,
although this is in excess of her right and a gratuitous
piece of generosity on our part. We are willing
to do justice to any reasonable feeling of national
pride by which she may be influenced. We are willing to
admit that all Is not perfect in the system of Turkish do-
minion. But we cannot allow Russia, to take the
remedy into her own hands. We cannot allow her to
break away from her solemn obligations at her own
will and time. We cannot regard her doing so, in
however " conciliatory " a. manners as anything else than
a deliberate and intended affront to England, and an at-
tack on English Imperial rights. This is the true and
simple issue, which no good citizen of England can fail to
understand, and by which we are bound to stand or fall,
let the cost be what it may.

CRYSTAL PALACR.—Beethoven's music to " The
Ruins of Athens" will form the chief feature in the pro-
gramme of to-day's concert. The vocalists are Madame
Sinico, Herr Stockhausen, and Mr. Matey. Madame
Norman Nerudalvili play Beethoven's Violin Concerto.
The friends of the national education system in
Ulster are seriously alarmed by rumours circulating in
Ireland to the effect that Mr. Gladstone intends next)
session to sweep away utterly the scheme established by
the late Lord Derby forty years ago. An Irish
Education League has been formed to resist such legis-
lation.

CHRISTMAS-DAY ON SUNDAY.—The Standard says
it is an unfortunate feature in the calender of 1870 that
Christmas day falls on a Sunday. Unless some well-
organised effort is promptly set on foot there is a
risk that many thousands of the employed will
be condemned to labour at a time when they
naturally look for rest and enjoyment. If for
five years in succession we can endure a total cessa-
tion of business on the 25th of December, why
can we not in the sixth year observe the 26th of December
as a holiday equally absolute ? If the commercial inte-
rests of the country do not suffer in the former instance,
why should they in the latter ? If it be thought well, we
might simply have an Act of Parliament declaring that
when Christmas-day falls on a Sunday the following day
, hail be a dies non. Everybody would then know what
o expect, and all commercial interests could be managed
accordingly, • '