The Sun.
London, England, 1870-11-24 00:00:00

FRENCH OPINION.

The Siecle thinks that Lord Granville has clearly dis-
tinguished the character of the diplomatic art of Russia,
which is most fortunate. The next thing will be for the
Cabinet of St. James to understand that western
Europe without France can do nothing. The
English diplomatists must not be deceived by
Count Bismarck, and allow him to carry out
his manoeuvre of a secret alliance with St. Petersburg. it
will be necessary that England should immediately restore
to France her liberty of action. Russia has prevented all
discussion, and if she does not withdraw before the energetic
opposition of the English Cabinet, war will be inevitable.
This European war must begin under the walls of Paris,
and it will take England and France'rnany weeks to crush
the farces of the only ally of Russia by the ramparts of
the capital. The Turks could meanwhile stop the march
of the Russian troops on Constantinople. They are quite
capable of fighting behind entrenchments. There is
scarcely a month left for fighting, but that will suffice
if England comes to the aid of France. Let England
decide quickly, and Russia will be checkmated, for she
can never desire to engage in a contest with rich and
powerful England and France, which is throughout in arms.
The Patric thinks the English press is generally favour.
able to an alliance with France, but that it is considered
desirable for a regular Government to be established in
France, with whom she can make terms of peace or of
war. The Government of the National Defence must,
therefore, form themselves into a regular Government at
once, in order to conclude with England an alli-
ance which she greatly desires, and from which
the French people may derive so much profit.
The Salta Public says that Russia has chosen
her time well, and sent her ultimatum to Europe at a
moment when she thought France was at the mercy of the
Prussians. People were slow to recognise that the French
were the pivots of public order in Europe, and did not
scruple to say that Prussia only inflicted a just blow on
France for her frivolous pretensions. Nothing lest;
than the thunderclap which Gortschakoff has sent
from the Russian Cabinet could have roused the nations
from their torper and indifference. The Eastern question
is one of life or death for England, and Austria and Italy
are greatly concerned in it. Prussia and Russia have
long devised this scheme, and divided the old world be-
tween them— one will take the East and the other the
West. It will be incumbent on France to
renew the struggle with Prussia with all her might
in order to defeat the designs of Russia and her ally
The Constitutionnel believes that the guaranteeing powers
to the Treaty of Paris have only one thing to do, which
is to bring the question back again into diplomatic nego-
tiations, so that Russia may obtain from the consent of
the Powers what the note of Prince Gortschakoff wished
to take by the sole authority of the Emperor Alexander.

RUSSIAN CRUISERS IN TILE BOSPIIORUS.—The
Standard's correspondent at Constantinople, under date
November 12, says :—A couple of Russian corvettes en-
tered the Bosphorus, from Odessa, the day before yester-
day, and cast anchor immediately opposite the Sultan's
palace at Dolund-Bagtkihe. No end of rumours at
once got abroad, and were as quicldy dispersed by
the sudden apparition of flights of Russian officers,
non-commissioned officers, and men, occasionally
attended by priests, riding helter-skelter about all
parts of the capital. The corvettes are training
ships, and have a large number of naval cadets on board,
the object probably being to inure them to sea-eieluiess
during a cruise in the Mediterranean. The . usual courtesies
have been exchanged by the Turkish naval authorities
with their visitors ; everything bears a most peaceful, and
even a polite appearance; but this has not prevented
people from saying that these two ships form only the
thin end of the Muscovite wedge which is destined
soon to ravel up all the obstacles presented to an
advance upon Constantinople. It is even added that
Russia demanded that seven other war vessels should
be allowed to pass the Straits, although by the Treaty of
1856 she was only allowed to keep half-a-dozen
corvettes in the Black Sea. This is only
another indication of the uneasy feeling 13re-
vailing here on this question, to which I have
more than once recently alluded. It is hazardous to
predict anything but it is a fact that the Russians have
a much larger fleet than is generally suspected in the
Euxine, while the number of the steamers at their com-
mand would suffice to transport a larke expedition at a
very short notice to a spot inconveniently close to Con-
stantinople.