The Sun.
London, England, 1856-05-06 00:00:00

THE TREATY OF PEACE.

The Earl of ELLESMERE then rose to submit the
following resolutions to the o3nsideration of the
house :

" That an humble address be presented to her Ma-
jesty, to return to her Majesty the sincere acknowledg-
ments of that house for the important communication
which her Majesty has been graciously pleased to make
to that house, of the general treaty concluded at Paris,
on the 30th of March, between her Majesty, the Em-
peror of Austria, the Emperor of the French, the King
of Prussia, the Emperor of Russia, the King of Sardi-
nia, arid the Sultan, by which peace has been re-esta-
blished between her Majesty, the Emperor of the French,
the King of Mardinia, and the Sultan, on the one hand,
and the Emperor of Russia on the other.
" To assure her Majesty that while we should have
deemed it our duty cheerfully to afford her Majesty the
fullest support, if it had unfortunately been found neces-
sary to continue the war, we have learned with joy and
satisfaction that her Majesty has been enabled to re•
establish peace on conditions honourable to her Ma-
jesty's Crown, and which so fully accomplishes the great
object for which the war was undertaken.
"To express to her Majesty the great satisfaction
which we feel, that while those alliances which have
so mainly contributed to the vigorous and successful
prosecution of the war have been equally effective in
the consolidation of peace, the powers which have not
taken any active part in the war have combined with
the belligerents, and have given by their sanction and
accession additional firmness to the arrangements by
which the repose of Europe is in future to be protected
from disturbance.

"To state to her Majesty we rejoice that, notwith-
standing the great exertions which the late war has ren-
dered necessary, the resources of the empire have
remained unimpaired.
" To express a hope that the peace which is now con-
cluded may, under the favour of Divine Providence,
long continue to shed its blessings over Europe, and that
harmony amongst Governments, and. friendly intercourse
amongst nations, may steadily promote the progress of
civilisation, and secure the welfare and happiness of
mankind."

The noble earl having briefly noticed the main incidents
of the war, proceeded to contend that the Treaty came
fairly up to the mark of the objects for which we went
to war, and that it fulfilled everything which they hail
a reason to expect. By a steady adherence and con-
currence with our faithful ally —by firmness
without menaces, by conciliation without weakness,
by the demonstration of great strength with-
out its actual application, he believed we had arrived at
a result which ought to be considered satisfactory to the
Parliament and the country. It was the practice of
some of our public writers to find fault with
the terms of the treaty. lie could not see any
ground for such an impression, although it had been said
that England had been made the dupe of more subtle
statesmen of other countries than his noble friend
the Secretary of Foreign Affairs was. He could see
nothing in the terms of the document to justify
any such sentiment, nor was there any evidence of any
attempt having been made to impose upon the unsus-
pecting innocence of his noble friend. The noble earl
then proceeded to allude to the manner in which the.
Emperor Alexander had acted with respect to the
present treaty. When the name of Count Orloff was
first mentioned as about to take a part in the negotia-
tions for peace, he believed that those best acquainted
with men and things at St. Petersburg drew a favour-
able augury from it. It was in itself a favourable inti•
mation of the character and intentions of the Czar, who,
from no fault of his own, found the dawn of bis reign
arose—

" Not in the sunshine or the smile of Heaven,
But wrapt iu whirlwiuds and begirt with woes."

Ile hoped that he might live to repair by the arts of
peace the ravages of war in his vast dominions, and he
hailed the prospect that Russia, under his able and
strong hand, might yet present a spectacle which Eu-
rope could look on without jealousy and alarm, but
with sympathy and satisfaction ; and he trusted
that the exertions of that sovereign would now be di-
rected to the development of the internal resources of
his dominions. With respect to our Indian possessions
we bad nothing to fear from Russia, for if anythieg in
that direction was ever attempted it would be met.with
a power and resistance such as never before had been
known. The noble earl then, with evident emotion,
passed a glowing eulogium upon Miss Nightingale
and the late Lord Raglan, and having apologised for
wandering from the subject of the motion, concluded by
moving the above resolutions. _

Lord GLENELG, in seconding the motion, said he
joined with his noble friend in expressing his delight
that the period had arrived when they could thank her
Majesty for the communication of this treaty. He -was
one of those who two years ago cordially approved of
the declaration of war, and he rejoiced to be among the
foremost to welcome the return to peace. There were
some evils which were greater than the evils of war, and
great as were the blessings of peace, there were other
blessings still greater. The question was whether, ge-
nerally speaking, the objects of the war had been satis-
fied, and whether this treaty fulfilled the objects of the
war. If they looked to the state of Europe two years
ago, and to its state at this moment, they would find
grounds sufficient to congratulate her Majesty that the
objects of the war had been satisfied honourably, and
yet without contempt of the rights and feelings of other
nations. (Elear.) Lo ,king at Europe two years ago
Russia possessed a preponderating influence over a great
portion of it. Germany felt the weight of that influence,
and there was not a state on the continent that did
not more or less feel it. Russia was gradually absorbing
Sweden ; the Principalities were in her grasp ; the Bal-
tic was covered with her fleet ; the Black Sea was bor-
dered with her fortresses. Turkey was already con-
demned by the sentence which her power enabled her to
pronounce. That was the state of Europe at that pe-
riod ; hut what was its state now ? Turkey was awa-
kened from her trance, and indicated the possession of
life and vigour; the Principalities were rescudd ; the
Danube was free ; the Euxine was free ; the Ottoman
empire was free. But there was more than this. The
conspicuous characteristic of this treaty was the modera-
tion of the two belligerents who commenced the war.
When the war commenced, France and England an-
nounced to the world that they bad no desire of aggran-
disemeut.
There were some nations who were disposed
to regard that declaration with scepticism, because such
declarations had beforetimebetn the prelude to conquest
and spoliation ; hut on this Occasion that pledge had
been honestly redeemed, and he said that that feature
was the most satisfactory characteristic of the treaty.
But there was incorporated in that treaty a most impor-
tant document, by which the Sultan had guaranteed
civil and religious freedom to Christians in Turkey. For
the first time the Sultan had red)gnised the rights of
conscience and the rights of man. All honour and praise
were due to him ; and honour and praise were due to
that eminent man by whose exertions and unwearied
efforts, in a great measure, this object had been accom-
plished—he meant Lord Stratford de Redcliffe. He
thought also that great honour was due to those sove-
reigns of Europe who had ratified the treaty, and thus
given their assent to the principles and the policy on
which it was founded, who had thus introduced Turkey
into the system of European policy. He ventured to say
that this was a treaty that must command the approba-
tion of their lordships and the country.
The Earl of MALNIESBETRY said he had thought the
house would have heard something more about the provi-
sions of the treaty which they were invited to discuss. The
two noble lords had made very eloquent speeches; but with-
out any discourtesy to them, he might ask whether the
house knew any more of the treaty now than before those
speeches were made? He should bo unwilling to make any
severe remarks on this occasion, but he could not help ob-
serving that her Majesty's Government would have acted
with more fairness, and more in conformity with the cus-
tom of Parliament, if at the time, or immediately after
the time when they laid this treaty on the table, they had
also laid upon the table the address which they intends) d
to move. It was not till Friday evening that he, (Lord
Malmesbury) got a copy of that address, so that, if he
had wished to move any amendment to it with effect,
and with the support of the whole body of his party,
it would have been impossible for him to do so.
1 It might certainly have so happened that the rea-
son for that delay was that the address was framed in
a manner perfectly unexceptional, that it was what his
friend Baron Brunow used to call one adresse inodore,
perfectly devoid of salt or savour, and which could not be
objected to by any party. But such was not the case, and
he was sorry to say that her Majesty's Ministers, carried
away by the feeling of the moment, had made use of lan-
guage so exaggerated that he for one could not concur in
the wording of the address. Her Majesty's Ministers had
instructed the noble earl who began the conversation to-
night to recommend the house to assure her Majesty that
they "had learned with joy and satisfaction that her Ma-
jesty had been enabled to conclude peace on conditions
honourable to her Majesty's crown, and which fully accom-
plished the great objects for which the war was undertaken."
Now, he could not concur in that. He believed the noble
earl who moved the address, and who was en elegant
writer, would, if the address had been also written by him
have made the " joy" the climax to the " satisfaction,"
instead of allowing the
"satisfaction to come after the
" joy." But waiving such criticisms, he could not agree in
using these words, for he thought the treaty was not such
as would warrant the feelings they described ; and farther,
so far as he understood the objects of the war—for he did