The Sun.
London, England, 1860-05-23 00:00:00

gious liberty in Turkey compared with what her
Ambassador has done. Americans—and better
witnesses for an Englishman there could not well
b2—are hearty in their praises of the good effected
by Lord STRATFORD DE REDCLIFFE, in securing
the utmost attainable freedom for all professions.
And there seems to be little doubt that the
SULTAN really prefers this policy, and only yields,
perforce, every now and then to the Mahomedan
Puseyites (for such there are) who occasionally
get into power, and adopt, as far as they dare, a
reactionary policy. But the SULTAN has physical
difficulties to overcome which are unknown in
France or England, or even in Russia. There are
no roads in Turkey. But a few miles from Con-
stantinople—beyond, perhaps, a few day's ride
from it —his power to enforce the Hatti-
Humayoun, or any other decree, is limited by
the impunity afforded by being out of reach of
his arm. Every thing is localised by the want of
communications. The pasha and his tax-collectors,
and magistrates, are all to a considerable extent
beyond the reach of the central power at Constan-
tinople. If they do but pay the taxes which they
farm, they think they have done their duty to the
Sultan ; and of the extortion requisite to col-
lect them, he hears nothing till it has
driven the inhabitants into insurrection. It
is not in his power to prevent the col-
lectors fleecing the Christian, who in Turkey,
is the Dissenter, without mercy. Neither can he
compel a Mahommedan Cadi to believe the Christian
witness in a court of justice against the Mahom-
medan's testimony. Turkey must be physically
regenerated before any Government at Constan-
tinople could compel prompt respect for the laws ;
it must be regenerated socially before Mahom-
medan governors, judges, and officers can really
believe that Christians have equal rights with
themselves,
The SULTAN, however, very naturally declines to
accept any intervention of the Great Powers on
behalf of the Christian population. The language
of the treaty, which he points to, is precise—" it is
well understood that the firman shall not in any
case give to the Powers the right to interfere, either
collectively or separately, in the relations between
his Majesty the SULTAN and his subjects, or is the
internal administration of the Empire." He has
the right on his side in this doubtless, and
England's policy will be to see that fictitous,
or even real and just complaints from the
Rayahs of Turkey are not made the pretext for
another MENSCHIKOFF mission. The case is in
itself a difficult one, and it is made still more so
by the frequently worthless character of the com•
plainants. From the testimony of all travellers
the Christian population of Turkey is morally quite
as degraded as the Mahommedans. And, often
enough, a Turkish judge has but too little reason to
credit what is most solemnly sworn to by Chris-
tians who appear before him.
One thing cannot, however, but strike us all—
Who are these Emperors who are thus lecturing
another and a Mahommedan Emperor on the matter
of Christian toleration ? We have all of us heard,
under the perfectly centralised government of
France, where the arm of the EMPEROR can strike
almost anywhere in four-and-twenty hours, strange
tales of Catholic priests, and prefects, and maires,
in the more rural districts, persecuting and harrass-
ing the Protestants under form perhaps of law, yet
but too effectually—and that, though we hardly
doubt that LOUIS NAPOLEON himself, like the
SULTAN, is favourable to religious liberty, He
must, however, oftentimes concede to the priests,
just as the SULTAN must to his moollahs.
But the Emperor of RUSSIA is himself far less
tolerant than the SULTAN. Lord SHAFTESBURY
can tell us that while the SULTAN permits the
freest circulation of the Scriptures, the CzAR. ex-
cludes them from his dominions ; and that while
missionaries are free to preach as they please in
Turkey, they are not permitted by Russia even to
attempt the conversion of the heathen tribes of
Asia. They must be converted to the Christianity
of the Greek Church or not converted to Chris-
tianity at all ! It appears also that great numbers
of the Mahommedans have but a hard time of it
under his rule—indeed he is said to be driving
them by hundreds of thousands to seek safety in
the Sultan's dominions.

The extraordinary intellectual vitality and viva-
city displayed within the last few days by two
renownedoctogenarians—one of them actually now
within two years of being a nonogenarian—cannot
but have awakened in their behalf, far and wide,
by this time, Tingled feelings of astonishment
and admiration. Lord LYNDHURST on Monday the
21st of this present month of May celebrated the
day on which he completed his 88th year by the
delivery, in the House of Lords, of a speech
that materially aided, by the closeness and cogency
of its reasoning, in leading a division in the Upper
House to one of the most memorable majorities
ever inscribed among the records of that branch of
the Legislature. Lord BROUGHAM on Saturday
rendered thenceforth for ever remarkable the date
of. his assumption of the academic chair as
Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, by the
delivery of an inaugural harangue that must rank
high even among the noble and learned lord's own
oratorical masterpieces.
There are surely few if any who can read
that astonishing oration without emotions
akin to those defined by Mr. CARLYLE as hero-
worship. The inaugural address delivered on Sa-
turday by Lord BROUGHAM, as Chancellor of the
University of Edinburgh, is of itself sufficient at-
testation that there are still giants in these days, that
one of the intelrectUal giants of later times is yet
happily surviving. Who was it who once remarked
with such humorous flippancy when speaking of
the intellectual versatility of Lord BROUGHAM, that
" If he knew a little of law he would know a little
of everything?" The observation sounds wittily
enough, but is of course essentially shallow and
frivolous. Of the scope and profundity
of Lord BROUHAM's intellect the world has by this
time a vivid appreciation. As to his professional
reputation—let his career and his achievements
answer. The records of both remind us that
HENRY BROUGHAM, up to the hour when he ex-
changed the stuff-gown of a barrister for the scarlet
and ermine robes of the' Lord High Chancellor of
England, was recognised unanimously as about the
most brilliant • and formidable advocate who
ever adorned the bar of England. Comparatively
brief though the period of his lordship's occupancy
of the woolsack undoubtedly was, it was at any
rate sufficiently protracted to demonstrate the
energy and lucidity with which his judgment
cleared away the long accumulated arrears then
encumbering the Court of 'Chancery. As a law-
reformer the noble and learned lord has nowhere a
superior—has nowhere, we may boldly assert, an
equal in the annals of our English jurisprudence.
His accomplished exploits as a law reformer are
nothing less in their way, in their magnitude and
their multiplicity, than literally Herculean. lie
has thus already himself partially realised the
words of the magnificent peroration of, perhaps,
among all his great speeches, the most superb he
ever delivered within the walls of Parliament. The
catalogue of his achievements as a law reformer has