The Sun.
London, England, 1856-11-19 00:00:00

FRANCE AND PERSIA.

(From the Constitutionnel of yesterday.)

At this moment, when the public mind in Eng
land is greatly preoccupied by the events whick
are passing in Asia, certain jonrnals have indulged
in a polemic of a nature to throw a doubt upon the
attitude assumed by the French Government and
its agents in regard to Persian affairs. The Morn-
ing Post, a journal which, with more or less reason,
exeites particular attention at the present time,
has just launched an article containing undeserved
reproaches against the French Minister in Persia,
which we feel called upon to answer.
The French Envoy at Teheran, M. Bourree, has
been there scarcely two years. He was sent during
the last war, with the double object of renewing
relations between France and Persia, which had

been for some time broken off, and of ratifying a
treaty of commerce negotiated by his predecessor,
and also, and above all, to support at Teheran an
interest common to England and France, an in-
terest born of the Eastern war. The principal
object of his mission was to prevent Persia from
leaning towards Russia ; he was at all events to
obtain her neutrality. We need not say that the
French Minister showed himself a zealous repre-
sentative of the alliance, and never ceased during
the war to act in a manner conformable to the

intentions of the two countries. But it appears
that, independently of that grand object, difficulties
of a minor nature arose; the English Minister,
Mr. Murray, had some private differences with the
Persian Government. We will not dwell upon
the nature of this quarrel. It was one altogether
of secondary interest, one with which politics can
scarcely be said to have had anything to do, but it
resulted in the departure of Mr. Murray. What
course did the French Minister take under these
delicate circumstances? We have every reason to
believe that he endeavoured by good offices to
allay the displeasure of his colleague, and to pre-
vent him from withdrawing ; but he did not, it is
true, altogether succeed. His intervention was
somewhat distasteful, or, at all events, i t did not
answer to the perhaps somewhat excessive require-
ments of Mr. Murray. The English Minister,
irritated, doubtless, by his disagreeable position,
became prejudiced against his colleague, and it
was no doubt in consequence of his complaints that
the English Cabinet begged the Emperor's Govern-
ment to tell its Minister to abstain from all inter-
ference with the private relations of England and
Persia. The French Envoy thenceforth took
care not to lay himself open to the reproach of
meddling in these affairs. But now a reproach
of a totally opposite nature is addressed to him,
and he is accused of having shown a coldness and
indifference to English interests. Listen to the
Morning Post. " The French minister made no
sort of effort to dissuade the Persian government
from undertaking the expedition against Herat."
We believe we can reply to this pretended griev-
ance, that without departing from the spirit of the
instructions of which we have just spoken, the
French envoy understood that nis government was
quite alive to the great interests of England in that
part of the world, and we have reason to think that
our minister did not give advice, and did take
steps to induce Persia to abandon the project.
That his influence should not-have been strong
enough to stay the course of events is not astonish-
ing, when we consider what violent instincts, what
passionate obstinacy often directs the conduct of
Asiatic governments in such cases. But here is
another grievance. Our diplomacy, the Morning
Post tells us, was "not inaugurated at the court
of the Shah under very favourable circumstances."
But we think there is reason to presume that the
English Government did not think so. The mis-
sion confined to the French minister received the
assent of the court of St. James's, whose friendly
offices were then employed to smooth difficulties
and insure a good reception for our envoy. He
did not forget this courtesy, and conducted him-
self, as it behoved him to do, as a faithful re-
presentative of the alliance. But this is not
all. " Two striking facts," says the Morning
Post, " connected with the expedition to Herat
deserve serious attention ; the first is, that a
French officer, named Bulher, who was under M.
Bourree's orders, was authorised to conduct the
siege operations as engineer ; the other, that not-
withstanding the state of quasi hostility which
exists between England and Persia, the Shah's
ambassador, Feroukh-Khan has been sent, with
M. Bourree's consent, on a friendly mission to
Paris, carrying with him magnificent presents to
the Court of France, and being assured beforehand
that he will meet with a brilliant reception."
Unless our information is very erroneus, we
think we are in a position to reply to these new
complaints. A retired French officer of engineers
named Bulher did in point of fact enter the Persian
service at the beginning of 1853, that is to say at
a period antecedent to the commencement of the
war, before the alliance, and at a time when France
had no representative at Teheran. The officer in
question, who no longer belongs to the French
army, has become a colonel of engineers in the
Persian service. He was sent on a mission having
reference to the siege of Herat in so secret a man-
ner that
.not only the French Minister, but even his
own family, did not know where he was going. But
as soon as the truth came to the knowledge of our
envoy, he immediately, and in a most pressing
manner, demanded that M. Bulher should be re-
called to Teheran. Letters on the subject were
exchanged between M. Bourree and the Minister
of the Shah. It is easily conceivable that this
negotiation led to no result, and that the Persian.
Government considered that it was only exer-
cising a right in retaining the officer who was
already in its service. We have, moreover,
reason to believe that, whatever may have
been said to the contrary, this officer is the only
Frenchman employed in the siege, which is spoken
of in a tone of such alarm, although there is as yet
nothing to show that the Persians are able to push
this great enterprise to a conclusion.
With regard to the Persian embassy, we are
assured that France has in no way solicited that it
should be sent to Paris. But France has sent a
legation to Teheran, a treaty of commerce has been
concluded, and the Persian sovereign has sees in
this an opportunity to make a friendly demonstra-
tion towards France.

Our relations with Persia, moreover, are of no
recent date. The first treaties with that kingdom
go back to the reign of Louis XIV. It is better
known still whatrelations were established between
the French empire and this distant country in the
time of Napoleon I. That name which appeals so
powerfully to the imagination of every people is a
living remembrance among the nations of Asia. It
will be easily conceived, therefore, that the Persian
monarch feels himself at this moment attracted
towards France, and why, according to Eastern
custom, he should'send words of peace and presents
to the successor of Napoleon.
Now, how would it be possible to defer to the
advice given by the English journal not to receive
' the ambassador ? On what ground could the
French government repulse this friendly manifes-
tation, when it was the first to send a legation to
Persia ? How can we be otherwise than astonished
at the declaration of the Morning Post, that if the
Persian envoy " should receive the least encourage-
ment from M. Thouvenel at Constantinople, and
that if he should be permitted to continue his
journey to Paris the French government will ren-
der itself in some sort responsible for the obstinacy
with which the Shah persists in his hostile pro-
ceedings towards England, and the fatal conse-
quences that may result from them ?"
This assertion of the Morning Post is, it seems to
us, but little in keeping with the doctrine it lately
professed, viz., that the two allied governments
are at liberty, where the great interests of Europe
are not concerned, to follow a separate policy on
certain given points, as, for example, England in
Asia and France in Africa.
Now, is it in any way to beleared
1 any
fatal of the Persian ambassador will invo•ve
toy
fatal consequences ? Is there not rather rein
Paris
that the
hope for good results from it ? It is
not in
that the envoy will find himself in
Prevent con-
France has s.bown herself desirous unfavourable to the ideas of peace
uherever they may
flicts and appe.ase differences,T
wberan, like her rep
arise ; her representative ato
:tries, has faithfully
satioTconciliation.
presentatives All other a
and we trust that
to of the reproaches that have
nothing will inmate
followed this line
ted against him.
been so unjustly dii conduct,

P.D..IK rOR FINSBUIAT •—A deputation from the
St. Mary, Stoke Newin2,
parishes of St. Mary, IsPo,:zton, the Holborn District
St. James:.
ton, had at, interview with LL rd Palmerston, on Friday-
last, for the Purpose of laying' before his ordshi Clerkenwell, sun'
plan of the proposed park for F, y,
an estimate the
of
the expense, with other particula:s, and soliciting
assistance of government for carryit,:g out the u d the
ertak-
jog. His lordohip declined to give any pled nge to the
deputation as to the intentions of Gove'rnment until he
had consulted with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on
the subject ; but:.he has since seen Mr toy ton, the vestry
clerk of Islingtoto, in reference the.
r, and promised
that in the event o.f the passing of
the bill, of which due
notice has been give. n, for making
Govern-
ment would recommend to Parliamentthe park, the
a grant of
towards carrying out the work. 50,0001.
to comprise 300 acres of land, and the cost is eat-busted tft
The park is proposed
200,0001., of which, be sides
the anticipated Parliamen-
tary grant, 150,0001.
will
be required, and this is pro-
, posed to be raised by a metropolitan rate of a halfpenny
i in the pound during a peri.od of seven years. A depnta-
-1 tion from the several arishes mentioned will present a
' memorial t
1 o the Metropolitan Boardof Works on Frida
_ y
gthem a metro-
next, praying to undertake the work
politau improvement.
as