The Sun.
London, England, 1856-05-02 00:00:00

right hon, gent!emau resumed his seat amid loud cheering )

Lord J. RUSSELL—Though this- debate has continue to
this late hour on the third night, I hope the house. will in-

dulge me by listening to a few obse;vations which I wislvto
address to them. I admired, in common with others,` tie
ability and the eloquence of the hon, and learnel gentleman
who introduced this motion, but I own it did appear to me

th.tt admitting that censure may at any time be proposed,
he chose with singular Infelicity the occasion to propose it.
If the war had gone on it would have been competent for the
hon. and learned gentleman to say that Turkey would suffer
by the loss of Katy; but the answer to any such language is,
that the war is concluded, and that Kars will in a few weeks
be again bearing the flag of Turkey. Or, it might be said, in
another view, that the loss of Kars had been injurious to the
negotiations, and that the terms of peace bora testimony to
the loss we sustained when Kars surrendered. Mit the hon.
and learned gentleman, instead or foltow:ng the example
which has been given in the other House of Parliament, did
not wait for the introduction of the, treaty, but on the very
day that the treaty of peace was laid before the house, he in-
troduced this motion. Well, then, I must say upon the mo-
tion itself that the house will be disposed to view the war as
a whole—that they will consider its various parts, and whe-
ther, having undertaken to defend Turkey for the present,
and to obtain some security for her for the future, those ob-
jects have not both been fully attained. With regard to the ag-
gression of Russia upon Turkey, it wasevident that aggression
might be made either on her European provinces or by means
ir
of a fleet from the Crimea, or on the eastern frontier.

With regard to the European provinces, the heroic defence of
Silistria, the gallant fights on the Danube, and, lastly, the
occupation by Austria and the evacuation by Russia of the
Principalities, secured Turkey on that side. But the next
question was the means which Russia possessed in the Crimea.
Lord Aberdeen's Government, after delibereeely considering
in what manner theeneeaus of warfare on the part of Russia
might best be crippled, and the war brought speedily to ater-
mination, decided that the mode of attaining those objects
was to send an expedition to the Crimea. The right hon.
gentleman who has just spoken says he expressed his fear at
the time of any such expedition. Well, no doubt that expe-
dition was of a nature to make it hazardous. For a time it
did not succeed. The bombardment of the 17th October
failed, the winter passed in privation and misery, the born;
bardment bf April like eise failed, the assault made on the
18th of Juno was unsuccessful. Well then, I ask the house,
such being the state of your expedition to the Crimea, under-
taken with the best troops of Great Britain and France, was
it not the duty of the Government to endeavour by all means
to procure the success of that expedition?—(hear, hear)—to
encounter any risk, to press any object, rather than to allow
that expedition to fail? The hon. and 'learned gentleman
who introduced this motion blamed the Government of her
Majesty, and blamed the Emperor of the French for requir•
in; that, before any portion of the army was despatched
from Balaklava and Eupatoria, the opinion of the generals
should be taken. I think that the allied Governments acted
wisely in that respect— I think that they acted with foresight
and with energy. What would have been the case had the
assault in ever.) way failed, owing to the want of troops at
Balaklava? That was the obvious reason, that was the pre-
vailing motive why an expedition was not sent earlier in
order to cover Kars. I will not at this time enter into
the military question, which has been most ably argued
to night, as to Whether the troops should have been sent
in one direction, or in another to the relief of Kars. The
President of the Board of Control says that the Government
took military opinions before they decided that question, and
therefore I think that disposes of a charge which might
otherwise have seemed probable, that the Turkish authorities
having deckled in favour of an operation, they peremptorily
rejected it, and preferred another. We come then to the
question whether taking Sebastopol and attempting to de-
stroy what they have destroyed, the whole fleet of Russia,
which had been so long a menace to Turkey, whether consis-
tently with that object they could obtain men and money for
the purpose of sending to Asia. I heard these accusations of
the right hou. g ntlemau, and of those who act with him,
with a deal of astonishment, because I could not help think-
ing that our small army having exhausted its several batta-
lions in furnishing troops to hold the lines of Sebastopol, it
occurred to the Government of Lord Aberdeen to endeavour
to raise a force of Swiss, and Germans, and Italians; they
thought that if 20,000 or 30,000 of these troops could have
been collected at Constantinople who were not urgently
wanted in the Crimea, there would then have been the means
of sending the Turkish army to Erzeroum or to Kars.' But
what was the discouragement thrown on that plan-(hear)
—what were the terms of contumely which induced the
spie ited Germans for some mouths to refuse to enlist in any
such force, and thereby prevented that additional force being
given to Turkey, and by whom was that discouragement
made, and those terms of contumely used ? By Lord Derbyand
Lord Ellenborouget in the other House of Pariament, and the
right hon. gentleman !and his friends in this house. Well,
then, it was desirable no doubt to send money to Turkey to
enable Turkey to continue the War. A loan was obtained by
her own credit in the first year of the war'. In the second
year, the whole of that money being exhausted, Turkey,
finding it exceedingly difficult to support and pay'her army,
asked the assistance of the allies to support her credit. For
my own part, I may have thought it would have been bet-
ter to have made a subsidy to Turkey ; but Government
were quite content to take other means to give assistance
But wizen that was proposed in this house, and my noble
friend the First Lord of the Treasury, going fee beyond the