The Sun.
London, England, 1835-09-11 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

a;:fokt. Journal has just sent forth another
of those /0z...2-winded articles upon which we had occa-
sion to "animadvert on Wednesday. It promises a third
in 0. 'similar. strain; and we presume that until the
cunferenceS at Tmplitz shall have terminated in a general
official manifesto of. the three Powers, we shall be in-
duig' ed with..several such preliminary dissertations, in-
tended to prepare the public mind for the grand finale
'which is to he performed at Prague. The article now
before us affects to aive the history of the connections
of Russia with Turkey, beginning with the war or
1774, and ending with the Treaty of Unkiar Skelessi,
of which it gives a most extraordinary sort of abridg-
Timt—an abridgment which leaves out the Secret
Article altogether, and gives only the substance of the
preamble of the Patent Treaty. We have recently
published an authentic copy of that document, and
shall have occasion again to advert to it, in the cours,.,
of this discussion. In the mean time we take the pre-
sent. opportunity of laying before our readers another
Treaty, the terms, or even the substa.:ice of which the
Frankfort scribe has not yet ventured to give to
the world. It contains no secret articles, neverthe-
less it has hitherto heen so carefully concealed
from the public eye, that not even the -secondary por-
tion of its contents has ever found its way into the
journals of the Northern Alliance. It forms an ap-
propriate sequel to the clandestine transaction of
Unkiar Skelessi, There is hardly a line of it that
does not betray the inordinate ambition of Russia,
and the degrading state of dependence in which the
Czar holds the Sultan at this moment. The mask of
diplomatic equality which was preserved by both par-
ties during the negociations concerning the Darda-
nelles, is here entirely laid aside. The conqueror ex-
hibits himself to his captive in the character of a giant,
who might destroy him by a single word, but who, in
his " clemency," in his " magnanimity," which know
no limits, condescends to suffer the kneeling suppli-
cant to breathe for a, few years longer. The first article
of this treaty settles the boundaries between the two
empires on the Asiatic side of the Euxine, in pur-
suance of the engagements entered into by the treaty
of Adrianople. Having already attained all that he
could have demanded in Europe, short of Constan-
tinople itself, the " magnanimous" Emperor, who,
upon commencing the war, proclaimed that he
sought and would accept of no new accession of
territory, here acquires not only new territory,
but territory of the most valuable description in a mili-
tary point of view. By insisting on the line of demar-
cation which the article defines, he has, moreover,
shown that he has only advanced his frontier in that
direction with the view of eventually extending his au-
thority over the whole of Asia Minor. When the Au-
tocrat provoked the late war with Persia, and then
claimed and received an indemnity for the expenses
which he had so wantonly incurred, he further demanded
two of the best provinces of that empire. So important
a concession was not easily wrung from the Shah ;, but
the plea was, that the new frontier, then marked in
red ink upon a carefully framed map, was " such as
would henceforth prevent every species of dispute and
discussion between the two empires, and obstruct the
depredations which the neighbouring tribes had been
in the habit of committing—depredations that had meme
than once compromised the relations of neighbour-
hood and friendship between the two empiies." The
provinces were, of course, surrendered. We have
here precisely the same pleas 1-,ut forth, and suc-
cessfully, too ; for whereas, oefore the new lines
were Axed, Turkey was mistress of the mili-
tary positions leading from Russia into Asia Minor—.
positions consisting of passes through mountains, and
fortified heights commanding them, impregnable, or
easily made so, against an invading army—the mo-
ment the article was settled, the Autocrat's authority
steps at one stride beyond all those passes and fortifi-
cations, and enables him, whenever he chooses, to
descend into the plains of Anatolia. Now, mark, all
this is done without once mentioning any of the mili-
tary points thus added to the Russian empire. Two
maps are ill-awn up, collated, and found to correspond
with wonderful precision. These maps are appended
to the original instruments—they are concealed from
the eye of Europe—they are merely referred to in the
text of the article; and if we had not had a peculiar
orportunity of knowing something of the character
of the country in question, we might have been de-
ceived, in common with the mass of ordinary readers,
into the belief that it was of that "inconsiderable"
description which the article so cunningly, so falsely
represents it to be. The second article stipulates
for the recognition by the Porte of the quasi "indepen-
dent" Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia. If this
article be diligently perused, it will disclose to any
mind practised at all in public affairs, the real position
of Russia with reference to the two provinces—a posi-
tion which, under the forms of mere names--of
language selected astutely from prevailing vocabularies
—renders her not mel-efy the legitimate protectress,
but the actual immediate Sovereign of those districts.
The first act of aggression on the part of the Emperor,
during the late war, was to send his armies beyond the
Pruth, to occupy the Principalities ; and when at the
peace they were about to be evacuated, in consequence
of the remonstrances of England, the
_Russian agents
• were instructed to obtain the signatures of a few of the
inhabitants to a series of regulations for the municipal
government of those districts, including especially the
establishment of a quarantine against Turkey itself,
which quarantine was placed under the control of
the Russian Consul-General at Bucharest. These
are the " regulations," which the article under
consideration describes as a " Constitution." The
sovereignty of the Porte over the Principalities
ceased the moment it acknowledged that Consti-
tution, inasmuch as the control of the quarantine
is the highest attribute of sovereign authority'
which can be exercised in any country. Never-
theless, the Sultan is compelled to say that he "finds
nothing in the articles of that constitution which can
affect his sovereign rights." He then engages within
a limited period to publish in that respect a " finnan
accompanied by a hatti sherd." But to whom are the
official copies of these acts of the abdicating Sultan to
be communicated, for the sake of proving their authen-
ticity ? To the "principal inhabitants" who affixed
their signatures to the constitution ? No. To the
Civil or Ecclesiastical Authorities of the two "inde-
pendent" Principalities ? No. To whom then ?
Why, to "the Russian Mission at Constantinople ! "
That is to say, the title deeds of the newly acquired
estate are handed over to the new proprietor in due
form of law. Provision is then made, after the
sovereignty of Russia over the Principalities is es-
tablished, for the appointment of the two Hos-
podars. The empty compliment is not paid to
the Sultan of permitting him even to nominate
one of Close Russian satraps. They are both
" but for this time only and as a
case entirely peculiar, in the manner which was
agreed upon some time ago between the two contract-
ing Powers ;" that is, in other words, to say by the
mere sic volo of the Emperor. As soon as the new
Russian Governors, or Pachas, or Prefects, call them
by what name you will, are established in office, then
the Russian troops are to evacuate the two districts
—all this taking place out of pure benevolence on the
part of the Czar towards the Sultan, " His Majesty
the Emperor, wishing to afford this new proof of the
regard and consideration which he entertains towards
his Highness, and to hasten the moment when the
Sublime Porte shall exercise the rights (! !) which
the treaties secure to him over the two provinces."
One of these rights is the payment to the Sultan
by the provinces of a few purses of piastres by way
of compensating him for the bauble he had lost r;
and the other rights cease to be such after they
are once exercised. With a view to render it im-
possible for the Principalities to entertain any mis-
taken notions about independence, the two Powers
are to agree amongst themselves as to the num-
ber of the forces to be maintained in the two
provinces ; the Sultan is then to give the " co-
lours " to the garrisons, and " a flag to the
Valacho-Moldavian merchant vessels which navi-
gate the Danube." Thus, by , a necessary impli-
cation, it becomes enacted, that the Valacho-iVlolda-
vian States are to have not so much as a single ship
of war, or even a gun-boat in their service l The
third article of this treaty tells its own story so openly,
hot it requires no comment. An 41110411 t of iudem-

nity for the war was originally required, so far beyond
the means of Turkey to pay, that England, and we be-
lieve France, remonstrated strongly against it. This
extortionate demand is " magnanimously" reduced to
One half; but the time for paying the instabrierits is
altered only with a view to extend it, ikl otder that the
Emperor might the longer retain possession of Sills--
tria, which he holds by way of pledge until tlic last
payment shall be maae. According to the original ar-
rangement, Silistria would be eva.(4zated in 1838. Now,
restitution of the form* eftimot be demanded
1842. When e tad, that within tNlt'tt urtress there
are at this intnnent 25.000 V?'Ussian soldiers of all
arms, awl that several 12iachments of 1,500 men are
on the road goietl-te, and with Ettle show as possible.
for the ::nntta destination, we - that we 114 r(^ mnde
out tt ta,c which calls for inor Cfrroiltery thali
Frankfort Journal to persnaL the world
that all these nre3:arations er,- made merely for the
amusement of the Antoerat.--,Morning Chronicle.
A Session of Parliament, distinuislied for more
talk and less work than any which we remember, has
Been closed by a Speech from the Throne which is as
barren of interesting topics to comment upon as the
Session was unproductive of measures beneficial to the
country. One important measure, and only one, in
relation to our domestic policy, saves our present Mi-
nisters from the imputation of having failed in the per-
formance of every one of the magnificent promises
which they made to the people. That measure is, we
need not say, the Municipal Reform Act, of which
his Majesty is made to say, " I cordially concur in
this important measure, which is calculated to allay
discontent, to promote peace and union, and to pro-
cure for those communities (the Corporations) the ad-
vantages of responsible government." Thus do the
Ministers, by the mouth of the King,,speak of that
Bill as amended by the Lords, which they and their
supporters of " the Movement" had previously de-
nounced as a thing mangled and mutilated by the
Upper House of the Legislature, until it had become
wholly unworthy of the acceptance of the country.
Who does not recollect the threats of the Premier
to the Lords touching those amendments, and the
hints of " stopping the Supplies," which were thrown
out by some of his colleagues in the House of
Commons, but which were prudently withdrawn when
it was found that the Lords were neither to be cajoled
nor intimidated ? 'Who does not recollect the labo-
rious efforts of the prophets of the " crisis" to fulfil
their own predictions, by all sorts of inflammatory ap-
peals to the passions of the people ; and all for what
purpose ? To get up such a popular demonstration
in the country against the " mangled and mutilated"
Bill—the mockery of municipal reform, as it was
called—as might induce the House of Commons to re-
ject it altogether, and place the two Hottses in a state
of collision destructive of the peace, and, perhaps,
subversive of the Constitution of England. I Was
the utter failure of the efforts of the r..gitators, great
and small, that sobered down t - .language of the Mi-
nisters and their myrmido,-,,s to something like mode-
ration and propriety. Threats of collision were
changed tito terms of compromise—the language op
indigr ant hostility was converted into that of concilia_ :Jon. It was found that the Bill, out of which the
, Lards had extracted all the good—which they had mu-
tilated into complete deformity, was still a very useful
and beneficial measure of reform. The f: steam of agi-
tation," as one of the radical Members for Southwark
admitted, could not be kept up, and so the zeal of
the crisis-mongers sunk down from boiling heat
to temperate—their confidence in the result of a
collision was cooled, Had they succeeded in their ob-
ject of the material and the only important passage
in the King's speech, they would have been deprived
of the opportunity of congratulating the country on
the passing of a Bill which, as amended by the Lords,
they now declare to be an important measure, calcula-
ted to allay discontent, to promote peace and union,
and to confer on boroughs the advantages of responsi-
ble government ! They had only to go one step far,
ther, and confess that what they called " mutilations"
of the Bill Were improvements—that they preserved
rights which ought not to be infringed—franchises
which ought not to be forfeited--property which ought
not to be plundered—that they left untouched the
great principles of free election and popular govern-
ment, while they purified the cause of reform from the
foul taint of confiscation and injustice. We are glad
to hear that his Majesty has concluded fresh conven-
tions with Denmark, Sardinia, and Sweden, calculated
to prevent the traffic in African slaves, and that lie
hopes soon to have the ratification of a similar treaty
which has been signed with Spain. That also negotia-
tions are in progress with other Powers in Europe
and South America for the same purpose. But it is of
little use to make treaties without using the necessary
force to have them carried into effect. At this moment
we have a few cruisers off the coast of Africa,
picking up a stray slave ship, but so inefficient is the
force, and so lukewarm is the zeal of our Government
for the suppression of this abominable traffic, except
upon paper, that it is computed that into the Brazils
alone from the coast of Africa 100,000 slaves are
annually imported. In this traffic in cargoes of human
misery, not only Frenchmen and Spaniards, but, to the
disgrace of this country, Englishmen are said to be
engaged. We may multiply treaties on this subject
until they break down the shelves of the Foreign Office,
without much benefit to the interests of humanity,
unless a sufficient naval force be employed to carry
their provisions into effect. Treaties do not exe-
cute themselves. Why not attack the evil at the
source, and root out the nests of the felon-pirates of
mankind that are known to be established on certain
parts of the African coasts ? To the machinations of
slave-dealers the foul murder of the enterprising tra-
veller Lander was attributed ; and while they maintain
their stations on that coast it will be vain to attempt to
introduce civilization into the adjacent regions of Africa,
and to establish that system of beneficial and safe com-
mercial intercourse—an intercourse humanising in its
spirit and productive of reciprocal advantages, to which
the terrors, the barbarities, the crimes, and devastating
effects of the atrocious slave traffic are incessantly
opposed. The Speech alludes to the internal condition
of Ireland as if it afforded matter of satisfaction. We
wish we could see it in the same light. We have`un-
fortunately but too often to record lamentable proofs to
the contrary of any thing like settled content, social
tranquillity, or reverence for the laws in Ireland. It is
rue the question of the " repeal of the Union" is sus-
pended—suspended by the order of the Agitator, whom
the Whigs denounced, not very long ago, in a Speech
from the Throne as the great enemy to the peace and
prosperity of Ireland. The question of the repeal of
the Union is suspended only as long as the Agitator
finds an English Ministry willing to go all lengths
with him, for the aggrandisement of his own power
and the destruction of our Protestant institutions.
The attempt to confiscate the property of 860 Pro-
testant incumbencies in Ireland, in compliance with
Papal demands, and the other attempt, under pretence
of an improved registration of votes in Ireland, to transfer
almost the whole of the Parliamentary representa.
tion to the Agitator, who has already a great deal
more of it- than any boroughmonger ever pos-
sessed, proves that our present Ministers are wil-
ling to pay to their Papal supporter a very extra-
vagant price for his services at the expense of the
country. As to measures of real. substantial honest
relief to Ireland, and the mass of her wretched popula-
tion, when have the Whig Ministers proposed them ?
—ln what page of the history of their Administration
are they written ? Where is the law establishing a
provision for the helpless poor—the aged, the sick, the
blind, the maimed Where is the law compelling the
rich landowner to contribute a portion of the produce
of his acres, too often spent in foreign countries, to set
the poor to work ? Where is the Government plan to
give employment to solving thousands, who perish in
the midst of plenty, because they have not the means
of purchasing subsistence, while one-third of the sur-
face of Ireland, capable of being reclaimed, has never
yet been brought into cultivation ? If Mr. O'Connell
were lesS selfish and less intent upon his own personal
interests than he. is, if lie had a heart to feel for his
starving countrymen, and had proposed a system of
poor laws, it cannot be doubted that the Ministers, to
whom his will is a law, would have taken up the ques-
tion, and pushed it on with all the zeal and energy of
which they are capable. But as the Agitator is more
anxious about fillingilis own-begging-box than procure