The Sun.
London, England, 1859-10-07 00:00:00

vince.

Besides, there was no room for delay either
for Admiral or for Ambassador. The Treaty,
signed at Tien-tsin, was to be ratified, at the latest,
by the 26th of June, and at no other spot in
China but Pekin ! Mr. BRUCE was sent forth
by his Government upon that positive and dis-
tinct understanding. He was to: go to Pekin to
ratify the treaty, and he was to go to Pekin for
that purpose not later than by the 26th of Jane.
His Excellency was to avail himself of the mari-
time power in the Chinese seas under Admiral
HOPE. He was to resent instantly any attempt of
an indignity from every one, and this every where
even—he was told by the Foreign Secretary in
these very words in the instructions with which he
was sent forth upon his embassy—even should it
necessitate his withdrawal from the Presence Cham-
ber of the SOVEREIGN ! The British Envoy is now
clearly shown to have had no alternative whatso-
ever. For, upon his approach to the frontiers of
the very shores of China he was told that the ex-
change of ratifications had better take place—
not at Pekin, but—at Shanghai.' It was suggested
to him that after the ratification he might
then go on to Pekin from Shanghai.
And he writes himself upon this point in one of
his admirable despatches :—" This journey occupies
two months, and I leave your lordship to judge
whether, had we adopted this route, we should not
have abandoned for all practical purposes one
great object of the Treaty, viz.,—free access to
the central Government. I could not doubt that
the task of extorting a reception at Pekin in a
form implying a surrender on the part of the
Emperor of his pretensions to national supe-
riority would be more difficult than obtain-
' ing a recognition of our equality on paper,
and that the Chinese Government in accordance
with its usual policy, would endeavour, by pre-
scribing the route I was to follow, by limiting the
number of my attendants, and by bad arrange-
ments during the journey, to put me in the de-
grading position hitherto occupied by foreign
Envoys, and recover by this means the prestige it
had lost by our successful coup de main of last
year." In point of fact, simply, Mr. BRUCE had
no alternative before him. He had merely to
do, what he did—namely, to place the matter en-
tirely in the hands of the Naval Commander-in-
Chief. And in regard to Admiral HOPE, we have
already seen and shown how completely and entirely
he is exonerated. No—Lord JOHN has defined the
actual position of affairs in regard to the Chinese
difficulty wisely as well as magnanimously. The
dead past is to bury its dead. While, as for the
future—why in this new Chinese war, England
and France must together see, we may rest assured
will together see, that it is terrible, swift, and
overwhelming.

The Turkish conspiracy appears to have been a
very serious affair. The numbers compromised are,
in all probability, very large, and it can hardly be
doubted that the life of the SULTAN would have
been readily sacrificed had he fallen into the con-
spirators' hands, and had he refused to abdicate in
favour of his brother. No doubt the leaders were,
as usual in such cases, actuated chiefly by personal
ambition. They wished indeed for a new regime ;
but the desire to obtain place and profit under it
was stronger than any political considerations. It
would appear, however, that political dissatisfaction
was so strong, and so widely diffused, that the con-
spirators relied confidently upon popular srpport,
at least on the support of the Mahommedan popu-
lation. The Government has taken all the pains
it could to suppress information on the details, yet
letters from Constantinople itself tell us that the
leading conspirators would have had the support of
15,000 troops, and of the Mehommedans generally ;
and that 3,000 persons have been arrested, includ-
ing nine colonels, five generals, and 300 officers-
The demands of the conspirators were, the recal of
the Hatti-Houmayoun of :the ith February, 1856 ;
dismissal of the present chief Ministers ; and pay-
ment of the arrears due to the troops and to the
Government employes ; with abdication of the SUL-
TON in favour of his brother. If these proposals
were not complied with, the SULTAN and his Minis-
ters were to be put to death, and the Government
buildings bombarded.
The first demand is the one on which the con-
spirators relied for success with the .Mahommedan
population. The Hatti-Houmayoun, orjmperial
order, is a Magna Charta, Habeas Corpus Act, and
Toleration Act, combined. And, so far as Mahom-
medans are concerned, it must be regarded by
them as depriving them of all the ecclesiasti-
cal and civil superiority they have so long
enjoyed, at a stroke. It is, indeed, but the de-
velopment and confirmation of what had been
already conceded by the Hatti-Sheriff of Gul
Haneh in 1839 ; but it is far more explicit, and was
granted under circumstances which made it far
more notorious, and where a representative of a
Christian power is an efficient man, it is more easy
to appeal to. Some of Mr. SENIOR'S informants
tells him, indeed, that beyond a long day's ride
from the metropolis it was a dead letter, and that
Ottoman officials paid not the slightest attention to
it. Still it was known every where. And while
high-and-dry old Turks regarded it as so much
waste paper, and its provisions as utterly imprac-
ticable, yet, one and all, they dare not refuse
obedience when it is insisted on by any who had
the ear of the Christian Ambassador, of the Eng
lish Ambassador especially.

Two things seem to show that the present
SULTAN has created much disaffection. The con-
spiracy could scarcely have spread so widely as
that coming to light had not great numbers been
sufficiently alienated to be regarded as trustworthy.
Neither can we account for the comparative apathy
of " the faithful," had not ABDUL MEDJID be-
come from some cause unpopular with the
majority. The latter is, we have every reason
to think, too much the case ; and for two reasons
—one, that he is too much , of a reformer ; the
other, that be is not reformer enough. The
SULTAN'S great pleasure is the costly one
of palace-building. In this mode of wasting his
money he may vie with the Christian King of
DENMARK. His civil list is probably the largest
in Europe ; it is four times that of our QUEEN'S ;
and his connection with the intolerable civil ad-
ministration of the country keeps him perpetu-
ally deep in debt ; while his ragged troops are
unpaid, and, but for Turkish apathy, would be in
perpetual mutiny. The better ordering of the
Imperial finances was even made a special subject
of promise in the Hatti•Hounaayoun. •
There can be little doubt, however, that the re-
forms to which the SULTAN is pledged by this, in
itself, weighty document, arc the chief cause of the
indifference, or apprehension, or even displeasure,
with which he is extensively regarded. His sub-
jects reverence in hint, indeed, the legitimate suc-
cessor of the Prophet. He is the Head of their
faith in a far higher sense than the CZAR is the
Head of the Russo-Greek Church. But, for that
reason, if he succumb too much to the Infidel, he
aggrieves nearly all his subjects, If it be from the ,

pressure of irresistible force, they still feel humbled
in his person ; and if' they at all
feels, personally, no unwillingness to yield, they
are more than humbled, they are indignant. They
think themselves betrayed. A• feeling of this kind
seems to be diffusing itself throughout all the Mahom-
medan populations. It had not a little to do with
the Indian mutiny. The massacres at Jeddah and
in Syria are to be explained by it. Throughout all
Islam there is a bitter consciousness that the Cross
is triumphing over the Crescent. But one Mahom-
medan power now exists of any pretensions to con-
sideration among the empires of the earth, and this
power is now wholly at the mercy of the Christian
powers. Two or three of them saved it from being
trampled to the ground by a third—a service for
which gratitude was less felt than shame ; and now
these same powers have extorted from it the " Impe-
rial order," which places Christians on a level, in civil
and military matters, with believers in the Prophet
themselves ! It is true the Hatti-Houmayoun may
be disregarded in the provinces, but it is the badge
of submission to the Gaiour. Equality with Chris-
tians is degradation to Mussulmen.
We may despise all this if we like, but the Mus-
sulman pride of faith is a fact—a fact which will
yet shed no little blood. Englishmen, however,
with their purer creed, may look at home as well
as condemn. These anti-reforming Moollahs and
old generals are the Mussulman Medivavalites. We
have but to remember how Orangemen, Puseyites,
and ardent Churchmen generally, resent every at-
tempt to lower, as they term it, their Church to the
level of Dissent ; or, as the State would term it, to
raise Dissenters to an equality with the Church—
and it is not difficult to comprehend the unpopu-
larity with Mussulmen of a Sultan who places the
Christian, by a decree emanating from himself, on
a level with the Orthodox. Fancy what a hubbub
would be raised if our " Defender of the Faith"
could by an edict place Church and Dissent on a
level ! Why, the Bishop of EXETER would give
up the ghost, and Mr. INEWDEGATE go crazy. We
are not sure that the Registrar-General would not
have to record the fatal effects of a new disease—

the Religious Equality Fever. The majority of
country rectors and curates would be restored to
health and sanity with difficulty. There is a large
class in England who ought to sympathise with
orthodox Turks groaning under the religious equa-
lity of the Hatti•Houmayoun.

The Marquis of Clanricarde and Mr. Layard are
both at Florence at present.
Colonel Cosens has arrived at Bologna, charged
with the mission of reconstituting his corps of Chasseurs of
the Alps, which had been disbanded in Lombardy after the
peace of Villafranca.
The Prince of Orange and Prince Henry of Hol-
land three days ago arrived at Luxembourg, and are to be
present at the opening of the railway. They were received
with the usual honours.
THE DISBANDED SOLDIERS IN INDIA.—A private
telegram received in Liverpool yesterday (Thursday) from
India states that the disbanded European troops had ac-
cepted the bounty, and consented to go to China,—Times.
A Turin letter of the 3d says :—" The Tuscan
corvette Argo, which arrived yesterday at Spezzia, struck
the Italian flag and hoisted that of Piedmont, with the red
cross in the v,-hite band of the centre. The Minister of the
Household of the King has just sent an order to Genoa to
prepare the Palace Balbi, which is the property of the
Crown, for the reception of the Dowager Empress of Rus-
sia, who is to arrive in that city about the 12th. The King
will receive her Majesty at Genoa, and accompany her to
Nice."

ADULTERATION OF COTTON.—A deputation of the
Liverpool Brokers Asssociation had an interview with the
American Chamber of Commerce in that town yesterday, in
reference to the frequent admixture of sand, dirt, and stones
with the cotton received from the American planters. A
memorial was presented setting forth the character of the
grievance, and stating that the adulteration was from 30 to
50 per cent. on the weight of the bales. The influence of the
Chamber was requested for the purpose of putting an end
to the evil by drawing attention to the subject throughout
the United States.
THE LATE ST EAM-'rUG EXPLOSION NEAR BRISTOL.
—The body of the fireman of the Furysteam-tug, the boiler
of which exploded in King-road on the 21st ult., was picked
up yesterday morning and brought to Pill, where it awaits
the coroner's inquest. The boy George Jones, who is the
only survivor, is still a patient at the Bristol Royal In-
firmary, but was sufficiently recovered to be able to give
evidence at the inquest held on Monday last on the body of
the engineer, when a verdict of "accidental death" was re-
turned.

IMPROVEMENTS IN THE STRAND.—NearIy the
whole of the houses from No. 17 in the Strand, occupied
by Mr. Watts, the chemist, to Craven-street, as also por-
tions of the Craven Hotel, have been pulled down for the
purpose of improvements being made on the Craven estate.
Craven-street will be widened by the removal of two houses.
In a short time the houses leading up to Northumberland-
street will be pulled down, and in their stead a number of
new buildings will be erected.
SOUTHAMPTON, Thursday.--The Dudbrook, 601
tons, Captain R. N. Forster, sailed to-day for Kurrachee,
taking out 8 soldiers, 135 women, 7 children over 12 years
old, 73 boys, 67 girls, and 6 infants, belonging to the
Royal Artillery, the 27th, 46th, 51st, 52d, and 70th Regi-
ments. The total number is 296, equal to 220 souls, and
they are under the care of Surgeon Henry Lannigan. The
Euxine, I,OEO tons, Captain Malcohnson, arrived from
London yesterday, and will leave for Madras about the
12th inst. with women and children.

AYRSHIRE ELECTION.—The Speaker of the
House of Commons has issued his warrant to the Clerk
of the Crown to make out a new writ for the election of a
member to serve in the present Parliament, for the county
of Ayr, in room of the late Lord James Stuart. Mr.
Campbell, of Craigie, and Sir J. Fergusson, of Kilkerran,
the Liberal and Tory candidates, are incessantly canvassing,
and almost daily addressing the electors ; and as the election
approaches both parties seem confident of returning their
men.

ACCIDENT TO THE AMERICAN CONGRESS, NEW
YORK LINE or PACKET Snip.—Caplaia Mather, com-
manding the American Congress, from London, bound for
New York with cargo and passengers, arrived at Ports-
mouth yesterday, and reported his ship having gone ashore
during thick weather on the Shoal of the Lead, near the
Owers Light-vessel, where she remained. Application was
at once made through the American Consul at Portsmouth
to the proper authorities of her Majesty's dockyard for as-
sistance to get the ship off again, and the Government
steam-tug Echo, with barges in tow, containing warps and
anchors, was immediately despatched to the scene of the
disaster. The wind yesterday was easterly, with thick
weelier, which will no doubt cause a heavy roll where the
ship lies, but no fears are entertained of her ultimate
safety. It is stated that some portions of her false keel
came up alongside soon after the ship struck the ground.
The American Congress is a vessel cf about 1,000 tons re-
gister, and is one of Messrs. Phillipps, Shaw, and Lowthei's
line of packet ships between London and New York.

DEFENCE OF AUSTRALIA.—Our Australian colo-
nies, are giving proof of their earnest desire to relieve the
mother country of all anxiety as to their defence in case she
becomes involved in war with any maritime Power. Last
mail brought intelligence that, in addition to the steps that
had been taken to put Port Jackson in a position to repel
an attack, the Victorian government had passed laml, for
increasing the troops of the regular army, enrolling some
6,000 volunteers of all arms, and erecting powerfully-
constructed batteries both at the Heads of Port Phillip
and at the entrance to Hobson's Bay where usually lies at
anchor a fleet almost altogether British, of some half a
million of tonnage and many millions of value. The Hon.
Captain A. Clarke, R.E., at the request of the colonists,
has been named by the Duke of Newcastlethe commissioner
on behalf of the province to conduct the selection and pur-
chase in Europe of the arms and munitions of war requisite
to complete these defences- Captain Clarke was for many
years Surveyor-General in Australia, and was recently a
member of the Provincial Cabinet of Victoria.

THE GREAT EASTERN.—Seeing the statements
in the papers that the directors of the Great Eastern contem-
plated sending her to Southampton to facilitate her repairs,
Mr. Willey, Lloyds' district surveyor at Plymouth, wrote
to the chairman and suggested Plymouth Sound as a most
eligible place for that purpose, being► easy of access as well
as a safe and commodious anchorage for the great ship. Ho
also set forth the certainty of there being very considerable
receipts from the thousands of visitors from all parts of
Devon and Cornwall who would wish to see her when so
near at hand. Mr. Mulley received a reply, stating that it
was not intended that the ship should go to Southampton
or any other port for repairs. It will be ot servcd that the
directors do not posit: vely say that they will not send her to
Plymouth for view, but appear to have left that question
open. We, therefore, hope they may yet decide to give her
a day or two here, and make Plymouth her port of depar-
ture on her trial trip.—Plymouth Journal.

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON.—At the
monthly general meeting, held yesterday, at the society's
house in Hanover-square, Mr. E. J. nudge, F.R.S., in the
chair, the Earl of Ashburnham and Messrs. E. IL Maltby,
J. W. Jeakes, and B. Quaritch were elected fellows, and
Mr. G. F. Angas, seeretary of the Australian Museum at
Sydney, a corresponding member of the society. His Ex-
cellency Sir Geo. Grey, K.C.8., Colonel J. M. Caulfield,
and Messrs. J. Scott, W. C. Hewitson, C. Booth, T. H.
Stewart, R. Towns, St. Leger Glyn, H. Woodward and J.
Wolf were proposed as candidates for the fellowship. It
was announced that the silver medal of the society had
been presented to Viscount Canning, Lord William Hay,
Captain Hay, Major Ramsay, Mr. Brian Hodgson, Mr.
Keene, Captain James, and the Baboo Rajendralllullick,
in commemoration of their services in forming the collec-
tion of living Himalayan pheasants received inBs7 ; to Mr.
Richard Green, for his assistance in transporting them;
also to Mr. William Dqugall Christie, her Britannic Ma-
jesty's Minister to the Brazils, in acknowledgment of
numerous valuable donations of South American animals to
the menagerie. It was also announced that the number of
visitors to the gardens during the year had amounted to
315,560, being an increase over same period in }658 of
20,004 persons.

Was Eve of the High or of the Low Church
party? Adam thought her Ev-angelical.