The Sun.
London, England, 1857-11-24 00:00:00

e._ _ —.es eueue, tile :reach
A letter front Paris, dated Nov. 22, says :—The ---
Mioi-ter in Mexico will receive others to endeavour
to persuade that Government to withdra# its pre-
19th of Wallachia unanimously ad pia on the
tension of having M. Letragna. received at Madrid
19th the memsrandum explauatory of the four re-
las an indieptensaole preliminary. It is hyped that
solutions of the Rottman people as agreed to on the
this double action of Lord Howden at Madrid
21st October lase The popular assemblies of those
! and M. de Gabriac in Mexico, Win P
provinces seem to take as their model the French prevent an ex-
plosion which will Mast certainly inflict much
Constituent Assembly of 1789. This body, on the
(damageSain and Mexicon ed, if the Governments of
on all concer
17th of June, effaced the distinction between the
continue in their present three orders of the nation, and the States-General I
Spain
ob-
became a National Assembly ; the 23d of June was stnecy, andallow so much danger to both to follow
the term of tee moral, and the 14th of July of the ,Tom a question of vanity and a point of etiquette
,
material, power of French Royalty ; and the 4th 1
--
of August was the-complement of the firer. Revolu-
tion. Moldavia has just had its 4th of August. In
the sitting of the 9th, 10th, and 11th inst., the
Divan ad hoc, on the question ot the reforms to be
introduced into the Principality, adopted unani-
mously, and as the basis of toe new order of things, ,
• " Delhi, Sept. 28.
liberty in matters of religion, equality before the i " You will sloe by the date of my letter that the
law, general per; itiun of imposts, capabil of all task in whiee we have been so long engaged is a,
citzens to fill offices of the State, seearation of last accomplished. Delhi was assaulted and a por-
administrative from judicial functions, abolition of tion of the city captured on Sept. 14. Our progi esti the privileges which constituted the araci-nt laws of from this date was slow till.the 20th, when the city
the country, and, in a word, the application to was evacuated by the mutineers, and we found our-
Moldo-Wallachia of what are termed in France B dves in possession of the whole. Thus ended what
the principles of 1789. A few remarks on this I suppose future generations will consider one of
point may not be out ot place. They are intende I the most exq•aordinary sieges in history. You
to present some precise notions of the internal will by the time this reaches you have learnt some-
condition of Moldo-Wallachia to the present date, thing more of the actual difficulties that we have
and to throw a little additional light on one ha tto contend against than our last English letters
important question on which a stt ong difference show ; but you cannot have the same notion of the
of opinion exists—namely, whether the Danubian wonderful way in which our small force has been
Provinces contain, or Lot the elements of a free protect d by Providence as we who have been par-
people. And, firs; of all, a few weeds on the ticipators in all that has passed. You will hear a
history of the facts themselves. After the voting great deal, but there are small details which strike
of the "four points" of the political programme, us so forcibly at the time of the occurrence, and
that is to say, union, self-government (autonomy), the these are so innumerable that the most careful nar-
sovereignty of a foreign Prince, and Constitutional rator will ,fail to tell all. There are so many cala-
government, one great difficulty piosented. itseif— mities have befallen us since May 10th that one
what, after all, was the duty of the Divan ? Con- felt tempted to look upon-as irretrievable at the
sidering their mission as terminate I, should they time, and which .so short a time has sufficed to
have adjourned until such time as the Paris °ens point out as the only remedies against evils of far
gress had pronounced its decision on these four greatermagn tude, So often has our position seemed
points ? On the one hand common sense, on the perfectly hepeless, and so wonderful have been our
other respect for the tights of the country, seemed deliverances, that I cannot conceive the most seep-
to counsel such a lane of conduct. Independently of tical man denying events to have been brought
the consideration that it was not regular to proceed about by a power far above human. I will only
to the discussion of organic laws before the Consti- attempt to point out to you some of the most
tution was adopted, the question of union or con- convincing proofs of what I assert :—Firstly,
tinned separation necessarily taking precedence of when the mutiny broke out, see how Gen. Hewitt
all others, it should not be forgotten th at the wax blamed for his inactivity. The outcry.
Divans have, ace rding to the Treaty of Paris, a wins natural, and n ) one can deny that he was the
consulting mission only. They consequently were most incompetent man that could have filled
bound, if they wished to maintain intact the rights such a post. But let us for an instant suppose that
of the country as ratified by that itoeruraent to some more able man had commanded at Meerut,
limit themselves strictly to the discussion of the and even that the mutiny had at its first outbreak
political question, which, being part of the public at Meerut been quelled. Sub equent events and dis-
law of Europe, is within the attribut aof the emu closures have only proved to us that the outbreak
Powers, without touching the domestic question, has been premature, and that had it been over-
which belongs entirely to the goveruiec,i authority, tromeat the time it would probably have come upon
andh
*She is not subject te the control
t ose Powers, The acts of Or intervention of us at the appointed day with a force that none of
Divans justify the us could have hoped to withstand. Secondly, let
observation of a high "authority on such matters, us take the fact that the mutineers on the 10,h of
namely that the tieneral Assemblies of Moldo- May found the Watergate (to the south of the
Wallachia have not simply expressed their wants palace) open, when all
others had been shut against
and wishes but have enacted decrees. them. I have heard many deplore this fact • but
The —.
egadAttropean Cummissioners, however, having let us suppose it otherwise. Let us suppose that 2 all
the Divans to protract, irrespectively of the the gates in the city had been closed, and that all
2
Our points," their deliberations on the divers ingress had been impracticable. The results, I
topics relating to the reorganization of the provinces think, must have been far more lamentable even
this Divan of Moldavia, out of deference to the than they were. The mutineers (I think without a
.Powers, framed a list of demands, comprised in 12 doubt) would not have spent much time in fruitless
articles, to be appended to the " four points," but endeavours to enter the city, buteohave rushed
accompanied with the express declaration,-Ist, straight up to the cantonments, where they would
that these demands, submitted voluntarily and have been Joined by the Native Infantry regiments
:spontaneously to the Congress by theDi vans, should there quartered. Tae surprise would have been most
not be in any wise prejudicial to the ant inonay or complete, and under the circumstances few indeed,
self-government of the Principality • 2d, that in if any, of us could have escaped from cantonments,
case the bases proposed by the Wallachian Divan and with the prospect of the immense plunder in
were net identical, such eventual difference should the city I do not think they would have wasted
not be used as an argument against the political much time in effecting an entrance, which would
union of the Principalities, which had been de- then have been most easy, and how would it have
mantled by the unanimous vote of the represeu- fared with those in the city ? Thirdly, we have
tatives of both.
always lamented the delay in the assistance of the
Among the 12 articles alluded to there are several European force from Bengal reaching us. The
—such, for instance, as the organisation of the event has shown how far more necessary these same
army with a view to neutrality and to the combined Europeans were down-country even than up here.
defence of the territory of the Principalities (Art. Fourthly, we have three times (previously to the
4); respect for the domiciles and personal liberty of 14th Sept.) been on the point of assaulting Delhi.
the citizens (Art. 8) ; separation of the executive This was very shortly after our first arrival here on
and legislative Powers (Art. 10) ; and responsibility June 8. 0* one occasion (June 12)we had even sent
of ministers (Art. 12)—which need no commentary, out the advance column. I was the senior engineer
for they explain themselves. There are others, with the column, and virtually had the command of
however, whi4 to be understood, require some it. My instructions were to advance through a or-
explanation
; and, as these explanations relate to tion of the suburbs of Delhi (Kishengunge, Pahari-
the religion is, political, and social organisation of pore, and those villages to the right of our position
the Rouir An country, they may be given here. on the ridge) in close column, and when within
The ta,rovisioes relating to religion are comprised 400 yards of the city walls to extend to the
in the
e 6th and 6th Articles, which are worded thus : right and left in skirmishing order. The suburbs
--e-' et berty of worship within the conditions of the that I allude to, I must tell you, are chiefly coin-
6•,,,tpulatioue with the Ottoman Porte. Establish- posed of loopholed enclosures and serais which you
inent of a Synodel authority cenceetrating in itself would t oink had bean built expressly for defensive
the direction of the spiritual affairs of the Roman purposes. The streets are very narrow, and the dis-
Church. All forms of worshipto be freely professed trance that we had to traverse, to reach within 400
in Moldo-Walleehia,—all, with the exception ot the yards of the wall, something beyond a mile. Had
xeligion of their masters, or the prerenied masters this position 'been occupied only by the merest hand-
of the country—,he Turks ! It is, in fast, declared ful of the enemy (and there was nothing to prevent
in the 10th Article of the stipuiaAons of 1460 its being so without our knowledge), we could cer-
'that "no Mussulman mosque shall ever be tainly never have forced our way through it, and
erected in any part of the Wallachian territery." had-the merest handful of the enemy only let us
Now, if this formal sipuletion be coinp •red pass through to the extreme end of the suburbs and
with the religious and political code of Islamism, then attacked us and cut off our retreat, I really
in vir ue of wnice the erection of the mosque on t ink that hardly a min of us would have escaped
the Dar-ul-barb (the territory of the infidel, in con- to tell tee tele. As it turned out, just as I was on
tradistinction to toe Dar-ul-Islam, the t-rritory of the point of throwing out the skirmishers, an aide-
Islamism) is regarded as the sign of conquest, how de camp :ode up to tell us were unsupported, and
can the lurks pretend that they are the Sovereigns must make the beat of our way hack. - Most provi-
of the coustry ? That Sovereignty is, iudeed, ex- denttally the enemy seemed to be in perfect igno-
traordinary which refuses yoe tee right to prey, to ranee of our movements, for not a shot was fired at
reside, or even to traverse fre ,ly your own States ! us till we had alm tat reached camp again, and were
The declaeat oa of the Moldavian Divan does very nearly out of range of the round shot from the
more then merely record a pre-existing fact. By city walls. On reaching the camp we learned that
the establishment of a Synodal authority centralis- the project had miscarried, owing to a misconcep-
iug the spiritual affairs of the Rouman Church it tion of orders of Brigadier Graves, in command of
tends to place it in a condition of complete indepen- the second column. Loud were the abuses heaped
dance with regard to the great Church of Censtan- on this unfortunate man, who seemed (and perhaps
tiuople, as has already been the case with the deservedly so) the butt of everybody's censure. Of
Servtan and Hellenic Churches. That aidependence, course, evsry body attributed to him the loss of such
which has not occ .sinned a schism in Greek ortho- a seemingly good opporunity of taking the city. I
~
doxy, is derived from itsve.e. constitution. In truth, think few would venture to say so now. My own
thevarious churches of thsorthodoxcom.nunion. go- (and I think the general) conviction is that our
verned by their resp: eive Synods, are independent force, so contempt:bly small as it then was, would
of and equal to se ch o her; ea ch Preserves its t eigue, have been completely lost in such an immense city,
its liturgy, arid its discipline ; this dogma having and, unless the enemy had be;n most completely
been immutably Pixel since the 4th Council of Coe- panic-stricken, would have had little chance of
stantirtople in 86J. The Eastern Church has been holding any temporary advarit age that we might
administered alter VI s manner to the present day have gained in tile first rush. I could enumerate
in Turkey, m Jude!, eadent Greece, in the Irseian inatences of the same kincliwithout number, but it
Islands, in Russ a, and ill Aus rig, where the Ortho- would try 3 oiir paeience. I think few cell ponder
dox S eviens have an independen Patriarchate, of on all that has happened and imagine that our work
which the seat is Carloavitz. The unity of the in India is done, aid that Providence has altogether
orthodox connuu idea is mint , hied by the fraternal f orsaken us.
concord of there various Syno Is, and by their un- "We opened our trench, son the 7th Sept., and
varying cif :relic-• tower Is the patriarch al church of the way in w bill we acc mplished this was one of
Constantinople, 'he eldest sister of all, anl tie first the most wonderful parts of the siege. Our at-ask
in rank. This fend atnental principle of l•rth .doxy, was divided into two—the lig!' t and left. The tighe
whice assimilae a it in some measure te Pretes- w:s al irecred against the Morse Bastion, and the lett
t autism, is one of th, causes to which may be at'ri- (to which I was attache.]) was dir cted-against the
bated the little progress of Rem, is the East. The portion of he walls nonor the Ca,shinere-gate and
Roman Chur:h tends to ab-orb nationalities, church. If you can recollect the ground at all you
whereas the other not only contributes to their con- will rein- tuber that opposite Luilew Casa-, where
servation, bat eve!' to their developmeet. In Tur- Mr. S. Fr•z-e• live I, towards he river it was occu-
key the Catholic Armenians are hardly, if at all, pied by gardens. The distance between this posi-
regarded as Armenans tote and t: e city is very small, within easy range of
Up to the [resent time the Rouman Church, grape shot from No. 2 Bastion, against which the
though independent of Constantinople, for the Me- th'ck brushwood was no protection. Breaking
tropolitans of Buell :rest and Jas-y, as well as the.r ground se c'ose to the walls was a b old manoeuvre,
Suffragans, are I awed directly by the ordinary which few circumstances would justify, and one
Assemblies of the two Provinces, without the inter- which we fully expec ed would ccet us many lives.
volition ef the Pat: larch, to whom they merely pay a Judge, then, of our surpr se to find scarcely any
sum of 3,000 duc as on their being enthroned, has notice whatever taken of our proceedings. It is the
not been c ausidered as forming a distinct Church, in- more remarkable, as there seemed to be no attempt
asmuch as the Principalities thsaiselvee being at secrecy on our parr, and we could hear the
reckoned among ttie provitiets f the Ottoman Etta- enemy's sentri aon the ramparts. Our working
pire, did no form a distiuct State. If the uni ni of party w a an excessively large one, and had the
the Principalities take p'ace in confotmi'y w:th the en,my tak ea 'ai mama precautions, for they could
basis of the "four points," it is evideet that the not have been ignorant of our presence, they must
complete emancipation of the Church will foLow have iofl cte i very heavy losses, if .they bad not
1
that of the Seats.. One is the necessary consequence entirely
•pped our ivorlisa i : IVgirant, however,
of the other. as we reeve always f nod t em, this first night God
While on this point I may n •tiee what has ofren seemed to have }Yin led !heir eyes to all souse of
been said respectingthe identity of !el giousdoct ine da.;ger ; for, with the exception of one shower of
giving to the Russians a power in the Pi in,:ipalities grape aid two or three round shot directed at us,
against which no other influence has a chance of whieli injured no oee, they fired away at our bat-
ever prevailing. That statement is exaggerated. teries ou th , e
• rieht as usual. In the morning they
The Moldo-Wallachians, far from looking upon the acted very differently, for they commenced, and
Russ.ans as Cleft co.religi-inists, consider them as through the day kept up, a very hot fire ; too late,
Schismatics. They refuse to frequent' their 'placta however, for we had manage dto obtain pretty eood
of worship ; and, though there is a chap-. 1 in Paris shelter by t hat time, and our first battery on the
for the use of the Russian Es•bassy and of Rue- iisht was not only finished, but arced and hard at
Sian suhjects, the Rouinans who resole in this work breaching. You would think that of er the
capital have built a chapel where they prastise their este, rieuce of our first night they would have M-
own rite, and where the Arehimandrite, the Rev. lowed us little pe ace in breaking fresh ground nearer
Joss Inag)vea.-o, has regularly officiated since the wall ; however, even then there was not
its foundation. The rounds on which the Ron- very much fire, and it Was only on the
mans found their disent fro-a the Muscovite third night that they , s 'erred to awake to
Church were clearly explained by the Archiman a sense of their dancer ; and 'rom th i time they
drite in an address delivered
on the open ng of the kept up a pretty steady fire of all sorts, including
church in 1854.
musketry, and we certainl last some mn. You
With this hasty sketch I leave the Danubian may fancythat theengineersy hel little tine e
to them-
Pros ices for the present, and turn to another eaves. I was not in bed for four nights, and, as
ceene,y, where free institutions a-e, after years of you may imagine, pretty well done up. There was
trial, still struggling to maintain their ground. only one battery (only 150 or 200 yards from the
From the Danube to the E- bro, the distance is not walls) to he finished, and it was the excitement
so greet as' people may sirlosee If the Enasi, alone that kept us awake. I had a party of her
ments differ about Mold ,-N,
and French Govern Val-
lachia, they per Majesty's 61st and Bth Regiments under we filling
' t 1 a see on all the affairs of
es y g sandbags. The firs was very hot, and I was anxious
Lord Howden i
Spain, present and contingent. 5 to get my men under cover in some pits, where the His Lerdshi
absut to r eturn to Madrid. p has earth was softer to dig. I was leading them to the
ime by the Mexican WI
been detainsd here some t, eu, the night being dark, I fell into one that
some difficulty, and I end not 3
question, which still presents
iseau, and sprained my leg and ankle so
understood sev 1
iy.. that I was obliged to be taken to camp in
even danger, if left unsettled. It s
nish a dehroe that Lord Howden is charged to show the ea . 0i . There I lay on m ack till the day of
Larras the assault. I don't think that•
Government the expediency of receiving M.
anybody in camp
gua (the Mexican Envoy), and thus allowing . the knew fel. certain the time ofthe till • •
asseult within
two boars of the time. I was '
mediation of England and F-
rance to proceed with-
in my tent, aw=ay
out delay, as ' beyond all doubt, there is a numer- from the mess, and therefore had no opportunity of
°us party on the borders of the United States and hearing anything about it till the rattle of
musketry
Malice, only waiting for an opportunity to envenom' told w
i
me that something was doing. Ofcoarse,
the quarrel, in order to turn it to their own advan- stopping n bed was out of the question, and
as my