The Sun.
London, England, 1844-01-25 00:00:00

ation of France and Spain beeome a better one ? Has
not the intercourse of France with England im-
proved ? Has not the situation of Spain towards
England and us much improved ? And is not the
internal situation of Spain also a far better one ?
Such are, in this question, the results of the care we
have taken to restore in pain a good intercourse be-
tween us and England ? To accomplish it, what inter-
ests have we fbrsaken ? None ; all are in safety. Such
is the result of the care we have taken to keep aloot
from all parties in Spain, and hence it is that we
have happily succeeded. No doubt, many incidents
will arise on this question ; but we are in the path
of improvement, and the cordial understanding on
this point has yielded us much and cost us little. I
now come to the Eastern question. In 1840 we had
serious differences with England in the East. When
I reached office, I immediately sought to restore a
good intercourse in the East with the Powers of
Europe. We came to an understanding with Eng-
land, in order that we might make the three prin-
ciples common to us prevail there, namely, the
maintenance of the independence of the Ottoman
empire, the protection of the Christian portion of
the population, and the exclusion of an exclusive
protectorate on the part of a single European Power
over the Ottoman empire. A particular fact has
been adduced; it has been said that at Jerusalem we
had obtained reparation only through the interven-
tion of England. The allegation is erroneous; that
intervention was offered and declined by us • our an-
swer was that it was a question purely French. Asto-
nishment has been expressed at our not having required
the reparation at the place where she outrage had
been committed. The question was a complicated
one, Gentlemen ; for, in seeking to uphold the
national honour, we were bound not to impair the
independence of the Ottoman empire: 'There exists
a religious law in Turkey which inflicts the penalty
of death on all Mahomedans who embrace the
Christian religion. We opposed with all our might
the future application of that law, and it is easy to
understand that, in order to succeed on that point, it
may have been prudent and politic not to exact, for
the Jerusalent affair, more than was strictly required
by the honour of our flag. The fanatical party in
the Levant has been vanquished, so that now, al-
though such excesses .may be renewed, I hesitate not
to say that we have the best chances of success. Well,
then, in this struggle we have again been supported
by the decided and efficiesg co-operation of England.
Do you consider this union of the two Powers, and
the efficiency of their action, useless to the influence
of France in the East? In such case, you would be
greatly mistaken. Results may first be obtained, and
to obtain them the co-operation of the two Powers
is necessary. Another question was that of Servia.
We deemed that it was a question of interpretation
between Russia and the Porte. If the Porte addressed
itself to the other Powers to demand that interpreta-
tion, there was there a fine and grand opportunity of
making the Porte's affairs enter the European law.
We asked the Power most interested in the question,
what it intended to do. The Cabinet of Vienna re-
plied, that, in its opinion, it was a question to tie de-
cided solely between Russia and the Porte, and Slat
it was not a European question. The Cabinet of
Vienna—the most interested in the affair—having
expressed that opinion, the Cabinet of London joined
in it, and from that moment it behoved us to stop,
and assume an attitude quite aloof from it; but we
explicitly called the attention of the interested Powers
to the question. We do not think that it is the duty
of France to go and support all questions of that
nature. I now come to the grand affair of the East—
Gseece. Neither have I seen there the evil done by
the alleged rival influence of France and England. To
say that the constitutional wishes of Greece have al-
ways come from London, and the contrary ones from
Paris is incorrect; there have been moments when
the constitutional wishes have come from Paris.
When I took office I forthwith bestowed my attention
on that question. As early as in March, 1841, I
pointed out the evils which arose in Greece from an
administration more and more inactive. I provoked
no revolution ; the duty of a foreign Government
never is to provoke nations to act alone, and them-
selves take the initiative. We proposed a system of
administrative reforms, which, had they been adopted
in due time, might have saved all. Therein we were
strongly supported by the English Cabinet. But the
Greek administration delayed it too long. The Greek
people assumed the iniative of their own destinies.
We accepted the fact when we learnt it at Paris. I
transmitted to our representative instructions, which
I beg leave to communicate—(the tenor of these in-
structions, which M. Guizot read, has already been
published. King Otho is advised to submit to what
has passed, and execute what he has promised.) Well,
Gentlemen, (continued M. Guizot) the advice thus
given by us, and the influence we wished to exercise
in Greece were forthwith accepted, and that influence
was exercised with the co-operation of the English
Cabinet. Yet, the question was not a little delicate ;
Russia had participated in the treaty which had
constituted the Greek Government ; the impres-
sion made on Russia by what had just passed was
very different from what we felt; England hesitated
not to separate from all other influences than ours,
and already is success commencing ; the two chiefs
of Greece, M. Coletti and M. Mavrocordato, are
proceeding together; they are both animated
with the most patriotic and sincere zeal, and their
partisans follow that impulse ; and, probably, the
Constitution of a people still so young—that Consti-
tution and its success will be due to that cordial un-
derstanding, of which the West has set the example
to the East, through agreement of France with Eng-
land. Such are the grand affairs I had to point out
to you. A common, sincerely common, action is
now the principle. From grand. affairs I now pass on
to small ones. M. Billault has spoken of Algeria.
Well, then, as the Porte, with which Algeria is still
officially connected by the tie of vassalage, has not
yet acknowledged our possession of .Algeria, the
Powers friendly to the Porte have a right to retain
an attitude that: we should do, were we in their
situation. But in Europe there is nobody that does
not know that the possession of Algeria by France is
final, and everybody trusts that the sanction of the
Porte will soon or late be obtained by us.—
(What care we for it ?" from the Gauche.)
What, Gentlemen, would you have me, the
Minister of Foreign Affairs, not acknowledge that
the assent of the former possessor is of some
value to the new possessor ? A Consul has been
spoken of. I have there, in my portfolio, proofs of
applications made to France by various Powers for
the renewal of eight or ten Consuls ; all those Powers
will come there, and where there shall be occasion to
renew the Consul of any nation whatever, that re-
newal shall be demanded of France, or there shall
be no Consul.—(Tres-bien! 'Tres-bien !) Shall I
give you a certain sign of the cordial understanding
of the English Cabinet towards us ? Near our
African possessions there are two provinces whence
subjects of anxiety may come—two provinces within
which attacks upon us are fomented. Well, England
has ordered her Consuls to see that no attempts
whatever be made upon us, and no machinations be
directed against us. These are facts, Gentlemen ; I
will have facts only, and the light of facts, to make
you approve of our policy.—(Tres-bien! Tres bien!)
As regards Oceania, the English Government have
declared that they will oppose no obstacle to our
establishment in that country. One of their Ad-
mirals had accepted the protectorate of the Sandwich
Islands ; they have refused it, and the inde-
pendence of those islands is guaranteed. I could
adduce many other questions wherein England's
wish to maintain a good understanding with us
reveals itself, so that we reach the conse-
quence that our national policy and French interests
never have been sacrificed to the desire of restoring
the concord which characterises the present situation.
Gentlemen, cross the straits, listen to the Opposition
in London, read their newspapers, and they will tell
you that the English Cabinet has completely aban-
doned the national interests, and that it has delivered
them up to France. They say so daily, they will tell
you that the Cabinet has made its policy to follow in
the wake of ours.—(" Oh, oh," from the Gauche.)
This is the language of English Opposition journals.—
(Yes, yes.) They positively say what the Opposition
says here, and, yet, this is not more veracious in one
country than in the other.—(Tres-bien !) This Gen-
tlemen, is what we have done, we have subordinated
secondary to superior interests; we know that when
a superior interest is to be promoted, secondary in-
terests must not be raised to the same level. Our
policy has been founded on good sense, and it has been
the same in London as at Paris. There are two
things we have wished for, and which are much
talked of, but little understood—European order and
peace. When any incident or occurrence has taken
place which would have enabled us to sow animosity
between such and such a Power, we have not done it; we
have not marched in the path of the treaty of the 15th
July; at the same time that we sought for a good
understanding between London and Paris, we have
sought concord with the other Powers.—(Appitutset.2
Do you fancy that to be in peace it suffice'
if
freae cannonbiet:
which?
Nos,eeimf thaetrpeeae h: intent pa in-
aare ever concealed struggle,