The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-04-11 00:00:00

THE WAR WITH RUSSIA.

IN our second edition last week we were enabled
to give intelligence, which was just then-received
by electric telegraph, that the EMPEROR of RUSSIA
had made a virtual offer of peace in a letter to the
KING of PRUSSIA,' in which he declared that if the
Western powers obtained from the SULTAN, by
treaty, the emancipation of the Christians in
Turkey, he would consent to withdraw his troops
from the Danubian provinces upon the withdrawal
of the allied fleets from the Black' Sea. So little
dependence can be placed on telegraphic reports,
that the statement was scarcely believed, but the'
truth of it has been 'confirmed by subsequent
accounts.. There is something extremely plausible
in this new proposition Of the EMPEROR of IlussrA.
He is evidently in dread .of the warlike prepara-
tions made to repel his aggression upon Turkey,
and the ingenuity of 'his -Chancellor, Count NES-
SELRODE, was taxed to devise a scheme by which
lie should avoid the encounter, and yet, apparently,
,not surrender his claim. By :the mode adopted
*he not only affords himself a means of escape
from the difficulty, but publishes to the world the
moderation of his views. He virtually declares
that, so far from having any ambitious designs for
the ,extention of the Russian -territory, he was
solely Influenced by his zeal for the Christian faith
and his concern for the condition of the Christians
under Moslem rule, and that, if this can be ac-
complished by the negotiations of the Western
Powers with the Ottoman government, his object
will be gained. This appears very fair when'
taken by 'itself, which, no doubt, it will be by the
greater part of the European population ; but,
when judged of in connexion with the secret cor-
respondence which has just been published, its
hollowness and insincerity are apparent. It is,
moreover, clogged with a condition to which the
Western Powers will not assent. They have
already demanded the evacuation of the Provinces,
without any condition, and declared their deter-
mination not to enter into negotiations until this
has been done. It may then be a question how
far it will be advisable to withdraw the allied forces,
and upon what footing Russia shall be placed for
the future with reference to her exclusive posses-
sion of the Black Sea. The former treaties with
Turkey under which Russia enjoyed this privilege,
have been broken, and Turkey is unwilling to
renew them on the same terms ; so that Russia I
will be compelled to retrace not only her present
false step, but many previous ones made in the
same direction. The long arrears, of injustice
charged against her will have now to be
satisfied, and some guarantee afforded, as
far as possible, that no similar encroachments
be again attempted. It is said that the letter of
the CZAR has been favourably received by the
German Powers, and that, in all probability,
another conference will shortly be held to deter-
mine on their joint course of ' action. However
this may be, it is clear that the Western Powers
have already agreed, and that now a stand must
be taken to preserve that balance of paver which
is indispensable to the peace of Europe.
Another, and by no means unimportant,"feature
in the affair is the insurrection in Greece, with
which the government of
that country Is orenv.l

charged by the British Minister. King OTHO is
indebted for his kingdom to the states whose
policy he is now endeavouring to defeat, and it
may be that the same authority which raised him
will give the kingdom to a better man. At any
rate, a change can hardly be for a worse one.
Like the CZAR, he has been attempt;ng to extend
his territory out of the plunder of Turkey, and,
like him, also, may find that England and France
combined present a force which none can resist
with impunity.
True to the instinct of Russian policy, which
stoops to conquer, and never hazards defeat
where an encounter can be avoided. the EM-
PEROR has ordered the island of Aland, for-
formerly taken from Sweden, to be disarmed, and
all the fortresses on the Baltic shores to be dis-
mantled. This course may deprive Admiral
NAPIER of the eclat of an early victory, and it may
also assist the views of the CZAR, if his object is to
gain time to open further negotiations, through
the means of the mediating influence of Austria
and Prussia, but it cannot, and ought not, to pre-
,
vent that redress of wrongs committed on the
1 Danube, which it is the object of England and
France to gain. Russia has boldly thrown down
the gauntlet to Europe, and no settlement can be
satisfactory that does not include the immediate
surrender of the recent plunder, and such arrange-
ments for the future as shall prevent its repetition.
Satisfaction must also be made for the consequences.
In common with France, we have been at the
expense of naval and military expeditions ; for many
months our commercial and monetary affairs have
suffered from the paralysing influence of uncer-
tainty, and all this is in addition to previous
aggressions, which were submitted to from an
unwillingness to involve Europe in the horrors of
warfare. Russia has a long account to settle, and
should victory incline to the side of justice, may be
compelled to surrender Finland to Sweden,
Poland to an independent government, and the
northern shores of the Black Sea, including Cir-
cassia and the Crimea, to Turkey, while the more
important question of the Christian population
may be left to the protection of the Powers who
have now been compelled to resort to arms.