The Liverpool Standard, and General Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-12-12 00:00:00

THE TREATY WITH AUSTRIA

Now that the actual operations of the besiegers
of Sebastopol are confined to making good their
position against any .further assaults of the
Russian forces, and preparing to pass the winter
within their intrenchments before the fortress,
the Treaty, which has lately been concluded at
Vienna, with the Emperor of AUSTRIA, has obtained
a degree of importance which it might not have
possessed, were there other battles like those of
Inkerman to be recorded.. We have no official
information of the contents of the Treaty, nor are
we likely to obtain it until it has been ratified by
the several powers who are the high contracting
parties. It has been stated, however, that its pro-
visions chiefly consist of a re-affirmation of the
terms submitted to Russia earlier in the year,
and which she indignantly rejected ; Count
NESSELBODE, the Russian minister; asserting that
such terms could only be submitted to by a State
exhausted by a protracted and unsuccessful war.
These terms comprised an immediate and uncon-
ditional evacuation of the Danubian Principalities,
a joint protectorate of the Christians in Turkey,
the freedom of the Black Sea, Russia being allowed
to have no more ships of war in that region than
England and France ; the demolition of the for-
tresses at the mouth of the Danube, and the
erection of a European fort, in the possession of
Turkey, and protected by the Western Powers, as
a counterpoise to the Russian possession of Sebas-
topol. A peace with Russia was only admissible
on these terms, and the refusal of the CzAn to
accept them within three months, was to be
deemed a easus belli, which should justify Austria
in commencing active hostilities against Russia_
Such was the version of the Treaty, as declared in
reports from Vienna assuming a tone of authority,
and a feeling of satisfaction was expressed at
Austria having at length, consented, in spite of the
backwardness of Prussia, to join the Western
Alliance. We must confess, however, that, assum-
ing these several provisions as the basis of the
Treaty, we can discover very little cause for con-
gratulation. Let us,. for the sake of argument,
suppose that the Emperor of RUSSlA—humbled
by the failure of the assault at Inkerman, and the
certainty of losing Sebastopol—consent to accept
the terms which he so indignantly rejected before
a shot had been fired in anger. His acceptance
will absolve Austria from her obligations, but will
the acceptance of these conditions, or ought it, to
satisfy England and France, who have incurred an
enormous expenditure, and suffered great sacrifices
in order to humble the Emperor of RUSSIA, into a
disposition to treat P On the other hand, let us
suppose that the Emperor of RussiA—true to the
obstinacy which has animated him hitherto, and
persevering, even against hope, to realize his life-
long dreams of ambition—should refuse the prof-
fered terms. Austria would not be bound to
afford any more assistance to. the Allies than a.
selfish regard to her own interests might dictate.
It is true she might occupy with her troops as
much of the Turkish territory as the Allies would
be willing to concede to her questionable protec-
tion, and she might trust to the chapter of acci-
dents in a European war gar being called upon to
surrender her military guardianship. We, have
had, or ought to have had, sufficient experience of
Austrian duplicity and selfishness, not to rely upon
her professions of cordiality, unless booked by
stronger guarantees than the statements which we
have received from Vienna of the Treaty just
concluded.
The Times, however, is believed to have informa-
tion on such questions as these, which are put
forward with a kind of semi-official authority, and
that paper asserts that all the statements cir-
culated are completely erroneous. It says that
the treaty does not postpone the decision of the
question for a period of three months ; that it does
not contain any guarantee, either direct or indirect,
of the possessions of Austria, which was one of the
provisions alleged ; that it has never been
intended to send a division of the Austrian army
either to Varna or the Crimea ; that it does not
contain any promise of subsidy or secret article
that the belligerent Powers have no'

in any way

bound themselves to make any fresh propositions
of peace to Russia, or to enter upon negotiations
on any basis proposed by the German States ; and
lastly, that, although England and France adhere
to the Four Points contained in their notes of the
Bth of August, as the chief substance of their
demand, and the sole basis of negotiation, they
have distinctly intimated what their interpretation
of those propositions is, and that the Cabinet of
in this interpretation of those
terms. The Times further states its belief, that
the Emperor of AUSTRIA has contracted a positive
engagement to enter into an offensive and defen-
sive alliance with the belligerent States against
Russia, unless peace upon the terms exacted by all
the Powers be concluded before the termination
of the current month of December. This may at
first sight appear to be an ample contradiction,
leading to the inference that the reports prove all

Vienna eon(