The Kalida venture. [volume] (Kalida, Ohio) 1841-1865, 1853-12-09
From the London Examiner.
VOICE FROM ST. HELENA ON
TIE EASTERN QUESTION.

remarkable passages from conversation:
reported TO have been held By NAP LEON
with Mr.. BARRY O'MEARA, 36 years ago
and published by that person in his booL
on the captivity al 81. Helena.
We do not need l6 make any commen
upon them. What we have been writing
on This question from week TO week fol
the last six months amounts TO little more
than an enlarged commentary on these
extraordinary expressions of the ex-En-
peror of France, which (baling some
exnggeralions natural to the speaker and
the time) contain the exact rationale Of
the Eastern question as il stands al this
monent.
The conversations took place in May
1917 On the 22d Of May, says OMeara,
after leaving the bath, Napoleon spoke
about Russia, and said tha, the European
nations would yet find thai he (Napoleop)
had adopted the best possible policy, at
tue time when he intended ore>eslablish
the kingdom of Poland. This, he obs
served, would have been the only offec,
tual means of stopping the increasing
power Of Russin. 1t was putting bars
rier, dyke, 10 thai formidable Empire,
which ii was likely would yet oVerwhelm
Europe. 81 do not think" he added,
"tha, | shall live to see il, bu you may.
You are in the flower of your age, and
may expect to live ,IIirly>6ve years
longer. think that you will see that
The Russians will either invade and take
lndio, or enter Europe with four hundred
thousand Cossacks and other inhabitants
Of the desert, and Two hundred thousand
Russians. When Paul was so violent
against you, he sent 10 me for plan to
invade Indie. sent him one with in>
sIiuctons in detail" ..r .r
The conversation wds resumed on the
same day. Of pursued Napoleon,
"Alexander succeeds in Incorporating
Poland with Russia--ihat is 10 say, in
perfectly reconciing the Poles to the
Russian Government, and moi merely
subduing tie country--he has gained the
greatest step towards subduing India.
My opinion, is, that he will attempt
either the one or the other of the pros
jecis | have mentioned, and think the
last to be the most probable" IIcreupon
Mr. O'Mcara Observed that the distance
was great, and that the Russians had not
the money necessary for such grand
undertaking. "rhe distance is nothing" :"
returned Napoleon. "Suppies can be
easily carried upon camels, and the
Cossacks will always insure suficiency
Of them, Money they will find when
they arrive there. The hope Of conquest
would Immediately unite armies of Cos
sacks and Calmucks without expense"
On subsequent day, the 9Th of the
same month, Napoleon again started The
sui Jet, and made use Of the singular
and most impressive statements which
follow, They appear to us 10 approach
as near TO the truth and warnings of pros
phecy as any political speculation we
have ever known.
"In the course Of few years. said
Napoleon on>lhis latter occasion. "Rus-
sia will have Cons!an,inoplc, the creates,
part Of Turkey, and all Greece. This /
hold TO be as certain as if it had already
taken place. Almost all the cabling and
0attery which Alexander pracliced to-
ward me, was TO gain my consent 10 effect
this object. would not consent, fore-
seeing that The equilibrium of Europe
would be des sroyed. In the natural
course of things in few years Turkey
must fall TO Russia. The greatest par,
Of her population are Greeks, who, you
may say, ale Russians. The powers il
would injure, and who could oppose it,
are England, Plance, Prussia and AUS
lra. Now, as TO Austria, j, will be very
easy for Russia to engage her assistance,
by giving her Servia and other provinces
bordering upon the Austrian dominions,
reaching near to Cons'antinople. The
only hypothesis on aDhich Francs and
England may cper be allied Nth sincerity
rOilI be in order to preuent this But
even this alliance will not avail. France,
England and Prussia unit d cannot pre-.
vent this Russia aad Austria can at any
time effect it. Once mistress of Constan-
linop!e, Russia gets all the commerce OF
The Mediterranean, becomes great naval
power, and God knows what may hap
pen," Sc.
The shirty>fve years which Napoleon
put as the limit to test his prophecy ex>
pifed in 1852: in 1853 the question is
lha, which agilales Europe from end to
end; and the nephew OF Napoleon is on
the throne Of France. |, is p'ssiblc that
if the exled Emperor could have forcseen
the resuscitation of his dynasty, he might
have taken a more sangune view of the
possible results Of that alliance with Eng
land which he thus SO lomarkably pro-
diced. At any rate, here he speaks
unmistakably 10 US on the question so
vital to the interests of Europe, and from
his grave he dictates the policy which his
nephew and successor can alone pursue
with respect for his authority and name.
.H. -------=--z=
LEAN PlCK1NG ,.-A correspondent Of