The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1853-12-29
VOL. VII.

or we will drive you from It, before VIA oo,,,
scend to treat with you ON any snh;ec, ~
ever" In the same tone ought the Pon, Do
ers to speak to the Car. We will c,n,;i Nv Nv
continued occupation If the PrincnaI,;as :"
declaration Of war, not only against T,,.I
already embarked thereby in bostil;,;o.
against the peace of Europe and % Ga W
will at once proceed to offensive o,.
against you in the Euxne and the R,,,;'
wheresoever you can be found. Yon .b.i, Hpa
retain the vantage ground you have -.
fully seized, whence to make better tern s'
shall you be allowed opportuni,ie- ~ o,.' aof
the subjects Of another aud an inis,.fta'
State, force them into arms azairs, ,h...
ereigu, and usurp all his authority "a A., -:
himself You shall not lie elo-s q, -.
intimidation O: intrigue You shall A.. -,
tain the mistaken idea, shat tie d,
of Austria and Prussia are no, =. -.
earnest as the Governments IL F,ns~." "a
England; but knop that they are Az =. s"u
determined to put an Immediate end - -
present threatening and unjusti6able coDi,,;a"
of affairs, which you have provoked by a.
sion and continued by stimulation. Thi, VI
be the straightforward way to bring Ru..;ss
the test, and either finish the strife. or Law H.,
audacious member of the BODY polite ma.
The ban Of Europe-the ban to which n noaa
dog would be doomed But to hermit ~.
blood of thousands to be shed, whilst conr;a..
are racing about with State papers betwo,n
Constantinople and Vienna, and Berlin anJ
Paris and London, and Petersburgh does or
pear to be an error equally absurd and pbr.
man. Surely cessation of hostilities ouolt
to be insisted upon as the basis of negotiation
and even, beyond that that the march of troo,s
to the seat of war should be suspended. To
think of treaties whilst every turn of coutem.
poraneous war would affect the relative nosi-
tons of the principals engaged, is 80 manifestly
ridiculous, that we can hardly bring ourselves
TO believe in the truth Of the assertion. thouoh
so confidently made. Upon the whole il il
much TO be feared, notwithstanding the present
aspect of unanimity, that the spirit which
should boar the business through prompt and
decisive result, in the event of obstinate Rms
sian resistance, is not to be anticipated If
France and England are most reluctant 10 %
to war with Russia it is obvious that both
Prussia and Austria, especially the latter must
have still stronger reasons for avoiding the
conflict. Austria cannot loveth the Porte, which
afforded refuge to her Hungarian rebels, so
we'll as the ally who enabled her to subdue
them Her dilemma is a grievous one; for the
Southern extension of the Muscovite empires
would, on the other hand, be equally fatal to
her Independence; and, with regard to Prug-
sia, and in common with that Power, she has
all the contingencies which may arise in Pc
land, TO encounter
What we pointed out speculatively in our last
letter on this subject has since been remarka-
bly, developed into substance by the address of
n n l.. i: IL
Polish anniversary in Paris 1t is moderate,
but hopeful, and, Of necessity, peroeives in the
East a new star rising, on which the rsstora-
ton and future destinies of his country may
depend But as we stated rising in favor of
Polish independence would affect Austria and
Prussia in the same degree as Russia; and thus
we find, on one hand, grounds for triple ALI
ance, whilst there are on the other hand
grounds for opposition. This crisis Is most
perplexing; and its influence spreads into every
quarter of the world. Sweden utters note of
dubious import, on tho general state of affairs;
but if Russia were overmatched elsewhere, 1t Ia
very conceivable that the wrestling OF Poland
from her Unsuitable grasp might be attempted
la Georgia and the Caucasus, also, the latest
accounts represent the Turks as being vlctori-
Gus in several brilliant actions, and Prince Wo-
ronzow in desperate need OF reinforcements
In short, it is evident already, that the Auto
crat is sensible Of the extreme nature of bis pO.
sition, and is straning every nerve to bring the
vast resources of his vast Empire into the field
All his measures connected with the Princi-
palities bespeak a determination to hold them
at all risks. Whether he dare
denude Poland of troops for this purposc, is
moro than ever doubtful, and the immense ex-
tent of his domnions is adverse to the rapid
of his armies, even where Their
services are most required What makes him
potent for defence, makes him weak for of
fence: to resist invasion and to invade, are the
opposite poles of Russian strength.
At home an incident has occurred, which
bears somewhat on what we may suppose to
be Russian views; and, though small IN itself
throws light upon the greater question We
alude to the desertion of half dozen Russian
sailors from the Aurora irigate, ut Portsmouth;
their apprehension and being brought back to
their officers and laid in irons; and an attempt
to remove them from custody by writ OF III.
beas corpus Whether this aflir is connected
with Polish conspiracy and seduction or not
we shall not stop to inquire. Like all such
matters, it is involved in party mysteries and
newspaper contradictions but " hat we would
refer to is the simple fact that there is Rus
sian frgate repairing or refrting in an English
port. 1t is impossible to conceive that such a
circumstance could have occurred, unless there
had been a perfect conviction on the eide of
the Russian Government that a rupture and
naval war with England could not happen, in
spite of the untoward state Of affairs IN the
East. Trihng as it may appear, it il tho most
favorable indication of a pacific issue that We
can discern amid the gloom and darkness
around. May the Aurora turn ous to be
bright morning star