, 1853-09-24
Anticipated Trouble Between Austria and
the United States.

PAeoVuA COuultlOu Vi inc OLlOlndn empire
that the authority Of lis officers is hardly
sufficient 10 command respect in its own
ports, and that the laws of the country and
the laws Of nations are violated with impu-
nifty under The very eyes Of the Sulian's ie-
presentatives. The occurrences which took
place at Smyrna, on the 22d of June, are
striking illustration Of this extraordinary and
dangerous state of things. The law was
successvely broken by every party in this
transaction; and Ali Pasha, the governor of
'ihe city, was not only incapable Of putting
any effectual restraint upon the foreigners in
Smyrna harbor, but had, in the end, to suf-
fer for the outrages they had committed
The facts were briefly alluded to by Lord
John Russell, on Monday evening, in the
House of Commons and we recollect, from
the different accounts we have received,
that they occurred in the following manner /:
Martin Kossta was one Of the Hungarian
fugitiveswho escaped with KossuIh after the
capitulation Of Villages, and took refuge
within the Turkish frontier. The Porte
refused 10 surrender these refugees 10 the
demands Of Austria, but detained them at
Kiutayah till the following year, when, by
putting a somewhat liberal construction on
her treaties with the Court of Vienna, she
allowed them 10 proceed 10 the United
States, upon their promise not to return 10
the Turkish dominions. That engagement
If such there really was-.was broken by
Kossta, who found means 10 get back TO
Smyrna; but, as the Turkish government
does not exercise any vigilant control over
the numerous foreigners who frequent that
port, he had remained there unheeded by
their authorities The Austrian Consul, NJ.
do Weckbecker, was more on the alert, and
on the 22d Of June he called on the gov
ernor, Ali Pasha, and informed him that
Kossta was in the place. Ali Pasha replied
that he should send for him and desire him
TO leave the country there was, therefore,
no refusal on the part of the Turkish au-
thority TO comply with the demand of the
Austrian Consul as far as il was just. Al
the very same time, however, the Austrian
Consul, and the officer commanding the
Austrian brig Of war Ussaro, had resolved,
in the most scandalouS and unjusti6able
manner, TO take the law into their own
hands, and kidnap Kossta BY main force
lie was accordingly attacked in q coffee
house by party Of armed boatmen, and,
after vigorous defence, Kossta was seized
and carried on board tho brig This occur
renee naturally created a great sensation in
the town, but the Turkish governor does
not seem TO have interposcd, as he ought
10 have done, to obtain immediate redress
for such an outrage on the sovereignty of
the Porte. The American Consul, and the
commander Of the American corvehe-ol-war
Saint Louis, which happened to enter the
harbor, exeTted themselves, however, in IA
vor Of the prisoner, and endeavored to OBJ
tain his release, on the ground Of his having
an American passport. The fact, however,
was not proved, and il is clear that, beyond
the claims Of humanity, the Americans had
no moro legal right to interfere in the mat
ter than the Ausirians had to carry the man
of. But the violent antipathy which has
for some time past been smouldering be-
tween Austria and The United States easily
breaks out, and this transaction is Of some
interest, as il exhibits the increasing readi-
ness of the Americans to espouse with ardor
this or that party in the political differences
Of the Old World.
The next day three officers Of the Aus
trian brig came on shore, and proceeded 10
a large cofee-house on the English quay
They were soon attacked with great fury by
about fifteen foreigners, mostly Italian refu.
gees, and one Of the officers, a Baron Won
Hackleberg, having been stabbed in the
scuffis with poinard, flung himself into the
sea and was drowned. The consequences
Of this murdcrouI onslaught might have been
still more fatal, but, fortunately for the
Austrian officers, and to The honor Of our
countrymen, two English merchants were
in the coffee house at the time, who mani
fully assisted in their defence with the
chairs and tables to be found in the room.
The Turkish governor, who had neither pre-
vented the return Of Kossta nor his seizure
BY tho Austrian boats crew, was equally
unable to punish this crime and lhes,
three infraclionsI the law were soon fol-
lowed BY a fourth. The American captain
Of the corvette ST. Louis resolved, without
more ado, to demand the surrender Of Koss-
Ia from the Austrian brig. He gave the
Austrians four hours TO make up their
minds, and in the meanwhile laid bis vessel
within a cables length Of the Ussaro, and
cleared for action. Tho captains on both
sides behaved with equal spirit, and iwere
quite ready 10 fight il out in the Smyrna
harbor to which, as may be supposed, the
Pasha and the public strongly objected
The consuls, however, once more interPoscd
between these belligerenis, and it was
agreed that Kossta should be landed from the
brig and placed in the custody Of the consul
of France, until further orders could be re-
ceiyed respecting him. The matter was
then referred to Conslanlinoplc, where NJ.
de Bruck made a pcrempiory demand Tor
redress, although il would seem from his