The Lancaster ledger. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, 1854-05-31
The Eastern Q1sstionH-How the
Quarrel Began.

@uohAOA o0Sdu'
Pie ostensible grounds of oispute between
Errssia and Turkey at the outset wcre,-
the demands of the former for more efficient
protection by the latter, of Il few lazy and
dirty Geek priests in the Holy Land-of II
guaranty for the security of the Russo Greek
church in Turkey,-and for the expulsion of
political refugees harbored at Constantinople
and other places. As tht Porte had already
guaranteed to Franco in behalf of the Latin
Church, the restoration of the key to the
principal gate ut Bethlehem; and had replaced
Mt the sameinstance,a u certain silver star in the
grotto of the Nativity, with Latin inscrip-
ton, (Which had been displaced in 1919 and
had consented that the cupola over the Sa-
cred Srpuichre should be constructed in the
ancient and not in the Byzantine order of
architecture ;-;lnd as, moreover, the Porte
had granted to Austria, consequent upon the
Montenegrn insurrection of which she COM
plained-the barber of Kleeck AMI the
Sutorian ports, with control of the Bosnia
Satholics, and a few commercial flclities,-
while ut the same time the Sultan was get-
ting more thick as the schooboys say,
with the clever English Observation-Disclosures
supposed it a good opportunity for asserting
some of her own old claims of II similar
character. She accordingly scrt Prince Men
chikoG to COnstantinople to make Il parade
of the following points. Look you! oh Sui
tan Medul Abjid 'illustrious PadiSha of all
the Mohamncdan faithful--my august
master Nicholas, the transparent protector
of all the true believers of GrEco Chrsten-
dom, not wishing hat France or England
should take the wind out of his sails, s,icmads
these things. lst, a common possession with
the Latin believers of the key of the gate
at Bethlehem, of the silver star OH the subter-
rsnean alter, and of the rites of worship
with supremacy over all intcrlopers I'd,
the immediate repair of tie cupola of the Sc
pulchre, which lets the rain in on the bare
heads of the devout, and tho wallng up or
destruction ofcertain har. ms which overlook
that sepulchre, sometimes to the scandal of
the monks and pilgrims; and 3dly and finally
a Scncd or convention for the guaranty of
the privileges of AL The Catholic Greek
worshipers and their priests and their sane
fuari.s. both in Turkey and in the East"
"But" added the good Mcnchickofr, .since
You have been considerably remiss in this
part of your duties hitherto, my august mas
ter proposes to take most Of this trouble off
your hands and see 70 it himself" To
which The Padisha, the mighty and the Illus
trious: through his chief Vizicr for Foreign
affars--rnay lie always be blessed replied,
=" that there was nobody in the world for
whom lie, the Father of the Faithful, had
m intenser admiration and respect than fer
his amiabie friend the most pious AutOcrat,
Guardian and Protector Of al the Russians,
but that he could hardly consent to his de-
mands. As for the Holy Shrines and Holy
Places he had attended TO them as well rs
lie couid, considering the several classes of |
vagabonJs lay and clerical, with whom he
Ind to deal, and, rs to the Christians, he had |
always trken the best care of them, even
to cutting their heads off when thy we're
refractory, and he always meant to, being very
much obliged meanwhile to his illustrious
Brother, for his kind intentions and offers |
of assis' ance,-but he had rather not, if it |
were ali the same to him. Besides, the in
scrnal affairs of T'ur ey were in his keeping,
and he would thank his illustrious Brother
with the profeundest Difference, if he would
just mind his own business" Menchikoff
then, in the blandest way,requcsted precisely
the same things, only in ditferen: terms, and
th, Saltan made precisely the same answer,
only in different terms Mcnchikoff got
huffy, and threatened to go horhe.--the am
bassadUr Of Austria thought he had better
not; Coaht Nesselrode wrote plaintive,
yet furious, despatch TO all tho foreign gov
ernments calling the Sultan names aud !
threatening to trounce him if he did not
CONS to reason in eight days; France re-
piled spunkily that there were two who |
could play Mt trouncing, and that the good |
Sultan was his friend England remarked;
. Gentlemen, do not let us tread upon each
ether, there is enough of Turkey for all of
Us, and let us have an amicable talk over
the whole matter. They accordingly went
to work at Vienna, and talked ,-and then
they talked again--talked for whole year
--and first AbIul Mejid would'nt--aud
finally neither of them woodland SO they
MI ordered ont th ir gun-boats for free
and general fight. Franco and England
That had never before done any thing but
void their superauous rheum in each Others
taees, shook hands like brothers, fell upon
each other's nevks, swore lasting friend.
ship, swore that they would never more al
iude to Waterloo or to Ps5fde Alon, and
sent their fleets into the Baltic and Black
Sens, where we will leave them for the pres
ent.
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