Daily Davenport gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1854-1855, 1855-08-03
81. rRrgrxr ros,r on OF EuRo,z


TN pRIsIxr Poslr ON OF EuRosS
The laws Of natural perspective afPsar
20 be inverted with reference 10 the oFd
OF events. Ia proportion as we reccde from
historical facts, they appear to increase IN
size aud Importance. Men are so engfossed
with the interests of the m in mt, that they
refuse to look carefully into consequences,
and only dignity facts with the name oil
history when the effect, following upon
the cause. has apparently completed the
circle of events, ami saved them the trouble
of investigation. How much sorrow miga,
be saved TO the world II Statesmen ana
p,ople would but reflect that they are
living history, anl that future generations
will sit in jadg nsnt upon them as they Sill
in iud I'm en-, upon their ioreiathers. imay
he doubted whether the present snefatioa
a,e. no. mike sesioas mistakes in refer
cnce to itself, though il may form something
ike . true estimate Of its predeeessors.-
Recent events must have led many Thought
fu, men TO doubt the civilization OF the
nineteenth century. Forty years OF peace
had developed the aris Of peace, ana the
recurrence of tls "big ware that make a"'
hilton vir,uc"--was beginning 10 LOOK I'M
POSSIBLE. But the summer dream has been
broken into BIZ such storm OF war as mas
seldom burst upon mankind, and ooouo9
men have perished or been disabled before
We have recovered from our astonishment.
We fondly believed that we had reached
the golden age, and behold ws hnd our
selves hack in the times of the Crusades,
for is 4 literal fact that the Holy Sepulchre
furnished the pretext for this war as well as
for those. Ii the statesmen OF the last
,cs could but have seen that taey were
Iissory, eli this might have been prevented.
we owe 10 Charles James Fox the Russian
.eouisition Of the Crimea-we owe to the
..upendcus blundcr which destroyed the
Turkish feet 1t Nsvarino, the campaign 10
the principalities and the siege OF Seoasto-
mol Louis the 10th of France wished to
uni,e the influence OF France and England
in opposition to Catherine the Great, when
she had uttered that arrogant syiiogsm,
which declared that she must secure her
Bess-arabisn frontier; that she could not Sc
cure it witbou, the possession Of the Tn
mea; and that therefore she must hrrs the
Crimea. If Mr. Fox had been less sen
susl and q more really patriotic man, he
would have united with France, and peace
able negotiation would have done what
now can only be accomplished by the waste
of myriads of treasure and hecstomhs OF
the slain. Again. in the former campaigns
of Russia agains, Turkey. tina. nation ha
been able to contend single-handcd with
her gigantic antagonist. She had power
full feet in the Black Sea, and her sdversa-
nv labored under immense difficulties in Pur-
euinp such warfare with land troops only.
The n,arch to Cons,sntinople was task OF
no ordinary difficulty. But after the de-
s,ruction of the Turkish feet by France
and England, Russia began to prepare for
conquest on another plan. She built Sc
bas,opol, and under its almost impregnable
shelter soon succeeded in building feet
which il time had been given to it would
easily have destroyed the few vessels of
war which remained TO Turkey, mastered
the command OF the Bosphorus and made
Con.tantinople Russian port. We be-
leve that il 10 with solemn sense Of these
facts that England and France have taken
up arms in defence Of Turkey.