Weekly Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1853-1861, 1855-03-15
From the New YORK Herald.

AXIS, FeO. o, 1890.
The Eastern Question Reviewed Prospect Of a
General EHopedn-Death of De Neyval-
The Guiilotine-PdTisidn Ansusenaerats. DC.
The prognostics of general European war
continue to multiply. Even if the omission Of
all allusion to the return of Prince Napoleon
to the Crimea in the spring, in that pathetic
official account Of his first interview with his
imperial counsin, which l have already men,
toned even if this omission can be possibly
construed into a sign that the siege of Sebas-
topol may be. raised before the imperial ca
giles are planted on the walls of that formid-
able fortress, it cannot be conjectured that
the Allied Powers of the West /" will give it
up So" On the other hand, if Prince
Menschkoff is letting his soldiers repose,
while those boosted allies of his, Generals
January, February and March, are at work
for him, it is not unlikely that before winter
and disease are weary of their task, he may
again summon fire and steel to their assist
ance.
In this moment of comparative inaction of
military kind, the dplomatists are buster
than ever But aside from their conferen-
ces, all sorts of preparations for war are in
progress on erysde The ostensible object
Of the diplomatisis is peace: and it would
now seem that il it is not attained before
April the sword must replace the pen, and
general European var be inevitable.
Meanwhile the Emperor of the French con-
tinues, in spite of the almost unanimous invo-
cation of the French press, to withhold what
would be a tower of strength in a contest
with the Gear, the liberty which he more
than half promised-describiBg it as the
browning act Of the political and social edi-
gee which he aspired to build. This tower,
indeed, might chance to prove as formidable
against the Emperor the French as against
"his good friend" the Emperor of all the
Russias But ii the nephew of the mighty
Napoleon. whose glory it was to be the "At-
torney of the Revolution" had the genius
and the courage to fling away all petty am
billions, might he not hope, even at this late
hour, to impart to the actual war character
which it does not now possess-that of a
struggle between liberty and despotism, and
redeem and consecratc with holier fame
| indentifying it with his own memorable
name of his illustrious uncle? But. as chill
dreu say, this may be too good 10 be true"
AS it is the issues of a war of dynastics,
| transforming itself into war of races, and
thus enSuring a stronger, wider interest, must
be extremely doubtful. The rulers of the ma
tons may vainly try to quench flames of their
own kindline Are conflicts like those of saw
age tribes in ancient Europe, in Asia, in abor-
/ igiual America TO be exhibited? What parts
will the Sarmatan, the Slovenian, the Goth
the Saxon and the Celt respectively play in
this new game, which, after all, if the ethnol-
ogists are t, be credited, is as Old as mankind
and not unlikely to last as long? Man is a
fighting animal, according to Hobbies, by his
very nature. How readily be forgets civil.
cation, and even Christianity-not unseldom
however, pleading both as pretexts-to follow
his old instinctsl Napoleon may not have
erred in anticipating both a war of races and q
war Of principles in the contest into which
Europe seems to be entering, when he pre-
dicted--if he really predicted (and this is dis
puted) -that within fifty years Europe would
be either Cossack or republican" He antici
pated it, doubtless.
At present, the Eastern question, as it i
still called, in spite of the unexpectedly enor
nous proportions which it has assumed, offer
only certain political aspects to the statesmen
of the day. Some of its religious features
have, indeed, dimly been discerned of neces
sity; but even these are comparatively los
sight of in the smoke OF battle and the fog o
diplomacy; and scarcely any notice has We
been paid to the questions Of race. which
deeply underlying it, are imbedded in the
eternal laws of nature. These laws howeve
are sure to protrude in such commissions al
Europe now has reason to expect How Otter
to the confusion of diplomacy, have they pre-
vailed, as they will yet prevaile, over proto
coils and dynasties? But now the diplomatist
of Europe ale absorbed in their old trade o
tresty making Those who completed tn,
treaty of the I'd of December are contentedl,
rejoicing over the crosses and ribbons which
the governments of Austria and France hav,
literally distributed among them. They
have thus found their trade still profitable, a
least to themselves. and they encourage thei
employers to count also upon great gains from
! it in the future. Lord Palmerston, at tn,
head of his new ministry, and Napoleon til,
Third, are doubtless equally confident, at leas
! in the immediate results, of an alliance be
tween Celt and Saxon against Samaritan, ant
would fain hope for the co operation of Coil
/, and Slovenian. Neither the Congress of vi
emma nor Napoleon the First ever took les
! account than they take ofthe wild work which
, sometimes race may-must-make Of politi
cal geography.