Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1857-01-06
TIE BRITISH r1LIBUsTyR1NG EXPEDITION
~ pEESft
From the LONDON star

TIE BRITISH F1L1BUSTSR1NG EXPEDITION
TO PERSIA.
from the LONDON StaT.l
As the last Overland Mail brings the decisive state
ment that British expedition ~ Certainly tn -a Tor
Persia, We should lie very much obliged t" any one
who would tell us why W. ere ii war with ;hat row
or, Is i, BECAUSE the P.r-lsns nave, or nave Lnt
taken Hrra' Is becsu:e Se want 40 i"land IN the
Persian Gulf? IL !, out ct chirRlrors z-al Tor Tie
last made X G. I The Persane ere certrrly poor.
benighled hers,ic.. who persist in believing in Ali
and the Twelve lHams, and in crnying r. claim 't
Sir Abdul Mediid 10 bu The true Commander of the
Faithful. They have strange way Of scarcely ear
ring hand or fnot without saying "Cursed BIB otnht'
and come Jealous Englirhmsn may have taken inc
remark for III uuoharitsb!e denuuciation OF recent
G. e. Is.
Let US run over all pnesibla causes. We shall
probably be told that tho Porrian GnvernHi- 10
bad enc and that II would be vol fur rhs King
% Kngsio share the fhte Of his fallen sty OF Dude
We can readily believe rhnt tn. Persian government
il very bad, because extreme badness ia the normal
condition Of al! Eastern governments But IS It worse
than thar OF the Sultan. or even Of III" HonHrahI:
Company Does the Shah inflct more horrible tor
lures than British magistrates ara NJ any rats cspsoln
Of conniving All And BIZ tie PRS An government
ever 90 bad, who gave US any commission to MAKE
II bstter'
But Persia 1, exposed n Russian influence. and
Russia may make path through Pertia TO our lnaiAn
possessions. On. would have thought that The ohVi
friendly relations with Perss, to set up counteract-
ing British influence, and to prevent her being Rms
sian instrument any longer One would nave tnougnt
that the independence aud Integrity OF the Persian
empire should be dear TO US M that of rhr Ottoman
We, however. prefer to trent Persia after the same
fs-hion in which we treat Denmark and Greece We
drive her to become Russian. and then abuse her Tor
becoming co. Persia is certainly not model nation
but she would bs client in every way NOR respect
able than our friend OH the Bosphorus The Otto
tpfr firy III
territories Of other peoples the Po5lans are etrcty
nation living in their own country. The Persian Gov
ernnent may be very bad that is, it may oe corrupt
and tyrannicaily administered but II is not Ike the
Ottoman unjust by the very tenure OF i's existence.
The Persians are Mahomv,an people; the Otiomnns
are mere Mehometan Ullgarchy in the midst OF e
Christian people. II either an Individual or nann
chooses to believe in Mahomet, or In tue nvlsiole
Imam to boot, may lament their error that all
We are not their judges to their own matter they
stand or fall. Our objection 10 the Ottoman power Ia
not merely that t Is Mahometan Government, but
that II Ia Mahometau Government bearing rule over
Christians, and therefore, as anecessary consequence
depressing Christians. Tire Persian is In nosuch odl
GUS position he holds Christian nation In bondage
the errors of his religion, the maj administration #
government, purely his own affairs, With which We
have no possible right to NEEDLE.
Whatever Persia may be, che Is an Independent
State and entitled to the ordinary coure'es doe from
one Independent State to another. AS far as we can
make out tho facts: we are now actually invading
Persia without 50 much as d declaration nf war
Surely the late Csars occupation OF the Principall
ties, bad enough it waH i'll all conscience, was Il
trhe to this grand piece of 6libu,te:ing. We made
an awful 20 do b.cause Prince MepschikoR did not
treat the Sultan with due reverence, but wha' are We
10 cay to Lord Stratford's treatment oil tho Persian
Ambassador 1T Constantnople1 We trust that the
tale may prove fiction; but If II be truth we can
only say that neither our memory nor reading sup
pliss US with an instance of parallel instance. VS.
have heard of people refusing IL treat or Offering IN
admissible terms; never heard OF one Ambassador
asking another TO sign paper which o" himself
would gil up Ms he pens.d behind his back. Prince
MeuschkOff al least told the Sultan wha, terms the
Gar required him 10 accept or jecti he did not or
der him 10 accept any terms the C5ar might ordain
without knowing what they We're. LORD Stratford
expects that Persia will do something more than sur.
render al discretion, without a einglu blow having
been struck either in the field Of war or OF diploma
II Persia 10 the barrier State between Russia and
England, If Russian attack on Persia Is dangerous
to England an English attack upon Persia must b.
dangerous TO Russia. Lord Ptmerston and his iol:
lowers will probably not see this plain application OF
the rule of doing a. one would be dUue by Their
doctrine 10 that the very proceedings on the part
Of England are right, which on the part oil Russia
would bs Infamous. Hera is not q British possession,
and i;s inhabitants seem very We'll able TO defend
themselves But so promising al opportunity OF an
immediate disturbance, with additional grounds OF
dispute with Russia looming III the future, could not
but commend itself to the tlbustering mind OF our
present rulers Russia may not annex Brssaraba or
fortfy Sebastopol; we shall be only lawfully helping
ourselves If We can conquer Persian province or
two, and get up a"standing menace In the Persian
Gulf.
Porslbly Lord Pslmerstop may contemplate rival.
ling the fams OF Alexander and may design the entire
conquest vi the Persian empire He may md the
process more difficult and the results less desirable
than he expects The Persian nationality is singu-
larry vigorous one, and has survived 10 most won.
derful manner the shocks aud turmolls OF two, Per-
haps three Thousand years. Persia has been conquer
cd over and again, but she hes always conrived
to rise up again, aud either TO e1pe or 10 sssiml!ae
her couquerurs Little more than a century ago
Persia seemed 10 be at the last gasp her Internal aud
external relations even more deporaoie than at
presert The AT hsns de.clsieI the eastern pro"nces
Russians aud Oiomans strangely conspired TO dis
member tho Western onea. "Wheu tae tale OF
bricks is double d. Moses is at hand" Persia arose
undor Nad'r SnsE, az yEe had often betore ri.en
under earlier t-liverers Russians, Ottomara, and
AGsbans weru ALIKE expelled; Persian army march
ed IN triumph 10 Delhi and sgnHlIsed its arrival BY
q horrible massacre. A nation capable at this spe.
oi.s of repeated resurrection will be found quito
80 easy or permanent prey nay BIZ thought either
In Downing or 10 Leede6hall street VIZ have al.
re.dy found our policy Of annexation sometime, fail
utterly, sumstrnes require further ADMIRATION. II
We ntneI Perss, and avoid the fats of expulsion or
assimilation which has beiaen all her previous con.
ouerurs We shall have TO enter ON the lenentGb!c
duty of annr2ing Turkey, the formidable ls6-r o!
anr.xiny Russia. P ssh =, however, We may be
spared the trouble. We have heard good deal of
The vitality e the "sick man. OF Eastern Europe;
u, e.ibIy the s.t man Of The farther East may no
found also to puss rs u,re vitality thai we are IL
oliued to give him credit for