The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1867-05-19
The s.Sicl1 Man, Hectic and Stnbborn with
His Doctors-Can Thcy Cure Him.

The s'sIck MAN. Hectic ana StnDbOru with
His Doctors-Can Thcy Cure Him,
Instead of the triumphs claimed for the arms
Of the Christian insurgents in Crete, by the cable
yesterday we are told to-day, from the same
source, that the Turks report that Omar Pasha
has gained 'great victories over the Cretans in
recent battles" This news was announced in
London and had evidently como from Constan-
tinople where its more immediate effect has been
to render the hitherto "sick man." ruler Of the
Turkish empire, excited, hectic, and conse-
auently stubborn in the hands of the allied
doctors who have so assiduousy waited on
him since the days previous to the commence
ment of the Crimean war. The European gov
ernments having made another effort to induce
the Sublime Porte to cede the island of Gambia
to Greece, the Sultan replies, assuring them of
'his ability to suppress the existing rebellion"
and firmly declines to render the territory to
"any foreign Power" AS in tho days
of the crusades and the subsequent wars
between the Christians and the infiicls, the
Turk never yielded to any measure OF treat
ment except after the operation of signal
beating, it remains now to be seen whether
the fevered patient will in one great struggle
drive his physicians, without, fee too, from his
chamber, or whether the doctors will unite in
the terrible remedy of strangling tae patient
for the good of his neighbors and the public at
large.
The military and naval preparations which
our Consantinople correspondence-publish
yesterday-detailed as being made by the Gar
of Russia, incline us to the belief that even this
latter alternative will be adopted if necessary;
but we find on the other hand that England
does not openly cooperate with the other
Powers in the advice for cession, while it is
intimated that Napoleon, as in other difficult
cases, entertains some peculiar views on the SUBJ
ject of the issue of the Eastern question, hoping
to mature plan by which Turkey can be sus-
tanned and Christianity indicated ct one and
the same time.
AS to the cession Of Gambia the Turkish
government Is in this difficulty, that nearly
one half Of its subjects are Christians,
and that If the precedent Of success
full interference Of this kind be estab-
lished for one portion Of its possessions it
would soon be made to apply TO the re-
mainder Of them. Crete once ceded, there
would be successive revolts in its other Chris.
tian provinces and fresh acts Of interference on
the part Of the Christian Powers. II therefore
concludes that II Is better to fight the question
out now than to have to deal with il in such .
shape. tits, in fact, life and death struggle
with the Turkish government and on its issue
depends Its existence as European Power. If
it loses its Christian provinces 1t will have to
retire within its Asiatic limits and will cease
to exercise any further influence in the diplo-
matte affairs Of the world. Whether the great
Powers will allow the war to 90 on to an ex-
treme issue is another question. From the
steps taken by them we should judge the con-
trary, and we should not be surprised If In
another month or two the appeal now rejected
by the Sultan were followed up by armed
Intervention.