New-York tribune., 1870-11-22
THE EASTERN QUESTION.
M Sax IN OF EUROPE.

,vc aupreheusOn the proposal oi RUSSIA 10 ueo'iio
,hcr compliance with the treaty of Paris Administered
,, e,,,rtcen vcars 90 as an opate to the Eastern
,, that treaty mas served TO lu TO at least trans
ant rns the monster that for more than half century
pryons had disturbed the peace of Europe and whose
,alcvolent power had been illustrated alike in important
treaties aud momentous war;
PRINCIPAL FEATURES OF THE EASTERN QUESTION.
Dvested of the obscures of diplomacy which have in
voycd everything about in haze not easy of penera
,on the principal conditions which have entered into
the constitution OF the Eastern Question may be briefly
stated as,
First, The continuous decline Of the Ottoman En"e'
Second The increasing power and influence of Russia,
Third The jealousy of other European Powers ""'
their apprehension of Russian encroaohments' ,.noo.
TO these prime conditions many secondary .h
have been added which have given comploa,eu o. i
10 the great question such the aspirHuo"' iV
depeudence of nationaes held under the s"1oia' y
the Porte and the rebellions OF po"ciiu' ,.hoa
Hcious animosities between Latin ana "IooA -,
and between Christians and Mohammedans' anu laS's'
varying interests alliances oiS''H'''D
trecn the Christian Powers.
EARLY INDICATIONS OF DECAY.
1,os not Russia that inflicted upon Turkey the frst
heavy blow The decline OF Ottoman power Is usually
aed from the successes OF the Ausrians under Prince
ruene at Peterwarden and Belgrade in l76l7 whereby
the Turks lost the key to Hungary and foothod IN CEN
tral Europe But with the war between Russia ana
turkey that was terminated by the peace OF Kanari in
177 the Eastern Question first began TO assume definite
existence although its reality was not recognized u
many wears afterward. II Ephinstones aid to the Rus-
sian Admiral Orlo in the Bay Of Chos he regarded as an
official act may be stated that even IN the infancy OF
the Eastern Question, England made great political
hunder of the she afterward frequently repeated
that OF permitting or assisting In the humiliation
of Turkey. At all events, with this help, Oilon
utterly defeated the Turkish feet in the great naval en-
agcment AT Tchesme in ITO The bearing OF this dis
a,ter upon the negotiations which followed is evident In
the provisions of the Treaty of Kainardji The Black
sea- previously closed to all but Turkish vessels, was
thrown open. and the territory now called the Crmea
became part OF Russia The 10th Article gave Russia
the right to demonstrate in favor Of" Christians i'll
Waachia and Modavia and the rights Of this charac
ter conveyed by the treaty not only laid the foundaon
Of the greater part Of Russas subsequent petenslons
in the Priucipaes but furnished the specific claim OF
1.-THE right to protect the orthodox" which, put
forth by Russia in the dispute in 1853, be-
tween the Greek and Latin Churches in Pal
estine. about the keys to the Holy Places, became
the arebrand that lit the flames of the Crmean War
The first partition Of Poland between Russia, Austria,
and Prussia anticipated the peace of Kainard by only
two years. and the alliance which accomplished the ruin
Of Poland itself serious threat TO the Ottoman
Empire At least two other Powers beside Russia thus
in the first instance brought pressure 10 bear upon the
Eastern Question adverse to Turkish interests. In
Russia than in any other country OF Europe, the
sovereign Is the State and under unlimited autocraey
policy of the monarchy varies with the ambition or
the Monarch 1t is easy to believe that during the period
which followed such successes the Great Catherine in
dugcd in dreams of Russian aggrandizement at the ex
pense Turkey and their names to her gandsons
Constantine and Alexander in the hope OF Byzantine
conquest and Macedonian empire.
THE INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF TURKEY.
principal element in the weakness Of the Sublime
Porte has been its feeble upon the various prov
a11x
Mohammcdan arms, and compelled TO pay tribute to the
central Government. Many of these retained to great
their internal polty governed by their
rulers; and, while acknowledging I'm name the
suzeranty of the Porte to it support in tribute or
in military force which grave change in their own
political affairs might readily cause to be withdrawn or
be brought to bear against the Government at Con-
stantuOple. The Danubian Prncpates, serva, Walla-
CHA and Modayia were mere dependencies scarcely in
tera parts of the Ottoman Empire, won by the force Of
arms but still retaining their own administrative
government The Servians Of the pures type OF the
slavic blood having nothing in common with the Os-
manlis. The wallachians and Modayans were Of the
ROumani whose numbers in the early part OF the
present century estimatedat l20O0eOO OF which
about onethrd were in these Principates, the rest
being chiefly in Austria and Hungary. OF the 100000
adherc1ts TO the Greek faith that estimated as
spread abroad throughout the ottoman Empire, the
provinces nearest Russia held dsprOportonatey large
number The tOsmanlis-the Turks prOper-dO not con-
ettuc q fourth of the population of Turkey-in Europe
The Gar not less the Emperor OF all the Russas
than the highest dgntary Of the Greek Church. whose
empire was Holy Russia" The right which he acquired
lev the carnal weapons of and diplomacy the night
10 demonstrate" in Waachia and MOdava, became his
spiritual duty whenever it appeared that the Christians
those provinces needed his protection. 1t might even
have beeny considered a kind Of pety Ito commence
aggression upon a malignant and turbaned Turk"
Moreover in the continuous waged against the
Turks by Russia and Austria the Danuban Principalites
afforded the choicest fields Of operation to the invading
armies and their inhabitants witnesses alike Of the
nisorunes Of the Osmaulis and the riumphs OF their
adyersarcs year after year The invaders ocked down
10 the Danube and occupied its fertile valleys and
it- fortified strOnghOds.
English interference to check the declining fortunes Of
the Ottoman Empire first becomes perceptble after the
fan Of Ochakov, captured by the Russians under Potem
KIM 1885, and the destruction of Islnai which Suwar-
row. two years aterward reduced to heap Of ashes;
and Notwithstanding this Interference by the treaty Of
Jassy the right OF intervention by Russia In the affairs of
the Principalities further recoguized; and the
Dneister made the boundary between Russia and
Turkey. But whatever had been the apprehensOns
which England felt respecting Russia when Catherine
at the pinnacle Of her greatness they forgot
ten the nteDser fears inspired by the victorious
ONapOeOn and fifteen after the peace Jassy En-
gland, allied with Russia, at war with Turkey, and
forced the passage of the Dardaueles An incident that
out Of place the present marked the resist
with which the Turks met the invading feet when
II attempted to return. In Titanic fashion the garrisOns
Of the Castles Of Sesto and Ahydos hurled down ponder
GUS rocks upon the British vessels and by this strange
mode Of warfare inflicted serious losses upon the fleet
NAPOLEoN's DEsERTIoS OF TIE SULTAN.
France" says an eminent writer upon Eastern sub
iects has often been the foe Of Russia and the friend
Of Turkey that this position has become tradition Of
her diplomacy" But at the very moment when Turkey
was simultaneously distracted by frightfu domestic in