The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1871-01-23
The London Conference Questions Upon
Which the United States May be Re-
Quired to Speak.

Vhe LONDON conference Questions Upon
Which tho United States May be Re-
auircd to Speak.
The war in France on the part of the French
has reached the point of exhaustion. The
end, we cannot doubt, will come with the
capitulation Of Paris, and whether this capitu-
lation is to be preceded by some desperate and
bloody sorties or by few days more of stub
born endurance against the pressure of famine
ing disaster to France, beyond few days
more, can hardly be avoided. Nor can we
doubt that the capitulation of Paris will bring
peace, inasmuch as the fall of Paris will open
the gates to the Germans of all the other
cities and every department Of France. Mean
time the London European Conference called
by England upon the Russian Black Sea ques-
ton will reassemble tomorrow, in pursuance
of its ist weeks adjournment. In the absence
of France we presume that, after short sit
ting, there will be another adjournment for q
week or so, in view Of expected events at
Gil. In short, we think that England will
delay any decisive action on the part of the
Conference until she has the support Of France
republic, empire or kingdom-against the ex-
treme demands of Russia.
Assuming, then, that France through her
government recognized by Prussia-whatever
her government may be-will be member of
this London Conference, the question tn en-
recurs, will the deliberations of the Conference
be confined to the Black Sea question: We
think not The great Conference at Paris in
1856, at the close of the Crimean war, was
called to settle the terms of peace as between
Russia and Turkeys but its deliberations took
much wider range, and embraced the estab-
lishment of a new law among the Powers con-
cerned in reference to belligerent rights and
neutral rights upon the high seas, the ADOLF
ton of privateering being among these new
engagements. The humiliation of Russia
involved, first, the ''rectifcation" as it was
called, of her southern frontier, whereby she
was shorn of strip of territory at the mouths
of the Danube, about the size of New Jersey,
from Turkey by the savage Cossack,
Suwarrow, in 1904 capture which was
followed by the inhuman butchery Of the brave
Turkish garrison of thirty thousand men and
SIX thousand women and by the sacking of
the city. Secondly Russia was Inundated in
the dismantling of Sebastopol and others of her
Black Sea fortresses. Thirdly, in her limita-
ton to half dozen small vessals-of-war in the
Black Sea. To the historical reader the mere
mention of Ismail will recall that notorious
despatch of Suwarrow to Catharine at st.
Petersburg-"Glory to God and to TIE
Empress! Ismails ours !"-or, as Byron
renders it in his Satanic ''Don Juan -
.'Glory to God and to the Empress l,-Powcrs
Eternal, such names mingled l-''lsmail's ours ~
Russia, however, does not complain of the
restoration of Ismail to Turkey, but of the
demolition of her Black Sea fortresses
and Of her restriction In that dividing
inland water to half dozen police vessels
of war. Her demands, excepting Ismail, prac-
tically amount to her restoration to the posi-
ton she occupied before the Crimean war
that is, she demands the right to restore the
forts Of Sebastopol, the key to Constantinople,
and the right to establish another feet on the
Black Sea, competent, if required, to repeat
the destruction of the Turkish squadron at
Sinope. Nor can we perceive how these de-
mands are to be denied. They must be con-
coded; because Russia, otherwise, is ready
for war, and because peace on these terms to
the Western Powers and to Austria will, for
the present, be safer than war. Nor does the
old danger to Turkey from dominating Russian
feet In the Black Sea any longer exist; since
for the protection of her coasts, inlets and har-
bors, Prussia, with her new torpedo, has rem
dered utterly useless against her the most
powerful iron-clad war ships of France.
But other questions, with this Black Sea
difficulty, will have to be met and adjusted by
this London Conference. We think it proba-
BILE that its sittings will continue until France
shall have secured a regularly established
government, and that then the work of the Con-
ference will be enlarged to the reconstruction
of Europe, including settlement for the Pope;
an agreement upon the Danubian principali-
les; the security Of Turkey; the independence,
perhaps, of Egypt, and some general conces-
sons and conditions touching the Suez Canal
a compact providing for the settlement here
after of international disputes, not by war, but
by European Conference, and new engage
ments in reference to commercial rights and
privileges and reciprocities in the waters of the
several contracting parties, and in reference
to belligerent and neutral rights upon certain
inland waters and upon the high seas
In this broad and commemorative view the
question arises, may not some questions be
considered in this European Conference upon
which the United States will be bound to
speak? Granting that American non-inter-
vention in European affairs and European nom
Intervention in American affairs-our good old