The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1876-05-30

strengthens her naval force IN the Meulter-
ranean, and the Rothschilds are reported to
be unloading their consols- Can it be that
England is putting herself in position to
sustain forcibly her own views of the rela-
tons of Turkey to her neighbors? Events
have that appearance. For England the
law of the case is still the Treaty Of Paris.
Inasmuch as she has committed herself to
the declaration that the reforms demanded Of
Turkey are impossible, and therefore q null
lily, she is still morally bound by her pledge
to sustain the integrity of the Padishahs
territory, unless she cares to plead that the
Republication of the treaty By Russia in 1870
deprives it Of all obligation for other Powers.
If England is animated by the resolution to
Withstand the Powers the distribution of
force is not favorable, though no battle is
absolutely desperate where the British en-
sign covers the fighters. But Russia, Prus-
to the support of the note, and the note is so
framed as necessarily to involve the not re-
mote exclusion of the Sultan from Europe.
That fact was contemplated by certain of the
parties as the ultimate objective, and they
cannot any of them greatly care whether the
result comes few years earlier Only Aus
tria can be greatly dissatisfied at the Sultans
obstinacy, and she is not so much dissatisfied
that she will venture to oppose the Northern
Powers, though if England distinctly as
sumes hostile attitude it will 60 far to i'm
ply that she counts upon Austria But it
would be great blunder for England to
fight in this cause on these conditions. 1t
would be an injury to the world if disas-
trous war should put England where
France is with regard to her loss of weight
in the councils Of Europe; and the case
would be still worse if in such war the
enemies of England should have justice and
the cause Of humanity on their side. Though
we have become accustomed to expect blum
ders from the present British Ministry, let
us hope they will not venture heedlessly
into position from which retirement will be
far more difficult than they have found it
in the repeated recent missteps of domestic
politics.
1t is more to be apprehended as an imme-
diate consequence of the position England
appears to assume that the Sublime Porte
will be encouraged in . resistance to Eu-
ropean opinion which it cannot maintain
and in which England cannot eventually
support it, and thus that the necessary and
inevitable political reorganization Of Turkey,
which would be made TRANQUILITY if the Sui
tan's government saw the hopelessness of
resistance, and were not encouraged by vain
illusions, will only follow barbarous con-
fict of the people and an armed occu-
patton of the country; for the north
ern. Powers cannot now recede. They
are constrained morally by the steps
they have taken to take others. They
must go forward and execute what they
have undertaken, or great national act Of
Intervention, sanctioned by the consent of
the three emperors, becomes farce. I'M
perial dignity con accept bloody but not
ridiculous issue to its acts If they should
hesitate now they would permit a solemn en-
gagement made with them to be repudiated
at the Sultan's whim-worse still, at the
dictation of the mob Of Constantinople.
They experience that the present difficulty
of dealing with this trouble is greatly in
creased by the fact that they have in the past
too often receded for slight reasons from po-
sitions as distinctly taken as the one in
which they now stand, and they are not
likely to repeat the error Turkey accepted
Andrassy's note, and the Powers must
and will hold her to the obligations that
note implies. 1t was considered at Berlin
between Gortschakoff, Bismarck and An
Grassy what steps were necessary to carry out
practically the fine points of the note, and
it was held that one primary necessity was q
two months suspension Of arms. To this it
is said the Sultan "will on no account con-
sent" He has agreed that there shall be re-
ligious and civil liberty in the land, reforms
IN the collection of the taxes and in the land
laws, and that the government in these re-
spects shall be in the hands of mixed COM
mission. All those beautiful propositions Of
the protocols he assents to !; but when it is
proposed to put practical stop to the cut
ting of throats his sensibilities as Sultan
are offended. He is like the gentleman down
East who was in favor of the Maine law but
opposed to its enforcement. He will have as
many reforms as you choose, but any propo-
sition to make thsm effective he regards
as monstrous.
But none of the Powers that are parties to
the compact which Turkey entered into by
the acceptance Of the Vienna note will per-
NIT it to be dealt with in that way. They
will 60 on, because they cannot recede; but
how they shall go on will depend upon the
resistance they encounter. Further steps
will, therefore, turn upon the attitude of
Turkey, and that viii be affected in some de-
gree certainly by England. 1t seems piece
OF the irony of international politics that
Asiatic superstition and ferocity should from
their last stronghold turn for moral or phys
ical support to the enlightened home Of
civil and religious liberty. Out of the fact