The daily gazette., 1877-05-10
The Eastern Question.
THE CREsENT AND THE CROSS
HOW THe WAR WILL AFFEcr THE UNITED
STATES,

sides with Turkey in the Ea stern ques-
ton are eloquent in denunciation of the
ambition, the perfidy and the land hun
ger of the Car. England, they say, is
the most magnanimous ard forbearing of
natons. She wants no provinces, no
territory, not an acre nor a stone. All
she cares about is that Europe shall be
independent" that the Turks shall be
"free," and that the ambition of the tel.
rible Gar shall be rep pressed. This is
another of the illusions with which the
English newspapers and orators amuse
the world. 1t is like her claim of i'm.
perial "intiuence." Let us compare the
history of the Russian and English en-
pires since the accession of Peter the
Great, not quite two centuries ago. Since
that time the Russian Empire has grown
from 2,9SO,OO0 square miles to .S,444, ,766,
and from 15,OOO,0OO population to more
than S5,0O0,OOO. This represents the
steady growth of an EN- pire of civiliza
ton over barbarors nations like those in
Central Asia or semi-barb barous anarchies
like old Poland. In this period of time
England has grown to be much larger
empire than Russia, with three million
square miles in America, one million in
Africa, million in Asia, and more than
two millions and a half in AustralPsi sia
The colonial possessions of Great Britain,
which have been gathered in the last
few centuries, are almost 3s large as the
whole Russian Empire.
1t is charged against Russia that since
the time of Peter she has been robbing
her aeighbors, encroaching on all sides.
Thus she attacked Sweden and robbed
her of Finland. She attacked Persia and
took some of the Shah's most important
provinces. In 1892 she carried away a
great slice of Poland. She attacked Tur-
upon Khiva and deprived the Khan of
his possessions, and now She wants the
Danube and the Bosphorous. This is
the record against Russia, and we do not
question it. But what has England been
doing all this time? England has rob-
bed France and Spain and Holland in
Europe; China, Burmah and India in
Asia, not to speak of America and Afri-
ca. Within the last century, says one
every square league of territory annexed
to Russia, by force, violence or fraud,
appropriated to herself three" This is
not our charge, ibut that of famous
English statesman, which we quote for
the purpose liof showing our English
friends that when they howl over the
misdeeds of the Gar in land stealing
they forget their own. So far as the land
stealing morality of the two nations is
concerned it is Robert Macaire reprov-
ing Jack Sheppard. If it is said that
England has only robbed other countries
of their provinces for the purpose of civ
ilizing the people the same may be said
of Russia. England has gone into other
continents and across the seas to take
colonies in spirit OF adventure. Rre-
sia has taken hers on her own borders,
and often for self-prptection. The ma
tions who have come under the Russian
rule have been blessed by the change. If
India and Ceylon and Mauritius are hap
pier because England rules them now,
so most assuoedly are the serfs of Poland
and the savages of the Caucasus under
the Gar.
If there is one nation in Europe which
came as conquering army, which hf"
despised civilization, which knows and
| respect no authority but the sword whose
civil policy is aggressive, and whose re-
ligion is lust and superstition, it is that
Ottnar Power which many railing minds
in England would perpetuate even at the
expense of a bloody war. The Turks
have no sympathy with us either in race
or religion. They came ints Europe and
took Censtantinop,e in the middle of the
fifteenth century They were Tartals
from Asia. BY the sheer force of arms
the Turk captured the most renowned
and ancient Empire of the world-the
home of the Greek and the Egyptian
and the Carthagiuian. He ruled III
Athens and Jerusalem-the city of light
and the city of religion. He menaced
Vienna. Wherever he ruled he blighted
and destroyed. The history of his ad-
vance is the history of civilization over
thrown, industry paralyzed, laws violaS
ted, temples cast down, art etfaced. He
has never changed. A warrior at the
outset he has stnven to engraft his war
like Empire upon the fair bosom of
Christian Europe. The Turks have no
arts, no science. Countries which, ages
before America was known, were the
homes of delicate and refined civiliza-
have fallen under Turkish rule into de-
cay. The story of their Empire is a
scandal. Not many years have passed
since they engaged in fierce war with
the Georgians, Sin consequence" says
the historian, "of the Georgians having
refused to continue to supply Turkish
harems with a customary annual tribute
of the handsomestI of their daughters,
offering, however, at the same time,
in lieu, yearly contribution in
money"
In European Turkey the Ottomans are
in the minority. Out of population of
more than eight millions, excluding the
tributary States, we learn from "The
Statesman's Year Book" that only mil
lion are Ottomans. The remainder are
Greeks, Slavonians, Armenians and
Albanians. These races are all now, and
have been ever since the Turkish advent,
subject to the Turk, who has reinforced
himself from Asia when repression and
massacre were necessary. We not only, |
therefore, have an empire of abomina- |
ton like Turkey sustained in Europe, |
but we have its sustained as a ruling
Power over millions of Christians And
for what? Simply because England fears |
that her communications with India may
be endangered. In other words England |
has by conventions and coalitions and |
wars built up an empire which she can
not defend She asks Europe to defend |
it by sustaining tile wretcbed Turkish |
Empire as barrier to Russia. This at |
least is the argument which swayed
England into war twenty three years
ago. 1t is the argument we hear in
many high quarters in England now.