New-York tribune., 1877-07-24
N1LT1 md THE D1RDINELLFS


British troops have been ordered to the
Mediterranean. The significance of this move
mcnt cannot be explained away, even by so
ingenious a statesman as Lord Derby. When
he says that the garrisons in the Mediterranean
ale below their full complement, and the
Government in view of the present unsettled
state of aflrs considers it right 10 strengthen
them TO the extent of three thousand men,
his countrymcn Will laugh in their sleeves.
They will not require the hint that an officer
of the ROYAL Engineers, who was recently sent
to Gailipol on secret mission to make
SOundngs in the harbor, and to ascertain rs
capabilities of defense They Will not need
to draw mfercnccs from the il-conceaied
satisfaction of the Ring Of PIchas at Con-
stantinople, the rawlings of the Russian
press. and the vague threats of G0rtschakof
The logic Of the situation will be accepted with
the flash of intuition. While Lord Derby
points significantly to Malta, the nation will fix
its ewes upon the Dardanclics. The British fleet
already lies at anchor in Il Turkish roadStead
The Russian Court viii not pledge itself to check
the advance Of its troops upon COnStantlnople.
II the army which has crossed the Danube
ald quietly lied the gates of the Balkan,
wins q great victory i'll the field and sets ITS
face towlrl the BO,phorUs, the shores OF the
DIrdanclles will be occnpied by British troops.
The Earl of Bsacolsicld may not wait for
the tardy mlnGuvring of the Russian col
umns. Daring the Parliamentary recess he
may dispatch thirty thousand men to GallIp0h,
and render it impossible for the nation to
Withdraw with honor from an alliance with
the Porte.
The Eastern problem resolves itself in the
iinal analysis to this simple question: Shall
Il lssia occupy CoDsiantinople? the apOcry-
pna will Of Peter the Great may be a fable
but the policy OF the Court is based upon ma
tlonal traditions. For two centuries the capture
Of COn,taniI1Ople has been the >uprcmc aim of
Russian diplomacy. For "a hundred years Great
iintain viewed with positive indifference the
advance of the Russian arms and the intrigucs
of the Romanons with the IiapSbuIgs. The
>uez Canal lad not been built; the overland
route 10 India had not been established /;
engineers were not dreaming OF rail
road between Cons,anfinople and Calcutta.
Lord Palmelston convinced his c0untrymen
that the geographical centre OF the
interests of the British Empire was
ConStantin0plc. He taught them that little
was to be expected OF nation with 10 heels
20 itS snoe,, and that Che Turks must be
prOpped up in every national crisis. British
interests may be elastic, but British prejudIceS
are nflcxibe. 1t is difficult to comprehend
how a nation without Il navy can shut up the
Suez Canal. and drive the British fleet from
the Dard ncles. But prejudice blunts the
edge OF British logic. the bare thought OF
,he march OF the Cars soldiers toward Con-
stluinople throws every nervous BntOn into
prichly scare. 1t would endanger the mari
,ime supremacy of the commercial empire! II
would be ga pistol lcvellcd at the head OF
- Eugand' such is the national pr, ,judlce, and
the Earl of BeacOnsfeld is the very man to
nurse it, He can send his fleet from Beslka
Bay and his transports from Malta and occupy
iailpo and appeal To the country with per-
feet confidence. "The freedom OF the Darda-
"nellcs" would bea popular cry at the hust-
Ungs. IL might Stite even the eloquence of
Mr. Gladstone.