The Colfax chronicle. (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1876-1877, 1877-05-12
The Cause Of the War in Europe.


been the friend and ally Of every
nation opposed to the Turks. She
has been in sympathy with the
rebels i'll every revolutionary OF
nsurrectionarv movement in Tur-
key, because the insurrectionists
were Christians cf the Greek
Church. She early conquered
Moldavia aud Wallacbia, and com
PEELED Turkey to grant concessions
| TO the Christians of other northern
provinces The war of ls2--s
grew out of her interference il
behalf of the Greeks IN their
struggle for liberty a few years
before. She undertook this war,
however, under pledges to Great
Britain and France that it should
not be war of conquest.
If Russia absorbs Turkish ter
rltory, gaining absolute control Of
the Black Sea and valuable ports
on the Mediterranean, the com-
mercial interests of the Western
nations would suffer, and on this
ground the Turk was better than
the Russian. Russia made peace
when she had virtually conquered
Turkey. and this was Gin the in
terests of Russia" Russia was
content with treaty ssipulaiions
looking to the protection of the
Christians.
Kinglake claims that the origin
of the Crimean war in 1853 was
quarrel between the Greek and
Latin Churches as to privileges 1T
Jerusalem. Turkey, influenced by
Louis Napoleon, favored the Ro-
man Church, and the complica-
tons led to irritation and the irri-
tation to war. Russia, taking mp
the old quarrel of the Greek
Church. and claiming that existing
treaties had been violated, invaded
Turkey. Great Britain and France
formed an alliance with Turkey
and Russia was compelled to make
peace on their terms.
While Russia made war in the
name OF prosecuted Christians,
England and France made war not
so much in the interest of the
Turk as in the interest of Western
Europe. Their scheme, in the
event of the ACKNOWLEDGMENT Of
Turkey, was to form an independ-
ent nation of the Christian prov
inces Of Turkey. and thus remove
the canse of Russian irritation.
Russian influence wns met on it's
own ground and counteracted.-
The result of the defeat of Russia
at Sevastopol was the treaty Of
Paris, in which the Eastern ques-
ton was taken out Of her hands
and committed to the great powers
of Europe. All troubles rs to the
Christians in Turkey were to be
considered in common. and no one
nation was to act independently
except under given circumstances.
The Black Sea. was opened to the
fleets 1T all nations, but no war
vessels Of Russia or Turkey we're
to be allowed in its waters. Rus.
STA was to disarm, and lie FORTH
cations on the Black Sea coast
were to be dismantled. The Chris
tian provinces of Wallachia and
Moldavia, lying between Austria
and Turkey, were formed into the
independent principally of Rou-
mania, and placed under the guar
dianship of Enrope.
In 1870, when France was pow
erless and England embarrassed,
Russia receded from certain pro-
visions of the treaty Of Paris and
placed war fleet on the Black
Sea. She began the work of put
ting her army on a war footing,
and under various pretenses made
ready for the coming struggle.
The Herzegovinian insurrection
OF two years ago was rebellion
OF the Christians of that province
against Turkish taxation and per-
secution. Servia was drawn into
the conflict. And as servia was a
creation of the treaty of Paris
made semi-independent under
the rule of native princes and
placed under the protection Of the
European powers, although tribu-
tary to Turkey. all Europe be-
came incidentally interested. Eu-
ropean interference compelled a
truce, and negotiations were COM
menced looking TO permanent
peace. Russia secretly assisted
Seryia in the struoulo .o,.;,.