New-York tribune., 1877-07-20
THE PEACE RUMOES.


the air. The Russians are said to be delaying
their march for diplomatic reasons. This Is
empty babble. Neither the Cars army nor
his pcople will consent to be made ridiculous
in the eyes of Europe. Their columns in Al
mena have been ropulsed, and chased into
Russian territory, and their heroic allies in
Montenegro have been crushed. After weeks
of inactiOn and delay their troops have crossed
| the Danube-the great wet ditch OF European
| Turkey-and secured foOthold on the glacis OF
Bulgaria; and the Cossacks have even made
breach in the Balkan rampant ITSELF and is
1t likely that they will fall back now without
making a single attempt to storm the fortress Z
An honorable peace is out of the question.
The Turks, victorious in two campaigns, would
make no concessions. What could the moral
force of Russia accomplish when Its physical
force has done nothing to intimidate the
Porte OF what avail was the moral force
of Europe, when the representatives of SIX
great Powers recommended the appoint
ment of Christian Governors for the prov
inces, the formation of a National Guard IN
place of the MOhammedan soldery, and the
organization of an International Comms-
sion with supreme legislative powers Lord
Salisbury, Gen. Ignateil, Baron Werthcr
and their colleagues were simply turned
away from tue doors of the Palace Ike
troop of garruous beggars. If Europe
failed then to secure guarantees for the Christ
AIMS how can Russia hone to succeed now
when her armies have been defeated on the
high levels of Armenia and have scare ly
done more than manGuver on the low levels
of the Danube7 The Czac cannot dictate an
honorable peace without winning great vic
tory, and he will not dare to withdraw from
the war on any other terms. II the white
feather be shown at TIrnova, the red flag may
be unfurled in st. Petersburg The Car will
not expose his throne to the sc0rn Of his army
and the wrath of his people. Peace must be
conquered at the point of the bayOnet.
But there is another cuckoo song. The pas
sage of the Balkans by the Russians has
thrown the Magyars into a panic and Hungary
Is dragging Austria into the war, while the
British fleet in Beska Bay is only waiting for
the concentration of an army on the Trnsyl-
vania frontier to demand a cessation of hos
tilities. Now, the policy Of Austria is some
thing that car be ciphered out with
out much difficulty: she has six million
Magyars, who hate the Russians and sympa-
thize with the Turks; and she has sixteen mil
lion Slavs who have no wish to put an end
to war that has been undertaken i'll the in
terest of the Slavs. Since the peace of Carlo
WITT, at the close Of the Seventeenth Century,
there have been eight wars between Russia
and Turkey, and in only one instance have
the Hapsburgs opposed the plots or policy of
the Romanoffs. Even then Austria did not
ssume a hostile atttude for although
she had led the Western Powers to suppose
that she would support their ultmatum to
Russia, she drew back at the critical moment.
In two campaigns Austria has been in open
alliance with Russia, and has barganed for
her share of Turkish territory At the present
crisis she can he safely counted upon to main
tam her traditional policy of mastery inactivity.
She will neither fight against the TURKS nor
with the Slavs With Bismarclls keen eye
upon her, she Will stand and wait, and count
the chances Of occupying Bosnia and part of
Herzegovina. The British bOatswain in Besila
Bay may pipe unto her, but she will not dance.
Her ear is strained to catch the first echoes of
the cannon III Bulgaria.