Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1877-04-25

A palace OF joy or woe
Let feet should falter and hearts grow faint;
lie knew II was better so.
RUSSIA AND TURKEY.
The story which comes to us to-day
from Rome that "in view of the pres
ent difficulties" Russia has proposed tC
the Vatican "to settle long.exIstinl
complications" may or may not b,
well founded. But as all signs concul
to-day to show that war in the East j,
inevitable, and may formally begin al
any moment, II isworlh while tor Amer
leans to note the curious light which
this story from Rome throws upon the
avowed motives of the Russian Gov,
ernmcnt in forcing this issue of battle
upon the Sublime Porte. The "long
existing complications which Russia
is thus reported to be anxious TO settle
with the Head Of the Catholic Church
date back to the deliberate persecution
by Russia of the Polish Catholics and
to be reminded of them now is TO be
confronted with an exquisitely sarcas-
tic commentary upon the proiessedly
humane and philanthropic objects with
which Russia and the rest Of the Chris.
tian powers have been urging for
months past upon Turkey the necessi.
ty of reforming her administration OF
her own provinces. Ii ii is the right
and the duty of the European powers
to interfere in the internal affairs OF
Turkey for the purpose Of preventing
the abuse OF Christian rayahs by Mos.
lem authorities, IT certainly was their
right and their duty TO interfere IN the
internal affairs of Russia to prevent
the abuse Of Polish Catholics by Mus
covite officials. For il will hardly be
pretended at this time of day that the
persecution OF Christians are general
by Mabometans, is in its nature worse
and more odious thing than the pcrse
cution of one particular communion Of
Christians To pretend this would be
to give tremendous public weight to
the sardonic speech OF the Baroness dc
Rothschild, who. when an English Low
Church woman OF the siraitest sect de-
clined to join her luncheon party on
the ground that she could not consist
emily break bread with Cardinal Wise
man because he was a Romish priest,
replied With acaptivating smile: "You
"must excuse me, my dear, but as |
Gam not Christian you know can't
be expected to enter into such ieel-
" ingsT t4. afils afllti tG
II Europe stood by calmly while
Russia trampled Catholic Poland in the
dust, but must threaten and command
to prevent Turkey from misusing tho
Christians of Bulgaria the simple rea-
son is that Europe thought Russia too
strong to be disciplined, and that Eu.
rope thinks Turkey too weak to resist
discipline. t
Tho Turks evidently do not believe
themselves to be in so deplorable a
case and il remains to be seen whether
Russia is or is not in condition to
convince them that they are wrong.
On this point it would be idle to spec.
ulatc when the course Of events must
so soon bring the truth To the light.
That the institutions, founded by Ork-
han and developed under his SUCCESSORS
which enabled Turkey for three CEN
turies to play the greatest part in Eu-
ropean history have been long losing
their virtue, is commonplace Of poll
tics; and there can he no question that
from the time of the great siege Of W.
emma IN 1888 by Kara Mustapha the
Ottoman power has been both abso
lutely and relatively on the decline
But in the first years of the last cen.
tury, when all the world thought it
broken and decaying it suddenly hum
bled the pride OF the great Peter of
Russia, and inflicted mortal blow
upon the splendid Republic of Venice
When the Gar Peter in 17l0 made up
his mind that it was entirely safe for
him to press Turkey to the wall, by
encouraging the designs Of the disaf.
fected hospodar OF Moldavia on the
Danube Russia was attracting the at
tention OF the whole of Europe by her
progressive improvement and her visi.
bly, increasing power. Peter elated
by bis victory over Charles XII. of
Sweden, the great military hero Of the
age, thought himself absolutely sure of
an easy triumph over Achmct Ill, one
OF the weakest of Sutaas, surrounded
by court Of ministers notoriously
worthless and corrupt. Russian agents
had found all the Christians OF Euro
pean Turkey ready and ripe as they
thought for revolt, and when the Sub.
lime Porte astonished him by declar.
ing war, the Car led bis army forward
in person to evade the Ottoman do.
minions with drums beating and ban.
ners flying as to a safe and splendid
parade. But a single campaign utter
" confounded his hopes and amazed
all Europe. The Christian subjects of
the Porte shrank, as the Serbians in
our time have 80 recently done, from
confiding their dcstinies to the tender
mercies Of the Muscovite. The Ma.
bometans flew to arms as their desccn.
dants now are doing; and in a won.
deriully short space OF time the North
orn Emperor surrounded and brought
ID bay, had to elect between signing a
disgraceful treaty OF peace or going to
Oonstantinople not asa a conqueror but
as a prisoner. In July, I'LL, Peter
signed, on the banks Of the Pruth,
Treaty by which he had bound himself
10 destroy his Notifications at Kami-
ensk, Samara and Taganrog, TO sur.
render Azof TO the Sultan, to give up
all his artillery, and to abandon the
Cossacks and their affairs TO the Sub
lime Porte. A very different issue, It
is true, attended the war by which
Abdul .Hamid sixty years later was
forced TO sign the treaty OF Kainardji,
and BY which for the first time the
Russian Empcrors secured recognition
as the lawful protectors Of the ortho-
dox Greek Church within the domin-
icms of the Sultans. But without go.
ing through the history Of the subsc-
quent relations between Russia and
turkey, Il must DO remembered that
tie results Of the great Crimean war
of 1853 we're as advantageous TO Tur-
key as they wore bumiliating. TO Rus.