New-York tribune., 1878-11-14
ANGLO-AMERICAN TOPICS.
THE RUSSIAN spECTRE-AiR. EyARTS'S DIS
PATCH

| lord DUFFERIS AND THE GOVERNORSIIlP or
! ASIA MINOR
lfhoh THE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIBUNE
LONDON Nov. 2.-Mysteries are still the order Of
the day, and what Mr. Gladstone on Thursday at Rhyl
called government by reserve, is carried on as per-
sistenty asover. The that looms largest on
the horizon is not Afghanstan but Russia 1t is be-
| leved very confidently that q strong remonstranco
| has been addressed by the English Cabinet to Rus
sia respecting the alleged failure Of the latter to
fulfil her obligations under the Treaty of BerliD
But what the terms of il are, what the specified
grounds of complaint are, what Russia is asked to
| do or refrain from doing and what England lin the
person of Lord Beaconsfeld) means to do il her ad-
| monitions are unhoeded-these the unknown
quantities in the problem So well-iDformed and
| cautious man as Sir William HarcOnrt does not
hesitate to assert. in letter published this morn
ing. that Her Majcstys Government have been
gagged during the last fortnight in efforts to unite
| the co-Sgnatorics of Berlin in last attempt to
keep alive that morbund performance; and that
they have failed. If that be really sO 1t leaves
England and Russia more face to face; and the
situation is threatening indeed. For both these
governments have to consider, not merely their rea-
Ons with each other but each of them the grave
dihOn of affairs in its own dOminiOns In Russia
| the Socialist Nihilist propagand is as active as
ever. In England the distress which has heretofore
been felt mainly in commercial and manufacturing
business has reached acute stage in agricultural
| industry also. A strike of farm-labOrers IN
Sussex, where labor is comparatively we'll paid, is
| imminent. simultaneously there comes cry of
distress from the tenant-farmers no longer able to
pay the excessive rents exacted by the owners of
land. The papers are publishing letters from we'll
! to-dO people who giving up their holdings be-
| cause farming at present prices has ceased TO be
| profitable means of employing capital. can imag-
| inc no symptom which would strike Lord Beacons-
| field as more grave. His Government depends for
support on the farmers and the agricultural interest
generally. His majOrities lie in tho counties not in
the bOrOughs. Putting the publicans aside, there is
no class whose sufrages this Administration has so
courted those whose prosperity depends on the
yield of the land IL these classes are IN difficulties
and if they attribute their difficulties TO the policy
| Of the Government, as they are almost suro to do
it will convince Lord Beaconsfield that his hold on
| the country can only be saved by some very snowy
success abroad There lies the peril, and that 1t is
which makes it more probable than ever that he
will push his new quarrel with Russia to the bitter
end
As for Joint action against Russia in the general
interest Of Europe there seems little reason
TO believe that the Powers can be united
for such an end. An English demand for
such action borders on the impudent, as
Sir William Harcourt points out. proposal
for collective guarantee TO enforce the Treaty OF
Berlin was brought forward in the Congress, ana
was rejected. But 1t was Russia who brought II
forward and England who opposed It and secured
| its rejection. Germany and Austria sustained 1t;
| Turkey, France and Italy voted with England in
tho minority against it. Whyf Simply because
the proposal was then understood to be meant to
inS,re ffor oncc the performance Of her agreements
r. uoIa nd of WI
kew should be made TO perform them. The English
PIenipotentiares " wanted to leave the door ajar
for the Porte and had not the or the foresight
10 perceive that they left it wide open
for Russia" In vain Prince GortschakoG urged
| that Russia would be fully subject to it as
Turkey, and that she stood quite ready as re-
garted herself to admit thecontro and superintend-
ence of tho Powers. Lord BeacOnsfeld would none
Of it, Lord Salisbury appears IN the protocols MS
the chief opponent of tie proposal With what hope
Of being listened to can he and his chief now urge
upon other Powers the adoption Of measure
which they might have had I the time by simply
| consentng to the Russian suggestion, but which
they then intrigued against and defeatedf Is it
possible" asks Sir William, {" for diplomatic incapa-
city to 40 further than thisT
IL difficult not to agree with the same writer in
his remark that the fate is oyertaking the foreign
policy of the Government which sooner or later ar
rives to all shams--it is being found ont. Public
| opinion moves slowly. but ii moves. England can
be kept in the dark about Afghanstan by suppress
ing Indian papers publicly promised by the Govern
| ment at the end OF last session, and still
withheld and by suppressng the answer
of shere Ali. But the Berlin protocols are in
print The history Of that triumph" and the true
meaning of "peace with homer" are making their
way to the mind of the average Engishman. The
| Il. raal III IL
true but he hears aud roads the speeches of Liberal
leaders who do read them. Mr.. Gladstone has
spoken after three months Of silence OH the plat
| FORM In great part his Rb yc address is devoted
10 Indian affairs but his demonstration OF the rot
! tenness of the Berlin triumph IL not less effective
| because comparatively brief. Twosnoh speeches as
| Mr. Gladstone's in Wales and Sir William har-
courts at Scarborough, both made this week, go tar
| toward the education of the electors. Mr. Glad
stones was moderate throughout and in his very
best manner Nor was it less telling and animated
for It's moderation. | know few better ex-
amples OF his oratory than the passage IN
| which he contrasts the Geneva Arbitration
with the Spirited foreign policy now IN tashion'
! The Tories have never grown weary OF critlciShg
that payment of Three Millions under the award
4 pricyous burden OH the country they called il.
Was II more grievous than tho Six Millions spent
this wear by the Tories Themselves III vain military
preparationss asks Nr. Gladstone. Inc Veralct
az Geneva was harsh one, say tho Torres ana nc
agrees with them. But ho none the less adhefes 10
his belief that that method of settling puDhc coh
trovcrsy is Just, wise, polite aud Christlah'
whereas buster aud braggadoco are not.
"Appeals 10 animosity may bear fruit at the time
when we least expect il. We look at the forty
millions of Americans, and we look ut the eighty
millions of Russians and we say it was better TO
make forty millions of friends than to make