The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-03-17

of these forces has dictated acts OF Parliament
hut to-day all three combined are powcrlcss to
shake the sullcn purpose " the mercantie
community Twenty-Five years ngo the Turk
was lust rs Indispensable" as he is now, but
then he wiz n promising customer Of the Eng
lish merchant and owed nothing TO the English
banker; accordingly the city loved him, and its
favortc Gladstone instead OF compiling cata-
loguc of atrocities. was preparing n liberal war
budget. AT that time the mercantile mind con-
ccivcd high hopes of the Turk and was satis-
fled that with the acceptance of sound advice
and the payment Of large dividends to English
londholders h. would mako edifying progress
in the path Of reform. Now the fact ia that in
the twenty years following tho Crimean war. a
very crcditablc amount OF improvement was
effected. good deal was done for the amoio-
ration Of internal communications; n better
system Of primary education was established
than exists in Russia; substantial administra-
tive reforms were carried out not only in Crete
hut in several other parts Of the Ottoman do
minions. and Just before the outbreak Of the
late war. the Porte accepted an innovation which
no Car is likely to sanction, that. namely. Of
parliamentary government. Meanwhile it is
true tho Turks master had contracted
n debt whose nominal aggregate is not
far from two billion dollars. but II II
scarcely the subjects fault il the Sultan has but
little to show for his immense receipts. Nor II
it probable that the English investor would have
troubled himself about the application of his
loans had the interest been duly paid. In the
latter event. indeed. any attempt on the part OF
Russia to trammel tho resources Of his amiable
debtor would have provoked n burst Of patriotic
ardor. and the commercial spirit would have
been rampant in defending the sacrcdness of
treaties and the inviolablc character Of the Of
toman territory
This is the capital lesson Of Mr.. Martins
book. that in the Oriental troubles Of 1854 the
role Of England was marked by'statecraft. while
In 1877 IT has been too strongly tncturcd with
the spite Of the foiled Insurer. II the British
merchant could for n moment forget the UNI
pleasant fact that the Porte has postponed
the payment Of sundry coupons he would
see that the arguments for interview
ton In the late war were absolutely
identical with those so pertinently and
successfully brought forward by Lord
Palmerston. Replying to Messrs. Bright
and Golden. the Irish Vscount pointed out that
If indeed Turkey was smitten with decay and
doomed to fall. 1t did not follow that she must
drop into tho hands Of a nation admittedly bar
barous-exchange her own despotism for q
dcspotism more thorough and relentless. And
during the period. how long. who could say.
when Russia was raising herself to amerely
possible civilization. what might not be the
miscrics Of the conquered Turks. what the tur-
moil in which Europe might be thrown by Mr..
Cobdens confessed "barbarians." whose
means OF aggression had been vastly
augmented Ivy the possession Of some
Of it, farest and most fertile provinces.
As to the " concessions by Turkey" which
Mr.. Bright recommended. Lord Palmerston
dwelt on the interests Of Europe in such
concessions. showing Of how great moment
it was that the Porte should not be asked
to concedc terms fatal TO national existence.
and which might alter the political situation
Of the civilized world. II Turkey. weak.
dccrcpit. dying as she was said to be- still
refused to he cocrccd. the Minister affirmed
1t 10 be- the duty Of England and OF every Eu-
ropean power TO uphold her. or any other weak
state. in tho struggle for independence In the
day when Turkish bonds were still unknown
10 the Stock Exchange. Lord palmerston found
these obvious cons alterations effective oven with
those accustomed 10 accept the guidance Of the
hester school.
Besides the larger uses Of Mr.. Martins book
which must rank rs a most valuable contribu-
ton 20 the inner history Of the Oriental ques-
ton. there are many interesting expressions Of
personal experience and opinion contained in
the Princes private letters t. the Queen and to
his friend. Baron Siockmar. This Is particu-
larly true Of the correspondence relating 10
Prince Alber'- visit 10 the Emperor Of the
French at Boulo gnc. and il j. worth while TO
note some of the lnpres -ion- which he gathered
during a stay of four days with Napoleon
Ill. The Prince Consurt saw n great deal 81 the
rarvcnu monarch during that time. and there
snam- To- have been remarkable opennoss and
unrcserve ia conversation on both sides. The
Prince thouglt NaI oloons French WAS "n not
without "a llttlr German accent and observed
muH in his turn OF mind traocabie e. his edu-
cation at Aug burg. Tie Prince prouDune
She nNemcn comp posing the Imperial rntour-
asr A0t lI-tiN. ui-Arl ly birth. manner. or
education. Th- tome was rather the tom IA,
gdiJusDn. with "a good deal Of smoking. the In
leror smoking Cigarettes. and not being abb 10
understand us not ioinin. him IN it, Eyen at
this date, l,ji. Napoleon seems to have been
yo"y chilly complaining # rheumatism.
and going early To- bed. taking no pleasure
In music. hut vain % his horscmanshir. in
which. however. tn Prince. accustomed 10 tho
English hunting field. could discover nothing
remarkable His entertainers education APP
roared 20 the guest very deficient. even on sub
lccts which We're Of prime necessity such ~ the
political history Of modern times and political
sciences generally. On the whole. the Prince
thought Napoleon benevolent and anxious for
the good Of his people. but trammclled by I'M
favorable opinions Of their political capacity.
There was no hope, he told Prince Albert. Of
educating the French masses by books or news
papers. since " even the worst writing of the
Socialists, who worked upon the lowest pass ions
Of the crowd. had, in fact, hardly penetrated the
| surface Of society He instanccd. a. a proof.
| his own election for the national Assembly at
Metz where the Socialist candidate. who had all
| the votes pledged, saw them given to himself. Il
| stranger. merely on account Of the name Of Ma
| poloon. This name, the Emperor declared. was
the only thing left in France which united the
| sentiments Of the whole people How little the
| peasantry followed even contemporary history
| was again illustrated to him on his way with the
| Empress Eugene to Biarrtz. when. through d
| large portion Of the south Of France. the farm
| ers cried. Vire Marie Louise ~ He had alsC
| heard. on former Journey. cries Of "Eifi
roud Ia rie,,r reuenu." Curiously enough, Ma
polcon spoke without bitterness Of the King o
Prussia. whose irresolute attitude was regardc,
with Indignation in England but in the discus
sion Of German politics he expressed pro
phetic apprehension Of German unity. " III
had" said the Prince, writing in 1854. thu
| comm IN 0rend OF all Fronchmen that German,