New-York tribune., 1878-04-01

gether i'm defeat and in victory without evel
inspiring enthusiasm, while his lifelong rival
without having either the tact or the patience
to direct his followers, would touch theil
hearts and stir the pulses of the masses. The
Earl of BeacOnsGeld has been adrOit in yielding tt
popular pressure and in prOfiting by every
fuctuation of public sentiment; he has ever
quickened national pride by introducing
pageants IN India and gliding the throne
with imperial devices; but the preju'
dice against him as q statesman whose
instincts are not wholly English, has
remained. Since the first sparks of war began
to glow in herzegovina the dangerous ten
denotes of his foreign policy have been re-
pressed by his colleagues in the Cabinet ana
combatted by Mr.. Gladstone in and out OF
Parliament. The Premier has realized
that neither the Nation nor his own
party was fully in accord with DIS
purnoses. and he has had the sagac-
ity to stand back and wait. During the de-
bate on the vote of credit, few weeks
ago, he was still uncertain OF his ground
for he said: "Whether England is to
center into a conference or campaign,
ait Is of the utmost Importance that under
"either circumstance she should do so with
"the support and influence of a united
"people.n But the Premier hesitates no
longer. He is now certain that he has
the Nation behind him. He reorgan-
ICES his Cabinet, decides to call out
the reserves and gives tremendous I'M
pulse to the war feeling. So manifest is 1t
that the Premier has the sympathy and sup
port of tho Masses that the Liberals will not
be likely to offer any eflectual resistance to
this aggressive policy during the debates OF
the week, and the danger is that the Nation
will be forced into position from which 1t
cannot Withdraw without being disgraced IN
the sight of Europe.
IL is not easy to understand either why or
where Great Britain is to fight with Russia.
The diplomatic correspondence shows that only
one of the Powers has manifested any interest
i'm the demand that every clause OF the
treaty of peace should be submitted to the
Conference. The supreme aim of tho dplo-
macy of Europe since tho Crimean War
has been to release bellgerents from the
control of the neutral Powers. France in
the Italian campaign, Russia in the Polish in
surrection, Austria and Prussia in the expedi-
ton against Denmark, and Germany after
Sadowa and Sedan, were in turn Isolated
from the action of Europe. If Great
Britain takes her stand upon the Treaty
of Paris, and attempts to enforce
European obligations, it will be a departure
from the principles and methods of diplomacy
which have been accepted during the last
twenty-five years. Those obligations, more
over, will be enforced by the only
Power that recognizes them, and the
Power that will DO subjected to dis
cipiine will be the one that has already lost
100000 soldiers and hundreds of millions of
treasure In furnishing the Turks for setting at
naught the moral influence Of Europe as exerted
in the Constantinoplc Conference. What other
cause of war can the British Government de-
ilne7 Egypt is not menaced; the Russian
soldiers in the suburbs of COnstantlnOplc arc
anxious to 90 home and there IL no
danger of the occupation of the capital;
the freedom of the Straits can readily be Sc
cured under European guarantees. if
Congress be held; and not even the
erratic British Premier would be willing
70 she'd English blood and TO waste
London treasure in striving to restore
Ottoman authority in Bulgaria. But the
military operations are as mysterious as
the cause of war. Where will the cam
paign he fought QUIT Before tho walls
of ConstantinOplc, where the new allies,
Osman and the Grand Duke, may reverse the
moral of the Crimean Wari But when nation
is determined to fight, cause of war and
scene of hostilties can always be found. Dur
ing n quarter century of diplomatic intrigues
Great Brltain's prestige in Europe has waned.
and she is in no humor to endure new
She is convinced that she
will have to fight Russia one OF these
days, and she is half disposed to do 1t
now, while her enemy is exhausted.
Why should she wait until there Is
navy on the Black Sea and the cOmmu-
nications with India are menacedf Why
should she wait until the Ottoman En-
pire dies of inantion and General Ignatef
opens an Office in Constantinople to admin
ister on the estatei The reasoning may
be shallow, but a nation that is irritated,
CALLED and angry, through and through,
does not care to reason about the matter, but
merely to fight. At such a moment leader
who has wanted to fight all along is the hero
of the day. and so it comes about that the
author of "Coningsby' inspires enthusiasm at
last.
But the Ministers of Napoleon iii. who
dragged France into an unnecessary war,
which she was ill-prepared to- under
take, were the heroes of Paris for fortnight
and they lived to be cursed for their folly.
Great Britain is amply justified in preparing
for war, although she may have no grounds
for declaring it. The Sultan in Constantlnople,
under the military convention of San Steiano,
is Russian accomplicc, and the Khedive OF
Egypt is servant of that accomplice
In Syria, where the Turkish rule is already
detestcd, a revolt may break out any day and
the province may be annexed to Egypt