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AM THE LEADER. [No. 424, Mat 8,1858.
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THE DANUBIAN BARRIER. The modern state p...
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NEW STATE OF OUR, RELATIONS WITH AMERICA...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Transcript
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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The Financial Position. Better Acquainta...
prevailing in Europe which compels each Government to arm against the concealed intentions of all the rest . N " there are two replies to be made to these two propositions - but since they are to be made in the interests of the public , they were not distinctly enunciated in the House of Commons . "We take " the case of the Income-tax 'first . The financial position of the public is even more remarkable than that of the Government . "We believe that it is entirely without precedent . Since the
• crisis there has been a great change in the circumstances of all moneyed persons . The amount of ruin was not so devastating as most of us expected it to be ; but it-was quite sufficient , in the examples which it made , to enforce great caution upon the public . By degrees money has accumulated , but the courage of capitalists has not been restored . All share property is at an extreme discount , even more in fact than in the " quotations . " The holders will not part with it ; numbers will now only invest in Consols or land . But of these commodities
the amount is not boundless ; the daily accumulations of money , therefore , are perpetually increasing the gross amount . If the ' spirit of investment is not renewed , trade languishes , and every straw of impost is felt severely . Sooner or later this state of things must cease * The greatest doubt of prompt revival arises from the state of affairs in [ France , where we see the Credit Mobilier , "which once paid 40 per cent ., and afterwards 27 per cent ., now reduced to 0 per cent . And
events like those which compel Messrs . Cal-VErt a , nd Co . to . explain themselves to their creditors , expose at once the state of proximate embarrassment , in which the most respectable houses find themselves amid the universal mistrust . It is a period , therefore , in which any Chancellor of the Exchequer with tact will spare the income of the public
as much as possible . The accumulation of capital cannot be in vain . At a day of no distant future , the simple dead weight of money must burst all restraint , and then the Government , as well as the public , must profit by the renewal of activity . In this way Mr . Diseaeli is quite right when he defers some portion of his obligations , and abstains from renewing his imposts . 1
Mr . BEtGiia' s objection goes to the foundation of the present standard of taxation , but it should be addressed , not to the Chancellor of the Exchequer or to the Foreign Secretary , but directly to the public . It is undoubtedly the policy of the despotic Governments of Europe that imposes upon the tax-payer of this country the load under which he is now labouring ; aud it is equally certain that , could Mr . Bbigut's policy of an active nonintervention iu the affairs of foreign countries —that is , not only abstinence from interference with the concerns of our neighbours , but
a forbidding of one state to oncroach upon another—be carried out , it would soon establish in [ Europe a condition vastly better than any balance of " Powers . " "Such as they are , the international relations of the present time are maintained , not for the interests of the countries , but for thoBe of a few reigning families . By acting together against each country in detail , the combined Governments can force each people to furnish the funds necoasary for the . support of enormous armies —to bo combined , on occasion , in restraining the spontaneous action of the people of any one country . But thoso armies became
necessary to secure the independence of each of the great Powers . Yot , ngairi , lhe maintenance of large standing armies by Russia , Austria , Prussia , and Ih-nnco , necessitates the maintenance of enormous military and nnval forces by this country ; aud the system is supported
by our professional diplomatists without exception . The effects of the system are coming to be obvious ; they are ever-increasing demands upon the already over-burdened taxpayer , and danger to the constitutional freedom of the people . Could Mr . Bbight induce the Government to reverse this policy , and to announce that it would standby each state to defend it from invasion by other states , each people of Europe would get back its independence , the vast standing armies would be rendered useless , and we—besides our Income-tax—might part with no small portion of our other imposts .
Am The Leader. [No. 424, Mat 8,1858.
AM THE LEADER . [ No . 424 , Mat 8 , 1858 .
The Danubian Barrier. The Modern State P...
THE DANUBIAN BARRIER . The modern state policy of Great Britain in the East of Europe has been based upon a supposed necessity of maintaining the integrity of the Ottoman Empire as a barrier against Russian conquest . Othei maxims ruled at Navarino ; but the annihilation of the Turkish marine was condemned as an untoward event , and it is now a habit among diplomatists to deplore the partial constitution of Greece as a separate kingdom . The limit of this enthusiasm in favour of the Turks was reached when it was proposed to abandon , the Ionian protectorate . An opposite course -was taken at the Paris Conferences of 1856 , when it was agreed to consult the populations of Moldavia and Wallacliia on the question of their future and permanent political oi-ganization . From the first the Ottoman Porte resisted any declaration tending towards' the recognized independence of the Principalities . Lord Clarendon was not then in entire accord with the Turkish plenipotentiaries ; but Lord Palmerston adheres strictly to the principle of Ottoman integrity , and the existing government appears to have adopted his ' opinion . Even , however , if the old policy were worth defending , Lord Pahnerston ' s argument would not be unanswerable , for he begs the greater part of the question / assumes the dangers he predicts to be absolutely inevitable , and narrows the alternative within limits altogether
arbitrary . But , in the first place , we must be prepared , sooner or later , to reconsider the decisions of successive Cabinets with respect to the perpetuation of the Ottoman Empire . Does that empire contain within itself the elements of stability ? Has it improved , or is it improving ? What conceivable advantage is derived by civilization , by the nations of Eastern Europe , or by Great Britain herself , from the duration of a throne leaning now on one embassy , now on another , never advancing , financially exhausted , politically corrupt , and mouldering to the very heart year after year ? And is it possible , ¦ w hatever scheme of diplomacy may be persisted in . to
erect Turkey into a barrier against Russia ? One of the oldest and best arguments in support of this idea lias been destroyed by time and Dy change of circumstances . Formerly , it was held—not without reason—that the Porte was more just , and offered greater encouragement to its subjects than Russia , and that consequently her moral influence would check that of Russia , not only in Scrvia , Wallacliia , and Moldavia , but among the Slavonic populations . This is no longer true . In the race of civilization Russia lias far outstripped Turkey ; even the serfs in her remotest governments may be
grateful thai ; they are not Rayahs under the jurisdiction of Pashas , Turkish-born or renegade . It is from a higher level , therefore , aud with material forces incomparably superior , that Russia presses on the Ottoman Empire , and we say it will become a question of the future how far diplomacy is to be applied as a check upon the natural development of events . At present wo arc in the position of entailing infinite labour upon ourselves without accomplishing the purposes in view . We protect lurkey , and the chict result of our protection is to drive the populations of Eastern Europe morally into the arms of Russia . It is Russian influence
, and tliat alone , which has triumphed upon the Danube since the war concluded in 1850 . "It seems to me / ' said Lord John Russell , on Tuesday evening , " Unit you havo made a way for Russia . " . Mr . Gladstone explained this still more impressively . Recounting the opinions hud down bv the several plenipotentiaries , he said : — " Tlio KusHiiin Plenipotentiary , with vary considerable tact , reserved the expression of his opinion until everybody ol so had spoken . It i « impossible too highly to complunent tlie sagacity with which he noted . It was clangorous for Uu . ssm to support thu union , if tho union ^ aa going to bo curried ; but if there wua going to bo a
set opposition to it it was desirable for her to support it for she -would thereby gain the credit with the peopl e of the Principalities of being their friend , and of pursuing the policy they had . at heart ; and , should the opposition he successful , she would at the same time enjoy the advantage of seeing the Principalities disunited and remain in a state of weakness and degradation , the advantage of seeing in them an arena for the prosecution of her own intrigues , and the advantage of knowing that they would be incapahle of forming any safe or effectual barrier between her and Turkey . "
And what would be a safe and effectual barrier against Russia ? " Surely , " Mr . Gladstone declared , " the strength and freedom of tliose countries which will liave to resist her . You want to place a living barrier round her . There is no / barrier , then , like the breast of freedom . " Mr . Serjeant Deasy also insisted on this point : "The valley of the Danube would be best defended by a nation of freemen . " And Lord John Russell carried the argument to its height : "The love of a people for their national institutions
forms a more invincible barrier against foreign foes than tlie articles of a treaty . " To this view , Lord Palinerston opposed one of a technical character : "It is perfectly absurd , to'think that a state so situated could bear up against the colossal power of Russia . Possessing no fortresses , no frontier defences , Russia would in a moment overspread her territories . " That is exactly what Russia has hitherto done , and what Turkey has not been able to prevent . Great Britain and France have been called in to rescue Wallacliia and Moldavia , and does Lord Palmerston affect to believe that Mic
Principalities united under European guaranioes would be less secure than when divided , and iu dependence oil a Sultanate which has never dofended them froih a single attack ? Besides , it is historically fallacious to regard the Danubian Principalities as integral parts of the Ottoman Empire . They are not , and never have been such , as \ ve have shown repeatedly , and as was demonstrated to the House of Commons by . Mr . Gladstone and the speakers who supported him . Lord Palmerston raised the bugbear of a prince under Russian influence . Butliis policy , if adopted , will drive the whole nation of tlie Danube under
that influence which he pretends to dread . Tlie question , however , between a foreign or a native ruler has not yet been formally determined by the Divans , and it is forgotten that the argument admits of a third term—tlie federation of the States under a presidential government . Whatever m : iy be tlie judgment of Paris , we shall only discredit and enfeeble tlie policy of the West , and invigorate aud justify that of Russia , by attempting to coerce five millions of an intelligent and deserving race by a fiction of diplomacy upon the pica of not disintegrating- an empire to which they never were subject , and of preserving a balance in which ihc Czar will triumphantly weigh his accruing popularity against diplomatic traditions at Constantinople .
New State Of Our, Relations With America...
NEW STATE OF OUR , RELATIONS WITH AMERICA . Tiije diplomatic correspondence between Lord Xa > pier and General Cass brings into strong light the extremely unsatisfactory nature of our relations with America on the subject of the slave-trade . M the very time we wero making demands upon ihc United States to increase lier squadron on the const of Africa to assist us in putting down the trade in slaves , our own proceedings iu regard to the Coolies arc such as to give General Cass a fair ri ^ hl to charge us with inconsistency . The truth is , Iliat the forcible prevention of slave-trailing is practically a failure . That it is so is demonstrated l > v
the carrying out of tho "free emigration" scheme of M . lldgis . Tlie imperial agent hits conveyed n couple of shiploads of Negroes to meet the wtuits of Martinique and Guadeloupe , and what is lo hinder him from shipping any additional number that in : » y he required ? "Free emigration , ' whether , of Coolies or of " apprentices" for the French colonies cannot bo prevented ; and the uneasiness of l ! u-English Government i . s a strong symptom of its recognizing the fact . The delonnination of the American Senate to abrogate the Clay ton-Bnlwcr tir ; iiy has helped tliia uneasiness ; and ' we may infer ilmt Lord Napier ' s domain ! lor an increase of the Uii ' iUhI States African squadron -wns made us much wii ' u a desire to test the validity of treaties u .-t with the wish to obtain an augmentation of forco for proven i \ i : services . The conduct of our Government and of our
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), May 8, 1858, page 12, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_08051858/page/12/
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