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Leader (1850-1860), 10th March 1855, Edition 2 of 2, Page 4, THE EMPEROR NICHOLAS. The news of the de...

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      Imperial Parliament. Civil Service Of Jc...

      flerved . of the highest possible importance , which the Government of this country has not yet been asked * y the House of Commons to produce , and of which it still remains to be seen whether , when asked , the Government will think it consistent with its duty to the public to advise this fiouse to consent to the production . " Sir James admitted that the Admiralty did in the main approve the conduct of Sir C . Napier , and he , for one , had never quarrelled with his discretion , with respect to which he ( Sir James ) sarcastically

      remarked"I stated upon the occasion of the Reform Club Dinner , that I had a great admiration for the proved and distinguished valour of Sir C . Napier ; I added also that I thought him discreet . He has confirmed my opinion . Discretion— ' the better part of valour '—has not been -wanting , and I may say of him that he is both brave and discreet . " ( A laugh , and some murmurs of disapprobation . ) Referring to his promise at the same dinner that he would attend to celebrate Sir Charles ' s return , Sir James remarked— " I have received no invitation to celebrate the return and the brilliant successes of the gallant Admiral . " With regard to the letter of the 4 th of Octoberhe said that Sir Charles closely

      , reconnoitered Sweaborg for the first time on the 24 th of September ; and that he then wrote to the Admiralty a despatch which appeared to them materially to alter the aspect of the case . This despatch showed that it was possible to make an attack upon the place ; and , in answer , Sir Charles was told to make no desperate assault , but to act "upon his own discretion . As to the alleged censure and dismissal of Sir C . Napier , the Admiralty had no ground of censure with reference to his command of the fleetbut they had occasion more than once

      ; to warn him that the language and tone he assumed did not appear to them consistent with due subordination to superior authority . The Admirals who served in the Baltic had received o rders on their return to strike their flags ; and it was for the Executive to determine whether Sir Charles should rehoist his or not . Finally , Bir James observed that he thought it would be very dangerous to produce the papers required by Mr . Malins ; and , leaving the affair in the hands of the Government , concluded by another blow at the

      author of the motion . - - " Never in my life was 1 more astonished at the course pursued by any hon . member than I have been , at that taken by the hon . and learned member for Wallingford . As for the equity and love of justice on which the hon . and learned member prides himself , the mode which he has of displaying it may be very good practice in the courts , but I am very much mistaken if it will succeed in the House of Commons . " ( Cheers . ) Admiral Walcot defended Sir C . Napier . Sir Charles Wood was satisfied that it was incompatible with the interests of the public service to produce documents which discussed , the means , the possibility , and the mode of attacking fortresses . Captain Scobell and . Mr .. WjaiTJESiDE ,.. defended . Sir

      C . Napier ; and Mr . Milner Gibson approved of the course taken by Mr . Malins . Admiral Berkeley Justified the conduct of the Admiralty by stating certain official details ; and the Attorney-General denied that Sir C . Napier had been dismissed—his command had simply terminated—while , so far from being censured , the Admiralty had expressed satisfaction at his conduct . Lord Palmbrston , in stating that he should vote against the motion , repeated the denial that Sir Charles had been censured anfl dismissed , and asserted that nothing had occurred which in the slightest degree diminished the high character he held in the service of the country . Mr . Malins replied , and consented , after what had been said concerning the danger of producing the papers asked for , to withdraw the motion .

      220 The Lead E R. " [Saturday,

      220 THE LEAD E R . " [ Saturday ,

      Probable Dissolution Op Parliament. We H...

      PROBABLE DISSOLUTION OP PARLIAMENT . We have excellent authority for stating that the French Emperor has remonstrated against the committee for inquiring into the conduct of the war , and that he has said , that , in the event of its continuing to sit , the armies of the two nations cannot act together , although they may act for the same object . In order , th er efore , to satisfy Louis Napoleon , without affronting the English people , a dissolution of Parliament will , it is stated on the authority we have alluded to , take place almost immediately . — Morning Herald , Tuesday .

      The Emperor Nicholas. The News Of The De...

      THE EMPEROR NICHOLAS . The news of the death of the Russian Emporor , which wo briefly announced last week , has been iully confirmed . He had boon ill for about twelve days , owing , it is said , to having caught a cold by visiting the soldiers in their barracks , and holding long and frequent reviews in spite of the severity of the weather , and in opposition to the remonstrances of his children and chief officers , to whom , says a

      French paper , he would reply , that he had something else to do besides taking care of his health . "He had , however , attended to it , " says the same authority , " for more than a year past , and at times felt some uneasiness . He said that he had reached , anc even exceeded , the number of years which God had allowed to others of his race , and that his end was hot far distant . He had treated himself according to his own ideas ; and had insisted on his physician putting him on a regimen which would prevent his getting corpulent , of which he had a singular dread . According to another account , his malady resulted from the fearful rage into which lie fell on hearing that Sardinia had joined the alliance . At the commencement of his illness , he had felt some symptoms of gout : but pulmonic apoplexy , or paralysis of the lungs , was the disease of which he died . For a time , the

      Dr . Mandt felt no alarm ; but , early on morning of Friday week , the physicians announced to the Emperor that but a few hours of existence remained to him . Upon being told that atrophy of the lungs was possible , he asked , " When shall I be paralysed ? " The physicians co not give a precise answer . The Emperor then said to Dr . Carell , " When shall I choke ? " Shortly afterwards he received the last sacraments , and , calling the members of his family to his bedside , took leave of them , and gave the m his blessing separately—it is said with great calmness and self-possession , and in a firm , voice . Paralysis then gained on his lungs , and he expired shortly after midnight . The news of his illness had reached Berlin at eight o ' clock on Thursday evening , and the intelligence of his death was conveyed in a despatch addressed to the King of Prussia , which arrived at the Palace at noon on

      Friday . The following sketch of the late Czar's life is derived from the daily papers—chiefly from the Morning Post : — The Emperor Nicholas Paulowitch was born on the 6 th of July , 1796 , being the third son of the Emperor Paul by his second wife , Mary of Wurtemberg . His mother superintended his education , which she committed to General de Lamsdorf , who was assisted , amongst others ; by the Countess de Lieven , the philologist Adelung , and the Councillor Stork . At an early period he applied himself with great ardour to military pursuits , in which he evinced considerable proficiency , especially in the art of fortification .

      However , in youth his instructors formed no high estimate of his abilities . He was taciturn , melancholy , and , when not engaged in his military studies , absorbed in trifles . The boy was not five years of age when the night Palace murder of March 23 , 1801 , made him an orphan . When the French invasion took place , Nicholas was old enough to be an observant , though distant spectator of that great struggle . On the restoration of peace in 1814 , he left Russia to travel , and visited the principal battle-fields of Europe . In 1816 he arrived in England , where he received a cordial welcome . On returning home , he visited the different provinces of Russia , h h

      for the purpose of becoming acquainted witte actual condition of the population . In July ,-1817 ,. he married Charlotte Louisa , the eldest daughter of Frederick William , of Prussia , and sister of the present King . Four sons and three daughters are the issue of this marriage , the eldest son , Alexander Nicolaicwitch , having been born in the year 1818 . At this time Nicholas had little expectation of obtaining the Imperial Crown ; but in the year 1825 , his eldest brother , the Emperor Alexander , died at Taganrog , in the Crimea , it is supposed , by poison . The next heir to the throne was the Grand Duke Constantine , who was then at Warsaw , and Nicholas hastened to take the oath of fidelity . But

      his brother had already renounced the Crown in a paper which he had secretly signed on the occasion of his marriage with the daughter of a private Polish gentleman . Nicholas , with expressions of regret , then ascended the throne ; and now came a terrible struggle . A va 9 t conspiracy , composed of two classes—the enthusiastic lovers of liberty and the old Russian party , the supporters of Constantine — waa formed ; but elements so discordant could not long act together . The troops were called upon to swear allegiance to the new Emperor ; but they had previously sworn fidelity to Constantino , and not understanding the reason

      for the change of masters , they remained faithful to the oath which they had taken . When the ceremony commenced , the officers stepped out of their ranks , denounced Nicholas as a usurper , and declared that ho hold Constantino in confinement . The soldiers followed their officers , with cries of " Constantine and the Constitution . " Milarodovkch , the Governor of St . Petersburg , and the veteran favourites of the army , were sent to parley with them . The archbishop appeared in his ecclesiastical robes ; but all in vain . Tho populace began to sympathise with tho troops , and the scone which followed has thus been described : —" Tho tide and tumult

      of death swept on to tho imperial palace . Tho Emporor and Empress had proceeded alone to' their chapel , and on their knees upon tho altar steps had mutually sworn to die as sovereigns . Then placing himself at tho head of the guard that yet remained loyal , the Czar rode out and confronted tho rebels . Standing before them , ho cried in a firm tone , Return to your

      ranks—obeydown upon your knees !• ' The energy of his voice — -his countenance , calm , though pale—and the veneration with which every Russ regards the person of his sovereign—prevailed . Most of the soldiers kneeled before their master , and grounded their arms in to ken of submission . They say in St . Petersburg that while he harangued them one of the conspirators four times came forward to kill him , and four times shrank back in fear . He retired from the spot ; wherever resistance was made , the artillery played upon the gathering crowds and the fire of musketry completed the work of destruction . " The hopes of the Liberal and old Russian party having been thus quenched , Nicholas found himself the sole and absolute master of the gigantic Russian Empire

      The Marquis de Custine , who had a conversation with the Emperor as to the memorable events of that day records the following words used by Nicholas : "I did nothing extraordinary . I said to the soldiers , ' Ileturn to your ranks ! ' and , at the moment of passing the regiment in review , I cried ' On your knees ! ' They all obeyed . What gave me power was , that the instant before I had resigned myself to meet death . I am grateful for having succeeded , but I am not proud of it , for it was by no merit of my own . " In the punishments inflicted on the rebels , Nicholas evinced the most unappeasable severity . Absolutism was henceforth hi 3 darling doctrine . To the Marquis de Custine he said , "I have no conception of a representative monarchy . It is the government of falsehood , fraud , and corruption , and , rather than adopt it , I would fall back to the borders of China . " Again , " Despotism is the very essence

      of my government , and it suits the genius of the land . " Shortly after his coronation , war was declared -with Persia , which , after continuing more than a year , was concluded by a treaty , whereby the Shah ceded two fine provinces to Russia , and bound himself to pay 20 millions of silver roubles as the penalty of resistance . About a year afterwards Nicholas declared war with Turkey . Adrianople opened its gates , and Constantinople was itself in danger , although the Turks in the Balkan , and in the defence of Silistria and Varna , had covered themselves with glory . In 1829 the peace of Adrianople was concluded , by which Nicholas was permitted to retain authority in Wallachia and Moldavia , and the Porte agreed to indemnify the expenses of the war by a payment of eleven millions and a-half of Dutch ducats—a sum from which three millions were afterwards deducted . In 1830 the Polish revolution

      broke out ; but England and France remained jieuter , and Austria and Prussia aided the Czar in crushing the insurgent patriots . After a heroic resistance , Poland was reconquered—the Russians entered Warsaw , arid an iron despotism was substituted for the semblance of constitutional government , which previously had been permitted to exist . When the cholera invaded St . Petersburg , the ignorant populace accused the physicians of having poisoned the sick in the hospitals , and put some of them to death . Nicholas rode to the mob , and shouted in a voice of thunder , " Down lipon your knees before God , and ask pardon of him for your offences . I , your . Emperor—your master—order you . " The populace obeyed . In 1839 war was declared with

      Circassia—a war which , with little honour to the -Russian arms , has continued up to the present time . Throughout his reign the under-current of Russian intervention in the affairs of Turkey may be constantly traced until it reached , in 1863 , that catastrophe which has for the last two years convulsed Europe . In 1840 the insidious propositions of Russia , being adopted by the British Government and by that of Austria , led us to the brink of war with France , and engaged us in military operations in Syria ; but with this exception the peace of the world remained undisturbed until 1848 . Since that period , the chief features of tho Czar's life must be too fresh in the reader ' s mind to need recapitulation .

      ALLEGED INSANITY OF THE LATE CZAR . A singular letter from Dr . Granville appears in the Times of Monday . We learn from this thut , in the course of June , 1853 , the doctor endeavoured to obtain a confidential communication with Lord Palmerston on the plea of haying a very important fact to state with reference to the negotiations with Russia then proceeding . Failing this , lie sent a letter to his lordship , in which he advanced the opinion that the Government waa wrong in entering into treaties with tho Emperor of Russia , since that individu al was , in fact , a madman , anil quite incapable of understanding abstract reason . In support of the assertion , Dr . Granvjllo cavo practical reasons : —

      " Tho health of tho Czar is shaken . It has lx .-comc so gradually for tho last iivo years . I In has been irritable , passionate , fanciful , more than usually superstitious , capricious , hasty , precipitate , and obstinate withnl —all from ill-health , unskilfully treated ; and of late deteriorating Into a degree of cerebral excitement , which , while it takes from him tho power of steady reasoning . impels him to every extravagance , in tho same manner na with his father in 1800 ; as with Alexander , in Poland , in 1820 ; as with Constantino , at Warsaw , in 1880 ; as with Michael , at St . Petersburg , in 1 H 18-K . Like them , his nature feola tho fatal transmission ot hereditary insanity , tho natural consequence of an overlooked and progressive congestion of the brain . L'k ° thorn ho ia hurrying to hie fate , sudden death , from con-

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), March 10, 1855, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_10031855/page/4/