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916 THE LEA DEB. [Satpbd a Y>
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CONTINENTAL NOTES. THE ETJSSIAN QUESTION...
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COT7NT NESSEMODE S INTEEPBETATION OF THE...
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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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Letters From Paris. [From Otm Own Ooriuo...
crat of the eighty-six , furnish an . abundant harvest Pacts like , these it was impossible for any factitious fall to resist . At first , indeed , the system of authority was disposed to put down facts , and to exercise autocracy over events ; but facts and events have put down autocrats and authorities ; or rather , the Are-eaters in authority hav . e accelerated the very crisis they tried to put down . By having informations ( procks yerbaux ) drawn up against the sellers at a rise , they drove away the dealers from the markets ; by prosecuting buyers who went to farms to purchase wheat in advance , they frightened away the merchants ; lastly , by ordering
M . Darblay , the great corn-mercbanfc of the Seine et Qise , to throw his supplies at a fixed price upon the Halle de Paris , they have disgusted him , for a long time to come , of every kind of enterprise . The upshot of all is , that the Paris corn-market is now in utter confusion . There has been a rise of from three to six franc 3 a hectolitre in many parts of the country , and the price of bread is decidedly on the ri . se . In the provinces as yet there have been a few partial emeuies , easily repressed , the Government declaring everywhere that prices would fall , and that all forestalled would be rigorously punished . But as the rise increases , and
the Government will soon have exhausted its promises of a fall , calamities may be looked for . In the presence of such an eventuality Bonaparte has resolved on a very simple plan . He knows well enough that it is above all things indispensable not to have any emeute at Paris . "If the provinces revolt we will give them grape ( la initraille ) to eat , " says Persigny . As the people of Paris have a tough digestion , and would infallibly reply to mUraille by a revolution , the Government has made up its mind to give them bread . Bread is to be sold at eight sous throughout the crisis . Our fire-eating governors fancy this policy is au act of
genius . They are mistaken ; they are only heaping up fuel for an explosion more certain and more terrible . Work will beat a stand-still in the provinces ; the workmen will rush to Paris , where bread is cheap . At Paris they will be in competition with their brethren of the capital , and wages will fall . Bread may still be cheap , but the labour market will be shrunk one half . The crisis , instead of affecting 300 , 000 working men will strike 600 , 000 ; in other words , 300 , 000 from the provinces and 300 , 000 of Paris . The revolution will have an army of 600 , 000 men at Imnd . The Revolution thanks the Government for the
opportunity . To the bread crisis is superadded another , to which I alluded in my last letter—the financial crisis . Not only docs the Government demand contributions in advance from the capitalists in Paris , but my letters from the provinces say , that the same demands are made in the departments . The Ministers scarcely affect to dissemble their embarrassment . All the branches of the Admi nistvation have been surrendered to pillage of late . It seems to bo understood , that the beginning of the end has come , and every one tries to get his share of the booty while he bus his hand upon the public purso . Only Monday last , on the breaking up of tho Council of Ministers , oivo of them is reported to have said , that " the Turks must be left to their fate , what with our want of money and our scarcity of bread . "
Meanwhile , Bonaparte has started upon his triumphal progress in the northern departments . No expense is spared in Ids service . He takes forty horses from the Imperial stables , and eighty cooks in his . suite —a degree of luxury forgotten in Franco . Ho is accompanied by the Empress . The towns on his passage have voted fabulous sums for his reception . Arras gives 80 , 000 francs ( 3200 f . ); Lille , 120 , 000 francs ; Donai , 30 , 000 francs—with the proviso , that theso 30 , 000 francs should be spent in succours to the indigent . At Lille all the functionaries of tho
department , small and great , amounting to 20 , 000 persons , have been convoked to salute " their Majesties" on their passage . None but functionaries can approach Bonaparte . These 20 , 000 men will represent the population . In every town orders have been pjiven to em-t triumphal urchos . A contribution of live francs for niich house has been imposed . There will not bo wanting English journals to report , that " tlio Emperor was received everywhere with enthusiasm . " Toll thtmt , pray , once for all , that this enthusiasm is simply —enthusiasm hy ordet .
N iiin () iousniTestnhavebeen ]> n > KO < vu ted this wooKninong tho working-classes ; especially i . u tho . Faubourg St . Antoni <> and the ( Juurtior do Mumim A fortnight ago thoro wero Home tumultuous crowds ( rasscmbUments ) on account of tho rise in the price of bread . Tho mem arrested wero , it uconis , nuirked by tho polico ia those crowds . UuHides arrests of working inon thero havo been arrests of ofl ' icers at Avosnos . Under tho regime of authority now in force , tho Government shut « cuffa nt its good pleasure , if they incur its wunpicion . tfo it wai »
at Avesnes . A cafe to which the principal citizens resorted was closed . The next day a party of officers went to this cafe * as usual , broke open the' doors , and began smoking and drinking as if nothing had happened . Three officers of the 7 th Cuirassiers , with their colonel , were among this band of insurgents disguised as civilians . An hour after ,. the sub-prefect arrived with a piquet of soldiers . The officers , with their colonel , rushed on the soldiers , who thoroughly relished thejokeof being thrashed by theirown officers in disguise . The soldiers , you may imagine , were routed , to their own great delight , and to the fun of their officers and of the civilians of Avesnes , but to the disgrace of the sub-prefect . The prefect of Lille informed the General of division of the facts . The General replied
that the colonel and officers had done quite right . The Prefect insisted ; the General pooh-poohed the Prefect ; the Prefect rushed to Paris to lay his complaint before the minister , who placed the General in arrest at the citadel of Lille , and ordered General Thirion , second in command , to arrest the colonel and the officers of the 7 th Cuirassiers . A pretty specimen of our precious regime of " authority I" ' S .
916 The Lea Deb. [Satpbd A Y>
916 THE LEA DEB . [ Satpbd a
Continental Notes. The Etjssian Question...
CONTINENTAL NOTES . THE ETJSSIAN QUESTION—IMPENDING "WAR . The following despatch from Count Nesselxode to Baron Meyendorf , at Vienna , is dated St . Petersburg-, Sept . 7 th , — " We have just received , together with your Excellency ' s reports of the 16-28 tli of August , the alterations which the Ottoman Porte has made in the draft of a note drawn up at Vienna . " Count Bubl will only require to recal to * mind the expressions of our communication of the 25 th of July , to form a clear idea of the impression these alterations have made on his Majesty the Emperor . " When I , in His Majesty ' s name , accepted that draft of a note which Austria , after having previously procured it to be approved and accepted by the Courts of France and England , described to us as an ultimatum , that she intended to lay before the Porte , and on the acceptance of which , the continuance of her friendly offices was to depend , I added in a despatch which you , Baron , were instructed to communicate to the Austrian Cabinet , the following remarks and reservations : ^—" I consider it to be superfluous to remark to your
Excellency that , whilst we , in a spirit of conciliation , accept the proposal of accommodation agreed to at Vienna , and of sending a Turkish ambassador , we assume that we shall not have still further changes and fresh propositions to examine and to discuss , which may happen to be contrived at Constantinople under the warlike inspiration which seems at present to influence the Sultan and the majoi'ity of his ministers ; and that , should tho Ottoman Government also reject this last arrangement , we should no longer hold ourselves by the consent which we now give to it . '
" Expressions so precise as these could leave the Austrian Government no doubt aa to our present decisions . "I will not at tho present moment enter into the alteration of the wording which have been made at Constantinople . I have made them the subject of special remark in another despatch . I will , for the moment , confine mysolf to asking whether tho Emperor , aftor having for himself renounced tho power to change even , a word in that draft of a note , which was drawn up without his participation , can allow the Ottoman Porte alone to reserve to itnolf that power , and whether he can Buffer Russia to bo thus placed in an inferior position vis-a-vis Turkey . We hold this to bo inconsistent with tho dignit 3 ' of tho Emperor . Let us vocal tho wholo series of events , aa they
took place . In the place of tho Monsehikolf note , the acceptance of which without alteration wo had stipulated ns the condition of our resuming- our relations with the Porto , a different note was proposed to us . On this ground alono wo might havo refused to take it into consideration . And oven alter entering upon ifc we might havo found occasion to ruise more than one objection , to propose moro than ono alteration in tho expressions . You know , Baron , that from the moment wo consented to givo up our ultimatum , no note of any form whatever was what wo desired —that wo should havo preferred another plan , another form of agreement . Wo did not insist on this plnn : wo havo laid it entirely on ono side . Why ? Because , as noon aa wo should havo mado counter propositions , wo should havo
exposed ourselves to tho reproach of protruding matters , of intentionally prolonging tho crisis which is disquieting Europe . Instead of this , an wo wished to put an end to tho crisis » s soon as possible , we sacrificed our objections both as regards ( he contents and tho form . On tho receipt of the first draft of a note , without waiting to learn if it had been approved in London or in Paris , we notified our accession to it by telegraph . Subsequently tho draft wah forwarded to uh ' in its final form , and although it had . boon altered in a direction which wo could not misunderstand , we did not retract our consent , nor raise tho smallest di / lieulty . Could greater readiness or a more conciliatory spirit be shown ? When we thus acted , wo did ho as a
matter of course , on the condition that a draft which the . Emperor accepted without , discussion , should bo accepted by the Porte in a similar manner . Wo did ho under tho conviction that Austria looked on it ao an -ultimatum , in which nothing W 11 H < o be changed , as the last Wort of her friendly mediation , which , should it ; fail in consequence uf the pertinacity of the j ' orte , would thereby of itself come to an end . Wo regret that it was not ho . Hut the Vienna Cabinet will admit , that if wo had not to do with an ultimatum , but with a new draft of a jioto , in which either of the parties concerned was at liberty to make changes , we should thereby recover the right of which we hud of our own accord deprived ouruolvoB , of proposing variation *)
. We that as soon as the Powers unanimously hold this ' lan ? uam <¦« the Porte , the Turks will yield to the advice of Eu ? cW and , instead of reckoning on her assistance in a strum ^ e with Russia , will accept the Note in its present form and cease to compxomise their position so seriously for the childish satisfaction of haying altered a few expressions in a document which we had accepted without discussion For of these two positions only one is possible ; either the alterations which the Porte requires are important in which case it is very simple that we refuse to accede to them ; or they are unimportant , and then the question arises , why should the Porte unnecessaril y make its ^ acceptance , dependent on them ?' . * ' . <
henceforth leave the task to itself alone believe on our part , of taking the proposal of arrangement infn consideration , and not only changing the expression bS also the form . ¦ ' ° " " Could sucli a result bo intended by Austria ? On ia it be agreeable to the Powers , -who , by altering « n 5 accepting her drafts , have made it their common wort p It is their affair to consider the delays which will resiil £ from this , or to inquire if ifc ia for the interest of Em-nrm to cut them short * We see only one single means of trotHr ! an end to them . It is for Austria and the Powers to d / clare to the Porte , frankly and firmly , that they aft » having in vain opened up to it the onl y road that couM lead to an immediate restoration of its relations with us
"To sum up succinctly what we have said ; : the vltU matuin drawn up afc Vienna ia not ours . It is the wort of Austria and the Powers , who , after having first of all agreed to it , theii discussed it , and altered its original text have recognised ifc as such as the Porte could accept , without its interests or its honour being compromised . We on our part have done everything that depended upon us to shorten unnecessary delays , inasmuch as when the arrangement was laid before us , we renounced all eonnterpropositions . N " o one will refuse to bear this testimony to the loyaut & of the Emperor . After pur having long exhausted the measure of concessions , without tho Porte ' a having as yet made a single one , his Majesty can go no further without compromising his own standing , andwithout exposing himself to a resumption of his relations with Turkey under unfavourable auspices , which would deprive
them for the future of all stability , and must inevitabl y produce a fresh and signal breach . Even now , further concessions with regard to the expressions of the Note would be of no use , for we see by your despatch that the Ottoman Government is only waiting for our consent to the alterations made in the Vienna Ifote to make its signature , as well as its sending off an Ambassador to convey the latter hither , dependent on fresh conditions , and that it has already made inadmissible proposals with respect to the evacuation of the Principalities . As regards the latter point , we can only refer to the assurances and declarations contained in our despatch of the 10 th of August , and repeat , that the arrival of the Turkish . Ambassador , bearing tho Austrian Ifote without alterations , will suffice at St . Petersburg for the orders to be issued to our troops to retire over the frontier . "
Cot7nt Nessemode S Inteepbetation Of The...
COT 7 NT NESSEMODE S INTEEPBETATION OF THE VIENNA NOTE AND MODIFICATIONS . The Zeit of Berlin publishes a German version of Count Nesselrode ' s second despatch to M . Meyendorff . The following is a translation of the document , which was originally written in French ; and has therefore gone through two
translations : — " EXAMINATION OF THE THEEE MODIFICATIONS WHICH THE OTTOMAN P 0 ETE IIAS INTEODITCED INTO THE AUSTEIAN NOTE . " let . The projet of Vienna declares , ' If at all times tho Emperors of Russia havo borne witness to their active solicitude for tho maintenance of tho privileges and immunities of tho orthodox Greek Church in tho Ottoman Empire , tho Sultans have never refused to consecrate thein again by solemn nets . ' This passage has been modifiea Russia havo
as follows : — ' If at all times tbo Emperors of borne witness to their active solicitude for the worship or tho orthodox Greek Church , tho Sultans have novor ceased to watch over tho maintenance of tho immunities and privileges of that worshi p and of that Church in tho Ottomon Empire , and to conscerato them again ¦ - . " These words , ' in the Ottoman Empiro , and tliosc , the maintenance of tho immunities and pnvilegoa , < KC ., aro suppressed in order to bo placed below , and to ho applied exclusively to tho Sultans . This suppression iokcs away tho whole signiiication , and oven tho entire se " ° " the mutilated naHH . ixro : for nobody denies to _ tho ooyowni
reigns of Russia their active solicitude for tho faith " they profess themselves , and which is that of their bu l « oto . Thai , which it was wished not to recognise is , » at all times Russia lias shown an activo sohcitudp ioi co-rolimonistB in Turkey , and for the m < unton » nco their religious franchise , and that tho government w i mlyv . il to adhere to tliat solicitude , and to preserve tin « privileges intact . . mnrB un « " Tho turn given to tho phrase is bo much tho mo acceptable , because , by tho expressions whieli louov ] ' t )) 0 in attributed to the Sultans moro than solicitude' *» r orhodox worship . It is affirmed that thoy J " ** " j t cs ceased to watch over tho maintenance of thoBft- im ^ and privileges , and to confirm thorn by «« loin " ^ Hrmed ; . I ' iuiIli < t list *) !«¦ > vwif » i /> nll ^ r ^ rmlrnrv i . Ci WIHlt IS il * 5 » _ . _ rt / i tJti \ iW
J l »\< IT > 4 W 13 \ lltl . lH \ , } JUUIJ Jf *»» ' ««*« I ••»* "" f I Will OI 4 I " U and , considering what has taken place moro ^^ lately , and especially in tho jilfair of tho v .,, m 0 xo are forced to nook a remedy for thfim by rcquu Irtfc " ])() sitivo guaranteos for the future . ottonift " "if we consent to acknowledge that ' , ? mftinto-( JovorriiuonthaH never ( leased to watcli ovoj ^ tjjCJ , nance of the privilogOH of tho Grook oliurt " , irlfltit ? becomes of tho complaints which wo havo rl ^ xx b J ] aV 0 no Wo should be oursolvos admitting by i « ' »"'' ^ nBohikotf Bubslantial wrongs , that tho mission ol / " , ' Ai ^ J " was without motive , und , in a word , that uw liaM boon addressed to ua is itsolf ouporfluoqs .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 24, 1853, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_24091853/page/4/
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