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    November 20, 1853] THE LEADEE. 1131

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    LETTERS FROM PARIS. Letter C. Paris, Thu...

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    C O N TIN K N T A L N O T10 S. 1>KAT1I O...

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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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    Opinions On" The Eastern Question. Deput...

    aid , were adopted . The most striking incident of the meeting , however , is the reading of a long letter from Kossuth , two extracts from which we subjoin . The letter was addressed to Mr . Buchanan , editor of the Sentinel . " Those mismanages of public opinion speak to you constantly of the honourable endeavours of your Government for maintaining the blessings of European peace . Why , Sir , the time has come for declaring , in the most emphatic manner , that it is bitter sarcasm and hypocrisy to designate the iron rule of violence with the name of ' order , ' and to style the oppression of nations ' peace . ' " If such a condition be the aim , Sir , for which the influential exertions of Great Britain arc to be used , then , let Great Britain , at least retain the merit of frankness , if it has resolved upon forfeiting its reputation of liberality .

    " Those mismanagers of public opinion go further . They consider the presence of your fleet in the Bosphorus but a means for eiiforcing some possibly trumpery adjustment of the quarrel . Why , Sir , is it not the most ridiculous ignorance to believe , that the Turkish question , or , rather , the European question , involved therein , can be disposed of by some miserable adjustment , which leaves right , international law , and popular liberties in Europe , oppressed , and the field to Hussia open , to become yet the master of the world , and to revive the war at a more favourable opportunity ? If really such be the intention of the presence of your fleet in the Bosphorus , then , I profess , it would be better for Turkey to see the wooden walls of England steering back to Portsmouth . If , Sir , the British men-of-war would sink

    or capture the Russian fleet , bombard Sebastopol , land a Turkish army at Odessa , and secure the line of communications for the Turks , that would be an assistance . But the passive presence of your fleet before Constantinople is only an embarrassment to the Turks , a cheek to their enei-gies , an impediment to their making use of those means of defence which every political consideration points out as the most availing and the most essential . It is , in fact , nothing else than the practical assurance that , in case of success , Turkey should be prevented from reaping such fruits of her victories as would finally settle the great Oriental question , open for more than a century ; and in case of defeat , to make her die , not like a hero by a glorious death , but to pine away in consumption , brought upon her by slow , but certainly fatal diplomatic negotiations .

    " It appears that , though not avowed openly , the shadows of these events are fluttering before the eyes of your statesmen . Hence it comes that , despairing of a sincere and active union with Austria in the present struggle , they quench their fears with another idea not less absurd than the first was . They endeavour to persuade themselves that , though Austria may not possibly be induced to side with , the great Western Powers against Russia , she will , at least , remain neutral . Yet , an impartial neutrality of Austria is , from her very position as regards Russia , equally impossible as her siding- openly with Turkey . Yet , Sir , that neutrality does not actually exist any longer .

    'It is scarcely nine months ago , when Omer Pacha , at the head of only 30 , 000 men , was inarching against Montenegro , for checking a revolt which had been stirred up by ltussia , that Austria immediately despatched an Envoy Extraordinary to Constantinople , for the purpose of peremptorily informing the Sultan , that she could not allow such a large force (!) to bo concentrated so near to the Austrian frontiers ; that , therefore , it must be withdrawn , otherwise Austria should consider it a legitimate cause of Avar . "Now , what is it ( hat the same Austria does now ? She had concentrated 90 , 000 men in the immediate neighbourhood of the north-western frontier of Turkey . Has sho given any satisfactory guarantees of her

    neutralityaccom-, panied with such a threatening attitude ? Wo , Sir;—mere words ! empty words—words of that dynasty which never yetlms hold nacrod even an oath ! And even these empty words pledged her only conditionally , say , in so far " as her interests will permit her to remain neutral . " Or have Great ; Urituin and Prance guaranteed an impartial neutrality o f Austria ? Wo , Sir ; they did not , they cannot , and they dare not do it ; . Therefore , what is the result ? The result in , that the Turkish Government was forced , in contemplation of the hostile attitude of Austria , to garrison this fortresses of Serbia on a Avar foot--V . ar > 1 ' ' ° keep idle an army of observation in Bosnia .

    J » y Hum necessit y 6 <) , 0 ( M > men have been abstracted from lie uetho army ' of Omer Pnehii , and this in positively ko niueh as if Austria had nent 50 , 000 mini dm a reinforcement »<> the head-qunrter . s of Prince Gorfsclmkoff . Way , it is Worne ; wince the ( tending- of Midi an auxiliary force would have relieved the Turlnnh Government from ' lie difiieiiltien of an absurd diplomatic conference , and prevented it until now from making use of the heroie wiIhngiioHK of the Hungarian nation to afford such aid an soon would have made AuHtria unable either to harm ¦ 1 in-key or < o j 1 () j p < , h « CV . ar ; whevwin , by her false neutralit y , hIki ab . stmelod mielia force from ( lie uctive Turkish

    m '» iy us her open hostilities could not , abstract ,. Therefore , I tuiHo to ( ell mo , Sir , wii those diplomatie endeavourx ol ' .: rt - | l J' Britain , bached ovou by a . parmloof your Heel in the ¦ ""KphoriiH—which had no oilier result , aiid no other aim , ' * ° uj ) hold this 1 ' iiIho position are they of any nHsi . sl , - n to tlio Turkiwh oiuj > ireP Wo , Sir , it . is no assistance ; i (; ;„ wovm , t , | mn indiilerenee ; it islhoentry of agiuiHl , v IO , hy his very presence , ubHorbtt tho indenoncfeneo of the " <»» N <( own «> r . . '' <> Himato ] y , the ibreo of events Iiuh ho far favoured JMHlice mid right , thai ; Iliore eim ho no more huriu uono by j ) n , ( eH , sin ^ it oponly—thai , l . hu Turkish ( Empire id ? 'I ' . ' 1 "" 11 " " \ '' H proHimfc struggle have a more valuable _ y than the Hungarian nation , nor < "in Us future ob'll'u better guarantee , tlum the rofltorulion of Polish nationalit y and Hungarian indepondonco .

    " Without this , Turkey will have always to fear that Austria might throw down the mask of her false neutrality , at a moment when the Turks though victorious , may be worn out by their very victories . It is not for the first time that Austria will have played such foul play . In . 1737 , in that Turkish Russian war which ended with the' treaty of Belgrade , Austi-ia took upon herself to act as a mediator between the belligerent parties . But while she was mediating at

    Wiemeroff , she — Austria , the mediator — concentrated her armies , upon receiving the intelligence that- •' Marshal Munch had taken Ocsafcahoff , and Harshal Lascy obtained advantages in Crimea , just as she does now , and attacked Turkey on the whole line from Bosnia up to Wallachia : alleging that the treaty concluded between Austria and Russia in 1726 , and confirmed in 1732 , obliged her mot only to aid Hussia in any war against Turkey , but , should Turkey be the aggressor , even to declare direct war against the Sultan .

    " You are well aware , Sir , that , from the time of the wolf and the lamb , whoever is willing to commit violence , never hesitates to pervert truth . You are aware that the Czar , in his manifesto of Nov . 1 st , declares barefacedly that , even now , Turkey is the aggressor in the present struggle . That treaty of 17261 is still ready for use : it may be taken out at Will from among the diplomatic rubbish . Che spirit of the treaty has heen confirmed by the so-called Holy Alliance ; and that alliance has , in its turn , been again confirmed at Sans Souci , in Prussia , after the Imperial conferences at Olmutz ; it has still more forcibly been confirmed by the Russian intervention in . the Hungarian war which , from an ally and possibly a rival , converted the Emperor of Austria into an obedient servant of the Czar .

    " Wo , Sir , no imaginable diplomatic adjustment can settle the Oriental question , unless it raises a barrier between Turkey and her ambitious neighbours . So long as Austria is dependent upon the Czar , she . will always be dangerous to the independence of Turkey , in the interest of the Czar . On the contrary , if we imagine her—a strange imagination indeed—independent and strong , she will threaten Turkey on her own account . Austria , if a firstrate power , must speculate upon a partition of the Turkish empire , as well as the Cabinet of St . Petersburg . Russia is pushed to that speculation by the ' wish of becoming a great maritime power , whilst Austria is urged in the same

    direction by vet mightier reasons than those of inherited ambition . Be it ; that she loses hold of Italy , which sooner or latter is inevitable ; be it that Prussia gains an ascendancy over her in Germany , in any possible emergency she looks for compensation to the Turkish empire . Moreover , after all that has occurred in 1849 , Austria can never be sure of her dominion over Hungary , so long as in her immediate neighbourhood there exists a power which , in the case of a conflict—possibly delayed yet imavoidablemust become a ready support to Hungarian nationality in all the future , as it has been in all past times , against Austria . "

    It is probable that Newcastle , the first to move in the spring , will shortly hold a meeting to consider the propriety of petitioning the Queen to render effective aid to Turkey .

    November 20, 1853] The Leadee. 1131

    November 20 , 1853 ] THE LEADEE . 1131

    Letters From Paris. Letter C. Paris, Thu...

    LETTERS FROM PARIS . Letter C . Paris , Thursday Evening , Nov . 24 , 1853 . The great anxiety of Bonaparte just now is the parti pretre and the Legitimist faction . A sort of cowpd ' etat is in preparation at the Tuileries to arrest the encroachments of tho one and the other . The exorbitant pretensions and overwhelming insolence of the priests increase in virulence daily : daily they impose now conditions upon Bonaparte , who having found it easy to crush all obstacles hitherto , is determined to try to -crush them . It is seriously in contemplation to break with Rome and the Pope , and to create an

    Almoner-General of France , who would be a species of Gallican Pope or Primate , charged to confer ecclesiastical dignities . To this liigh functionary would revert tho nomination of the whole clergy , who are now appointed by the bishops . In thia new combination , they would be , in fact , nominated by the State , and being thus at the discretion of , and in dependence upon , tho State , they would merge into docile instruments of its will , where they are now nothing but instruments of treason . Tho clergy has occupied all the

    leading functions in tho state : and affiliated members of the Society of . Jesus and of other fraternities arc to bo found whore Bonaparte fancied ho hiul placed his own devoted adherents . Thin revelation has decided him to strike a grand coup . Finding that tho Church employji tho widespread influence it has thus obtained , to carry on a vigorous propaganda in favour of Henry V ., Bonaparte , we hear , in seriously meditating a complete change of policy , and instead of persecuting the Kopublicans , ho beginu to think of laying his hand heavily on the Legitimists .

    I tut it in too lute . Tho republican party Iuih been too Hevorel y ¦ decimated and disorganized by ' Bonaparte ever to furnish him any support . One hundred tUoumind men , the rflilo of the nation , have disappeared in i > rihoiih , in Algeria , to Cayenne , in exile , or in death . The few middle-class Republicans who had survived thoHo persecutions , have been recentl y removed ; there remain only tho working-men of Paris , of Joyous , and of a few other manufacturing centred . Now the working men are Holdiors , not chiefs . There hat ) existed a republican party , having its chiefs , its offieorH , its organization , ifcH countersigns and 'mots d ' ordre . ; mich , I trust , it may exist again in the future : but now it it ) no more .

    Nemours has called the Comtede Chambord Makingthe sole and true King of France ; the Duchess of Orleans has authenticall y renounced the pretensions she had claimed for her own-son . Next spring , perhaps , Henry V . may make his appearance in France ; probably in the south or in the east , perhaps even at Lyons , which is also a ci ty of the priests . Once proclaimed , if only two or three regiments change sides and don the white cocarde , Bonaparte will hardly hold his own .

    It is thus that Bonaparte finds himself face to face with the Legitimist and priestly party , destitute of any party of his own : he has let that party secure every strong position , fortify itself , recruit its forces , organize in every direction ; and now that he is hemmed in , surrounded , pressed on all sides , he scarcel y knows how he shall be able to break through . You may , therefore , think , not unreasonabl y be prepared for grave eventualities in France . The fusion of the two branches of the Bourbon House is accomplished . The Due de

    Now , all this is known and felt at the Tuileries . They would fain provide against contingencies ; but the remedy bids fair to hasten , and intensify , the disease . No sooner shall the schism between Rome and the Empire be consummate d , than the priests will be up in arms , soundin g the trump of defiance and alarum , frightening the women , and , through the women winning the men . In one week they will do more harm than Bonaparte in two years .

    One of the latest acts of the parti pretre which has enraged Bonaparte is the refusal of the Pope to send a Legate to France for the coronation of the second of December . All preparations were made for that day . but this refusal necessitates a further postponement o . the ceremony . The 29 th of January , the anniversary of the Emperor ' s marriage , is now spoken of , or the 20 th of March , the anniversary of there-entry of Bonaparte into Paris in 1815 .

    All these rumours of approaching troubles are not calculated to re-establish confidence . The financial crisis is getting worse every day . The Bank of France , alarmed at the void in its coffers on the one hand , and the numerous demands on the other , thought of raising the rate of discount ; but an express veto arrived from Bonaparte , and the council broke up without coming to any conclusion . There have been further arrests in the provinces this week , all owing to the imprudence of Delescluze .

    At Dijon , there have been nine more persons thrown into prison , besides eight previously . At Lyons , twelve working men have been condemned , as carbonari , for forming a secret society , to two and three years' imprisonment . On the occasion of their trial , the public accuser delivered a ridiculous harangue , exclaiming , that so long aa there remained a- single Republican— " one of those lawless and Godless men " —society would be in danger . M . Fevrier , I should add , is a furious Legitimist , and affiliated to the Society of JesiiB .

    Bonaparte has been giving magnificent fetes at Fontainebleau : he goes to mass and a-hunting . Perhaps ho might dispense with tho former of those amusements . The receptions of the 22 nd and the 26 th were as brilliant as the preceding . At the soire ' e of the ambassadors of the second and third rank Vely Pasha figured among them , together Avith the Ministers of Sweden , Sardinia , and Greece : then came a few families of rather ambiguoun distinction ; and a batch of familiars filled up the circle , mich as Ht . A maud , General Laureatine , coinmander-in-chief of the National Guard of Paris , M . * Arrighi de Padoue , and Count Morny .

    The most splendid weather favoured the hunting . I went , for curiosity ' s Bake , to see tho dcjUc of all thoHo Louis XV . costuniuH in the forent of Fontainobleau . However silly a masquerade it might he , atill it was a curious ni & ht enough . Nothing now this week from the Kant , except the fact that it wan in pursuance of . superior orders that Omer Pasha evacuated JLoK . ser Wallachin , and recrossed tho Danube . It seems that tho Turkish G ' o-

    vernnient wan alarmed at the revelation which was perfidiously whispered intoitw ear hy the Austrian embassy , to the efleet that ( iiin . Hi-. iri stiatogy was endeavouring to docoy Oiner Pasha into ( ireater VVallachia , where it would infallibly crush him . By this faunae confidence , the Austrian Minister waved tho . itiiHsian army from defeat . Tho . ltuMsians would have been b } r this tinio driven out of Wallaehia ; it will be their turn , next spring , to drive the Turku out of Bulgaria . S .

    C O N Tin K N T A L N O T10 S. 1>Kat1i O...

    C O N TIN K N T A L N O T 10 S . 1 > KAT 1 I OK Till' } QiriOHN <> l > " I'OHTirUA I ,. A TKT , NUH . viMiifc dispatch reaehed London on ( lie 20 lh inn ! .., bringing tho ne \ vn of the dent li in child-bod of Donna Maria da ( Jloriu , Queen of Portugal , on tho lf > t ; li insl ; . Her crown devolves on her nun , Don Pedro , twarMuy It ) yoiu'H of age . J'Wdinnnd of Colmvg , the King ( , \> nnort him asHiinied tho . Regency in tlm iinine uud during the minority of her moii ; and hy the lust nceoun < n Jiiabon wiih Ininqiiil , and u general mourning- prevailed . Maria da Gloria , daughter of Mm late . ICuijx'i'or of Hia / il , Doin Pedro I ., hy bin lint . eoiiHort , the ArehducliCHM Leopoldine of Austria , was horn at JMo do Janeiro , April 4 > , 1810 . On the death of her grandfather , Jolin VI . !

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 26, 1853, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_26111853/page/3/