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SviyM 1S53.] THE LEADER. . . '.. '.. 735...
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THE RUSSIAN INCORPORATION OF MOLDAVIA A ...
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CABBEE'S CASE. The cab-driver leaves his...
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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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A Winter Session. Ovee-Wobk, And Consequ...
•¦ self . It transacts a vast amount of . business \ rbich might yery fairl y be left in the hands of local authorities ; or given tip to permanent boards . Give a town a corporation , and : it is perfectly competent to manage its own affairs , Without any . interference of ^ Parliament . Appoint a permanent railway committee , and you not only release members from a large amount of work , but you gain the positive advantages of better information , and greater power of decision in those who are connected with such separate
-jurisdiction . Again : Why should Ministers be compelled to undergo the drudgery of their several departments P To some extent , no doubt , they are released from a large portion ! , of unnecessary labour , but there is no reason why this principle should not be carried further . Let the Minister be at the head of his department , but let him be surrounded by reliable men , well paid , and able , in a majority of cases , to know the mind of their chief , and the policy which should be pursued . It is simply absurd to say that such men could
not be found . It is chance , and not merely superior ability , which makes men MinistersoftState . Doubtless the difficulties attendant upon any resolution like that suggested by Mr . prummond would be serious , and fair ladies no less than sporting members would feel themselves aggrieved by any change which should banish them from town much earlier than July , or call them from the country until after Christmas . Still we cannot but believe that there is a sufficient staff of working members who would be content to sit during the morning hours even in the midst
of November fogs . But whatever maybe the ultimate result of this very moral " short time " movement we would really urge upon members to remember the sage advice of a popular novelist , himself a member of the House of Commons : •—" Lookto it , O public man , whoever thou art , and whatsoever thy degree , see if thou canst not compound matters so as to keep a little nook
apart for thy private life—that is , for thyself Let not the great Popkin ' s question absorb wholly the individual soul of thee , as Smith or Johnson . .... I don ' t deny to thee the uses of ' public life ; ' I grant that it is much to , have helped to carry that great Popkin question ; but private life , my friend , is the life of thy private soul—oh ! immortal soul , for one quarter of an hour per diem—doPopkinise thine immortality . "
Sviym 1s53.] The Leader. . . '.. '.. 735...
SviyM 1 S 53 . ] THE LEADER . . . ' .. ' .. 735 ,
The Russian Incorporation Of Moldavia A ...
THE RUSSIAN INCORPORATION OF MOLDAVIA A ^ ND WALLACHIA . Letter VIII . { To the JSditor of the Leader . ) Sib , —In direct contempt of the stipulations of treaties , the Russian occupation of Moldavia is now an accomplished fact . In the treaty of Kainardji , Russia obtained the recognition of her right of intercession : the treaty of Adrianople saw the word " protector" assumed : the convention of Balka Liman asserted that only in cases of organic disturbance could the [ Russian troops enter either of the principalities , and then only ,
I believe , to the number of 10 , 000 men , and that , too , conjointly with Turkey . All those stipulations are now so much waste paper : the Czar expressly asserts that he enters the territory in order to constrain tho Porte to an arrangement satisfactory to Russia ! and tho presont amount of the rapidly augmenting army ° f occupation is variously estimated at upwards of a hundred thousand men . Those troops are crossing the Danube in shoals , and at several points . Thus the sacred rights of nations are now no longer anything but a name , for tho umporor Nicholas , in his own words , oppresses the innocent Moldavians in order to oxact certain
guaran tees from the Porto ! Russia daroa even w assort that ^ his j s no t Turkish territory , properly understood , and she is supported in tho assertion . Tho iniquity of this invasion in such ^ case is a ll tho greater , for in this latter relation wiHBia invades a neutral territory in which J ^ urlcey has only a romoto interest , to constrain Mir koy to cortain conditions , which tho Moldavians
in no way control and in no way influonoo ! And this , sir , is public right and European ja w ! Lot us regard this territory in what "tf'it wo will , tho unparalleled nature of this ' Egression can find neither apologists nor sup-P i'tora . If the territory ia independent , Russia ias no right , human or divine , to occupy it in rf to coorco a diflbront power . Russia , how-Vor gives tho lie to this presumption by the
occupation itself ; for if Turkey has not that property and interest in Moldavia which is asserted for her , why does Russia invade that province expressedly to drive the Porte to some ruinous stipulation to obtain the evacuation of the country , and why does Russia stipulate with the Porte concerning Moldavia at all P In the other case , recognising the sovereignty of the
Porte , the invasion is , de facto , a declaration of war , for it does not take place upon neutral territory ! It is , therefore , notwithstanding all sophistry , an armed occupation of a portion of Turkey , and consequently an armed invasion of the country . If this is not held sufficient to justify the- Sultan ' s repelling the aggression by force of arms , Abdul Medjid need only at once surrender the throne of the Sultans to the
northern autocrat ; for to that conclusion must such reasoning inevitably lead . This result has been brought about by the hesitation and supineness of the Western Powers , and by the coup of Count Leiningen . Russia , informed of the temporising and vacillating nature of our Governments , has been encouraged to proceed . The pacific attitude of England and France has been , visited with the contemptuous reply of the manifestoes , the circulars , and the invasion ! The fleets , notwithstanding Lord Clarendon ' s declaration , were ordered to Besika
Bay to intimidate "the Russian autocrat from moving his army forward . The effort , accompanied as it was 1 > y the ridiculous statement that the movement upon the principalities would not , it was thought , constitute a casus belli , of course failed in its intended _ purpose . Lord Clarendon denied the intention ; Prouyn de l'Huys admitted it , in his anxiety to clear the Western Powers from having been the aggressors . He , indeed , clearly shows that it was only after the receipt of the letter to Redshid Pasha , presenting " a final ultimatum , with a brief delay , and which
contained a very clearly expressed threat of an approaching occupation of the Danubian principalities , " that the fleets were ordered to the Levant . The papers representing the two Governments thought proper , just at that moment , when apparent determination was our only safeguard , to enter into puerile discussions of what would , and what would not , constitute a casus belli . This double policy has met with a righteous reward . The slashing and plastering of reviewers should never be extended to questions momentous to the happiness of Europe . Such
conduct is mean , unworthy , and defeats its own ends . Thus , then , sir , the invasion is accomplished . It takes p lace either upon neutral or upon Turkish territory — both equally against the public law of Europe . And the Powers , through their undecided and undignified policy , have not only met with merited contumely , but have encouraged Russia to assume a position from which it is almost impossible for her to withdraw without a sacrifice of Imperial honour .
The unfortunate result of this state of things may be exhibited in few words . The fanaticism of the Christian and Mahometan races has been encouraged and increased—the peasantry have been called from their occupations , and the fields lie unreaped , untilled , and neglected—the agricultural materiel is pressed into the military sorvice—the Porte has alread y beori compelled to conclude a loan—tho populations of the mountainous districts of Asia , wild , savage , and fanatical to a fearful degree , aro brought down almost into immediate contact with tho Christians , in
whose interests the invasion which has called these mountaineers from their fastnesses ostensibly takes place . The troops have hitherto repressed the attempted outbreaks , both of Christians and Mahometans . Heaven grant they may continue to succeod in doing so . In addition to all these evils , tho commerce of tho Danube , of Turkoy , and of Europe , has been stayed ; this will still further l'estrict tho resources of Turkey ; tho monoy that might have been devoted to internal improvement is diverted to tho channels of war ,
and tho future , wasted in negotiations , promises increasing evils and remoter misfortunes . This aggression , too , involves , an all-important principle—whether Russia has only to support an outrageous claim on any European power , by force of arms , and thus , through more intimidation , obtain , if not the whole , at least a portion of her demands . Lot this principle onco bo conceded , in tho present oaso , and Russian grievances and movomonts will become limitless , oxhauetlcBS , and novor-ending . Let this principle
be once and for ever rejected now , it will probably never more recur . Certain it is , that up to the present time , Russia alone has derived advantage from the pacific policy of the European powers . Russia threatened , upon the departure of Prince Menzschikoff , that she would resort to effective means of coercion . She afterwards proclaimed her intention of advancing into Moldavia . She has done all this , and more : she has not onlyadvanced into Moldavia , but has invaded
Wailachia , and temporarily or permanently incorporated both provinces . Her troops are well armed and appointed , and they are also enthusiastic , for Russia has appealed to their religious passions , and made religion what religion always has been made , a scapegoat for her infamy . The British and French fleets which sailed to stay the progress of Russia , have effected nothing . The Baltic and the Black Seas are still free to the Muscovite navy ; whilst the combined fleets lie anchored ignobly enough in the Bay of Besika . If these fleets were advanced for any purpose , they have not effected with
that purpose ; and if they were advanced no purpose , they should not have been advanced at all . Every hour of delay ensures supplies and reinforcements to Nicholas , and affords him opportunities of intriguing with the nobles , corrupting the employes , and appealing to the fanaticism of the various races of European Turkey . Every hour devoted to idle looking on by England and France , degrades them in the eyes of the races of the East , which consider delay without apparent motive tantamount to ignominy , and on a par with cowardice . The same arguments considered weighty for the Irawaddy should hold good for the Bosphorus . Russia knew this , and directed her energies accordingly . The results may be read in her success . Alpha .
Cabbee's Case. The Cab-Driver Leaves His...
CABBEE'S CASE . The cab-driver leaves his home in the morning commonly at eight or nine o ' clock , and walks perhaps three miles to the yard at which he happens to be employed . He returns to the yard about midnight if he be somewhat early , with three miles to walk home afterwards . He slinks wearily , and often wet to bed , without a sight of his children and with hardly a word to his wife . This ho does for months together , Sundays included , except when caprice or ill fortune deprive him of a day ' s work . With all beside , homo is the very eeed-bed of right affections , just and pure resolves , and proper outward conduct ; and without a home these rarely flourish . Tho cabman lias virtually no home , and yet you wonder that he is a bully and cheat . You take , or did take from the owner of a cab , 61 . for a license to begin with , and 10 * . a-wcek ever after . That is , you exact , or did exact , eight or ten per cent , of his capital for one tax , and ( we speak , it is true , of extreme cases ) a fourth or a third of his earnings for another tax . Marked out for imposts like a Jew in the middle ages , or a villein in fendal France , you again wonder that the cabman is a bully and a cheat . Take away tho legal standard of a sovereign , a pound avoirdupoise , or a yard , and lot sellers and
buyers squabblo about the weight and measure , in every transaction , and what morality of trado would thoro remain amongst drapers and grocers ? Would it not be exactly tlnit of a cabman wrangliug with a passenger about a distance which neither of them can substantiate ? What is tho morality we expect to find in New Amsterdam when , according to Knickerbocker , u Dutchman ' s hand in the scale was mado to pass for a pound ? And yet with tho neglect of so obvious n measure as an authorised tablo of distances you wonder again that the cabman is a bully and a cheat . 1
Liberty is for man—not a grant , a boon , something it is as woll that ho should have , if it bo not inconvonient , but a necessity of his nature , without which ho becomes stunted , soured , and dobaoed ; and so much tho moro if liberty flourish noar him and ho have it not . Now all other men fix thoir own terms , and aro bound only by engagements made with thoir own conem ' ronco . But having freed Al other men from tho galling control ' of prices by authority , which whs onco your fuvom-ito but most , injurious policy , you leavo tho cabman alono still bound under it . , Him alone you fltigmatiKO an unfit to bo trusted with ft voluntary bargain , and yet you wonder ho is a bully and a cheat .
You meet a cabman , and you iimimo at onco ho is a bad character ; you npeiik to him with that assumption visible in every goature , and stinging in ovory word . Tho cabman i « to you what the negro iu to tho Virginian , or too often tho " black follow" to tho Indian cadet boforo ho l » aa earned hia common Bonao . It ia
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), July 30, 1853, page 15, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_30071853/page/15/
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