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Leader (1850-1860), 10th March 1855, Edition 1 of 2, Page 220, Untitled Article

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      served , of the hig hest possible importance , which the Government of this country has not yet been asked by the House of Commons to prpduce , 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 House to consent to the production . " S i r J a me s admitted th at t h e A d m i r alty did in the main approve the conduct of Sir C . Napier , and h e , 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 D inner , that I had a great admiration for the proved and distinguished valour of Sir C . Napier ; I added also that I thoug ht 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 ac t up o n his o wn 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 orders on their return to strike their flags ; and it was for the Executive to determine whether Sir Charles should rehoist his or not . Finally , Sir James observed that he thought it would be very dangerous to produce the papers required by Mr . Malms ; 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 b y 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 . Cantain Scol » lBLiran"d"MrrW ' HiTESiDE"defended Sir Gibson of the

      C . Napier ; and Mr . Milneb approved course taken by Mr . Malins . ^ Admiral Berkeley ju s tified th e c on d u ct o f the A dmiralty by st a ting certain official details ; and the Attorney-Geherai * denied that Sir C . Napier had been dismissed—his command had simply terminated—while , s o far fr o m being censured , the Admiralty had expressed satisfaction at his conduct . Lord Palmerston , in stating that he should vote against the motion , repeated the denial that Sir Charles had bepn censured and dismissed , and ass er t e d t hat no thing 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 .

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      PROBABLE DISSOLUTION OF 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 h e has s a id , 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 , therefore , to satisfy Louis Napoleon , without affronting the Eng li s h people , a dissolution of Parliament will , it is stated on the authority we have alluded to , take place almost immediately . —• Morning Herald , Tuesday .

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      THE EMPEROR NICHOLAS . J ? he news of tho death of the Russian Emperor , rvhich wo briefly ¦ announced last week , has been fully confirmed . Ho had been ill for about twelve lays , 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 tho severity of th « weather , and in opposition to tho remonstrances Df bis children wad chief officers , to whom , soya 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 , and even exceeded , the number of years which God had allowed to others of his race , and th at his e nd w a s not 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 he 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 lun «* s , was the disease of which he died . For a time , th . " _ _ — . m . 11 ? ¥ _ T " . i _ - _ - — _^ lk * ¦ ' ¦ ¦

      Dr . Mandt felt no alarm ; but , early on e morning of Friday week , the p hysicians announced to the E mp er or that b u t a few h o urs of e x iste n ce r e mai ne d to him . Upon being told that atrop hy of the l u ngs was p o ssible , h e a sked , " When shall I be paralysed ? " The physicians could not give a precise answer . The Emperor then said to Dr . Carell , " When shall I choke ? " Shortly afterwards he rec e iv e d the las t sa cr aments , and , c alling th e m e mb e rs of his family to his bedside , took leave of them , and gave them his blessing separately—it is said with great calmness and self-possession , a nd in a firm voice . Paralysis then gained on his lungs , and h e e x pir e d sh o rtl y 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 comtoitted to General de Lamsdorf , who was assisted , amongst others , by theJDountess de Lieven , the p hilolog ist Adelung , and the Councillor Stork . At an earl y period he applied himself with great aTdour to military pursuits , in which he evinced considerable proficiency , e s peciall y 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 ni ght Palace murder of March 23 , 1801 , made him an orp han . When the French invasion took place , Nicholas was old enough to be an observant , thoug h 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 Eng land , where he received a cordial welcome . On returning home , he visited the different provinces of Russia , for . the purpose pf _ bejcoming acquainted with the actual condition of the population . " In July , 1817 ~ hemarried 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 Nicolaiewitch , 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 ho had secretl y si gned 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 vast conspiracy , composed of two classes—the enthusiastic lovers of liberty and tho old Russian party , the supporters of Constantino — was formed ; but elements so discordant could not long act together . Tho troops wero called upon to swear allegiance to the new Emporor ; but they had pre v iousl y 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 tho ceremony commenced , tho officers stepped out of their ranks , denounced Nicholas as a usurper , and declared that he held Constantino in confinement . Tho soldiers followed their

      officers , with cries of " Constantino and the Constitution . " Milarodovitch , tho Governor of St . Petersburg , and the veteran favourites of the army , were s ent to parley with them . The archbishop appeared in his ecclesiastic a l robes ; but all in vain . , The populace began to sympathise with the troops , and the scene which followed has thus been described : — " The tide and tumult of death swopt on to tho imperial palace . Tho Emperor and -Empress had proceeded alone to their chapul , and on their knees upon tho altar steps had mutuall y s w orn to die as sovereigns . Then placing himself at tho head of the guard that yet remained loyal , tho Cz a r rodo out and confronted the rebels . Standing before th e m , he cried in a firm tone , ' Return to your ranks—oboy . —

      down 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 token 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 . de Custinewho had -3 n . ^ ~¦ ~_ H ^* w -w * -rf ^«* ^ J ^*» J * s * n * ^ ¦ M * 1 » > fe am - -- - - _ « mm

      The Marquis , a conversation with the Emperor as to the memorable events of that dayrecords the following words used hy Nicholas : "I did nothing extraordinary . I said to the . soldiers , ' Return to your ranksV and , at the moment of passing the regiment in revie w , I cried ' On your knees ! ' They aU 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 b y no merit of my own . " In the punishments inflicted on the rebels , Nicholas evinced the most unappeasable severity . Absolutism was henceforth his 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 . " A gain , " Despotism is the very essence

      of my government , and it suits the genius of the land . ' Shortl y after his coronation , war Tvas declared with Persia , which , after continuing more than a year , was concluded by a treaty , whereb y 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 . Adrianop le opened its gates , and Constantinop le was itself in danger , althoug h the Turks in the Balkan , and in the defence of Silistria and Varna , had covered themselves with g lory . 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 indemnif y 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 neuter , and Austria and Prussia aided the Czar in crushing the insurgent patriots . After a heroic resistance , Poland was reconquered- —the Russians entered Warsaw , and an iron despotism was substituted for the semblance of constitutional government , whicITpreviously had been permitted to exist . When the cholera invaded St . Petersburg , the i gnorant 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 upon 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 c ^ Throug hout his reign the under-current of Russian intervention in the affairs of Turkey may be constantly traced until it reached , in 1853 , 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 the Czar ' s life must be too fresh in the reader ' s mind to need

      recapitu-AI . I . KOED INSANITY OP THE LATE CZAR . A singular letter from Dr . Granville appears in the Times of Monday . We learn from tliisthat , in th e course of June , 1853 , the doctor endeavoured to obtain a confidential communication with Lord Palmerston on the plea of having a very important fact to state with reference to the negotiations with Russia then proceeding . Failing this , lie sent a letter tohiB lordshi p , in which he advanced the opinion that the Government was wrong in entering i n to treati es with t h o E mp e ro r of llussia , since that individual was , in fact , a madman , and quite incapable of understanding abstrnct reason . In support of the assertion , Dr . Granvillo gave practical reasons : — " Tho heulth of tho Czar is shaken . It has become

      so graduall y for the last five yearn . Ifc hn * - table , passionate , fanciful , more than usually superstitious , capricious , hasty , precip itate , and obstinate withal —all from ill-health , unHkilfully treated ; and of late deteriorating into a degree of corcbrnl excitement , which , whilo it takes from him tho power of steady reasoning . impels him to every extravagance , in tho same manner as with Inn father in 1800 ; aa with Alexander , w Poland , in 1820 ; aa with Constantino , at Warsaw , » 1880 ; aa with Michael , at St . Petersburg , in 1 « -18-J < Like thorn , his nature feels tho fatal transmission ot hereditary insanity , tho natural consequence of an overlooked and progressive congestion of tho brain . J ' lJ (<) thorn ho is hurrying to his fato , sudden death , from con-

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      22 ( y THE LEADER . [ Saturday , ' 1 I

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), March 10, 1855, page 220, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2081/page/4/