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Octobers, 1853.] THE LEADER. 963
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THE ENGLISH PRESS AND AMERICAN OPINION. ...
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RUSSIA THE CIVILIZER.* The" appearance o...
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* Ali'/inoinn sierflx pour xcrvir a I'hi...
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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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The English People And The Eastern Quest...
provoke a war needlessly or unjustly , for that would be a moral suicide ; but , at the same time , they could not follow the counsels of the Peace Society , and allow themselves to be trampled upon by every despot ; and he trusted that in this particular case we should draw the relations closer between England and France . The French Emperor , whatever might be his character , had , at least in this case , noted nobly . He had never shown any hesitation throughout the whole of this affair , and was ready , no doubt , to go whatever length England was inclined to go with him . "
The resolution declared , " That the invasion of the Panubian Principalities , and the continued occupation of those provinces by the army of the Emperor of Russia , is an unprincipled act of aggression , contrary to the law of nations , and calling for the most decisive interference on the part of the English people ; and that the integrity of the Turkish empire being guaranteed by the most solemn treaties , to which Great Britain has been a party , it is the plain duty of the English Government to fulfil its engagements to the utmost , by preserving her territory inviolate , and by maintaining the Sultan in the full possession of his rights as an independent Sovereign . " A Memorial to Lord Clarendon was also agreed to . It wound up with this significant passage .
" And wo respectfully request your Lordship , as an influential member of the British Government , to ' take such decisive and immediate measures as shall lead to the evacuation of the Danubinn Principalities , to the full indemnification of the Sultan for the injuries sustained by the late invasion of his territories , ancl ' his future security against the recurrence of such an act of aggression . " The greatest unanimity prevailed at the meeting .
Octobers, 1853.] The Leader. 963
Octobers , 1853 . ] THE LEADER . 963
The English Press And American Opinion. ...
THE ENGLISH PRESS AND AMERICAN OPINION . A long letter , having general reference to the points of common spirit between England and the United Stntes , and particularly dealing with the question of " neutrality" in case of war , has appeared in the Times , from the pen of " General . T . Watson Webb , Editor of the New York Courier and . Enquirer , " a journal of Whig polities and large circulation . Last July the Times commented on an article written in the American paper by General Webb , on the subject of neutrality and privateering , and the American editor now discusses the topie with the editor of the Times . " In regard to piivatfering , our laws ave particularly stringent ; and , should this country become involved in a war ¦ with Russia , its commerce will bo entirely safe from depredations by " Yankee privateers , " or from privateers manned , in whole or in piirt , by citizens of the United States . 'Die late Chancellor Kent , in his Commentaries , page 122 , vol . i ., of the edition of IS 10 , thus describes the laws of the Union in relation to privateering : —
" It is declared ( by statute ) to bo a misdemeanour for any citizen of the United States , within the territory or jurisdiction thereof , to accept add exercise n commission to serve a foreign Prince , State , colony , district , or people , with whom the United States are at peace ; or for any person , except a subject or citizen of any foreign Prince , State , colony , district , or people , transientl y within the United States , or any foreign armed vessel within the jurisdiction of the United States , to enlist or entor himself , or hire , or . retnin nnother person to enlist or entor himself , or to « o beyond the limits or jurisdiction of the United States wiih intent to bo enlisted or entered in the service of » uiy foreign Prince , State , colony , district or people , as u soldier , or mariner , or seaman ; or to fit out and arm , or to increase or iiugmnut tho force ; of ivnv armed vessel , with intent that such vessel bo employed in llio
service of any foreign Power at war with another Powor with whom wo uro ut peaco ; or to begin , or set on foot , or provide or prepuro the means for any military expedition or on torprise , to bo carried ou thonco against the territory or dominions of any foreign Prince or State , or of any colony , district , or pooplo with whom wo are nt peace , or to hire or enlist troops or NCiuncn for foreign military or naval service- ; or to be concerned in lilting out any vessel , to cruiso or vommit hostilities against a nation at peace with us ; and tho vessel in this latter case is made subject of forfeiture . In the case of tho Hanlisxiwa Trinidad it was decided , ' tliat captures mado by a veasiil so illegally fitted out , whether n public or private armed . ship , were torts , and that the original owner wan entitled to restitution if tho property was brought within our jurisdiction . "'
General Webb goes on to deprecate a Avar between the newspapers at each side of tho Atlantic ; and points out how unfairly the English proas treat i-solatod and exceptional illustrative-facts of American manners . " If a bmto of a slaveholder outrages humanity by beating his slave-, our whole pooplo are- held up to censure and condemnalion , by tho Knglish press , an participators in the net ; i ' ' an ignorant , half educated backwoodsman , ou the confines of civilization ( whoso life from tho cradle has been spent , with lU'inn in his hands on nn Indian frontier thousands of miles in 'xtent ) seeks redrcs . i from an enemy as navago as himself , l > y tlie use of tlio bowie-knife , tho same press points to him with exultation an a typo of Aninricau civilization ; if , from a const of the and
'• ' ^ tending thoumuidn iiiilen along Atlantic Pacifi c "bores of our continent , a baud of advcntuicin oradn oiu «» nicer , "i , and piraliually invade the torvit »> ry of n uoittrnl , Hit : nihiim English press * asHiires its readers that both our Government and ' mif pnoplo are rfgardlcttn of treaty obligatioim , and of the laws of neutrality ; and even if a clover scoundrel in tlie civilized portions of our country commits forgery and swindled those who confide in him , ( lie free proas of Kngland docs not hesitate to pri'Hiint tho caso to tho English public ns one of American honesty ! ' Ah well might the American proHH argue that boeaumt tho Time * newspaper in daily filled with tho details of brutal JKngllslnnen boating thoir wivcn , tUurufwrq it is evident iho wholo English people « ro a not of teuton , who habitually indulgo iu ( his Jwigltoh sport j or tyo .
cause Bell ' s Life in London gives graphic accounts of the favourite Euglish sport of ' the ring , ' that therefore all Englishmen delight in that offspring of' a higher civilization ;' or because the late investigation into ¦ tlie administration of prison discipline at Birmingham exhibits a state , of things which would revolt the feeling 3 of the most brutal of the slave-dealers of our extreme south , that , therefore , there-is no such thing as humanity or philanthropy in all England J Or if we deemed it expedient to call attention to your manufacturing districts , and invade the dark alleys and cheerless garrets of London , and drag to the light of heaven tlie horrible starvation and misery which exists there , and annually consigns hundreds of thousands of victims to an untimely grave , without even the consolations of religion to smooih their path ; or if wo should attempt to sum up tlie tens of thousands of human beings who in this Christian land
nnnually , perish without ever having received the benefits of education , or learnt that there is a God overall , a future state of reward and punishment , and a Saviour who died for sinners;—if the American press were daily and habitually to present these isolated facts to the American people , and say to them— ' Such is England , and such tlie people who hate yon with so cordial a hatred that its press can only exist by abuse of you and your institutions , and by holding up your wives and daughters to the ridicule of such a people '—if , I say , such were the course of the American press towards the land of our fathers , it would be quite as just as is the practice of the English press towards the United States ; and we too anight create and foster a spirit of hatred and hostility towards England quite as sincere , and -far more potent than is , or can be the hatred and contempt which the English press foolishly , recklessly , and most unadvisedly is creating a train st their Transatlantic brethren .
" But , tbanlcs be to God and to our kindly feeling for the land of our fnthcrs ^ to our recollections of the past and our hopes of the fixture—to . our common origin , language , literature and laws— -and , above all and over all , to our natural love of liberty and constitutional freedom , tho American preas , while it has witnessed with sorrow tho injustice which we habitually suffer at the hands of our English brethren , has never yet sought to build up among- our people a feeling hostile to England . Should the time arrive for such a proceeding—which-God in his mercy Avert . '—you know quite as well as I can tell you , Sir , that we have among us a
million and a half of-people who have been driven by circumstances from the land of their birth to seek an asylum en our shores— -who attribute their expatriation to the injustice of England , and are ever ready to act as Propagandists of every charge which wo might bring against her . We " have but to indulge for a very short period in what you appear to consider the luxury of abuse , to accomplish what I would fain bnliove that up to this period Trollope , Hall , Dickens , and their associate Blunderers of America , united to the Times arid its co-labourers in tho same work , have not accomplished on this side of the water . "
He disclaims : iny desire by the Americans to propagate Republicanism in Europe . " Call it vanity or whatever you please , but ther very sincerely , and , in my judgment , very correctly believe that wo are tho only people on the face of the globe of siidicient general intelligence , united to a peculiar training and the antecedents of our political history , who are qualified to administer and sustain such a republic as that under which we live . " And then refers to Uncle Tom ' s Cabin nnd to the spirit which English opinions ou that book has roused in the United { States : — " Allow me , in this connexion , to any one word in relation to the inilueuce which the ovations in this country , by the press nnd the people , to the authoress of Uncle . Tom's Ctihin has exercised in the'United Sliitcs . It has roused for tin ;
moment the same feelings which s : > generally pervaded our country after the war of LS 12 ; but this will subside , before a higher anil a holier feeling of fraternity , unless the press o iCnglund wills it otherwise . In the meantime , it : hits been to us a bond of union which was not intended , but for which every man who loves bis country is iwosi grateful . The- little band of secessionists at tho south , who have occasionally mado themselves heard , on the principle that a gnat may disturb tbo slumbers of a lion , have always threatoned a union with England whenever thev seceded . Mrs . Slowe ' s triumphal reception bore lias entirely cured these madmen of that ( scheme . Thou , again , ( he hardy fanatics and political schoiner . H and demagogues of the north , who are AlmJilionints ,
or AmalgaiaiitioniNts , or KreeMoilcrw , as fanaticism , or political expediency , or honest purposes niuy dictate , urn all devoted to their country , desci . 'iuluiitn of Kuglish ancestry , mid deeply imbued with that Jiilin-Dullis'in which rebels against intorferenco from nbroad with our internal nflairs . Uncle Tomism iu Kngland , and your meddling with whnt does not con - cern you , 1 ms brought these men to their senses ; and , much n » they , and nil of us , abhor shivery , they will submit quietly to it . n oyils , not forgetting that . it . is u legacy entailed upon us by English cupidity ; but which , bad as it . is , we do not consider us overbalancing it tithe of the . blessing * which we inheritc . 1 with our Anglo-Saxon laws and the constitutional freedom MH'iired by the union of tint Status .
" \ Y'ith the exception of a hniidl ' i . l of the pro ( slavery followers of tho lute Mr . (' alhoun , there is not a man m our country , from the St . John to the . Kio ( jrnudc , and from the Atlnntic to tho Pacific , who does not consider nluvery a enrsu to tho Hlurelioldor and the States in which it . exists , and who would not most cheerfully get rid of it if any person could bo found wise oiiough to point out . the remedy . KnghmJ gave 20 , 000 , 000 / . to got . rid of . slavery , and ruined her West India possession ! * . America would give twenty times twenty to "H if itcould be
rid of this Knjrlish legacy , . necoinplmhed without ruin to our southern Stales . Hut . it may not . he . The racon cannot livo logothcr in u Mute of freedom ; and wo aro ol opinion that it . is better ( hut the whilo man should l , ( i muster than the Negro . It would br > u great point gained , Sir , if von could present ,, English hrulc . i from whipping , boating , and trampling upon their wives ; but your daily reports of ( ho doings iu tint police-coiirtH clearly demonstrate that it . is morally impowsiMi ! . And m » Chrmiiau and civilizod England eubmjts , tolhioalwquHutiou ^ wUicU $ »« d , Ul not letim » om
our example , and which has not its origin in Yankee cupidity —simply because there is no alternative but submission . "
Russia The Civilizer.* The" Appearance O...
RUSSIA THE CIVILIZER . * The" appearance of the authentic memoirs of an aidede-camp of Peter the Great happens opportunely , at a moment when Russia , is challenging us to a close scrutiny of her pretensions to autocracy over Europe . To know what manner of men Russian Sovereigns are , it is well to study their characteristics as exemplified in the fullest proportions in the person of their greatest man . To know what is the value of tlie vaunted civilization of Russia , it is well to study it in its first principles and its rudimentary efforts . The result of this enquiry will probably be that the specious system begun by Peter , and continued without modification by his successors , is essentially unsound , and that its fruits are unwholesome . Such a conclusion , i f true , must , be drawn from larger premises than are afforded by M . de VilleboiV desultory pnges ; but these contain
precious materials for Russian historv . which no lustnricious materials tor Kussian history , which no historical [ student would willingly forego . We will extract from them some passages illustrative of the character of the great Czar . The destruction of the Strelitz , the janissaries of Russia , is notorious ; but the detestable manner iu winch lt ^ was effected lias been disguised by complaisant historians . After their numbers had been insidiousl y reduced in the course of a few years from thirty-five or forty thousand to less than half that amount , by exposure to tlie hazards of war , and to the frauds of their officers in the commissariat , they at last revolted and marched on Moscow in two divisions " . General Gordon , who commanded in the Emperor ' s absence abroad , defeated the first division , with a slaughter of seven out ' of their ten thousand ; tlie
second division lie compelled to lay down their arms , and-decimated ' them on ' the spot . At this juncture Peter arrived in Moscow . The vengeance inflicted by Gordon on the rebels was not enough for him . He ordered all the prisoners to be condemned en masse as robbers and murderers . '' Accordingly , they were brought out from the several prisons in which they had been dispersed and incnrcyr . ited , and oil their arrival at Moscow they weru collt ea-d to tho number of seven thou & and , iu a place surrounded with piilisadus , where was rend to them the sentence by which two thousand uf them were doomed to bo bung , and the other livy thousand to be beheaded . The . sentence \ v ; u executed in one day , iu the following manner : —
" They were nmrchod out ten 03- ten from the palisaded enclosure into n plain in which there had been erected gibbets 01 lough to hang two thousand men . There they wens tiud up by te : i 5 , in presence of the Czar , who counted " them , mid of all the personages of the Court , whom he hud summoned to his s ; , that they might be witnesses of this execution , iu which , moreover , it was his pleasure , to employ the soldiers of his guard us hangmen . " Alter the execution of riuwe two thousand Slrelitz ennio the turn of those who wen : to be beheaded . They , too , like their comrsulrs , were brought , out bv . K .-ns from the ' enclosure
in which theyhnd been penned , and led into the plain , when ; bail been laid opposite the gibbets a suliicient number ol beams to st .-rvo as blocks for those live thousand culprits . As they arrived in succession , they wore brought in line , made to lie down at full length , and " lay their necks on the bmiii . s , and then tho whole lile Ava « beheaded . The Czar did not content hiui . s : ; lf with employing only the soldiers of his guard for this execution . Armed himself with uu axe , lie begun by cutting off the bonds of a hundred of these wretches , after which , having caused itxe-s to be distributed to all the princes , lords , and ollicer . s of his unite , ho ordered them to follow his example .
" None of these personages , among whom were the Cirand Admiral , Apraxine , the ( irand Chancellor , Prince Monshikof , Prince Uolgorouky . itc ., had the hardihood todisuhov . Thev were too well acquainted with the Czur ' s ehuructeV not to It now that it was us much as their lives were worth to evim-. o tho least repugnance on that , occasion , and that ho would have ^ consigned them without mercy to the f-amo fa to as tho rebels . " The fivo thousand heads wero conveyed in carts to tho city , nnd . stuck on iron . spikes imbedded iu tho huttlcincnts of tho walls of Moscow , whero they renuiined exposed during the wholo n . » igii of this Novcreign .
_ ' As for tho Strelitz olHcor . s , they wero gibbeted on tho city walls in front , of and on a level with Iho grated window tliat ndmittod light into tho prison of iho Princess Sophia ( Peter ' s sister ) , who always had that spectacle before her eves during the five or . six years . shn . survived those unfortunate men . "It only remains fin- 1110 to ( ell the futo of those who , having taken llight . aflvr ( heir dofent by ( ifcncral ( iordon , hud dispersed in dillcniut directions . 11 . was forhidden on pain of di-ath throughout the whole extent of the Russian empire , not only to aliiud them an asylum in nuv houso , but oven to Mipply them wiih the least aliment , no ! , even wilier oxc-ptcd . I ( dice it may ho inferred thiit thov all perished miserably .
" Tin ; women mid children of tho S ( ri : lil / . o . s wore transported to dcsorL and uncultivated placed , wbent a liniiled extent , ol ground was assigned them for their ahode , under u prohibition ( hill ihry or their descendant , ' ! should ever <( iiil . i [ . " IVitor'H lii'Ht wifo was Kudocjliia Koudorownn " mi
* Ali'/Inoinn Sierflx Pour Xcrvir A I'Hi...
* Ali '/ inoinn sierflx pour xcrvir a I ' hintoirr de la . eoiir tin . Ruxiiie mum / m n ^/ nts de I'iirre If ( irund it de Catherine I >" rvdiijtn ft i > uhli <' . i pour In I'remiere Join d ' ttprAa leg mamt-3 cn ' t * orij / iinin . t' du tieur de \ 'illehoU , Chef d'J £ nctulre et Aide-de-Canip de A ' . M . le C ;< tr I'ierir . /" , par M . Thenphilo 1 Fullo / ,. ( Secret Memoir * of the Court of liun . ua under Piter the Great and Catherine J . ) Pany , iafl !» ,
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 8, 1853, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_08101853/page/3/
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