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THE L.EAPE&. 155
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; :—^ir: - — —^^ UOTICKS TO CORRESPONDEN...
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SATURDAY, FEBRUAKY 16, 1856.
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There is nothing so revolutionary, becau...
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able firmness and dexterity as the Forei...
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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Transcript
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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.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
The L.Eape&. 155
THE L . EAPE & . 155
- — —^^ ——February- 1 & , 18 . 56 . ]
; :—^Ir: - — —^^ Uoticks To Corresponden...
; : —^ ir : UOTICKS TO CORRESPONDENTS , . A-o notice can he taken of ^ qnymous « ommuincatioiiB Whatever is intended for insertion must be authenticated bythcrTan . e and address of the writer ; riot necessarily for nublS-ation l . ut as a guarantee of his good taitn . It is impossible to acknowledge the mass of letters we receive Th ir insertion is often delayed , owtng to a press of matter ; and when omitted , it is frequently from reasons quite independent of the merits of the commumca-CtoronVun ication- should always be legibly written , and on ^ one side of the paper only . If long , it increases the diffi-SKSUlty of finding opacc for them . " ? ! . . „ ^ Te cannot undertake to return rejected communications . Durinc the Session of Parliament it is often impossible to find room lor correspondence , even the briefest .
Jfo»Fr*R.
Jfo » fr * r .
Saturday, Februaky 16, 1856.
SATURDAY , FEBRUAKY 16 , 1856 .
|)Uliltr Sslmxb.
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There Is Nothing So Revolutionary, Becau...
There is nothing so revolutionary , because there is nothing so THxnatural and convulsive , aB the strain to keep thing 3 Axed when all the world is by the very f law of its creation in eternal progress . —Db . Arnold .
Able Firmness And Dexterity As The Forei...
able firmness and dexterity as the Foreign Minister of the Emperor Francis-Joseph . Baron Hubneb , who is associated with him , is an average diplomatist , not likely to exert much influence in the approaching discus-S 1 ° It was not to be expected that the French representatives should be men of superior weight or capacity . Both Count Walewsky and Baron de Bourqueney are Imperial dummies , —the former showy and mediocre , the latter experienced and bland . They will echo the inspirations of the Tuileries ; their parts have been rehearsed . France has a distinct policy , to which we may infer the policy of Russia has been already re-~™> «? u , q r . ^ WI Clarendon is a decorous repre
lopment in politics , and implies a general or partial re-settlement of the map of Europe . The effect of the Congress would be to supersede the treaty of Vienna , and the religious woxk of the Holy Alliance , —sanctioned and sealed under the most solemn protestations , but already obsolete and impracticable . The occasion for such a Congress has not yet come . The great landmarks have not been disturbed ; no territories have been detached from the dominions of the negotiating Powers ; no institutions have been obliterated ; no authority has been eclipsed . Hungary , Poland , and Italy await a deliverance-that no diplomacy can bring . A , revolutionary treaty of peace is not the natural result of a diplomatic war , firmly guided by statesmen in the " political" groove . ruier 01 jd wia
; a . conference or a congress ? The hair-developed war has been arrested . The Plenipotentiaries are alighting in Paris . The Princess Lieven ; , that Mother Carey of diplomacy , an Egeria in partibus , has arrived as an avant courrkr . In twos and threes the negotiators enter the capital of Europe . While they assemble , and while formalities are debated , we have an opportunity for a personal analysis of this Council . of Pacificators , and for an examination of the political basis upon which they will deliberate . Count Orl opp , the most intimate friend and icholas
sentative of British aristocratic politics . As Foreign Minister he has displayed resources not expected of him , and he will sit at the Conferences with Lord Cowley , the intimate of the Tuileries , attended by the public opinion of England , almost under the eye of Parliament , and with the example of * Ix > rd John Rtjssell in his memory . On him will devolve the serious business of ^ iri ^™ wli Vlfi t rie select Nobodies who
It might flatter tne present ranee u a Congress should assemble in his capital , and under his influence , unparalleled as it is , and magnified as it has ^ een by the selfabxising policy of Great Britain . But , without an European Coup d ' Etat , is it possible ? Is Austria willing , or Prussia , or Russia , or England ? Is England prepared to have her maritime supremacy questioned , or Austria her Italian territory , orPrussialterartificial frontier , tforoonno
form his retinue will flutter around Lord Cowley , parade their Britannic French , and illustrate in Paris those winning qualities of simplicity and cordiality so characteristic of their order . The day will belong to the negotiators ; the evening to the attaches , to the waltzing corps , manoeuvring in the blaze of tlie diamonds of Paris , and the stars of the Plenipotentiaries : We may anticipate , therefore , some real discussion : five of the represented powers have definite and permanent objects in view . Russia , which desires ^ ™ , ; nM < , ne tn Tvrp . sp . rve her influence , to
reor Russia her folish r An European Coup d'Etat might amaze the world ; but can we look for any good results to freedom from a Congress at the Tuileries , with CLesar ' s purple rustling in an inner-chamber ? Axe the rights and liberties of nations to » be disposed of at the instigation of such a will ? Ox must they not rather bide a ^ better time , and trust to their own vitality ? Limiting the subjects of the Paris negotiations to the original objects of the war , there are grave and delicate questions to be settled . The external security and internal reform of the tne
confidential adviseroi the Jimperor . N , is , perhaj ) s , the man who represents better than any other the spirit of Russian policy . The chief of the seeret police , by instinct the enemy of liberalism , and by interest devoted to the family of the Romanoffs , he is , at the same time , well known to diplomatists and statesmen throughout Europe . He negotiated the treatv of Adrianople , and the treaty of
duce the terms of the Allies , and leave a byway open for future projects ; Austria , which only aims at keeping what she has acquired on the Danube ; France , which pretends to the lead of Europe ; England , which has interests to maintain in the East and North ; and Turkey , which may protest against the general decision , but will protest in vain . Sardinia alone finds 1 _ iy » . „ « 4- ^^ i of Paiio -OTitl-KYnt , a claim i 3 - «
Ottoman Empire ;—the erection ot jrixncipalities into a separate State , under European guarantees—the definition of the Bessarabian frontier so as to benefit Turkey , and not Austria only- —the neutralisation of the Eastern and Western Coasts of the Black Sea—the total withdrawal of the Allied armies from the Crimea , from Bulgaria , and from Constantinople , and of the Austrians from Wallachia ;
Unkiar Skelessi . He was sent to the Conferences concerning Belgium and the Netherlands ; he invariably accompanied the Czar Nicholas oa his visits to foreign Courts , —to London , Oloiutz , and Berlin ; he combated the propositions of Lord John Russell at Vienna ,, where he had previously sought to bind Austria to her neutrality . No Russian diplomatist , coui to jrans nioie
H 6 , l 561 X At | J . r * 3 c > CLiAw- «* u a . ****** ,. to uphold . Of all the powers , she occupies the position most difficult to appreciate . Nominally , she will be on an equal footing with the other G overnments , and , represented by Count Cavour , as well as by her ambassador at Paris , her European views will be enforced with temper and discretion . But , face to face ™ i * V . Anstrin . what interest does she defend ?
the status qud post helium of the Aland Isles , and the assent of Russia to the recent Swedish treaty ; these are the salient points , and others axe in reserve . Not the least difficulty is that which relates to the eastern coast of the Black Sea , for Great Britain may be supported in this demand by Turkey alone . As for the "further conditions , " if pressed , they may contain the avurnut xxCVM
therelore , a come iuuy possessed of his master ' s confidence— -more faoiiliar with the policy of the Empire , or better qualified to meet the other plenipotentiaries on equal terms . The eminence of Baron Bkunow is due , not to accident or to favour , but to his consummate diplomatic abilities . To London he was knovrn during fourteen years for his rare capacities
Having participated in the war , how will she participate in the peace ? There is reason , indeed , for the bitter pleasantries of the liberal salons of Paris on the presence of Sardinia at discussions which , to her , can result only in sacrifices , without compensations . Her lights , as an independent power , have been recognised , it is true , but when the partnership of \ ** j
seeds of a new war . juie we * , « complacently supposes that they have been already intimated to Russia and accepted by her ; if this be true , their importance may be easily appreciated . The Debats rejoices that the atmosphere of Paris is charged with peace , and that this serener air must affect the temper of the negotiations . We believe that Russia , Austria , and France are anxious for a settletor it
and perfect manners . A German by birth , he is less identified than Count Qiu , qff with the traditions of the Russian empire . Indeed , it was not until the Congress at Aix-la-Chapelle in 1818 that he formed his official connexion with the Court of the Czars . From that period , however , ho was incessantly engaged eithex at the Foreign Office at St . Petersburg , or on political missions . Initiated into English * i » l .. _ . _• i n a t \ 1 _ _ J 3 _ J ~ X 1 —! „ 11 uiuumi
ltlCGrCSto Xb UJLODVJL WU-y * v j-a ^* a . « .. » ..---. «~ from the danger of a general conflict , concentrates her pressure on Italy $ when French intrigues are resumed , how will England redeem the pledges of her diplomacy ? But the political public has not yet inquired la this meeting oi Plenipotentiaries to be a Conference or a Congress ? ' There is a broad distinction between the terms . A Conference imnliAfi n . stviofc limitation of tho discussion
jnent , and that Great Britain is prepared . But , from aconference held under such auspices , we cannot hope for the positive and durable pacification of Europe . The stmgg le has heon interruptod-not concluded ; it has been partial , and leads but to a partial settlement . Wo do not pretend to have faith in a war continued by the English aristocracy , in complicity with tho French Emperor . Still less J _ j » i . . <• — - ~ -,, v ,. l I " , nn rri'PSQ St . iron ¦ ~ v ~ e
diplomacy in aoo » , no corceapoiiuou , > uy , with five successive administrations , and earned frora each a tribute to his disdain of trick , the suavity and simplicity of his bearing , his ever ready knowledge ^ and the art with which he conciliated our statesmen , without compromising tho interests of his own Government . The Austrian plenipotentiary , Count Buol , some time Ambassador to our Court , has , since the outbreak of war , exhibited
considerate the ternaa of a peace between Russia and the Western Allies 5 it its a spooial and positive negotiation , not extending beyond the political and diplomatic limits of the war , as it has hitherto beoa developed . But 11 Congress , as this confluence of diplomacy has been affectedly entitled by the semi-official French press , moans , if wo aro to interpret the tewaa correctly andby precedent , a now
aovccould we predict , * » *^<« ,, , just revision of the map of Europe , or an arbitration of national and political claims . Europe lms nothing to hope from the presiding power * , from Emperors by the Grace of God , or by the mil of a Coup dPEtdt . Let us , tliun , have a Conference , for the results of the war do not justify a Congress . < y Congress is tho legitimate result oi a
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 16, 1856, page 11, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_16021856/page/11/
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