On this page
-
Text (1)
-
916 THE LEADER. [Saturday,
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.
-
-
Transcript
-
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.
War To The Ministry. The Demonstration A...
if the question which had not been fairly brought before the aeeting . Government , they must remember , had the adrantage of intelligence which the people could not get ; and t often happened that charges of treachery fell to the ground nrhen Ministers rose to explain . On that ground he disapproved of the sweeping condemnation of the Ministry contained in the resolution .-Mr . Harvey hoped that Mr . Alcocfc had not been apologising for him , for he did not require it . All that had been done by former speakers was to quote bits of paper , to talk about hanging patriots , and to appeal to the feelings of the meeting . Those were no proofs . For himself , he could say , that his sympathies with the Hungarian nation were as great as any man ' s . But if they gave Government credit for countenancing Austria in persecuting the Hungarians at
one time , they ought to give them credit for " putting the stopper on" at another . He would read a quotation * from rhe morning papers of the 25 th instant : " The Austrian Government sent a despatch yesterday to Baron Hesse , ordering him to concede the occupation of Galatz and Ibraila to the Turks , if Omer Pacha desired it . Thus all differences are handsomely settled . " Mr . Parks asked how it happened that Omer Pacha had been bamboozled for the last lew weeks by Austria , and howit happened that Austria had made the concession to Oiner Pacha referred to by Mr . Harvey . If no one answered those questions , he should do so . Mr . Otley said : This was a battle between Whigs and Tories , and he should therefore take no part m the meeting . One observation be would . notice : —That if our Government ¦ was betraying the interests of the country- —that if there
-was any intrigue going on between some portion of the ministry and Russia , they had forgot in this discussion that we had a powerful ally . Was France to be duped also ? Was France in league with Lord Aberdeen and our Ministry to betray the cause of Europe ? He thought not ; and regretted that the meeting should be led astray by those two factions—the Tories and Whigs—and lose sight of questions <> f the greatest interest to the country . ( Cheers . ' ) Mr . Ironside claimed the right to reply . Was he a Whig or Tory ? Was Alderman Can a Whig or Tory ? What was the meaning of that imputation ? [ A Voice : " It ' s only a bit q / oppositio ? i . " ~ ] He had been told to read from the papers ;; and he had read . from the Parliamentary blue books , and had never been so disgusted iis he had been with what he had read , and never so satisfied as when he had got done
with the filth . As to the perfidy of Austria , he would read three little things . Colonel Rose was one of our diplomatists . He was at Constantinople during the absence of Lord Strataford de Redcliffe . Colonel Rose was the only honest man in the blue books . He found out , soon after the talk began about the Latin and Greek churches at Jerusalem , what was the matter- He sent for the fleet from Malta . Admiral Dun das would not attend to the summons .- Colonel Rose was snubtedtby our Government for sending for the fleet , but Admiral Dundas was praised for his conduct . Colonel Kose ¦ was not the kind of man our Government wanted . When Mensclu'kbff went to Constantinople , Colonel Rose endeavoured to find out what his mission was about , but Men ^
schikoff deceived him and our Government as to what it was . Lord John Eussell said tliat Russia had exhausted every form of falsehood ; and in one of Colonel Rose ' s conversations with that wily diplomatist , Mensehikoflf said that " the military movements of Omer Pacha had excited the suspicions off the Bussian Government , who thought that he might carry war and Maz zini's doctrines into the Austrian territory and the Danubian provinces . " That was the reason why the Austrinns did not like Omer Pacha , or any one with honest energy about him . ( Applause . ) Lord Clarendon , after the battle of Sinope ( Call tt the murder . ') ¦ Ho would call it the murder of Sinope . After that affair , Lord Clarendon wrote to the Earl of Westmoreland the following letter :
" Dec . 29 , 1853 . " My Lord , —A report has reached her Majesty ' s Government . that previous to the attack by the Russian fleet on the Turkish squadron at Sinope , the Austrian Consul-General had been observed to make a telographio signal to the Russian fleet . Your lordship will express to Count Buol th « disbelief of her Majesty ' s Government in the truth of the report ; but you will at the same time suggost that an inquiry should bo mudo into the origin of such a rumour . " Clarendon . " Now , our Government had that information , and attached some credence to it , or they would not have made it the subject of a despatch . Well , then , Westmoreland ropnod s
" Vienna , Jan . XI , 1854 . " My Lord , —I mentioned to Count Bnol tho roport of which your lordship speaks in your despntch of tho 29 th of December , as to tho Austrian Consul having made telegraphic signals to tho Russian fleet at tho moment of its entry into that harbour . Count Buol said ho considered the report coulu have its origin only in tho attempted calumny against the Austrian Government , and ho could nor , therefore , tiiko any notice of it . Ho was happy to find thnt her Majesty ' s Government had expressed then * disbelief in it , being convinced that tho story was wholly undeserving of crocht . —I have , <& c , " Westmoreiahd . " Now , continued Mr . Ironside , our Government had hoard of tho Austrian Consnl-Gonornl telegraphing to Russia when tho latter attacked tho Turkish fleet . They wrote to requost an inquiry , at tho uumc time that thoy miid they did not bolievo tlio etory . Austria ronliod , " No , It's all a calumny ;" and tl » nro tho inultor wan liushod up . Ho bolioved that Austria did telegraph to Russia , in that instance . ( Cheera . ) Tho mayor now put tho resolution , and it whs carried .
Mr . Alcock movod tho iollowing resolution : —"' That , judging from tho progress and present position of tho war , it does not scorn probitblo thnt tho indopondonoo of I ' d hi ml ( ho much desired Ivy tho pcoplo of England ) will bo secured , without which , it ia tho opinion of this meeting , no torm » lor n lusting poaoo win bo oltboted , " Curried , nftor novoral apecohes lmd buon modo . Mr . Ironaido , after a long speech , moved tho adoption of tho following memorial :
" To her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria—Theaddrcss of the people of Sheffield , in public meeting assembled Showeth— That we , your Majesty ' s memorialists , have taken a deep interest in the present war with Russia , having often met to express our opinions thereupon , and having cheerfully furnished our portion of the means to prosecute the war . " That we again find it necessary to meet and calmly note the proceedings of Russia and Austria , and the present position of England . " That in 1844 , a secret , dishonest , and clandestine communication was received from the Czar by the then Foreign Secretary , Lord Aberdeen , obviously contemplating the partition of Turkey , and that this communication was neither rejected nor returned .
" That the existence of this clandestine proposal appears to have been kept a secret fov a long time , not only from your Majesty , but from your Majesty ' s principal responsible advisers , and also from Sir Hamilton beymour , your Majesty ' s incorruptible representative at the Court of St . Petersburg . " That in December , 1852 , the resignation of the Eurl of Derby ' s Ministry took place , and on the 27 th of that month Lord Aberdeen announced in Parliament the formation of bis Ministry , to the great surprise of the country , who were then totally at a loss to discover any sufficient reason for his appointment . " That on the 9 th . of January following , being a fortnight after the formation of the Aberdeen Ministry , the Czar secretly renewed his clandestine and dishonest proposal , and persisted in forcing its consideration upon SirH . Seymour , as appears by his remarkable despatches . " That in the course of the Czar ' s conversations with Sir H . Seymour , the Czar expressed the great pleasure he felt at the formation of the Aberdeen Ministry , and particularly desired Lord Aberdeen to be assured of his regard and esteem .
" Tliat the Czar also stated that the interests of Russia and Austria , as regarded Turkey , were ' perfectly identical . ' 'TJiat , coincident--with these occurrences , Austria was encouraging Montenegro to revolt , and when early in 1853 Omer Pacha went with 30 , 000 soldiers to reduce the insurgents there to submission , Austria sent Count Leihiftgen to Constantinople to say that unless this army were withdrawn Austria would regard it as a declaration of war , on the pretence tliat Omer Pacha was too near the Austrian frontiers . " Tliat as the Sultan knew Russia was in the background , and as he was totally unsupported by England , he was compelled to yield to the Austrian demand , and allow the integrity of his empire to be thus , violated . " That immediately after this transaction , Austria sent ) O , 0 OO soldiers to the Turkish frontier , thereby weakening tho strength of the Sultan to cope with Russia by 50 , 000 soldiers , which were necessary to keep the Austriana in check .
" That the Czar then sent Menaehikoff to Constantinople witli his insolent demands , which were indignantly rejected . " That notwithstanding these and other similar facts , which wore officially brought to the knowledge of your Majesty ' Ministers , they repeatedly assured the country that thfi designs of tho Czar were honourable , and that there was no reason to doubt his word , nor that of his representative at tho English court , although the Ministry were then perfectly aware of Sir H . Seymour ' s despatches . " That the Ministry permitted the brutal massacre at Sinojpe , withheld the Sultan for a long time from chastising Russia , when he had shown his superiority by th 6 victory of Oltenitza , and when tho just and righteous indignation of the English nation could no longer be repressed , tho Ministry advised a declaration of war against Russia to be made , and
your Majesty ' s solemnly announced purpose was to repress tho aggressive spirit of Russia . w Tliat instead of tho Ministry having taken steps for the honest accomplishment of that purpose , they wasted months in fruitless and tortuous diplomatic negotiations—bombarded Odessa , not because we wero at war with Russia , but because a flag of truco had been fired upon—permitted the Sultan , unaided , to accomplish tho glorious evonts of Silistria and Giurgovo , and to drive the Russians out of tho Principalities —wasted a whole season in tho Baltic by taking Bomarsund , simply to evacuate it , instead of capturing Riga , and thereby causing the heart of tho Polish nation to beat high with hopea of deliverance—declined the proftered aid of tho Polos to assist in tho struggle , and finally have used their influence to compel the Sultan to sign a convention which permits
Austria to occupy tho Principalities so nobly recovored by them from the wicked grasp of his enemies . "That this AuBtriim occupation is the more scandalous from tho fuct that Austria w not at wnr with Russia , nnd avowedly and pertinaciously refuses to declare wnr until Russia . i » thoroughly bonton , when there will bo no occasion for tho help of Austria , hut when she will have a voice in tlio conditions of pence , and name her own terms for tho evacuation of the Principalities . " That somo months i \ go wo met together to potition Parliament to toko measures for tho restoration of Poland , up one- of tho principnl moans of prosecuting tho war in a really effloiont manner , and of scouring torms of a lusting nnd honourable peace , to which opinion wo otill rulherc , nnd
wo invited Louiu Kossuth to attend our meeting . * ' That , shortly nftor , ix similar meeting was hold in Nottingham , hut tho Duke of Newcastle doolinod to present tho potition of tlio meeting , in a lottor wherein ho laid down In ofibct tho unwarrantable and unconstitutional iloctrino tliat tho pcoplo hud nothing to do with tho conduct of tho -war . " Thut about tlio eamo time Lord Westmorland givvo what : wero termed satisfactory explanations to Austria respecting tho ro-itppoarnnco of Koasntfi in public . 11 That them ? , with many other facts , havo nrouuod our ffi-nvo suspicions that unless a prompt change bo inadu , tho honour « ml tho integrity of England will ho wm-riflced , mid her existence perilled . ' ? That wo OHpcoially protest agninnt uny alliance wliatovor with Austria , for tho reasons heroin Btutod . amongst others , nnd cannot but rogurd her yrosont occupation of tho
prinoi-Mr . Parks came forward to speak , but the mayor said he had made speeches enough ; and after he had occasioned some trouble he gave way . Mr . John Wilson ( grinder } remarked that Mr . Ironside had undertaken to prove everything that the memorial contained ; but it was not altogether in accordance with facts , Mr . Ironside ' s facts and his reasons did not agree . He said that England compelled Turkey to consent to the Austrian occupation of the Principalities ; but was not that agreement made by Austria and Tnrkey , as iwo independent nations , and then submitted to England and France ? The memorial stated that Omer Pacha drove the Russians out of the Principalities ; but that was not the fact . Tlien as to Austria not having declared war against Eussia—wliy Austria had a perfect right , under the agreement , to occupy the
palities as in the highest degree dishonourable to England and fatal to the peace of Europe . ' " That under these circumstances we regret to find it our duty to communicate to your most gracious Majesty our entire want of confidence in the present administration for the conduct of the war , and to entreat your Majesty to consider whether it is not imperatively necessary to call to your Majesty ' s councils men who will act honestly , vigorously , and unanimously , and carry on the present war in accordance with the wishes of the nation . " And your Majesty's memorialists as in duty bound will ever pray . " Mr . Bagshaw seconded the proposition .
Principalities without declaring war . ( "iVo , no . " ) The agreement between Austria and the . Porte was , that Austria was to make Russia leave the Principalities by force , if not otherwise . Well , Russia has left the Principalities So far Austria ' s agreement has been fulfilled . 'Whether 'Austria will go the lengths of the Western Powers is another thing . Then as to the . sweeping charges made in the . memorial against Ministers ; It was unfortunate that Parliament was not assembled . ( Mr . Ironside : " Hear , hear . " ') Much of what had been said to-night was a repetition of what had been said in the House of Commons and refuted . Mr . Ironside argued that because Lord Aberdeen was a friend of Nicholas in 1844 therefore he is his friend now . ; There was a gentleman now on the platform that was once a great friend of Mr . Ironside , but thev have lone'been at dagger . - * ' points .
( Laughter . ) And . although Nicholas said that the policy of Russia and Austria was one , it did not follow that it was so . If that assertion were true , why had there been so ma " ny diploituitists lately at-Vienna j and why did' Count Ness ' e ' lroJe upbraid Austria with ingratitude ? Moreover , Ivichplns ' s suggestion made in 1844 was not agreed to by Lord Aberdeen , Alderman Carr ' s opinions were doubtless sincere ; but it should be remembered that Government lias a great deal more information on the matters in question than is possessed by the public . Was lio inference to be drawn from the unprecedentedly great preparations that had been made in opposition to Russia ? Ho was desirous to see Poland free ; still it came with a bad grace from us to complain of .
partitionmen ts . it appeared as if some gentlemen , in their zeal for war , cared little for ' the sacrifice of human life , and that they v > ould have blindly followed Pitt , Castlereagh , andPercival in their blind prosecution of the war hi . which in their days the country was embroiled . There had been a great descent on Russian territory by the Allied Powers , and this was at variance with the supposition that no harm to Russia was intended . There was much in the memorial with which he could not concur , particularly in the censure of Government . It should be remembered that both tlio Tories and the Radicals had evinced their confidence in tlie Government , and they had had as good opportunities of gaining information as Mr . Ironside .
Mr . Buckley ( a shoemaker ) wished to tuvn the attention of tlie meeting to the grievances of Ireland , but the mayor declined to allow tho attention of the meeting to be diverted to irrelevant topics . Mr . Wostenliolme said there was much in the memorial of which ho approved , but there were several things in it that could not be proved to bo correct . Let the mover confirm tho statement that in 1844 secret diplomatic correspondence took place between Russia nnd Lord Aberdeen of which Sir H . Seymour was ignorant . The next was a fearful charge . It was that the English connived at tho massacre
ot bmope . ( llic mayor : That , at my request , has been struck out . ) Tlion lot Mr . Ironside prove that England impeded the operations of the Turks against tho Russians , and wero opposed to tho latter nation being aided by a Polish legion . If those nvonnents of tho memorial wero not true , lotthoin bo struck out . Mr . Ironside , after remarking that Air . Attwood lmd been invited to the meeting by tho committee , said ho was mow than over surprised at the conduct of iho gentlemen who lmd taken puit in this mooting . Tho committee who decided to have this mooting appointed a sub-committee , wlm determined on tho resolutions to bo submitted . Ho was not
a member of that Buh-committco ; but ho supposed that Mr . Wostonholmc , being n member , lenow all nfiout ihewi resolutions nnd the address to tha Quean , Mini yet Mr . We . i tonholmo now culled on him to prove certain slutementH contnined in thnt uddross which ho was callotl on to niuvo . (• • l ; iplavae . ) Tho first thing tliat ho would M \> v to was tin ; observation of Mr . Wilwon , that tho English Ministry hiiJ uned their influence to coinpol Aubttiu to keep out of tho Principalitiea . Mr . WHhoii : My observation wan tliaft tho Sultan nigiml it without compulsion , nnd that thu British Government approved . Mr . Ironside-: Dooh Mr . Wilson bvlirvo now , in his henrt , thnt tho Sultitn was not comnollod to m ^ ii that convention ? Mr . Wilson ; You .
Mr . Ironside i Then I win only \ My Mr . Wilson . Kvery ono known tlmt ovory question of that sort was aubmittml to tho four luiibiisaiidors ntCoHiJtn » tino |> le ; ami tho reason why England was not n party to that con volition in , that him dared not commit English puojilo to it , bvrauita if hho liml dono ho it , would havo rained such a feeling <» f horror In England that tho Ministry would lmv « beon oiihted , and any Ministry that might , havo nttoniptod it . Tho other objectiniif oi Mr . WoHtenliolmo went , that tho Ktigliuh Ministry hud hold tho bultau u long tlino iro . ni cliastibiii « the HuitslaiiB .
916 The Leader. [Saturday,
916 THE LEADER . [ Saturday ,
-
-
Citation
-
Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 30, 1854, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_30091854/page/4/
-