MR. T. CAELYLE ON THE EASTERN QUESTION.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 412, 15 February 1877, Page 3

MR. T. CAELYLE ON THE EASTERN QUESTION.

5, Chyne-row; Chelsea, November 24. Dear Howard, —It by no means seems so evident to me as it doe 3 to you and your friends that an utterance of my opinion ort the Eastern crisis could be important; but since you assure me that it might be of > service to many persons now in doubt on that matter, I overcome the very great reluctance I had to speak of the subject at all and will try to indicate summarily what my own poor private views upon it are In the first place, then, for fifty years back my clear belief about the Eussians has been that they are a gobd and even noble element in Europe. Conspicuously they possess the talent of obedience, of silently following orders given, which in the universal celebration of ballot box, divine freedom, &c, will be found an invaluable and peculiar gift. Ever since Peter the' Great's appearance among them, they have been in steady progress of development. In our own time they have done signal service to God and man in drilling iuto order and peace anarchic populations all over their side of the world The present .Czar of Russia I judge, to be a strictly honest and just man, and, in short, my belief is that the Eussians are called to do great things I in the world, and to be a conspicuous benefit, directly and indirectly, to their fellowmen. To undertake a war against Eussia on behalf of the Turk, it is evident to me would be nothing short of insanity ; and has so many fondly hope, impossible for any Minister, or Prime Minister, •that exists among us. Twenty years ago we already had a mad war in defence of the Turk ; a mass of the most hideous and. tragic stupidity, mismanagement, and disaster (in spite of bravest fighting) that England was ever concerned in since I knew it; a hundred millions of money and above sixty thousand valiant lives were spent in. the enterprise. By treaties of Paris, &c, the Turk was preserved intact, binding himself only to reform his Bystem of Go ■ vernment, which certainly of all things in the world needed reform. And now, after twenty years of waiting, the Turk is | found to have reformed nothing nor attempted to reform anything. Not to add that by bankrupt finance he has swallowed t a disastrous tribute of many new millions j from the widowß and orphans of England; | As finis to all which he has wound up by the horrors of Bulgaria and Buch savageries as are without a parallel. With these weighty aggravations, the Turkish Question returns upon us anew and demands a solution. It seems to me that something very different from war on hia behalf is what the Turk now pressingly needs from England and from the world—namely, to be peremptorily informed that we can stand no more of his attempts to govern in Europe, and that he must quam primum turn his face to the eastward, for ever quit this side of the Hellespont, and give up his arrogant ideas, of governing anybody but himself. Such immediate and summary explosions of the Turk from Europe may appear to many a too drastic remedy; but to my mind it is the only one of any real validity under the circumstances. Improved managemant of these unhappy countries might begin on the morrow after this long continued curse was withdrawn, and the ground left free for wise and honest humane effort. The peaceful Mongol inhabitants would, of course, be left in peace and treated with equity, and even friendly consideration ; but the governing Turk, with all his Pashas and Bashi-Bazouks, should at once be ordered to disappear from Europe and never to return. This result is in the long run inevitable, and it were better to set about it now than to temporize and haggle in the vain hope of doingit cheaper some other time. As to the temporary or preparatory government of the recovered provinces, cleared of their unspeakable Turk government for twenty, or, say, any other term of years, our own experience in India may prove that it is possible, and in a few faithful and skilful hands is even easy. Nor in the temper of the Czar and of the Austrian Emperor need the fair partition of these recovered territories be a cause of quarrel. Austria must expect to become more and more a Slavic and Hungarian Empire, her nine millions of Germans more and more gravitating towards their countrymen of the Great German Empire. The Czar, whose serious task it is to protect the Christian subjects in Turkey proper, will justly have a claim to territorial footing in the recovered country. To England thero is one, vital interest, and one only—that of securing its road to India, which depends on Egypt and the Suez Canal. The thing to be desired is concord amongst the three Great Powers, and lr, as we hope there is ,a mutual trust grounded on honesty of intention on the part of-each, none claiming more than in the nature of things belongs to him, we may confidentaly expect that the difficulties of the business cannot prove insuperable. It seems to me the advice of Prince Bismarck, a magnanimous, noble, and deep-seeing man, who has no national aim or interest in the matter, might be very valuable; nay, were he appointed arbiter where difficult dissidences arose, what but benefit would be likely to result? But on this portion of the subject lam not called to write. The only clear advice I have to give is, as I had stated, that the unspeakable Turk should be immediatly struck out of the qneßtion, and the country left to the honest European guidance, delaying which can be profitable or agreeable ody to gamblers on the Stock Exchange, but distressing and unprofitable to all other men.—l remain, always dear Howard, yours truly. C. Howard, Esq. T. Caelyjle