THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. TUESDAY, MAY 8, 1877.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2600, 8 May 1877, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. TUESDAY, MAY 8, 1877.

Dtteing the Crimean War of 1854 there appeared in. Punch a picture representing M"r Punch himself in the guise of a policeman, stationed at a place where two way* met, and saying unto two individuals typical, as was supposed, of the crowned heads of Austria and Prussia, " Now then, you can't stop here, you must go either this ere way or that ere way." . This ere way meant, as was seen by the finger post, to Eussia; that ere way meant to Turkey. The command was a judicious one, for both these kingdoms—the genius of Bismarck had not made Prussia an empire then, and Austria was one but in name —showed indubitable signs of following that course of action which is denominated by schoolboys ." sneaking," and in after years termed " running with the hare and hunting with the hounds." History repeats itself. Save and except that England at present has not made up her mind to expend her blood and treasure in aiding a treacherous and cowardly race, and France cannot, we stand in much the same position as in '54.. The,latest telegram published in our issue of to-day i» almost word for word, a fac simile of one published at the commencement of the then war I—"Austria1—"Austria though neutral, &c." That is, that Austria does not wish to fight, regardless alike of which side is right and which side is .wrong, unless she is compelled to do so to protect her own interests, yet the interests of Austria in the suppression of Turkish rule in Europe are to some extent coincident with those of Russia. In one respect more soi Since the (to her) disastrous Austro-Prussian. war, which weakened her resources in the western part of her territory, it has been a matter of almost paramount importance to Austria to increase her dominion in the East, and the addition of such provinces as Servia, Herzegovina, and Montenegro would not only allow her places of reserve should Prussia prove again aggressive, but also enable her to withstand with better chance of success the attacks of Eussia if any quarrel occurred' between them. In fact at present Austria is in the very unpleasant position of a nut placed between a door and adoor-post which may, at any time, be closed, and then, like Stephenson's cow which it was supposed might come into contact with a railway train, it would be bad for the- nut. Should llussia get possession of Turkey and form an alliance offensive and defen-

sive with Prussia —a Jesuit Car from impossible—and Austria, not having strengthened 4ierself in some way, as above indicated, stranger things might be brought to pass than that Austria should find herself in the same position' in waich she aided years ago. to place unfortunate Poland when Kosciusko fell an/1 freedom shrieked, as Campbell infb^nas us. Yet Austria, we are told, continues neutral. It seems to us, holding the opinion we do hold, a great pity that an agreement is not come to between the five great European powers, by which the gain to Russia by her conquest of Turkeywould be neutralised by giving the western side as far as Thessaly, to Austria, and the southern part to Grc^:,

It may seem unjust, or wrong, to ;.% vocate doing what Mr Tyler, :;n :? cuse heard some time back in „ Warden's Court, stigmatised as " champerty," which word Mr Itees explain; to mean " plundering the camp a , dividing the spoil," that which. Pruss*:. and Russia and Austria did in the case v.? Poland ; but it must be remembered tlicj the peace not only of Europe but of the whole Eastern World is at stake; and as the Turks have not shown themselves amenable to the laws of reason, they have themselves to blame if they are made amenable to the laws of force.