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i bir : ri!A ii - WA.It WITH RUSSIA.

Howalliet iss'the' relation betWeen this country and Ituseia with- in a short' ree Months, inlay be learned frog the altered language of the :English 'atiftesnine who above all others Must -speak -tinder the stroegest. sense of responsibility. On the 25th of April, Lord Clarendon Made a etatement to the Peers on the subject of Turkey, in whieh he described Prince Metischikoff's Mission as being or- dered .." With a view to placing the question of the holy shrines on a permanent footing ": "considerable naval and .inilitary pre- parations,".he said, "had been gob* on, but they had been greatly exaggerated by public 'rumour. . Her Majesty's GovernMent felt precisely the same confidence which his noble friend (Lord Clan- ncarde) professed to entertain in the honour and integrity of the Emperor of Russia ; and when that Sovereign gave his word as to what be was going to de, and what he was not going to do, he be- lieved that the people of this country, as well is their 'Government, would place full reliance on it." ' On the ,12th of July, Lord Clarendon speaks with a very changed tone. 'He admits the striking diversities in the text of Russian official deenments, composed for exportation or written in Russian "for home-csonsumntion "; he avers that whatever may he the as- sertion in the Russian note respecting the advance of the French and British- fleet "within sight of. the -Turkish capital," the faet is that the fleet has not so advanced; arid while he dismisses the as- sertion as if it were scarcely werthnotice, he announces that our Government will not -grant the condition demanded by Russia— the withdrawal of the combined fleet. Lord Clarendon, it would seem, no longer believes Russian state papers; he has . come to distrust the 'honour and integrity of. the 'Russian Emperor. And with reason. Russia has 'feirly thrown off' the mask. . We now recognize in her Ude the Verycharacter ascribed to them by the anticipatiorta whidli Lord Clarendon' could not believe ; we ado her claim' as I' rights"; the exercise of an alien influence within Turkey,alid, now perceive that such has been the objeetof her sys- tematic eii' aelimOtiii We tee her occupying territory; beyond her Eu- rope, and, hilelevYieg war,- hypectitinallY ditch/biting Waif. Rns-

4ti own fron ' , difffinehitigly Miarepresientmefacts known to all Eu-

sia has ceased to cenceal her steadfast and hereditary 'coarse of in- terminable aggresaibilf and now, byfree choice, She prefers to Make her stridesi Of 'crier:niche:tent with a-bad bold openness, as if to re- buke thciiewho have thought her bound by good faith; and to overawe Etiropehrnaked terror. Russia rock, .'Wiiii Sthve on conditions humiliating to the states th' might' steittesce ; and the hour has come 'therefore when England .m Perforce confront the question Of peace or war in its most Yornfill le rahape—war with the most powerful and unscrupidenektate lin' Europe, or peace on degrading terres. Morally,'Litilvonld seem, we are bound ten:Minton the 'position already taketetip by our Ministers. If a great state Should never profess withint being- 'e '.: pared to 'act, so, having entered upon a course offiten,' alto. . she be prepared to go tilting+ with it, but espec ' ." iilien si . &has encouraged a:weaker power to Venture upon acti T ZIO± flie assurances of support. . It in true that such moral obli On has been forgotten in former instances, even within the' Ville years ; but there is probably no precedent for abandoning à' allied protêgé after' entering ripen obligations so solemn stlose'which we have incurred with Turkey. Moral consideration and Sentiments, however, • are not tine]. with Eng- lishmen at the present day ;- and the most weighty -elements for a judgment Must be sought in those reasons which are more Mate- rial. Yet, on some ground 'or other, England is-now called upon to decide whether she will yield or persevere in that which she

has declared to be the right. . -

Already a conspicuous place has been given to the material motives against a decisive 'course. The very abundance of our prosperity has been pre_sped into the service : attention has been drawn to a revenue "wMatt fi the face of Continued reduction and disturbance-yields -i,it Oee'Year nearly two millions more than it did the year beforPti ..ct_tlie.are reminded that the nation, which has been and stillderiring nadir unparalleled burdens, is em- ploying the 'ease affiHM by her 'prosperity in deliberately,. quietly, and perseve '. If ' dolling a better distribution of those burden; so as to reiètO he industry, her Commerce, and her people. War is "one of theiserable necessities that we approach, as it were, in sackcloth i0filfes, with grievous pain and dark pres'entiment." "We should) have to meet expenditure on ' ell sine; with fresh taxes, and a delatirie in the revenue "; "our millions saved' by judil- dons economr:. 1.4ming "as drops in the ocean Of a bottoinlesS

• expense." d," it is admitted, if suspend the whole fel

l I I

reign commerOlf !Russia—by a. process which 'would double the price of our 4,-Whenap, and tallow "; we feeling-the mischief at once but Ru fibtutillnext year, since our stipplivi are alreadl

paid in& for. Alliances would be purchased only with subsidies. Arid

we have coloniesrto To these consideradohs . against embarking on a warlike career may be added tern otlierif:• The long ;endurance of peace has ilk+ haps unfitted thel.iiiiietuennquering. people 'of 'Englandfcie iteold achievements ff iRithdilly-kaV'W oçortien not exactly known be', come enervatedilifiritifladrar 'is "at 'its physical energies, but the general halidt htr litkiklitili Treenwelded to peace ; andthe English nationtii- t ' 4,e i 6tipit1 Wbf the saciffteeifiesVell as the exertione f tit bli 410', ' ,-)Ist qic-Atissiti hi iieirly the worst power bathe Illtbst°16146ialglaitiet Ink ' Her geogriiplaieal position, fronted by mountains, backed by deserts—her wide ex, tent of impracticable territory—her magnitude—the poverty of her people—her via inertias—all constitute her a thankless opponent and, although there may be dawning ideas even -in Russia, her inhabitants have not yet such elevation of thonght that an appeal would lie' as in some other countries, from her Government to them.

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To put plainly, then, the gigantic diffioulty of coercing such a power as Russia, coupled with the English worship/of wealth, the dread of losing our gains, and our long disuse of War, may drive us to the conclusion, that, humbling as it would be, we must sue- . But let us understand the consequences also -of -that ()ours°. Evidently, if, discarding moral obligations to Turkey, national honour, and other chivalrous ideas, England is to back out of this quarrel,- it must be on a settled and broad principle of not inter, fering at all in foreign matters : henceforth England must shut herself up to herself, and isolate herself politically as well as geographically. But even such a course has an alternative choice in it; Although keeping herself to herself, there is a question in- evitably arising, whether she must defend her commerce or not ? If she must, then the very work of defence against enemies ex.- cited and inflated by triumphs must inevitably draw us into rather serious conflicts, perhaps into retaliatory aggressions. The very possession of arms, as some politicians argue, exposes us to the temptation of using them ; and it might be thought better, it might indeed be logically more proper, to dispense with armed defence altogether, and to put implioit trust in peace-reciprocity and the force of commercial principles. In either case, England must leave Europe to be controlled by the council of powers in which she would no longer be re- presented ; leaving Russia paramount, with no cheek save from vacillating Prussia, precarious France, and Russia's town grand protégé Austria. We need not pause upon the effect of such an uncontested supremacy oil the progress of Russia in the East- on her designs towards India—on the Egyptian transit ; but we al- lude here more especially to the effect of leaving Europe undcr the sway of a power that embodies a great military despotism, is restoring is mediceval policy of systematic deception, has been systematically anti-commercial, and is now raising an influence of systematics defiance, lifting herself above public law and destroying the virtue of treatiets. Ootninerce, public law, and national nide. pendence, are all east into the stake if Rossi:she thus left to occupy the field of Europe in uncontested supremacy. There is indeed an idea, vaguely enough entertained and va., slowly expressed, that something will be gained by procrastime- tiou,—that if we let matters take their course, and-only avoid ez;- tremities, " something may turn up," or that we shall have tie-- quired some addition to our resoutces. Either supposition is possible, but by trio means so probable, so certain, as other oontin, -gencies. If we may be better off in accumulated wealth, the -enervating influences of wealth and peace will be proportionate; while "something may turn up" also for Russia. To her, with vast resources and crude growth, a year's delay is equal to a cam. paign with decaying Turkey; and while we shOnld inevitably grow weaker, more incapable of arousing ourselves she would as certainly grow stronger. In the meantirae,-any hesitation on 'our part could net but tend to mislead vacillators. If we at-once and decisively abide by the defence cif. public law, the other powers of Europe ought to -thank us, and most likely will. If we were to give up, they would most likely seek a side refuge against anarchy in the Russian allianee.

On the other hand, if we go forward, it must be -walla deliberate conception of the difficulties and consequences. We must he pre- pared to meet a power which has proved itself to be unscrupulous in. word and act, and whose excesses of hypocrisy and violence we must meet with unswerving straightforwardness and indomitable resolution. We must be prepared to meet aggression with ag- gression. We must be ready to strike a decisive blow,—whe- ther on the very imperial °entre of the enemy, shattering the prestige of an empire and a family in one concentrated stroke? or on the borders, reviving old and dormant but not extinct fires ' of nationalities oppressed, old pride of Lithuanian independence, Polish ambitions, Swedish fears, unganan revenges, or Sclavonian federalism; or we must be ready to drive other -allies to their duty by fears so terrible as wonld counterbalance the unwholesome dread of Russia, and so against Russia rouse Europe.

It is true, that in doing so we should be driven into a strong policy, to which our soft.handed statesmen of the present day would hardly fit themselves on the instant: yot it is astonishing to find how soon the palm hardens to its work with the mere hand. ling of the sword-hilt that at first chafes it. It is true also, that piteous complaints might be made by powers placed between two fires. Austria, for instance, might beg to ha

neutral: but she cannot. When Russia raises the flame of war, all Must help to put it out, or must submit to the measures necessary for that end. It is the greatest of crimes against social law to set a man's house on fire, for it destroys both life and property but if the house beyond him is in flames, it is no longer a crime but a virtue to blow up his; and it is Austria's miefortune—we will not now recall her crimes—that she stands next to that hi: cendiary Russia, who has a mania for sporting • with firebrands: For Austria,- as well as for-us, the cost of an European 'war would be tremendous: but is it avoidable, save at the hideouid sacrifice -rat

public law ? That is the problem to be solved. - In the worst of extremities there is a refuge, a-tallow& 'WU have trusted to the honour and integrity of ,:tika czar;

lightened Vial oivslizattifet 4.)and,,the result disellevqopingi bef

fore :us,: in vraviihielitaiiesalle by: iimue epretAlier used-leo feireiblo

seizure of lanai lea rits-nlreitthis,lin spoliation.; a: pion whi eh : is tinj lt)-Ifele) Ifirese ills, +Julian °es; j silveti:icress; and his sel.f.werishiper1( AdignityPi tend. we,,confets that We have no equal relianee ertf fent awn 9-that : if; our trait in 'this Few parer's honourehd-ifitegirilyletakenvay; we leaver riathing'feft te trust-MI' Wel/lave not yetteotiie ti-that 'pasev. . We Jean . at least trust in ourselvelt; in, ourprinceipleS,: which have worked .so well; and led :us to eo itiamysietoriea. • Vire-ban-trust in jiistice-not the so-called justice and real grasp at selfish interests of Russia, bistin a justice which is to bring the most iminediate.benefiti to others even before ourselves-.that enduring :justice which :belongs: to:the eternal life and .survives all: seethe: We are. elow. to move; but if once we reeve, shall we once retreat; if with whole heart and a

firm right hand we place all-our trust God and the right ?