WHAT ARE WE TO DO?
[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR:)
Sin,—We are to go to war with Russia, it seems, lest at some future time she should be powerful enough to go to war with us. We did so on one occasion before, not long ago, when assisted by Louis Napoleon, who had the same motive as ourselves. We then threw Russia down, and made her promise not to get up again. Looking about her, she sees that Louis Napoleon has disappeared, and she tries to get up. " Liar !" (we say), "why do you not keep your word ? I shall soon make you do so." Whether our making her do so is any fulfilment on her part of the Moral Law, whether our throwing her down was any such on ours, I do not pretend here to judge.
But this is not the question, you will say, but this :—" Our ally the Turk was in fear of his neighbour, and had grave cause for suspicion." Our beloved and respectable ally ! Let us not deceive ourselves, We care nothing for our respectable ally, and, in fact, are at heart ashamed of him. What we do think and are caring about is ourselves. The Turk is a man of straw, from behind whom we fire at Russia. And why ? Because we have taken up M. Thiers' policy, that we are only safe by making others little, that a balance of power is to be always provided in Europe by a judicious snipping and arranging of the pieces. Can it be done? Is it done? Who holds the balance? What is the cause of the growth or decay of nations? Surely life. Can we snip or- arrange the pieces so as to secure this ?
Let us look to ourselves. The vanity which prompted the march a Berlin prompts us to cry, "To Petersburg !" We have just as much right to interfere in the affairs of the Black Sea as. France had in those of Spain.
Let us look to ourselves, and in modest thankfulness mind our own affairs. We did not come out of the Black Sea so well last. time, helped on either hand by France and Italy, as to tempt. us to venture in there again and alone. And now where are our allies?—Russia in league with America and Germany,—the Alabama and our French rifle trade (our benevolent neutrality to- France) to settle with against us ; Ireland ready to trip us up,— unable to move a man from India, especially with Russia in the field. France no doubt is our ally ; but right as we were to be friendly with France, to break with our old brethren of the North' and our own blood for an alliance with the Latin races, depend- upon it, was a mistake, and has never had the hearty approval of the masses of our countrymen.
Are we sure that our new ships could even keep the sea, and' that the Black Sea, in the winter ? Look at the Captain lost, and, the Caledonia all but the other day off Sicily in a gale. Surely there has been, surely there is enough of-war, surely any Govern- ment which would allow itself to be sneered or bullied into it will deserve the everlasting odium of their country.—I am, Sir, &c., ONE OF THE PEOPLE.
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