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Adelaide : Monday, September 19, 1853.
THE RUSSIAN CRUSADE.
The peace of Europe is at the present mo
ment imperrilled, if not absolutely disturbed,
by the attitude assumed by the Emperor of
Russia towards His Majesty of the Sublime
Port, ' now gloriously reigning.' . The Impe
rial demands, as set forth by the Ambassador,
Prince Menschikoff are —
'1; An explicative Firman, the form of which is
to be agreed to, concerning the key of the Church of
Bethlehem, and the silver star placed on the Altar
of the Nativity in the subterranean part of the same
sanctuary ; the possession of the grotto of Gethse
mane by the Greeks, with the admission of the Latins
to exercise therein their worship, but yet maintaining
the precedency of the orthodox, and their priority for
the celebration of Divine service in this sanctuary ;
and, in fine, in what relates to the common posses
sion of the Greeks with the Latins of the gardens of
Bethlehem, and the whole according to the basis
discussed between his Excellency Eifaat Pasha and
the Ambassador.
' 2. A supreme order for the immediate repair by
the Ottoman Government of the cupola of the Temple
of the Holy Sepulchre, with the participation of the
Greek Patriarch, without the intermeddling of a dele
gate of any other worship, for the walling up (doture
mureej of the harems having a view on the sanc
tuary, and for the demolition of the harems contigu
ous to the cupola, if the possibility of that demolition
be proved.'
The Ambassador is charged with obtaining
on these points a formal assurance and notifica
tion.
'3. A. Sened, or Convention, for the guarantee of
the strict status quo of the privileges of the Catholic
Greco-Russian worship, of the Church of the East,
and of the sanctuaries which are found in possession
of that worship exclusively, or in participation with
other rites at Jerusalem.'
The Sultan is specifically advised ' that
Russia does not demand from the Porte poli
tical concessions ; her desire being to tranquil
lize the consciences of the devout by the
certainty of the maintenance of that which is,
and of that which has always been practised
up to the present time.'
To enforce these demanils, and to avenge this
serious cause of quarrel, the Emperor of
Russia has declared that he will risk the de
Btruction of his entire squadron ; and to pro
tect Constantinople against the consequences
of this threat, the French and English fleets
now line the shores of the Bosphorus. The
great Powers of the world are to be engaged
in mortal conflict, and the blood of tens of
thousands lof human beings is to mingle with
the waters of the Golden Horn, if the oriental
monarch should fail to render to the northern
autocrat a proper account of the key of the
Church of Bethlehem, and of the silver star
placed upon the Altar of the Nativity. The
glittering minarets of the ancient Stamboul
are to be levelled with the dust, if the cupola
of the Holy Sepulchre should continue un
repaired ; and the eyes of the ladies of the
seraglio are to be put out for ever, if the eyes
of the houris of Jerusalem should gaze upon
the sacred tomb. The grotto of Gcthsemane
and the gardens of Bethlehem are to be shared
alike by the Greeks and Latins, or the Turks
are to be sent to the gardens and grottoes of
the Styx. Truly this is a noble subject of
contemplation, and the pious zeal of the Rus
sian Emperor must be looked upon with in
tense interest by the faithful throughout the
world. What important principles will be
established by the threatened war ! — what
great questions will be decided by it !
It is a point that cannot be too clearly
understood, and the significance of which
cannot be too highly estimated, as to who
should be the custodier of the rusty key
that opens the Bethlehem Church; or what
has become of the silver bauble that decked
the subterranean altar. To clear up this
point, a few hundred thousand lives would be
cheaply sacrificed ; and to make it plain and
unmistakeable, it would be worth while to
annihilate navies, destroy commerce, and rup
ture the peace of the world. We remember a
friend of ours once being engaged in a similar
quarrel because some person had insulted the
button on his coat. Insults to flags and but
tons have involved nearly all the great misun
derstandings which have arisen between civi
lized nations, and to repair which the blood of
the flower and pride of all countries has been
mingled on sea and on land. We thought such
things were passing away, that in the face of
railroad and steam, of telegraph and screw,
and of universal emulation in arts, sciences,
and manufactures, it would never again be our
lot to hear of the concentration of hostile fleets
or hostile armies to settle so puerile a ques
tion as a dispute about a key and a star. We
would seriously recommend that His Imperial
Highness of Russia and His Majesty the Sul
tan should be placed in a corner, with cap and
bells, until the quarrel is settled by disinte
rested parties. If they should object to this,
then we hope America will join England and
France in forming such a line of defence as no
power on earth dare approach ; and that thus
united they will not only secure peace between
the belligerents in the present quarrel, but that
they will also secure and protect the peace of
the world. It is time that the folly, and
expense, and iniquity of war were put an end
to, and that some other means were devised
of settling national disputes than those of
cutting each others throats. Some encouraging
progress is being made in that direction. The
question of international arbitration is being
agitated by the members of the Peace Con
gress in all the important capitals of Europe.
Men of the highest intelligence and influence
in England, France, Belgium, and Prussia
have given in their adherence to peace prin
ciples, and soon we hope the strifes which
arise about buttons and keys will be merged
in a less inglorious strife — a strife for know
ledge, for the extension of human happiness,
and human freedom. The mission of Cobden,
and Gurney, and Burritt is an important one,
and is sure, in the end, to succeed, A thou
sand obstacles may lie in their way at first, a
thousand prejudices will have to be overcome,
hut. thft obifict contemolated is worth all the
abour expended to accomplish it, and all the
sacrifices which must be made to carry it out.
The present attitude of Russia and Turkey,
md the frivolous nature of the dispute between
ihein, will furnish thoie advocates of peace
ivith powerful arguments in favour of their
jause, and enable them to recommend in the
sapitals of the malcontents the intervention of
the ' Olive Branch,'
Boy Drowned.-— On Saturday afternoon
Mr. Whitford, of Bundle-street, reported to the police
that the body of a boy had been found in the Torrens
below Thebarlon Bridge. It turned out, on enquiry,
that the child had been sent that morning on an
errand to Kensington by his father, Mr. Laffelly, of
Norwood, who heard no more of him until the news
of a child being found drowned induced him to go
and inspect the body, when he at once identified his
missing child. The remains of the boy were removed
to the Black Lion public-house, there to await an
inquest.
Captain Beevor. — During the trial of the
cause Beevor v. Dashwood in the Supreme Court
on Saturday, the plaintiff, who appeared to be in very
indifferent health while giving his evidence, was
taken seriously ill after leaving the witness-box.
He was assisted to an adjoining hotel, where medical
aid was obtained, and after some time ho was suffi
ciently restored to be conveyed home.
Adelaide Philosophical Society. — This
society held its usual monthly meeting on Thursday
evening. One new member was admitted. The
rules proposed at the last meeting were adopted. His
Excellency was elected President of the Society, and
Messrs. Babbage and Moorhouse Vice-presidents.
A paper on the Saltatorial Movements of Mammalia
was read by C. A. Wilson, Lsq.
North Adelaide Institute.— On Friday
evening Mr. Francis gave an interesting lecture on
the ' Wonders of the Vegetable Creation.' He in
troduced his subject in an easy and fluent style,
statin' that the vegetable kingdom supplies the
chief food of the human race ; rice alone supporting
about one-third of the population of the globe. Mr.
Francis illustrated by diagrams the various forms ot
seeds, roots, stems, flowers, and leaves, and simplified
the science very much by his passiug observations.
The audience was instructed and pleased, and thanked
the lecturer for his intellectual treat. The Committee
we hear fire endeavouring to build a room in which
to accommodate the members, and to serve at the
same time as a public room for the North Adelaide
neighbourhood.
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