South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900), Monday 19 September 1853, page 3


$Jj£ lontjr iuatrnliatt jitgartw. Adelaide : Monday, September 19, 1853.

THE RUSSIAN CRUSADE.

The peace of Europe is at the present moment 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 Imperial 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 Gethsemane 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 possession 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 delegate of any other worship, for the walling up (doture mureej of the harems having a view on the sanctuary, and for the demolition of the harems contiguous to the cupola, if the possibility of that demolition be proved.' The Ambassador is charged with obtaining on these points a formal assurance and notification. '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 political concessions ; her desire being to tranquillize 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 protect 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 unrepaired ; 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 Russian Emperor must be looked upon with intense 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 rupture 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 buttons have involved nearly all the great misunderstandings which have arisen between civilized 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 question 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 disinterested 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 Congress 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 principles, and soon we hope the strifes which arise about buttons and keys will be merged in a less inglorious strife — a strife for knowledge, 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 thousand 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 sufficiently 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 introduced 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. ?