Potter's Electric News

GREECE AND ruRKEY, The old quarrel between Europe and Asia has come up once more, and threatens to involve the greater part, if not the whole, of the former Power. It cannot be said that the barbarous State has been the aggressor, if that term is confined to him who creates the actual casus belli. It is from Greece that the immediate provocation comes. The Porte only asks to be let alone, and to have fair play in. reducing to submission those subjects whom it would never have assailed had they not risen in revolt. For two years the Cretan rebellion has dragged on, bolstered up in public estimation by the most enormous lying on the part of the Philhellenes. Throughout the whole of this period the Athenian Government has more than connived at the enlistment of troops for the rebels, or at the running of the Turkish blockade. Nor does this include the whole of their complicity. There is no reasonable doubt that the Cretan rebellion originated on the mainland, and that the authorities at Athens intended from the first to make an attempt at breaking up the Turkish Empire. If we exclude from the question all principles except those of inter- national law, it is as though the French Government had first fomented the Fenian rebellion, and then lent the rebels every possible assistance short of waging a declared war against Great Britain. Judged in this way the Porte cannot be blampd for the very moderate ultimatum which it presented, or for break- ing off diplomatic relations with Greece as soon as its demands were substantially refused. But the Greeks persistently refuse to look at the question under any such aspect. They have contrived, in some way which no coarse northern or western mind can comprehend, to arrive at the conclusion that the Lower Roman Empire is a natural appendage of the Grecian Peninsula. They regard Constantinople, at least, as their light, and the presence of the Tuiks in Europe as a standing outrage. And in this they receive what may be described as a sort of suppressed moral snpport from various parts of the Continent. Though there is, of course, no obvious connection between Christianity and any geographical expres- sion,' there is a latent sense that all Europe belongs to Christendom. He would be a very dull man for a Greek who could not make good use of this senti- ment, and it has therefore been used pretty frequently. It is aided by the two principles of nationality and of democracy. Of the fifteen millions who compose the population of European Turkey, ten millions, at least, belong to the Greek or Armenian Churches, while less than five millions are Mahometans. Such a disproportion as this, especially when nearly con- terminous with a distinction in blood, traditions, and political ideas, is certain, now a days, to enlist a great deal of external sympath) for the subject and dis- affected majority. It is not now as when a sign of whit he called the democratic mark," induced Alexander to stand aloof from the Grecian insurrec- tion. A majority in France, Italy, and, perhaps, Prussia, and a formidable minority in England, give iheir sympathies to the cause of revolution whenever !t appears. The scarcely veiled intervention of Greece in the Cretan insurrection is therefore, to be distinguished from a mere piece of ordinary meddling. It may be worse of better, but it is not equivalent to intervention on the part of France or America in the affairs of Ireland. It will be regarded in various qt a ters as the assertion of an important principle, however selfish may be the motives of those by whom it has been asserted. That the Greeks rely on this there can be no doubt, and it is only a question of degree how far facts will justify their confidence. It may be that they will receive no active support, though there is no saying what Russia might do in the course of a prolonged war between Greece and Turkey. But that the Grecian cause is regarded as exceptional, is proved by the anxiety of the Western Powers to avert an outbreak of actual hostilities. Peihaps the question may solve itself if the five great Continental Powers should agree with England to observe genuine neutrality—at least during a con- siderable period. It seems almost too sanguine to hope that true reconcilement will ever grow where wounds of deadly hate have pierced so deep as they have between Mahometans and Grecians. If there is ore fact which we must teach ourselves to face in Eastern Europe, it is the fact that the Greeks will give us no peace while any of their brethren are under foreign rule within the limits of the Byzantine Empire. They will make themselves the tools of any Power-probably of Russia-sooner than sit down under what they are pleased to call an outrage to their blood and their religion. Thetame question will arise again and again till it is settled, and as often as it comes up we shall see before us the triple alternative of plundering a faithful aliy, compelling a Christian people to bear the yoke of a minority, who are their inferiors in intellect and energy, or allowing Russia and France to settle between them a problem which, when solved, will determine the ownership of Constantinople. Some writers appear to have assumed that a single-handed contest between Greece and Turkey must necessarily terminate in the utter discomfiture of the former. But this conclusion is, at least, hasty. It is surely not borne out by the war of Greek independence. Grant that only foreign aid saved the Greeks from extremity: it does not therefore follow that they would be reduced to similar straits in a new con- test. No one who considers the desperate courage, variety of resources, and frequent success with which tli-vjy prosecuted their former struggle can doubt that with organization, a central cl rallying point -like Athens, and the prestige of a national monarchy in their favour, they would make a better fight than ever. The Greek race has grown much stronger since 1827, while Turkey has probably become a great deal weaker. It is true that the Porte would commence with a decided material superiority at sea but the Greeks would assuredly have the winds and waves in their favour. Turkish sailors cannot be relied on, and the Porte could not draw upon the mercantile marine without the probability of enlisting enemies who would carry over to Greece the vessels with which they were entrusted. A principal hope of the Greeks would, however, be in revolt on the part of their antagonist's Christian subjects. The probability of such an event can hardly be esti- mated. One can only say that, if half the com- plaints of the Greeks are true, the latter must either rise directly they get a chance or consent to be deemed indifferent to independence. It is not impossible that the event may in fact be determined on this very issue. The Turk may really have to reap according as he has sown during the last quarter of a century. If he has, in fact, oppressed his Chiistian subjects, they may in a few weeks take formidable rank among his z, enemies. If he has given them no material cause for discontent, they will probably allow bim to read the Greek Kingdom a severe lesson on the danger of meddling in the quarrels of other people. The Chancellor of the Provincial Court at York bas reversed the decision of the Rev Chancellor of Carlisle respecting the right of the churchwarden to the key of a church. He holds that by the law of the land the incumbent has the exclusive custody of the key as the constructive chattel of his freehold.

'iIT'KEY AND GREECF. The prospec's of peace have not improved daring the week. At the council of Ministers held on Wednes- day it wa3 unanimously decided (1) to recall Pho- iades Bey and to give M. Deliyanni his passports (2) to declare all the ports of the empire closed against the Greek flag and (3) to expel all Hellenic subjects within a brief delay. This decision was at once submitted to the Sultan. and his Majesty's irade approving it issued late the same evening. On Thursday instructions in this sense were telegraphed to Photiades Bey, who was directed at the same time to demand, peremptorily, the definitive cessation of volunteer enrolments for Crete, the stoppage of blockade-running, and the free embarkation of the refugees awaiting shipment at iEgina and the Piraeus. In the event of a refusal he was ordered to at once demand his passports and leave Athens by the first steamer. Things thus remained till Saturday morn- ing, when, Porte rumour says, General Ignatieflr appealed to Mr Elliot and M Bouree—who (especiaUy the latter) have been credited with encouraging the Porte in the course taken—to make some collective effort to prevent a rupture. The result was a general visit of all four of the Ambassadors and the Prussian Minister, separately, to the Grand Vizier, followed on Sunday by a council of Ministers at the Palace, at which the whole matter was again reconsidered. It was then decided not. to act with the hastiness thought of on Wednesday, but to address a formal ultimatum to the Greek Government, and fix a limited time for its answer. This, accordingly, was drawn up by the Grand Fizier himself on Monday, and yesterday it was telegraphed in full to Photiades i3ey. The text follows to-day by the French steamer, and five days are allowed lor reply after its presentation on Saturday next. In addition to the demands above stated, the Note further asks for an indemnity for the families of two Turkish officers murdered last year in street brawls at Syra and Milo, and a formal promise from the Greek Government that it will for the future cease all aid, overt or covert, to the Cretan movement. In the meantime, M. Deliyanni, the Greek Minister to the Porte, is said to have received telegraphic assurance from Athens that.the demands now so formally repeated will be in ioio rejected. In that event he will receive his passports on Wednes- day next, and Photiades Bey will be recalled on the same day, leaving Athens by the Marseilles steamer which touches at'the Pireeus on Thursday morning. The Ambassadors have urged for a further delay of I' three weeks before the expulsion of Greek subjects from the Empire and probably this term will be allowed. The Italian Legation will take charge of the 200 or more Greek prisoners in the Zaptieh, and of all unfinished lawsuits in which Greek subjects may be concerned. In the meantime active naval and military preparations are in progress. Hobart Pasha has been promoted to the rank of vice-admiral and named to the command of squadron in the Cretan waters. He left on Saturday for Suda-bay, carrying with him carte blanche to assert the maritime rights of the Porte, and the Enossis, it is believed, will be,one of the earliest objects of his .attention. A strong squadron of iron clads is also being got ready to proceed to Volo under the command of Ibrahim Pasha. Preparations are at the same time being made to reinforce the army in Thessaly— though, if a Stamboul paper is to be credited, Abd- ul-Kerim Pasha has answered a telegraphic inquiry of the Seraskier as to the state of his force, that he is strong enough, if ordered, to he in Athens in four days. The case of Colonel O'Reilly has made no progress since our last. The Porte has not yet formulated the charge on which he is to be tried, and, pending that preliminary, no steps have been taken by Mr Elliot to obtain his removal to our own Consular prison, nor has his advocate yet been allowed access at the Zaptieh. It is said, however, that his right to removal into British custody will be insisted on, if only to prevent a precedent of possibly future very mischievous operation.-Levant Herald. e We rejoice to hear that the Guarantee Fund of the Church Association has reached the mini- mum amount agreed upon at the Conference in Willis's Rooms, 27th November, 1867, viz.— £ 50,000. It will be remembered that until this sum was reached, the Council were unable to call in the pro rata subscriptions. The names of new guarantors will be thankfully received. THE WHALING SEASON.—Advices from the Sand- wich Islands state that 48 whalers have arrived at Honolulo, with 2608 barrels of sperm oil, 29,335 barrels of whale oil, and 3927001b of bone. The whaling season in the Arctic is represented to have been the worst known for 20 years. The larger proportion of the vessels returned in a damaged condition. 1 he ice is extending much further south this year than last, and there is little prospect of again sighting the Polar continent reported to have been discoved last year. FATAL BOAT ACCIDENT.—A chocking accident is reported from Aberdovey, a small watering place on the west coast of Wales. It appears that on Thurs- day afternoon two young gentlemen, a Mr Knowles, the son of a solicitor living at Stafford, and a Mr Jackson, the son of a London shipbroker, went out in a small boat for the purpose of crossing the ferry to Ynyslas, for sea-lark shooting. The tide was going out at the time, and there was a perfect hurricane of wind and rain setting in, and the unfortunate gentle- men, when about half way across the river, were met by the ferry pilot, and advised to return. Up to Saturday night not a trace of them had been dis- covered. The boat was washed ashore at Cricclesh, about 40 miles distant from Aberdovey, on Friday afternoon, and it is generally surmised that the un- fortunate gentlemen were carried out to sea, and perished in the gale which visited this coast on Thursday and Friday nights. Men are busily engaged night and day dragging the river, as it is thought that the bodies might have sunk, being encumbered with heavy shot belts. FATHER IGNATIUS.—The Rev Mr Lyne, or as he seems to prefer to be known Father Ignatius," finding that the churches of the metropolis are no longer available for the inculcation of his peculiar doctrines, has selected a new and somewhat singular scene for his religious labours. Arrayed in his usual full costume as a monk he delivered on Friday night at the Music Hall, Store-street, Bedford square, the J first of a series of intended lectures, selecting for his subject, The Christianity of the Low Church Party." In dealing with this topic the rev. gentleman, by one of those manifestations of the most wilely tolerant feeling which sometimes surprise a portion, at least, of his visitors, carefully avoided indulging in any expression of disapproval, or even entering into any special examination of Low Church doctrines, and confined himself through his whole discourse to an attempt to show that Christians of all sects —mem- bers of the Church of England, Protestant Dissenters, and Roman Catholics—hold the same fundamental tenets, and that there is nothing in their differences of opinion to justify their dissensions and their mutual recriminations. The audience, which did not com- pletely fill the hall, listened to the rev. gentleman with perfect patience and courtesy and he himself, in conclusion, expressed his grateful sense of the fairness, and even kindness, of the reception which had been granted to him in so unusual and unexpected a manner upon that occasion.

FRENCH OPINIONS OF BRITISH TROOPS. The French Government recently admitted into its official journal, the Monitcur, a series of articles on the British army. The writer has had, what few French military writers can boast of—the advantage of seeing some of our troops but it was so far back as the Crimean war. His observations, though made long ago, are, however, not without interest and the following is his appreciation of the soldiers of the three kingdoms The British army is composed of three different nationalities, which form so many distinct types the Englishman, the Irishman, and the Scotchman. The Englishman, properly speaking, has but little taste for the career of arms, but he gets accustomed to it. With him use is secoud nature; once trained, he does admirably everything that he performs. He marches with perfect regularity, almost like a piece of mechanism; he executes his manoeuvres with un- equalled precision. As a marksman especially he is astonishing it is true that powder for practice is not begrudged him. He obeys with remarkable exacti- tude he is rivetted to the post in which he has been placed he never gives way. With respect to his stedfastness, the field of battle might sink beneath him, and he would be found immovable in the ruins- Impavidum ferient. rumse But he has ffie defects of his good qualities; he is slow in taking the offensive he requires to be com- manded and directed he has no inspiration under fire, and precise orders must be given to him, which he will execute to the letter; he is somewhat of a grumbler, which is no great evil he is not impulsive, although noisy, and he is more active than would be supposed. In fact, he is one of the good soldiers of Europe, although he does not take to the profession from choice. The Irishman is w'armer in his relations than the Englishman he is as brave, hut is too fond of drink, and he is very ignorant, and, consequently, super- stitious, whimsical, and uncultivated. But be haS, an excellent heart: he is faithful, and is not without a certain dash, which the general temperament of the army prevents from being utilized. He, moreover, enters into the spirit of the fight, and gets roused in it. To the Irishman is due certain vigorous charges which were unexpected, from their not being in the nature of the English army. The Scotch are unquestionably the elite of the British troops. The Highlander is the type of the real soldier he has all the necessary qualities with- out the defects. Unfortunately for Great Britain, the population of Scotland is small. Thrifty, to such a point as to save up penny by penny, the Scotchman is, nevertheless, honest, sincere, friendly in his relations, proud, enthusiastic, and chivalrous whenever blood only has to be shed. The old tradi- tions of clanship still exist, and group each company around some illustrious name. All the soldiers call themselves cousins of the captain. The Highlanders possess a singular bravery, which partakes, at the same time, of the French impetuosity and the English calm; they have ardour without passion they charge with vigour, but do not lose their self-possession. In the heat of the attack a single word is sufficient to stay them formed into squares, they might be taken for Englishmen charging with the bayonet, one would think they were French. They have besides a Celtic origin, and the blood of our fore- fathers flows in their veins; but it has been a little cooled by the rigour of the climate. In the eyes of the Turks, the Scotch have a great failing-that of showing their naked legs to us they had a very slight defect, but a very tiresome one: this was their depraved taste for the harsh music of the bagpipes. The Highlanders cannot, as is well k'nown, go under fire without being excited by their national airs, played on that discordant instrument; one of their generals having suppressed that screech- ing music, they attacked the enemy with such little spirit that their bagpipes had to be returned to them they then carried the position. In fine, we repeat, the Scotch are magnificent soldiers." -—————<?—————' POPULARITY OF THE LATE GOVERNMENT,—It is seldom that the head of a large department of the state, whose decisions from the necessity of his position must more often be against the petitioner than for him, quits office amid such wide-spread expressions of regret as her Majesty's late Postmaster General, the Duke of Montrose. It is given to few to refuse a favour graciously, or to double one by the grace with which it is conferred but these qualities are possessed by the late Postmaster General in so pre-eminent a degree that he has. we understand, won the hearts of all connected with the Post Office, whether cooping into direct communication with him or not. It has been arranged to adopt the very unusual course of presenting to Ins grace a memorial thanking him for his uniform ctortesy and kinndess during his tenure of office, and expressing the universal regret that is felt at his departure. I SIR WATKIN WYNN AND THE PEERAGE.—The Oswcsny Advertiser says;—"We have had an opportunity of perusing a letter addressed by Sir Watkin to his friends and suppcr'ers, of which the following is a copy Dear Sir, —I beg to thank YOIl most cordially for the kind way in which you have assisted in returning me for the seventh time as your representative in parliament. It is a position which for more than a century and a half has been the most paized d'stinction of my family it was preferred by my great grandfather to an earldom, by my father to an earldom, by myself to a peerage. Times and circum- stances have undergone great changes, but one thing has never changed, the heartfelt gratitude of the House of Wynnstay to the electors of Denbigh.-I am, Sir, vour grateful servant, WATKIN WILLIAMS WYNN. — Wynnstay, Ruahon, Nov. 30.' THE GRAND ORANGE LODGE OF IRELAND have held a special meeting to consider the present crisis, and its relation to their institution. The result of their deliberations have been published, with an address and resolutions having special reference to current events, and especially to the appointment of Mr O'Hagan as Chancellor. Want of space forbids the insertion of the address in full, but the following extract, we think, will be read with interest We are now under a Government whose principle of action will be to rule Ireland through the intervention of the Church of Home, and to make any concession that the head of that Church in Ireland will demand. We may look for the exclusion of all true Protes ants from all place and power. We may expect the judicial bench, the Executive Govern- ment, and the magistracy of Ireland will, ere long, be brought under the management and control of the Court of Rome. We see in the appointment to the Chancellorship of Ireland a sample of what we have to expect. The intimacy and confidential relations which are well known to exist between the Chancellor and the Papal representative in the country—Car- dinal Cullen—lead us almost to look upon this appointment as virtually uniting, as of old, in one the judicial and spiritual functions of the Papacy. The direct insult conveyed by this appointment to the feelings of Protestants is too glaring to require any laboured animadversions and the passing over of two l Protestants, one holding a large retiring pension, and the other having the claim of usage and routine, have shown plainly the course events are taking."