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BRITISH DIPTOMACYILLUSTRAT]ID I]i THE

AFFAIR OF THE ,'VIXE}{."

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t

,\DDRESSEDTO THE COI\TNIERCIAL ONSTITUENCYOF GREAT BRITAIN.

BY

AN OLD DIPLOMATIC SERVANT"

THIRD EDITIOI{.

NEWCASTLE:CURRIEAND BO\YMAN,33,COLLINGWOOD TREET.r s 3 s .

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' l ' ( ) THII

t 'oNINIIllRCiAl, C'ONSI'I ' I 'LTRN(l\-01" (ll l[].\ ' f IJIiITAIN,

T'IIosLt rvho are best acqua,inted 'iih our comlnercial nter-ests havc felt with alarm, and exposed with ability and effect,tho prospect of convulsion, and the danger of decay, thatrnay cnsue from the decline of our foreign trade. Thosern'ho are conversant with our naval ancl military resources,have erposed to you in terms of indignation, and with stiliprofoundcr feelings of dreail and alarrn, your naked anddefenceless tate, the rnaritirne iusufficiency of your navies,and the rnilitary defencelessness f your own coasts, to pro-tect you evcn from aggression. Those, again, lvho art:informed of the circumstances and relations connectedrn'ithyour Indian possessions have called ancl implored yourattention to the nrin irnpencling, through yorir negligence,on our Indian Ernpire. Men connectedu'ith diplornacy haveexposeil to you thc dangers lvhich threaten frorn every sidcrby the mismanagernent of your affairs, t'hich, by encou-raging other nations to hope to overreach you, and byallowing them to overreach you, converts ultimately thosrtnations nto enemies.

LTpon separate grounds cornrnercial rnen, milittrry lrrolt'diplomatic men, conceir,'e he existence of Engiancl endan-gered thlough the abscnceof that systern u'hich is necessaryfor the conduct of its affairs, anclof that national senseanc.lfeeling, through which. alone, national existence can br:maintaincd. I most earncstly beg to call your attention toanother and a far gravel danger,-a danger lr-hich is thr:rratural rcsult of neglcct, fallacy, and mismanr.g;r,'tnentand

lF.-\AI

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iii lr.,t r-. i it, ' suhscrviency o foreign ancl to hostiig interr:sts, i 'r;,.r' t 'r.\-dr'partlnent o r.r'hoscoyalty and intcll igencc hor l , . - ' r ' , : , ,s' f t l t is countryarc conf ided.

l:r tir,, allirir of the lTiren is to be founcl incontro.i'cltiblei,: ' . i (c,-'rrrplicatednd perplexed as that question s) of thec",lusi,-'n ,rf our F'oreign Minister .with the Government ofI i 1 . . a .

'l'h,, dt'pth and importance of such a conclusion is such,tiiut it rrould be treason in any individual not to devote hisnr',st rtalous efforts to the exposure of a stote of things sorn,'nir'Ttt,lusnd so alarming.'l'h,. l1llon'ing pages are devoteal to elucjrlate, throughtht..t, trrrnsactions,he connexionwhich, if cstablished n onep,,i::i. rrrust lre common to every other, but rn'hich n the"r,linar-v c,.lrrse of events, and through the mystery ofdii'l,rrrrLrtic ransactions, rvill not obtrude themselves uponth,. attt:ntion of the public, negligent as that public is of itsrt'rrl intt.rests, and ignorant as it is of every question of al'rrrlign or intcrnational character.

;\ l,rns intimacv rvith diplomatic transactions has farni-litrrized nit' l'ith such inquir-ies and deep alarrn for theprosperit,y, ancl t,r'en thr: eristence of my country, is theonly excuse rrhich I havt'to offer for vonttring to pressuponthe attention of tht: ,rnh- bocly frorn n-horn, undcr actual cir-cumstances, he salvation of the country calt proceed,-theeircumstancesunder n'hich the first blow has been levelledat En6-land hrough the cornmercialcomrnunity itself.

AN OLD DIPLO}'1A1'IC ERVANT.

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i

PI IE} 'ACE fO THE THI IT I ) E I ) ]T ' IO \ .

lT is generally supposed that the interest connected viththe capture ancl con{iscation of the Vixen is extinct, and thatthe subject tselfhas nowpassedby. This, hon-ever, s not thecase the legality of thzr,tseizure and confiscationhas to betried in an English court and to be decided upon by anEnglish jury. It will be again and again brought back to theHouse of Commons and the House of Peers, and in proportionas the feelings and opinions of this country are aroused anclawakened to subjects connected v'ith t-rur Foreign affairs, willinterest, grow, andincrease,concerning he confiscationof theVixen, involving as it does rnaratime right-international law-the independenceof Circassia-the security of Intlia-thepolicy ancl aggrandisernent of fiussia-the policy and charac-ter of Great Britain. But if the question connectedwith theseizure and confiscation of the Vixen were entirely adjusted,still would the analysis of that transaction be of the Inost vitalimportance to Great Britain, because hereby would English-rnen be enablecl o comprehenci he process by which theirpower as a nation has been ahnost annihilated I abot'e all is itirnportant that there shouldbe within thc reach of the public atlarge, the means of juclging of the honesty and character ofthe Foreign minister of this country-that rninister bcing byhis superiority of intelligence and a'ctivity, and through thcsupport aflbrdeclhim by collusionwith Forcign Governrnents

I,:2z

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) . , , - - t . . : l l r , ,1 ' r is coiktagucshnn hc is of ' lhe crnlr t rI , . . - . i i i t , , I l , rust of ( . 'orrrnrons,i i , - , . 'n- i r lcr .at ion n t i reone ral ld,a lrrc ln thc other, i re, r. 'rirr< I'rospects f a neu'spirit of enr|riry, and anationalr ..: : ,.1 'r)('r ' l{vlnaking alrrong he comrnercial omrnunities, r' (ri ' .:rI l3r' itnin,ncluceme to re-publish his analysisof the, '' . .rrrtiic trtrnsaction connected rn'ith the seizure anclcon-I - ' r ' : , ; rc f ' i heV lssn ,'1.-i, i l.t1rt'nning hese ines I havc. received ntelligcnceofr . . , r:i'rrrrcof Soudjouk-I(al6by the Rrssians. I have stated' . : *'ls in Iiu-"sia's power to occupy Soudjouk-I(al6 at arr . : r . r r r l i i t ' r 'per iod,s t u 'asalso n her poner to give cxist-' ::(. ' i,, rt '3ulationsunderwhich the Viscn rvasasserted o bet,':r, i,.rrrnedr-rut which never existed ancl to have obtainedlr',,rrr ,. r sultservientcourts of justice a setntc'ncef confiscationrr , t'lr rrt'r'er t'as obtainecl. I have said that intcntiona,lly-r.,. ,li,l rrot occupy Soudjouh-I(al6-that httentionally she dicl' ,,i t'stablish regulations-that httenttotutlly she did not ob-rrt.:r i dt'cisionof a court of justice, bc.cause,aving previously., ril, ,1 the point of confiscation through collusion with thell:. 'r-ir rninister of Forcign a{fairs,on that individual ell the'.,--,. ,,f justifying lie,r lacL;so that it becameher object o.':.,. ' :- that acb as violent and as unjustif iahleas possible,n' -...r l lr ' , moro cornpletcly o rivet her chainsround he neck: ::. ' l ' , 'reigl rninister,and through hirn to secure hat corn-; ', ir.i{'rdcncy and control over the British (iovernrnent,,r1.., ' ;1ir, ' i ias succecded n obtaining, and the fatal con-- ,. -,r.r., ,,f rlhich we havc seen,and haveyet to see,I ;-'. ,,.\\ 'sof the ahnostunresistedoccupation f Soudjouk-h . . r,i- i?u.sia, which, has just arrived, proves that in my.--. :1r.,:r, ' .1't 'cting'he facility of that occupation wasright;. .. rlr, rlr.v lirct of this occupationbecornesa perfect de-- 'l ,r) ,,l tlrer firtrsehoodf Lord Pahnc.rston's ssertions' : I ' :1-r, rf ('ornmons-ltecomesa clernonstrationo thc. : '11,. 111r51.1r'igncyrrtrl-.ltut let thc rcelcler fter pcr-

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vr' '.,..rr\\.r,their ruthlcss aligressor-repay,as urcn, the syrnpath,vn i.:r'h tliey offer tr,ndhe adrniration rn'hichthey feel, and yous ill do for their independenceas rnuch as u'arlike triumphst*an cllect-and obtain for yourselves that security vrhichlltets and arrnies m&y not restore, n'hen Circassia s lost. Itrl as on the shoresof Circassia hat I Ii rst learnecl o appreciatetlrc strength of England in the union of the interests of rnan-kiud, rrith her prosptrity. It s'as there, too, that I learncd toirppreciate he efl'ectsof English cornrnerccon thc integrity ofher principles,and on the clestinesof the rninor states."

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R E F L E C T IO N S .

A government eannot prescribe regulations for a country ofn'hich it is not in possession.

In caseof insurrection, nternational aw provitles the reme-dy of blockade.

The central government proclaims thc blockaile of the coastin insurrection, which affords to other Porrers the opportunityofjudging politically of the justice of the act beforethey admitand publish suchblockade to their orvn subjects ; and it reservesto the decision of a judicial tribunal the fulfihnent of the con-ditions upon which alone a measure so violent asa blockade ishad recourse to,-namely, the presenceof a sufficient force forcarrying it into effect.

Let us suppose hat Circassia hail been, ab antiquo, a pro'vinee of Russia. At the place and period of the arival oftlre Tiren the country rvas in insurrection. The municipallaws, previously and legally established, and long acted uponcould not be any longer in operation.

It is only for the infringement of an existing law than anindividual can be punished.

The confiscation of the property of a merchant is a per-sonal punishment inflicted upon him in consequence of thecriminal violation of law. If the laws do not exist, in fact,he can be liable to no punishment.

As to sanatory regulations, there lr'cre nonc in exist-ence to be violated I as to municipal regulations, those inexistence were complied with ; as to custom-house egulations,

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vultlr.r. r'r ' irs ro pttssilri l itvo{' cri 'rin*litv, l icetiis. l.ros(loriswcr ' , ' landocl .'I'ire law of nations tloos not provicle against thc consc-rlu(rnces f pcnalties inflictecl on thc snbjects of other Porn.crsgrriltless of any crime. It has not stipulatccl the pcnaltiesattached to the fiction of regulations, nor has it supposccltlrnt any nation would suft'er thc proirerty of its sulrjects tolxr conliseatedby a foreign state by extra-juclicial proceed-ings, by the fiction of possession n'here it ctid not possess)anil upon two grorrnds of indictrncnt, the one contraclictoryr,f the other,'l'he l'iren arived in thc bay of Soudjouk-Iia16, ancl,,lrrring two days, hnd cornrnunicationwith tho authoriticsrvhich it therc founcl constitutccl. \\thile so occupiecl t lr.ascapturedby a vessel that entered sca$rard,anclby an o{ficelirar-ing a commission in the navy, not by any harbour orport authority. The charge made rn'as, rolding courmuni-cation with the enemies of the Emperor. l'his principlerachnitted, a vessel bearing a Circassian letter of marquerrriglrtseizean English yessel in the port of Riga.'l'here

is, here, falsi{icationof fact, pervcrsionof thr., olrnslf .judicature, subr,ersionof intr'-rnatit-rnnligirt, and tho sct-tirrg at noiiglrt malitirne lalr.,'l'r't'atics with England arc violated, the rights of a freo1,r',r|lt' oyc'rthroil'n through England, Brit:sh propcrtl- con-tist'trtt'r1. ncl he liberty of British sulrjects nfringed.

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t,nr,r1i ttt''-^,-2tr-At,-

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TI I I :

AFIIAI I I OF TI I I ' . . \ - IXI iN,,J ., t5'"

SECTION .D ipl omatie E t+!eB' nten s Lt: r e : t.E ng itnd on l Rt nsiu, r t: rt l' r:to Circasstlu^

Tllc cngagetnt'nts 'tttc'tt ' t lrtto tt:ts'cct.t ngland,Russia,and li lanct'. since tht' trt 'atir'sof \-icLnr:r.\ 'cl 'c e\f)r('s-ql,t 'n-tended o confirtn rntl consolidiltc ltt lralancr: f pon'ercsta-blishcd with the cot'tsent f t'vt'rv i'lrtlol-'t'trl-rtate. The soleconclit ion n 'whichIinglnnrl sttlrscritrtutlv onscuteclo inter'ft-'re n the a{fair,qof tire Ott'.rrn:rrr iurpire, or to allou'thc'intcrference of any othet' Porr'tr in tliose affairs, $'as,-th-atneither she nor tley should sct'k iu the pacification of thcIlast any advantage.sr-hicir shouirl tot J;e common to al lnrankincl.'I'he Protoeol of Si. Pctclslxrrgh, cf the 4th of April, 1826,stipulates, as the condition r-,f lrtl uliotr of England u'ith Rus-sia to effect hc pacification f tlr, ' l ' lrrsl that"His Britannic \{ajesty nd Ilis Inr|uia1 }Iajestywill not seck,inthis arrangementarry ncreaseof territorl', ror an)'|exchrsive nflt-elrcenor advantagen commerce t-rr heir subjects,phichshail notbe er1uall.1'ttainableby a1lother lirtiors."The Pruth and tire l(uban 'rvcrcat that time thc limits ofllussia, as established at the treaty of Bucharr:st in i812'and as srrlisisting rvhen thtrt Pon'er 1;ecarnea co-signingparty to the treaties of Vienna.^ 'l lhe subsequentreatv of July 6, 1827, admittcd Francet

to the :rllianc,i" for the pacification -rfhe East," on thc -qatneconclitions s thoseby rr:hich Englanrl and Jiussia rverereci'procally boundto each othcr and to their sulljr:cts.

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2-{rt. r5states hat--(( The contractingpowers will uot seek riiircsearrangements uy augmentntion f territory, an1, xclusivc

ir,flrretce,or an)-cornmercialadvantageor theii subjlcts,whichti1,r5pf 61'61-ythernationmay not equallyobtain.', "I.lve{}-.nation in the rn'orld was-t}rui entitletl by Englandto participate ^n.ith her ir. any advantages u,hich might r'esultfi'um the pacification of the -East; whilst neither sf,e herselfnor either of the other two contraeting parties coukl sepa-rately erclude-ant ^countrl:and still less fny member of iheirlliance, rom benefitsu'hich lvere to be common o all.\\-ith regard to the East, the condition of rvhich it was theparticular object of the treaty more immediately to benefit-it app.ears, lmost superfluous o rernark, that any impositionupon it of re-.trictioni and disadvantages iom i"hi"i it .rou*prer-iorrsh- erornpt n-ould be a perv-ertionof the object,Dairs, at)([ contlitions of the treatyr and a completemockeryr-,f l l internuti,rnzrlngagements.T'he n'ar of llussiJ against Turkey in 1828 r,as under-ttkt-'rr. accr'dirrg to the solemnand re'iteratecldecla.rations f{lussirr hr:rst' lf, ,,only for the more speedy ulfi lment of thestipnltrtionsof the (jtd. of July- and ndt to irruk" u.ry .hung"in theil nature or their effects."_The papels presentecl o Parliament respecting he affhirsof the East abound n assurances f the determiniti,in of theEmpelor', to aLide by his obligations. In the despatch of('uunt Nesselrode to Prince Lieven, daied St. pete_'rsburgh,.Tanuary6th. 1828,annexedto protocol No. ?, his Excelleicy:

st&tcs-_ " ^\evertheless,on prince, he moreanxious heEmperoris orthef rrnrpt executionof the Treat,r,of London, the more*ill he him-scllre.pectts stipulations. Yithoutdo*bt, he co'duct ofthe porte,]t:striingc.procedings_withegard o the comrnerce nd subjectsof His -\Iajest;-,_theefusal o a1low,henceforth,n their fuvo,ir, aprotectionwhich has ever existed *nder similar circu4ances,wouldfull,r'ustify.theemployment f the meanswhich oqforgusi

ilil':,'S:i'#:iff"ffili*i'r'i,'::i#:l"i:',1",',:to the plirrciplesvhich t establishes. !. "l'ho first, and he mostessential f all, s thatwhichprohibitsothe Powerswhosigrretlhe TreatyofLondor,conquestsrrdex,.lu-srveadvantagres. is majestlhasah.eadynrruurrcedhat, rr arrysupposeabiease, e rcill lever deviate rom it. He chargesme orepeat n tliis place he expression f tliat firm resolutiorr.,YAgain, in the samedespatch,he adds.-(!We are arrived at apoint at which it is no longer n our powerto he-sitate pon the measittes 'hich the cleterminationsf the T'urk-rshGovernmentcall for I but we repeat t, even o satiety hat neither

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3the fall of thatgoverlment, or conrluests,irtr:r'into nr conternpia'tion, because hey woultl be rrtorc'pr.'lrrriiciulhirn useful o us.Besides, ven f, notrvithstaudirrgul itrttrLli,..rrr-"rrd ourelTorts,ltedecrees f Divine ltrovidcnce horrld avt:prcdr:.tirrttls tobe'wit'nesses f the ast day of the Ottornauempiic, lrc -ceutintentsf irisi'lajesty with regard o the aglgrtrridizemt'irtf liussia rouitl -re tiilthesame.The Emperorwould ot errlrtrsehe inrits -ifiis territor,riand he woultl only askof iis allies ltcsrtnte b-.euet'f aurl-,itiorrtrdof exclusive esigns, f whicli he n-ouldgivc the first cxunprie."In her declaration of n'ar, acldressed o tlie Eur,-,peanCourts, Russia publicly defines the spirit of all her pre-'existingengagementsu'ith Turkey, thus showinpJirat thosestipulations rvere a part of the international law of Europe.She savs.-

" Th'e Portehas nevertheless onstant'rymisunderstoodhe ail-vantages f ts stipulations 'ith the cabinet f St. )etersburg,ndofthe fuidameutal tleatiesof Kainardji, Jassy, anil Bucharest,which,by placing the existence f the Porte ancl he ntegrity ofits frottiersunder the protectionofthe law of nations, could riot fail to con'tribute o ihc drrration fits errrpire."Russia aclcls, u the sarnedeclaration, her definition of herengagernentsrith England.-tt The seldingof a permanentmissiono Constantinopleoon ol-lowed his recorrciliirtion,t u-hich he Porteexpresseclts satisfac-tion in the strongestcrms: soona{terwardshe treatyof thc 6t1r fJul.y, J827, corrfirned in thefaceof the rrorld the disirrteresteil riu-ciples proclainredby the protocol of the 4th of April.And the declaration terminates u'ith the folloin'ing pro-testation:-" llussia is far from cherishing ambitious projects. Su{ficientpeopleand co'rntriesacknor,r-ledgeer su'ay alreadysu{Iic,ientnx-ieties are connected vith the extent of her dominiou.': qltplly, Russia,notwithrtandingher beingat war with thePortefor r.*ts.,s independent f the treatyof Juiy the 6th,hasnot de-

ffimf,,T*i111,1"fll'*",#l|";'iL:li1",H:iil1relativC to the execution of the treaiyof Lonclon, alwaysanxioustoco-operate in a work which is recommended to its lively solicitude byreligion, anil all the feelings wbich do honour to humanity ; alwaysinc.linecl o make use of its present position, only for the more speedyfulfilment of'thc stipulations of the 6th of Jul,v, anclnot to make ar.1'change in their nature or their effects."-(St. Petersburgh, April26rh,1828).On a subsequentoccasion, n a letter from Lord Aberdeento Prince Lieven, dated June 6, 1828, his Lordship rernindsthe Prince that the condition of England's cottinuine totake palt in the conf'erence,,ois the dc'clat'ation riril,: Li'

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+i irrs"ia. tltat, tt even l rnder tht: altr:rcd circtrtrstiltccs il hirl,rls('llt position, the stipuiatiot'tsof tb.e treaty rrill cvcr btsacrcd in his Imperial Ma.iosty's eyes," flis Lordshipadds,-

"'l'hc Russia.novcrnments too enlighteneilot to see,and too]ustuot to admit,not only thirtno changen thestateo1'possession,as establishedy the treaties rr question,coukl takeplaccwitlrcutploving deeplynterestingo 1he evcral owers fllurope ; but thntuo material irlterationcoukl bc effcctedn the conclitir-rn, trength,and characterof a greatPower,without alteritg therelativepositiorof the ueighbouringstates owards eachother anil towarcls he restof Eurooe."., \Yhitever tends o derarrglehat balance, he re-adjustmeltoflvLicli, after ,r-ear-.f blood atd toi1, the great Polvers oI Europchappil,i' ucccededl efftrctirrg, 'ill of necessit;'mar the pcrfectiorrof their v;olk : and,by givrng ise o iealotsiesanii apprehcrsions,ma_r (roprobablycad to freshcompiications nd disasters."In the above clocuments, herefore, Irye have the most

solernn assurancesthat Russia u-oulcl remain faithful to theTreat] of July, arrd the names of \v*ellington, Canning,Drrdldy, and ALcr,leen are the guarantees tt'hi"h flnglarxland al l other nations possess or the maintenance of thosccommercial ights n'hich, prior to the Protocol of -April, l82ti,they enioyed.fire "objectof tlre Plotocol of the 4th of April, and of thc-Trcaty of .Iuly, l'as attained by the declarationof tho Sub-i irrrePt-,rte f St'pteml-rerhe l)thl 1829.., The SublimcPortedeclareshat, havingalreailyaclhcreclo thcTltatl of Lourlon, t novr urther plomises nd picclgest,qclfo the|cl,r'e.entatives f the Powerswho signetl he sriicl freutl', to snlr-stiiLc eltirell'to all the clecisionshich the conferencef LondonshrL1ltloptwith respecrto its execution."

It rrnrstbe remarl

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ilinflur:nce, :ttid t:,-rititttcrcialclvanta,qes"tl' her subjects, fi'otn\t'irich shc 1n'ett'ntls o erclutltr Eng,-larrd tlcl every othern t otr,'l'ht: I(iug- of linglantl, on leanring rlf tht: 'frenty of,\clrianoplt', t 'strt 'ved y a diploliatic cottttttrttricaiiouo thc(lotrt olrSt. l'ett'rslrurgir, not^onl-v he lig-lrtsof I')rrglancl, uteven the right of judging of tlic ertent of thc' strclilices n'irit-'hRussiarnight lrc allo*'ecl to cleuranrl rour 'l'tri'kev as an iit-dernnity frir the s'ar.It #as not until nearlv a. ycar tttc'r Lord PrtlttreLstott'saccession o thc Foreign-officc, that llu-q-qia,lltlir-'ugh tht:Treaty-of Arlrianoplc had been signecl vro yearsLrelbre,nircltrthe{irst or.ert step ton'ardssecuring ho connivanceof Ilngianclin her pretencleclight to Circassia.C)n the 12th of October 1831, the Rus-sianEnvov atClonstantinol-rleotnmunicated o NIr. Mandcvillt'-, the'Bri-tish \'Iinister', ancl o the represent:ttivesof Forcigrr Poin'ers tthe Porte, the fact of certain re.gulntionsof liussia cxcluclirrg;foterigu rut:rchant-ships rorn al l the ports of tho easterncoast of the lllrrck St:a, excepting r\napa ald Reclorit-KalA. h'Ir. \f attievillc at onco iustmctecl thr.' BritishConsrl-(ierrr:rri1 it ('onsttntinuplc to notify thcstt reg'ir.latious to thc nrastt'Ls f []r' it ish tt 'aclittg-ves.el,sir,r-igntingiu thc Blerck Sca, aucl transtnittt-'tla coly of tlrctn to LorclPahnerston.l\'Ir. Mandeville's conduct at C'lnstantiirople receivcdthe highest approbation. Lord Paltnerston, iu not protest-itrs' against these prctonclecl reg;ulations, or, rather, itlsarrctioning1\'Ir. l\fandeville's uotilicsrtionof tlteln, ltccalne rlrarty to the viola"ticn by Rrissia of hcr- t'ngirgetnents tol)ngland; thus ,*aciificing not olly ortr rtatural, bitt oultreaty rights. But he nt the siun,-'titnc s

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. lr -\ovember, 1835, I,'rance rnposedher tariff on foreignlj,rt)i)r'tsnto the African provincesof the Sultan, I'hich, irr,l 'liiurr.lrof the treaty of July, 1827, and r.rfhe renewedpro-ir,rt of 1830. she irow incorporated rvith her on'n emplre.>hc tlius obtained territorial aggrandizernent,exclusive- n-tlur.nce,and commerciaiailr'antagesor herself, thus balancingtlrc action of Russia n Circassia.T'he concurrenceof Lord Palmerston in the hostile pro-.ltrctsof the comrnercial ivarlsof Enclanclhas since beenbf atnore active character. The penniJsion granted to civil andrniiitary functionaries of the

-Crownto be attached to thestaffs of General Damremont ancl Cor-int Woronzow-thust'xhibiting to fourteen millions of our natural allies andcuttrmcLcialcustomers the urrion of England r.r.ith heir in-i-;i(lr'l's.nnd gir-ing; ire ostentatioussanition of the llritishiiol'1'1111111.1'1o the r.iolation of the erngagementsenteredi,r1,ri it lr t lrt ' l irit ish tlrun'n-.prepares he rnind to appreciatellrr' irrrl 'rl ' tant,c f thr-. ricstionwhich htrs fet to eome undertlr, ' t 'onsirlcrirtion f IIer Majesty's counseilorsn the Honserr l ' [ , r . ] ' r ls ,

E:e,

StrCTIOI{ I .(;!r/t,:!||/ iItut!i.ttuetueen /teOwnet,sofhe^Vt:rett" tttt.t l ottlsl )tr1 t*t'':iort. ruul Potuonbu-Estublishing tlte Non-Recog-;,i!i,,tr rtf RusstitrtRegu,lutiorts n the CircassianAoust.

'I ' irt 'strttcrnent of the case is to be found in the Corre-slrondt'nr,r' rt'tween the Foreign Office and Messrs. tsell,-a (-1r-,rrc'siiondence,to which thc records of diplomacyafford.uo palall:I.t..voPower.s.rvith. ngland, for the purposeof establishingpeaceand maintain-lng tranquility' thcy have overth-rorvnhe independerr"6 f th"t unfortunatecountry, vhile.at the same ime, they haveappropriated o themselveshe vervmortgageof thc British Capitalists;previously atified and confirmed to ihl.apitahstspy a form'l tk.claration n the part of thc Triple Alliance. Greece sl^it a small statc. yet it has called forth more intcnie and complicaterl iulo-rrrrti" nctior.tharrpelhaps ras rrecussitatedy the sett.lement f Europe at'ttieI reaty oJ vrenra' Fle'e, then, rnaybe clearlyseen revealed he seciet nten.trors arrd he,realopinionsof our two allies, on whose intentions and opinionsalonewal and peacedepend.

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IA\ALYSIS OF THE AFFAIR OF THE ( VIXEI.I.,,

No. I.l\{essrs.GeorgeBell antl Co. to ViscountPalmerston'(ReceivedMay 25')

Il[itre Chambers, ench.urclrtreet,May 25. 1836.My Loril,-We beg eave o inform your Lordship that we iravebeen urgedby the Prince Hospodarof Waliachia to undertakethefarmins of the salt.mines f that countrv and l the course f ourinquiri6s as to the available outlets foi their produce,we firril thepopulations f the countries long hewholecircuit of the BlackSeafrom the Bosphorus s far as theentrance o the SeaofAsoff, to beimportersof salt but in consequencefthe nterruption 1'theela-tions betweenhe Russian erritories and the countries o the southof the river Kuban, a very large population,which formerly drewconsiderablequantities of salt frbm the Russian erritory is nowdeprivedof that necessaryflife.T'hese onsiderations pen up for the principalitiesa large outlet

for the produceof their salt-mines,and. rhich woultl irnmecliatelycome nto operation,but for the existenceof a blockadeby Russiaof the eastern oasts f the tslackSea.We, therefbre equest the favour of your Lordship to inform ustnltetlter ltere be any restrictionson th.e rede utit/r, hat line of coastzoh,ich,,re ecognisedy his Ma.jesty'sGonernment,.or althoirgh wewebavenot, for the present,assentedo the proposalof rhe Prince of\Yallachia,yet we shoulil gladlyavail ourselves f it, shoulclwehavea favourableanswer o this our ncpiry ; and,at all eventsrin conse-quenceofour commercial onnexionswith that country,we ook withthe greatestanxiety for a det:ision on this point, which so deeplyaffects he general interests of all tbe couutriesborderins on theBlack Sea,and which more especiallywould open t up f6r mucirgreateremploymentof British capital antl shipping,\Ye have, &c.GnoncnBnll anrlCo.I'he Viscount Palmerston.G. C. 8.. &c.

No .2 .The Hon. \Y. Fox Strangways o Messrs.GeorgeBeIl and Co.

ForeignOfue,May 30, 1836.Geutlemen,-I am clirectecl y Viscount Palmerston o acknow-ledge he receipt of your letter of the 25th of May, in which yourequest nformatiou to enable you to decicle whether t will be forrour, advantageo engagen a speculationn salt n the prod,nce fy'Fcllachia; and Lord Palmerston ilirects me to stateto rou. inrcpl,r., hat His l\lajesty's (lovernment tlocsnot unrlertake 6 guide

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Rir ,lir.irluirls rr determining wirether they shall enter into or decliue( ,,urul'rciiil specuiations l foreign co,rnt.ies. It is lirr iudivicluals to;rL,ll,, irr thernselvesupousuch rnatters,ancl tt-rdetcrrtrine,upon theiirti ruratiorr whicb they may obtain f'rom sourcesof inteiligencerririch tre open to a1l, whether it is expedient or not lbr then torrubark irr ary given urrdertaking. I am. &c.\Y. Fo-.rSTnaxcrv,trs.llesrrs. Gcorge llell and Co.

No. il.t\lessrs. ieorgc Bell and Co. to Viscouut Pulmcrstou.

(l icccivccl {ay 31.),llit r,: ('Itr.nlu:rs h'enchurch-street,llay 30, l83tj.lly Lord,-\\-e hil'e the hcirrour o acknorvledge he receipt ofNIr. Strarrgg'u,i ' httt'r o1'thisditte,celiycying your Lordship's replyto r-rur'cttr.r o1'tlrc 'Jr-rthof -\lir1', relatit'e to trade with the eastern

coust uf the lllack Sea; ancl \r\o now beg leave to state to yourl,,rldsLip, that rve had uo intention, nor doesour letter apllear toris, to requirc any opirrion from His Nlajesty's Goverlment as towlicther we shoulcl,or should not, enter into thcrspeculatirrn herc-iu rel'erred o. The details u.hich we gave poiuted ott a greatfielcl {or British commcrce, anil were intendeil merely to show ourobject irr makiilg thc only inrluiry which we diel make, ancl whicitwLr ow beg lcavc to repeatr-lamely, whetlter or not His Jlfujetty't(i'trt,rnmnt recogniselie Russi,anbhckadeon tlrc coastof the'Blur:le,-r'rt,,t lh.; sottlh, f tlte riuer I{uban? \Ye presuureyour I-,ordshiprviil rrciruit hat trny cornrnercial torsc is perf'ectly justified irr ask-irrs tirl irrlbnnatiou li'orn llis Nlajesty's Government on sucir anir l i){,r ' t ir lr t"ulr icct s a,questiou f b}ockade, f which uoriotif i

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ILord Palmerston directs rne to sttrte to yot iu reply, that if yourinquiry is retrospective,aud rehtes sirnply to the lirct whether tlie

nritisti Governdent has lotifiecl it tIrc (i'r:ettu any Russiarrblock-ade irr the Black Sea, your letter itsel1' ppetrr-to cotrtilirrarr'alrswerto the qtestion which it asks.But iT; our inquiry is prospective,and is made for the purpose ofascertainins whai tG giitisti fior-crumclt lvtrull do in al lypoth-etical caser-Ihave to inlbnn ;-ou tlLat t is.tlLc lutl of His )Irrjesty'sGovernment to listen to an.\' statemerrt f grirvrtrct-'rrllegedttlhavebeen sustained by His llajest.v's subjetts, rtnd to ettcleavour toobtain redress,n-here t shull be mirclc {)aPpear hat aDv rctrl irijuryhas been suffered but it is Do purt of thc tlnty of the Gor-ent[rentto ansrver speculative inquiries. British merchauts must iu tireirundertakingi be guided by facts which are pubiic and notorlous toall, antl uirst not expecCthat the Government shall, for their par-ticular ancl individua[benefit, anticipate events and prejudge ques-tions of international rights' I am, &c.,Messrs.GeorseBeIl and Co. \Y, Fox Stnaxervavs.

raNo' ri.

llessrs. fieorge Be'li arxl f'o' to Vi-"t:ount Palmerstoir'(Receilcd Jutie 0.)

I l i trc C'lutmL,,rs'rn')rur'h, Stteet, ttne+, 1836'IlIv l,ord,-\Ye have the ltonour to acknowleclge'he receipt oftrIr. Strangways' letter of the 2ld. of June, conveying your Lord-

shiu's repil to our letter of the 28th. of llay. \Ye must offer ourol,uingies^br having again to trouble your Lordship on the subjcctlier..il discussed.\Ye beg leave to state to 1'our Lordship, that rre do not makcirrouiries6f either a retrospecti'e, spec*lati'c, or prospectivcnatnre,brri as to a, act*viz., the-blockadc .f the co:rst f the Blacli Sezr othe so[th oi'the river K[ban, which lias existed,aril up to the drrtof our last iiltelligence stiil continued to exist ; and,.lestwe may no.havc ciearly understootl the tenor sf ,1'Qr-1rorclship's eply we thinkii oroper to state, that thc coDr.ictiott re derive I'rom the perusal oit,'as 'well as from the tact of lo notilication of that blocliade hnvirrbeen publisheciby His Nlajcsty's (,lovernment, is, that such block'atlc isinol recognisetl y llis )t rj' st11's 'ttcr.nmettt'lf we do n6t receive itD)- ipiv cutt'-atlictorl- to tiris our lrnclestariclirrg,we shall proceetl u :tcr tPouit iJi[][}:Goonco Bnlr. ancl Co'

Thc Viscount Palmerston,G'C'8., &c.Now, not only dicl Messrs' Bell and Co' receive no repl1

" contridictory "" of this understanding, but they actuall1

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t 0n-ctived a. repJy-affirmatory of their utderstanding of [,ordI)nhnerton'sopinion. The reply is as follows:-The Hon. \Y. Fox Strangwayso Messrs.GeorgcBell ancl Co.ForeignOfriee,une7, 1830., (lenllgrns.r-In reply,o y.ouretterof"tlre?th.of June,statingtlrat the convictionwhich-yo. derive rom the perusalof rn1 ettei,,1 be 2nd.of J*ne, asu-ellas ronr he factof nb notificatiori f theblor:kaclef the coastoI'theBlackSea o thesouthof theRiver Kubanhaving.been ublished y'His Majesty'sGovernment,s that suchblockade -s_noteco_gniseily His-Majesty'sGovernment, am di_rectedby VisconntPalmerstono state o you, hathisLordshincan'rnly refer1'ouon tLissubjec to theGazetti i''-*ui.n all notifica'tionssuch as thosealludedto by you aremade or tire informationof thepartiesnterested. I am. &c.l\Iessrs.GeorgeBell aud Co. \I'. For Srnaxervays.The meaning of the abo-veetter is clearly the following:-_ On the entiresrrljectof ,vorrrconr-ictions erived rorn"myletter of thc 2nd of June, ilhich states that ,.British mei"-chants rnust in their undertakings be guided by facts whichare pul-rlicand notorious to all,,, as *'ell as from ihe partic'larfacts of no notification of the blockade of the "ou-*t of thuBlacl< Sea to the south of the river Kuban having been pub-lished !I FIis Nlajesty's Government, Lord palilerston'canonly rel'er 1ou to the Gazette, in which all notifications. suchas those alluded to by you in your correspondence, re madefor the information of the parti-esnterestei.Nor', at the perio{when Messrs. Bell and Co.'s inquirieswere made of Lord Palmerston, ,, respectingany restriltionson the trade with that line of coast wiiich a]re ecognised.byH^is,1\,Iajesty.'sovernment," his Lordship was ln possessronof the regulationsassumed to be establiifreaty tlie RussianGovernment in October, l83l, which ,,prohibited foreign

f.eu1q" from touching at any other points a^longhe shore "ofthe Black Sea south of the Kuban thin those ativtrictr quaran-tine establishments and custom-housesare situated, viz.,Anapa and Ridout Kal6."_ -These reg;ulations are reiterated in the enclosure to thefollowing despatch:-

No .7 .Lorcl Ponsonby o Viscount palmerston.(ReceivedOct. lB.)(Extract.)

_ r har.ehehonouro orwarclopy f {';:;::f;i'fi;'"k"iij3,Russia.

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l lI have replied to tlte Russian Etvo,r', sa;'ilg T hnd receiveil hisExcelle'ncy s communication, alcl woultl lbrrvrrrd t rvithout delay

to His Nlajesty's Ciovcrlmeut,'I'o Visconut Pahnerston, (i, C 8., &c.

Enclosure I i l Ntl. 7.(Translation.)

Rtqiuk,lere, ryl. I (13)' i836.Sir,-In the course of the )-ear lsiJl, an,i speeilirrtlly by a com-urunication of tlie Sllth Septcmbt'r ( l'ltli I't ( )ct,'bt:r)of thirt yeirr, Ihad the honour, bv ortler of m,r'C.ouri, o actluaint the representativesof {breign Poweri tt Colstaritinople with the measures,rvhich myGoveriment bad thence.forllr.stablished with respect to-foreign ves-sels frecluentiug the eastern coasts of the Black Sea belonging toRussia, *ith ttt" twofold view of preserving those coasts rom theintroduction of the plague anrl of preverrting smuggling on the samecoasts. As the veiseis whioh liequent the coasts in question arechiefly Turkish, I did not fail, at the same time, to rnake the likeconrmunication: o the Sublirne Porte.Some cases raving sitrce occurred in nhich the regrrlations on^thisrnatter have been diilegtrldcd, the hrperinl Go'-erument tlow firrdsitself callecl upon to piovide 'rrith ,lit'atcr- vigilauce {br tlie strictobserrance of tiie eristing regulatir-rtls, rrti trts comlrandeclme torepeat the communicatiolsformerll- made ol this rnatter. In execu-tion oftheseorders, have the honour to communicate to your Excel-lency the annexeil copy of the instruction reiating thereto, u-hich theImplrial Ministrl'addiessed to me on the 7th (19) ofJuly; and Iat ihe same time take the iiberty to reqtrest your kind interventionin giving suchnotice asyou may judge most fitting iu this respect othJvess"els ailingundeithe flag df your Government in the aibresaidparts of the Blacl Sea, in order to-prevent the consequencesrn'hich'misht result lrom a violation of the regulations against smuggling'AccePt'Sir ' &c' A. BourusrBrn.

It is necessary here to bear in mind the observations whichI have already'made respecting Lord Palmerston's clandes-tine recognition of the regulations of Russia, when notifiedby M. M-andevilIe to the British merchants five years pre'viously.The embarra,ssment of his Lordship's position on thissub.iect is displayed in his reply to Mr. Bell's first letter''Ih"at Gentlerian's inquiry reipecting restrictions '( in thecountries south of the Klban " is met by the subterfuge-" You request information to enable you to tlecide whetherit will t6 for your advantage to eng-agen a speculation insalt in Wallachict."

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l 2li [,,rld l)nhnerston had inlilnrred Ml.. I]ell of thr, quarau-t in, ' irrrd custom-house regulat ions of l?.ussia n tho iast,:rn

:lr,,rt. ' f thc Black Sea, hr: n'ould ha. l 'e .reen ed to an expla-rrirti'r) as to the grounds on lr'hich hc recogrtisecl hcr pre.[eu-.iorrs, rrnd the voyage of thtl l'.it:et (ti1e event, as it has been:rrrtugr:d, the urost foltuuute thub c.ver happened fr_rr iussia)u 'u r r l Jro t havc laker r p lacc .I shall non'tracer out the concert l-retn-t'euLord Pahnerstonand the Cabinet of St. Petersbureh.How does it happen, nutu'itlstanding the rnost perfectsecrecy that was rnaintainecl by all parties connected w-ittr thisvoyai{e, that aftcr the lapse of five yeals the Russian Govern-ment, u'hich had fully attainecl the objects of its previousenactnrt-.nt, rciterates its irrstructions respecting the [lockadeof the (lircassian coast lrithin a fortnight atter the corre-slttrncltnce betu-r 'ernht' Irolt. ign ()ff ice arrt l N{r. Bcll coulcllriilu reirchtcl St. l)etersbtrg^h, ancl that thest: rr:gulationsart' r'r'1rt'irtt.tl o Lord l)onsonb,r. ir the exact interva,l betn'cen.tlrt' rlelrarture of JIr. Bell fronr Londorr and his arrival at( 'ons tuu t inon le?'l'he nc-rt'docurncnt is important :-

No. t l .Lord Porrsorrby o Viscourrt Palmerston.

(Rcceir,ccl Novertber ?6)Tlterupia, Oct.28, lSllti.,\[.v Lorrl,-[fr, .Iamcs Be]i cull:tl ol nre risterda.y. He askeclnr( ' i I hird receivecl ny ir i t t l l i3eurc r, ')ur.L.urlughc. lockadeesta-lrlishrtl iu thc Black Sea by tbe li.ussiauGr.ir.ernment f alater clatctltn thiLtrtl'the ettcrs u'hich Lac.l rsscd benvecn thc Foreigu Olliceirrrtl ris filrn, relatir-e o tbe fir,ctof publicatior or non-publiiatir;r iutlrt' t/i,r:, 1'rrl1'the above-mcrrtiolcd blockad,e.T rr'1,'liel that I huil not reccir-cr1 n;- conrrnurricatiorr 'htiteverouthc s t r l r j t rc t .Ht' I'urthcl usl;eil, rvhat rvas the couulLrrricatiou made' o thisErrblss,v b-v lte llussial [)uvoy, in Septcrn'berast, rclatirrg to theblocliad,', iirrlil'rned him of ils ii,rrr,rntd stateti thaf I hacl cornmu-' icat.dit t, JIi-. \I. jesty,sconsul-Ge'eral 1br he rformatio'of tht,rnerclrrrnts,1';rt lrtrl not reconnnctzdetl ini to ntuke a wblic notifi-ctttiott, J'it.' and tliat I had forvr-arrlccltt His }lajcsty's Governmenttlie note I lecr.ived1r'omhe Russiun Eur-oy..NIr.Bell inlirr.nierl rne' thrt hc was alrorit to unclertake, vithouttlelirlr,a 1oytge to the.coirstof Circassiaol a traclingspecuiation,anclthat he should act with his knorvleclge hat the bluikacle establisheeithereby the Russian Government was inlbrmal arrd illeqal. He saidhc expectecl o have bis vessel seized that he had nolntcntion of

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I

i 3lrcting uDder an). disguise; that lris entl rvrs 1o cstnl.rlish trade in,"fri"fi fr" ""peci"d to find hig i[tere-"t : tltitt

iri-. rfits a 1itu1'ul otn'rnercialspct'ulati,,rr nd cnlcrl 'r isc' f ,""fiJA that I hacl no ri,ri,t (it I "lr,r.l,l lrrrr-p itc dt'sire) 1o offer."" "fi".lir", to 1is proceeclirqs, t' rr1ic1 1o sits tlrt' trrrdr,ru5ted,'',i.t"r'; b.t I 'r,orrltl'nh-*e*-c,irirt it 'tnst lte.tlt't't'ssitr,r'1, tis ow'i ; l ; ;"J carefuily to irv,i '1 er( 'r 'r Lirrr ' I-hrt t " .1' l \r( ' i lr ( '11'rr-he ap-ppi r ra l rcel 'nn r r t tc rnpt' r t ' \ ' ; r { i ^i r " l ' l o ' ' l i i t ' ' l " ' l l " s l r i ' l ' i q t t t r ' t r -i i o t t l tn t carc l i r l l r ' oa lo iJ r ' \ ' ( ' l r r l ( l i r l ' l r . r r ri r t l t"l believe ie ir itends tr -"ai lhctce iu a lcs tl ir i- ' : at 1rl]\ 'rate, ass()onas po-esibic.1{irrr, l .h,,,. ll l r . .I. Bell rsith ^ copvof tle Russia' Et*-o,t s uo1e,nhich I hadseut o the Cousui-l*ffi:_::t*". poxsornr-.'fjre ViscountPalmerston,G' C" 8., &c'

In the above cornmunication, Lord Ponsonby not only.loes rot recognise he custorn-houseancl t|rarantine restric'iio* ui n"**i'a' nvhichhad been repeated to him five r'r'eeksir,,fot", 5ut he intimatcs that 1e had not c'en recornmc'ndedio the Cons*l-G.neral 6(to ma,ke a p*1lic notificatio' ofit "-,;' th.s co'fc'.rnirrg,-is langn:rg. fo Lord Palrnerst.n's.,,oii j t" lfr. i]r'11, hat " t}' lt isir ]ft 'rclrri lts r'ust in tirt: iri,,nlti,rtol.iug.tr. griicl,:cl rr- trcts. r'r'lticltat't' Trrtllii a'cl not.-rious tc,alt,t' ".tiite in faci, tlic Iirrg-iish( '.s*latt' dicl rcg*-ir.rlu or.ra ormallv intirnate to cr.'v E'glisir vc'sscl passingff ,"'n".*ofr"r.,s tlie Ttrolibitictttof trallic on tlat coa-qt. B.tr,-a pJn*u"by aiso acknorn'ledg-gshat "he had no rigtrt too{ft:r anr olriectionsto N{r. Biill's ptoceedings;-but that itr"...i ir.l rrelessary to his orn'n interest carcfully to avoidirvcwt.1rine hat coirld .r'ear e\ren the appearanceof an atteutptto el-atle he lilocl

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t 4. \\'ho ever heard of an ;\mhassador, the rerpre-sentatir,elll.r-vrrltr,giving advice to a mt,rchant,a,ntlassuirringhe clutir_.s,rf tlrr: (.lonsullJ Even at.this latr: peiiud, the voyzrgeof the/-irerz n'o*ld not havc taheu place'if Lor[ lrons,inlii-hacl, irreonformitywith the invlliable-practicc of thr: scrvic

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-

t

l 5Enclosure in No. 12.

Admiral Lazareff to Captain (lhilds.) ' ik"ln,f, D,ttIrt l ,Lr 2 (21), 1836.Sir,-l have received yorrr letter i"tLtn ?or1,. ,f D'ecJnrber,andthose ii enclosed for i\{essrs. Polden and }lorttur nnd the BritishConsul at Odessa,which, as they rvere all unsoaled,and containingsuch documentsas will prove that the schooner / i.r'r.rrwas empioyedulton a blockad.ed,oast n an unlcru,ful ra,l,, u'ith llte ene?ni?s'olitrltcou,nlryt were Bent by post to St. Petersburuh, requesting that,after perusal, they lr-ouid be sealed and.seut off according to their

addresses.I am sorry for the occasiorr of the Vircn being detainecl, andquite agree with you, that perhaps yourself did not know anythingof the Uircassittn coast being blockaded but Mr. Bell could not havebeen irnorant of such a case after visitins the British Ambassadora!,T'helapia twice before he sailed with the iutention of carryinghis traile on a blockaded coast,As for your funds beingyery low, antl the small remainder ofprovisions on board, I believe llr. Eell, q-ho was the principalcauseof the detention of the schooner,must suppl;' you with theone aud the other till I receive a decisive answer frorn St. Peters.burgh; otheru'iser,as lfr, tsell is aiready in corresporrdencewiththe British Colsul at Odessa. -\-ou an rvrite to hirn lbr yorr wants.But in case you shouid be rel'usedby the one al,l thc'other, andthe crew (whir:h must be quite innocent in the cause) lrill be inwant of provisions, I have given the necessaryorders to issue suchprovisions, accordilg to the aliowances established in our nayy, Bosoon as those now on boarcl,the Viren shall be expended.

I remain:your most obecrien, .uruiir,"^rA*EFtr .T'o Captain Childs, of the Britishschooner Zirez, Sevastopol,In the despatch, of which the preceding document is anenclosure, Lord Ponsonby, after having admitteil to themaster of the Vixen the existence of " a blockade," x'hich heurged him authoritatively (( carefully to avoid everythinp;

that could wear even the appearance of an attempt to eyade,"intirnates his reatiiness to concurn'ith Loril Palmerston inthe policy of Cor-'nt Nesselrode, by poinl,ing out the fact,that the wotd. bloczts had never been mentioned in the pre-vious diplomatic intercourse I thus suggesting to Russia thisground to fall back upon-which ground she never couldhave dreamt of, except through treasonable concert for thesuppression of the most patent truth.'I'he Russian Admiral's letter distinctly avows that theTixen r!'as captured because she '6 was -employed upon abloekaded coa,st in an unlawful trade with fhe-enemies of

\aIt

II

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1 6llrrs.i:i. nnd thcrefore that thr: f.iirca,ssia,nsvet:e neithei..ul'iccts nor rebels, hvt ((enr:mlcs"at open r.r-ar rith thel')trr1,t 'r,,t,nd consequentl-Vn possession f civil anclmuni-ti l,rrl riglrts, acknou.ledged y Russia, n thc circunrstanceslliJic of vvar and peace-r'iglits, too, the cxistenceof vrhichtlt' RussianAdmiral adrnits that Lord Ponsonby had beentirlly alr-areof, and rnust har.e cornrnunicated o -Mr. .Iamcs1lel1.We rnust norl' trace ihe a{fair of the L.itr:rt to the thirddiplornatic unctionaryof England, His Majesty's Arnbassadorat St. Petersbursh.On the 2nd. of .fanuary, 183?, Lord l)urham received at-St.Petersburgha tlespatch rorn Mr, Consul-(_ieners,Ieanrcsat l)dessa, u'ith an cnclosure frorn I{r. I}ell, announcing ht:captnrt. of the L-[rr:tt, ,,-fbr ttn. inJ)-ury.ernutoJ' ,locA'irlr,',u-hiclr ctters lris Lorclshiir -qlion'eclo Oount Nes_qelrodc,ntht' ?th. Fivr: rlavs r,ftt'rriar.cls orcl l)ur.Larn rritc.s to LordPalrnt.'r'stotrs f,-,llon's-

No. l -1.The Earl of f)urham to Viscount Palmerstorr.

(ReceileclFebruary4.)_ (Extract) St. Petersburglt,un. 12, 1837.C)n lie 7tlr. rrgtantCountN-esselroilea11edn me 1br he pur-po,se f' makirig rne acqtainted with the circrmstanccsatteniingtlrc seizLrre ld confiscation f the stip lzi.ren., n the coastof{'ilcirssiti. -4s tlLe ficial reportifrom theAclmiral commundirtrltn//tu/ trttirtn,nrrd the declaration f the RussianGovernmentiareollicirrii.vrrrrrletltlic in tTte otn"nal e St.Peterslourq f tLis dry,I rl, '"11;1 rrrr,r'cc:srr)'o troublc.t-ourordshipwitL a repetirionriwritrtrr, /,ul I t'nr:loseou t/te s{ttlrntnt itscll itt ytrin-t.I sh.rvcrl his llxcellcnc-v llr. yeames' despatch rur,l IIr. Bcll,sreirort .rf tlrt occurrence,antl irrforrnedhirn tliat I had transnittedboth to ,r-,-lrr ,t,rclsLip. Dunnalt.The Vi,.t 'ouritPii lmerston,G.C.B, &c.TIIE (, Clrrcr,t l , REpoRT oF TI{E ADl,ttRr\1, cot{MAND-]NG ON TII,I- | S'I.{TION'' DOESNOT APPI:AR IN I'IIF] (( S'f.PntrnsBt-nctr .JcruRNAL" TRANsI,ItTTED By LoItDDt:nH-qll.The A'1. Peterslrtrgh. ,Iottrnu,l states tirat the commissiontlccreed at Gelenrljik, on the 28th. Novernbcr, that fiie L.i.t:ennnd its cargo ought, according to the lalvs, to be eonfiscatedfor thc twofold violation of sanatory rcgulations and ofenstorn-house lavrs. and that in consequenc,l of this tlecision

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f ,

l 7tlne l.iren had been sent to Sevastopr-rl,'hcre it arrived orrthe I I th. of Deceruber.By the declarationof the Aclmiral-in-(ll i i ef to CaptainChilds, dated Decetnl,ter21. the /i.i'eri u-as detained for altreach oJ' a touuul blocA'otb,arrd tht' account 'n'hich Lortl"Durhamhad received on the lird. of ,lanuirrv ti'om lIr. .IamesBel l cer l i f ies he same fact . l r roving lrn i . \ , l r r r i ra l uzaref fhad receivecl frorn r\dtriral }isnralt'r, Iri,. subordinateofficer,a report of tb.e commissionu'hollv at varirlrce u'ith the state-raent of Count Nesselroclc.and destructiveof it. Jrccausellre officialassertionof tlre fact of rr-xr, rcndcred of corrrseuntenable,giounclsof custr,rm-housend sanatory seizure.[,ord Durharn, tircrefore, whosc duty it rvas to bring lirr-ward the conrplaint of thc injured parties, instead of sodoing, coincides u-ith Count Nesselrode n placing the con-fiscation of t,he tr'i:ren on grounds the very reveise of thoseon rn-hichshe rvas captured, and withholds the oflicial docu-ment asserted to be published by the Russiti,nGovernment,plo'r'ing the grorrnds of blockade captur

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t g'Irnnslationof Enclc,'suren No. ll,

{Extract). St.Petersburgh,)ec.}tl.,, 'Ihe English papers, specfitrrlll. the l)forning (llnoniclc, lnveanrrourcedhat he I/i,renbrighad beensetitby some hipownersIl,ondon from ConstaltinopleTorlreopenly-avo*ed urp6se f con-ler-ing & cargo,chieflyconsistingof gulpowder, to t[e Coast f Cir-cassia. The same papershaveaddeclhat,as the importationoftirat article is prohibitedby the Russian ariff, the expedltionot'theIi'.r'ezwas und,ertakenor thc special urposcof deii-ing hc r-igi-lance and breaking through thd preventii-" nr"u.oi". -*hi.'h ti"Russian l{ua{r.91 cruiaing-or: those co,astss ohargeil o employagainstall prohibiteil and clanileatinerade.(.At the same ime that the objectof this cuipableunclertakirrgwas hus o-pen^lyannouncedo us bj, thepublic papers,a report fiodthe Board of Admiralty of the Biacf Sea nforrnedhe ImperialGovernmentthat the l?-era schoonerhad, in fact, appearerl ir theCircassian,coast,hat it had beencaptured.y one 6i'our cruisers,aridcarried nto the port of Sevastopoil,., Ihe {bilowirg are the particulaisof this affair:-

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al 9

Uount liesselrotle's accottutof the grounds of the capt-tt'e1,' th;. ,,no,.,tof tlat ,-,f ltis o*'tr co.ntiytnen, s'llstantiated asiini'u*, by the statent.ttt ,rf t l ie llussiau Admiral' Thisstaternent is not urert'l.v tltc tt'stirnony of an inclividual." if* -.p"t, ttui it is t5e :i.t1,-,r.ittrriv.acc'rurt of the Adrniralo' i t " Jtrrtion r.eportcd . t1e (',,r.tt irtrtl.t-i '-Chief in ttregio"k -*oo,bv hirn transrtlitted , tltt ' (ir)\ '{ 'rrrm('1}t,-1ggsivecl, sanctioned,ancloffrcially publishcd l.rr that ('urt'i'uln('nt;ona'tn* pul,rl ication iplomLtically anntritrrc"d " tt ! 'orcigttP;;;; ' ' ;t it tn" po*"t interestei in tlris deeisiurr' ' f irisa;;i;"", Lord Durham assetts, in a despatch laicl beforeParlitrment, that he encloses, and that docutnent lleYel'at)pears!exeept when brought folrryardby tt injrrrccl iarlv ;;il| ih; ug"iit it ri' suppres-sedn tra'smitting the conrl'lrrirrtto the Russian Government." Wt; the injured party brings to the .observation of theS""ruiuru of State this^shlemenf of the Admiral in support -of;h ;t-ilil t ora pum"rston contents himself with saying' " Iti* n"ft" ,"rsons assigned./orhe Russia' (iov.rnment, but t,;h;;;;il u*tig""a"6y # for its acts,-that Her Majesty's(]overmnent tnust look."But the Adrniral's tt'port u'asnot prlblished n the Gazette''thete i, un u**.rrnptiou lmt it had b-ecnpuhiishr:d thei'e is a.le"larutiotr hat it'hacl b.en pul-rlished anti attei ali it turnsout that it harl not been prtblished. This is not the rray irlr.hich a Government woul-dact, presuming on t]re rnost-perfecfigrror*r"" and irnbecility of the Government n'ith which it hasi;;;;;;1i;"-. It irnplie's and demonstrates practical collusion'urlau t"gr,lu" system-aticoncertextendedover a seriesof yea'rs'anclacti"ng irnlltaneously, through .divid.al ag'ents,-at eurotr';uoints. i ' lre crne.rt, t l r ' , 'r 'cfo'e,-et$'ecn lre three frincl ona-ii"-. oi Ensla'd a'cl tle lt*ssian Cahinet, so far as it has llectrhitherto traced, s cornPleter.

SECTIONIV.Appeat of Owners .for Redress-Negotiations thereupott'

\\re now come to the colrespottdence-cf 'Tt' George Eellr.r'ith Viscount Palnersto', ciaimiug the protectio* of Hi:Maiestr"s Go'ernment, and the rtlcoi'ery of liis propr:rty' IIisA.=i t#"* is clated he 2?th of .Iauuarl-, rr.ttasno tlocutnentsaccompany it r,r.lric}r rr.ould cnalll3 f}i1) {ior'r:rr].tnenf to aci

! n

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2i-iri1,,in.ir.he ck-' la.;n n,-rtmrnecliatr:lvorriinur-ricri,t irrg.itt.r irerItrrs*irrn -iovernrnt:rrts accr-runtedtir.[)rut.as early as the t]th of l,'erl,rruary, ortl f]irlruerstonhad,roccivccl he statementsof all the partiesconeenred. lIe hadr.'ct'ived the d_espatchesrom Lord f)urharn, containing thelirst appeal of ft{r. James Bell, through Mr. Consul-GJneralfearnes, for redress, as also the decision of the RussianGovernment, and a subsequentetter of I\4r. Yearnes, vhereinlre states that he hacl seen ,. the undertaking of tlne lliren an-ticipated in the German nern'spapersl"Lord Palmerston had at this time also received the accountby the Russian Admiral, of the grounds of the capture, LordPonsonby's statement of his intercourse t'ith Mr-. BeIl, andthe_official _appcal or redress from the injured parties.Hating beJbrehim all thesedocurnents, ,ts Lordshtp o,llowedserle?t!/ /a..yso ehpse bcfot"ete instrttctcrJLord Durlmrn to ud-dress /tr: Rttssratt |ot'ernmrttt on the sttbiect!The decisionof the RussianGor-crnm-ent,ogether u,ith theglrounds [ { l ra t r lecis ion, ad not only been commrrnicatct lo{ficially to the rcpresentativeof England, but they had bceninstantaneouslyproclairned o the world.T'he Emperor's functionaries had been already decoratedrtith honours for their zeal, and. he Viren herseli armer:lasa Russian cruiser, was alreadybearing the flag of that Power.What, then, rn'as he utility of addressing the Cabinet of St.Petersburghat all, except for satisfaction? If the decisionof the Emperor had o{ginally been convcyed through thcImperial embassy in Lundon, there rnighi have brcn thegrounds of strictly- diplomatic_for.m or repeating the inqrrirythrougir an English Ambassador at St. l%tersburgh; l,it tbappeal through the sarne channel for an explanation, w.hichLord Pahnerston haclalready received, rvas iln unnecessaryexposure of thc dignity of the Crorvnoor it t'as cailed forby specialreasons.Those reasons n'ill appear from the result.We must first remark that there rl:as nothe coast.

occupation ofThere .lr'asno trial, no legal adjudication, no sentence,and no confiscation. It rn'asa lnere act of volition on thcpart of the Sovereign, unsubstantiated by any form in'hichmiglrt have been adopted or that purpose.The groundsassigned n the first instance r,r' Count Nes-selrode for the seizure and confiscationof the L'iren .rere incontradictioq o the statement of the Russiannaval of[icers,to the testirnony of the injured parties, and to the pre-vions langua,ge of the diplomatic functionaries at Constanti-

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2 lnui)lL-aucl irr I)t,u'riirrg-t1.""1.-11 l1ilst they corur.rborzrtedht:t"stirrr,rLryof thc tnaster, cr(t\1'tattd sulrercarger f tht: L' t : tet l ,os t"gordt the nou-occtt lt ir t iotlof S,,1111.i '1111-l{nley-the Rus-sia,nsl ' I 'hc grouncls, hi 'ref.rrt ' , . tsslultt ' t l r-v 'otr ltt Nesselrodel'i'ere untt:ni.tlrle, ancl nlust haYc lrt:clt pruvctl so, either ir-rl)arliarnent or iu a British court r..rfarr',It became indispensablc, thereftrrt', to elltcr iuto negotia-tions to plu,ce the affair upon net- gt'ottutls altogethtlr-torestore tlie ery]algeretl positiol of Russitr ancl of the ForcignSecteta,r'y of Enqland.'l'hc msotiatiots lnsted ten u'eeks, and, as 11'earc assureclbv Lord Pahnerston that no instnrctions wero addressed to[]ord l)urharn withiu that periocl, we can only judge of theircharacter by the ostensible docurnents and the result.

No. 26.Viscount Palmerston to the Earl of Durham.

I'oreign Ofiue, April 19, |837.r\ly Lord,-l trarsmit to )'our Exceilency copiesof severalrepre-seutatiorrs vhicir I have received liom llessrs. Polden antl Nlortou,ald I'rom lessrs. Bell, cornplairiiug of the seizureantl coufiscationofthe sloop the l"i.ten, which rvas detairred by a liussian ship-o1'-v-ar uthe Black Sea, ancl hassubserlueltly beeu condemuedat SevastopolYour Etcellency is aware that there is no matter with respect tolvlfch the public mind in this country is more watchfully jealous tharrtlte forcible interference of a foreign Power with tltc peaceful toyayeof'British sulic,ls cnquged,n th.eoccuputiono/ conl'rnerce,' nd iti"sneedless or"me to oa"a. nut varioui circutistnnces have of lateycars combined to render the British nation peculiarly attentive toany proceedings of the Governrnent of Russia which may tencl toin{ringe upon the just rights o1'His }Iajesty's Subjects.'Ihe transaction, therelbre, to whicb this despatch relates, &ssumesflom collateral circumstances, eveD a greater ilegree of importalcethan that which woulil necessarily and irr any case belong to theseizure ancl coufiscation of a British merchant-vessel by the Govern-rnent of a country with wtich (lreat Britairr is not at war,His Majesty's Government are of opinion that thefrsd step to betaken in this affair otght to bc, to ask the Russian Government toerpluin the grounds upon ultich it conceiues,*el1' to lnt:e bt:en usti'f.id, in the measures to which it lias had recourse, and to rctluest t tostute he reasons n accotr,tttJ'u:hich ,t has thought tse('warrrnted tseize atttlconlfrscate,N TrNIEoF PeAcE,a merchant-vessel belonginto British subjects; and your Excellency is instrueted to preseut iirote to Count Nesselrode nakiug tn"t t"lt;#..*,,.

lAlltoRstor.Flis Exccllent,y thu Darl of I)urliam, &c,

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22ln transrnitting these '6scveral rcpresentations," it is most:rrange that his Lorclship withholds frorn Lord Durharn allthc cr)lntnunications f chief irnportance-narnely, Mr. Bell'sL'tter of February 8, 183?, enclosing the copy of Adrnirall,azareffs letter to Captain C]hilds of Decerrrber 24 fseeIinclosure ntroducecl n No. l2), rn'hichassigned he,, breqcltof'blockade"as the ground of seizure. His Lordship with-holds the whole of A{r. Bell's subsequentetters of February17, 20, and April 4. By this processLord Durham is spared

the inconvenienceand responsibilityof pointing out to CountNesselrode that the confiscation of the liretz was &n entirelyclistinct question from its capture, and that the grounds ofthat confiscation r.l'ereat direct variance with Achnir.al Laza-re{f's vrrittcn cleclaration. By this process also Lord Pal-tne:rstonappears to demancl sntisfaotion -appears to usedecidcd lnnguage;-rnakes use of this despatih to instil inhis colleagues, ol afterwards in Parliament, the dread ofwa.r:-appcars, above all, to asselt British rights, while he,in fact, l.ry a fraud no less heinous than unparallelecl, u'ith-holds the very representationsu,trich it is tlie purport of hisdispatchto convey, and respecting rvhich the Arnbassador sinstructed to dernand explanation in terms that no greatstatc corrld lrrrvc subrnittid tu unless pronounccclby col-hrsion.But Lorcl l)urham in his note to Count Nesselrode doesnot even coinmunicatc those representations rorn the injuredpartir:s u-hich he did receive l'rorn Lord Palmerston. 'l'heleasor) is tht: sarne. 'Ihose representations controvert thegrorrncls f tho seizurc contained n the St. Petershr,rgh Gu-:'ellr:,whilst ihet' also show that the Russian vessels-at Ge-lr:ndjik miglrt, ivith the utrnost ease, have u,arnecloff thel/iten ftom the coast,wherezrshe cornmanderof the Russianlu'ig-of-'n'arclitl not choost. o overtakc the Ticen until shel'as in thc bay of Souc.ljr-ruk-lial6,r to seizr: her until aftern'itnessing her cornrnunicatiorrn'ith thc shore; anrl, as theIz-i:tenpassed ak-'rrgthe coast, a Russian frigate crossed her.borvs, ancl hiruled ht:r n'ind for Geiendjik at the height ofl)scha,cl, Ilr, JJr:li's ettcrs, which were communicated toLorrl l)rrrharn, antl n'ithheltl by hirn, contain only the state-rnclt ofltlte injured pa,rtv. Thc letters rvithheld frorn LordlJrrrharncontain the corrol.roration f that statement by the. l i r lu i ( ' l ' s t l t r , t t r s t . l v r . s .

'I'htr fi-rllowing s I'Ir. Br:ll's krtter, rthich Lcrrtl Palmer,.(ton.llri t '11ne1n'to Lorrl f)urharn :'*

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2ilNt,. l t i .

- \ l r . ( lcorgt' S. I lcl l to Visconltt l)altnerstou,(Receivcd ["ebruar.r ' .)

t l | ! tre Chunlte*, I"t,t,:/ttu,/t-51r'ct1,unu'Ltl ' i l , I837' .\11' l,oltlr- Ilet'erriDg o the lettcr rvhich I lttrd the htruotr ot ad-tlressirrg () )-out Lords[ip ort t]rc 9(itir itrstiurt, I beg-cl*'e r]o\\ totlalsrnit .,, i ' i ,rs.. l sign,'d ' ,rpiese1' s'r f l . . ,r ' t t t t tc 'tsvhit 'h have trstreceive(l , 'otnur1'br6th,'r, ir . ' lruncsS' Bcll, froru Stvastol 'ol ' l 'hefirst a tle,'laration of trll thc' fircts relative to tltc 'r'ovrge, cargo, arrcr::rpt[rc r,l'tlte l-i.rcn, \\-rittel] out trt the tinre in tire port ol Gclencljtr,s iglet l l , ; 'hiur, b1't lre r 'aptairr, qd !y l lr. Xlorton,passerrter',ldiribthel uf th"-o*n"t of the 'essel; tlie secorrd, protest, sig'netlalsob1' 1\lr. Jiuues S. Beil arrd the captain, acldressetl o Admirald.*ultt., communding the Russian squadron at Gelendjik, againsall the lroceedinqs of ihc Admiral aud ihe officers, n impeding themin lhc prosecutioi oftheir lawful voyage, and placing under captureitrrest,-and d.etention, heir persons,cre$r,ship, antl property'I bcg lcave alsospecially to direct your Lordship's attention to. hefact., tlat th,: r'ess61's aigo did lroiconsist of any of themunitionsof war, and that ro pirrt o-f t lta

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21('r unt ^\e.sselrodc.oplies,--_

,'r,irenrrdersrgo"ahur.r,:r,in^J'.J:,|:r:,,!,!i,;!"'rt!uilttte of,the 2'lth of April .(lluy {;), b1. which his Excelle""y tti"liarl of tr)urham, His Briio't,ic finl"ity', ,\-bu*so,lo. Extraorcli-r 'u.ya'd r)lcrr ipotrutiu.y, rusexpre.'st 'd tl*sire to kuow tle reasorrs\^' lrrctred o the scizureof the English sloop he Zr..c,.n,etained rrthe Black Seu by u Russiarr .essei-ol '-war,nd oincecondemnetl oDecorrfiscatedat Sevastopol,I i :o"b.. tTj ty with tlre ordcrs_of the Emperor, the untlersignedr'olrsrLters.rtrs duty to trffer o the English -Ambassadorthe irosilratrlr aut[,most complete explanations with respect to the circum_.tiluce$ whrt.h htve lcd to the measure called. oi by ihe Viren..'fhat vesselhasbeel conliscatedbecause,having-onboard.a cargo,' l ' 1. 'r 'ulr i l , i i , ' {uods, t entercdu port belor igi ,rs J Ro.rio i*r;; i ; ;i , l l l r r ' tr 'r . 'arl l ' . \ , lr i i tutrpl,,, vit lr tLe iu.tention-ofhere enqaging rr' p)ul 'blte{l rraLlc: $-hereashe Russi^n r.grrlarions wlrlcl-r ivebr t'-upublishedlbr the g*idance of tlie tracle n tliose purt* prot it iiturr'tglr \-L.sselsiom entering that p.rt, where therc is.eithe-r a cus"

!.ct-itt-l1ori1,eror quarantine_-ertablisll*ent; and, on the other haJ,opell to thern at a short distance fronr thence thc port o1'Auaua.*'here tLc Vixen would have beerr rccly arlmitte,f i . "f,* f ,J U."rit ' l tgagg{ n an ordinary and legal

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r iatiorr " hr: ttretelY oll ir t 's i t l tof " reqtrlatioris tvhicir l t iLvt't l r i t re is a l issur .1yI i l l *1 ,11uo,1 .nLrblishccl. br re:r,sons u'hich

2)i i rs r r l t . I l i s l i rc t ' l l cncv speaksl . r e t , r ri ' r r l r l i s l r t ' c l . " ' f l r e w - h o l eNo rcgrrlrrt i ,rtts titd uYer beelrt'ill l.rr:cx1-'lainecl u the sequel,

a

SECTION.-.(lntnbinutiort betaeett Lortl Ptthterston, Lord Du'rlwtt' tutdL'otutt Nesselrotle,o rnakeowt(r caseJbr Ru,sstaoJ'Possessiottrl' Soudjouk-KalC.It aurrearsfronr Couut Nessclrode's note that Russia didrr,-,t'pretend tu lre itr pox'tssiott of Sottrlirttrk- ul(' Shc*rooi,l:; hcr cnnfiscittion tf the Yixerr on tht' plca that " it, int, 'r,,da lrurt bllongirrg ,, Ilrrs*i t itt r. ' irlttco/'t le. Trcut11 JAr{rfunopli;" ern4 ,,t ur,lv lrt ' f itctuf tltt 'st' izrrre f t1'eVtt;ertbv a vesscl-'f-r,r'ar t't frlrrr auotlurr '.rt ftrr that p.rpos.,lrirt the St. Ptte't'sbttrglt (/ttzt ttr: its.1t, prove4 tirat ltussi*could not by possil.ri l ity ave I'ceu tl posse-*sionf.tireport'l'be (ltnetti sfatr's " that, the cornnrulications having l)eenkeut utr cluring thirtv-sir hours between the ship and theinh'abitilnts of the cuast, thert: is a fact which, under therrresent ircutnstunces, cqtrircs he character f Yery strong'presrrnrl,t ion,that, of tl lc lbur cannon with wlLieh he ship,irccording to its papcrs' lYas provided, only two were foundon bolrd."What u'ould any sane man say to the assertion that a port$'as occupiecl,where a foreign rnerchant-vessel ould be sup-poscd capableof landing a cortpleof cannon'' But onl"ss a case of de fitcto possessioncould be madeo"i tnu truth muct have immediately appeared' Lord Pal-rnerston coulcl have hacl no defence in Parliament-thegrounds of confiscation must have inevitably been set asidein a court of law.Count Nesselroderefers to the fortress of Soudjouk-Kal6 ;[,ord Durham to a fortress, " Alexandrinsky'" His Lord-shin even does not assert that Soudjouk-Ka16was in the,,osl*ersion

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26nr(rny o the fact that- he Circassianswere alone n possessi,rrrof the shore,aud iu the utter absenceof any testirnbny rrhat.ever o- he-contrary,au ^\rnl.rassadorf l injland pen. h* ,,,,-paralleled ines u'hich ft-rllow-

No. 29.'heEarril:l:,T"f#ru']j Paimerston'St. I'etersburgh, JlIug 13, 1837._ NII; L-ot_{ _With respect to the militaty de facto- occupation ofSoudjouk-Kal6, I have to state to your Lordship that there is atirrtress n the bay v'hich bears the narne of the Empress (Alexan-tlrirrskv), ancl that it has been always occupiecl^by a'Russiaugarrlsoll'

I ha'e &c. Dunsanr.' I 'htrfiscount Palmerston, ,C.B.,&c.'l'he full-impartanceof Lord Durham's declarationmay notat tirst strike the reader.If his Lordshfu had vrritten to his Court, ,, I atn assuredbythe Russian (iovermnent that there is a fortress in the

lay of So rdouk-I(ald, and that it has always been occupietlby a Russian garrison," such testirnony cbming from -theinterestedparty _wouldhave been open [o inquiry, and, if ithad been proved to to be false, Russia rnusf,huve affordedreparation. But by the unsubstantiated assertion of theEnglish Arnbassador he Russian Government n'as sereenedfrorn- responsibility. and the assertion itself acquired theye.ight of an authoratative statement emanating from theBritish Ernbassy.That Lord Durham n'as instructed in this course appearsfrom the part taken subseqrentl.yby Lord Palnerston hirn-self, Count Nesselrodestites, in tris reply to Lord Durharn," that the Vie:en u,as confiscatr.d lbr having enterecl u poribelonging to Russia in virtue of the treaty of Adrianriple,n'ith the intention of there engaging in a prohibited trade.,;The following is Lord Pahnerston'sins*er':__

No. 30.Viscount Palmerston o the Earl of Durham.

tr'nreignOfi,e, lay 93. 1887..llv. Lord,-Your E-xceilen-cy'sespi,tch*of'I\Iayi 10, togetherwith its enclosures,nd y'ourdispatch 1' lay 13,hin'ebeen-y6,cr1.vctl at this officeaud laid before he Kirre.

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.

'2iIt appears, y CoutrtNe-"sclrotle'srrrte rt pr i l ??, thttt t l tc reasooassignedby the Russian Govertrutetrt irl tlc st'izrtrr'arrdcorrliscationof tlrc Viwn is, tltat the Vi.rc,tr tirt'ittq otr boatrtla crrrgoc,ltrsistilrgola prohibited commodit)', entered rt polt ivlricltbclruqs to Rnssia.byviitue of the treaty of Adriauople, itt t:orttttrvetltiolr1)1'rt cguiationof'the liussial Clovernment,u'hit:h irrtcrdicts to lirrt'igtr ship5 thg su-trance of that port, wherc tircrc is rlo cust()ru-ltotts"c-*tltblisltmt'trt,while such sliips are aalmitted ttt triide at tlre rreishbotrritt{ port o1',\rrapa.Tlregroundsof seizureof tlte l"ite n, tht'relbrcrappearto ltitve bet'trtu-olbld-lirst, the havilg on boar(l tr carso rrot tllowed to be im-portetl at all; and secondly, an atternpt to trade at a Russiau portwhere there is no custon-house, and where a critrgo,even of goods ol"whir:h the importatiou was legal, could not properly be landed.His i\Iajesiy's Clovernment, considering in the first place thatSoudjouk-Kai6 which was acknowledgedby Russia in the treaty ol'1783 as a 'l'urkish possession,now belongs to Russia, as sta,tedbyCount Nesselrode, by virtue of the treaty of Ad,rialople ; and consi-

clering, further, that tLis port is occupied, as stated in your Excel-lencyts clespatch of May liJ, by a Rtssian fort and garrison, see-rrosuffieient reason to question the right of Russia to seize and corrfis-cate tlre trli,ren irt the port of Sotdjouk-Iiald on the grounds st:tlbrth in Count Nesselrode'snote'.Yotr Excelleuc)' is therefore iustructt'tl to state to Count Nessle-rocle, hat, under all the pc'cuiiar circumstances of this case, HislVlajesty's Governrnent have lo further demand ,to meke rPolrthat of Russia with respect to the Capture of the Vi^ren,I am, &c. PaLmnnsroxHis Excellency he Earl of Drrrham,&c.

Lord Palmerston in this reply to Lord Durhatn, says," that the grounds of the seizure appear to have been trn'o-fold-first, the having on l-roarda cargo not allowed to beimported at all; and, secondl"v, an attempt to trade at aRttssian Dort {'here there is no custom-house.l'he lliren could not have been legally condemned for an" intention" to srnuggle. Lord Palrnerston came to CountNesselrode'said by substituting the rvord "attempt."His Lordship also puts forvrard Soudjouk-Ka16as a ('Rus-sian port," whereas Count Nc'sselrodemerely stated that ittrelonged o Russia "in virtue of the treaty of Adrianople."But, admitting for a moment that the treaty of .r\drianople.could give a porb to Russia, it does not give Soudjouk-Kal6to Russia. That treaty recognisesthe independent existenceof "the neighboirring [ribes" to the south bf "the Kuban."The article states that Russia and Turkey

" Have equally taken into considerationhe proper rneans oopposensurmountableobstacles o the nctrsions antl depretlationsrvhic,h he neigltbouringribeshitherto committed, and which have

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28s'..,.rfie' compronised the relations ot f'r.ie'dship anil good i'eeiinglr lts 'eerr hc twtr rnrpires; _cunsequerrt lyt has b'eenag.eed lpon t;( '() l)sroererrcelorward s the l ioutiersbetwee rr he territoriesot'theImperial court of Ilussia and those of the subiime ottomau porteiri Asia, the lirrer" &c.

" All the courtries sit*atecl to the so*th ancl west of this rine ofclemarcation towards the Pashalics of Kars and Trebizond;;"C;6;;witL. the qajor pa_rt t' rhe Pasharicof -{khaltzik, rholr te,noiu i"n- cr-peturtyurrderthedomiration of theSublimeporte,whilstthosewhichare situated to the north and east of the said. ine towards Georgia.lmeritil, ancl the Gouriel, as weil as ar the iittoral "i trr" iltr?"?Sea, from the mouth of the.Kuban as far as the port of St. Nicholasinclusivel;', under the domination of the Empertr of Russia.,,, , B , l t . r rs t ,hc . ,ne igh l rour ing t r ibes " acknowledgea n" i t t " , ,{.ssru. nor. ' Iurke.r-. ancl therefore could not be palt ies to the,t . : :" , . I ' f - \drirrn, ' lr lr ,. l rrrkcv, in order not to beiompromisedl lr t lr( ' lr Irrr ' l{ 'r)qcrlh, ' . t i l i t ics against Russia, agreecl o ,e"og_lrrs(. irL, l,rnrirratiur , f Rus-.iaover the shore of ihe Il lack Se."a.lrorrr th. rnouth cf the I(uban to port st. Nicholas, t"ui-ing, to Russia the task of acquiring possession of itr'if shecould.But Lord Pahnerston, seeing the importance which CountNesselrode attache d to the su_pfort of thL British co', o"rrr""i,,i,i19t-:.1"d bl- the remarl

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!9tr'eaty e,fpeaceof I78 1 lrr:nrs n tlie liussiau a.rchiveshe c'lddati: of the 28tli. of l lr, 'ccrnlrt 'r.78lJ. II is Lordshiir tnust,thercfore. ha.re n-ritterl lrtl{rn data lirmisirecl rorn St, l)ett:rs-burch.Lord John Russell seenrs,nl-*o, o iis.,-s6ie1ir-cd is inform-ation from -Qt. I)eti:r'sburgir. ,.v clnplcr.ving ire sarnc rnis-quotation of date. The articlr:s to 'n'liic'hLot''-l l)ultrterstourefers point out particularly that there l'ils a thirrl partlrvhich had clairns on Soudjouk-(lalessi. It is as f,.tllonr-s-'

Art 2.-('La Cour hnp6rialede Russie ie fera aniais aloir icrdroits que lesChansdesTartaresavoient formes sur le ten'itoire dr:la forteresse orrdjak-Calessi,t, par cons6quent, lle n reconltiten toute souverainet6,Ll Porte."Art, 3.-" En admettantpour frontidreclans e Cuban a RiviereCuban, la dite Cour de Russie enonce nmdme-tems toutesesnatiortsTartares lwi sctnt n deeade la ddte h,iire, c.-tt.-d, entre aRiaibe Cu,ban t La Mer l{rtire."Thus. in every instcnce, $'ere the grounds assigned byllussia untenable, and an Elglish X{inister exhausts inge-

nuitf in inventing argurnents for llussia to substantiate herposition ; and, as if the measure of his Lordship's scrviceisIrad not ;-et lreen tillcd up, Lord Durham sentls to CountNesselrode a copy of Lold Palmerston's despatch. of conrseto be rnade use of at et'ery other Court.The Vtxen rn'asseiaed on the' 26th. of Notrember, I S36.-On the ?th. of January the confiscation rn'as ntimated taLord Durham.-The 'n'hole of the documents 'were befort'tr,ord Palmerston on the Eth. of February.-During set'entydavs. after all such documents had been received, no notiet'whatever is taken of this affair.-On the igth of April hisLordship opensu'ith the despatch No, 26.-On the sixth ofMav Lord f)urharn Dresentshis Note, No. 28.-On the 9th. ofMay comesCount l{esselrode'sNote.-On the 'l3th. of MayLord l)urham's despatch relatir.e to Soucliouk-Kal6; andn'ithin twenty-four hours of its arrival, on the 2l3rd. of May,does Lord Palmerston consumrnate these proceedings b;'the despatch No. 30, which no sooner arrives at St. Peters-burgh than it is transmitted to the llussian Bureau ! Nowwe can comprehend, by the activity of the period that inter-venes between the l9th. of April and the 23rd. of May, theastounding silence anal apparent repose of the seventy pn:.ceding days,A " seizttre ut ime of peacer"-to use the pregnant wordsof the Secretary of State,-involving, avowedly or sup-posedly, the question of 'n'arand peace, s made in thr-'monthof November : and in the month of April the British (]o-

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30\Ffrlrnent takes the first oslrzsiZle strps respectittg.'t. After.ll the doc'me'ts are i' the lr,rreigir offic,, suii'icient tirneis suffcred to r,la|se for eolrrrrrrrnic,it i.,nso lre matlc to i:t.l'ctc.rsburgh,-for an onsrl-erto be receivr:cl,-for a secondc.rn111ur,iau,'onrr Jreugainmade fi.urnLgndori, nrr,1n st,contlreply 1o be re_ceivedn London. before'any ostcnsible stepsare taken. When representationsare then rnaclc, thr:y ar:e,it. is.true, insulting--in their tone; but they wittrol"tt treprirrcipal proof .on n-hich the case rc,sts. ,I'he Arnbassador,in cornrnunicatingnith the Foreign Office at St. peters_buryh,,withholds again_the t muining testirnorry,_receivt,san i*sulting reply, vr-hichneither arrs*ers nor touches on thep.r'slruledexplanati'n. The Ar'bassador then volunteers tohis own Governrnent,as reply, an assertionn,ithout a shadolvof proof, and in direct contradiction of the .r,r,holeezassoft-estirno'y frorn al l the parties I and.,on the instant that thisdocu*ent is reetived, -Lor.d Palmerston closes the lr.holedi,scussion,and in the narne of England. ratifics Lord Dur-harn's asst'r.tionsand Nicholas's acts. Comment on such allloeeeding s inrpossil-,1e,-s srrper.fluous,It.rnay easily be irnagined-that Lord Durhanr, havingcog'izance .f the co'duct of the British secretary of Stati:thloughout these-negotiations,acquirecl the povler' of r_,xact-rng the turrns of his ovln ren.ard, and of iising to all theh'nours o_f- 'ssia, n'hilst each atlvantageu,hich-he securecllbr hirnself tended to confirrn her triumpi.The ansq'er to the remonstrances6f the o\4.nersof theI,1i:en, against the injustice of their on.n GovernmeDt, arein kc'eping-yith Lord Palmerston's original "orro.por.d",l.oith Mr. llell.

N o . 4 .Extract of a Letter from John Backhouse, sq., o l{essrs.po]denand Morton.

viscountpatmerstonuppr.t.oaf',ilt#"rro{::-!;T:.?']?,rvho is about to embark-in-a bonti y'de commercial underiafiug inforeign-parts to inform himself, b;: local inquiries, as to the filcalregulat ionswhich.rnay be in forcein, antl applicrbie to, t le placesto which h9 m.af intencl to trade; arrd prudbirt p"rrorr., whole ob_Jects are srmply the prosecution of advantageouscornrnerce,willprobtbly not risk their property in such rn-rlertakings uniess theresult of their inquir ies slould plor-esatisl irclorr..\\'ith regard to the caseol'the / -iren, Her Nlajest.y'sGovernmentmust nnquestionably, as Jou suppose, ook for th-egiounds on which

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3 Ithe llussian G,-rvernmentacted in that case to 1he rensonsassisrietlhy tltat Government, and not to reasons u'hich rnay hrrve beeuassigredlfor it ; and rvith respect o the rrliegation coltaiued in yourletter, that, being uninfbrmed, and tru,rtirs to tlte honestv nntl goocllhith of the Russian Government, r'on harl bt-err rrtraliDeri.rncL avethus lost )'our propertl, \riscc,tnt'l',rlmerston 1r,.. ,rili' tc) statL. hatNlr. Jurnes Bell, before re loft tLe Llu.l, lronrs. a: rtg,lrr iser' l.r ' Hisllajesty's Ambassador at Constantinople ot'thc ri.k rrlit'ir lie lrasrunning, arld \r'as perfectll' aware i){ ail tlr" pu:sible t.unserprer{'esofthe steps he rvas then taking.

Ilis Lorclship n'onld -qeem o have firllen inlo his ol'n toilsin this laboured piece of i ronv. I l ' he rt ' i tcts the tt 'st irrronr.assigncd -/br the corlcllrct of tlx' Itussi:rn (iovr:rlurent , by ii:on-n naval officers, it is open to the rne-.rcantileconstituencyl , r scnt t in ize t l rc rcnsons ass ignr -dlb r Russ ia l r1 l r is Lord-ship. Rut the question rests upon the facts of the case, notrrpon the reasons &ssigned for or agninst the capture. Itrests upon testirnony u'hich it n'as the bounden dut_yof the(iovernment to seek.But those letters r.r'ithheltl by Lorr1 Pnlmerston rnust con-tzr, in ome iuforrnation n'ot' thr- ot'ortr nttc,ntion.nlr Bell 's lc.ttel of the l?th r-rfF eLruiu.r.adcluces he tesri-rnony of the Circassians thr-mselves, th;t is to sty, of thernunicipal authorities occupying the shtire, ccrtifi-yirig thatthe s/zorrs of that bay never had been taken by the itussians.

No. 18.Mr. George Bell to John Backhouse, Esq.

(Received.February 17.)157, 7'ench.urcbstreet, ebnwry lT, l8SZ,Dear Sirr-In reply to the question you put to melhis forenoon,I beg leave to mention the following circumstances.Having heard, during my stay in Bucharest in October last, ofthe report qirculatecl b,y the Russian Government of the capture ofSoudjouk-I(al6-from the Circassians by the Russian troops,i rvrotespecially to my brother,at Constantinople to make inquiriei, antl sentlme information. He in consequence sent me the following details,viz : that he had communicateil with above twenty Circassian chiefsand others, some of whom hacl arrived llom the ioast of Circassia afew- d-ayspreviouslyr^who stated that such report was totaily false,arrd that the shoresofthat bay neuerhad been taken by the Russians.'I'hen, in lris letters since the capture ot' the Viten.my brother men-tions that he had himself beenbn shore at Soudioud-Kal6. that hehad not founil any Russian troops there, or near"there, and that hehail made an excursion some distance into the country on horseback.on a visit to one of the Circassian chiefs. accomrruni",l bv severaiother chiels and five hundred of their cavalrv. A" *'u. further as-

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:i.1srreil 1)t those cLiefs, t'hat, as t\eir forces weie tlow combi.ecl ulrier.ttne commander, and a lational starrdard, bev were cletermined, f'possible,arrd conlidentll expected, to drive, ere l,,upi, he Rtrssianrroopg rom even the two posi,fj:[:]c0 they crr:r:upiedn their coaet.

John Backhouse, Esq., (Signed) G'once Bolr''&c. &c. &c.\\'Ie thus ffnd Lord Pahnerstonsupprcssing he testirnorryof the local authorities themseh,ers.-'\trrhat iurther proof dLwe require of his being in league rn'ithRussia against thern .l

Can any thing so monstrousbe conceived as thi rejection ofthe testimony-of an entire people, and the non-re-cognition.ltot alone of their rights, hrrt of their r.ery existance:, Inthe vvhole of the diplomatic papers the ulor.d , Cireassian''ls never uttered by any one of lhe cliplomatic servants ofIineland.,_In-u,flblequenr lctter of the 20th, of Febntary, lg:}?.I\Ir._Bell brinpJs orrrard, as cvidence of the non-octupationof thc country r ; ' t l te Russians,heiournal of J \ l r . $tcu.art(n 'h ich appcarcd rr Nos 34 and 3. i of the , ,port fo l io ' . )^u'ho. travelled along the nhole lc,ngth of the coast of Cir-cassia a few rnonths before the ariival of the l,txen; and.t-as actually sent thithcr by- Lord Ponsonby, in utter defi-ance alike of sanatory regulations and of LlockadeI N{r.Br:ll's ]etter is as follon's :-

I{o. 19.1\{r.GeorgeBell to JohnBackhouse,sq. (Received ebruary21.)ll'[i,t,r Ghambrs, tr-cnchuch s ree ,Dear.Sir,-rnritingo .ou no,ru{i',0{Jf^il.,.3?;li3-ir*"t",ccupation by the Russia's of the coastoi circassia, it did not occ'r'to me to refer you (if you had not alread; secn thein) to a nnmlrcr9l_ryostnteresting cletails,contained rr Nbs. 84 and 35 of the ((port_fblio," bearing .pon this subject, and.which 'r,erewritten and sentlrgme iom (Jo:rstantinople-b,v-anElglish gentleman,an acquaiutanceof mule, atter,having travelleil last surnmer hro.gh the ,,rliole engthol the coastot'Abasia and circassia. Accordinglo that a.ccou't ili '.the veracity of which the character of that gentieman is o*plo giru_rantee), you_v'ill observe that, with the exception of a ciustEr ofsmall lbrts), close o eachother, in the 'ici'ity of Soukoum_Kalir, atthe very so*thern extremity of the coastof Abasia, tlie writer staies*oa l j l pass i r rga longn l inebfoas tex ter rd ing rpwal r ls f |5omi lcslungtrsn,$here lhere rtresix or eight l.raJ.s,,|"ral ' lrr lrrrs, it lr tortnsnear them, frequenteil l,1' Circassia' r,es,sels,e did 'ot fi'd a si nglr:Russ ianPost . rn t i l re camc o ( le lcnd. l ik . Amnng r t n n, ' r r . r i * r ' , , t

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ti l::rrr'ed )J' hose ciriefs, that, as their force,swere irow conibineclu'tler.,,rre 'ommander,and a Dational standard, hey lvere determineri. {ot's-"ible, ld confidently expected, to drive, Lre l,_,ng,he Russiar:iroops from even the two posil";:[l]"n *rey or:crrpied n their coaet.

John Backhouse, Esq., (signed) Gnoncn Bnr'r''&c. &c. &-c.\Ye thus find Lord PaLnerston upprcssinghe tcstirnorrrof the loeal authorities thcrnsclvcs.- -\\-hat firrtherproof dLwe require of his being in league rvith Russia against them .lCan any thing so monstrousbe conceived as thL rejection ofthe testimorll-of- an_entire people, and the non-re-cognition.trot alone of their righl.s, but of their very existance./ Inthe n'holc of rhe diplomatic pa,pers he uiord ,, Circassian"ls neyer nttered by any one of the diplornatic servants oflirrelan .

llr. llell lrrings forrrard, as evitience of the non-oc"cupationof llre country bv the Russians, the journal of j\{r. Sierrarr(n-hich appeared n Nos 34 ancl l l5 of the ,, porrfolio,')"t'iro travelled along the n-hole ength of the coast of Cir_cassia a few rnonths Lrefore the ariival of the l,irett ; antlwas actually sent thither by_t,ord Ponsonby, in utter clefi-ance alike of sanatory regulations and of LiockadeI l\{r..Boll's letter is as follows :-I$o. 19.

Mr. GeorgeEell to John Backhonse,sq. (Received ebnrarl.2l .)ll[itr e Ghamb rs, b-ench ch .s{,rel.tr'ebruarq 0, IttBZ.Dear.Sir,-In writing o )orr on Fritlal., elatir.eo llre cxtcrrlotoceupation; theRussiansf tlrecoast f circassia,t didnotot.curto me to rcferyou (if you had not alread;'ser.nhern) o a uuml'lcroJ'mostnterestingetails, ontainedu Nos.Bl anclB;iol'the , I)ort.folio,"-bearing pon this subject, ncl rhich werev,rittenanclsentlromeiorn ( orrstantinople-by'-annglishgentleman,nacquai'tanceot murc,a{ler avins ravelledastsurnmerhroughlrewlroleerygrlrol thecoast l'Abnsja ndCircassia. Accordingo tlratac(.ounti i)rthe veracityof vuliich he characterof that gentieman s o*pt. giru-rantee), you u-ill observe hat, with the exception f a r:iustErofsmall brts),closeo eachother, n the 'ici*ity oi''Soukoum-Kallr, tthe very so*ther' cxtremitynf'thecoastof Abasia,hewriter staiesthat, n passirrglonga inebf coastextentlingupwarrls f I i0 milesEnglish,wh_erehereare six or eight ha1-sir h'arlic,urs,ith tov.nsnear lrem, frequenteil y'circassiane.ssels,e diclot fi.d a sirrgleItussianPost,until he eame o ()elendjik. Amons hc nlmboiol

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these towns is Mamai, ulrich has l-reeu tated, l a rnap recentlylrublished, to be in tbe posse-ssionl'the Rnssiarrs, rlthough t nel'erhas been so. I have low beftrreure a lctte l fi 'or)l tbn same gentle-man, *'herein he states-ailutlins to t'lte account rvhich l havementioned above as being publi,.lred'-"'l'hcre is one urportant fact,which it strikes me I have omittcd to mention, r'i2.,, lrr: existeuceofa road, practicable the greater part of its extelt ibr carts er-en,be-tween the Black Sea and the Caspian, corurtencing rrc'rrl lie plainof Anapa. I travellecl lorrg t luiabuut tLirt l rui les, t,, l rtr, ' icei-lent roacl t was, and they (the Circassians)assuredme it contiluednearly as good the '*'bole wal to the ('aspiau. Its importance asameans of communication n'ith the Eastern shores of the Caspian.with Khiva, for the importatiou of our cottons there by a short cutthrough a friendly country, is evident."The expression ('friendly " can tre only unrlerstood to apply tothe Circassians, as the writer was, I know, constantly accompaniedby them, and of course could not mean the Russians, who, from thetenor of his correspondence,do not a,ppeer o have had any controlover the line of road thus aliuded to.I am, &c.(Signed)John Backhouse,Esq.

Thc' testirnony of Mr. Childs is as follo\a's :Enclosure2 in No. ?.

Mr. Thomas Childs to Mr. George Beli.London, July 11,1837.

Sir,-*In reply to your inquir;', whether there were any Russiautroops or a fort scen by me on the shores of the bay of Soucljouk-Ka16, I now state positively, that, although I did not go, whiie a.-qhore,all round the ba,r, which is about one mile ancl a half broad, anilfbur miies long, still I examined it with my giass, as I heartl tha.tthere had beerr some ltlenchrnents tltlown up by the Russians nea,rthe mouth of the river Doba. which, |orvever, I could not discoverfrom the vessel's deck, ancl I hearil they nere all thrown down b;'the Circassians; but I Eaw oD the ground anil the neig,hbourhocd,where I was tolil the intrenchments had been. clroves of sheep ten-ded by Circassians, mary of whom were riding about all tlie da;on horseback, lookirg at my vessei. I never in any part of the baysaw a single Russian soldier; and I hearcl that the Russian arm,v,which had trieil to take possessionof the bay, was driven off withgreat slaughter, of which I saw many traces ancl among others astauclartl, t'hich had been taken from the Russians, was given toMr. James Bell as a present.(Sig"ned) TsolrAs Cnrr,ns.

It is clear that the fact of non-possession f Soudjouk-Kal6by Russia u'oukl irave renilereal her amenable for a piraticalact' D

GnoncnBnr,l,iI

I

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34But in what pusitiouwoultl it har-e rlncetla lJritish Secrt,-tary of Stat_e, fter havirrg ta\gn so- conspieuousn purt iupromoting al l ihe measures u.hich led to ihat act. aid.dis-playing so desperatea detbrmination o suprrortit?'fhis leads us to the third act in this crtiaordinarv dramn.There was an old despatch in the archives of tlie Foreign9ffi*, which Lord Palmerston had in his posscssionat tlhetime of tlre capture of the l,-iren, to the folloiting effect :-

No.15.Mr. Consul-Generaleameso Viscountpalmersron.

(Receiveil ctober3.)-[Referredo in No. 14.](Extract.) Odessa,ugust ll, 1836.The next Russianstation s-iu t_heay of Soudjouk_Kal6,which,duringrseveral-yea1s,nd till lately, remaineilu'noccupied'.On aIowground o the left, ulun enteriiq the bau of Soudiiuk. are the,.ruinsof the Turkishfort, which saimpleteluVernotishel.Nearl'onthe semesite is to be erecteda small Rusiian fortification.noi vctcommenced. To the right, within the ba5 q-e ound the squad_ionof Rear-Admiral Patiniotti at anchor,coiisistingof a hrg"'f.igaiu,two corvettes, wo-bri_gs,nd a cutter, with a stdam_boat and"in iv&lleJ opedng to th: !ay, and running in a directiontowardsGel_-enoJr.k_,_ttrentrenched.camp of General \\rilleminoff. Here weIandedby a rgughand temporaryjetty, and r.r.ere ll at onceat theseetol en activerrar. At the time of o*r arrival only four thousand1l -*,:t" in.the camp.; btrongdetachments eingout, employeJou the linesof communicationin - _theear, and ufon thosewhichare to be folmgil by rgadson oneside o Geiend-jik, ndon theotherto Anapa, both para_llelo the shore. The firisent positionwasctcupiednot threeweekspreuiouso our aisit.-I-beg eaveto refer to the line of forts alreaclymentionecl rme.rvhich rvas projectedfrom Olginsky on the Iiuban. Th; fi1rr

"ihese,erected t the distance fthirty_three ersts,snamedAbyn ;the. second,sixteen versts from it, Nicolayefsk.y;o"i ini firi,eighteenerstslfurther, u)esau) racedout ,:itrin thi intrenchments lft( .ymp>9n theDoba,a smallstreamfalling into the bayof Soudjoui,at its southern rtrem,ity.With- this despatch in his possession, Lord palmerston'srecognitiop of Lord Durham's-assertion cspecting the oceu_pation of Soudjouk-Kal6 is incompatible

",itn tnJ honour ofa man-the feelings of an Englishman.Here we find that ., ol u" low ground to the left, whenentering the Bay of Soudjouk, areihe ruins of the'iurkish

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fort, which is cornpletely demolished." Brrt this fort is thefortress of Soudjouk-Kai6 alluded to in the treaty of l?84'and it cannot be the fortress alluded to liy Lord Durham,which his lordship statecl " hatl Lr:ett trlu'ri,y'*occuyticdby a-Russinn gurrison,i' Mr. Yearnes sals that " the Bay _ofSoudjouk-Kal6 itself had, during screril 11etts, nd tilllately,remained unoccultietl,"