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SOUTHERN
RECORDER.
VOL. 111.
M1LLEDGEV1LLE, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1822.
No. o'J.
PUBLISHED WEKKI.Y,
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The Cause of tin. Greeks—of Christianity —
and of Liberty.
We lay aside various other articles to
give place to the whole of the following
in.i.-tdly letter from the first Orator of Eon
land to her minister Lord Liverpool. \Vt
sluiuUl feel ourselves as doing a sort of in
ji.lice to this manly appeal of the liberal
I, ad Erskine, if we did not invite the rea
der's attention to its beauties and its argil-
Perhaps no period could have been se-
|, i led mure suitable for its publication. The
fnntest is going on between the Crescent
,,,,d the Cross, Tile Orel ks. though linas-
si,ted hj a single ally, without onc Russian
in | ticir ranks, or one firelock furnished them
|,v a Christian nation, yet continue to cope
with their barbarous oppressors. They
have not flinched from the murderous con-
t, So far from it, that they have disap
pointed and astonished the world by their
(pint and perseverance.
The naval achievement of Sein may vie
in ils noble, dat ing with the sea-fight of Sa-
kunis. If t ey have really defeated the
Parlia Chonrschid at the memorable pass
of Thrrttmpyla*, the victory will he worthy
hi' llie descendants of the ancient Spartans.
Tue whole contest has done them honor.
They are not that abject and degenerate
rare, which the travellers, and poets of Eu
rope have been accustomed to ridicule.
Lord Byron should once more seize the
harp ; anti hymn the praises of a people,
whoso genius lie had mistaken, lie owes
them some atonement for the satirical
strokes which lie has lavished upon them :
Now strike Hie golden lyre again—
\ hinder yet—and yet a louder strain.
It is while this contest is going on, while
it is maintained in so heroic a spirit by the
Greeks, that l he monarchs of Europe areu-
houllo assemble to lake this, w ith other qoes-
tions, into their consideration. The Congress
id Verona meet. What will the Holy Al
ias (In? Will they leave the Greeks to them-
H'lvs ■ Will they aufl'er a Christian nation
to be overwhelmed by a Mahometan Intruder,
who is in the habit of calling these Christ
tms “lines?” Aro they su much alarm
ed by the very name of “ revolution,” as
1n considi rtis. success of the Greeks, like the
dim eclipses oh he moon, to forebode change
to themselves, a-sd perplexity tn nil inoii-
arclis? Will they consider the Suit
l tanstantinople as a Legitimate price—ami
entitled to all the participations of an alli
ance, which can only be called Holy, be
cause it is consecrated by the Christian Re
ligion ?
Gut, if Russia, if Prussia, if Austria
should bo led away by these phantasies,
study Great Rritain will not be misled by
their delusions. She has a represeutativ
constitution. She calls herself a free na
tiou. She ought not to entertain those vio
lent prejudices against innovation and re
formation, which may perplex the Holy
Allies.—Lit her listen tu Lord Erskine
Let her instruct Iter representative a* v'ero
na to plead fur the Greeks— and to a
peal to the Allies as Cta'istAns, if not as the
friends of freedom Londonderry is
'm ue. Canning & to succeed him—a man,
who lias a more liberal spirit than hi
predecessor—and more independent priuci
pies.—If he can prevail with the Allies; if
he can wean Russia from her fnvorit
scheme of aggrandizement, let an attempt
be made tu establish an cm pile for
Greeks—at least oil the site of the ancien
Gruucii. Give them a district. Save them
from the clutches of the Turks—from th
grasp of Russia—and thus preserve the fu
ture peace of Europe.— Gut the letter ol
Lord Erskine presents these considerations
in so forcible a point of view, that it is nil
occecessary tu repeat them. K< ail it :
[/ it A. Enq
4 Idler to tin Earl of Liverpool, on llic sub
ject of the Greeks.
BY THOMAS LORD ERSKINE.
My Lord—If Parliament had continued
Kitting, it was my intention to have brought
the subject of my letter before the House
of Lords, and if it could have been safely
delayed, I shoud have waited until Parlia
ment reassembled ; but as my object is to
engage your Lordship’s earliest attention to
1,ltc sufferings of the Greeks, it is obvious
that not a moment should he lust : I lament
indeed that his Majesty has net long since
been addressed by both branches cf the le
gislature, beseeching him to fulfil the duty
of a Christian sovereign by an instant en
deavour to terminate the perpetration of
those unutterable crimes which have so long
been suffered to disgrace the Turkish do-
Initiation. I questiun not at all the lung's
humanity or justice, hilt as his Majesty can
only act through the public councils, I ad
dress myself tn your lordship.
To reinuve in the very outset any inten
tion of personal offence, 1 give you full
Credit, my Lord, for the warmest feelings
on this afflicting subject. 1 believe you,
upon good evidence, to he. anxiously soli
citous for the security of Christians and lor
progress of the. Gospel ; hut placed as you
are in a highly responsible situation, in very
critical times, you may apprehend difficul
ties in promoting those great objects by any
of the government ; and it is tliere-
l begin by maintaining, that you are
y and indispensably bound by a duly
paramount to that of a statesman, to make
»n instant effort to engage the. nations in al-
jraice with litis country to overthrow the
" iqjpel dominion of unprincipled, incnnigilile
^barbarians, over a Christian people, strug-
jjjffittg for freedom and independence.
, r 'Pin: dominion of the Turks, my lord,
over the beautiful and extensive legions
Vrhiijh include ancient Greece, was not an
Ai tlioaiy conquest: to he considered upon
the received principles and precedents of
civilized states towards each other,—It the
Cracks had become subject to Uc Ottoman
Porte through the ordinary chances of war,
oid w ere gmerned according to the. maxims
of the civilized world, we should then, I ad
mit, have no right to resist by force the se-
i eritv of their government, however unjust ;
hut I deny the application of this forbear
ance to Hie Ottoman l’orle, acting as it has
ton long been suffered to do.
As Christians, my Lord, we ought be
sides to hear in mind that the. dominion of
the Saracens was nut one of those changes
of government by successful warfare which
have taken place in all agc.s throughout the
world, hut Ihf.l it was foretold by the pro
phets, and hut too well described in Scrip
ture, its a smoke issuing from the bottom-
less pit which should cover a large portion
of the earth with desolation.—We ought
not to forget that in the region thus over
whelmed, the Almighty first revealed him
self to mankind, and that our Redeemer
forth from thence his Disciples and
Apostles to preach the gospel of benevo-
'enru mid peer, where if continued to he
•reached and to extend itself on every side
until this preternatural pestilence, invading
both soui and body, defiled the Christian
revelation by a base imposture, and destroy
ed its sacred Professors.
We ought to hold in vindictive remem
brance that in the City of Constantinople,
now the horrid theatre of unutterable crimes,
he imperial standard of Christianity, after
ages ol persecution, was first triumphantly
planted, and that her churches multiplied k,
flourished under it, until this assault of de-
usion and violence overthrew them, des
troying in (lie same moment the moat cele
brated remains of the arts which had eseap-
the fury of the Goths and Vandals: hav
ing been collected by Constantine when the
south of Europe was overrun, and the lto-
rn Empire divided.
\\ hoever will look into the work of Mon
sieur la Fosse, published lately at Paris,
w hen the equestrian statue of Henri (iua-
fte was ro-r rectal upon the Pout No.of,
will lie astonished at the destruction of the
most sublime monuments of the Ancient
World which then unhappily took place.—
But what, my Lord, is the destruction of the
Arts w hen compared with the profanation of
Christian churches and the atrocious mur
ders of their ministers and worshippers ;
continued to this hour with accumulated
horrors, not only amidst the imliscrimanate
slaughter of battles, hut in cold blood upon
the most innocent ? Committed, my Lord,
it is reported and hr 1 ii-\ ed, by the person
al command of the Sultan himself, by the
command of a rullian, il'the fact he so, who,
in assuming the character of magistracy, de
bases and hrutifies all human authority,
and Syria, to Persia and Tartary—to China
—to half of Africa—to all the coasts of the
Mediterranean sea, and to a vast extent in
British India.” Now, my Lord, if all tiiis lie
so, can our duty he questioned, nr call it he
denied that all,the zealous professions Si the
unremitting exertions of our numerous as
sociations for the. propagation of the gospel,
which I applaud and honour, and w hich 1
firmly believe, will draw down a blessing up
on us, are yet altogether as a drop in the
ocean w hen compared with the flood of light
w hich would break in over a world of dark
ness, if the means within our power were
faithfully exerted.
We are now, my Lord, arrived nb the
main, object of my letter—viz. the protection
w hich in wise policy, we ought to afford at
litis moment to the Greeks, and it lies in the
narrowest compass.
Although I can never subscribe to the
doctrine of legitimate sovereignty against
the universal wilt of[any people, over whom
it is I laimed to he exercised, yet lliefr is the
greatest difference bet ween a revolt again .
m civil government whether originating in
compact or by ordinary conquest, and u , c
sistance to the impious dominion of the Mr
hoincdatt conquerors, when maintained and
supported, as it is by inhuman oppressions at
Variance with all Ihe establishments of civiliz
ed men.
This indeed, strictly speaking, embraces
the only principle of foreign interference.—
There is no more Inundation for making war
against a people because they believe in
Mahomet than if they were the most faith
ful believers in Christ.—It is their casting
off all the restraints which characterize Ihe
social world, that can alone give a right lo other
nations to rontrou! them.
I distinctly admitted in the outset, and
again repeat the admission, that if the Greeks
were subjects of the Porte under an orditta
ry conquest, and were governed upon priti
eiplcs which tile laws of nations subscribe to
or ought to countenance, I should not con
sider our interference to he warranted,
though, as a free people, we might take an
iterestin their cause and lie justified in wish
ing them success. My claim for them, there
fore, rests upon facts that cannot he denied,
and upon reasons which are undeniulde, if
the facts lie true.
1 shall assume, with argument, from res
pect to your lordship's understanding and
knowledge, that the Greeks can by no possi
bility (even if it were a desirable event) he
brought to the condition of contented sub
jects, nor indeed to any pacific relations
w liatsnever with their tyrannous oppressors.
They have already begun to organize them
selves ns a nation; they are, udianting a-
midst unexampled dillicnlties to maintain
their independence; their successes encou
rage perseverance, and with the fortitude
and patience of Christians, invoke the God
of Battles, in their public proclamations, to
support their cause. Such x i-.-i-i ,uu- ....
surely no longer he considered ns a mere
sedition, which, if left to itself, might termi
nate in submission and ctmeiiialinti, and I
hav e therefore a, sumerl as a sell evident pro
position, that, the Greeks can never more
he Hulijrets of tile Ottoman Porte, Tilt }
may, without the aid of other powers, he ex
terminated or scattered, lint cannot again
return to a stales of subjection and peace.
The question, therefore, of action or inac
tion, comes directly home to us; it calls
loudly and imperim,sly upon your Lordship
as the first political member of the calm e|,
for immediate derision.— Are you prepar
ed to countenance tilt: continuance of such
a frightful state of tilings, with means in
your hands to avert it ?
But be foie I advance fo the manifest ad
vantages w hich would follow from the inde
pendence of the Greeks, it established by our
assistance, nn«!.111.‘ ca-M.* with which it might
accomplished, thru* is une lira rich of thrir
them inhabit, and therefore one of them that it would become us to withdraw our
must he dispossessed of territory to some ambassador from Constantinople, and to- re
extent or other, because they cannot remain ject surli a banditti as our allies. The King
ogether, except in a slate of such murderous, of Great Britain ought not to he styled tin-
interminable hostility us ought to lie coti-i- Brother of the Sultan, w hilst the desolation
dri ed a public nuisance to nil mankind.—On of Sc,o and the butchery of the hostages are
which sido then, my Lord, does justice lie, unutuned for, These authorized murders
when, after the possession of anete'nt Greece «>e tint the acts of a civilized nation. “The
by such means, it has been so shockingly voice of their blood,” like that of the first
abused as not to be protected by any princi- victim of violence, “cries unto God out of the
plus or precedents which public law lias ever ground,” and the judgement of God ought to
adopted or can righteously adopt ? •»' example to Hie nations who worship
The freehold of lint Greeks, if I may so him. “ Let them be fugitives and vagabonds
describe the possessions of that ancient upon the earth."
nation, comprehend 'Thrace, Macedonia, It lias been Ihe continuance, my Lord, of
Thessaly, Epirus, Acltaia, Pelopuoneso-, supporting the < Ulomao Porte us a legitimate
and Nrgropout, Lc. file. w ith mo-t of the sovereignty, that has been the patent of so
islands in the Arelii.selago.the Ionian Islands many wrongs, 1 do not know, indeed, how
amongst the number, lin y being sometimes 1 1 ran better illustrate the baseness of such
rnlli d Ionium ori that account. They were an allianeu, titan by reminding your Lord
masters ol flic celebrated cities, with their ship, that the manner in w .iich l had written
districts, ol Athens, Spat la, Thebes, Cm iuih, of uud concerning the Grand m tg i»r, and
and Myrujuc, gt-e. and were a most relined of and tom eruimi Iris nmrdv-inns divan, (lie
. ' tubnnd psi.p,... V iassical learning, b' ii.g an »lly of tv.eat ISnliun.) is a iniMlr
-o | i tly encouraged in all coimlri. s as in- '»<« punishable by tudu liiie.it ; Mini
dispensable, derives its principal sources accordingly, when the Emperni Paul ol
fro , their sublime supciiority in poetry and Bt.ssi. had pqhlis .ed an uka-c, though ol
eloquence,which, in the lapse of so many Bio most hostile description to British in-
tges, have I no competition ; and even I tere-l- yet, your Lordship may sen m Mr.
,t this hour, to ins| • who i re to lit .• • Hovvi It's State Trials, that a severe anitnad-
.ift.rus, with tin-most exalted sent! its,' that emperor was held lobe
bringing imperial sway and sovereignty inir
otter abhorrence and contempt. Yet, O
shame ! this infamous barbarian at the head
of barbarians equally infamous, continues,
to be the scourge of the fairest portion of
once Christian Europe, becnu.se. Christian
Europe, in the meridian of its power and ri
vitization, sleeps over its duties and betrays
its trust!
Nothing, indeed, is more surprising than
to look back tu Ihe earliest periods of our
history, and to contrast them w ith the times
we live in—When we were but a small is
land oil the margin of the world, without
power u( resources beyond our own shores,
ll„v.e, too, vary limited, arid without any
commanding influence over distant nations,
then also in their infancies, yet our subjects
then, with their king at their head, went
fortli with chivalrous hut ill directed piety
to deliver the. IIoily Land even from the
pollution of being trodden by the steps of in
fidels, and sacrificed our treasure and our
blood by expeditions rash in the extreme,
being accompanied with no adequate force.
Yet now that we have extended our domin
ion to ihe very ends of the earth, spreading
the light of thu Gospel in our glorious paths,
and although wo have mne only to raise our
commanding voice amongst the nations, yet
we shrink hack from the deliverance of this
injured people, exposing ourselves to the
hazard of future wars, by preferring the
false security of neutrality even in so just
and sacred a cause.
It may he said, ray Lord, thatl am preach
ing a crusade litter lor Ihe limes of Richard j
Cceur de Lion and his barons, than that ol j
George the Fourth and his parliament in toe '
liJth century ; hut the difference is obvious.
The justice of God cannot exact from his
creatures what He has not given them
strength to perform, and as a thousand
years is hut as one day in lire fulfilment ol
divine dispensations, we ought not irreve
rently to complain of the greatest evils un
til human means have been bestowed for
their removal. It is then, and not till then,
that the duty of exertion begins, a period so
manifestly arrived, that all Christendom is
called upon tn stand forth ; and ills binding
upon ns above all other nations tn take tiie
lead.
I maintain that our not exerting ourselves
to deliver the Greeks from the tyrannous do
minion which so grievously oppresses them,
is not only the breach of a moral duly,
but a derelection of the sacred object of
spreading the Gospel, so zealously and, I ; Majesty mi the subject,
believe, so sincerely promoted throughout ! ago, did not limit Ills vev
with contempt of daugr. and the acred lo
of their country, w make them stoop at
their desks, in their earliest years, over the
histories of their illustrious fort-fat iters, iu
periods when the u blest of our own vv, re
in the woods. Tiie clhim, llicietorc, o’ lhe
Greeks, with the aid of all Cliristiu ,1 ■•m, lo
a fri .■ and undisturbed territory . commt nsu-
rate at least with their population, is Hu
ri. ares! in human ........Is, whil i the dt min
ion of the Turks, who iverpowei arid >p
press them, is the most audacious usurp.i
timi. They began,extendi d,and c.onplei d
their ravag.a: under (lie mask ol i
kb
I; Lord Kenyon, who presided upon
Inal, having instructed the Jury tint it was
their duty to convict the printer, as the Em
peror Haul was our ally, and, after all the
exertion, 3 1 t nuld make for hint, lie was
' virt d. Now let me suppose that such
an -1t.in-lit were to lie prelensed against
my "uthst er, or mj elf, at the instance of
the •rsi.-!) inhiosador at our court, for a
!il>. i p..;i I. - aster. 1 do ot see how any
judge i, \V. '-.ii.u-.ter Hall could direct a
jury iii!’.'., nly from that able lawyer and
g, at ju '.ii*. I have refcired tu ; but where
e.uld lief uad. in tii rase bfore us, (sinei
mpiouslv pre ending tu a commission from’ the libel act,) a jury who would fallow such a I remain neutral,
Heaven for the desolation of he earth. direction ? must probably, tm when ; mid a \ themselces.
by to express my abhorrence of compre
hending tiiis c ountry in such an odious com
bination, and 1 am confidant that the great
mass of the British people w ill join me in
my protest. My alat in as to the future, my
Lord, is justified by what is past. The
conduct of Russia is quite inexplicable upon
any other ground than that she lias been re
cently at leusl acting in concert with the con
tinental po wers, and ourselves perhaps aloug
with them, had taken no step- lor any esta
blishment for the Grepks, not Were prepar
ing to provide for them any security what
soever.
Russia, my Lord, in the early part of the
spring collected an immense army, and as
toe He'll sun advance- ! marched large divi
sion-of it in the dir, ..ion of the Turkish
hontier : yet, although tiie atrocities multi
plied every hour, and with uceiimvlatcd
Inn l orn, she took no step to prevent them,
and although : lie Knew that the Gree ks
were in unm for He.-ie- *itdt-jte,\dt-nt'e, need
king . gli . tou struf 1 agait it . iie-ir op
pressors, she [U’oce-e ded no fat tiler, hut pub-
lid,eel an ultimalum must inadequate to
then protection or support. Since how
could the evacuation ol Moldavia and AVal-
lachia put a stop lo the hat barous oqltages
on the unhappy Greeks, then at their por
tentous height ? and vhut demand for their
hei i fit could he more usele ss than that of
n building the churches which had been de-
niulishvd : since what defenceless Christian,
unless he aspired tn Ihe fame of a martyr,
would venture to se t font in any oim eif
ttie-iii when rebuilt? I may he mistaken,
my Lord, hut 1 think i see piedumiiiunru
of the Holy Alliance in this retrograde pro
ceeding : that tiie Emperor resolved to sa
crifice his personal ambition, tempted as ho
was to the gratification of it, and th <t when
the confederates continued to consider Tur
key as a legitimate government which me
diated no reformation, tin v (let, rmineu to
to leave the Greeks to
In such a ease, ill) Lord, llai e not nations
a right, and is it not (heir duty to overtlnow
the spoiler, (if he resists just acc nnmodati
on,) and restore possession to tiie oppres
sed ?
There are limits, however, to (lie exercise
of this right. We should
nor even warrant'd to set
satle, ir.vol\iug counti ies, when just happil,
returning to a ststa of peace—I should he
among the first to expre-s my dissent to
sut'h a project. All th it I ask of the B. itisli
government thro’ yrntr Lords dp. is an in
stant. faithJhl and strenuous exertion, to en
gage our allies in this great cause of hum uni
ty and justice, w tliotit giving rise (ns I us
diet f acquittal on surh a prosecution
uouid oiily remain 'i;>c*n record ’d a judge-
tn«i t of ill* u :!um H^-dust t!*s governim-d,
fur a \q ting such ■■ sultan lor our ally.
My oivn <>; :n;o:i undoubtedly is, always
has been, and ever must conti nue, though J
.ither he hound j '-ave not pressed it upon your Lordship, nor
foot a rash cru- 1 mean to press it, that the Turk- should he
lliru-t forth’at once from Europe by its uni
ted force, ij it can be obtained, and in effec
ting this 1 should not think it necessary lo
consult tile Duke t.f Wellington, as the gi at
est man for conducting an army that e - < .
existed among us, or 1 believe ever will; I
■lieuld lather confide >he matter to some
long pr eti-.'d diplomatist, with the ..ssis-
s'trl it could not) to any probable or rather | •' lawyer to draw up the notice lo ,ptit.
possible contest which could derive the Tins is no figure, my Lord,—since what
mime of war. possible resistance could Turkey make, ,!
It cannot lie questioned, by thus taking the Europe could settle lo whom possession
id for the deJiverat.ee of the Greeks, we should he dehvered?
this whole empire, and which I have al
dy expressed, and now repeat, my firm he
ll, f that you are yourself anxious to accom
plish.
You cannot hut know, my Lord, that
Christianity, reviled, trampled, upon, and.
at last, blotted nut from so vast an extent of
territory, had not only, as I have already
observed, its original seat within the first
shades of this disastrous eclipse, hut was
spreading itself over immense regions on
every side ; and if the savage atroritit s of
the Turks were efl'eeloally controlled, anti a
well arranged establishment of tiie Giecks
were duly protected, the Christian religion,
and a civilized government worthy of it,
might in time Ini brought to flourish toge
ther, extending their influence ali around.—
The extent of country through which the
Christian scriptures might then, by degrees,
he circulated and understood, may lie judged
of by Mr. Marlyii’a observations on Hu new
edition of the i’oivglot k tely published, or
still publishing, under the. patronage, of the
venerable and excellent Bishop of Durham:
In
sufferings that cannot tint very deeply affect
u-: sufferings iuseparable.from then present
condition, and from which we cannot hut
feel the most anxious wishes for their deli
verance— i allude to the peculiar enoiiiiit.es
which attend the system of slavery amidst
the exasperations ol this cruel watl'are ; and
a-, in the religious view of the subject, 1
maintained that all our national exertions
for the progress of the gospel were only a-
a drop in t.,e ocean, when compared with
the light of it extinguished by the delusive
dominion of the Turks, so 1 assert that the
Negro Slave Trade was noliiiog tu toe scale
of misciy and debasement -guest the bor
tors which, during this sanguinary contest,
must continue for ever.
When we abolished tlio African Slave
Trade by net of parliament, it could, in
Strictness, only apply to prohibit that traffic
by our men subjects ; hut did wo stop .lit re
on that account ? Did we consider out duty
could tint, extend beyond our own jurisdic
tion, as the utmost limit of positive law?—
No, toy Lord, to our immortal honour we
did not ; on the cootraty, we have ever since
been exerting nut-rive-, with oilier nations,
tn extinguish it throughout Ihe'world ; and
that able and excellent man Lord Laris-
downe, when he moved an address to his
ly a few weeks
o the promotion
lead for Ihe deli i erance of the Greeks,
.-ifoulit l.iy tlir. f...inti,>tii,n of mu endless gra
titude, he advantaged by their returning
power ii commerce, whilst we, were snatch
ing from the desert the most fertile provin
ecs, and redeeming from abject slavery and
contagious pestilence, the noblest people ot
the ancient world.
lint it i- objected that the Greeks are not
less savagely cruel than the Turks. I w tt.t.
NOT IIK.AR si cii a ctutu.r. The gentlest
animals w hich I’rm idence has subjected to
ns, patient of labor, and licking the benevo
lent hand that feeds t non, when maddened
with terror and goaded by barbarous op
pres, ion, will change on a sodden all the
chat actciistirs of their original natures, and
overthrow every thing iu their course. To
judge of wlntl the Greeks, under good go
vern .rent, are capable of being, we have on
ly to look hack to what they have Inin.—
Their pedigree, in which we can trace so
many gri at men, who never should Imre di
ed, ought toprot.i t them IVioi) tile S.na
celles, win. e.nmol slum in all tin ir escutch-
n single mein who should have lived.
Will then may we exclaim tn snell mis- 1 city, yet, they liny he
reants, in the language of Milton— j of Salamis, directly »
They who are disposed to consider the a-
Imtement of this nuisance as an undertaking
of great expense, difficulty and danger, can
not have sufficiently considered the progress
which the Greeks though unassisted, have
already tti.uli, and are hourly making, to vs-
tahli-h their own independence, nor with
how little assistance it might he pit ted.
The only use indeed ol an immediately de
cisive force, would he to prevent, in the in
terval, such an afflicting effusion of blond —
Whoever is at all acquainted with naval af
fairs, must he astonished at the courage and
skill with which their infant navies have
hteu conducted, and particularly with the
art and boldness of grappling as they did so
lately tile immense ship of the Turkish
I’aslia, and accomplished its destruction.
The very local situations of their conflicts,
and the remembrance of the amient deeds
of the same people, is with me a kind of prog
uustic of success. Tin y are now, I believe,
in the citadel, as it is called, of Athens, and
although it must he a position of no strength
in the fallen condition of that once rtmow ned
ted by Hie sight
gainst then), and
Lift not iltyspeuragHiiisl the Muses' bower— ’ Bicir sailors my he told how Themistueles.
of amicable arrangeiinmts with friendly
states, but even extended them tn tile consi
deration of compelling, by t he common con
sent of those governments that had aban
doned it, any others w hich should continue
to give it sanction and support.
By this introduction of slavery, ns a
Tim great (Kinutliiaii conquertu'tlal 'pare
file house ol Pamlani.-, when temple in tower
\t mil to tlm ground."
But altliu’ l have thus endeavored, against
my most predominant, feelings, to expel
from my indignant view, cruelties hy whom
soever romnihtcd, and, in protection nf tm-
l«u"limit.- Greeks, Inne covered them with
the ', H » hit'll , tir itnpt rfect natures entitle d
me to throw over them—yet let it he re
membered, that what I have written con
fer ing them, applit s only to unpremeditat
ed inhumanity, such a-, when hunted like
wild beasts, they have turned upon their
pursuers, hut that barbarous re.taiiations can
receive no pardon if condoned when they
are contending as a nation for their religion
and freedom. ] rejoice that they are ad-
vanred lo that condition, that they are mar
shalling armies, that limy are laying the
foundations of a civil government, arid I feel
confident that they will henceforth remem
ber that they are soldiers, and ehristiaos.
That our influence could fail, if faithfully
exerted, I cannot bring my mind to believe.
I might ask those who were the warmest ad
vocates for the war, and who hold the high
est it happy lermini tion, and the eminence
on whit h it has placed us, what they would
think if it could he doubted, that if we spok
the word we should he obeyed. The mi-
fortune is, my Lord, that we did not speak it
\at a time when many of the enormities
t.y tms lutmUMciion ot slave., y. as a s. pa- , u haV) . Illl( , n ,,| ac ,. ( tmd f( „. B U , I1R tim ,
rate consul,ur inn, 1 have no, (strictly spn.k- | mlM f«.|| ow , might have been averted, and
ing) digressed li'om Ilia subject ol my Lot- fpilr WP llliiv wull . ^ nlM j c r great fin
as it is one of the most prominent and
afflicting evils which has grown out of this
disastrous conflict. I have besides not in
troduced it as in itself a justification of hos
tility to the Porte, hut only to interest our
feelings in tile more extensive performance
of a duty which rests upon other circum
stances connected with our own character
and safely.
Assistance and protection cannot he given
to the Greeks in the same manner as if they
were distant provinces contending for irtde
rrassment in holding a different course.—
i am convinced that it has been cntiri ly
owing to the system which tile governments
of Europe have too long been pursuing, that
the great work of humanity and justice has
not long ago been complete, and the only
difficulty i can fore-ee to its instant accum-
plishmetit is that, perhaps, vve ourselves
must retrace pome of our steps in taking the
lead to give it effect. Our alliance with lie
Porte ought to have been long ago removed
nut of thu way, as being unworthy of the
pendeuee, which might he even beneficially I British government anti people ; and vvith-
Mtceeasftil in the end to the parent atate, (if j out contending that vve .should al once have
Turkey ought to hu so described,) and ,v ith- n ni< d by hostility their monstrous iniqtii-
out affecting her main possession ; but the J ties, yet, if not a man ir, England were pi
\Yc will preach hy it,” he says, to Arab® I contention here is for ihe soil which both oJ"< pared to second toy opinion, 1 should assert
vvitli a most insignificant force, drew the
memorable fleet ol Xerxes into a narrow sea,
w hi le liis large ships could lint he conduct
ed, and utterly deal toyed them; a fleet,
which, according to tiie historian, was tire
greatest then known in the history of man
kind. yet hy such inadequate means over
thrown.—“ .Yam pari mudo apud Salamina
parvo ntimeru mil ium maxima post hominum
manor tain cl issis esl devicla.”
Marathon also is now directly within their
view, only ten miles before them, where
Miltindes, instead of intrenching himself be
hind walls now in the dust, combatted on
the open plain with the captain of Darius,
and with tally a handful of Athenians, the fa
tlier.s of ihe present Greeks, obtained that im
mortal victory over an hundred thousand
men. (jua Eugnu, nulla enim unquani tain
exigua mantis tantas opes prostravit.
Signal successes in war, under distinguish
ed commander?, areas likely to overthrow
the barbarians of the present day as the bar
barians of former times, and the rather, be
cause examples have such a powerful influ
ence on all the exertions of mankind.
My ohsevatioris, my Lord, upon this afflic
ting suhjn t, are d; uv ing facts to their close.
It lias been for some time no secret that a
Congress is to he held upon the continent,
. where the subject of the Greek? cannot hut
come under consideration, and that vve are
to he represented at it by some minister of
state, it was this which determined me,
without a moment’s delay, to write and to
publish this letter because it would have been
too late tu make any useful appeal to your
Lordship or the public, after vve had taken
our pall, and perhaps concurred in measules
which i could then only usilcssly dissent
ft oin.
If this congress of sovereign! and their
minister-, is only to have for its object the
renewed support of principles arid projects
already Hut notorious, and if, to avoid'any
incongruity or departure from the system,
hitherto acted upon, Turkey is to lie suncli
intininitsly upheld as a legih'n ale sovereignly,
and Ihe Greeks are to be sacrificed, or in any
manner com promised on lh> ground llwt they
are the subjects of the Porte and bound ti,j
their allegiance, though against their u.licer-
sc.l will to obedience aud^wee, I desire lure
In off'ring my opinions to your Lordship
though th,- press, whilst Rat’hani i,: i? not
e I have only slated the principles on
"'Inch 1 think vve mould act I ,t have not
presumed to thni't tny-e'f into the public
councils by snggt tie - th, I: test Cillr-e to
he pursued fofgivi ig tl tn t n uv t di ii t-
hle effect-—I have nut ill’ ans even if
my judgment were aqual tn the ,1. fi iuti. of
.iM'ortatnh.g the most fav orable or elliran tis
oi' <h- of seconding the noble effoits of the
Greeks fur libcity and life. An immediate
inv asion hy a combintd force for the ex
pulsion of the Turks from Europe, might
be attended with difficulties which 1 cannot
correctly estimate, and which, in the un-
niediate consequences of that tengi.iiiary
conflict, might he injurious to tire gieat
1 hjcct of bloodless liberation ; hut wluit I
firmly mail tain to he q ite indispensable,
is to compel a total renunciation by th. Turks
'fall dominion over the Greeks as svlj els,
anil to guarantee their independence by ull
the nations which should engage in their sup
port: mill such extent of territory as might
be thought just, considering their growing
population and their former condition, which
has been overthrown. A billing short of this
(it it can he brought about by our command
ing council?) can deliver our country from
universal reproach, nor secure us against
consequences which r ight he fatal in Ihe
end to the best interests of our country,
which I hasten in a v,-ry few sentences to
explain.— It is not at all my wish, us will be
seen presently, to endanger the peace of Eu-
tope, hy Russian aggrandizement, hut, on
the contrary, to prevent its possibility here
after by tin means 1 have recommended.
If the Greeks, to some extent nr other,
are not now satisfactorily and securely es
tablished with the general concurrence of
the nations of Europe, can we depend, n.y
Lord, that Russia will for erer abandon t te
favorite and popular policy of hei iim.ireP
and if, sooner nr later, hr r pi t sent emperor,
or some mole atultiliotis sot 11 -sor (,-v, u un
der a compromise with the Gift ks win n u-
handoned hy all oilier government::,) should
place himself upon the throne of I'onstanti-
nopie. w ..at possible objection could vv, the n
raise lo the termination of so many calami
ties, Sc how miserably lit'l;'less we should then
he, if, alarmed l.y his station in the Mediter
ranean, vvr should attempt to resist i- ! The
armies of Europe, if vv, could combine them
lor our assistance, would only ire a r.at ionai
curse,since the money must mine from us,
as where else could it he found ?
instead of thinking this a vain speculation,
I consider it as very likely to take place.—
The Emperor of Russia is the head of the
Greek church, and will always have suffici
ent provocations to justify hostilities against
the Porte—and altho' lie has been obviously
entangled at present with the views of other
gov ernmenls, andperhetps out maneruvred by
their combination, x rt I can »'e no security
for this forbearance in all future times—be
cause whatever may he his own opinions or
resolutions, it should he remembered that
he is not a despotic Sown ign. nrd that the
deep-rooted policy rt gardiegTurky is hy no
means a matter of indifferent', throughout
his empire. It cannot In- expected that he
" ill disband his at my, and it may l.e found
both difficult and dangerous to keep on foot
nearly a million of men in arms, without a-
tiy objects for tin ir serv ice—more especially
alter the dereliction of a favorite project, in
notorious opposition to the interest of liis
highest subjects fic the long indulged wishes
ol immense masses of |.is people—I cannot,
then lore, figure to n.y-elf a more probable
nor a more dangerous event for the prospo
lily of this country, than Constantinople be
en t ..ing the maritime capital nf the Russian
empire, an t vent w hich would lie the more
grievous anti intolerably from the ease hy
vv hieh it .slight have been averted.
There is yet another contingency slid
more probable, which we should do well al
so to take into the account. Those immense
provinces, now part of Turky in Europe,
capable of Mich mighty improvements, as,
perhaps, to become too important, if Russia
were singly to seize them, for other powers
to agree, without contest, to their occupati
on, might, as has happened in other ejuaitcis,
become subjects of partition, whilst tiie
Greeks, who would have been entirelyde
voted tu us if duly protected, may become