Recent Events in the East

At a meeting at Belfast on the 29th of December, Mr. Ross of Bladensburg spoke as follows

"Having known Mr. Urquhart from the commencement of his career, having followed him, co-operated with him, listened to his anticipations, and day by day watched and traced their accomplishment, I can assert that England is not without a man perfectly qualified to play against Russia that game of empire in which we are at present engaged. It is no struggle of power against power -the events of the world are not decided by relative strength and weakness, they are decided in the same manner as a game of chess, and he who would predict the moves of the ablest player must be himself able to play the game. The Times had recently a remarkable article, in which it placed the world on one side and Mr. Urquhart on the other. Such is exactly the position he had stood alone in his judgments against the world, and events had justified him—he has been, so to say, the historian of Europe before the facts. The present events in the East had been confidently asserted by him as about to happen, and exactly in the manner in which they have happened. I can answer for the prediction having been emphatically made in the summer of 1851, that Russia was under the necessity of breaking down Turkey if she would not perish herself-that the means she would adopt would be the crossing of the Pruth, while, at the same time, using the powers of Europe to prevent the Turks from crossing the Danube that this would take place in the autumn, affording her the opportunity of establishing herself there during the winter, and so convulsing Turkey and Europe in the spring."

The Morning Advertiser of the 26th of December has this passage :—

"And herelet us do an act of justice to Mr. Urquhart. When we and the country were full of joy, on first receiving intelligence of the sailing of the united fleets to the Bosphorus, because we believed that movement was the result of a tardy determination to afford material assistance to Turkey,-Mr. Urquhart explicitly, and in the most emphatic terms, declared that the presence of our ships in the Bosphorus would be the worst thing which could happen to the Sultan. He affirmed, that instead of helping, it would hinder Turkey-that instead of being a benefit, it would be a positive injury to that country. People thought at the time that the late member for Stafford was labouring under some unaccountable delusion. Much as we admire the talents, and highly as we regard the extent and accuracy of his information on all matters connected with the Eastern Question, we certainly did share the prevailing opinion at the time, that in supposing that Turkey would be injured instead of benefited by the presence of our fleet at Constantinople, he was indulging in what is commonly called a crotchet, which, by some incomprehensible means, he had been induced to adopt. But the event has shown that he was right, and the whole country wrong. He has shown himself, as the Times is constrained to admit, a marvellous prophet on matters connected with the Eastern question; and henceforth, therefore, whatever he may say on the subject, will be received with the greatest respect."

NOTE APPENDED BY THE AUTHOR.

ROSSTREVOR, December 28th.

As this reprint has been undertaken by others, I declined revising it for the press, lest it should be suspected that any modifications had been made. The precaution was not uncalled for, seeing that a journal of the character of the Spectator permits itself to make such an insinuation against me in reference to a stereotyped work, 'The Progress of Russia in the North, West, and South.' I have however to regret that, in consequence, not even those typographical errors have been corrected which were inevitable under the circumstances from the rapidity of publication in the daily journal in which these essays appeared.

I take this opportunity of stating a remarkable fact; while the accuracy of my anticipations have been generally acknowledged as to past circumstances, there has been no disposition to seek my opinion in regard to the present and the future, at least excepting only the working classes among my fellow-countrymen. This nation, always ready to acknowledge that it has been wrong in the past, is always sure that it is right for the present, so that each event leaves it with so much experience the more, and so much wisdom the less.

CORRIGENDA.

D. U.

Page 29, line 25, for Danube, read Cuban.
34, lines 3, 5, for 1826, read 1827.

92, line 18, for 21st, read 31st.

121, lines 23, 24, for £11,000,000, read £17,000,000.

132, line 12, for Diplomacy, read Diplomacy chaotic.

164, line 5, for 1841, read 1852.

180, line 3, for Nay, read Nay why.

192, line 4, for £11,000, read £17,000,000.

209. This article should precede that on p. 198; it was written

and dated on the 15th September.

217, line 5, for stops, read stabs.