The War with Russia; Its Origin and Cause A Reply to the Letter of J. Bright, Esq., M.P.

Amid the din of arms and the fierce contest of battle, the less harmful, but, perhaps, not the less potent war of opinion, the clash of controversy, the dissemination of “views,” are as busy at their work as in the piping times of peace. As might have been anticipated, the terrible struggle in which we are engaged has absorbed every other feeling; and whether men agree or disagree respecting the cause, the necessity, and the justness of the war, all are zealous and earnest in advocacy or opposition. A vast majority of the nation believe in the justness of England’s position—believe that she exhausted every means, and even went beyond the strict line of national respect, in seeking to stay the hand of him who, in sanctimonious phrase, was ever ringing changes on the theme of peace, and yet proved himself so eager to “cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war”—believe that no other course was open to her—believe that if she wished to preserve her own dearly-won liberties, she must stoutly oppose any further encroachments on the rights and liberties of Turkey. A vast majority of the nation were, and still are, firmly convinced of this, and have most emphatically declared the firmness of that conviction by the enthusiasm of their support and the wonderful liberality of their purses. Yet, notwithstanding the clearness with which our course was marked out for us—notwithstanding the steady and continuous aggression of Russia, now by secret fraud and now by open force, since the time of Peter I. to the present day—there is a party in England, and there are a number of Englishmen, who, taking pre-conceived views to their study of the question, profess to find in the Blue Books—in the documents issued by the Governments of the great nations, England, France, Turkey, and Russia—sufficient reason to condemn the policy which England has adopted, and to declare the war dishonourable, unjust, and disgraceful. Among the party taking this view are men of wealth and influence, and no pains or expense is spared in propagating their opinions. Lecturers are busy going from town to town disseminating partial and ex parte statements of the cause of the war; and letters and speeches, to which are added carefully collected extracts from the Blue Books, are printed and gratuitously distributed by thousands in order to indoctrinate the people with falsely-called peace principles. The purpose of the present tract is to examine the pretensions of this party, to test its statements, to complete the quotations which have been so partially made, and by presenting a full