Hawke's Bay Herald. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1878.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 5006, 12 February 1878, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Herald. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1878.

The news with reference to the actual occupation of Constantinople by the Russians, it appears, is not correct. The next thing to it, however, is. The lines of Checkmedge, its sole defence against the enemy, have been occupied. The permission to occupy them was, as we now learn, the stipulation in the armistice on account of which such profound secrecy was maintained. Whether their occupation can justly be looked upon as an act of treachery towards Great Britain, or not, is a point on which our information is, as yet, inadequate. It is evident, however, that it is looked upon in that light in England. The temper of the nation is thoroughly roused. The war vote has passed by an overwhelming majority in the House of Commons. The Ministers find themselves enthusiastically cheered, and Mr Gladstone and the Daily News, supposed to be Russian sympathisers, have got their windows broken. Lord Beaconsfield thus at last finds himself warranted in taking that decisive step which he has been eager to take for so long a time past. Six vessels of the British fleet have entered the sea of Marmora, and though a pacific explanation is given of the move it may easily turn out that, in truth, it means that an AugloRussian war has begun. Should Russia persist in the demand, — as yet, apparently, only unofficially advanced — for the exclusive right for her war vessels, of passage between the Black Sea and the Mediterrananean, it is now certain that it will not be peaceably conceded by Great Britain. It is possible, however, that as soon as Russia thoroughly understands this, her demands will be moderated, and an alternative solution of the Straits question, acceptable to all parties, will be found. England will not fight, now-a-davs, to prevent Armenia from becoming Russian territory, nor probably to prevent Bulgaria from becoming virtually a Russian dependency. The telegrams also furnish us with another piece of intelligence that, at any time but the present, would surpass all other news in interest and importance, the death of Pope Pius IX. His long illness renders the melancholy event not unexpected. For more than a year past, the European newspapers have been busy from time to time discussing its probable results. There is no saying of how great moment they may be to the future of Europe. The late Pope was born in the little town of Sinigaglia, on the Adriatic coast, on May 13, 1792, and was thus at his death in his eighty-sixth, year. He was the son of Count Girolamo Mastai Ferretti, and the second of a numerous family. After having, in the first instance, contemplated .a_miiitjLin£_ga.rflftr. he finally entered jthe

Church, and while yet a young man rose to high distinction. At the age of 34 he was named, by Leo XII., Archbishop of Spoleto, and, four years afterwards, was raised to the more important See of Imola and created a Cardinal. On the death of Gregory XVI. in 1846, he was chosen by the Conclave to suceed him, and was the 252 nd in that great ecclesiastical dynasty which stretches buck into an antiquity compared with which the beginnings of the oldest kingly or imperial houses are things of yesterday. Personally he has, throughout his career, enjoyed the veneration of the civilised world, and the esteem even of his antagonists. According to Papal prescription, nine clear days must elapse before the Conclave meets to choose his successor.