The Sun.
London, England, 1855-02-15 00:00:00

or courage to devige the remedies. The
whole country undoubtedly believes the worst,
both of the condition of the army, and
of the inability, partly personal, partly
relative to aristocratic considerations, of the late
Premier and his War Minister, to meet the diffi-

culties of the case.
Looking at the question as a whole, we must
think that the course of the House of Commons is
perfectly clear. Its vote was right at the time ;
it is right still. If Lords PA.LMERSTON and PAN-
MIME mean to fulfil the nation's behests, they will
find the committee not an incubus on their

energies, but a tower of strength. The cause of
all the calamities in the Crimea may, as the nation

ustly believes, be summed up by one adjective

and one noun—aristocratic routine ; a routine

adapted to aristocracy, aid an aristocracy adapted
to routine. The wealthy and the well-connected

have been the masters of Government places and

military rank, and the requirements of office have
therefore been carefully adjusted to the capacities
usually associated with hereditary purses and titles.
The army, especially, and " the departments
which should minister to its wants," have been

during the long peace the favourite resort of
younger lsrothers, nephews, and cousins; with the

- :
addition of a few Bons of wealthy cotton spinners

and the like, whose fathers could afford to keep
their pockets full at a University, where they
learned to be ashamed of their origin ; and then
to buy them, what no brains or merit could have
procured, a commission in the Army. Our army
is officered and our Government departments
filled—and there is no concealing it—by wealth
and connexion only. All England is now certain
that this is the prime cause of the break down.
We have had men very good for show, but utterly
unfitted for work. They never knew, indeed,
what work is. They were put into place and
commission because they were unfit for it, and
scorned to attend to it, not because of their ex-
hibiting a trace of liking or qualification for it.
The case of poor PERRY, whatever the lad's per.
sonal weaknesses, shows that officers consider
themselves a clique, with whom no plebeian
might venture with impunity to join in the mess.
It is needless, however, to dilate on the now
stale topic of aristocratic monopoly and failure.
Are the two Lords and the Cabinet disposed to
take the bull by the horns or not ? Are they
willing or not to carry Free Trade into the Army
and Downing-street ? Are they prepared to
invite merit and ability from the untitled many
to an " unrestricted competition" with the titled
few ? If they are then they will need at their
back the whole weight and force of the committee
of inquiry, to coIL Ace the lazy, selfish, and con-
ceited monopolists t, -aistance and obstruction
are useless. But If the re not willing, then the
House of Commons ishon,..!. by the most solemn
considerations to appoiLL:a committee which shall
compel Ministers themselres to do their duty.
We repeat, let the House nominate -ommittee
they have voted to help the Cabinet, -I:twilling to
do its duty ; to force duty upoix-44= i)fecreludant.
We deem it needless to advert to the pretexts of,
inconveniencing the Ministry, or of inquiry being
impossible while witnesses are absent in ft,le
Crimea. We have shown in regard to tke past that
it will aid an honest Ministry ; and three-fourths
of the inquiry will be into the system which ori-
ginated the appointments complained of, and into
other matters respecting which, unhappily, too
many witnesses have returned to tell their tale.
An unlettered private can tell us whether his
coffee beans were raw or roasted, whole or ground.
Any skipper can inform us what kind of harbour
management he found at Balaklava. There will
be no lack of important facts to be verified as
such, and facts suggestive of important lines of
inquiry at home, without summoning one wit-
ness from rt,he Crimea. Moreover, as to a great
many who it is said might be inculpated in their
absence by the evidence, it is clear, and such is
the opinion of the country, that the sooner they
are summoned home the better ; that things in
the Crimea could not be worse without them, but
would almost certainly be better. Even the
Commander-in-Chief, with his staff of nephews, it
is generally thought, might give evidence before
the Committee, no one in the East being injured
by their absence.
Lord PALMERSTON must remember that while
the public voice was most undoubtedly decided in
his favour, that the decision was chiefly to be attri-
buted to a belief in his being the man to see his
will done, whether officials here, or whether neu-
trals and shaky Allies abroad, stood in his way.
In one respect the first steps have not been for-
tunate ; in the case of an eminent individual, par-
ticularly unfortunate. The Peelites are still half
the Cabinet, and nothing short of the committee
will enable him to curb their self-conceit, and
to overcome their NEWCASTLE and AnnRDEENS
longings. Again, Mr. LAYARD, the man whom
next to Lord PALMERSTON the nation desired to
see in high office, is turned out for such a com-
paratively political nonentity as Mr. FREDERICK
PEEL. The man who displayed at Nineveh, with
the Arab tribes, such admirable organising and
executive powers and resources—the only man
also in the political line who personally knows the
Crimea, and all - the East, is shuffled aside in
favour of a young aristocrat, and a Peelite in every
sense, and of quite mediocre pretensions. We are
' truly pained to witness this repetition of the old
tale of connexion versus genius and capacity.
Lord PALMERSTON must beware ; aristocracy, in
his hands, is on its last trial.
.0

Our Government is understood to have concluded
contracts with various houses in Dantzic for the delivery
of large quantities of salt meat.
A GOOD EXAMPLE.—On Thursday last the Directors
of the Bank of England passed a resolution to give each
clerk in their establishment en immediate bonus of 10
per cent. upon his salary, as compensation for the deuble
income-tax—a boon wnich is gratefully appreciated.
THE PREMIELAND POLAND.—The friends of freedom,
in all parts of the world, will rejoice with unbounded
joy, should the impression prove well founded which
prevails in well-informed circles, namely, that in the
event of nothing resulting from the impending Con-
ferences at Vienna, Lord Palmerston is prepared to
assist in bringing about the restoration of Poland, as not
only the simplest and most expeditious mode of putting
an end to the war, by the discomfiture of the Czar, but
as insuring the best of all "material guarantees" for the
I preservation, in future, of the peace of Europe. Louis
Napoleon, it is well known, has long been reported to
be favourable to this "short and easy method" of deal-
ing with Russia, should it be found, after a few months'
experience of the usual mode of carrying on the war with
that Power, that there is likely to be a prolonged and
bloody contest. Should the evens justify the belief
which is entertained in many well-informed minds re-
garding Polish resuscitation, Lord Palmerston would
thereby render himself the most popular Meister that
ever presided at the helm of affairs in England--Morning
Advertiser.
DENT, ALLOROFT, AND 00.—The gentlemen engaged in
this extensive and eminent firm entertained at dinner, in
the London Tavern, on Tuesday, one of its partners
(William Lord, Esq.) This was for the purpose of hav-
ing an opportunity of presenting him with an offering
of the esteem in which he was hold by them. The pn-
sent was a very elegant silver Epergne, value 100
guineas, and the occasion was that of the retirement of
this gentleman into private life. Such was the regard
entertained for him by those engaged in the house that
it was determined unanimously he should be requested
to accept from them, and carry with him, an acknow-
ledgment of their sense of his unwearied kindness and
consideration towards them. Mr. Lord has been an
active partner of Messrs. Dent and Co. for 25 years,
during which time he became universally respected by
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