The Sun.
London, England, 1855-12-19 00:00:00

iliGli WATER AT L9NTDON BIZIDGE.

DAY--.llorn. 12 min. aft. 10—Er, ning 3 min. aft.lo
To-,'j9lidtei7-11orn. 13 min.aft. 11—Evening 47 min. aft.ll

THE WEATHER—SUN OFFICE, Dec. 19.
TIIEMIOIIETEa, IN T!I SHADE.
highest since noon yesterday.
28 -:;%w,st, this morning and durin the night.
33 -this day at noon.

BAROMETER, 30-35.
wrNr , S.S.E.—Light, with fine, frosty, clear, sunshiny
weather.
The thermometer was 1 degrees below freezing in Lon-
don this morning, and perhaps some 8 degrees in the
country. Last night was the coldest this sensor.

cc fJ
6
G4/jl, - 4 '*,(4
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LONDON, IVEDNESD&V, DECEMBER 19, 1855.

A.s the last ray of hope from Kars vanishes
the thoughts suggested by its surrender acquire
definiteness. We read of 16,000 of the bravest
of the brave becoming prisoners of war, and with
Generals who, had the curse of aristocratic eti-
quette allowed of their being the Commanders-in-
Chief in the Crimea, would, long ere now, have
captured or exterminated the whole host of Rus-
sians there. General WILLIAMS does not belong
to the Guards, and it were therefore better that
feather-bed Generals should routine away time,
life, money, everything in the Crimea, than that
the pets of the QUEEN'S Consort should not
keep on the crest of the wave. Not that Gene-
ral WILLIAMS adequately supported was not
just the want of Kars ; but similar men are also
just the want of the Crimea. The public may
rest assured that, till the favourites of his Royal
Highness and the whole army are placed on a
level—till true merit, and that alone, is entrusted
with the highest and most responsible commands,
we shall have nothing but commonplace general-
ship,
guiding the unsurpassed bravery of our pri-
vate soldiers, to the end of the story. There is
not a single deed of any one of our commanders
before Sebastopol which can compare with what
WILLIAMS did for the defence of Kars. Not to
the Guards will history give the palm of English
generalship in this war. The English heroes of
Kars, we may add those of Silistria, will compare
with the stately Crimean generals, much as NAPO-
LEON and his Marshals with the regular-going old
German fogies, who always enjoyed the consola-
tion that they had at least fought by rule, and
been beaten against all precedent.
In one respect the Russian triumph falls short
enough of our triumph at Sebastopol. It was not
a triumph of soldiers' weapons. All the ;lorry of
battle belongs to the prisoners ; to their captors
the humbler honour of their food holding out
longer. On the other hand the comparison is
altogether in favour of the Russians if it is the
generals who are compared. The former have
captured a whole garrison, the remnant, indeed,
of an army ; our commanders let the garrison
of Sebastopol quietly escape. We seem to have
no notion of catching large numbers alive, unless
wa get them into an island, as at Bomarsund, or
into an isthmus we could almost shoot across, as
at Kinbourn. We must confess we never tho-
roughly comprehended how it was that the bridge
across the harbour of Sebastopol was suffered to
be built so quietly, and to remain till the end of
only as a means of con-
the business. Regarded
veyanee for the enemy, it ought to have been
destroyed ; it is singular that a mortar or two
paced in lino with it, and therefore certain to drop
a bomb somewhere on it, were not made to bear upon
it with certainty by day, and by night too. The
idea, however, does not seem to have occurred to
the generals of catching their enemies in the trap
provided by nature. If the accounts be true the
Ra3-iaes have now taken four or five times mole
prisoners than we have even tried for I
Some of our contemporaries have said "Cron-
s heel t for Sebastopol." Very good—but why not,
(e'so, have a more exact counterpart ? Why not
in the Crimea. to
coos; 01 the whole Russian Army
1,,y down their arms ? " Our Special Correspon-
dent" himself DOW writes that with the whole
seaboard at our command we can take the Rus-
s; ins anywhere in reverse, and cut off the com-
munications of the Russian army with the
south of Russia. To this plan: which we insisted

on so strenuously immediately on the fall of South
Sebastopol, it must come at last. We well know
the objections made to it hitherto. We believe
that some of our tried Indian Commanders would
have readily overcome all the alleged difficulties.
The result, however, we think, will be that we
shall have to follow the example of the Russians,
to sink, as it were, our railroal, and all not port-
able in our present positions, to retain, perhaps,
Kamiesh only, and to transport our army bodily
to the northern side of the enemy, eitherby the east
or west coast. There are advantages and disadvan-
tages peculiar to either side; of these the Generals
can judge. With our naval means, however, and two
such ports as the English and French possess, the
embarkation of 50,000 troops and their materiel,
and the return and embarkation of the rest, would
be an easy task. A decided General would have
done this in September. It cannot probably now
be done till the spring, but done then we believe
it will be. The opinion for which KOSSUTH was
censured at first bids fair to become the universal
one, that an attack on the north of Sebastopol and
a march on Simpheropol was the right generalship
after the battle of Alma for the Allies. It will
in all probability be the course taken at last. The
sooner the better.

But what will be the effect of the surrender of
Kars on the Vienna peace projects. If Russia
were prudent, and believed that Lord PALMERSTON
was, or was allowed to be, earnest in the War,
she would gladly clutch at the terms now talked of.
Even we will acknowledge them to be humiliating,
but not half so much so as what she must accept
next winter, or any subsequent winter. She
would make peace, too, with one success at least
after a sories of reverses. Most decidedly, how-
ever, do we hope that she will verify the old
adage, Quern, Dens vult perdere, pries dementat.
She has indeed been mad already, better that she
keep so a little longer. We wish her to fight on.
Her arrogance and her territory must be dimi-
nished together. That would be done but im•
perfectly now. England—and surely France is
not in this behind England—demands that the
Allied Statesmen and Generals shall atone for
Kars. It must be done. PALMERSTON and I.TAPO-
LEON cannot afford to hand down to posterity the
record of a two-years' War, terminated by the
PEACE OF KARS ! The peace of Warsaw is the
only passible lasting and European peace. May
Russia hold on till Austria and the COBURGS
cannot avert such a result of this great strug.gle.

"Mseceeoa," "a high financial authority," as
we are informed by the brilliant organ, is again
in the field. Ho " has taken the trouble to state
a few simple truths on the currency," and the
" «rgumention, ad verecundiam" is strong7y
pressed that we should withdraw all objections
against the theories and platitudes of a man of
such extraordinary intelligence and influence.
It is scarcely necessary to maintain an incognito
already virtually cast aside. For " MERCATOR,"
read Lord OVERSTONE, better known as Mr.
JONES LOYD, the real author of the Bulk Charter
Act of 1844. That the Noble Lerd should still
support his "hobby" is by no means surprising.
You can seldom find a man who has staked his
political reputation on any principle willing to
confess his mistake and the fallacy of the argu-
ments which he had previously urged, or even
to admit of "an exception," although its neces-
sity may be perceptible even to the majority of his
own party. Nor will the faculty of " perception"
be strengthened by the fact that the interests and
the prejudices of the party go hand in hand, and
that he is increasing his wealth while supporting
his forger views to the utmost possible limit.
The public manifestation, however, proves that
the all-important topic is now under serious dis-
cussion ; that the position assumed by the ultra-
bullionists is now seriously imperilled. It is
almost superfluous to repeat the hackneyed quota-
tion, "Nec Deus intersit, nisi nodus," &c. ; but
we may easily conceive that Lord OTERSTONE
would not come forward twice within the same
month unless deeply impressed by the magnitude
of the emergency, and that the principle of
the Act of 1844, of which he is at least the puta-
tive parent, was subjected to serious controversy.
It is possible that the sleeping Lion has been
aroused into activity by the too candid admission
of his organ, on the 26th October, that " sup-
posing the circulation to be required solely for
internal commerce, no necessity could exist for
gold being held against any portion of it," he may
be pressed by public opinion clearly and une-
quivocally expressed. Whatever may be the
cause that has brought him into the arena
is of but little importance. That he has
deemed it expedient to make the effort
is highly encouraging to Financial Reformers,
and shows that they have only to exhibit
the energy and determination which the import-
ance of the subject so imperatively demands, to
insure at least a very great prospect of success,
and the certainty that they will have merited it.
"MERCATOR" says that "the trade or commerce
of a country are carried on, not by means of its
paper money or its circulation, but by means of its
capital." That is the word on which he rings the
changes, and founds his most glaring fallacies. He
has, however, manifestly mistaken the nature of the
" capital" so urgently required I The only
" capital" which he recognises is bullion—gold,
silver, or copper—in the shape of pounds, shil-
lings, or pence. But as we have repeatedly
pointed out, bullion forms but a very small pro-
portion of the real capital of a country. That
" capital" consists in the results of accumulated
labour in any form, in the national capabilities of
the country, and better than all in the thews and
sinews of the people—the creators and producers
of national wealth. The actual "capital" is then
nearly one hundredfold that to which " Aimee-
eon" and his disciples would endeavour to restrict
it ; and it is seriously depreciated by the undue
weight and influence accorded to a comparatively
small portion thereof. "Let nothing be done
without gold," say the bullionists,andthe hadth
that
demand been invariably complied with
coun-
try could never have risen to its present elevatedslely
position in the scale of nations. It was o
because the fetters and restrictions were
shaken off, and a better, although -by no
means the best and most suitable, represen-
tative of value adopted that we were
formerly enabled to weather the storm, and we
must adopt similar moans if we hope to achieve
equally felicitous results on the present occasion.

Be it remembered that the whole question re-
lates not to real capital, but merely to its measure
and representative, and it would almost be as
reasonable to require that the usa of the precious
mctali should be abolished, and that the nation
should really go back to a state of barter, respect-
ing which " MEP.9ATOtt" prattles so pleasingly, as
that we should be restricted within the narrow
limits which he would assign for our enterprises.
But if the bullionists so strongly rely on
‘; MERCATOR," as their "Oliver," we can also pro-
duce a Roland in Mr. J. C. SALT, whose admir-
al..le and convincing letter we publish for the
sec,nd time, and which should be stereotyped for
the use of Financial Reformers. Mr. SALT has in-
deed taken a bold and a philosophical view of the
question, He proves the utter folly of the wo.

Bern " Cades" of those whose folly in attempting
"to fix the price of gold" is scarcely less ridicu-
lous than that of their great prototype in regu-
lating the price of beer. He has taken the really
practical view of the case, showing that the im-
putation of " quackery" cannot be extended to
the Currency Reformers, but that it is fairly attri-
butable to their opponents, who sustain the arti-
ficial restrictions now in operation, and thereby
occasion the most serious injury to the best
interests of the nation. " The Currency
Free-traders" protest against these impolitic
restraints. There is not a !Jingle argument
that told with crushing force against the " bread
tax" that is not equally applicable to the monetary
code. All that is required is the removal of these
impediments to national industry ; so that every
person whose only capital is his labour, shall have
fair play, a clear stage, alai no favour. The people
will endorse this demand. That they may learn
the real state of the important question we shall
again and again repeat Mr. SALT'S letter, as con-
taining a valuable and most instructive lesson.

In the annals of human folly there is nothing
more remarkable than the facility with which the
dupe has suffered himself to be victimised again
and again by the arts of the charlatan. It seems
as if credulity grew by what it fed on, and to
cheat a man once was to insure an increase of
his devotion as a victim. In the interests of truth
and justice it is, however, also to be remarkel that
this prostration of common sense has not unfre-
quently come to a determination before the victim
has ceased to be worth duping. Inflated with
the arrogance not unfrequently attendant on a
career of uninterrupted success, the charlatan has
come at last to regard his victim with undeserved
contempt, and has so incautiously protruded the
cloven foot that further imposture has become
impossible, and his prey has burst his bonds and
brought his victimiser to book.
Austria, that prince of charlatans, it would ap-
pear, has been guilty of such an indiscretion ; and
having gulled two great nations as probably no
two nations were ever gulled before, her cloven
foot seems to have been detected at last. Making
her entry on the scene with the worst of charac-
ters—historically a coward and a knave, and
within the memory of our youth steeped in per-
fidy and innocent blood, she nevertheless was
permitted to share in the councils of the Allies
because of her pretences to friendship and her
plansibla promises of assistance. What friendship
she has actually shown, what as;istance she has
rendered, what she has done for us up to the pre-
sent time, will be found written hereafter in let-
ters of burning indignation on the pages of our
national history. It will there be recorded that
from the first she succeeded in paralysing the
efforts of the Allies, that she lent the most effi-
cient aid in the safest possible way to their enemy,
took possession of a long-coveted prize under the
cover of a friendly occupation, bamboozled the
statesmen of France and England beyond all pa-
s dlel, and profited, in every conceivable way,
by their credulity, until at last grown audacious
by uninterrupted success she underrated their
penetration and suffered it to become apparent,
even to them, that while relying on her as a
friend they had been confiding the dearest in-
terests of their respective countries to a crafty
and inveterate foe.

Yes, thank HEAVEN for it, the eyes of the Go-
vernments of France and England are at last
opened, and they see how egregiously they have
been duped. The mission of Count Esxmanizy to
St. Petersburg was impudent enough, seeing what
has hitherto come of Austrian interference ; but
that mission, accompanied by an offer of an armed
intervention in case of failure, provided the
Principalities were banded over to the tender
mercies of an Austrian Prince, and a reduc-
tion of the Austrian army, was too much for
the west obtuse ; and the result is, the
English Ambassador at Vienna has received
instructions to demand what the motives are that
have induced the Austrian Government to resolve
on taking the latter step.
You cannot well press a knave too close home,
nor hold him with too firm a grasp, and it is to be
hoped that, having now assumed a resolute atti-
tude, our Government will bring Austria effec-
tually to book. For us or against us must now
be the question, and that in the most imperative
of moods, for she can be only the one or the other.
If her reply be " For you," her deeds must be
made to correspond with her words ; if " Against
you," the better for Europe and the world. We
shall have nations for our allies instead of despots
as affected friends or neutrals, and the cause of
civilisation will be advanced a century or more.
In the meantime, or should such peremptory
dealing not be resorted to, it is satisfactory to feel
assured that Austria will no longer impede the
progress of the War, and that scheme as
she likes the steps of Nemesis will daily
approach nearer to Russia. Already enfeebled
by conscription, by expenditure, and the sword,
a terrible year of retribution awaits that infatuated
Power. Never in the history of the world was
such as overpowering force convened against the
aggressor as, we are persuaded, will be concen-
trated by the Allies against Russia in the ensuing
campaign. All the motives that can stimulate
honest rulers and brave men to resolute action
are to be found in full force on our side, and they
will be found to have evoked a corresponding
might. The gun-boats of France and England,
in unexampled numbers, will in due time be found
before Cronstadt, Sweaborg, and Helsingfors, of
which they are likely to give a good aceount, cad
from the ruins of St. Petersburg the nations of
the world will be taught the lesson that there is
a period to forbearance, and that humanity and
right are strong enough yet to put down aggression
and wrong. Hungary and Poland will prick up
their ears to listen to that, and there may be a
future for them.

mail ats astoorudtehyamlep4ttonne.erly
The new 'United States mail steamer Fulton, of jai•
mense proportions, is expected with the next American
in Yarmouth Roads,"
them were colliers in ballast,wind
The telegraphic On
ahothnonuds.anAd sail of ships were
sehrevice in Belgium suffered last week
tached itself to the wires having great portion of
bound for Sunderland.
temperature, the snow which at•
from the rigour of t
usual:y arrive at Brussels ato fourthe Paris Bours,, which
acthonefimdeo7tinfege.ling
communi-
cations. The quotations retarded the
atatone
in the afternoon, only
reached there on Friday
PARIS MONEY MARKET. Tit:1110e in
Paris yesterday described a mercantile advices from
regard to the money market, ma with
consequent tendency
to firmness in the rate of exchange.
Duos PRODECS MARKETS.—The
weekly
from the Amsterdam and Rotterdam rodce markets reviews
P
state that business continued inactive at declineua.
prices. Few transactions had taken place • in
in sugar or
coffee, but lower quotations were current
for nearly all
descriptions. Rice had been fairly supported, although
articles
sales bad latterly increased. In tea and other
there was no impor. ant charge.
THE NEW RUSSIAN LOAN.—The Vienna advices con-
firm the terms upon which the new Russian loan has
been issued at Berlin with the virtual complicity of the
Prussian Government. The price at which it is pub-
licly offered is 86, but it is asserted that to the con-
tractors, so far as they may have engaged in any actual
liability, it is 82, leaving a large margin to the various
agents who may interest themselves in getting it off. At
32 the interest of 5 per cent. would be about 61. 2°. per
cent. ; but a material feature among the inducements to
purchasers is the short period stipulated for the re-
demption of the principal. "The calculation," it is
sai I, "is that under the arrangements specified the re-
payment at par will be effected in an average period of
nine years, and the equivalsnt of a bonus of 2 per cent.
per qualm is tug grated."