The Sun.
London, England, 1855-07-28 00:00:00

another respecting a subject of the most vital im-
portance to humanity, on which the very stability
of the Austrian empire may depend, as if it were
I a mere village question, only affecting the
neighbouring squires, and in which the garru-
lous old women of the respective families
might properly intermeddle. The Empress-
Mother of Russia would doubtless think it very
strange if the Austrian Archduchess should
reply that it was a subject on which she could not
possibly interfere, and that, however friendly
might be the private feelings of FRANCIS JOSEFLI
to ALEXANDER, it could not affect a great ques-
tion of international and European interest, or
exonerate Austria from the performance of sacred
obligations which she had solemnly and delibe-
rately undertaken. In Russia the will of the
Monarch is supreme. It knows no limits. She
herself could assail her son with solicitations—to
which theAuTocßATmight yield if he thought proper,
and she sees no reason why the Archduchess should
not act in a similar manner ! Nor is there ! It
is one of the incidents of Germanic as well as
of Muscovite despotism, and we fear that other
and no less striking illustrations of the objection-
able system will yet be brought to light.
The request of the Empress-Mother contains
more than meets the eye at the first glance. It
is not merely for " neutrality"—that has already
been secured at the sacrifice of Austrian consist-
ency and Austrian faith. It seeks more—
something analogous to the aid supplied by Russia
in 1848—a direct and energetic demonstration,
supported by physical force ; and we confess that
we should not feel greatly surprised if it were
successful. Austria must feel that she has placed
herself in a false position—that she has earned
for herself the indignant contempt of every right-
minded man. She cannot, under the pecu-
liar circumstances of the case, maintain
neutrality ; and as she has broken with
the Western Powers, and as it is merely in accord-
ance with human nature to hate those who have
previously been wronged, we should not feel greatly
surprised if she openly joined Russia. And, we
confess, that we should not be greatly displeased
if such were the case, inasmuch as we believe
that her avowed enmity would be far less danger-
ous than her pretended friendship. She will
do so—if not restrained by timidity. We
have always felt and declared that we owed
much more to her fears than' her good will,
and that were it not for the considerations ex-
cited by the talismanic words " Poland, Hungary,
Lombardy," we should long since have had to
encounter Austrian as well as Muscovite troops.

We have hinted that there may be a third act
of the drama, that " other and no less striking
illustrations of the objectionable system may yet
be brought to light." The third act may possibly
relate to " COBURGISM." We have seen that the
ULYSSES of the House of Coburg, who
owes everything to his connexion with
the Royal Family of England, has main-
tained a very suspicious reserve ; from which it
it is manifest that he thinks more of the existing
ties that connect him with Vienna than of those
with which he is bound to England. If he were
really sincere, why might he not have acted in the
same manly and straightforward -manner as the King
of SARDINIA ? He has not done so, although the
position of his Kingdom might have rendered it
no less a matter of policy than it ought to be
of principle to do so. On the contrary, we have
had his visits, in which it is by no means impos-
sible that he may have been acting the part of
the Empress-Mother of Russia, in striving to per-
suade one closely connected with the Throne to
use unconstitutional influence in favour of Russia
and of Austria. Such things are possible ; and, if
brought to light, they may not be very favour-
ably received by the British nation.

In our impression of yesterday we alluded to a
rumour that the Black Sea Fleet is about to be
made available for active operations against Se-
bastopol, and that the plan which we suggested last
year as to a combined assault by sea and laud is
at length to be carried into execution. We trust
that it may be so. From the very beginning we
indicated it as the mode by which a brilliant
triumph might be achieved. But little, if
anything, has yet been done. And since the first
day of the bombardment, more than nine months
ago, our magnificent fleet has, so far as Sebas-
topol is concerned, remained mere idle spec-
tat ors of the siege. It was always held by Lord
NELSON that where there was space for an enemy's
ship, there was always room alongside for an
English vessel ; and, we may add, that if there
be a way left for the Russian ships to get out,
there would also be a channel for the Allied
Fleets to get in !

Sir EDMUND LYONS is one who, if unfettered
by secret instructions from "My Lords," will
nobly and efficiently do his devoir. The gallant
sailor—and he is every inch a true British sailor
—must bitterly chafe at his forced inaction. He
already, on the 17th of October, afforded unequivo-
cal evidence of the stuff that was in him, and, we
believe, that in such a course as that above suggested
he would be enthusiastically followed by every officer
and man in the English, aye, and in the French
fleet. He got within a few hundred yards of the
chief forts, and he could, without greater danger or
greater loss, have got in and taken measures to
destroy the scanty remainder of the Russian fleet
in the harbour where they were skulking. Had
they done so there might have been a very
different result on the 18th of June. The
Russian war-steamers could not have ma-
noeuvred with so much effect, or thrown in
so destructive
a fire
the
R e
d againstan theand assailants
of the Malakhoff
and n d
Sebastopol
might ere this have been in our hands ; and the
standing menace to Constantinople and to Europe
either completely demolished
Allies as " a material guarantee"
ora
against
ahienlsdt
Rbuys s
ia. the
At Bomarsund last year it was shown what a
combined operation by land and
water could
( frect ; and the great problem of wood v. granite
i,ceived a very decisive solution.
Why has not
the experiment been repeated ? If it were, we
are convinced that the result would be equally
satisfactory, that the resources of the gar/ie.°,
being divided, there would be a victory at each
point, where either singly might fail. It
is quite certain that tho Russian ships
could not, under such circumstances, direct
nts by land, that they
o to take care of the
wouldr fihraev ae ggaui
tset
etnhoeuagsisi atiol ad
them-
selves without any diversion to the landward.
When this feasible attempt is made—when
Sir EDMUND LYONS is permitted to follow
the dictates of his own gallant heart—
to seek for
"a Peerage or Westminster Abbey,"
We shall
be satisfied that the Government are determined
to Carry on the War in earnest, and that there is
no longer
any prospect of truckling to Austria or
of subserviently yielding to the interference of
Coburgism.„
Germanism. It is only surprising
that such a step has not already been taken. But
we are convinced
that it is not the fault of our Admi-
ral. Let it nowbe taken. Let the course we indicated
nearly a year ago be followed,
little doubt that the result and we have but
-will be such as we
long since predicted, and entirely satisfactory to