The Sun.
London, England, 1855-07-30 00:00:00

powerful Fleet that ever sailed from a British
Port. He has the support and co-operation of a

French Fleet of great force, so that altogether

there are more than 100 ships of war, with 2,500
guns at his disposal, and yet he has not taken or
destroyed a single vessel of war, or bombarded a
fortification where there could be even a show of
resistance ! The Russian vessels have skulked in
harbours under the protection of the fortifications
where it has been supposed that they could not be
followed. They have not dared to sport their
blood-stained flag on what but yesterday was
deemed a Russian lake. Their valour !! ! has
only been exhibited in the Hango Massacre, where
500 assassins lay hid to wile a few unarmed sea-
men to their fate, regardless of the flag of truce,
which would have been respected by any but blood-
thirsty barbarians, ignorant, or rather indifferent,
to the first principles of civilisation, the most
sacred and inviolable laws of war, and the Go-
vernment, by screening the infamous miscreants,
and refusing to liberate the surviving victims of
their atrocity, have identified themselves with the
disgraceful outrage, and to all intents and pur-
poses rendered themselves accessories to the cold-
blooded and deliberate murder.
This brutality has been unavenged. One

"hundred ships" keep the sea—waiting for the
dastard who will not come—waiting, perhaps,
for the tempest, or the shoal, or any of the in-
numerable casualties to which those " who go
down to the sea in ships, and visit the great
waters" are always exposed. If nothing is to be

attempted, why do they not retire into safe quar-
ters, leaving a few frigates as sentinels over the

skulking Muscovites ? The Western standards—
the Union Jack or tri-colour—seem to be quite

sufficient to keep them in port. They are only
brave against the white flag that indicates peace-
ful intercourse—and surely such a force as that
which last year sufficed not only to maintain the
blockade, but also to destroy Bomarsund, would
be sufficient. There can be no necessity
for bringing forward the strength of a giant w'aen
that of a comparative dwarf would be sufficient
for every purpose contemplated. Let half the
fleet come home, unless they mean to attempt
something worthy of the ancient reputation and
prowess of the British flag.
And yet we believe that the fault is not with Ad-
miral DIINDA S. We know that he has not got the
class of vessels required for the shallow approaches
and entrances of the port; or at least a sufficient
force thereof—that he has not yet got the floating
batteries, &c., long since promised, and without
which he could scarcely hope to strike a decisive

blow. We know that he has not a single soldier
to co-operate by land while he is attacking from
the seaward. In these respects the deficiencies
are but too palpable, but we do not know the
instructions from the First Lord, which may, and
considering who is First Lord, very probably do,
cripple him far more than any deficiency of force
or other drawback whatsoever.
Has not Sir CHARLES WOOD been the associate
of ABERDEEN, and GLADSTONE, and GRAHAM, and

HERBERT? Is henot known as the henchman andfol-
lower of Lord JOHN RUSSELL, the obedient brother-
in-law of Earl GREY ? And is it not notorious

that he was one of the party in the Cabinet who
supported the Austrian compromise from the 29th
April to the 7th of May ? Who is there that anti-
cipates a single manly sentiment, or the most

trivial effort to liberate himself from the tram-
mels of routine, from the "red.-tapist" First Lord?
We believe that there are none so sanguine—that
the opinion of the incompetence and incapacity of
the Right Hon. Baronet who was pitchforked into
one of the most important departments of the Go-
vernment is universal throughout the length and
breadth of the land. Were ho " faithful and
bold" we should entertain but little confidence in
his capacity, but he is notoriously imbued with
the principles of the Peace Party, and there would
be nothing in his views and feelings repecting the
war to prevent him from holding office with
GLADSTONE and HERBERT, with MILNER GIBSON,
BRIGHT, and COBDEN.

Why, then, are not inquiries made as to the
steps, if any, to be taken in the Baltic ? Why are
not other Ministers interrogated as to the inten-
tions of sending out a co-operating land force ?
Why are not 50,000 French and English soldiers
sent to assist the fleet in the task of paring the
olaws and extracting the fangs of the Northern
Bear ? If anything of the kind is to be attempted

it should be tried forthwith. In a few weeks it
will be too late. The standing reproach against
the tardy English will receive a new and power-
ful illustration. Let some independent Member
then endeavour to elicit the intentions of Ministers,
and join the public journalists of all parties in re-
minding them that—

"If 'twere done well, 'twere wall it were done quickly.'

The wheel has come round at last, and sober

legislation, in oue particular at least, is about t o
resume its sway. The Committee on the Beer
Act of last session, after a careful consideration
of the evidence given before them, have agreed to
recommend the opening of licensed houses from
1 to 3 o'clock, and from 5 to 11 o'clock in the
afternoons of Sundays and other days specified in
the Act. So far so good. They have thereby
pronounced a verdict against the policy of at-
tempting to drive men into courses which, de-
sirable or otherwise, they ought only to follow
of their own free will.

What sufficient reason, however, was brought
before the Committee to justify the closure of the
houses in question between 3 and 5 we are unable
to discover. It is not likely to induce excur-
sionists to go to church, nor to afford any great
relief to the licensed victualler. Such a restric-
tion, in fact, can do no good, and being a vestige
of a mischievoui measure will have a tendency to
perpetuate the dangerous irritation to which that
measure gave rise. In cases of this sort
it is especially bad to
do things by halves, and we
trust that it will ultimately be enacted that
licensed houses shall be suffered to remain open
from one o'clock in the afternoon until eleven
at night.

lessen
On whatever grounds the Beer Bill riot with
the sanction of the Legislature—whether as being
likely to promote Sabbath observance or to
the amount of drunkenness, which, however little,
is too great—there can be no question in
any
man's mind that they were illusory, and have been
proved so by the results. The stiff-necked Sa.bbata-
rian, marching in the pride of superior virtue, au-
sterely to church or chapel, there to proclaim himself
a miserable sinner, may possibly, through the ope-
ration of the bill, have met, since its enactment,
half-a-dozen fewer specimens of poverty in rags,
smelling of gin on the way, and found cause to re-
joice thereat, but that is all. There has, we are bold
to say, been no more church-going because of the
act- We are sure there has been no more piety, nor
any less drunkenness and crime. Nay, we will go
further and
a more
express what is our sincere belief, that
mean ing°4less‘ and mischievous measure, we don't
intention, but in tendency and effect,
was never passed.

A fair consideration of the evidence, we think,
will lead the reader to the
same result. That of
the City Police Commissioner Mr.
DANIEL W.
HARVEY, is very striking. From careful returns,