The Sun.
London, England, 1855-06-18 00:00:00

covered the superiority in the field which we incontest-
ably proved at the Alma and at Inkerman. In.short, all
present opportunities are with the allies, and a fairer
chance of conquest was never offered to brave men than
the Crimea now presents. Since It is inconsistent with
Russian greatness to limit the number of its ships, let
the answer be to deprive, it of the power of keeping ships
at all. Let the Crimea be taken and retained. The
French at Sebastopol, we in the peninsula of Kertch,
the old Taitar princes reigning in their old capital of
Bakshi-Serai, will sufficiehtly declare to the world which
is finally to predominate, the civilisation of the west or
the barbarism of the east.

In thus proposing to contract the territories of Rus-
sia no question of honour or dishonour to her is in-
volved. Fairly might such language be employed in
dealing with an ancient power that had long attained
its natural limits, and to some degree rendered even
its outlying provinces its own by centuries of care and
assimilation. But the regions which form the south-
ern portion of the Russian empire are but the fruits
of yesterday's rapine. In some instances they outstep
auy natural frontier to which the most gigantic empire
might lay claim. There was not a Government in
Europe which did not feel, as Lord Aberdeen has for-
cibly expressed, that the new territories and advantages
grasped so late as 1829 were incompatible with the in-
dependence of Turkey and the peace of the world. We
could not then recur to war to remedy the crying evil,
but now, when war has been forced upon us by further
encroachments, shall we not set right in 1855 that
which was so universally declared to be wrong and a
peril to Europe in 1829 ? We have insisted upon the
necessity of annulling treaties, and why not annul,
also, if we are able, the territorial demarcation of those
treaties ? The best guarantee against renewed aggres-
sion is to wrest from Russia those countries which she
invariably uses as instruments of aggression—her .2,10-At
d'aktvrcs prepared for making sorties as well against
the Welt. as against the South. We can only do it
by defeating Russia. No doubt of it. Bat without
defeating Russia we cannot defend Turkey or Asia.
Success in this war is matter of vital moment to England
and to France, for if they fail of it they sink to weakness
in the east of Europe ; but failure to Russia implies no
corresponding humiliation. The dishonour to her is in ,
the attempted aggression, not in being beaten back from

it. The check we would now administer may even prove
to be a 'wholesome ooe, for she is little likely to enter
upon any'true path of civil improvement or internal pros-
perity until she is compelled to admit that her empire is
large enough, and must, like that of other powers, be
held to have reached its normal limits.

The events of the war bring such questions near.
The last advantages gained before that portion of
Sebastopol in which the arsenal is situated are almost
decisive. Not only has the Mamelon with upwards
of sixty guns, commanding all the defences, been car-
ried, bat other batteries which touch the waters of
Careening Bayihave been also taken. These command the
northern entrance to Sebastopol which crosses those waters,
and the necessity of closing which we pointed out last
week. The great mistake committed by General Can-
robed is now become plain enough. Bp confining his
operations to the town, he permitted the Russians to
concentrate• almost all their force within its walls, and
hence -their obstinate resistance. On the other hand
General Felissier has t ken up a position beyond the
Tchernaya, menscss Inkerman and Baksh!-Serai. and
compels the Russian General to keep an army in the
field to oppose him. From what was le::rned in the late
reconnaissance he is reported to have not less that
100,000 men among those hills. And thus, without
counting mote frightful reductions by typhus fever in
the hospitals, the garrison of Sebastopol has been of late
so much thinned as to bring the French and Eoglish, in
their attacks on the Mamelon and the Quarries, face to
face with no more than a fair proportion of enemies.
0., The occupation of Kertch makes another draught on
the Russian forces, and now that Anapa is evacuated the
allied troops can march westward to attack Arabat by
land as well as sea, and perhaps take possession of Kaffa.
From Kaffa to Simpheropol is a distance of hardly 70
miles by a good road north of the mountains, and pre-
senting few natural impediments to the advance of an
army. The troops of General Brown oan be increased
in any proportion within a very few hours, and whether
they march upon Simpheropol, or merely threaten it,the
Russians must keep a very considerable force in that po-
sition. All these are advantages quite as great as the
destruction of magazines and the interrurion of supplies.
The allied commanders can now prevent the enemy from
concentrating an overwhelming force in any one posi-
tion, whether within the town, at Inkerman, or in the
east of the Crimea. This gives them choice and oppor-
tunities of attack, which hitherto they did mot enjoy,
and the decisive moment is very probably near at hand.
—Examiner.