The Sun.
London, England, 1855-04-14 00:00:00

LONDON, SATURDAY, APRIL 14, 1855.

It is at last officially announced that then
is to be a loan for the service of the pre.
sent year. The Chancellor of the Exeheque;
has given notice that the Premier and him-
self will be ready to " see any gentlemei
who may be desirous of contracting for the
same on Monday next, at ten o'clock, in order tc
inform them of the amount which will be wanted,
and to fix the time and manner of bidding.'
The imperative necessity of making some consi-
derable provision for the additional expenditure
occasioned by the War has been so long and sc
universally recognised that this step has not occa-
sioned the slightest surprise. The time and man-
ner and extent of the operation alone remained
doubtful. The first. point has now been decided,
and, within 48 hours, full information will be
giveil on the other matters. We must, then, be
-contented to wait that time for authentic intelli-
gence, for it is manifest that nothing but guesses
can be put forward during the interval.
A morning contemporary declares that " We
have no longer to deal with the arguments of those
short-sighted financiers who flattered themselves that
a contest of this magnitude could be supported by a
temporary addition to the taxation of the country."
This is happily the truth. Mr. GLADSTONE no
longer presides over the financial department.
The nation is no longer afflicted by the mischie-
vous crotchets of that clever but " short-sighte d "
politician. We may therefore hope that the in-
terests of the present generation will no longer be
disregarded, that the industrious population of
the country—the creators and producers of na-
tional wealth—will no longer be ground to the
earth by being compelled at the same time to pay
off debts contracted by their forefathers, and to
meet all the enormous outlay occasioned by a
precautionary war. We use the term " precau-
tionary " in its broadest and most extensive signi-
fication. We may flatter ourselves with the
notion that we have commenced solely
on account of Turkey, and in a high-
minded and chivalrous determination to pro-
tect "right against might." But it is not so.
Let us gloze over our motives as we will, there
is no educated or intelligent person throughout
Europe who is not well aware that we unsheathed
the sword because the success of Russia was in-
consistent with the safety of England. Her pos-
session of the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles
would speedily be followed by universal ascendancy.
To use the words of NAPOLEON, Europe would be,
come " Cossack." England might be " the last
to be devoured," but she would eventually share
the general fate. We, therefore, acted in ac-
cordance with a strictly selfish. policy when enter-
ing on the Eastern Contest. We chose rather to
fight the battle at a distance from our own shores
—where any calamity might be remedied—than
to have 'it at our own threshold, with our re-
ligion, our liberties, and our domestic relations
trembling in the balance, when every man was
literally fighting, pro aris et focis, to prevent the
compulsory conversion of himself, his wife, and
children to the " orthodox Church," and the
sacrifice of his freedom to Muscovite despotism.
The evil would not, however, have fallen in our
times. The existing generation would have passed
away before t,
fearful results would be accom-
plished.l:°stetitY will receive the full benefit of
the present Outlay ;
were if ever there
circumstances therefore,
national debt it justify the creation of a
We urged these
1"u17 be those above referred to.
indefatigably is Nuracrhgu, Tenta energetically and
STONE adopted the m4011854> when Mr. GLAD-
the same time oppres- d ev°l' Policy, which at
oe the
oirer_b
payers and " starved the `var.',urdened tax-
ceased to urge the importa.At We have never
we
on
able opportunity since, alt'a
man
every' suit-
journalists journalists were affected by the „ay of our
mania," and accepted any proposition "Dsle"
he thought
proper to bring forward without opposition --
remonstrance. Few at that period joined
us ic:
the opinion that he was " a sbort-sighted ,roan_
tier." Even the Leviathan itself was his most
obsequious servant and earnest audulator.
" Tempora mutantur " The Times " has, in.
deed, changed, the public sight is purified, and
the popular mind convinced of its folly.

While approving, therefore, of the course which
Sir G. C. Lavas has adopted, we cannot give
him any extraordinary piaise, inasmuch a's he was
driven by imperious necessity, and there was no
remaining alternative to which he could resort.
His character as a Financial Minister will depend

more on his treatment of the subject, or the mode
in which he obtains the necessary supplies, and
the exteat to which he avails himself of the na-
tional enthusiasm. At present the indications are
not favourable. There is too much "red-tapisrn,"
in the invitation to gentlemen " who may be de-
sirous of contracting for a loan." It looks as if
he intended to go back to the old system, and that
, he completely ignored the successful experiments
made by the Government of Louis NAPOLEON in
1854 and 1855—that there would be no appeal
to the People generally—no opportunity allowed
to the small capitalist of bringing forward his
mite, and obtaining a•share in that which might
well be termed a patriotic fund. If the Right
Hon. Gentleman should thus act he may indeed
be denominated a short-sighted financier, and he
will have afforded a very sinister augury respect-
ing his fitness for the important situation which
he now occupies.
Another important inquiry is as to the form
which the new securities may assume. Is there
to be a new creation of Consols ? of Exchequer-
bonds or bills ? or will it be by means of termin-
able annuities? and will it be issued at or about
par, or in a form that will greatly increase the
burden to posterity by rendering the nominal
liability far greater than the amount actually paid
into the Exchequer ? These are all questions of
no ordinary interest, and we earnestly hope that
Sir G. C. LEWIS may show himself equal to the
emergency, and justify the choice by Ministers of
one respecting whose qualifications for the office
of Financial Minister so little was previously
known. We shall not now enter on the consider-
Ation of the most suitable form, as neither time
nor space permit so close an examination of the
vexatce que3tiones as their vast importance so
urgently demands. We must reserve that for a
future opportunity.

There is one point convected with the present
announcement, cn which, however, we cann)t
abstain from congratulating the community. Just.
at this moment, it seems to indicate that Minis-
ters have given up the Lnd delusion under which
they so long laboured, that the Conferences at
Vienna would be attended by any favourable re-
, A dishonourable, hollow, and transitory
peace will therefore be avoided. The deep dis-
grace attendant on such a course will happily bo
averted, and we shall see that achieved by tie
prowess of the Allies which could not be attained
by the concessions of the adversary, viz., the
complete demolition of Sebastopol, and the de-
struction of the naval power of Russia in the
Euxine. On this most important topic we shall
at present only say--" If 'twere done will, 'twere
,vell it were done quickly."

The vast importance of a.system of railway corn-
munication in India cannot easily be overrated.
In this country, as we all know, railways have
wonderfully developed I,ur national resources, and

contributed greatly to our wealth, consolidation,
and security, and yet in no other country in the
world were the means of internal communication
so perfect as in our own prior to their introduction.

Our highways, with their waggons, vans, coaches,

and other vehicles, were the admiration of
Foreigners, and our numerous canals were hourly
c.hreaded by boats laden with every description of
valuable freight. In India the case is widely dif-
ferent. There the country is broad and wild, and
the main communications are of the rudest and

!lost imparrect kind, the result of which is, fertile
plains that might be the source of wealth
and happiness to millions _ lie profitless and
•uncultivated, and a huge army is necessarily so
dispersed. that British rule may be seriously
l)erilled, as at Moodkee and Ferozeshah, before au

•Ldequate concentration of troops to meet the foe
An be expected. From these facts some notion

the importakce of railway communication in
India may be gathered. But to these we have to
Add other considerations of deep and growing in-
terest to this country.

We are now engaged in a mighty and possibly
prolonged War with Russia, and no long period

it is to be feared may elapse before we are forced
into a conflict with the United States. Under
such circumstances what is to become of our
textile manufactures, unless a new and sufficient
source of supply is rendered available ? At this
moment 79 per cent. of the cotton imported
into this country is supplied by America,
while of the remainder above 13 per cent.
comes from India. And yet with proper facilities
of internal communication, and the flow of capital
which will follow in so splendid a field for enter-
prise, all the flax, hemp, and cotton (the last be-
yond all dispute) we require may, with care and
perseverance, be obtained from her broad plains,
so as to render our manufacturers wholly indepen-
dent of foreign supplies. Nor is this all. The
vital impulse a system of railways must give to
India would be followed by an increased con-
sumption of English goods. To these considera-
tions must be added others of a more exalted na-
ture. By the intersection of the country with
railways the possibility of the recurrence of those
I frightful famines with which its districts were perio-
dically visited would be obviated, and ample facili-
ties would be given for the spread of the blessings
of civilisation and religion among its dusky and
benighted tribes. -It is not often that duty
and self-interest so closely and obviously concur.
The reader is not to suppose that nothing has
been done in this direction. So far from the ad-
vantages of railway communication being over-
looked, the subject has engaged the attention of
the East India Company for many years ; and,
certain experimental lines having proved success-
ful, the COnit or—Directors referred the question
of the propriety of establishing a system of trunk
lines for the whole of India to the presentGo-
(do-
-General, who expressed a decided opinion
that the time had arrived for conferring on India
the benefits of railway communication, and
straightway laid down a vast plan for establishing
railways throughout the country. His lordship's
scheme meeting with the cordial approval of the
Court of Directors they at once adopted measures
for carrying it out, and entered into arrangements
-with the following companies. First, the East
Indian Railway Company, which has already
opened the experimental line extending
of
fenld2io miles, and
Cal-
,:utta to Raneegunge, a distance
Delhi,eotfothe
com-
pany is 10,000,0001., and in about four years it
miles. The
the trunk
pitrucnaklianl
cilliasstaenncgeagoefdlo t,ocoOnmst
be completed. The
is expected the whole will
secondcom pa the
whichuy,
s bene
ndi an
working Peninsula
a 1 a
eR Railway
w4aoy
miles in length for many months, and has under-
taken the line from Bombay to Poonah, and on
lies
tiatottievrsnoadtrleiddes
BMoaradbraasy fporressoidemncuyc.h oTfhitshecomwapyanays
has
projtec,etetdhetl:tltionne
diinsttroictesaonfdßeisehra,r,toanbd:
per-
part haps, ultimate.y to
piny is at
as Railway eofmpany,
part of the 'Bengal Line
present be Qouneeted with the lower
one-
miTtiltaapnidtalaohfatlhf.e CTorehe-
trr,ucwtitthh'ealbinraench
to
33
sengagedthird
w tleoi
set
cAcolonaascslt
who have
s
iirom :ILndgraraeo troe., the
r
and qeuenirterda.,
which a capital of four milli
, The fourth is the Bombay, Barocla,
India Railway Company, formed for the
purpos