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

LONDON, MONDAY, JUNE 13, 1855.

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The ferocity displayed by the Russia ns during
the present War may be attributed almost entirely
to the Peace-at-any-pricy Party and to the Aber-
deenites. But for these gentlemen we should
never have heard of the dastardly and inhuman
massacre of Sinop e. But for them the public
mind would never have been .horritied with the
accounts received at intervals from the seat of war,
relating how our wounded heroes were butchered
in cold blood as they I iy disabled upon the ground
before Sebastopol, on the heights at Inkerrnan, or
in the valley at B Calslava. But for the paltering
of our Ministers, asd. the timorous suavity of our
rose-water diplom 4ists, and the pusillanimous
counsels heard from the lips of our quondam-
demagogues, we should never have had such bit-
ter cause to curse the day when the destinies of
England were confided to the coargo of men like
Mr. GLADSTONE, and Sir J.AMES GRAHAM, and the
Duke of NEWCASTLE, and the Earl of ABERDEEN—
such bitter cause as that furnished by the recent
despatches from the Baltic, relating how sixteen
•or seventeen of our gallant tars, and seven or
eight Russian prisoners, were brutally murdered
by the Cossacks at }Tango while endeavouring
under the hitherto sacred shelter of a flag of truce
to land a body of Russian prisoners, relieved from
the custody of the English out of motives as
humane as they were chivalrous.
The honourable gentleman the Member for
Stafford may be precluded by the etiquette of the
House of Commons from the privilege of calling
- things by their right names when speaking of the
recent conduct of the ex-First Lord of the Admi-
ralty and the late Chancellor of the Exchequer.
It is not so, fortunately, with ourselves. We are
not amenable, in these columns, to the wire-drawn
regulations and fastidiously-contrived punctilios
deemed requisite as balms, and salves, and un-
guents for the propre of over-sensitive
right honoura,bles in the popular branch of the
Legislature. Mr. OTWAY may be denied the
poignant luxury of telling Mr. GLADSTONE and
Sir JAMES GRAHAM to their teeth, in the presence
and hearing of the Speaker, that any stipulations
as to the conditions of peace made by them could
have had no other object (judging from their late
speeches in the House of Commons) than that of
being favourable to our enemies the Russians
Mr. OTwAY may be denied this luxury
we say, on the plea that such language is not
strictly within the rules of discussion—seeing that
it is, of course, nothing less than attributing to
hon. members that which is traitorous. Well,
we take the words to which Mr. OTwAY was on
Friday evening denied, the satisfaction of giving
utterance in Parliament. We take them, we.
adopt them, we reiterate them, we insist upon
their undeniable veracity—upon the directness
and distinctness of their application. We go fur-
ther—we maintain that not only must the Rus-
sians have been favoured by any stipulations in-
sisted upon, as among -the necessary conditions of
peace, by the once powerful, but happily impo-
tent, little faction of the Aberdeenites, but that
to tfieso sane A.berdeenites, and to the congenial
influence of the miserable Peace-at-any-price Party,
may be traced the chief calamities of the War,
and certainly among those calamities the ferocity
displayed from time to time by the soldiers and
sailors of the Russian Autocrat.
Have we not all along insisted that the late
tranquillity of forty Europeanyears' duration.
might still have been preserved intact had a ra-
tional amount of decision been displayed at the
right time—namely, at the very first instant by
the leaders of our €.-avernment ? We have never
retracted that opinion—it still remains among
our implicit convictions--a belief confirmed by
every
.subsequent occurrence. We still believe,
as we have all along believed, that we
.should
never have had this war with Russia if England
-64P4 said in time, "It shall not be !"—if our
Lad declared, before the CZAR'S army. had
Pi th, " DIRECTLY YOUR TROOPS PASS

.ICON w SHALL BE r:OurELLED TO PE"

CLARE WA: a AGAINST YOU !" The Pruth would
in that ail e never have been crossed—war would
never bra e been declared--the peace which had
survived since 1815 would never have been in-
terrupted . That has been our conviction
from the first—it is now the universal con-
viction -of every impartial observer of the
events which have, since the outbreak of the strug-
gle, trap spired. And why was not this wise
course pi trsued, why was not this timely decision
manifested by the British Government ? Because
of the A.l)erdeenites ! Because my Lord ABER-
DEEN was Prime Minister—because the Duke of
NEWCASTLE was Secretary for War, and Mr. SID-
NEY HERBERT Secretary at War, and Sir JAMES
GRAHAM First Lord of the Admiralty, and Mr.
GLADSTONE Chancellor of the Exchequer ! Be-
cause of all this ! We have the clue now—
(thanks, among other things, to the speeches of
the members for Carlisle and the University of
Oxford)—we have the clue now—through all the
labyrinth of our past blunders, a labyrinth which,
but for that clue, we might have found some diffi-
culty in threading. Everything is comprehensi-
ble at last—in regard to the futility of Colonel
ROSE'S first demand for the Mediterranean fleet,
in regard to Admiral DIINDAS'S refusal to comply
with that urgent requisition, in regard to all the
doubts, and delays, and hesitations by which
subsequent events were complicated at Constanti-
nople, until a diplomatic squabble had been
allowed to grow, and grow, and grow into a war
of European magnitude. For all these doubts,
delays, and hesitations we have to thank the
patriotism of the Aberdeenites, and the civic
ardour of their auxiliaries outside the pale of the
Administration, the craven, peace-courting, leek-
munching Peace-at-any-price Party. For the
Russian War and all its consequences we are in-
debted to the Earl of ABERDEEN, to Mr. GLAD-
STONE, to Mr. BRIGHT, and to their redoubtable
compeers. We alone do not say it. The whole
country knows it as a fact, beyond all possibility of
denial. And yet more, as we have said already, we
have to thank, not only for the Russian War, but
for Russian ferocity in like manner, the united
influence of this Peace-at-any-price Party, and of
these miserable Aberdeenites. To these we ar•
indebted for that blot on the national escutcheon—
that massacre at Sinope, which occurred while our
fleet was riding at anchor in the waters of the
Bosphorus. To the influence of their disastrous
policy we may trace not only the massacre of th•
Turks at Sinope, but that also •f our own brave
fellows when lying wounded upon the battle-field,
and very recently also the cold-blooded murder of
sixteen or seventeen of ourgallant seamen bearing a
flag of truce to Hangs on a mission of magnanimity.
The Member for Stafford may have his lips sealed
against the utterance of language not strictly Par-
liamentary. Truth must yet be spoken—that
truth which lives at this moment in the
heart and conscience of 30,000,000 of English-
men. The truth that to the malign influence of the
sticklers for Russian " honour" (!) and to that of
mistaken humanitarians almost every one of the
calamitous incidents of the War are directly attri-
butable. Who shall say how much sooner Lord
RAGLAN might have established his head-quarters
within Sebastopol had not his hands been in a man-
ner tied by instructions coming out to him from
home—instructions made out of mistaken motives
of humanity, forsooth ! instructions to save as much
as possible the buildings of the more peaceable in-
habitants ? The first folly, nay, treason, of a like
order in regard to tliebombardment of Odessa is not
forgotten, any more than the people of England
are likely to lose the remembrance very speedily of
the other preposterous evidences of the evils
accruing from the peace-mongering principles of
Brightites and Aberdemites—of timorous admi-
nistrators, and devil's-dust philanthropists.

In its anxiety to advance the interests of its
Leviathan neighbour the Prussian Government
has resorted to steps scarcely compatible with the
neutrality it professes itself to be so anxious to
maintain. The recent proceedings against the
Secretary to the British Consul at Cologne will
require very clear and distinct explanation, and
possibly amends. We do not say that if any pri-
vate charge can be produced against an individual
that he should be sheltered from the consequences
thereof by his connection with the diplomatic ser.
vice of another nation, but it is obvious that
any such proceedings should be conducted with
the utmost delicacy and circumspection, and that
any suspicion of undue motives should, be care-
fully eschewed by the authorities who resort to
so extreme a measure as the arrest of a party
engaged in the diplomatic service of another
nation.

The case is materially aggravated by the fact
that, at the time of his arrest, the individual in
question was the bearer of a despatch to the
Foreign-office of Great Britain. A confidential
communication, from one of our Consuls, has.
been forcibly taken possession of ; and
even if its contents have been respected—
a matter which remains in considerable
doubt—its delivery has been delayed. The
friends of a nation which habitually fires on flags
of truce may think this a trivial point. We can-
not hesitate, however, as to the light in which it
will be regarded in all civilised countries where
there is a just regard for national honour and
national faith.

The alleged ground for this very extraordinary
proceeding was, that the party was suspected of
being engaged in forwarding enlistments for the
British Foreign Legion. So great is the anxiety
of the Prussian Government to prevent such a
violation of its pretended neutrality that it has
thus flung aside the conventional courtesy and
respect due to an independent nation. It has
thereby proved beyond the possibility of doubt
how serious in its estimation is such an offence—
and has unquestionably subjected itself to satisfy
the aggrieved state, that it is equally determined
to repress such actions by any parties whatsoever,
and that if it will not sanction enlistments for
Great Britain it will be equally decided in put-
ting down those intended to operate against its
interests.

Now, we have it on unquestionable authority
that enlistments for the Russian army are openly
carried on in different parts of Prussia without
let or hindrance, and are connived at, if not
openly encouraged, by the authorities ! If this
be so, and we cannot doubt the accuracy of our
informant, the arrest of Mr. BRAY becomes
doubly reprehensible, and demands immediate
measures of retaliation. There might be some
shadow of excuse if Russia and England were
treated in the same way, but when assistance is
given to our enemy—when Russian agents are
allowed to obtain recruits, without interfer-
ence or objection, there can be no justification
for the summary arrest of a diplomatic agent on
the mere suspicion that he was engaged in like
Proceedings on the part of Great Britain. We
are sure that Lord CLARENDON will not permit '
this outrage to remain unnoticed, but that he Will
insist on ample satisfaction for the insult to the
English flag and the violation of the law of na-
tions. - -

But he should do more. He should adopt de-

cisive measures to teach Prussia that if she wishes
to retain the privileges of a neutral she must ob-
serve a strict neutrality, and not either directly
or indirectly, openly or covertly, lend assistance
to one of the belligerents which she refuses to
others. It is time that Prussia should receive a
salutary lesson in a matter in which there is so
great a call for wholesome instruction.

In connection with this subject we may point
attention to a letter touching the importation of
pig iron into Prussian ports, and its re-exportation
to Russia. This is a very one-sided neutrality.
The same may be said of King LEOPOLD as to the
manufacture of arms in Balgium, ostensibly for
Prussia, but really for Russia. Such conduct
will ono day receive its due reward, and the
sooner the better.

One of the chief causes for which Parliament
was convened before Christmas was to obtain
assent to the formation of a Foreign Legion. It
was represented that the assistance of such a body
was a matter of urgent and paramount importance,
and that the requisite authority could not be
postponed without dangerous, if not fatal conse-
quences to our gallant troops in the Crimea. The
public journals almost unanimously disapproved
of the project, which they believed to be alto-
gether uncalled for, and which cast a heavy
stigma on the martial prowess of their country-
men. In common with all untainted by
" Germanism" they " felt a decided preference for
the British Article," which they asserted could
be obtained more quickly and cheaply, and cer-
tainly not inferior in quality. Ministers, how-
ever, succeeded in pressing forward the obnoxious
measure through both Houses of Parliament,
despite the protests and remonstrances of
patriotic individuals in both branches of the
Legislature, and the universal dislike of all classes
throughout the length and breadth of tbe land
to its obnoxious provisions.

Half a-year has since elapsed and little, if any-
thing, has been done to accomplish the matter in
which expedition was declared to be indispensable.
Not a single foreign soldier has been imported into
England. It is true that a few hundreds have
been collected together in Heligoland, but in ob-
taining these recruits, we have subjected ourselves
to be treated with contumely by other nations,
and, as mentioned in another part of this day's
impression, embittered our relations with Prussia,
who seemed to think the matter contained such
evidence of conscious weakness that she might
venture to kick the apparently exhausted Lion
with impunity. This is all that Government has
taken by its motion. It has incurred the shame
and scandal of the abortive effort without practi-
cal effect, and that notwithstanding the induce-
ments held out, and the not very creditable
means resorted to by the official " Sergeant
KITES."

We have only just learned the full extent of
these inducements. It was not merely bounty, pay
and rations, albeit they far exceeded anything
offered by the German States, that were held out
as temptations to take " the QUZEN'S shilling" and
mount the cockade. It was not merely the offer
of valuable privileges respecting the officers of their
corps, who were to be their own countrymen, re-
ceiving their commissions without purchase, and
who could not be subjected to the annoyance of
seeing aristocratic or wealthy youths pitehforked
into rank over the heads of meritorious veterans.
In addition to these, and to handsome compensa-
tion in the event of wounds or injuries sus-
tained in the service, it was, it appears, con-
templated to bestow grants of land in Canada
OD every soldier as well as officer, and prac-
tically to found a new military colony, not of
'Ale Anglo-Saxon race, but of men naturally

levoted to the interests of their "fatherland "
eather than of the country which had so bounti-
Nly rewarded their mercenary services. And
this project will be carried into practical execu-
tion, and every German recruit will receive a
valuable boon, not accorded to those who have
devoted the best years of their lives to the service
of their native land, unless the Canadian Legisla-
ture reject the insidious proposition with the in-
lignation which it merits.
Why, we ask, if there had been any difficulty
in obtaining eligible recruits in the United
Kingdom have not similar iniucements been
veld out to English, Irish, and. Scotchmen,
who we venture to assert would make as efficient
ioldiers and colonists as any Germans that could
be found? Why have not efforts been made to
ameliorate the condition of private soldiers, to
give them greater conveniences in barracks, and
,etter prospects of obtaining commissions in cases
of high desert ? The prospect of becoming landed
proprietors when their services could be dispensed
with, of enjoying the °awn, elm di,nitate on
their own estates would attract a far better class
of men to our standards, and those who now
4hun the recruiting-serjeants and are proof
.gainst all their blandishments would

3agbrly seek employment, the result of which
vyould be to give 50 acres of land to every pri-
vate, 100 to every non-commissioned officer, and
From 200 to 500 to every man holding a commis-

3iOD.

List week we published a communication,
written before this plan was known, in which our
.correspondent, Mr. H. DurPA, suggested the for-
mation of a volunteer corps for active service,
which, as he showed, could be easily obtained in
almost any numbers, under certain conditions,
one of the principal being a grant of land in some
of our colonies. The plan appears deserving of
.nature and attentive consideration, although some
of its features seem as yet scarcely developed.
For instance, it is proposed that the men should
have the power of electin their own officers !
It is not, however, stated from what body they
should be selected, or what guarantee there would
he for their experience or efficiency

The proposition that vacancies should be filled
up fr.om the corps itself seems an excellent one,
and would dcubtless, in the existing state of
military administration, be highly estimated by
officers and men. Combined with the subsequent
;rant of land, which, in case of death in the service,
could be bequeathed to some friend or relative, the
scheme offers advantages superior to any we have
yet heard, and the various details could easily be
arranged so as to secure an efficient body of men
luring war, and " an industrial but military class
of settlers" in any colony where such persons were
required, who, as our correspondent felicitously
remarks, would form "a sort of military social guard
of the Grand Army of Civilisation 1" Let the
project only receive the attention it so eminently
merits, and there will be no necessity for seeking
Germans to perform the duties which there are
plenty of Englishmen ready and willing abd fully
competent to discharge if they only receive a por-
tion of the encouragement so lavishly proffered to
strangers.

There is fair promise already of good coming
out of this Administrative Reform Movement.
The popular sympathy in its favour is not only
wide, but deep. It is not with its promoters, as
it was with the champions of the Anti-Corn-Law
League. The latter had prejudices to overcome
Among the- industrial middle-elasA of Bloomsbury,
as well as 'among the.flaneurs of Belgravia, among