The Sun.
London, England, 1855-04-07 00:00:00

The business of the present hour is to carry on the war
on a scale commensurate with its importance—with that
vigour which alone can insure success, The insane no-
tion that kussia is to tic). "crethvleließ'', by_enerely
eleneliffig reiettT'Vell—dii;ii pa teds The
Russians are not by nature a warlike race ; they prefer
the more tangibly remunerative enterprises of commerce;
but they are enterprising in their• own way—they are
endowed with an inexhaustible fund of dogged, passive
courage—they ai e led on by able generals—and the mass
of the people have just attained to that degree of civili-
sation which admits of their being imbued with a fanati-
cal faith in the right divine of kings or emperors. Rus-
sian power of national endurance is not to be tested by
the same standard as that of other European nations, for
the social condition of Russia has more in common with
an Assyrian or an Aztec empire than with modern
European civilisation. Abstractedly, we may take fer
granted that either France or England is more than a
match for Russia—much more both combined. But
when we come to details, we find ourselves so ignorant
of Russian resources, and Russian modes of thought and
feeling, that it is utterly impossible to conjecture before-
hand how long it will require to bring the Russian
Government to sue for peace on any terms, or to see
clearly what means must be adopted to reduce it to
such a condition of conscious weakness. All that
can be done is to urge on the war promptly, reso-
lutely, vigorously—to feel our way as we go, and adapt
our conduct to circumstances. But even at this early
stage, it is evident that one thing is indispensable to sue-
csss—that our Government lay aside that dilettante
poco-curante spirit ley which they have hitherto been pos-
sessed. The demon Laissez-faire, which has so long haunted
our Government offices, must once for all be exorcised
and laid in the Red Sea. System and order must be in-
troduced into the management of the army and all -the
auxiliary civil services. Able and energetic men must
be substituted in all posts and departments for detected
incapables. This second requisite is even of more conse-
quence than the first. The worse our system of military
administratien— the more difficult and tedious the task
of remodelling it—the more necessary it is to employ
men of ,agacity, inventiveness, and enterprise. Till our
military system is amended—while the work of amend-
ment is in progress—the pereonal qualities of the men
employed must be such as to compensate for the defi-
ciencies of the system. The national prestige is at stake,
and all other considerations must give way to that of
maintaining intact the national reputation—almost as
indispensable as the national strength to oar security.
All considerations of professional etiquette—of the prior
claims of seniority or titular rank—must be overridden,
if necessary, in order that the right men may be installed
in the right places. In the army an entire change of the
heads of departments—beginning, we regret to say, with
the Commander-in-Chief—must take place. Slowly
and reluctantly have we arrived at this conclusion.
We know how often the Englishman conceals a
fiery and impetuous spirit beneath an apathetic ex-
terior. We gave Lord Raglan the benefit of the pre-
sumption that his apparent listlessness and helpless-
ness might be merely the results of an undemonstrative
' nature—that he was active and provident beyond what
deportment towards his soldiers induced men to give
him credit for being. But accumulated evidence has
forced upon us the conviction that in his case the outer
is but too true an index of the inner man. Lord Raglan
may bee competent General of Division, but he is utterly
inadequate to the arduous charge of Commander-in-Chief
—a judgment of him pronounced by the greatest living
English authority in military matters before the Crimean
expedition left Varna. Lord Raglan, in the words of
Marshal St. Arnaud, has all the valour of the old heroic
times. He is sincerely attached to his profession. He
has discharged irreproachably the routine duties of sub-
ordinate employments. But a Commander-in-Chief must
be more than this. Let any one consult Gurwood's
"Wellington Despatches," and he will find that great
man, throughout the Peninsular war, attending to—pro-
viding for—everything by his own forecast and exertion.
His correspondence about the procuring of grain for his
army is a model by which our most sagacious and ex-
tensive corn-dealers might profit. Lord Ragan has
been contented to have all these things done for him
by others, and to throw the blame of any failure upon
individuals or the heads of departments. He has seen
the incapacity of his staff, yet has taken no step to
sutstitute more trustworthy officers. He sits at his
head-quarters receiving reports, and writing de-
spatches, and allowing affairs to take their own
course. The picture of his residence in a letter from
a casual visitor to the camp, which we published a
few days ago, is the picture of the man. Lord Raglan,
with his well-stocked poultry-yard, is neither more nor
less than a respectable country gentleman, thrown by
some unaccountable accident into the office of Comman-
der-in-Chief. Peter Pindar's description of Farmer
George, invested by the accident of birth with the cha-
racter of George the King, might, with a few slight
changes, be made exactly applicable to Lord Raglan in
his actual position. The first indispensable pre-requisite
to the success of the war in the East is the recal or re-
signation of Lord Raglan. And one main object of such
recal or resignation is to have a man placed at the head
of the army who would begin by making a clean sweep in
every department under him. Young, ardent, enter-
prising men are required, not only to carry into effect
any Army Reform resolved upon by the Home Govern-
ment, but to suggest from their own observati.in and
experience the details of such a reform, and to supply the
existing want of system by their own high qualities till
the reform can be carried into effect.

THE VISIT OF NAPOLEON 111.
( Prom the Morning Herald of this day.)

The French Royal yacht for the conveyance to our
shores of the Emperor Napoleon 111., accompanied by
his illustrious and' estimable consort, has been ordered
for the 15th inst. The visit of the Imperial family of
France happens most opportunely, and will, we trust,
prevent the conclusion of a dishonourable and unsatis-
factory peace with Russia. The efforts of the English
Ministry are at this moment directed towards the ac-
complishment of a result so humiliating to us, which
must prove so disastrous to the independence of the
smaller states of the great European confederacy, and so
prejudicial to the future welfare and progression of man-
kind.
If anything can put a stop to the infamons intrigues
now going on amongst those in authority here it is the
generous influence of the French Emperor. Through-
out this contest he has taken the initiative ; he has cut
short concession, and vigorously opposed timid counsels ;
he has invested a dreamy and lethargic diplomacy with
spirit and integrity ; and he has turned Aide the troubled
currents of treachery and dissimulation. We, there-
fore, hail his coming amongst us as a pledge that our
national character shall not be lowered in these terrible
conferences at Vienna ; that neither Lord John Russell
in the very citadel of diplomatic sophistry, nor Lords
Palmerston and Clarendon at home, shall be, permitted
to barter away the rights so freely purchased by our
fathers on many a well-fought field, nor the renown
achieved by their enduring constancy, for a longer lease
of misused authority, and a continual gratification of
their grovelling desire for the sweets of office. Family
ties and party connections have engrossed the attention
of the Coalitionists; for in their vocabulary patriotism
means self-aggrandisement. Those higher spheres into
which Men ought not to enter unless their minds are actu-
ated,by the purest motives, have been sullied by factious
disputes and acts which can never be palliated nor excused.
Unless they wish most fully to unveil the rottenness of
their system to one of the ablest legislators of the day,
they must prepare to meet Napoleon with becoming de-
cency, and some regard for the interests of a State upon
which they have inflicted grievous and irremediable
suffering.
Having given expression to this hope, we dismiss
those who have proved to be the worst enemies of Eng-
land's ascendancy, and turn our attention towards that
illustrious potentate and statesman whose friendship,
though not of long-tried endurance, has hitherto proved
sincere and unassailable.
The interchange of courtesies amongst the rulers of
different countries has not hitherto been attended with
very beneficial results, either for the Sovereigns most
especially interested, nor the people over whom they
ruled. Even Royal alliances have but too often disap-
pointed the expectations of the contracting parties. The
Imperial race from which the first Napoleon selected
the partner of his glory and his greatness figured amongst
his most implacable opponents. It is certainly true
that the giddy multitude have indulged in certain ap-
pearances of an intense satisfaction whenever by chance
‘ltoyal visitor has appeared amongst us ; but, in spite
of this, regal visits, although popular, have not hitherto
been important. The mob eagerly press around the gay
and glittering cortege, and hail the magnificent proces-
sion with noisy acclamations. Even the most demo-
cratic sections of the community greeted the-late Em-
peror Nicholas, the most despotic of Sovereigns, with
enthusiastic applause. It is the pageant that attracts
their delight; its political significance enters not within
the range of their philosophy. A holiday train, or any