The Sun.
London, England, 1855-08-09 00:00:00

LORD JOHN'S CONSISTENCY.

When a garrison can no longer hold a fortress, and is
able to withdraw, it commonly does its best to render
the place untenable or unwholesome. It fills the town
with mines, throws the dead bodies into the wells, or
leaves them unburied in the streets. A soldier very
naturally has no kind of sympathy with the foe who
terns him out of a comfortable shelter, and drives him
to seek his fortune in the field. A. different rule, how-
ever, is applicable, in our humble opinion, to the case
of a statesman's conduct towards his former colleagues,
whom he has been obliged to leave, not by their hosti-
lity, nor yet by any serious difference or any difference
at all, but simply by some blunder of his own. It cer-
tainly seems very uncivil, not to say worse, in Lord
John Russell, who a short month ago was himself a mem-
ber of her Majesty's Government, setting to work to
make them as uncomfortable as he can. It is not his
fault if the ground -does not already begin to heave
under their feet and the walls to tumble about
their eau,. There is not a sore point in European
politics, there is not a place where the fire
still glows under the treacherous ashes, that Lord John
Russell does not stir up with the recklessness of a
novice, or the artifice of a less amiable character. No
thanks to him if Austria, whom a month ago he affected
to think our real friend, does not now liberate the
Russian armies in her front, and prepare for an Italian
campaign ; no thanks to him if Turkey does no_tefiatohcz
herself entrapped into playing our game, d
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the Italy
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more men to the Crimea, for the regeneration
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after the model of his own natioinl
their eyes about them, they will be Austrian, or
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and Russia may
Frenchman, or
ande ah John
tone common to men
n
Indeed, the whole speech
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is of course their own concern. There are such men, and
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the tone of Lord John Russell's seems to show
that he is one of them. He has left the room,saying an
leaving all to recover their
ill-natured thing to everybody
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The first thing that strikes one is, what a very pleasant
colleague Lord John Russell must have been up till a
month ago 1 Row opportune, how okeeriagt how Pm?:

/tical and friendly his remarks must have been across the
Council-table, and what a gift he must have of saying
just the wrong thing at the wrong time ! There are peo-
ple who maintain that truth is to be spoken at all times,
and truth, as they understand it, is only another name
for unadulterated mischief. Such people, of course,
would be delighted to hear that Lord Palmerston had
instigated Lord Clarendon to cross-question the French
Emperor about his object in keeping the Roman people
in leading-strings. Lord John Russell, indeed, is rather
at a loss just now what to say about Rome—that is, he
does not know which corner of the question is the
most unpleasant. All the parties concerned come off
very ill ; the Romans are children, their Pope a bad
governor, the French intruders, and the English Go-
vernment rather silly or cowardly for looking on ea
quietly. There are, of course, such things as military occu-
pations, and, though objectionable, they are not entirely
bad. But then Lord John argues that under their shelter
raw citizens are supposed to ripen, and new institutions
to get into working trim, just as the weaker forest trees
will grow up under the shelter of firs, which may then be
dispensed with. The Romans, however, have been get-
ting worse and worse for about 2,000 years, and we are
not surprised that the presence of a few French regiments
since 1849 has not fitted them for free institutions. It is
rather odd that, by an analogous process, Lord J. Russell
supposes the Sultan to have acquired so much indepen-
dence, strength, and sound judgment under the military
protection of the Western Powers, that whereas for the
last century he has always been coming to us for advice
and assistance, he must now be quite competent and wil-
ling to manage his quarrels with Russia without our inter-
ference. If any objection is shown on our part, then, of
course, Lord John argues, we are prolonging the war for
purposes of our own ; we have changed our footing, and
we have become the aggressors. At all events, the Sul-
tan knows now, on the authority of Lord J. Russell,
that the guarantee of his loan, instead of being a favour,
was a piece of sharp practice on our part, as he had a
right to the five millions out and out for fighting our
battles.

One looks for sympathies as well as antipathies, bee
cause the latter are only negative ; and a man who is
all antipathy might just as well, indeed much better,
never have been born. But it is in vain that we look
for the direction of Lord John Russell's sympathies.
Italy, as it happens, is under the domination of Russia,
France, and Austria, and Lord John likes none of them.
Neither does he like the Pope, nor yet Mazzini, nor yet
quite the people, much as he admires their natural quali-
ties. Being thus rather at a loss where to turn himself,
he yet thinks that the British Government—as if it had
not its hands full already—should set about regenerat-
ing Italy as well as Turkey, with the advantage of hay-
ing three Emperors to oust in the former case, instead
of the one we find enough for us in the latter. Really,
we beg Lord John Russell's pardon, but we think it
rather a favourable and complimentary construction to
put on the Italian episode in his speech, that his lord-
ship would not be altogether indisposed to renew the
attempt which his father-in-law made some years ago to
create a new Italy, Rome, Pope, and all, in the course
of a winter tour. Putting this out of the question, we
cannot divine what honest purpose Lord John had in
his speech, made with all the solemnity of a Presiden-
tial message. The object has certainly not been to di-
rect the attention of her Majesty's Ministers, for it is
much more calculated to distract. Nor can it be Lord
John's object to encourage Ministers, nor to smooth
their course, nor to remove suspicions, nor to soften pre-
judices, nor to attach our allies, nor to show a bold front
to our enemies. There is only one thing quite clear and ex-
plicit in the speech, only one thing which, standing quite
by itself, can be transmitted in the form of a good compact
quotation through all the Russian organs of Europe, and
that is Lord John Russell's deliberate opinion—held, be
it observed, ever since his return from Vienna, and for
two months during which he remained one of her Ma-
jesty's advisers—that the present war is no longer for
the defence of Turkey ; indeed, that it is dangerous to
her independence and ruinous to her resources, and
waged solely for the selfish objects of England and
France. That, we repeat, was Lord John's opinion of
the war he was assisting to carry on, and urging the
country to carry on with the utmost spirit and unani-
mity.—Timcs.

CAPTAIN DISNEY'S WAR PROJECTILE.

Yesterday afternoon Lord Ranelagh had a large party
of friends, including among them the Duke of Welling-
ton, to witness on the grounds adjoining his residence at
Fulham a repetition of the •xperiments which were
made some days ago near Chelsea Hospital. With this
modern reproduction of the Greek fire, materials under
ordinary circumstances most difficult to ignite were again
readily consumed, and every one present appeared more
or less satisfied with the importance of the invention.
Since our former notice we have ascertained that within
the last six weeks improvements have been effected at
Woolwich in the manufacture of rockets, which at length
secure for them the accurracy of flight so long desiderated.
The value of a shell, therefore, charged in the manner
proposed by Captain Disney with igneous fluid is to some
extent diminished, but for many purposes it would pro-
bably still be found exceedingly serviceable, unless, in-
deed, further and more complete experiments than those
which we have witnessed tend to show that the merits of
the invention have been overrated. It may turn out
that the explosion of the bursting charge may so dis-
perse the preparation as to render it, under some circum-
stances, comparatively harmless, and, until the projectile
has been thoroughly tested, it would be rash to pronounce
a very confident opinion with regard to it ; but unques-
tionably, it seems admirably adapted fur use as a hand
grenade, if in no other manner ; and Captain Disney
states that the chemical preparation which he employs,
if the risk of carrying it out ready-made is objected to,
can be easily manufactured at the seat of war. He ought
now to lose no time in bringing his invention before the
notice of the new select committee at Woolwich, who
will, we feel confident, deal with it impartially. The
presence of such men as Professor Wheatstone and Mr.
Gregory, civil engineer, in that committee, as reconsti-
tuted, affords a sufficient guarantee that the claims of
important novelties will no longer be systematically
overlooked as they have been. Capt. Disney also exhi-
bited yesterday his shell for causing temporary blindness
among troops brought within its influence. Of course
everybody took the precaution to be at a tolerably safe
distance from so formidable a projectile at the moment
of its explosion, and the inventor stated that he had pre-
pared the charge in a very mild form so as to avoid any
awkward consequences to the •oapany assembled. We
are therefore unable to say what the effect of the shell
would be, and can only state that after the fames of the
explosion had extended to some distance Lord Ranelagh
passed through them without any perceptible detriment
to his optics. Other gentlemen who went up to the shell
alter it had exploded experienced some irritation in the
nostrils, and the material with which it was filled had
certainly to the uninitiated a remarkable resemblance
to Lundy Foot snuff. Besides the foregoing experi-
ments, Lord Ranelagh brought before the notice of his
visitors four of the best breech-loaders hitherto produced.
The shooting made by them was strong and excellent,
and it was interesting to compare the merits and de-
merits of each. Two (Needharu's and Sear's) were mo-
difications of the Prussian needle-gun, each ingenious,
and to a certain degree highly successful, to specify here.
The other two (Sharpe's and Leetchie's) are discharged
by the usual dog•head and nipple arrangement, for which
the company present on the occasion appeared to have
a decided preference. It is unnecessary to point out for
public approbation the exertions made by Lord Rane-
lagh for a series of years to stimulate the inventive
talent of gunmakers, and to draw attention to whatever
promises to secure increased efficiency in our weapons
of war.