The Sun.
London, England, 1855-09-19 00:00:00

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1855.

THE FALL OF SEBASTOPOL.

The Indus, which left Constantinople on the
11th inst., has just arrived at Marseilles. She
brings the full particulars of the capture of the
Malakhoff, and the subsequent evacuation of
Sebastopol. We may therefore reasonably hope
that by to-morrow we may be enabled to
communicate these interesting documents to the
public, to show the enormous difficulties that
have been so brilliantly overcome, and the vast
importance of the great conquest achieved by the
united arms of France and England.

The capture of Sebastopol is apparently " the
beginning of the end" of the War with Russia ;
that is to say, if the Western Powers be only true
to themselves, and determined to obtain the legiti-
mate results of the successes already achieved. It
is perfectly clear that the fate cf the Russian
stronghold is decisive as to that of the entire
Peninsula, and that the undisputed possession of
the Crimea must necessarily follofi that of Sebas-
topol. Already we are told that " the Russian
troops are retreating from Bakshi-Serai and
Simpheropol to Pereskop ;" and, (dlthough the in-
telligence has not as yet received official confirma-
tion, there is about it a vraisemblance sufficient to
induce us to lend an easy credence to the state-
ment. It is the course to which we have so re-
peatedly alluded since the glad tidings of the
glorious result of the irresistible assault on the
Bth, and the subsequent evacuation of the be-
leaguered city on the 9th, was received—a course
which should in like manner have been foreseen
and which could easily have been turned to the
advantage of the gallant victors. But the great-
est promptitude was indispensable. Every day,
nay, more, every hour, was of vital importance,
pregnant with the fate not only of the Crimea,
but of the Russian Empire.

The great question at issue seems to be—Are
we to follow, or to intercept the Russian army ?
Their retreat, under the most favourable circum-
stances, across the arid Steppes between Simphero-
pol and Perekop, would be a work of extraordi-
nary difficulty, which would require more than
the qualities of a Xenophon to accomplish, and
it is needless to say how greatly that difficulty
would be enhanced by the rapid pursuit of a
hostile army. Under such circumstances, the
retreat would speedily degenerate into an ignomi-
nious flight, and a large proportion of the Rus-
sians would leave their bones bleaching in the
dreadful wilderness. But some might escape. A
" skeleton" of the once powerful army might make
good their retreat, and some foundation would
still be supplied for the mendacious proclamations
of the Cabinet at St. Petersburg, and
the assertion that the evacuation had only been
occasioned by strategetical considerations ! Now,
it is of the utmost importance that Russia should
be deprived of that plausible excuse, and that her '
prestige, which has been so long maintained by
enormous sacrifices, should be completely broken.
To do so the Western Powers should not only
obtain possession of the territory, but enforce the
submission of the army by which it was garrisoned
and defended. Policy as well as humanity sug-
gests that the triumph should be without draw-
back—that its sterling character should be with-
out the smallest portion of alloy.
It has been truly remarked that the exigencies
of the War have compelled the CZAR to throw the
whole of his available forces into the Crimea.
He was enabled to do so by the duplicity and
insincerity of Austria, and the consequence was
that Sebastopol was "the crucible in which all
his resources were absorbed." He staked his
own fate on that of his quasi impregnable
fortress, and the issue having turned against
him, the full penalty of his failure must be en-
forced ! Pursuit beyond a certain distance is, if
not impossible, by no means advisable. It would
be to involve our own gallant troops, who have
already sustained so many arduous trials and pri-
vations, in the sufferings that must inevitably be

sustained by the retreating army. But by the
movement on Eupatoria, which we have already
suggested, and which might be accomplished in a
few hours by sea, or, still better, by that on the
Tcheterlik, from whence the various converging
roads to Perekop might be commanded, the flying
army might be taken at the greatest possible ad-
vantage, and their escape absolutely prevented.
By such a course not a single man could return
to Russia without the permission of the Western
Powers, and as a liberated prisoner of war. The
stragglers that had succeeded in crossing the
steppes would be completely dispirited and broken
down by the fatigues and toils they had endured,
and would yield at the first show of opposition.
They could not again re-enter the desert, or form
themselves into a position to sustain a regular
attack. A single glance at the map will show the
importance of the course above suggested. The
lines of the various roads from all positions, west
of Kara-su-bazar, show how easily they may be
hermetically sealed, near Korkasak, a little to the
north of the Tcheterlik—and whereby the commu-
nication between Perekop and the three-fourths
of the Crimea may be cut off. No information
has recently been received respecting the inten-
tions of the Allied Generals. It is by no means
impossible that the cause of this significant silence
is the vast importance of the operations now con-
templated. We believe that they will be in ac-
cordance with those above suggested, and that the
F old adage that " No news is good news," will be
I fully verified in the present instance.

Let England be awake. Austria sleeps not,
Russia sleeps not, Germany sleeps not, our Aris-
tocracy sleeps not. We are sure we may add our
great Ally sleeps not. No ; nor does Sardinia
on the one hand, or craven Belgium on the
other, sleep, and Prussia only seems to sleep.
All aristocracy and despotism are wide awake
to save their Dagon from a mutilating fall.
Lot the genius of the English people watch
to give him one. The inspiration of this
War is English love of liberty. NAPOLEON 111.
and his people are inspired by it. Of themselves
their strongest passion is military glory ; they have
alsolonged to wipe out Moscow and Waterloo. The
'latter is most gloriously achieved ; they have ri- '
walled the English not in battle against, but with,
each other, andin the crowning assault it was theirs
to carry the position which decided the day, and
which gave Sebastopol to the Allies. We believe
-that our whole nation rejoices that this military
;glory belongs to France. It is delightful to us
-to see Waterloo thus avenged ! If England took
-the first position on the memorable 18th of June,
_France, in brotherly and holy rivalry, took the
:first position on the equally memorable Bth of
;September. History will record such a romantic
:restoration of the balance of military glory be-
itween England and France as no writer of
r Ornance could have imagined. But for Waterloo
w e might have regretted much more that the
at tack on the Redan was not as successful as that
cm the Malakhoff ; but, if one must fail, so deep
is: -the feeling for the sentiments of our Allies that
all England prefers the trophy in this case
should belong to France. Her glory is now
dc-tr to us. There is not a paragraph in
thee QUEEN'S touching and beautiful Mes-
s3rige which more entirely accords with Eng-
lish feeling than that in which she so cordially
congratulates General PELISSIER and his troops
on their great success. A British Queen congra-
t ;leafing a French General on bravery more suc-
cessful than that of our own troops ! Truly
Waterloo is avenged. Avenged by valour in
b rotherhood, not by valour in antagonism.

But a tempting thought has diverted us for a
a moment. To return : our task is, warning to
our own countrymen. Your love of freedom has
mingled with, and kindled to greater ardour,
17:rench love of military glory. It has been felt
in Piedmont, and has animated her noble soldiers.
It has not been unfelt in Turkey itself. But,
more than that, it even compelled an ABERDEEN,
and, a GLADSTONE, and a GRAHAM, we regret to
add and a RUSSELL, to declare war against the
great aggressor on European independence. It
weeded successive Cabinets of their noxious mem-
bers. It neutralised to a great extent the poison
of German influence. It prevented complete
prostration to Austria, though it could not save
from degrading subservience, for Austria in the
p rovinces is still the ignominy of England. It
has, in fact, fought the battle through the winter,
maintained it through the spring and summer,
defeated that infernal plot of despots, the Vienna
Conference and the Four Points, and it now exults
over captured Sebastopol !
Having, however, done thus much, its great
work is yet before it. Lord PALMERSTON may
be pretty well up to the mark, but he is a tho-
rough aristocrat. Nobilities, not peoples, are his
heart's delight. All he does for popular liberty
is against the grain—a necessity, not a choice.
Moreover, he has married the widow of the great-
est courtier of his day; and a Court connected with
Vienna by a matrimonial telegraph must influence
him insensibly towards the despot's cause. Lord
PANMURE is but a Whig, Sir CHARLES WOOD a
Whig, and we fear something worse. Sir WM.
MoLpswonrn has gone at last with the people,
but gone to the colonies also, and we hear little
of his influence for good. It is England's sym-
pathy with freedom all over the world, and her
deep-rooted hatred of tyranny which began the
War, has carried it on, and which now must watch
over its further progress, or its close. We are
thankful for such intimations as Lord PALMERSTON
gave us the other day at Melbourne ; he spoke
under the excitement of the news which will
carry the remembrance of his Administration
through many a page of history. He could but
speak out. But Lord PALMERSTON has to descend
from honest English company and English lan-
guage to diplomatic
dub
o circles
the
e is thug
and their detestable
stable
We have nocant.up to
all their tricks ; but whether he is, under all the
circumstances, unwilling to seem to believe the
impostors and to be led by them, that is the
question. Let England be awake, or all the fruits
of the past may be sold any day to Austria and
her kindred despots.
We have seen it mentioned by the Russianisers,
even since the Bth of September, that England and
France are pledged to make no conquests—pledged
to Austria ! It were sufficient to answer that the
failure to fulfil her obligations has released us
from any engagement with her. She has refused
to aid in bringing the War to a conclusion, and she
has not a shadow of a pretext to interfere with
the final settlement. England and France, how-
ever, do not want conquests for themselves. Turkey
or Sardinia may take the Crimea, the former also
might take her old territories from the mouths of
the Danube to Odessa ; while Poland no one would
think of reconquering but to render its territory
her own.• Territorial cDnquest for themselves is
neither wished by the Allies who commenced the
War, nor needful for them. But it is needful for
totvilheranies ;
disable the aggressor from repeating his
•
and there is and can be no way to do
this but to deprive him of all the fortresses which
he has built to intimidate Europe, from Cronstadt
to Poland and Sebastopol.'

What we most dread is the intermeddling o.

Austria during the winter. So odious, so con-
temptible has been the conduct of that Power in
the eyes of all Englishmen that it is mortifying to
believe an English Minister would allow her a
locus stamdi in the question of peace at all. She
has refused all part in the War, and it is out-
rageous that she should have a voice again in the
settlement of a Treaty. Her representative has
no more title to be present at the next Conference
than the representative of Prussia had to be at
Vienna. We owe her nothing whatever ; indeed,
if we owe her anything, it is to rouse Hungary
and Lombardy to throw off her hateful yoke. The
next settlement must be direct between Russia and
her chastisers. Till her pride is compelled to this
she will not have felt sufficiently the punishment
she is undergoing. She ought now to be taught
never to trouble her head about schemes of
European dominion more, but to devote herself
to the elevation of the poor serfs who sprinkle her
vast plains, and who might be gradually raised to
the rank of men. It would be the greatest charity
be Russia to cure her Czars of dreams of conquest,
and to leave them nothing to do but to improve
their vast territories. Splendid indeed is the
opening for a Russian Government supremely de-
sirous of the-triumphs of peace. In any case, it
were the height of folly to be delicate about re-
conquering for their former proprietors the terri-
tories which Russia was in no way nice about
gaining by every species of low cunning and force.
Lust of conquest has been her besetting sin ; let
loss of conquests be her just punishment.

" What will be the permanent political results
of the great victory we have just obtained I" This
question has been asked by a great man, and it
should receive a suitable and a decided answer.
It may lead to rc2ults of vast importance to the
sacred cause of freedom and of civilisation ! It
may pare the fangs and extract the claws of the
Great Northern Bear, and afford a reasonable
chance to the long-suffering nationalities to extri-
cate themselves from his fearful gripe, and to
enable the various peoples that have been ab-
sorbed to stand forth once more in the pride of
manhood, unfettered and unrestrained ! It is,
Indeed, a truly important interrogatory—one put
forward in the best and purest spirit, and there-
fore the more deserving of a fitting reply.
As M. KOSSUTH, whose excellent article will
be found in another part of our impression, and
which it is unnecessary to say will be found well
worthy of perusal, justly declares—the victory
which has been obtained is a " very great fact ;"
the greater because it was on all sides adopted as
the test of the strength and prowess of the con-
flicting parties. Russia had every possible ad-
vantage in the contest. She had made every
possible preparation, during a long succession of
years, to render her stronghold—the menace of
Constantinople and of Europe—really impreg-
nable. The fate of her Black Sea
Fleet depended on its safety, and every
nerve was strained, every resource made
available to preserve the prestige so laboriously
acquired. That prestige has, however, been
broken by the irresistible prowess of the invading
armies, and with it the prestige of Russia itself
has been seriously damaged. The most brilliant
results are now attainable, if we only improve the
occasion, and take due advantage of the golden
opportunity. That, however, depends on the
energy and determination of the Governments.
The men, officers, and soldiers have nobly dis-
charged their duty. Let us hope that there will
be no shortcoming in any quarter. Should there
be so, the question will be repeated from every
district throughout the length and breadth of
the land—" What will be the permanent political
results of the great victory that has just been ob-
tained ?" Woe to our rulers if the answer be not
satisfactory.

We beg to call particular attention to the Pros-
pectus of the East India Coal Company, which
will be found in another page of our present im-

pression.

As our readers aro aware we have long and re-
peatedly urged the propriety of developing the
immense resources of our Indian Empire, and in
accordance with our views have done our best to
promote the spread of railway. communication.
We have now before us a scheme to which a por-
tion of the existing lines is essential, and which is
likely to be of vast importance, not only to the
gauntry, but also to those trading with it. Among
the mineral riches of India, coal, as here, is per-
haps the most valuable item. The quality is ex-
cellent, the seams are of extraordinary thickness,
it can be worked cheaply, and there is a great
and increasing demand for it. Aware of this, the
Company now provisionally. registered under the
Limited Liability Act, and which numbers among
the Directors the names of Sir H. T. MADDock,
M.P., late Governor of Bengal, Capt. L. VERNON,
R.E., M.P., and other gentlemen of character
and position having a knowledge of India, have
purchased five distinct mines, together with
buildings, plants, &c., in the valley of Damoodah,
in Bengal, with, of course, the intention of work-
ing them. The lands purchased comprise, it
would appear, an area of 500 acres, and the
seams, ranging from 8 to 16 feet in thickness,
contain an inexhaustible supply .of rich coal,
equal, in fact, to Welsh. The whole, too, ap-
pears to have been bought a decided bargain,
while the growing demand for coal, and the ob-
vious facilities for transport, promise the most
favourable results. The two principal mines, it
will be seen, are situated a short distance from
the East India Railway Company's terminus at
Ranegunge, about 120 miles by rail from Cal-
cutta, and have been worked for a few years on
a small scale, during which they have been ap-
plied to the delicate process of steam navigation
by the Indian General Steam Navigation Com-
pany with complete success. The remaining
three, though situated at a greater distance,
yield, we understand, a coal of the richest
description, and admirably adapted for the pre-
paration of Coke. A calculation of the working
expenses shows a net profit of 7s. per ton on the
coal delivered at Calcutta, at the average price ;
and, when it is added that the Directors will
hlvaaavreie,out hashsegcountenance, and to a certain extent the
support, of the Government of India, which, of
t
r to
oax
great
bonaib
Indiai te exhibited
Railwayda e strong
and
enterprise,desire
and
Navigation
also
togi encou-
ragementveof
ti
Com-
panies, and, further, that it will increase the
demand for labour, and give an impulse to enter-
prise, little more need be said in favour of this
promising scheme.'