The Sun.
London, England, 1855-02-28 00:00:00

ASTLEY'S ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE.

Lessen and Manager, Mr. Wm. Cooke.
THIS EVENING,
The BATTLE of B ALA K LAVA and of IN K Rlf ANN, a ided, by
a Third Act, to the successful Spectacle, the BATTLE of the ALMA,
which this week reaches its 116th representation ! The addition
embraces the ever-metanable charge of the British Cavalry, and
also thoso tremendous hand-in-hand encounte:s which characterised
the above engagements.

After which, and to conclude with, a select and prolonged Series of
SCENES in the CIRCLE, invented by Mr. Wei. Cooke.

weal..
open from Eleven till Four. Stage Manager, Mr. W
weal.. Actin; Nian4er, 3 r. W. 11. Cooke. Equestrian Director
Ur. W. Co 4 ke, jun.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIWITt.
Tont DAY --Morning 0 min.sfter 0 Evening 13 utin.aft 12
To. ilonnow - Morning 42 alin.aftel 12 Evening 7 uninexft. 1

u WEATHER.—Sus Ornos, Feb. 28.
TAICEMOMETEE, IN THE SHADE.
sl—highest since noon yesterday.
40—lowest this morning and during the night.
50—this day, at noon.

BAROMETER, 29'88.
WIND, W.N.W.—Light, with mild, dull weather.

• •
Ary

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1855.

Government mismanagement has nowhere been
more conspicuous than in the transport service.
Notwithstanding tho number of vessels belonging
to the Royal Navy lying idle and uselessly rotting
Away—notwithstanding the number of efficient
officers on the half-pay list, a large proportion of
whom would willingly have availed themselves of
any opportunity of active service, no matter how
onerous or perilous—it was determined that the
resources of the Crown were not sufficient to meet
the emergency, and that it was essential to charter
private vessels to supply the palpable deficiency.
The great steam-packet companies-were therefore
largely resorted to, as well as private shipowners.
These companies had entered into contracts for
r,onveyance of mails to various colonies and settle-

ments, and the vessels which they were compelled
to place at the disposal of the Government were
necessarily withdrawn from the stations for which
they bad been intended, to the great derange-
ni"it'and detriment of the ocean postal system.
Tho
It could
owners were of course largely remunerated.
not have been otherwise. The estimates
for the transport for the last and the current
year enable us
to form some notion of the enor-
mous outlay—which
amounted last year to no
less than 3,582,4741.,
and fated will amount to which it calcu-
fully 5 081 465/
- , , ~ or
8,663,939/. for the two Yeare---far more than
the aggregate value of all the trausporta
employed
during any portion of the period.

We shall not now offer any commentary on the
grass improvidence, the wanton extravagance of
such a system. That it should be at all required,
established a prima facie case of negligence against
" My Lords." If, however, the exigencies of the
public service, the efficient and energetic manage-
ment of the War, and the forwarding the sup-
plies necessary to our gallant army in the Crimea
required so large an expenditure, the people
would not have complained, but, on the contrary,
would gladly have liquidated a much heavier bill.
Unfortunately, however, the service so liberally
paid for was very indifferently performed. Many
of thevessels were kept perfectly idle,!while even
those engaged were not permitted to land their
ca.rgoes. Impediments and difficulties wpre on ,
every occasion, and on the most trivial pretexts,
thrown in the way. It was, in fact, as if the
permanent entpiove'es thought that their most im-
portant dpty was to snub the " casuals," and to

prevent the army from obtaining the slightest
benefit from their efforts. If tl►e most trivial
forrnwere wanting—if the red tape were not
tied in accordance with the approved official
pattern, the stores were peremptorily re-
jected, no matter how urgent the demand. It
was a difficult and expensive matter to send the
stores from England to Balaklava, and very
serious mistakes were made in the arrangement a
the cargoes ; but it was trifling to the obstacles
that arose after the arrival at their destination.
The last seven miles occasioned tenfold greater
difficulties than the preceding three thousand. A
cargo of boots and shoes were sent three times
backwards and forwards across the Black Sea,
while our soldiers were fighting barefooted, or
with straw wrapped about their bleeding feet.
Potatoes were rejected when that baneful scourge,
the scurvy, was present in our camp. The mas-
ter of the transport had, however, the good sense
to give these invaluable esculents to the Greek
population, who realised large sums by retailing
at an enormous price what was intended to be
gratuitously distributed !
But why multiply examples? Much of the
misery endured by our troops, aye, more, a large
proportion of the mortality that has thinned the
ranks of one of the noblest armies that ever left
the British shores, may be directly traced to the
mismanagement of the transport service, which
has cost, or is to cost, 8,663,939/. sterling !
And yet this is what the new Secretary
for War thinks fit to defend ! The Noble
Lord last night indignantly denied that
"he had made an apologetic speech, or
had admitted the existence of abuses !" To
what, then, does he ascribe the demand for in-
quiry, the overthrow of the ABERDEEN Govern-
ment, and his own appointment as Minister for
War ? If there wore no abuses, why was the
Duke of NEWCASTLE victimised ?—why was Lord
ABERDEEN cashiered ? We trust the Noble Lord
will explain these anomalies. It is, however,
difficult to suppose the younger Dnomro would be
willing to expose the blemishes and deformities
of his twin brother; and to that we must ascribe
the rather inconsistent praise besto .ved by the
Secretary for War on the efficiency and judi-
cious management of the Transport Service !

The case of the Right Hon. T. F. KENNEDY
occupied the attention of the House of Commons
the greater portion of last night. Much ridicule
has been cast on the friends of the deeply-injured
gentleman for their attempts to obtain redress
for the gross and palpable injustice with which he
has been treated. Imputations were cast upon
his veracity, integrity, and honour, such as, if
permitted to remain unanswered, would have
operated as a perpetual and insuperable obstacle
to his employment in her MAJ ESTY'S service.
These have all been withdrawn in the most distinct
and explicit manner. Nay, more, it was stated
by the Premier that the Right Hon. Gentleman
had come out of the debate with his " character
and honour free from all imputation !" Ho
oven undertook that there should be placed on
record in the Treasury a full acknowledgment that
"Mr. KENNEDY'S honour stands unimpeached !"
These are certainly important conces-
sions. •It cannot, therefore, be asserted
that the time of the House has been
wasted or misapplied. There was no other tri-
bunal to which he could have appealed. It is the
theory of the British Constitution that there
should be no wrong without a suitable and adu.
quate remedy ; and we therefore unhesitatingly
say, that if the grievance had been sustained by
the poorest and least influential of her MAJESTY'S
subjects the time of Parliament would have been
well occupied in affording the tardy redress—such
as it is—which has been obtained.

We cannot, in any degree, admit the argument
derived from the inconvenience that might occur
if such inquiries were granted. We have seen
many committees granted on matters of far less
consequence. Mr. GLADSTONE claimed infalli-
bility for the Minister for the time being ; his
demand that he should be allowed, at his mere
will and pleasure, to damage irreparably the cha-
racter and prospects of any public servant is one
that will never be sanctioned by the House, and
still less by the country. Englishmen love fair
play—to do as they would be done by, and
the absolute irresponsibility asserted is one that
would be more likely t. find an echo in Russian
than in English hearts. It is one under which
any amount of tyranny and oppression might
be justified. It may be right and proper
that such a remedy should be but sparingly
resorted to ; but its existence is exceedingly
valuable, and may prevent the exercise of
capricious authority in many instances. If a
British subject should be enabled to parody the
old [exclamation, " Ciris Romanus sum," and
to rely on it as a defence against unfair treatment
in any country where he might be travelling,
much more so should it lie within his power at
home, !If there wore any fair and impartial
tribunal to which he could appeal, Could any other
mode of obtaining justice be disovered, then the
appeal to the Commons House of Parliament
might be opposed as superfluous and incon-
venient. But, when jit was clearly 'admitted
that there is no existing jurisdiction adequate
to the emergency, when the grievance was
clearly established, and the unwarrantable impu-
tations withdrawn, then, we say, that the
public time was not misapplied—that it was
the imperative duty of the representatives
of the people to create a remedy, if none
were in existence, to prevent the arbitrary and
improper treatment of one of themselves.

CC It is very fine, but it is not war." Such,
in effect, for we do not at this moment remember
the precise words, was the comment of the dis-
tinguished French General who witnessed the
unparalleled feat of arms, that career through the
jaws of death, of our Light Cavalry Brigade
under Lord CARDIGAN at Balaklava.

The comment is too suggestive to be left wholly
unimproved, for never was the exercise of a dis-
crimination like that it reveals more necessary
than at the present time. In a similar spirit,
therefore, though with unequal skill, we venture
to make a few remarks on two or three subjects of
immediate interest in connection with the mighty
struggle in which the nation is engaged.
The Peace-at-any-price Party, in furtherance
unpatriotic and degrading views, point to
tolifotheir fearful loss of human life in the Crimea, and,
appealing to the best feelings of our nature, ask
if it is not most desirable that a War repining
sacrifices of such magnitude
should be put a stop to , and so appalling,
al speedily as possible ?
To an appeal so plausible what have. we to say in
reply Q Siwply this—the War does not, never
did, and is not likely to require sacrifices so fear-
ful. The number of the slain in battle, and of
those who have died of wounds received there,
does not amount to much more than a tithe of
the number lost. The remainder—seven-tenths of
them at least—have not been sacrificed to the
Demon of War, but to the Demon of Caste, whose
priesthood have been blind selfishness, heartless

Indifference, brainless Routine, and shameless Im-
becility.

" Our system of Constitutional Government is
on its trial" cry some who ought to know bet-
ter, and others who do. Of what is it accused ?
or what conceivable strain has it not borne ? Ts
it the fault of our Constitution that a cold-
blooded clique of grasping aristocrats have held
the reins of Government and filled up every im-
portant post with their creatures during a forty
years' peace ; and now that we have War, these
creatures turn out to be iucapables—and every
operation of the War and in connection with it
has been bungled, and thousands on thousands of
gallant men have perished miserably through
their incompetency and neglect ? Is this the
fault of the Constitution ? No—we say it is
not. Such a state of things is very bad, but it is
not the Constitution. It is the crime of
a clique and the fault of the people, who,
though in possession of a Representative form
of Government, have not prized and exercised
as they ought their rights and privileges
Omnipotent, humanly speaking, if they please, it
is the People, and not the Constitution. who are
on their trial. Having suffered so much by
unwarranted confidence in others, it is to be seen
how far they are capable of righting themselves.
It may be the Constitution is the worthier of the
two. As for the governing clique, its reign of
misrule is doomed.

"We aro not a military nation"—meaning
essentially military—say some, quite in earnest, wo
believe, though by way of apology for the griev-
ous blunders that have been committed. The
assertion is like truth, but it is not true. As
though a people confessedly brave and fonder of
adventure than any people in the world were
essentially unmilitary ! A people that actually
make the best soldiers in Europe , A military
nation, in a limited sense, we certainly are not ;
but the fault is not immediately with the people.
Essentially the nation is so. In no people does
the raw material need less manufacturing to in-
sure like results. The fact is, the Horse Guards
have weighed like lead on the military spirit of
the people. The ruling caste have had the com
mand of the army so much in their own hands
that hardly any man of intelligent spirit, save
from dire necessity, would enter the ranks. The
system of selling commissions, instead of making
them the reward of merit, has been an impassable
barrier and a stumbling-block to talent ; and the
result has been that the ranks having, until of
late, been mainly filled with recruits from the
lowest and most ignorant classes, have presented
fewer temptations still to those who wore inclined
to enter them.

Let there but be a fair prospect of merit being
rewarded, and it will be seen whether the descen-
dants of the bowmen of Agincourt and Cressy, and
of the victors of many a hard-fought field since,
are a military people or not. It is said also that
the love of economy, natural to an industrious
commercial people with representative institutions,
and which undoubtedly has been indulged in to a
dangerous extent, must ever prevent us from
being at all times the formidable military power
our resources and the risk we incur warrant. We
doubt it. There may have been indiscretion in
carrying economy to a dangerous extent, but that,
we contend, has only been the result of a natural
reaction after a period of profligate expenditure.
The nation, or we are deceived, is too proud and
too prudent, with all its faults of omission, to
grudge any expenditure needful for its safety and
the maintenance of its rank among nations.
The cold shade of aristocracy has been on it ;
and injustice, as we have shown, is being done it,
to account for the deplorable results.

DETENTION OF THE AMERICAN STEAM•
SHIP BERMA ArN.

SOUTHAMPTON, WEDNESDAY MORNING.
The mail steam-ship Hermann, which was td
have sailed this day for New York, is detained in
consequence of the great density of the fog. Should
the weather be more favourable she will leave to-
morrow morning.

ROYAL VISIT TO THE HAYMARET

THEATRE.

Last evening her Majesty and Prince Albert, accom-
panied by the Princess Alice, honoured this theatre with
a visit. The pieces selected for the occasion were the
lessee's successful comedetta of Married Life, in which
he appeared in his original part ; the new Spanish ballet
The Bullfighter, The Balance of Comfort, and A Gallician
Fete. The fascinating Perea Nena put forth all her
powers, and never have we seen her dance to such per-
fection as she did last evening. The cachuchas zapa-
teados and sequidillas, previously witnessed " over the
way," all sink into nothingness when compared with the
boleros and fandangos of the vivacious and enthusiastic
Senora. We cannot marvel at the pleasure the royal
party seemed to experience in witnessing the twinkling
feet of Nena as she performed her wonderful and ira•
pulsive national dances, for where could we find a
parallel for her new ones? In them we have all those points
which have stamped her as one of the greatest artistes of the
day. The advance and recoil, the pursuit, and the
astonishing whirl at the conclusion, are all given, and
given with greater effect, if it be possible, than they
were last year. The public last season had to be made
familiar with true Spanish dancing, and therefore they
did not then enter into the spirit of it as they now do ;
and the royal party, we were delighted to see, were no
exception to the general rule, and amongst the
applauders of Perea not the least enthusiastic were the
occupants of the royal bor. Although the visit of her
Majesty was kept a secret, the house was crowded in
every part, and we had the satisfaction to observe that
no attempt was made to intrude upon the privacy of
the royal party.