The Sun.
London, England, 1855-03-27 00:00:00

LONDON, TUESDAY, MARCH 27, 1855.

SEBASTOPOL, VIENNA, POLAND--Which of these
three names fills an Englishman with the greatest
anxiety ? Before the first lies our now reviving
army, the subject of so much painful news, and
the patient sufferer from such unexampled mis-
management ; but it lies there with a portent-
ously magnified task before it—a fortress pro-
tected by artillery more than rivalling anything
ever yet stormed by a foe, perfectly open to rein-
forcements and supplies, and an army of consider-
able size near at hand to distract the attention of
the besiegers. England can but be anxious whe-
ther we and our brave Allies shall be able to
" dominate" the fire of the enemy, or they ours ;
whether, at least, we can silence it sufficiently to
make storming prudent, and then -whether we shall
be in relative force sufficient to make the attempt.
We hope every thing from our men, but
the superior management at home and in the East
has hitherto been such that we cannot look for-
ward entirely without misgivings. One thing we
all make up our minds to, that the work must be
done. If it involve, what we advocated from
the first, making Perekop secure with 100,000
men, and planting our gun-boats in the Sca of
Azoff, yet, done it must be.
And then Vienna—it is impossible to think of
the organ of the English aristocracy pitted
against Russian diplomatists without apprehension.
We lend no ear to rumours which at present must
be merely rumours. What we dread is known
tendencies. Lord JOHN'S speeches have always
been extravagantly in advance of his own propo-
sitions in domestic polities. Can we expect
more in foreign politics? Will he deduct
less from his anti-Russian orations, now that he
comes to the " third point," than he did say from
his out-of-office speeches when he proposed a
second Reform Bill I Now the utmost of his
proposals were, first, that Russia should lose no
territory ; next, that she could not be allowed to
menace Constantinople from Sebastopol. Deduct
from the latter proposal the usual percentage for
the difference between Lord JOHN'S words and
deeds, and it would be quite compatible with some
arrangement which would allow Russia to become
in a few years as formidable in the Euxine as
ever. Some agreement to leave the forts and
batteries, but to diminish the number of ships,
to erect rival;forts and to Ipaintain rival navies,
with their tremendous and useless cost, while
Nicolaieff should still be left to manufac-
ture in secrecy the means for another
Sinope. We write these remarks with no cap-
tious or unkindly feeling towards our representa-
tive at Vienna, but we must fear the consequences
of placing there a public man of his known ante-
cedents. Lord CASTLEREAGH'S better judgment
was overcome by the roguery and fair promises
of ALEXANDER. We fear Lord JOHN is not less
likely to spare Russia as an enemy than Lord
CASTLEREAGH was to yield to her as a friend. It
is impossible for the country not to dread the
sacrifice of its honour, and the throwing away of
all its Crimean labours at Vienna.
But Poland, with all the thoughtful, is the
word
Which awakens the most serious fears. Lord
aleatiairrin has in his place in the House of
Commons, and as Prime Minister of Eng-
land, adopted the very representation which
we have already given of the case—that
Warsaw is the continental Sebastopol of Russia,
the position from which she threatens all western
Europe. " The kingdom of Poland," said he,
"as at present constituted, is a standing menace
No wonder the Rouse was deeply
to Germany."
excited by such a declaration from the head of
ment and the known
Russia will her MAJESTY'S Govern
Ibe
cor-
dial friend of Lours NAPOLEON.
struck by it too. We should not be surprised. if
it sensibly modify the demands of Prince GOETS-
CHAKOFP at the Conference. There are not, nor
there be, two opinions as to the truth of the
assertion. The slavery of Prussia began on the
very day that FREDERICK the GREAT--Villain;
shall we add—suggested to Russia the first rob-
bery of Polish territory. The issue of that infa-

nwus thievery was, that in a generation or two,

linfiia incorporated into her own empire three-
: fourths of the territory they began to rub, and
brought" her immense armies and strongest for-
tresses to the very borders of Prussia and Ans-
. • We. Ever since they have been, and are, her
abject serfs.

I

Our greatest anxiety, however, is not to throw
away.an opportunity which see= likely to be till

last which may ever occur—an opportunity to
vindicate the long-outraged morality of Europe.
Nothing has so lowered the political morality of
the civilised world as the barefaced and
savage crime of the partition and final absorp-
tion of Poland. Lombardy and Hungary
did not come under Austrian tyranny by such
shameless and audacious violation of all interna-
tional law as that by which Poland was dismem-
bered. Nothing in the history of the heathen or
so-called Christian world can be compared with
this political robbery and murder in open day.
So long as the blood of Poland cries in vain to
civilisation, so long is it written on the pages of
European history that perfidy, cunning, and
strength are the law of civilised and Christian
nations. All Europe lies under the curse of mur-
dered national liberty till Poland regains its
rights. We are a community of nations allowing
a gigantic and savage murderer to stand defying
us all over the body of his victim. By union and
courage we could bring him to justice, and we live
in shame till we have done it. We took arms to
prevent a new villany of the same kind ; the
grand thing, however, is to redress the old and
degrading wrong. What sober politician can ex-
pect another occasion so favourable as the present
one ?

The Rouse of Commons has by a majority of
54 negatived the amendment of the Honourable
Gentleman the member for Kent, for the post-
ponement of the second reading of the Newspaper
Stamp Bill until after the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer has made his Financial Statement. The
measure was consequently read a second time, and
may now be regarded as -virtually carried. Be it
so. We, at least, shall not shrink from any ad-
ditional competition,Ahat may follow the new pro-
visions for the regulation of the periodical press
of the country. We were desirous that a mea-
sure of such vast importance, not merely to jour-
nalists, but to the entire community, should have
received the calm and attentive consideration
which it so eminently merited. We were not,
however, influenced by any private or personal
motives. We still trust that the same qualities
which procured us a fair share of public patronage
may insure similar results under the new arrange-
ments.

The present measure is certainly a great im-
provement on that which the Financial Minister,
after much deliberation, deemed it advisable to
abandon. Any journal desirous of availing itself
of the postal facilites ►ill still be compelled to re-
gister and give security, in the same form and to
the same extent as under the law now in opera-
tion. So far, therefore, as the great majority of
the existing Press is concerned there will be no
change whatever ; and the same guarantees
against ribald or licentious publications that have
hitherto proved so efficacious will remain in
force. The only alteration, therefore, affecting
those newspapers will be, that they will—from
the time of the passing of the Act—be enabled
to print a portion of each impression without the
stamp. That there will be some inconvenience
attending the mixed issue has been clearly pointed
out by the eminently practical men who attended
the meeting of the newspaper trade, to which we
have already directed public attention. We
trust, however, that by energy and acuteness—
qualities which they have largely displayed on
many occasions—they may be enabled to over-
come those difficulties, and continue their arduous
labours without interruption or curtailment. It
will be alike the duty and the interest of the
Post-office authorities to render all the assistance
in their power to mitigate the indispensable
difficulties, and reduce the inconvenience to the
minimdon, amount. This may be done without
the interference of Parliament, and we confidently
rely on the tried efficiency of Mr. ROWT,A ND
HILL to do all that is practicable to pre-
vent the curtailment of revenue that
would follow the successful competition of the
leading railways with her MAJESTY'S mails. An
additional allowance of time for posting journals
at the chief offices in each town or district would
be the best mode of effecting this object, so that
the latest intelligence may be transmitted through-
out the entire country, without a penalty being
imposed on those who endeavour to discharge their
duty to their subscribers and the community in
general in the best possible manner.

The financial part of the question is certainly
that of least consequence in relation to the sub-
ject. The Chancellor of the Exchequer declares
that he has made his arrangements to meet the
anticipated loss, and since a decided majority has
affirmed the principle, in a very full House, it is,
perhaps, as well that the points in dispute should
be brought to as speedy a decision as possible, so
that there may be a termination of the suspense,
which must necessarily be injurious to all in any
degree concerned in the publication or circulation
of newspapers.

The Royal Message respecting 'Sardinia was
last night taken into consideration by the House
of Commons, and a resolution was ultimately car-
ried, after a protracted discussion, but without a
division, to enable her Majesty to fulfil the en-
gagements into which she had entered with the
high-minded and liberal monarch of that court tiy.
By the Treaty recently concluded, the KING of
Sardinia undertook to provide an auxiliary corps
of 15,000 men, to co-operate with the armies of
France and England against the disturber of the
peace of Europe. The Sardinian, in honourable
contrast to the Prussian Government, justly felt
that under the peculiar circumstances of the case it
was not a ti me to look merely to private or personal in-
terests, or to the possibility of maintaining an iso-
lated position. It recognised the duty, affecting
every independent State, of supporting right
against might, of repelling every unwarranted ag-
gression, and enforcing, if necessary by force of
arms, the principles of equity and justice.
Tt acted promptly on that conviction, and, with
the unanimous concurrence of the people, gave its
adhesion to the Anglo-French Treaty, including
that clause which so unequivocally displayed the
noble disinterestedness of the parties thereto—
namely, that by which they repudiated the
notion of any territorial aggrandisement, and
bound themselves not to seek for or derive any
peculiar advantages from the War on which they
were entering. It was impossible, therefore, to
ascribe any unworthy motive for the decided
course which it had pursued, and which has as
greatly elevated Sardinia in the scale of nations
as a different and more selfish policy has depressed
Prussia.

was, however, essential, and in that
One Point
which it manifested
also the Sardinianiniaa Government displayed the
..3ame consistent independence
in other respects. Its financial
condition did not
enable it, without undo© pressure
on the resources
of the people, to meet the immediate
tendant cu prompt and vigorous expenses
action.at-
Under
such circumstances it did not disdain to avail
itself of the pecuniary assistance of th o Eng-
lish Government. But while doing so,
and
thereby avoiding the delays that might other-
wise have proved so injurious to the just and
honourable cause in which it had so unhesitatingly
,ingaged itself—it made provision for the par
. __ ___ .

ment of interest on the amount which might be I
required, and setting aside a Sinking Fund for the
gradual liquidation of the principal money that
might be advanced. This, as Lord PAL-
i
MERSTON truly explained, was very different,
indeed, from the system of -:subsidies formerly
resorted to, on which nothing was to be returned
in the shape either of principal or interest, but
which was a pure and entire sacrifice on the part
of this country. We have no hesitation in saying
that the assistance and co-operation of 15,000
disciplined and gallant men would have been
cheaply obtained by the grant of a million ster-
ling from the English Government. And if
we rejoice that such a course has not
been adopted, it is because the conduct
of Sardinia is thereby placed beyond the possi-
bility of censure, rather than that we are to ob-
tain a return of the money about to be advanced.
It is also well that the subsidising system should
be avoided, and that the pretext for pecuniary
demands on the English exchequer should
not be afforded to other nations less worthy
of such assistance, and who might feel inclined to
make a more unscrupulous use of the power than
Sardinia.

It is the liberal and enlightened concessions
made to public opinion—the free institutions con-
ferred on the people—that has enabled Sardinia
to spare so large a force without any fear of do_
mestic disturbance. It may teach a valuable
lesson to other sovereigns, by showing the im-
portance of founding the monarchical power on
the love and respect of the people. We believe
that the good seed thus sown will bring forth
abundant fruit in due season, and that the KING
and the people of Sardinia will have reason to
felicitate themselves on the straightforward and
honourable conduct now adopted, one of the re-
sults whereof will be "a more intimate alliance
between England and Sardinia, and an increase
in that kindly and cordial feeling by which the
people of England are animated towards her."