The Sun.
London, England, 1855-01-08 00:00:00

LONDON, MONDAY, j_kNIIARY 8, 1855.

The CzA.B. has, it appears, on this occasion,
promptly replied to the propositions of the Allied
Powers. He no longer returns a contumelious
rejection, or observes an equally contumacious

silence. His pride has had a fall. His arrogance
is, for the time being, suppressed, and he at
length begins to treat his opponents with ordinary
civility. This is a great change I It may be
regarded by some parties as " the beginning of
the end," as the commencement of bona Ale
negotiations really intended to lead to peace.
But, we confess, that we are not quite so easily
satisfied. We are not prepared to grasp at the
first conciliatory indications as conclusive evidence
that the " Leopard has changed his spots"—the
AUTOCRAT become reasonable and moderate. He
has already exhibited too many proofs of his in-
flexible determination, and, we may add, of his
duplicity, to induce us to suppose that he is even
at this moment prepared to yield, or to lend
the slightest credence to the protestations
put forward on his behalf by his representative
at Vienna. He may be inclined to " temporise,"
in the hope of obtaining a brief respite in the
Crimea. He may desire to procrastinate until
he can send further reinforcements in through
the channel so improvidently left open, but he
will not yet abandon his long cherished policy
of aggression, or relinquish the fierce disposition
of the lion for the peaceful temperament of the
lamb.

It is now stated, and we believe truly,
by our usually well-informed contemporary, The
Morning Post, that " Prince GORTSCHAKOFF re-
ceived ou Saturday an order from the Czar to
negotiate at once with BUOL, BOURQUENEY, and
WEsTMOB.ELAND on the basis of the Four Condi-
tions, as interpreted by the Allies in the Protocol
of the 28th of December. The Plenipotentiaries
met yesterday (Sunday) to deliberate."
This is very probable, but it by no means war-
rants the conclusion that a satisfactory arrange-
ment will finally be arrived at. It merely shows
that the CZAR is, for some reason to us at present
unknown, willing to negotiate on a certain basis,
but not that he will assent to the terms that must
be required, if the opinions of the French and
English Diplomatists be at all in accordance with
those of the People whom they respectively
represent. We do not now consider the simple
promise of NICHOLAS sufficient as it would have
been a short time since. He must now give sub-
stantial bail, or, to use his own favourite expression,
"material guarantees," for his pacific intentions.
He must not merely declare that he will not use
his stronghold at Sebastopol for the purpose of
menacing other independent nations, but he must
consent to its destruction, and to the removal—if
not the annihilation— of the fleet which enabled
him to add weight to any threat, and render it
anything but a more brutam !amen. He must
also consent to abandon all right of exclusive in-
terference, must be contented to act in accordance
with other first-class Powers, whose participation
would afford abundant security against any
abuse of the powers of interference all
that a " protectorate" properly examined would
warrant. He must also be satisfied to see " Free
Trade" in the Danube, without striving to trans-
fer its commerce to his own port; of Odessa, or to
hold out powerful inducements to the inhabitants
of the Principalities to transfer their allegiance
from SULTAN to CZAR, and to become, to all
intents and purposes, Russian. But all these,
even if conceded to the full.fast extent, will
riot be sufficient. NICHOLAS, by his wanton
aggression, by his nefarious assault on a
peaceful and independent neighbour, has
occasioned the loss of many r aluablo lives and
the expenditure of much money. He must liqui-
date the damages. Of course we can form no
pecuniary estimate of the da ages sustained in
the deaths of so many bravo soldiers—lam, cane
anima;—the loss of the least of whom would be
beyond the wealth of the CAR to recompense.
There is no "Lord CAMPBELL'S Act" in operation
reoesgpneicstei:gin anourdyealings with other nations, or re-
international code ; but there
aro more vulgar considerations of L. S. D. that
cToimleedliergeiettimoauttellay;vithin the pmavince cf discussion.
nothing of the .
.of France azud England, to say
I be ascertained; and we Pmecuasnt
I indirect i:a-cy ltohsas
that
sit c ,Ivuoi easilye
disgraceful to these champions of Civilisation and
of Justice if they sheathed the sword. on any
terms not comprising a full Laaeumification. The
Chinese Treaty furnishes. a -valuable precedent,
which may be beneficially foil) wed.
Since writing the above s.-e learn, by a tele-
Igraphic despatch from Vienna, dated ihis day
(Nimrdavl. 10 n 4-1 ,c -0 •:,..,,.,, r„,,
~.,,........„ ...,, a.i.u., 4alac - - x re..tiv. uortra•CLUEr.'F,F,
at the Conference held yestexrday, had accepted
the four propositions without reserve." It may
be so, but, as we have above ntated, we must re-
ceive the information with al! reserve.

The Journal de St. Pete.rnbourg contains an
elaborate attempt to vindlocate the " amiable
weakness" of the Russians, who have butchered
Ithe wounded, or refused to fj:ive quarter to those
who fell within their power. There is a puny
attempt at denial, but one railer of a formal cha-
racter, like that of the gemxral issue before the
alteration took place. The .0 lain defence, how-
ever, rests not on the " traven ;e," but rather on
the ‘k confession and avoidance " which have been
simultaneously put forward. .'The Russian Minis-
terial organ, if it does not altoaletthheeredxecnepytitohne,
charge, strives to show that
.i
and not the rule ; and if :.t does not justify,
strives to extenuate the conduct of the delin-
quents. It says—" These felt ts, if they did take
place, ought for the rest to be attributed.to the
exasperation produced in our troops by the con-
duct of the Allied armies. (!) Let us not forget
that the Russian soldier is deft. I) ding his own soil—
his hearth audaciously invaded_ .by foreigners allied
to the enemies of Christianity, ..by adversaries who
respect neither churches, nor .convents, nor holy
' bells, and that these crimes are it i his eyes so many
deeds of sacrilege that kindle his vengeance. We
must not conceal from ourselves the fact that the
sacking of the Church of Chore nesus, that ancient

JiziLl•LJ aft

temple, witnessed by.our soldiers from the bas-
tions of Sebastopol, has justly exasperated them.
Tito resistance of a people attacked in objects most
sacred, most dear to its heart, iu its religion as
well as its homes, often assumes a fierce nature by
acquiring proportions that are those of the situa-
tion. Besides, why not cite also the conduct of
our enemies Why not say, fur instance, that
during the battle of the 24th (Nov. 5) the Anglo-
French sharpshooters, unable to resist the collision
of our bayonets, threw themselves on the ground
under the pKtence of being wounded, but as soon
as our gallant band had pcssed stood up again for
the purpose of firing bullets at their legs. Acts of
this sort, such as we have just instanced, would
amply explain the exasperation of the Russian
soldier."

We now understand the nature of the defence.
It is of a twofold character. First, " sarved 'em
right ;" and secondly, "to vogue." The mis-
creants, allied to the enemies of Christianity—is e.,
the Orthodox or Russian Church, who respect
" neither churches ! nor convents ! I nor holy
bells !1 ! "—are deserving of no mercy. They
aro placed beyond the pale of humanity, and
are only fit to be butchered without commisera-
tion whenever the opportunity offers. The
soldiers are " justly exasperated," and we must
submit to the natural consequences thereof.
They choose to proclaim " War to the knife,"
"Death to the vanquished," because they are
displeased with the cause advocated—the
policy adopted by their adversaries ; and this,
be it remembered, is utterly independent
of any personal grounds of animosity, any indi-
vidual sufferings for which vengeance might be
sought. If this new doctrine be for a moment
sanctioned, it must strip war of all amenities,
and restore the old principle " yes victis" to all
its pristine enormity, where the captured were
sacrificed—and possibly tortured in every in-
stance. When we consider these atrocious
sentiments, we might almost fancy that we were
perusing the opinions of some savage barbarians
rather than the deliberate views of parties
setting up a claim to some degree of civilisation,
and who justify their turbulent and sanguinary
actions under the plea of Christianity. But
there is something more. The Russian scribe is
not satisfied with mere defence : he must
assume the offensive in turn. He ascribes
to our gallant fellows—whom he is pleased
to designate as " the Anglo-French Sharp-
shooters," who, "unable to resist the colli-
sion of our (i. e. the Russian) bayonets, threw
themselves on the ground, under the pretence of
being wounded ; but as soon as our (again the
Russian) gallant band bad passed, stood up
again for the purpose of firing bullets at
their legs! !!" Now this, be it remembered,
is not put forward as a complaint against
the English or French troops, but to show
that the Russians were only treating them as
they deserved—that the vengeance, or rather bru-
tality, was fully:merited. What can we think
of a nation that under the authority of the very
highest authorities—for we know something of
the extent to which the censorship is carried on in
Russia--puts forward such infamous calumnies,
for the purpose of aggravating the ferocity of the
multitude. Are they not participators in the
crimes which they thus venture to extenuate, and
responsible for any consequences that may ensue
It will be well that the article of the Journal de St.
Petersbourg be accurately studied in order that
we may form a just estimate of the enemy with
which we are contending.