The Sun.
London, England, 1855-12-12 00:00:00

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should be made one of the conditions of pence, so as to :'
• give security to other countries, and especially to Sae-
den and Dv.nmark. (Hear.) But whilst looking to the
security of the nation abroad, he should not neglect to
press for those administrative and Parliamentary reforms
which were so much required at home. (Hear.) He
thought the time was come when the best man should
have place, whether he was the sen of a tailor, a shot- •
maker, or a duke. (Cheers.)
The other toasts of the evening were, "The House of
Commons," to which Mr. A. Pellatt, M.P. respon led
"The Corporation," which was acknowledged by Mr.
PI iteLArd, the High Bailiff et Southwark ; "The Elec-
tors of Southwark," "Sir C. Napier's Committee,"
" The Stewar.ls arid Vice-presidents," which were duly
honoured.

[ PRICE 4D. STAMPED SD.

!longing to a Frenchman, who has established a silk
!manufactory, and who seems to be a friend of the
Princess Dadian, as he has taken flight with her.
It is to be hoped that Prince Michael, who has
just arrived and established himself in Gregoire's
house, may influence the political en;iments of
his sister-iu-law, and that she may see fit to espouse
definitely the cause of the Allies, and to assist the
operations of the Turkish army. It would have
been in the highest degree advantageous, if the
British agent here had been empowered to treat
with the authorities of these petty States, and to
guarantee them that independence without which
' they cannot be expected to take up arms against
a Power which may one day retaliate upon
am severely. The sooner we get rid of our
absurd theories respecting the integrity and
independence 'of the Russian empire the bet-
ter. It will be difficult to carry on a success-
ful war in these provinces unless we enlist
the sympathies of their populations. It will be
it-1)1)0480)(e to enlist those sympathies unless we
depart from that principle which we laid down at
starting, of leaving the territory of Russia intact.
Not only does success in a great measure depend
upon this change in our policy, but it would give
a more rational aspect to the war in the eyes of th
world, if having gone to war with a nation because
it was growing too large, we should, after having
been successful in the war, end by curtailing its
proportions. There is no other objection beyond
this to such a guarantee. The question of what
are we to do with the Trans-Cauca-ian provinces
is easily settled. 'When they are independent, let
them bo left to themselves, protected from Russia
by the Caucasus and by treafy. Meantime Omer
Pasha is not troubling himself with speculations re-
garding the future destiny of the provinces he is
conquering. Ho is content with having landed
his army, marched 70 miles, and won a battle in
five weeks. The Turkish airily was so much dis-
paraged at Sebastopol that it would be scarcely
invidious to draw a comparison between its pro-
ceedings and that of the allies ; perhaps, however,
some of your readers' may remember how long it
took to lan'l our army at Varna, and march them
18 miles to Devna--not to beat an enemy, but
merely to camp in a swamr.
We shall in all probability march to-morrow.
Prince Michael has just ridden past, cn his w: y
to communicate with Prince Greioire.

Spirit of the Public Journals.

( Front the Macs of this (lay.)
it is recorded in the veracious annals of Greece that
Melampus, one of her ancient soothsayers, understood
the language of worms, and by that means saved hitn•
self from a beam which he learnt from the discourse of
its inhabitants was ah'sut to tumble on his head. We
heartily wish that this knowledge had been transmitted,
with the culture of the olive and the vine, from those
remote ages to the present era, for then we might have
bsen able to understand that which it is at once very
difficult and important to cornprebend,—the meaning
which should be attached to Austrian and Prussian di-
plomacy. In the absence Of the key which, has thus, we
fear, been irretrieveably lost, we earl only submit to our
fellow-subjects that the readiest rule for understanding
the diplomatic language of Austria is to apply to it the
doctrine of contraries. When she speaks of peace, un- •
derstand her to mean war ; and, when she speaks of
war, understand her to mean peace. That, at least, is
the construction which the recent proceedings of Austria,
in her reassumed mediatorial capacity between Reasia
and the Western Powers, seem hest to support. This
will be evident from the narrative of the facts, so far, at
least, as they have ranched us.
It appears, then, that Austria proposed for the con-
sideration of the Western Puwera certain terms, which,
if meeting with their approbation, she was ready to lay
before Russia, accompanied with an intimation that, if
these terms were not acceded to by Russia, Austria
would break off diplomatic rela.ione and withdraw her
Ambassador from the Court of St. Petersburg, as a pre-
/
lirninary stage to we know not what desperate ne:elution
wLi.di she was to adept thereafter. The terms so pro.
posed by Austria were,— that Russia should abandon
her claim to the special protectorate of the Greek Church
is Turkey—that the Bleck Se 4 should be made into a
mere sea of commerce, from which the ships of war of
all nations should be by common consent excluded—that
Russia should cede so much of the terzitory of Begs-
ar ibia as is necessary to secure to all nations the free
navigation of the Danube—that all fortresses on Vie
-horse of the Mack Sea should be dismantled, and that
the idea of fortifying the Aland Islands should be for
ever abandoned. Such a preposition must at first sight
seem to carry with it many advantages. It had not, in-
deed, the merit of originality, for, though the terms were
better, Austria's proposed share in the negotiation
sae, after all, a mere repetition of her " device this
Spring. Austria then felt, with great justice, that, after
having entered into the treaty of the 2d of December,
something more was expected of her than a mere placid
acquiescence in the state of war, and so she summoned
the Allied Powers to conference, and thus fulfilled to the
letter her promise of deliberating ; nay, as far as words
went, she supported the cause of the Allied Powers, ar,d
it was only when words were fund to be of no avail that
this great arbiter of the destinies of Europe was found to
he prepared with nothing more. Ever' so we much fear
i,i is new. The first idea Vi hiCll was naturally formed
of the offer on the part of Austria was, that, though
nominally speaking for herself, she was really the mouth-
piece of Russia putting forward as her own suggestion
terms which had previously been agreed on between her
and her great protector. This idea invested the proposal
with an importance and a significance which nothing else
could give it, and happy would it have been for Europe, and
thrice happy for Ruseia herself,lead such a aupposition been
founded on anything more than natural conjecture. It
seems now, however, to be clearly understood on all
sides, that when Austria states that she proposes these
terms without the slightest communication with Russia
she is to be implicitly belies-ed. It is enough for bet
that she be allowed to play the part of mediator in ne-
gotiations which will not and are not intended to come
is any conclusion, and which only serve to keep Austria
before the eyes of Germany and of Europe as retaining
'nine faint semblance of the attributes of a first-rate
Power, and still bearing on that which seems to be her
head the likeness iif an imperial crown. While Pruss a
is utterly excluded from the Councils of Europe, it is
something for Austria to appear to have still ft mission
and a function, and better to enact the part of Mercury,
the fetcher and carrier of messages than to be cast out
of the halls of Olympus altogether. Count Bald, we
are told, most emphatically asserts, and we most an-
timely believe him, that Austria is acting on no under-
standing with Russia, that she does not know whether
the terms she is proposing will beacceptable to that pa wee
or will even be for a moment entertained by her. Her
mission is thus reduced from that of a supposed emissary
of the Czar to that of a self-constituted amiassador of
the Western Powers, and the only real value which
could have attached to her intervention is thus lost,
It remains, then, to consider, as there is such very
slight chance of a successful termination to these offi-
cious overtures, what advantage we are to derive in case
the negotiation fail. The question is easily answered.
We shall derive only just the Came advantage as we did
from the treaty of the 2d of December, just the same ad.
vantage as we did from the conferences and the negotia-
tions of the Soling. Austria has twice shown that she
will negotiate, and, should negotiations fail, she will ne
gotiate again. Will she do more than this now at the
third time of asking ? Should her good offices fail, she
undertakes to withdraw her Ambassador. Of the
terrible nature of this threat we may form some
idea from the fact that her Ambassador is just now
on his return to the Court of St. Petersburg, and
that before his departure he has been ostentatiously
face/ by Pi ince Gortechskoff. But perhaps she will
assume a threatening attitude, and oblige Ra,sia to keep
a large arrny concentrated on her western frontier, thus
effecting at least a pacific diversion in favour of the
allies ? Vain hope ! Austria is at this moment intent
on reducing her army, and more especially the army of
Galicia, on which frontier she has most to fear from
Russia, and Russia most to fear from her. She dare not
invade, she dare not menace, she dare not displease
Russia, and, should her present overtures be rejected,
she will bear the repudiation of her good offices with a
Christian meekness which becomes a true daughter of
the Church, and comfort herself with her concord with
Rome for discord with all the world beside,. She will
have kept up a little longer that in which she really is
concerned, that which is truly the object of her ambi-
tion—the appearance, in the eyes of Germany, of occu-
pying herself with great affairs, while her rival, Prussia,
rests in compulsory inaction, neither more ignominious
nor more useless than her own perpetual and profitless
meddling.
For ours elves, we are clearly of opinion that there
is nothing either so new or so captivatig in this
constant mediation of Austria as in any degree to
counterbalance the manifest disadvantages of being
the first to make to a Power like Russia overtures
towards the conclusion of a peace. The real causes of
war, of its origin, and of its continuance, are to be foil
in her grasping ambition and unbending insolence. Ti
these are humbled, reason may argue and humanity may
preach, but the human race will not be delivered from
It is with her, not with us, that
the scourge of war.
the real difficulty lies ; she is a keen ,pecn'ato
weakness and selfishness of men,
r_ the on
she is de-tined, at no distant day, to mg
peace,Euro aen. d Titilnletvh,iirs
will be abandoned till Russia is convinced that she is
at any support to her long-established couvnictoivoenrtthioaet
i' ; laete.i 6i
Lis
'a
boafn ddoi
by a greater Power but a
nv divided
d there an and
s L
8 I dhuogpae 0t df
Ia the most active sct,rnofnrgonertewdilaitalsanst
own.hneortonly i
prepa-
rations for the next campaign, and n a stern reserve
which makes no advance, and utterly repudiates the
agency of such paltry intermediaries as Austria, lie our
b peace. We can canquer it, but we cannot
cajole
We have everything to hope from strength
it. b o pes‘o f
and union. We have everything to dread from proms.
ter 3 advances made to gratify the hopeless and objectless
policy of second-rate Powers, aping a position which
they have neither courage to assert, policy to support,
nor modesty to forego,

DINNER TO SIR C. NAPIER.

Last night a numerous body of the supporters of Sir
C. Napier met at the Bridge-house Hotel, to celebrate
his return for the borough of Southwark ; Mr. 'Vickers
in the chair. After the usual loyal toasts,
The CUAIRMAN next said that he then came to the
toast of the evening, and he could assure them that he
felt totally incompetent to do it suffic'ent justice. They
were now engaged in a war when England wanted men
to direct her councils iind to conduct the war. The
constituencies of the country ought to be aware of this
—and no doubt they were—and send men into Perlis-
meat «ho understood war, and were prepared to carry
into effect all those great actions neaessary to dcvelope
the object they had in view, lie believed that the first
steps towards it had been already gained, and they
ought to continue in their exertions, wail the despot of
Russia was brought to his senses. (Cheers.) To at
that object they must come forward with the
sinews of war. They all knew that they were indebted
to their sailors for their supreinacy•.n the sea, and to their
soldiers for victories on land ; but too often Government=
did not confer those rewards which were due to those who
wcn those victories. The people, however, were always
ight, far they al ways insieted that those honours should b.
gran ed. He bad now the pleasure to propose the health
of their heroic guest, Sir C. Napier, who did honour to
his country at all times, and theref 're deserved theirs in
return. (Cheers.) The gallant Admiral went out to
the Baltic :almost on a voyage of discovery, but be
brought his fleet home in safety without losing a ship.
(Cheers.) He (Mr. Vickers) had been informed a few
days since, by a gallant officer in the navy, high in her
Majesty's service, and who had served under Sir Charles
Napier, that no loan could have done more than he did.
(Cheers.) He (Mr. Vickers) believed that; nay, more,
he was convinced that if Lord Nelson were now alive,
and had been placed in command of the Baltic fleet, he
could not have done more than Sir Charles Napier did,
and hundreds of the electors of Southwark believed the
same thing. (Loud cheers.) He, for one, would never
rest satisfied, and he believed the peop'e of England
agreed with him, until his bon. friend near him was re-
warded as became his great merits, and honours con
ferred upon him which would send his name down with
glory to posterity. (Cheers.) In conclusion be pro-
posed the health of their newly elected representative,
Sir Charles Napier. (Loud and prolonged cheers.)
Sir C. NAPIER said, in reply to his health, which was
drunk with the greatest enthusiasm, that the manner in
which he had been received that evening way only of a
piece with the reception he had met with when he first
appeared before the electors in that same room. He had
been returned as their representative to the parlia-
ment which was summoned for the Slst of next month.
The government which was now in office, he had to
remind them, was not the same which called the last
parliament together ; and it was therefore entitled to
a considerable degree of indulgence. After a great
deal of casting about, the Queen was at last obliged
to come to Lord Palmerston for her Prime Minister,
and he believed that he was also the choice
of the country at large. (Hear, hear.) But
Lord Palmerston was obliged to use a great deal of tact
and discretion in getting the present ministry together.
It was not for him to say how the Government would
meet the present Parliament, or how Parliament would
be disposed to meet the Government ; but his intention
was to support Lord Palmerston, whilst he expressed his
dissatisfaction at what took place before he became prime
minister, and showed up, as plainly as he could, what
previous administrations had done. (Hear.) If Lord
Palmerston had been Prime Minister since the begin-
ning of last January he should have held him perfectly
accountable for what was done up to the next meeting of
Parliament in January next, but there must be some in-
dulgence exercised towards him, especially when they
knew he did not take up the reins of office until some
time after the Baltic fleet went to sea. (Hear.) They
had seen what occurred in the Crimea ; they were all
aware that the destruction of the port of Sebastopol had
taken place, an achievement which he believed might
have been done with a much less loss of men and trea-
sure ; be; the question had been already before the Se-
bastopol Committee, the members of which expressed
their opinions pretty freely, and he would, therefore,
not proceed with that eubjec!: any further. (Hear.
hear.) Atter the dreadful uliefortunes which had at-
tended their army on that occasion, the sacrifice of life,
and the hardships their troops hail endured in con-
junction with their gallant Allies, they ought to be satis
tied with driving the Russians out of the port of Sebasto-
pol, and certainly it wag not very likely the Russians
would disturb them there again. (Hear.) The chair.
man had told them that he did not believe Lord Nelson
himself could have dune more than he (Sir Charles Na-
pier) had done in the Baltic. He hoped they would not
receive all the chairman had said on that point as gos-
pel, but all he could say wait that he had not one single
act to accuse himself of. (Cheers.) He truly went
into the Baltic on a voyage of discovery, for he assured
them all that when he went to the Gulf of Finland he
did not know where to turn—whether to the right baud
or to the left. lie was without charts and pilots, and
had men who were picked Up about the streets and
hardly knew their right hand from their left. (Hear')
He was an agent of the Government ; but insteadof
having to deal with wise men of business, who would.
inquire and learn from him the difficulties of the
.posli-
tion, he was ignominiously dismissed, and not
aOll the
e
question of the kind was put to him. (Ha.)
contrary, his chief received him in theemorsattaas n
insolent,o
manner. But even if he had done wrong, t
reason why his inferiors in command should
participate
treated him
in his disgrace. (Hear.) .The person who
so ill would for his own sake be obliged to bring this
subject before Parliament, and then he (Sir____aCe.NoilPiHe
Cr)
would put the saddle on the right horse.
had a saddle for the right horse, and when ho got it on
it would give him a sore hack. (Cheers and laughter.)
Questions of great importance, the cencealineet of let
tern, and things of that sort,is must be brought out.
Hear.) Alrhe could add addition was, that if he
did not prove the accuracy of everything he alleged, the
electors of Southwark would have an opportunity, at
not a very distant period, of depriving him of that seat
they had so nobly conferred. (Hear, hear.) He felt,
honoured for the triumphant manner in
e
-een-hdeiCehd 'hi hly
be "had been returned. He had now the high
honour of being elected by two great metropolitan con-
stituencies ; and as he believed he gave satisfaction to
the one, so did he hope he should do so to the other ;
but there was one thing of which he could assure them,
and that was, that he would always take a straightfor-
ward and independent course ; and if they loved inde-
pendence, they should certainly have it from him. He
was now too old to ohange ; he would always maintain
his principles, irrespective of party or political interests,
and, when lie could not do so in Parliament, he would wil-
lingly resign the trust they had reposed in him into their
hands. With regtrd to the war, lie was persuaded the
people of England would carry it on till they obtained
an honourah!e peace. (Rear.) What was an honour-
able peace it was not for him to say, but he thought that
they must drive the Russians oat of the Crimea before
they talked of an honourable 'peace. (Hear.) He also
thought that Russia, which dragged them into the war,
should be made to pay the expense which it occasioned.
Russia made the Turks pay the expellees i Attu -d b. the
war with that country ; and when it was recollected that
the people of this country were now paying i 1 per cent.
iecome tar, and would shortly be called on to pay more,
in consequence of what had been done by the Emperor