The Sun.
London, England, 1854-01-14 00:00:00

THE WEATHER.—Sur Omen, JAN, 14.

THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE.
41 —highest since noon yesterday.
41—towest this morning and during tho night.
45—this day at noon.

BAROMETER, 29'78.
WIND, W.—Light breeze, and fine weather.

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LONDON, SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 1854.

The responsibility of the present situation de
waves now wholly upon the Russian AUTOCRAT.
It rests entirely with him to decide whether
Peace or War shall for the next few years be the
destiny of Christendom. For it now appears that
the final propositions made to the Sublime Porte
by the Four Powers, through the medium of their
patched-up Conference, has been accepted by
Turkey, not partially or hesitatingly, but promptly
and entirely. Intelligence of this complete ac-
ceptance was received in Vienna on the 11th inst.
—on the 12th inst. it was despatched thence by
courier to St. Petersburgh, and would eon_
sequently, by a reasonable calculation, ar-
rive by the 18th instant at its ultimate des-
tination, the Cabinet of the CZAR and the
hands of NESSELRODE. It must be remembered
that this remarkable document will have been
heralded to the Russian capital by accounts of
the recent victories achieved by the arms of OMER
PACRA, in Little Wallachia, as well as by
authentic information as to the entrance of the
combined fleets into the Black Sea, and of their
posssible appearance off Sebastopol. However
much these incidents may affect the temper
of Nrcitotas, it must be obvious that his ulterior
decision must still be exclusively dependent upon
the nature and bearing of the ultimatum, convey-
ing to his Imperial MAJESTY, on the part of Tur-
key and her allies, in their definitive propositions. 111
"Upon the nature and bearing of those proposi-
tions reposes the supreme alternative of the likeli-
hood or improbability of a reconciliation. Not
only that, of course, but sail more in the event of
a Pete° being thereupon arranged, the honour or
the dishonour to France and England 'of the
evolved reconciliation.

Observe is now remarked by the Ministe-
rial organs "It remains to be seen whether

It would seem an . impossibility now for the
Ministry to evade a Reform Bill ; one thing gives
us hope that it will be worth having—Sinope,
and, we might add, the Vienna Note. They will
have to ietrieve a most inept blunder in diplomacy,
and a most disgraceful and distressing insult to
our flag. The timid deference to a mean, lying,
and marauding despot, which shrunk from announc-
ing that any seizure of our ally's territory would
be viewed as a declaration of war against us ; the
repression of our naval zeal until the fleet it most
concerned us to preserve was crushed in the seas
we were there to defend—all this, and much
more, may be palliated as it best can, but nothing
can efface from the Coalition Cabinet the stigma
of being so overreached by threats and cunning,
that they have to meet Parliament with the lament
that they have been thoroughly drubbed by land
and by sea. Better behaviour will of course be
promised, still great will be the danger that a
Russo-German Cabinet will not do for a British
House of Commons, nor for a House of Lords
either, while Lord LYNDHURST'S voice can yet be
heard there. Something must b© done to propi-
tiate. Finance will be but a sorry hope ; the war,
which they have lured on the enemy of Europe
to wage, will demand fresh taxes. Sanitary
measures and law reforms all parties will
do equally well for. A really telling Reform Bill,
one which would be worth keeping a Cabinet in
to get it carried—this seems almost the only thing
which can divert attention from a foreign policy
which the country utterly despises. The very
party also which they ousted is credibly rumoured
to be at work with a counter bill, and one of its
best accredited organs declares broadly that it
must be no patchwork business, but that the more
complete, the more calculated to satisfy for a long
time to come—the better it will be for us all !

The Liberal press, too, is kindly volunteering,
up to the eleventh hour, its reform lessons. The
Westminster vouchsafes a long semi-philosophical
semi-historical lecture, and the Spectator tabu-
laths DOD, Parliamentary papers, and the like,
daguerreotyping most perfectly the whole of the
Reformed Parliaments, that of December, 1853,
being the centre of the picture. It is apicture worth
looking at, and does much credit to the skill of
the artist. It is unmistakably truthful—the very
best pocket likeness we have seen. With the
article in the Westminster we confess ourselves
somewhat
part
whatdisappointed—it agrees, indeed, with
much that we have already urged, but is for the
against locksi
n
n
as " mechanical
caonc l " lusive, and gives up the Ballot
• —an argument equally valid
are in much t
wldbars • still, as our silver spoons
he same danger as the vote of a
tenant-at-will, e,
to, do not despise and
mechanical
rodpeorvtiycesbyto
tipierevdeinst_
honest. When landlords and others cease to
pilfer votes by the mechanism of the Poll-book,
we will cease to ask for the protective mechanism
of the Ballot-box.

The ta,bles of the Spectator certainly present
some sriking results. The second table is a clas-
sification of the Members. The result stands

thus :

Percentage of
Seats. the actual Re-
presentation.
The relations of Peers possess 103
6 17.0
Irish Peers
The Country Gentlemen
Men of Letters and Science
The Army and Navy
The Commercial and Money.
interest
ee LawyersWorking .m. .
interestan . ...........
. nonelo7 17.0_
TThh

Total Seats occupied 641
The disproportionate representation of °Re class,