The Sun.
London, England, 1854-12-26 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON/ TUESDAY EVENING, DECEMBEIt 26, 1854.

GRATUITIES FOR THE RUSSIAN NAVY.

T fIE CONDUCT OF PRUSSIA.

Paid.]

Business
this day.

(Prom the St. Petersburg Journal.)
The active part which the sailors of the Black Sea
take in the defence of Sebastopol leads inevitably to
losses which Russia feels deeply, and therefore every
day her sympathy for these brave sailors, and particularly
for the wounded, are displayed by numerous gifts, which
are sent from all directions and through every channel
to the Ministry,of Marine. In order to insure regularity
in the reception of these offering's, special arrangements
have been made by order of his Imperial Highness the
Grand Duke Constantine, Grand Admiral of the Em-
pire. In future these gifts will be received daily at the
Commissariat Department of the Minister of Marine,
and information respecting them will be immediately
given to his Imperial Highness, who will make a report
upon the subject to his Majesty the Emperor. As to
gifts of property or of money, they will be transmitted
without delay to their destination. Independently cif
this measure adopted 'at St. Petersburg, orders have
been given to the Admiralty Commissioner at Moscow
to receive gifts of a similar kind, that is to say, for the
wounded of the fleet of the Black Sea, and to send them
weekly to the Crimea by the post. To judge by the
nature of the articels daily received, it is evident that the
donors have entered into the most minute details re-
specting the wants of the wounded, and that they have
consequently displayed wonderful discernment in the
manner in which they have made their offerings.
On its part the Administration of the Fleet employs
all the means in its power to succour the wounded and
to assist the families of those who have been killed.
With this object, independently of the local measures
adopted a long time ago, a superior functionary, the
college councillor, M. Kryloff, has been sent to the
Crimea. Hie mission is, I.' To visit in the peninsula all
the wounded seamen, from the Admiral to the lowest
sailor, and the families of the victims. 2. To collect
exact and detailed information as to the locality where
the wounded was received, the time when received, and
the nature of the wounds, .the present state of them, and
the place where the wounded now are. To inform him-
self of their wants, of what they may desire for them-
selves or their families, and of the progress of their
treatment and the nature of their wounds, &c. 3. To
inquire of the families of the killed respecting their
position, their necessities, their wishes, &c. 4. To de.
clare to all, in the nameot his Imperial Highness, that all
will be done for them that can possibly be done. 5. To
transmit from time to time to his Imperial Highness all
these particulars. igt.b.er by the post or by couriers. 6.
To follow withaiolicitiide the progress of the treatment
adopted towards the wounded. In short, 7thly, to take
charge of letters from the latter, and to send them to their
relatives and friends.

(From the Oortstitutio2tnel.)

The Cabinet of Berlin, which had constantly
postponed the moment when it would be necessary
to give its final decision on the question of the East,
is said to have asked France and England to con-
clude a special treaty with Prussia. M. de Man-
teuffel hopes for two advantages from that course
—one, to gain time ; and the other, to elude such
of the engagements of the treaty of Vienna as
would place Prussia too much in suspicion at the
Court of Russia. But it will require only a few
hours for M. de Usedom to comprehend that his
mission must inevitably fail. Prussia complaink
that when she is invited purely and simply to ac-
cede to a treaty which She has not been Called on
to aid in drawing up, she is driven to the rank of
a secondary power. Whose fault is that? Have
England and France held apart in the Eastern
question ? Is it not Prussia who has remained in
arrear of Austria ? What can Prussia complain of
which she has not to blame herself for ? Has she
not refused to adopt the part which belonged
to her in Germany in the war of the East ? Has
she not by her tergiversations, subtleties, and
choppinz,s-about leSiened her importance by show-
ing that she
,was feeble and fearful ? And if the
war disquiets her, when it menaces to extend,
ought she not to reproach herself for having con-
tributed to keep it up. by giving the Emperor of
Russia, by her hesitations, a dangerous confidence ?
Let Prussia, therefore, blame herself for the situa-
tion in which she is placed. That situation as yet
only interests her in her pride of a great-power ;
but if she does not hasten to get out of it
by adhering simply to the treaty of Vienna, she
may soon have to look to herself as an independent
State. Perhaps a prompt and vigorous resolution
of Germany could still put a stop to the develop-
ments of the war. Let Prussia not allow that
last chance of quiet that remains to her to escape,
for if the war goes on, it must extend, 'and once
that it has extended it will become impossible to
escape its grasp by a chimerical neutrality. If M.
de Usedom, as is announced, is to visit Paris on
leaving London, the spectacle which strikes him
in England will strike him in France. France,
who had no idea of war, and who wished for peace,
has not merely her interests to protect ; she has
reverses to avenge. She was thinking merely
of the peaceful and fruitful struggles of industry,
when
,Russia came imprudently to arouse her old
military instincts and to remind her that she had
to exercise against her terrible reprisals. As the
Emperor Nicholas has thus offered of himself
an occasion which she did not call for, but which
she accepts resolutely, of effacing the remembrance
of 1812, it is not she who will be wanting in soldiers
or who will calculate her sacrifices. And even if
She had not the immense resources of which she,dis-
Peses she would not hesitate for a moment. What
tken must it be, when everything concurs to render
the struggle more easy and success more certain
According to the news from St. Petersburg to
Warsaw, the Emperor Nicholas is collecting con-
siderable forces and is fanaticising his people. Let
it be so ; but let him not forget this, that since he
has placed arms in the hands of the France of
Napoleon 111. she will not lay them down until she
has avenged the France of Napoleon I.

Besides this, there have been sent to Prince l'ilenscM-
koff out of the sums subscribed by private benefactors,
8,000 silver roubles, to be distributed among the
wounded. A portion of these surus, arising from private
benefactions, has been applied to defray the expense of
Belding to the Crimea CO Sisters of Charity, who will
devote themselves to the care of the sick.

THE TREATY OF 2d DECEMBER.

(Prom the Siecle.)

We have not seen, like many optimists, a progress
towards peace in the treaty of the 2d Dec., but we have
welcomed it as giving a possibility of carrying on the
war under better conditions. The Emperor of Austria,

by engaging himself not only to occupy the Danubian
principalities, but to guarantee them against the return
of the Russian forces, and that without throwing any
obstacle in the way of the combinations and movements
of the French, English, and Ottoman troops in the oc-
cupied territories, has made a step in the Western Al-
liance. Every act which t'raws Austria closer to us na-
turally removes her from Rtisi,ia. But does it follow
that we think that power, which is so cautious, will on
the Ist January find itself engved with us in a defen-
sive and offensive action ? We do not believe it; but it
is already something—it is a great deal to have drawn
it into a treaty which it cannot abandon without flatly
declaring 'itself our enemy. The time of protocols has
passed away ; and when, after the delay agreed on, Aus-
tria shall declare that her new efforts have been without
effect, and that Russia refo:es to accept the guarantees
demanded, the Cabinets of London and Paris will only '
have to propose to the Emperor Francis Joseph the
most efficacious measures for obtaining the object of the
alliance. We are of the opinion of Lord John Russell—
we think that, according to the terms of the treaty,
Austria, without failing. in her plighted faith, can accept
ir refuse action in common on the basis which must be
already settled between England and France, if the
Cabinets, as we willingly adcit,•hase had the most or-
dinary foresight. But we object to the last remarks of
the same minister on the subject. We believe that he
has gone too far. It is impossible that France and Eng-
land do not intend to diminish the territory of Russia.
Responsible ministers are not always obliged to say all
they think, but they should never make use of imprudent
anguage. If Austria has not engaged herself, tliere is
,n obligation arising from the treaty of the 21 Decern-
on. which has an incalculable value—and that obliga-
Lion is that she cannot honourably become the ally of
Russia. Cunning may be employed for a time in diplo-
macy, but at length the moment arrives for speaking
explicitly. If Austria had only desired to give time
for the Czar to make more efficacious preparations
than he had done, she would have played for a
great stake. The force of France and England is not
only in their brilliant soldiers and their brave sailors,
but in a reserve which they ought in our opinion to have
made their advanced guard—that of oppressed nation-
alities which are only waiting fora signal to rise. There
is also in the treaty a very serious engagement : Austria,
like the other two Powers, cannot enter into any ar-
rangement whatsoever with Russia without having de-
liberated in common. Except by an odious act of trea-
son, it is impossible for Austria to have a secret under-
standing with the Czar. Thanks to the progress realised
in Europe during the last sixty years, tliere is not a Go-
vernment which is not obliged to count with public
opinion—that superior power which every day extends
the limits of its empire. We have, no doubt, reason to
fear diplomatic lukewarmness and ill-will, but we have
little dread of treason. There is in the present state of
things an element which diplomatists and party men
seem never to take into account, and which, however, is
not without importance—we mean the pride and obsti-
nacy of the Emperor of Russia. We cannot be-
lieve that the monarch, who is the most powerful
in Europe by the extent of his territories, and the
number of his subjects, can accept all the public
humiliation which flow from this treaty of the 2d
December. What ! can the Czar of All the Russias—
after having been forced to raise the siege of Silistria,
and to recross the Pruth—after sustaining grave checks
on the Alma and at Inkerman, after having had the
most magnificent of his ports almost blocked up with
his own vessels, and the fortifications of Sebastopol de-
stroyed—having, too, one of his most powerful armies,
at the bead of which his sons showed themselves in
the saddest position ; what, we say, can it be supposed
that the Czar can abandon the fruits of a century's
policy, can consent to lose his prestige, which is his
greatest force in the East, can avow himself vanquished
without making the most supreme efforts ? No ! that
is impossible ! No one who thinks it can know the
conditions of existence of poweif 11 potentates—or can
be well acquainted with the human heart. The Em-
peror Nicholas cannot either accept the conditions
of peace offered him by 'Austria ; he cannot do it
without gaining a great victory, or being completely
defeated. We roust expect then a terrible conflict,
and let us have the courage to prepare for it. But
there is no time to lose. We must summon subjected
nations to liberty and independence ; if the West re-
mains undecided, it will be outstripped by Russia. Such
is the position iu which we now are. Events have,
precipitated the crisis. There can no longer be a ques-
tion of a circumscribed war, of what is called a political
war ; but it must be of a war of equilibrium in Europe,
of a war for remedying all the injustice which has been
so imprudently committed for nearly a century. Only
a few days now separate us from the period allowed to
Austria. It is at that moment that light will be made ;
it will enlighten all the world.
The security of a day will not suffice for the numer-
ous interests that have been compromised by the am-
bition of the Czar; we must then exact guarantees
which shall for a long time, if not for ever, preserve
Europe from such misfortunes. We will not at this
moment discuss one by one the different guarantees
which should be obtained. But, first of all, we de-
mand that a barrier should be raised between the savage
ambition pf the Czars and the western part of Europe.
That can be done by giving satisfaction to the national
wish expressed at each meeting of the deputies of
France under the reign of Louis Philippe. Heroic
Poland musts so to speak, arise from the ashes of Se-
bastopol.

who did not disguise from them that he had pressing
need of supplies, and he attempted to come to an arrange-
ment with them ; but was unable to do so, on account
of the high prices they demanded. On this, he said that
instead of applying to dealers he would establish a special
agency at Nantes for the purchase of salt meat, but they
attempted to dissuade him from doing anything of the
kind, and represented that they were paying 100 f. for
the 100 kilogrammeP, though in point of fact the price
was far inferior. The minister charged two dealers,
named Wilson and Langlais, to buy meat for his de-
partment, and they were able to do so at 85f. the 100
kilogrammes—a rise in prices having taken place ; but
no sooner had they commenced operations than prices
shot up rapidly to 87f., 88f., 90f., 92f., and at last to 100 f.
Not only was such a sudden rise totally unexampled,
the ordinary variations in price being if. or 2f., but
there was nothing in the state of the market to call for
it. On this an investigation was made, and it turned
out that the rise was occasioned by the fraudulent
manoeuvres of the accused. The accused vehemently
contended that they had not done anything that was not
warranted by the liberty of commerce ; but nevertheless
a prosecution was instituted against them. Evidence
was then given in support of the indictment, and it
proved clearly that in order to stop the purchase,
through Messrs. Wilson and Langlais, aud to compe.
the Government to pay more than a fair market prices
the accused had, either verbally or in writing, recom:
inern_led the holders of salt meat with whom they were
accustomed to deal not to sell at less than 100 f. the
100 kilos.—a price much superior to the legitimate mir-
ket price ; that, as an inducnnent to the holders toinsist
on that price or to keep back their stocks, they had pro-
mised to pay them 1001.; and that so clear was it that
they had acted illegally, that a fall in prices took place
immediately after their proceedings were discovered,
and a prosecution was commenced. A number of letters
in which their schemes were fully revealed were besides
produced. The accused, being interrogated, contended
that the rise was occasioned by the supply of salt pork
not being equal to the demand, and that they had
to submit to it, instead of occasioning it. The public
prosecutor, in a long and able speech, maintained that
they had undoubtedly been guilty of a coalition, and
that they deserved severe punishment. A number of
counsel were heard for the defendants ; they laboured to
prove that the accusation was unfounded. The trial
ended by one of the accused named Philippe being
acquitted, he having been absent trona Nantes at the
time the frauds were perpetrated, and his partner having
acted in his name. -All the other accused, whose names
are Dupont, Quemet, Bardon, Rondonet, Levesque,
Cornillier, Canaud, and Martin, were declared guilty,
and were severally sentenced to a month's imprisonment
and 2,000 f. fire.—One of the Paris papers, in giving an
account of this case, contrasts the conduct of the con-
demned with that of certain English tradesmen who
have generously offered supplies to the Government for
the war, without profit, and have even made large done-
tioce. The contrast, it declares, is not all creditable to
the patriotism of Frenchmen.