The Sun.
London, England, 1854-04-08 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING. APRIL 8. 1854,

SHARE MARKETS

SPORTING NOTES.

(THIS DAY.)

A BARTHIAN GLANCE AT EPSOM.

BRITISH RAILWAYS.

downs
'File
of
e mdoeimngosonthtuer •TonheTylwiuerrsedanyiawrkileldlboyngmalinvye
in
important and unexpected incidents, and their effect on
the turf market is likely to be lasting. The double vic-
tory of Virago, has already regulated speculation on
coming events, and materially limited its range. Indeed,
so extraordinary was the racing pnwer which she dis-
played, that her successful fulfilment of all her present
heavy engagements is calculated upon with certainty.
So decided and unequivocal was the ease with which her
first victory was achieved, that she immediately became
the leading favourite for the Metropolitan. The cont-
dence of her party was not misplaced, and by " doing
the double event" it is stated that she won for her owner
alone 15,0001! Muscovite, whom I selected soon
after the publication of the weights as being likely
to prove a most formidable competitor, and for whom I
bore up through good and through evil report, ran
second. His party was in earnest, and their belief in
his ability to pull through was well founded ; for even
on the morning of the race the starting of Virago for the
Metropolitan was so problematical that 25, 20, and 15
to 1 were repeatedly betted against her. Royalist de-
ceived his backers, and the reports which had been cir-
culated about his formidable pretensions were delusions
and shams. He was proved to be a more unmitigated
impostor than Contentment, and his inglorious exhibi-
tion justified the suspicions which I frequently expressed
in my notes on the probable result 'of the race. Jona-
than Martin ran quite as forward as I expected, and
Haco's performance showed the correctness of the favour-
♦ able estimate which I made of his chance.
Marc Antony is now first favourite for the Chester
Cup, a position to which his running for the City and
Suburban truly entitles him. He was among the ani-
mals which I indicated as being "well in" on the first
publication of the Handicap, and as in the case of Mus-
covite for the Metropolitan, time has again proved the
accuracy of my judgment and information. By the way
I inadvertently fell into an error in my "notes" pub-
lished on Wednesday last, when I spoke of Marc An-
tony's being the stable companion of Virago. Marc An-
tony is trained by John Day, jun., and Virago by John
Day, sen.
I was not among the "jumpers" on Friday, but I
hear the "creatures were at their dirty work again."
The proceedings were entirely regulated by the principle
of win, tye, or wrangle.
I have purposely confined my remarks on the Epsom
Meeting to a few general observations. I shall, how-
ever,
inquiie into what is termed, in the vernacular of
`the "Ring," the " Royalist Rig," and shall not hesitate
to express freely my opinions on the matter.
April 8. A FRESH MAN.

THE SECRET MEMORANDUM OF 1844.

( From the Press.)

We have received an authoritative communication
from an individual, who "desires to be described" as
" one competent to make a statement with respect to
the secret Memorandum of 1844."

This communication refers to a speech delivered in
the House of Lords by the Earl of Aberdeen, on Friday,
the 31st ult., in reply to a leading article which ap-
peared in this journal on the 25th of the same month.
Our correspondent states 'that the description of the
secret Memorandum, as "the key of the relations be-
tween England and Russia," was not contained, as
stated by us, in a private letter from the Emperor of
Russia to the present Prime Minister of England, but in
a private letter addressed by Count Nesseirode to his
Excellency Baron Brunow, then Russian Minister at
the Court of St. James's. This letter our correspon-
dent assures us he has the best reasons for believing was
communicated to Lord Aberdeen, and he cannot doubt
that a copy of it must exist in England.
Our correspondent adds, that there is no other por-
tion of the article in the Press which he is prepared to
question, and which article, in his belief, " conveys an
accurate picture of a diplomatic transaction, that was
not only intended to be secret, but the secrecy of which,
until this year 1854,,had been successfully preserved."
So much for the " malignant misrepresentations" of the
Press newspaper, whiCh the Prime Minister of England
deemed it his duty to denounce in the House of Lords,
and attempt to refute in detail, on the most solemn oc-
casion on which a Senate could assemble.
We beg to inform Lord Aberdeen that no statesman
in this country was ever injured by "malignant misre-
presentations. No public man in England was ever
written down by calumnies, though it has been often
tried. But, on the other hand, authentic state-
ments cannot be refuted by denouncing them as
"malignant misrepresentations." Truth will have its
way, even if its victim be a Minister of State.
Some ten months ago, when the possibility of
war first crossed the public mind, and the cue was first
given to the Government runners and organs to inveigh
against the duplicity and violence of Russia, we ven-
tured to express, in these columns, our surprise at these
expressions on the part of the Government, inasmuch
as we had the best reasons for believing that Lord
Aberdeen had been privy, from the first, to the designs
of the Emperor of Russia, and had approved them ;
and that, at the commencement of the year (1853),
there had been an unreserved pommunication of the in-
tentions of Russia to her Majesty's Government. Last
May that, too, was a "malignant misrepresentation ;"
it was more—it was "absurd," and came from " a
quarter not seriously to be noticed." But the " malig-
nant misrepresentation" so much attracted the attention
of the public that it became necessary to notice it. So
a circumlocutory contradiction was, at length, ventured
on in the principal Government organ, which, while it
assailed our statement, did not condescend to mention
our name. What is thought of that " malignant mis-
representation" now ?
During the whole of last summer and autumn the
Press newspaper continued to make " malignant mis-
representations." When the Government organ con-
gratulated the country that the Menschikoff ultimatum
was accepted, we maliciously denied the statement ;
when we were assured that the affair was a " mere
diplomatic imbroglio," and that "all would soon be
settled," we maliciously asserted that, on the contrary,
" the present prospect was that war would break out."
When we were amused with the rumours of conciliatory
measures, and that Austria had been engaged effectually
to interfere, we maliciously maintained that the Rus-
sians would pass the Pruth.

In the same spirit of deliberate mischief we warned
the country of the diplomatic conspiracy, .which had
resolved, either in the shape of Vienna notes, or Turkish
propositions, that the Russian ultimatum should in spirit
be adopted ; and in December last, when we were again
officially informed that the long•protracted settlement
was at hand, we announced that we had authority
to state that " the part of Russia was definitively
taken, and that part was war." In short, there
has been no limit to the spitefulness with which,
during our brief existence, we have laboured
to obtain authentic information on the Eastern
question for the British public. We actually published
the final instructions of the Emperor of Russia to MM.
Kisseleff and Brunow before they reached the courts
which those ministers were commanded' to quit, as
well as the orders sent out to the allied Admirals as to
entering the Black Sea, We were even so malevolent
as to throw some light on the mission of Count Orloff at
a moment when our contemporaries had agreed that
nothing was known on the subject. •
The consequence of all this evil disposition has been
that our journal, in ten months, has obtained a circula-
tion larger than many of its contemporaries which have
flourished twice as many years ; and that the. newspaper
which a short time back was not even to be named by
the Government organ, when it was 'absolutely neces-
sary to impugn its authentic statement, has now its
articles replied to in detail by the Prime Minister, in his
place in Parliament. Might, not all this induce Lord
Aberdeen to suspect that " malignant misrepresenta-
tions " was only a splenetic misnomer for "inconvenient
truths ?"

On Friday, the 31st, also, Lord Aberdeen, not for
the first time, insinuated that he knew the writer of the
article in the Press, or, as he calls it, " the source"
from which it emanated. Now, this is very fool-
ish. With his dreadful exposure about young Mr.
Astley still fresh in everybody's recollection, one would
have supposed his lips would have trembled at ventur-
ing on similar conjectures. As we have had occasion to
say before, it matters nothing who are the writers of the
Press. Newspaper articles are the most self-relying of
all conceivable things. They depend only on their own
qualities, and their influence rests on the information
they offer, the views they promulgate, and the manner
in which these are expressed. The articles in the Press
which have excited the ire of Lord Aberdeen have been
written by various persons, and there is not one among
them who would obj ect to sign his name to his observations,
if the custom of this country permitted it. The custom
of this country does not permit it, as is well known to
Lord Aberdeen and the large majority of his colleagues,
who have been, and are, themselves habitually anonymous
writers, both in political and general literature. At a mo-
ment when so much is at stake, the writers of the Press
believe that, in attempting to throw seine authentic light
on transactions of great importance, and on the charac-•
ters and conduct of the principal actors on the scene,
they are fulfilling an office not unbecoming gentlemen,
and the subjects of a free monarchy. Of those subjects,
no matter by what means;• the Earl of Aberdeen is now
the most eminent ; and, in our opinion, it is an elevation
highly pernicious to the country. Since Denby there
has not been a more dangerous Minister. With an
affectation of honesty, and an owl-like prudence, he is,
in fact, an unprincipled and reckless man, while, at the
same time, he is altogether destitute of those bold views
and those large emotions which sometimes accompany
and mitigate an unscrupulous selfishness. The unhappy
war in which Europe is now involved is entirely owing
to his becoming Prime Minister. It is Lord Aberdeen's
war. At the moment he was appointed First Minister
he was prime councillor of the principal intriguers against
the Emperor of the French, with a secret understauding
with the Emperor of Russia. These are the antecedents
which have produced the present hostilities. Russia
advanced not only because Lord Aberdeen was Minister,
but because it was well known to Nicholas that Lord
Aberdeen was personally hostile to Napoleon. Nor was
any attempt made to remove this impression, even when
Prince Menschikoff was menacing at Constantinople.
On the contrary, England took that opportunity of pub-
licly refusing to co-operate with France ! And, not-
withstanding the Emperor of Russia, at the beginning of
January, spoke of France to Sir 11. Seymour in exactly
the same language as that of the secret Memorandum of
1844, not a step was taken to disabuse his mind. Lord
Aberdeen continued to accept his Imperial Majesty's
compliments about the."salutary impulse" he had given
to the British counsels, and. the " lteau role" he was
isete'e"—although he had playing in keeping France "
received overtures from the Emperor of Russia months