The Sun.
London, England, 1854-08-09 00:00:00

ROYAL SURREY ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS.

This place fills up an hiatus which the Crystal Palace leaves
wanting. Vocal and instrumental music of the first order, and a
display of fireworks which exceeds all imagination, are a fitting
close to a day at the Crystal Palace."

DANSON'S COLOSSAL PANOII.4.IIA of CHUSAN.
Splendid and Extensive Menagerie and Marine Aquarium—Mir]
vaned Military Band.

VOCAL and INSTRUMENTAL CONCERT,

is which Miss Poole, Miss Ransford, and Mr. Manvers sing
several National and Patriotic Songs—All the Amasing Novelties
of the Gardens in succession, concluding with the " Feast of Lan-
terns," and a most magnificent display of Fireworks by Southby.
Admission One ShiMng. A splendid Pavilion for Dancing has been
erected. Fall Quadrille Band, &c.

A STLEY'S ROYAL AMPHIT HEAT itE.
Lessee and Manager, Mr. William Cooke.

The popular piece, the Cossacks, whose career has been most sue-
cessfhl, will shortly be withdrawn, to admit the production of a
Grand Military Spectacle, embracing many of the principal events
of the present War between Russia and Turkey !
Enthusiastic reception of the new Equestrian Ballet d'Action, the
poetry of motion !

THIS EVENING, AUGUST 9,

And daring the week, THE COSSACKS; or, Vive la France.

After which, LES PREUVES DU GENIE, or S nes in the Circle,
invented and arranged by Mr. William Cooke, who, in the course of
the evening, will exhibit (upon his hand) a horse whose height is
only 15 inches.
HERR CHRISTOFF, the first Rope Dancer in the universe.
To conclude with the new Equestrian Ballet d'Action, by Mrs. S.
G. Healey, called THE KNIGHT AND THE WATER LILY; or,
Love among the Mermaids.

Boa-ofilce open from Eleven till Four. Stage Manager, Mr. W,
West.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
MIS DAT —Morning 8 min.after 2 I Evening 35 mizt.aft. 2
10-loneow—Morning 59 nzin.after 2 Evening 24 min.aft. 3

THE WEATHER.—Stri Oirms, AUG. 9.
THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADS.
71— highest since noon on Saturday.
57—lowest this morning and dnrizg the night.
68—this day, at noon.

BAROMITIB, 30'05.
W/1,13, S.W.—Light, with dull cloudy weather and
alight rain—portending a thunder-storm.

~~i

4
tf

,§int

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 1854,

The Secretary at War told the country the
other night in the House of Commons that it
ought to be satisfied with the blockade of the
Russian ports—that instead of clamouring after
unattainable victories, it ought to rest contented
with the fact of that blockade—a blockade described
by him as complete and effectual. Yet when this
vaunted blockade comes to be examined, it is
found, in the Black Sea, at least, to be neither
complete nor effectual.. It turns out, indeed, to
be so incomplete and so ineffectual, that a Russian
vessel of war, the Vladimir, has contrived to
leave Sebastopol, to eteans boldly across the
Euxine, to advance even to the mouth of the
Bosphorus, to skirt the Asiatic coast there sinking
sundry Turkish ships laden with corn, to carry
off two coal-vessels from Heraclea, to very nearly
capture the British steamer the Cyclops, and then,
after satisfactorily completing this most daring
exploit (wonderfully daring, seeing that the Black
Spa bore upon its waters all the while the mighty
fleets of France and England), quietly to return
to its original place of safety—[the place so com-
pletely and effectually blockaded]—Sebastopol.
After that—the less we hear about the blockade
of the Russian ports, at any rate in the Black
Sea, the better ! Why, perhaps the most dashing
thing that has yet been effected since the outbreak of
the present war has been accomplished, brilliantly
and successfully accomplished, by the chief officer
of a Russian war steamer, the brave captain of
the Vladimir. Honour to whom honour is due.
It is the right, in this instance, of the captain of
the Vladimir. It is the right of the daring and
almost foolhardy sea-captain in the enemy's navy,
who could thus set at defiance all the terrors of
`the Anglo-French maritime armament. If ever
" pluck" deserved the recognition of a Sove-
reign, that displayed in this remarkable expedition
by the captain of the Vladimir has merited reward
from the hands of the Russian AUTOCRAT.
However, if praise is due to the captain of the
Russian war steamer, what dispraise is not due to
the officers of the allied vessels of war entrusted
with the blockade of Sebastopol ? Assuredly the
exploit of the Vladimir—not an empty exploit,
observe, but one having import
ant results, one
leading to the destruction of several vessels laden
with corn, and to the capture of two vessels laden
eonf
with coal, and tending to turn the 'Whole
the vaunted Anglo-French blockade of the
Russian ports into ridicule—assuredly, we
say, this exploit of the Vladimir is in no
way calculated to enhance whatever satisfaction
may have been felt by the country at the fact, as
it was called, of this same boasted blockade ! It
is not precisely corroborative, this event, of the
justice of the remark made the other evening,
almost petulantly, in the House of Commons, by
her MAJESTY'S Secretary at War. We might
venture, after this, to hint to Mr. SIDNEY HER-
BERT rather to sit mumchance henceforth upon
the Treasury bench, than to indulge, in reference
to the so-called blockade of the Russian ports, in
idle braggadocio and ridiculous fanfaronade.
Remembering what has been done, in spite of
the combined fleets, by the Russian war steamer,
the Vladimir—the country cannot possibly be satis-
fied with the blockade, as (if we are to believe Alp
SIDNEY' HERBERT) the one grand and all-sufficient

result of our enormous and expensive maritime
armaments. The blockade proves simply to be
an absurdity, to be an idle word, to be altogether
ineffective—if, as is now notoriously known to be
the case, a Russian paddle-wheel steamer can do
all we have been mentioning, can approach the
very mouth of the Bosphorus, and then, after
being within an ace of capturing an English ship,
return unharmed, and with the glory of no mean
or fruitless exploit, to its safe anchorage in the
harbour of Sebastopol.
It is with the knowledge before us of what has
been done by the Vladimir, that we see the days
of August flitting by, and the winter approaching,
and the campaign of 1854 necessarily drawing to-
wards its close, and the Legislature rapidly near-
ing the date of its prorogation. And now at the
very tail of the session, we find the Times this
morning, on Wednesday, the 9th of August,
1854, asking the question—" Who can answer for
consequences, when the business of the country
is so inefficiently conducted ? " A pretty ques-
tion to put certainly, just two or three days be-
fore the beginning of grouse shooting, just close
upon the eve of the termination of the annual
labours of the Legislature. Why, it is precisely
what we have been insisting upon for months,
while our contemporary has been recommending
the country to rest contented with the very pro-
ceedings it now declares to be worse than unsatis-
factory.

The delays that have taken place from first to.
last, indeed, are something absolutely deplorable.
They have conducted us into the second week of
August, towards the close of the Parliamentary
session, and there they leave us—with news from
the Black Sea, not of the capture of the Crimea,
but of the exploit of the Vladimir—and with
news from the Baltic, not of a victory at Cron-
stadt, but of private theatricals on board the
Duke of Wellington ! Well may the country feel
dissatisfied with the progress, or rather with the
no-progress of the war, now that autumn is on
the eve of giving way to winter—well may the
popular discontent, not loud, but deep, agitate
the community at large from one end of the country
to the other, by reason of the sins of omission and
commission making up the aggregate guilt of the
ABERDEEN Government.

Sir CHARLES WOOD is a man of honour. He
has redeemed the solemn pledge last year given to
Parliament, and submitted a statement respect-
ing the finances of India, and the progress of the
Anglo-Indian territories. But how, or under
what circumstances ? What opportunities have
been afforded for the redress of Hindoo
grievances, to criticise his explanations, or to take
the opinion of the Legislature on any deficiencies
or errors discernable therein ? Some fastidious
persons may conceive that the Right Hon.
Bart., in bringing forward his Budget on the Bth
of August-f-just four days before the prorogation,
to a House "the number of whose members varied
from 11 to 13"—a House, too, already ex-
hausted by a protracted sitting—was but follow-
ing the example of those
"Juggling friends"
" That palter with us in a double sense,
That keep the word of promise to our ear,
And break it to our hope."
These scoffers may assert that for all prac-
tical purposes the information afforded by
the well-paid functionary might as well
have been conveyed in the form of a
pamphlet or blue-book. That consuming the
public time, it could not be said he occupied " the
attention of the House," was, under the circum-
stances, perfectly useless, and might just as well'
be avoided. But as we have said, Sir CHARLES
was a man of strict honour. He deliberately
gave the promise, and would perform it, although
in doing so he might make himself simply ridi-
culous. It is true, the temptation afforded by
the opportunity of proving for two hours and a
half—for inflicting his dreary eloquence during
that protracted period even to " a beggarly ac-
count of empty benches"—might have had some
effect ; but we are disposed to attribute the exer-
tion to a higher motive, and a determination to
keep his word to the very letter. Otherwise a pub-
lication of the speech intended to be delivered by
" the Dictator" of Hindostan would have been as
beneficial to all intents and purposes, and in one
respect far more advantageous, inasmuch as it could
not have exhibited in so strong a light the cul-
pable carelessness, the profound indifference, of
the Imperial Parliament to matters of the most
vital importance to the welfare and prosperity of
one hundred millions of people.
We confess that we cannot concur in the glow-
ing eulogiums so freely bestowed on the adminis-
tration of the Right Hon. Baronet by the very
few who had patience to listen to his tedious ora-
tion. All the particulars we heard respecting the
state of Indian finance was to the year 1851-2
that being the latest period to which we had a
complete statement. The Right Hon. Baronet
could neither be praised nor censured for these
matters, which occurred previous to his connection
with the important department which has been
placed under his control. We have the results
of the subsequent years in round terms, that
of 1852-3 showing a surplus of 639,4651., and of
1853-4 (the only year for which the Right Hon.
Baronet and his colleagues could be held in any
degree responsible), which shows—not a surplus
—but a deficiency of 872,3351. The first point
then for which such extravagant commendation is
bestowed, is that he has contrived to change a
surplus continued during several successive years
into a deficiency not far short of a million sterling!
We certainly cannot see the propriety of the
praise—although the miserable financial antece-
dents of the Right Hon. Baronet might have quite
prepared us for such a result.
But what are his anticipations for lthe coming
time—to what improvements does he look for-
ward ? All the comfort we can obtain is being
told that " on the whole he by no means despairs
of future years, although when there is so
large a deficit staring one in the face it
might appear at first sight to be somewhat
disheartening !" This is certainly by no means
a cheering prospect. Nor does it by any means
improve when we enter into a consideration of
the various details. On these points we shall
merely give expression to the views of the Right
Hon. Baronet himself, so that there can be no
dispute on the point. He tells us " that in the
great item of the land revenue, which furnishes
by far the largest portion of the revenue of India,
there can be no increase. With regard to Ben-
gal, the terms of the settlement preclude any pos-
sibility of increase from that source. In the
north-western provinces, where the leases are
granted for a long term of years, and in Bombay,
where the land is also leased for terms of years,
there cannot, at any rate, until the expiration of
those leases, be any increase of revenue from that
source ;" and with regard to Madras, he "is
afraid, so far as the land revenue goes, that,
whatever may ultimately be the case, the first
operation will result in a reduction !"
So much for the land revenues, the auguries
respecting which can scarcely
about
b oumt 0
Ps
Otb e deemed
y ag
auspicious even by the
e
acgmWou°n°tdin; it'o'n the average to comes the opium revenue,
FOUR, MlLLlONSsanguine
STERLING ; and of that he declares that " there is
an estimated deficit for this year," but " he thinks
it likely that the demand for opium from China
will not materially diminish, and that the revenue
may by possibility be maintained."
A s to
monopoly, so greatly complained of
by the
pthe salt
ople
of Hiudostan, and which has so strongly excited
the indignation of the home community, we are
merely told that the vote carried by a decisive
majority in the Commons House of Parliament
was "an ill-advised one." But nothing is said
respecting any alteration or modification thereof ;
while of the Customs revenue, he (Sir CHARLES.
WOOD) fears " that, until the exports of India
can be materially increased, we cannot expect any
great augmentation from that source."
So much for the fincntces of India, under the