The Sun.
London, England, 1854-05-29 00:00:00

ther under the banners of GORTSCHAKOFF. Until
at last, after a series of brilliant encounters with
the Russians—encounters in which the soldiers of
the SULTAN have hitherto proved invariably vic-
torious, aided only by the Egyptian contingent,
comparatively speaking, a mere handful of brave
but ill-disciplined auxiliaries—OmEß PACHA has
barely time to concentrate his forces in the vici-
nity of Schumla, where he is threatened by the
whole of the gigantic army at the disposal of the
baton of Prince PASItIEWITCH.
And at this supreme moment, with the French
troops still tarrying at Gallipoli, and the English
troops still dawdling at Scutari—with Adrianople
to be still reached by the allied contingents—
with the Balkans beyond that to be passed over
—at this momentous juncture another miserable
Protocol suddenly comes into existence, and ru-
mours are again heard of new proposals and fresh
negotiations !
Simultaneously, or almost simultaneously, with
the receipt of the intelligence of a re-
newed intercourse between the Diplomatists
of Vienna, Berlin, Paris, and London, and
the autocratic Councils of St. Petersburg—
come sinister reports of the downfall of Silis-
tria, or at any rate of its investment. With
the maritime armaments sent by the Western
Powers into the Baltic, probably advanced as far
into the Gulf of Finland as between Helsingfors
and Cronstadt--with the allied fleets in the
Euxine, hovering alternately off Odessa and Se-
bastopol—with
the British contingent encamped
at Scutari, and the French contingent at Galli-
poli—there are again. muttered rumours of
a diplomatic compromise with , the status quo
ante bellum as the conceded sine qua non of
a disgraceful and disastrous arrangement !
And thus attention is being again diverted from
the scene of encounter to the focus of these diplo-
matic intrigues. Observation is being again
diverted from the seat of war to that, fatal city of
Vienna, which has giVen birth to another abortion
of a Protocol. Meanwhile, with the Anglo-French
contingent still sauntering about their encamp-
ments on the shores of the Bosphorus and the
Dardanelles—Silistria is threatened by the often-
defeated and therefore more than ever infuriated,
_ .

the recently and considerably augmented, Russian
army under Prince PASKIEWITCH. If any cala-
mity were unhappily to befal Silistria—while the
Anglo-French troops are all the time at Scutari
and Gallipoli—that event would tarnish as foully
the military standards, as the massacre of Sinope,
when the combined fleets were at Beycos, blotted
the maritime flags, of the allied Western Govern-

ments.
Instead of hesitating and procrastinating in this
lamentable manner the maritime supporters of
Turkey, the two formidable antagonists of Russia,
the avowed and recognised champions of the peace
of Christendom, ought surely with more reason to
strike a bold and rapid blow—in the north and
in the east, in the Baltic and in the Euxine, on
the Neva and- on the Danube, at Cronstadt and
' at Sebastopol—against the fleets and armies of
the arch enemy of civilisation. Let the Anglo-
French soldiers already landed on the coast of
Roumelia be hastened on—some across the Black
Sea to the Crimea, and some northwards to a point
not far removed either from the head-quarters
of OMER PACUA or from those of Prince PASKIE-
WITCH. Let other troops be despatched in the like
directions with all reasonable promptitude, and
others also be conveyed forthwith into theßaltic, to
be landed on the shores of Sweden, there to assure
by their appearance the rising against Russia of
both Swedes and Norwegians. Let measures like
these be adopted, let adequate authority be en-
trusted to the commanders by sea and land, to ST.
ARNAUD, RAGLAN, DUNDAS, HAMELIN, NAPIER,
and PARSEVAL-DESCUENES, and long before Octo-
ber the war might be brought triumphantly to an
end by the allied Governments. Otherwise than
by this display of energy, the struggle will be as
protracted as it must be disastrous to the glory
of Europe and injurious to the interests of its
more civilised populations.

The '4 ursine" fraternity are again receiving a
severe and well-merited castigation. The patriotic
(!) individuals who are looking anxiously forward
for some disastrous intelligence that may have the
effect of exciting a monetary panic, and bringing►
public credit into disrepute, are likely to pay
pretty severely for their experiment. On Satur-
day there was a general improvement in tho quo-
tations of Stocks and Shares, to tho amount of
about 1 per cent., and business was transacted in
Consols after regular hours at a further improve-
ment of at least /, there being buyers at 91.
They have, in fact, totally failed in deterring
bona fide purchasers. Capitalists still come for-
ward, not merely for temporary or speculative
bargains, but for actual investment, thus proving
their undiminished confidence in the stability and
soundness of the national securities. Were it
not for the assistance afforded by the " Old Lady"
to the speculations for a fall, by the increase in
the minimum rate of discount, and the large re-
ductions made in the " public securities" held by
the establishment, it is probable that the rise
would have been even more decided than it has
been, although amounting to more than 2 per
cent. within the week, and 6 per cent. within the
last'seven weeks. Sufficient has, however, been
done to make the friends of the AUTOCRAT deplore
their very injudicious operations, and to prove
that the public are not to be beaten by the Stock
Exchange.

There are some very unusual phenomena appa-
rent which appear to confound the calculations of
the wise men of the East. It appears that, con-
trary to the general rule, it is the permanent in-
vestments that are in most favour, and which are
eagerly sought after, even at much lower rates of
interest than the floating debt- redeemable at par
at fixed and specified periods. Thus while Consols
at 91 do not yield quite 3/. 6s. for every 100/ in-
vested, Exchequer-bills, paying 3/. Bs. 6d., do not
command a premium, while the Exchequer-bonds,
returning 4/. and payable in four years, are com-
paratively neglected. The funded debt is what
is sought for by capitalists, large and small, and
the "anomaly," as it is termed, of this circum-
stance puzzles those who fancy that. they have
great experience as to the causes of these fluctua-
tions, and has even excited no ordinary astonish-
ment in official quarters. Indeed, that astonish-
ment is loudly expressed by, a contemporary
known to derive its information directly from
Downing-street, and to have extraordinary sources
of information with respect to Treasury secrets.

If, however, we take more than a superficial
view of the subject—if we examine closely and
minutely the causes of this so-called " anomaly,"
the matter will not appear so very surprising
after all—and it will be found that the
people have evinced greater shrewdness than
they were given credit for possessing—Exchequer
bills and bonds which, to some extent, ejusdein
generis, aim at the funds that are, applicable to the
general business purposes of the country. They
compete with commercial paper, and are greatly
influenced by the rates of discount for the time
being. They are virtually bankers' securities, and
therefore are peculiarly sensitive to a tightness of
the market. The " application of the screw"
produces an immediate effect. Where persons can
obtain 4 or 4i per cent. from first-class houses for
money on call, they- will not seek investments
which, while not offering greater present interest,
may be considerably depreciated, and cannot rise
very considerably even under the most favourable
circumstance. Now everything tends to show
that the pressure is
of a
of
is at present 5-k per centte,mporary character. It
is true that the Englandßank
but t i rate s
only
n ly 2
p
o f
e r
c discountent.
at Hamburg,
3 per cent, at Amsterdam, ancldiar4acpteerr
w
cent. at Paris for
to that which only ill passpaper
of
current in Thread-
needle-street. How long, then, can our present
extravagant rate be maintained ? It cannot be
very long, for the owners of money will seek the
highest rate of profits consistent with security,
and there is a tendency to "equalisation," which
nothing can change. We have heard so much of
the boasted effects of putting "on the screw," in
bringing back money to the country, that the man
must be indeed in a happy state of ignorance who
cannot judge for himself as to the probable results
by the regulators of the
Of -the tours© purSued