The Sun.
London, England, 1854-04-28 00:00:00

LONDON, FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 1854.

There is an evident determination on the part
of the Russians to concentrate, as quickly as
possible, the enormous forces hitherto scattered
over the Principalities. In proof of this we
learn of late simultaneously that the troops before
Kalafat are retiring southwards, and that those
which had already crossed the Danube lower
down were strongly fortifying their position in
the Dobrudscha. It is what has been long anti-
cipated. It is the movement against which,
moreover, the Turks and their allies, whether
British, French, or Egyptians, ought by this time
to have been fully prepared. But are they ?
We question it. Firstly, the Turks themselves
have their most powerful body of soldiers strongly
placed not far from the hard-fought ground of
Citate, in Lesser Wallachia. Then it must
be remembered that the union of the
Turkish army near Kalafat with the
other division of the soldiers of the SULTAN
confronting the Muscovite invaders of the Do-
brudscha will require some considerable time,
comparatively speaking, for its completion. Then,
again, England and France are both—we all
know that—deplorably, we might almost venture
to say disgracefully, behind hand with their con-
tingents. As we observed in our remarks upon
this subject yesterday--7-there is a camp already
formed for the allied armies at Gallipoli, in the
Dardanelles—there is another camp about to be
formed at Buy ukdere, in the Bosphorus—and
there is the talk of head-quarters being established
at Adrianople, half-way between the range of the
Balkan mountains and the city of Constanti-
nople. Now, we ask any rational man, taking
these facts into account, and placing the map of
the seat of war before him, and considering for
live minutes the relative situation of Kalafa.t, of
Bucharest, and of the Dobrudscha on the one
side, and of Gallipoli, of Buynkdere, and of
Adrianople on the other—we ask any rational man,
we say, taking all these things into consideration,
whether he believes that by land Turkey, with her
allies from Egypt, France, and England, is pre-
pared for the probable result of a sudden concen-
tration of the Rus:ian armies under Prince
UreleasenaKoFF and Prince PASEIEWITCH ? For
our part, we candidly avow, that we do liot think
they are prepared on land for any such movement.
At sea nothing could have been better arranged,
t
hingsconsidered, than the whole of our vast and
rapid preparations. Considering the powerful fleets
which are now actually in the Black Sea and in
the Baltic, we think the highest credit is re-
fleeted upon the marine department of both the
French and English Governments. Upon this
matter we have already
ventured to express our
deliberate conviction that.the Board of Admiralty,
presided
over by Sir JAI&ES G
2"111,m, has displayed
throughout a capacity, an efficiency, and a patriot-
ism deserving of the fullest approbation of the
community. Not so, however, has it been with
the Horse Guards. There, no kindred
energy
and promptitude have been manifested. Instead
of all which, indeed, we have an extraor-
dinary parade reviews, and banquets, and
what not,
all expressive of eagerness to
place the land forces of the empire in a
position in which they might be speedily enabled
to do credit to themselves, to
ans afford eff
anecd in tual assist-
ance to the Turks and Egypti, which,
moreover, they might vindicate the glor of their
y
righteous cause by fighting bravely under the ban-
ners of their Sovereign. Notwithstanding all
'which tumult of preparation—We can only now,
towards the close of the April of 1854, learn of
the disembarking of only 8,000 of our troops at
Gallipoli, not within a brief interval of the actual
seat of war, but at Gallipoli, at an obscure sea-
port in a secluded part of the coast in the Dar-
aanelles

Yet the same intelligence brings us news of the
rapid withdrawal of the Russian troops before
Kawitt, evidently with a view to the rapid con-

centration of the Muscovite forces hitherto scat-
tered
about the Principalities. Together with
which accounts, moreover, we receive others, to
the effect that the soldiers of the AUTOCRAT,
' already conducted across the Danube, are strongly
fortifying themselves in the Dobrudscha. There is,
in fact, au evident system and a manifest consist-
ency so far in the tactics of Prince GORTSCIIAKOFF
and Passiarwrren. But Europe has yet to recognise
anything but confusion and inconsistency, and
dilatoriness and indecision, in the curious plans
for a campaign now in process of being carried
out by Lord RAGLAN and Marshal St. ARNAUD.
Where, too ? In Roumelia, and not in Bulgaria!
Not anywhere near the seat of war along the
banks of the Danube or in advance of the
Balkan Mountains ; but, with head-quarters
at Adrianople, and camps at Buyukdere,
on the Bosphorus, and at Gallipoli on the Darda-
nelles It is insisted, of course, that time ought
to be allowed before judging of the tactics of the I
allied Commanders-in-Chief. But that is just it. I
Time enough and to spare has already been con-
ceded, and as yet we are only, as it were, at the
commencement of our military preparations. Our
maritime preparations have long since been com-
pleted, and that, too, on a 'wale, it must
be allowed, adequate for almost any emer-
gency, and altogether magnificent. Whereas,
we repeat it, we are only now at the commence-
ment of our military preparations. The French
contingent is to be increased to 150,000 men in
the aggregate. Ours must be increased in like
manner proportionately. As yet England has
only arranged to send out to the East, against the
gigantic hordes of the Russian AUTOCRAT, from
25,000 to 30,000 soldiers. France as yet
has merely undertaken to supply 50,000 to
60,000 altogether. Of these-25,000 French
and 10,000 English have already been dis-
embarked at Gallipoli. Now, it is quite ob-
vious, even to the non-professional observer, that
this system is altogether inadequate to the emer-
gency. The contingents sent from the Western
Allies of the SULTAN to his aid in his own
dominions must—there is no doubt whatever
of this, if we really intend to vanquish the
enormous forces of the Russian AUTOCRAT
—be increased, and that, too, very con-
siderably. The French army of the East must
be increased, as we are told it is actually going to
be increased from 50,000 or 60,000 to 150,000
men altogether. The English army in the East
ought, in proportion, therefore, to be increased in
its turn from 25,000 or 30,000 to an aggregate
of 70,000 or 80,000. While, instead of landing
them at Gallipoli, or at Buyukdere, we ought to
disembark these troops at some point of the Turk-
ish coast, from which the actual scene of fighting
would be more accessible than from an out-of-the-
way seaport on the Bosphorus or the Dardanelles.