The Sun.
London, England, 1854-11-02 00:00:00

EXTRAORDINARY GAZETTE

IS ISSUED,

' ture of the Trent, the siege and bombardment
were going on with regularity and success," and that
"so heavy had been the fire of the besieging bat-
teries, and so terrible the loss of life in the town of
Sebastopol, that the air was reported to be tainted
by the dead who had fallen in the defence of the
devoted fortress !" If this be so, it is quite clear
that there could have been no serious conflict—
no surprise of the English right flank at Inker-
man by thirty thousand Russians, and no capture
of five redoubts and several guns ! Such a de-
plorable transaction would have obtained a pain-
ful notoriety, and have been spread far and wide
before the departure of the Trent, which left at
the date of the alleged MENSCHIKOFF despatch. If
anything whatever occurred, it could only have
been a mere affair of outposts. It is not impro-
bable that the statement received from Vienna, to
the effect that " the account in the Weiner Zeitung
of the English Army having experienced a serious
reverse was a gross exaggeration" may be quite
correct, and that the true version may be, that
" the affair referred to took place near Eupatoria,
where the Allies were on the look out for the ad-
vancing reinforcements of the Russians, and that
the British cavalry was attacked, but the French
advanced to its assistance, and the Russians re-
treated." Considering the MENSCHIKOFF tendency
to " mAlce mountains of molehills " when agreeable
to the CZAR, or to depress the mountains to mole-
hills, where the operation can be more acceptable,
we should not feel surprised if the trifling skirmish
were the sole foundation for the assertion that
" Lord CARDIGAN lost half his light cavalry."
We have other MENscurKosp accounts given
through the Journal de St Petersbourg, the men-
dacity of some of which is apparent; while others
are softened down to the greatest possible extent.
Thus we hear " that the Russian loss in killed
and wounded at the battle was 4,500." If this
admission be doubted, which will make it more
in accordance with the accounts we had previously
received, it will probably be nearer the truth.
The assertion that " on the evening of the 17th
ultimo"—the first day of the bombardment—
" the English had only two pieces which were capa-
ble of continuing the firing, and that the French had
been silenced earlier," we know to be untrue ;
while the admissions that " a powder magazine
had exploded," and that " Fort Constantine had
been much damaged by the fire of the Fleet," and
that " Bastion No. 3 had 33 of its guns dis-
mounted," only confirm to some extent the intel-
ligence we had previously received.
Under these circumstances we have no reason
to be dissatisfied with the course of events; or to
complain of anything save the unaccountable
taciturnity of the English Government !

How is it that every friend of Poland turns
to the Emperor of FRANCE, and not to the Go-
vernment of Queen VICTORIA ? To him appeal
follows appeal, and with a tone of confidence and
hope ; while no one thinks it worth while to
indite a sentence to the chief adviser of our
Queen. We are ashamed as Englishmen to
say the truth ; we have not one master mind,
and hardly, in the wider sense of the word, a
loyal heart, among our governors. As a body
they have not entirely got rid of that aristocratic
instinct which for long years, ever since 1815,
indeed, has turned to Russia, and to European
,despotism generally, as the bulwark of their
order. The legitimate, though barbarous, rule of
a $' Mighty Czar," and the absolute government
of the Qerman monarchs, who continued. abso-
lute only by gross violation of faith with their
subjects, have always been favourably looked
upon by our aristocracy. Even Lord Jour;
termed the struggle of Hungary for its
liberties—a struggle so resembling that of his own
nation for its liberties in the time of HAMPDEN—
a rebellion ! Were he to be its historian he
would, doubtless, borrow a title-page from CLA-
RENDON, and denominate it " The Great Rebel-
lion." But this leaning to foreign absolutism on
the part of our autocracy is not all. We really
have not one statesman equal to the occasion.
Lord JOELN is at home enough in the House of
Commons and its parties, but he has not a Euro-
pean mind. He has never pervaded the soul of
Europe by a single utterance worthy the constitu-
ticvnal Minister of the first and freest of European
kingdoms. He has been a veritable JAMES the
First in respect to continental politics ; and now,
unfortunately, he performs second part to a Minister
wbo will, if he can, stop the leak in European
politics with a peace which will in a few
years send all our statesmen to the pumps again.
There is but one security for European peace.
Every one knows it. Many have boldly spoken
out already. We have conscientiously
been of the number, and shall still be so ; and
that security is a reconstituted Poland. But who
cares to appeal for Poland and Europe to Lord
ABERDEEN ? He, worthy man, would doubtless
say to himself, " Oh, yes, all very good ;—but
peace peace ! It would be criminal to fight one
day longer than NICHOLAS stands out. Liberated
Poland—yes, very desirable ;—a European barrier
against Russia,—yes, surely it would be ;—the
right of the Poles—no doubt. Ah ! but peace—'
give me peace, and Poland must take her chance,
and Europe too, till ABERDEEN is out of the
political scrapes of this world, and then Europe,
and Russia, and Poland may settle it as they bes