The Sun.
London, England, 1854-12-05 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 5, 1854.

the acceptance of the " Four Points" without
guarantee or security of any kind for their obser-
vance, as if it were an ABERDEEN trick lo cobble
up peace on any terms, however disreputable.
The Prime Minister of England has not concealed
his bias. We are indebted for what has been done
not to his determination to vindicate the character
of England or to defend her Ally, but because
the voice of public opinion made itself heard
within the inmost recesses of Downing-street, and
it was impossible for him to retain office if he
altogether ignored it. The pressure from without
was too powerful to be disregarded. Now, how-
ever, in conjunction with Austria, he may do
something more to help his " friend of forty years'
standing," and the further delay looks as if some
project of the kind were on the tapis. it is,
however, for the representatives of the British
People, who will so speedily be assembled together,
to insist on knowing the details of the new Treaty,
and to take care that the Austrian jugglers shall
not be allowed to fling dust in the eyes of France
and England.

If Ministers really intend to carry on the
" War in earnest"—if they have even at the
eleventh hour determined to act with energy and
determination—there must be a decided change
in the financial policy of the country. We can-
not consent to see interests of vital importance
seriously prejudiced to gratify the crotchets of
Mr. GLADSTONE, or of any other man or set of
men. If the contest is to be waged vigorously—
if England is to put forth the whole of her mighty
power to obtain what she requires—the expenses
of the War cannot be provided out of the accruing
income of the country. If the attempt be seri-
ously made two results must follow : the indus-
try of the nation will be paralysed, and our gal-
lant defenders now in the Crimea be sacrificed.
There will bea financial crisis exceeding in intensity
that of the disastrous year 184'r, and those of
whom their country may well be proud will be-
come the victims of false economy and erroneous
principles.

There is reason to fear that, if suffered to do so,
Mr. GLADSTONE will still adhere to the course on
which he entered— that he will pertinaciously
resist all the suggestions for providing at least a
portion of the extraordinary expenditure by means
of a War Loan, or relaxing the restrictions on a
free circulation of money. There is but one de-
scription of logic that can carry conviction
to his mind. No impression will be
made save by decided majorities. He will
attend to a vote of the House of Commons, but
all other arguments are completely thrown away.
We are told on good authority that the Mi-
nisters will, in all probability, reserve the decision
on the question of a loan until it can no longer
be postponed. We have no doubt 'that
they will do so, unless sufficient rear
sons be shown for a, contrary course ; and,
as we have already stated, it is for the
chosen representatives of the people to adduce
these reasons. They must insist on a clear and
definite statement as to the exact financial con-
dition of the country before they pass a single
-rote of credit, or do anything which may enable
Ministers to dispense with their presence. They
can obtain ample information if determined to
exact it, and they should not allow themselves t•
be hoodwinked or bamboozled.

We aro told that the Treasury is fully able to
meet all demands ; so much the better, if it be
so. But we aro entitled to ask for ample proofs
on the point before any further credits be voted,
or outlay sanctioned, except with the distinct
and positive understanding that no fur ther taxes are
to be imposed to meet the credits thus granted.
But that if they cannot be provided for from the
existing resources, a loan must be obtained of not
less than eight millions, sufficient to recoup the
money abstracted from the Treasury to satisfy the
dissentients under the abortive conversion scheme.
The fact of that enormous payment seems to b•
completely lost sight of by all persons arguing on
the propriety or expediency of a loan. If the
principle, that every generation should pay its
own expenses be admitted, and that no portion of
an enormous outlay encountered mainly, if not
altogether, for the protection and security of pos-
terity is to be charged against it, there is at
least no reason why the existing generation should
pay off and liquidate from its already over-taxed
resources the charges created by their forefathers.
Even the most prudent proprietor would scarcely
be expected at the same time to pay off encum-
brances for which he was not personally respon-
sible—effect permanent and lasting improvements
for the benefit of his successors, and, in addition,
construct at an enormous cost extensive works to
keep out the ocean, or some other destructive
agent that was sapping the foundation of his estate,
and threatened to leave it barren and unproducti►e
for his children. If ho attempted to do too much he
would altogether fail in the effort. He should
not work hard, on scanty means, to make his
children much better off than himself. Let him
make every fair exertion, but let it not be sup-
posed that he is to reduce himself to the condition
of a mere alave. " All work and no play" may
be very well for Mr. GLADSTONE, but we do not
think that he will find the British tax-payers
such very " dull boys" as to assent to his views.

SPEECH OF ESPARTERO.

General Espartero on taking possession of the
chair, as president, deliyered the following
speech :—»

" Gentlemen and Deputies—l atu grateful with all
my heart for the unexampled honour which the Cortes
have conferred on me by nominating me their president.
I regret not to have the talent necessary to fulfil such im-
portant functions, but I count on the kindness and indul-
gence of the deputies, and on the standing orders to which
I will be always faithful. Gentlemen, the country
counts on your efforts, on your virtue, and on your wis-
dom to draw up laws which shall consolidate its rights,
by destroying the abuses, which had been introduced
into the government of the State. Adopt such laws—
the Queen will have great pleasure in accepting, and the
nation in executing them. As for myself, gentlemen, I
will always obey them, because I have constantly desired
that the national will should be executed, and because I
am confident that, without obedience to the laws, liberty
is impossible. I propose to the Constituent Cortes a
vote of thanks to my friend and comrade General Evaristo
San Miguel, and to the other members of the ad interim
bureau for the manner in which they have fulfilled their
functions."

ADVANTAGES OF THE SMOKE ACT.—It is stated by
Mr. Wright, C.E., Government inspector for the smoke
nuisance, that there are upwards of three millions of tons
of coals annually imported into London by sea and by
railway, and further, that at least one million of this
quantity is annually consumed for manufacturing and
furnace purposes, and it is a well-known fact, established
by practice, that by the better consumption of smoke,
and obtaining more perfect combustion, 20 per cent, of
fuel is saved ; hence 20 per cent. of one million tons
amounts to two hundred thousand tons of coal saved an-
nually to the nation, and that, at an average cost of 1/.
per ton, is 200,0001. saved to the metropolitan proprie-
tors of furnaces and manufactories, which would other-
NN 43 pass off in smoke, contaminating the atmosphere ;
but by this calculation, he asserts, becomes a twofold
and total saving to the nation of 400,0001. per annum,
and that without regarding it in a sanitary point of
view, for as already the improved appearance of the
London atmosphere is distinctly observable, as it is un-
necessary to point out the injury inflicted upon the pub-
lic health, or the pecuniary loss we sustain in the appa-
rently trivial matters of soap, and wear and tear of
linen, &c., by the deposit of the large amount of carbo-
naceous matter always present in the atmosphere, inas-
much as smoke cooled is soot, but when heated to COO
deg. Fahrenheit becomes highly inflammable gas, and is
_consumed ; therefore, every wreath of smoke that curls
, up a chimney is fuel wasted.

LATEST NEWS.

THE SIEGE OF SEBASTOPOL.

We have received from Vienna intelligence
from the Crimea to the 21st ult.
"On the 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th, the fire
of the singe was slack.
" Flags of truce had passed between the Gene-
rals, and it was agreed to exchange Lord Dunkel-
lin, by desire of the Czar, for a Russian Captain.
" The French had repelled several sorties.
" There was very little heavy firing, but con-
stant affairs between the pickets.
" French reinforcements were arriving daily.
"On the 20th the Orinoco landed the 97th
Regiment, all well.

" On the 21st the Queen of the South landed
strong drafts of the Guards and other regiments.

" The position of the Allies was much strength-
ened, particularly towards the right and flank."
" The men were busy hutting themselves.
" Wood was scarce."

MARSEILLES, MONDAY.

The Cairo, from Constantinople, with news to
the 25th, which was expected this morning, has
not arriyed.

There is a heavy sea and a north-east wind.

CONSTANTINOPLE.
CHANGE OF MINISTRY.
VIENNA, SUNDAY EVENING, DEC. 3.
Advices from Constantinople of the 23d Nov.
announce the following Ministerial changes in
Turkey :
Reschid Pacha is made Grand Vizir ; Ali Pacha
is made Minister of Foreign Affairs.
[A telegraplic despatch from Paris confirms the
above intelligeace.]

DENMARK.
COPENHAGEN, DEC. 4.

The result of the elections, as known at pre-
sent, is 84 Anti-Ministerialists out of 100 mem-
bers.
The Ministry has resigned in a body.
No new Cabinet has been formed.

impression of that terrible day. It appearri, moreover,
that the besieged entertain no il!tils!,on as to the issue of
the siege, and that Ell their efforts are employed, and
all their hope is to make the longest defence possible.
However, it is asserted that they have not adopted
any defensive measures in the interior of the town.
"Nov. 9. —lt is really amusing to read in the news-
papers that we have 400 guns ready to fire on the Rus-
sians ; if that were so, we should long since have
silenced the fire •f the place. Do you want to knew how
the Russians fire l In one minute I have just counted
forty-two cannon shot from the place. Forty-two balls
in sixty seconds ! That appears fabulous, but the fact
is, that from time to time the Russians are seized with an
attack of rage, and then they fire away with fury. It is
generally in the evening, or in the morning before day-
break, that they have these attacks, and then give us what
the soldiers call volleys of musketry with cannon balls.'
I imagine that they are in honour of the desert or
the rising of the Grand Dukes. Yesterday, at the same
time, we heard from the town music, religious chants,
and immense hurrahs. In truth, strange things take
place in Sebastopol. The means of excitation and in-
timidation employed by the Russians exceed all belief,
and it is, it appears, with a species of savages that we
have to deal. T!ius we are assured that a prisoner or
deserter from the Foreign Legion, a native of Wurtem-
burg, was forced to declare to a Polish battalion that
the French cut off an ear from deserters of their nation ;
and that the least that happens to all true Russians falling
into their hands is to be shot.

" Nov. I.l.—After violent rain, a hurricane similar to
those in the *West Irdies came on at about eight in the
morning. All operations were suspended, and it was
with difficulty that we could keep our feet. The tents
have been blown down or torn, and melted snow and
hail cover the earth. The hideous winter of Russia has
made its appearance. The fire from the place and that
of the besiegers is suspended. Every ens is gathering up
all his courage to struggle against the violence of the
elements. The hurricane blows from the south-west,
and the guard in the trenches, which relieved that on
duty during the night, was, so to speak, driven towards
Sebastopol. The hurricane continued up to five o'clock,
and did not cease until night.
" Nov. 15. —We breathe again like men who have
escaped from a disaster. The tents are being set up
again, and the sun reappears. If we had had two days
like yesterday, what, it is asked, would have become of
us l What would have become of the fleet ? The vessels
of war, it appears, have not much suffered, but those of
the merchant service have done so a great deal. The Eng-
lish have nine ♦essels cast ashore, and we have four.
Amongst the latter was one containing a cargo of oxen,
twenty-one horses, and six hussars— and all perished.
Within the memory of man no such hurricane has
been known in the Crimea; and what proves this is,
that the buildings of the old monastery on the coast be-
tween Balaklava and Cape Chersonese have been blown
down. Several horses have died from cold in the
bivouac, and about 30 broke loose, and ran in the direc-
tion of the Quarantine. The advanced posts of the Rus-
sians and the French chased them, and more than once
a Chasseur de Vincennes and a Cossack were seen pur-
suing the same horse. The works have been resumed in
all points. A strong wind which still prevails has, with
some precautions from us, assisted in drying the
trenches.

" Nov. IG.—The works of the siege are extended, but
not carried forward.

" Nov. 17.—The losses of the Enzlish in the hurri
cane of the 14th are estimated at 20,000,000 f."

A letter dated from the bivouac before Sebas-
topol, 12th ult., in the Moniteitr, says :
"Sebastopol is not, as has been generally supposed, a
regularly-fortified town, in the manner of those in Eu-
rope. It is provided on the side towards the sea, and
on some points inside, with fourteen regular important
works, having together 900 pieces of cannon, and on the
land side an enclosura in masonry occupying the half of
the south side, and another enclosure of earthworks the
other half. Sebastopol is for Russia a formidable arsenal
of artillery ; the number of guns is estimated at about
3,000, almost all of large calibre, including those fur-
nished by the ships. It is calculated that up to this
time the Russians have expended more than 600,000
shot, and more than 1,500,000 kilogrammes of pow-
der. The besieged have been constantly able to repair
their earthworks, and to replace any damaged guns
by fresh ones. The total number of troops composing
the garrison of the place may be estimated at 20,000;
the number of inhabitants is from 20,000 to 25,000.
The population is principally composed of the families of
the workmen employed in the port and arsenal. The
town, which stands on the side of a hill, is generally
well-built ; almost all the houses are isolated one from
the other, in order to prevent the spread of a fire in
case it should break out. The extent of Sebastopol,
from Fort St. Nicholas to the bottom of the port, is on
the south side about 5,000 metres, and on the north side
about 3,600."

THE WAR ON THE DANUBE.
The Monitcur publishes the following letter :LT
" Ibraila, Nov. 15.

"The enemy has been driven out of the Dobrutscha.
The 3d Regiment of the Imperial Guard of the Bashi-
ba.zooks, under the command of his Excellency
Hadji-Ali-Pacha. and Colonel Ahmed-Bey, in the
brilliant combats on the heights of the Chernaya,
have beaten the Cossacks of the Don and the Greek
volunteers. They have driven them back on Isatchka.
The Russians have repassed the bridge, and de-
stroyed it ; but the troops of the Sultan pursue the
fugitives in the mountains and forests. Baha.dagh, Tult-
scha, and Matschin are in the power of the Ottoman
troops. The Marshal Achmed Pacha, commandant-in-
chief of the troops of the Sultan, who occupies the two
banks of the Danube and those of the Sereth, has esta-
blished his heal-quarters at Ibraila. The theatre of
hostilities is now carried into Bessa rabia, where the
Russians are preparing to.resist, but they will have to
guard a line of at least fifty leagues, and they cannot do
it but by scattering their forces."

The following from the Wiener Zeitung, though
of a late date, looking like truth, is therefore given :
—On the 10thl ult. Sadik Pacha crossed the Sereth
at Badeni with two squadrons of hussars. 1,400
Turkish Cossacks followed on the next day, 800 cros-
sing the river at Badeni, and 600 at Maximeni.
These 1,800 horse established themselves in the places
lying centrally between Maximeni and Leova. On
the 10th, Achmet Pacha, the commander of the
vanguard, sent a request to the authorities of
Galatz to supply Sadik Pacha with all the neces-
saries he might require. Meanwhile Ibraila was
beiag fortified. It is reported that the Turkish
Danubian flotilla now consists of only two steamers
and 10 gunboats, indifferently armed : while the
Russian flotilla consists of four steamers and 36
gunboats, with 270 guns in all. A Bucharest
correspondent of the Lloyd says that the force of
the Russians in Bessarabia is not by far so great
as is generally supposed. It does not exceed more
than 40,000 men. The following estimate is said
to be reliable :—ln Kilia, Ismail, and Reni, there
are 15,000 men ; in Leova, Kischeneff, Kagul, and
Beltsch, 20,000 men •, and there are about 6,000
in other etations. Troops are being sent from
Yolhynia and Podolia to the Danube, but the pre-
sence of an Austrian army on the Gallician frontier
is a sufficient assurance that no great number of
the Russian troops will for the present be sent from
the North.

THE BALTIC FLEET.

KIEL, Nov. 29.

On the 27th the Vulture took despatches to the
squadron cruising off Dago, supposed to be recall-
ing them. On the -28th the Euryalus made her
appearance in the offing, but was unable to enter
the harbour, in consequence of the thickness of the
weather. She, however, came in this morning,
with a most dilapidated ook about her bows. Her
head, figure-head, and cutwater have been com-
pletely knocked away by collision with the Itn-
perieuse ; the copper bolts are sticking out in all
directions, and the stump of her bowsprit is just
seen where it was broken off. She left the rest of
the cruisers all safe on the 18th ; the weather has
been so bad they have not ventured up to Helsing-
fors. Large quantities of ice float about the en-
trance to the Gulf of Finland, and it is deemed ad-
visable that all ships should leave that part of the
Baltic, and come to Kiel immediately. They will
be here in two or three days. The Basilisk was
cruising off Bornholm. The weather here is very
severe ; snow, sleet, and rain, with S.W. winds.

The Turks are fortifying Marschineni. Omer Pacha
is about to leave Bucharest." Marschineni is a
small town in Wallachia, to the north of Bucha-
rest, and half way to Fokchany, on the great road
to Moldavia.

The Semaphore of Marseilles says :—" By the
Nil we learn that the Byzantin and Tharsis have
arrived safe at Ranaiesch. We have received satis-
factory news of all the steamers belonging to the
port of Marseilles ; one only has been cast ashore,
and has had to be abandoned, the 'Ville de Perpie-
nan. At the time this vessel was wrecked, on the
16th, the Russians were attacking Eupatoria ; they
were 4,000 strong, and had 14 guns. Fortunately,
the garrison of Eupatoria was able to force the
Russians to retire, just as the passengers and crew
of the -Ville de Perpignan landed. Had this not
been the case, the latter would have run the risk
of being massacred or made prisoners by the
Russians."
Wo believe that the French and English Govern-
ments are greatly pleased with the treaty, which
they consider perfectly satisfactory.
The exchange of the ratifications will take place
on or about the 15th of the present month.
Germany, with Austria, is to make a last attempt
to induce Russia loyally to accept the four guaran-
tees. In the event of her not doing so, Austria
will no longer content herself with giving the Wes-
tern Powers moral support—she will give them
active aid.

M. de Lartic, aide-de-camp to the Minister of
the Marine, has been selected to carry to the
Crimea the baton of marshal which has been con-
ferred on Admiral Hamelin. He leaves Paris in a
few days.
The Patric says—" We are happy to announce
that there is every reason to hope that the Henry
IV., which was driven ashore by the tempest of the
14, will be floated off again. The crew of the
ship, which have not left her, fired on the Cos-
sacks, who endeavoured to make prisoners of them,
and dispersed them."

BOURSE, YESTERDAY.—CLOSING PRICES.
Cash. fr. C. End of Month.
44: per Cents 96 —f. —c.
3 per Cents 72 70 72 75
Credit Mobilier 740 Roman
Credit Foncier — Austrian
Belgian Fives — Spanish Threes
Piedmontese B5 Homo Debt 35