The Sun.
London, England, 1854-06-21 00:00:00

THE WAR.

We now learn from the Moniteur that Prince Gort-
schakoff has been wounded. This news reaches us but
a few days after the intelligence that General Schilders,
the chief of the artillery, bad been put hors de combat.
The mishap of General Schilders had been preceded by
the shooting down of Prince Paskiewitsch. In the
Russian accounts of the wounding of the most eminent
o* the Russian generals it was stated that his disaster
had been caused by the bursting of a shell, but then all
the world.knews by this time that the Russians never
tell the truth. We only know with certainty that the
three head men of the Rus-ian armies sent against the
Turks have been struck by shot, and the curious question
has been asked whether this result has been brought about
by the simple fortune of war, or by the Minie Rifle, or by
the hands of the Russian soldiers themselves. From all
that can be gleaned respecting such a matter, it is just
possible that the three generals have been struck down
by their own troops. All the world knows that such
things "may happen"—of course "by accident"—and
when we remember the horrible way in which the poor
Russian serfs are kidnapped, dragged from their homes,
and flogged—literally flogged— till they fit, like pieces
of a machine, into the soulless discipline of the Musco-
vite ranks, there to suffer the miseries of war in a
swamp like the Dpbrudscha, it is by no means difficult
to imagine that men in the ranks may adopt a treacher-
ous but effectual way of their own for making Russian
generals sick of a contest in which they, the common
soldiers, get only hard knocks without any hope of pro-
motion. Daring an engagement it is impossible to say
which way a musket may be levelled, and a Russian
general may be hit by accident" instead of a Moslem
patriot. _ _

If the three generals have not been "accidentally shot
down by their own people, the most probable theory
about their mischances is that the Minie rifles have done
the work. As the warprogresses, should the new weapon
in efficient hands be found competent to the special duty
of bringing down all officers the moment they appear in
the field, a new reason will be supplied Pr supposing
that the Russians may be more easily conquered than
ever. How disgusting must any such result be to the
Russian orga'n in Loudon which a year ago declared the
Turkish troops to be a "mere rabble," utterly incapable
of standing before the myriads of the Czar. " Rabble"
have already beaten the favourite troops of the Czar
whenever the latter have ventured to come to blows
with their 'assailants ; and now we find the Russian
general hors de combat one after another. If they go on
winning in this fashion the Turks may fully calculate
on having before long the weathercock journal on their
side, for so sure as the Czar gets well beaten the Times,
when he is down and helpless, will be the very first to
jump upon 'him with all the ingratitude of savage bru-
tality.—Daily News. ,

THE-CRYSTAL PALACE.—His Royal Highness Prince
Albert, accompanied by the King of Portugal and his
Royal Highness the Duke of Oporto, visited the palace
yesterday morning at ten o'clock. They were attended
during their survey of the building and park by Mr.
Fuller, Mr. Owen Jones, Mr. Waterhouse Hawkins,
and other officers of the company, and expressed much
gratification at.what they saw. The number of admis-
sions for payment at the doors in the course of the
day was 11,522, and of season-ticketholders 1,336,
snaking a total of 12,858. As an example of the suc-
cess which thus far attends the exhibitors' department,
we may state that during the past week the agent of
the French Muslin Company, which has taken space
in the Mixed Fabric Court, sold 700 muslin dresses.
A magnificent display of the manufactures of Sevres,
Goblin, and Beauvais, contributed by the Emperor Na-
poleon, has been unpacked in the French Court. Among
the objects thus liberally sent over are three splendid
vases, and two exquisite specimens of painting on por-
celain.

THE NEW PRUSSIAN Loarr.—Advices from Berlin
state that the new Prussian loan was to be opened on
Monday. It will he for only 2,250,0001., in a 46 per cent.
stock, at 94, less 1 per cent. commission, and the sub-
scription lists were expected to be rapidly filled.
THE NEW RUSSIAN LOAN.--According to a telegraph'c
statement from Amsterdam, the new Russian loan is all
taken. The market quotations for Russian stocks, how-
ever, were flat.
THE STREET CABS.—It is often remarked that the
number of hackney carriages now in use is less than
before the act of Parliament of last session, which altered
the price of fares and gave flower for the better regula-
tion of these carriages. This is, however, a mistake.
We are informed that the number of cabs licensed in
June, 1853, was 3,326, and at the present time, June,
1854, there are 3,421 in use, being an increase of 95
above the number used in the former year.
RE-ESTABLISHMENT OF POLAND. —On Monday even-
ing the third of a series of lectures on Poland and its
past history, " with reference to the present crisis and
the permanent establishment of peace in Europe," was
delivered at St. Martin's-hall, Long Acre, by Mr. Ed.
Beales ; the Right Hon. the Earl of Harrowby in the
chair. The lecturer, in tracing the past history of Poland,
compared it to Russia, and said that which rendered
Poland so odious to that power ought to render it the
more dear to those who loved freedom and liberal ideas.
(Cheers.) Reverting to times of war he showed that
while in Poland all were anxious to bear arms in defence
of their country, in Russia fathers and their children
were taken indiscriminately and compelled to bear arms
against their will, by which it was common for them to
so mutilate themselves as to be incapable and useless.
Regarding slavery in Russia he related anecdotes of
Russian generals gambling away the wives and children
of their servants, while in Poland a code of rules formed
part 'otthe-"c6nstitution," giving full liberty to all in-
dividuals, and allowing them togo where and serve whom
they pleased. (Cheers.) Having shown that the course
pursued by the Emperor Nicholas towards Turkey was
identical with that taken by the Empress. Catherine
_for
the partition of Poland, he said that everything showed
the necessity for restoring Poland as it was in the 16th
century. (Cheers.) The Earl of Harrowby observed that
what the lecturer had said was of a nature to dispel the
impression that the people of Poland were not fit to have
an independent government, or that there would be any
great diffioulty in the way of their obtaining one which
would contain within itself the elements of vitality, and
which would be found effectual in securing the balance
of power in Europe. The necessity felt by Prince Met-
ternich for the re-establishment of Poland as a cushion
between Austria and Russia had been spoken of ; but
the cushion was required, not by Austria alone, but by
all Europe. He could not take leave of them without
expressing shortly his opinion on the subject which had
brought them together ; and when he considered the
war in which we were engaged, and how it was to ter-
minate, he must say that he could not see how the secu-
rity of Europe could be provided for, or how a durable
peace could be made, without the restoration of Poland.
He did not say that Roland would be restored—that
must depend oirthe will of Heaven ; but looking at the
map which hung before them, and seeing the position
which Poland occupied on that map, he did not think
that any other barrier could be found that would prove
effectual and lasting_ against the aggressions of Russia,
except that winch would be provided by the re-establish-
-1/2°,14 of th 0, 414_1160mm of:Poland. .