The Sun.
London, England, 1854-11-07 00:00:00

[PRICE SD.

THE INDIRECT TRADE WITH RUSSIA.

(From the Examiner.)
To ,hurt our enemy, shall we resort to measures to
distress our own commerce ? So foolish a question
does not call for answer. But really the question we
have stated is included in the question that has been
raised, whether it is not expedient to take steps to sup-
press the indirect trade with Russia ? The fact to be
dealt with is that, notwithstanding the war, we continue
to get what we want from Russia, and that which can-
not be supplied to us at the same price and of the same
quality from any other quarter ; and the question is.
whether we should refuse ourselves the supply of our
wants in order to affect Russia with the loss of the sale
of her raw materials The short answer to this is, on
which
.side would the balance of injury lie, or which side
would be the greater loser by their common injury ?
For the war of the market is like the war of the field;
the battle cannot be fought without damage and loss to
both buyer and seller, and the party who suffers most in
the conflict is the defeated. It would then remain to be
asked whether Russia or England was the greater gainer
by the trade between the two, which would be resolved
into another question, about the aziswer to which there
can be no doubt, namely, whether a trade in raw mate-
rials, or a trade of manufactures, is the more valuable ?
If the indirect commerce with Russia could be extin-
guished altogether, our conviction is that we should
suffer more than our enemy from the common injury.
And as our trade supports the war, how should we be
the bet ter enabled to wage the war with vigour and suc-
cess by impairing what supports it ? But the truth is,
that it is out of our power to suppress the Russian trade
—as much out of our power to suppress our wants of
necessaries as to suppress the supply of them—and all
that could be done by expedients for the exclusion of
Russian goods would be putting them through a more
circuitous channel, or passing them through the manu-
factories of neutral nations to the loss of our own. If
Russian tallow and Russian hemp were kept out, ean-
dies of Russian tallow, and cordage of Russian hemp
wouli infngetob, phrase, ,P Tin in," despite of certifi-
cates of origin:-.seitY afiait'expidiarit ferthwarting the
natural laws of demand and supply.
Napoleon at the height of his power tried the experi-
ment of damming the streams of trade, and he might as
well have attempted a millhead to Niagara. The conti-
nent was flooded with English goods in response to the
Milan decrees.
And when, at the breaking out of this war, the neutral
rights were enlarged, much to the honour of the Govern-
ment and the satisfaction of the country, what was ex-
pected but precisely what has happeaed ? We hailed
that change as the best guarantee for keeping the war
within its present bounds ; but we foresaw without any
regret that its effect upon the enemy's commerce would
be diminution, not suppression, and such diminution only
as must necessarily attend any derangement of the usual
course of trade, or passing it through an indirect channel.
But displeasure is felt that Prussia is the gainer by her
mean subserviency to Russia ; and because she is the
gainer, are we, for spite, to make ourselves losers ? So
lung as Prussia may be regarded as a neutral, she is en-
titled to the enlarged rights conceded to neutrals, and
when her ill offices or undisguised hostility shall warrant
measures against her, they will be of another sort than
diverting the transit of Russian goods from her territory.
It is to be remembered, moreover, that Prussia is a
road traversed in both directions, and that British ma-
nufactures find their way through it to Russia, as well
as Russian produce to our markets ; and, with a very
obvious intention, Russia has lowered its import duties
upon articles entering from Prussia, among which are
English manufactures.
But we may be told our exports are small compared
with our imports from Russia ; but comparatively small
as they were, 1,200,0001., they bore an enormously en-
hanced value in the. Russian markets, and Russia
would probably lose as much in wealth in losing those
imports as in losing her exports of raw produce. Still,
it is not to bo denied that the value of the Russian
imports into this country has exceeded the value of
the British exports to Russia, perhaps by some 2,000,000/.
or more ; but, whatever the difference may have been,
it has been paid circuitously by English manufac-
tures, represented generally by equivalents to colonial
produce. But if gold had been the commodity instead
of sugar, or any other article of consumption, the only
observation to be made on the fact would be that we
wanted tallow, hemp, or hides, more than we wanted
the gold with which we paid for them. The truth, how-
ever, is, that the exchange is still about par, or rather
somewhat in our favour.

To illustrate our argument generally, suppose we
wanted a fleet rigged to fight against the Russians. The
hulls, the masts, the yards, and spars, all are prepared,
except the shrouds, the halliards, tacks, sheets, &c.
Should we, in such case, refuse ourselves the use of
cordage, the raw material of which was Russian, and
leave our ships to rot as lumber in port ; or should we
fit them with the help of the enemy's produce, and apply
them to the destruction of his power ?
Every gain of our trade is so much added to our
strength and our means of combating and subduing the
enemy. And even if the enemy gained in the same pro-
portion (which we do not admit), the equality would
leave us the superior strength of the superior commerce,
our trade being to the Russian more than eight to one.
But if we could contrive to extinguish both the Rus-
sian trade. and our own connected with it, the effect
would be like starving a strong man and a weak man
before a combat, divesting the first of his superiority,
and reducing both to the same level. England, it is
true, has h'er commercial greatness independent of her
trade with Russia, but why should she forego any ele-
ment of her strength, why impoverish herself to any de-
gree in order to impoverish a poor Power ? And what,
after all, is the whole amount of the Russian commerce,
her trade with the whole world, of which such great
account is made t Why, exports of about the annual
value of 14,000,0001., and imports to the annual value
of 12,000,0001. . .

The present commercial relations may be temporary
or not—we believe the former; but be that as it may,
we deprecate any deviation from the enlightened policy
as to neutrals which has been adopted, and any inter-
ference with the currents of trade for which it has opened
channels,

TERRIBLE EXPLOSION AND GREAT LOSS
OF LIFE AT ST. GEORGE'S-IN-TILE-
EAST.

Yesterday morning, between the hours of five and six
o'clock. the inhabitants of Coleman-street, St. George's-
in-the-East, were most painfully excited in consequence
of a fearful explosion of fireworks, which, it is to be re-
gretted, was attended with the sacrifice of not fewer
than five persons, and various injuries to several oth r
persons, besides destroying a great deal of household
furniture, wearing apparel, and other effects.
It appears that for some years past a man named
Watson, who carried on the business of a dairyman at
No. 493/4, Coleman-street, bad been in the constant habit
of making fireworks to be sold on Guy Fawkes'-day.
This season, it is stated, lie had been more than usually
busy, and to complete an order had been obliged to work
all Sunday night. At the time alluded to above, Mr.
Watson had occasion to leave the house for a few
minutes, and had barely entered the yard or court at the
rear of the premises, when he heard his wife crying out
" Fire !" most frantically. The man immediately made
an attempt to get back into the house, knowing that his
wife and several children were within the building. lle
managed to get half-way through the passage when an
explosion ensued, which struck terror amongst all re-
siding in the neighbourhood.
The explosion had barely subsided, when sheets of
flame of different colours, with crowds of sparks, and
suffocating smoke rushed out of every window. At the
same time the cries of those in the house became pitiable
in the extreme. A chimney-sweep, who was passing at
the moment, rushee into the building and succeeded in
rescuing Mrs. Watson and one of her children, whom
he brought down in safety. The husband of the unfor-
tunate woman also made every exertion to get to his other
children, who it was feared were in their beds asleep.
In so doing he became surrounded with a sheet 'of sul-
phurous flame, by which his arms, face, and neck were
terribly burnt, and he was at length obliged to give up
the attempt as hopeless.
Explosions followed in rapid succession, and when
they had spent themselves, the flames rolled forth from
the various windows, and also through the roofs, shed-
ding a lurid glare over the whole district, which caused
a general turn-out of the London fire brigade. The
engines belonging to Well-close-square, Schoolhouse-
lane, Jeffrey-square, Watling-street, and Whitecross-
street stations were soon in attendance, and a plentiful
supply of water having been procured from the mains
of the East London Company, the firemen went to work
most vigorously, in spite of which the flames continued
to spread most fearfully, seizing upon every room in
the place, clearly indicating that all who had not
previously thereto been rescued must be burned to
death.
After the lapse of two hours the firemen succeeded in
getting the conflagration extinguished, theywhe9 made
a search of the ruins for the purpose of finding
mis-
sing persons. After some time they discoveredtlle the
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ito
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,s havaiirligshb,eheandptriote-
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bodies removed to the dead house, there to remain until
an inquest is held upon them.
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The wife of the proprietor of the premises, together
with one of the youngest children, who were both fear-
fully:burnt, where placed in a cart on a layer of straw, and
they were removed to the hospital, but on making in-
quiries last evening the reporter was informed that the
mother and child 1134 since expired from the effects of
the injuries received, consequently making live deaths by
this distressing occurrence.

CANADIAN PREPARATIONS FOR THE GREAT FRENCH
EXHIBITION or 1855.—0ur Montreal correspondent
writing on the 23d ult. says :—" Sir Cusack Roney, the
Hon. Francis Hincks, the Hon. John Ross, Sir Allan
Ai‘..Nab, and Mr. Logan, geologicril surveyor to the pro-
vince, hare just been nominated a commission to secure
a proper representation of the products of the country
at the Exhibition, and it is 'stated that the Canadian
Legislature will vote 10,0001, for the purpose: