The Sun.
London, England, 1854-04-06 00:00:00

STRAND THEATRE.

Sole Lessee Mr. F. W. Allcroft.—Directress, Miss Rebecca Isaacs.
THIS EVENING, APRIL G,
Will be performed THE BEGGAR'S OPERA.
To be followed by BORN TO GOOD LUCK.
With THE DUMB BELLE. Eliza, Miss R. Isaacs.
After which, THE BLUE JACKETS.
Stalls, 55.; Rues, 35.; Pit, Is. 6d; Gallery, 6d • Private Boxes
XI I Is. 6d., to be had of Mr. Allcrott, 15, New Bond-street.

ASTLErS EUROPE'S NATIONAL
Lessee and Manager, Mr. William Cooke.
THIS EVENING, APIII. 6,

The entertainmedis Nvlll commence with the chivalric spectacle,
THE WOODMAN'S HORSE; or, The False Knight. Followed by
an elegant routine of Scenes in the CIRCLE, introducing Miss
BATE COoKE; the Wonder of the World, Miss EMILY ,COOKE; the
Premier Horseman, Mr. ALFRED COOKE ; Mr. WILLIAM CooKE on
his matchless steed RAVEN, and a new Burlesque Equestrian Pari-
sian Pastoral B ALLET—the appointments expressly made in Paris.
Concluding with (4th time) an entirely new Farce, DALRYM-
PLE VERSUS TUBBS.

Box-office open from Eleven till Four. Stage Manager, Mr. W
West.

HIGH WATER AT LONISON BRIDGE.
Taos DAY —Morning hi min.after 7 Evening 52 min.aft.
To.Moskovi—Morning 37 min.aiter 8 I Evening 23 min.aft. 9

THE WEATHER.—Sm Orrica, Arnii, 6.
THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE.
64—highest since noon yesterday.
43—lowest this morning and daring the night.
59—this day at noon.
BAROMETER, 30'47.
WiND, S.W.—Light breeze, and fine, sunshiny weather

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it 4• ,02*
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4.sttiv
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LONDON, THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 1854.

At a critical juncture like the present, when a
general European war may be said to have actu-
ally commenced, it is more than ever advisable,
RS already intimated by ourselves, that we should
endeavour to discover, by a careful investigation
into the present state of the Finances of Austria,
whether or not it be possible to demonstrate the
solvency of the Viennese Government. That the
course which may be pursued by that Cabinet
still continues to be a subject of uncertainty and
mere conjecture, cannot but render it the more
important to discern, if possible, the weight or
value of that power which may thus at any moment,
as it were, be thrown into either scale, to
swell the chances of a preponderance on the one
side or on the other, on the side of barbarism or
on that of civilisation. It is, undoubtedly, true,
that in the secret correspondence recently pub-
lished, we learn from Sir HAMILTON SEYMOUR
that, during the course of one of those strange
dialogues between the Russian AUTOCRAT and the
British Ambassador at St. Petersburg, on his
Excellency observing to the CZAR—" But your
MAJSTY has forgotten Austria ; now all these
Pastern questions affect her very nearly ; she, of
course, would expect to be consulted"—the
FemPEROI3. replied, "Oh ! but you must under-
stand, that when I speak of Russia, I speak of
Austria as well what suits the one suits the
other ; our interests as regards Turkey are per-
fectly identical." It is undoubtedly true that we
have received this avowal from the lips of the
CZA_R, through the issue of this secret and confi-
dential correspondence. But it is likewise indis-
putable that the revelation of the designs of the
Russian AUTOCRAT thereby made, through the
disclosure of that very correspondence between
the British and the Muneovite Governments, may
perchance so far wound the amour propre of the
Viennese Cabinet by rendering it painfully con-
' scions of its subordination to the Czar, and
of his sense of hiis imperial and para..
mount authority over the councils of the
KAisEn as to prepare th e way for some extraordi-
nary and startling estrangement. However this
may be, the line of policy about to be pursued by
Austria remains still, N%re repeat, up to this mo-
ment, entirely questionable. It is still doubtful
vrhether Austria, and with her, of course, Prussia,
will persist in a cour3 of rigid but armed neu-
trality. It is still rukcertain whether she may
declare herself in ei.irdial and active alliance
with the Western Powers as opposed to the
Northern Avroo
RAT—whether she may asto-
nish the world
by the enormous ingratitude
threatened by prince Seri WA RTZENBURG, or
whether, on the contrary, she may not accord
to the forces of the
-Emperor NICHOLAS the
advantages of her energetic
ration. Because of that and vigorous co-one-
very uncertainty, we con-
sider it to be more than ever desirable that we
should examine into the question of the solvency
of the Austrian Government.
Literally with this end in view, we recently
took occasion to direct the notice of the English
peiblic at large to a really remarkable anon g
amn oc ue ss
treatise* upon the Present State of the
riFin
ny
and Currency in Austria--a Pamphlet
Originally
printed at Leipzic, in German, but published
also in our own capital in the form 'of an
exact and lucid translation. Anonymous though
the brochure has continued to be from first to last,
both in the German original and in the English
translation, it betrays throughout the fact of its
, emanation from a masterhand, from a hand
skilled in the unravelment of financial difficulties,
and guided by an intellect wonderfully conver-
sant with the resources of the vast empire presided
over by the imperial Councils at Sehoenbrinin.
Differing, though tiro do, repeatedly tote e0:10
from several of the more remarkable deductions
of our pamphleteer, wre must, nevertheless, ac-
knowledge at °ilea the impartiality evidenced
throughout the whole of hiss ingenious
production. The sentiments •
of the writer in
no perceptible instance are, to our thinking
at least, dictated by t
par isanship. As he
himself avouches (p. 620 is , his «
"
been "to give a description of t has
he real state of
Isola object
the Finances and of the Curr ' •
enoy i
2natter to what result the investi t•n Austria, no •
gct ton mtga ld."
Mark that ! Occasionally, we
cones -
ive l ,
lieea en-
tirely mistakes the nature of the result, hut no-

where can we recognise any wilful perversion of
the facts such as might arise from cooked statistics
or plausible prevarication. " I wished," says the
writer, immediately after the remark just quoted,
" as far as was in my power to throw light on this
highly interesting subject." Highly interesting
the subject undoubtedly is—affecting as it does,
at the present moment, not merely the stability
of the Austrian Empire directly, but indirectly
also the balance of probabilities in favour of one
or other of the two great opposing forces
about to contest the superiority of Northern
Barbarism, or of Western Civilisation. Light,
moreover, the pamphlet before us has indisputably
thrown upon that curious problem—as any one
may readily perceive who enters without preju-
dice upon the labour of minute investigation.
The precise character of the problem to be
solved is, as to how it possibly can come to pass
that a great State like that of Austria—a State
gifted with enormous powers of productiveness,
both of soil and industry—labours, nevertheless,
under a deficit in its finances, and under an ex-
cess of paper money in its currency.
Nearly oue decade from the present time the
novel luxury of a surplus was undoubtedly en-
joyed for once by the Viennese Government.
For, yin 1845, while the national receipts of
Austria amounted to 160,566,323 florins, her
expenditure did not exceed 152,954,867 florins
in the aggregate—leaving a surplus, of course,
of no less than 7,611,456 florins. That was in
1845, remember. In 1846 the surplus had shrunk
to one of only 1,130,493 florins, for although in
the meantime the receipts had improved by nearly
four millions, the
expenses had ' become aug-
mented by more than 'ten millions—the latter
amounting altogether to 163,106,265 florins,
and the former to 164,236,758 florins. How-
ever, in regard to this year (1846), it
must not be forgotten that about the close
of February there occurred the Cracow-enterprise
and the Galicia-rebellion. By the termination
of the next financial year, that of 1847, the sur-
plus, however, had altogether disappeared. In-
stead of a surplus there was a deficit—and a
deficit, too, of as much as 7,060,334 florins, of
course to be covered by credit operations. This
diminution of the finances by the excess of an
expenditure of 168,798,485 florins over the
receipts, amounting to no more than 161,738,151
florins----and the consequent deterioration• of the
currency through the increase of the funded debt
by the raising of a loan, and of the floating debt
by the issue of Central-Kassenanweisungen—
must be attributed naturally enough to the
high price of corn consequent on a bad har-
vest, producing a diminution in the Excise,
together with a fall in the Lotto-dues and
in the proceeds of the State-property—these
misfortunes, coupled with an increase of the army
expenses in 1847, to 64,238,766 florins, chiefly
by reason of the agitation in Italy on account of
the affair at Ferrara. The revolution of 1848
brought a deficit of 45,110,646 florins, and that
of 1849 one of actually 121,905,804 florins in
the Austrian Finances—both deficits, of course,
as usual, requiring to be covered by credit
operations. By the end of 1850 the deficit
was less than that of the preceding year
(1849) by 67,040,942 florins, amounting, in fact,
to 54,864,862 florins altogether. The deficit of
1851, however, being increased by 7,358,768 be-
yond that of 1850, amounted to no less than
62,223,630 florins. While that of 1852 was
53,447,331 florins—less than that of 1851 by
8,776,299f10rin5, thanthat of 1850 by 1,417,531
florins, than that of 1849 by 68,458,503 florins
—but no more requiring in 1852 to be covered
by a new issue of state paper money ! A very
important and a very substantial amelioration.
Having observed the reality and the magnitude
of the deficit existing, ever since 1845-1846, in
the Austrian Finances, and having marked also
the deterioration of the national currency conse-
quent upon that deficit, a deficit ever fluctuating,
but always (since 1846) considerable—it becomes
necessary to discover, if possible, the origin of its
existence in an empire so manifestly prolific in all
the sources of wealth as that ruled by the
HAPSBURG dynasty, and guided by the BuoL Ad-
ministration.
As affording us appreciable assistance towards
this end, towards the attainment of this really de-
sirable object, it cannot, we conceive, be deemed
altogether idle to revert, at a fitting opportunity,
to the arguments of our anonymous Leipzic
pamphleteer.