The Sun.
London, England, 1854-07-17 00:00:00

and England have bean furnished to an extent
more than might have been at first deemed requi-
site—now that the inhabitants of our own coun-
try have provided their administrators with the
means of war so abundantly, that additional taxes
to the amount of 10,000,0001. have been secured,
as a means of enhancing so far the enormous re-
sources of our Exchequer. Solicitude, we repeat,
is naturally felt by the community, that after all
this there should no longer be any uncertainty
_ .

whatever as to the vigorous conduct of the war
by France and England. That solicitude, we
again assert, must be satisfied, or at the very least
must be somewhat allayed.
Hitherto the people have only been rendered
impatient by the loud talk about all the grand
things that are going to be done—while all that
has been done actually has been simply in the
way of preparation I A change must, sooner or
later, be wrought upon the policy of the Cabinet
—or another and more formidable change must,
sooner or later, manifest itself throughout the

population.
An important meeting has taken place this day,
at noon, in Downing-street--a formal meeting of
the supporters of her MAJESTY'S Government.
Summoned as these supporters were to assemble
by Lord J. RUSSELL, in his capacity as Leader of
the House of Commons—summoned as they have
been by him at the very close of the session—the
incident must be allowed to be sufficiently indica-
tive of some secret anxieties at the heart of the
Government. It is by a significant coincidence,
moreover, that this assemblage has been con-
vened on the precise day the evening of
which has been fixed for t
hat o on the subject
'Of the War Ministry. What should be done now
for their own security by the Members of the
Cabinet should be -- ? Everybody knows
what. The proceedings upon which Ministers
ought to adventure now are patent, as the phrase
is, are patent one and all to the comprehension of
the entire community.
As to the Session—it should not be ended.
Much less should it be hurried to a close. Par-
liament should be merely adjourned instead of
being prorogued in August. It should be so ar-
ranged that the Lords and Commons might re-
assemble any time, say in October.
As to the Ministry—the fourth Secretaryship
of State, that of the War Depacrtment, should be
awarded by the Crown, as it has been already
awarded by the country, to Lord PALMERSTON. • So
far as the present juncture is corsocerned, the Noble
Lord the Member for Tiverton ought no longer
to be shelved as Home Secretary. The Duke of
NEWCASTLE ought to be induced to yield his own in
deference to the superior claims of his colleague,
in compliance with the all but unanimous demands
of his fellow-countrymen.
As to the war itself—(thanking Sir JAMES
GRAHAM for the phrase)—it ought no longer to be
pottered over. The Anglo-French fleets and the
Anglo-French armies ought, at last, to "go in"
with a rush, and—win. Hitherto the Turks
have been winning by themsetves in the dread
Tune of war—when unaided by their promised
allies from France and England.. Knowing this,
knowing all that might be accomplished by due
decision—one yearns for the indiscretion of some
princely Lord High Admiral. One longs for the
audible stage whisper—" Go it, NED" some
signal to NAPIER and DUNDAS kindred to that
once upon a time transmitted to CODRINGTON.
With vigour, with promptitude—what might not
be accomplished ? With our mighty fleets in
the Black Sea and the Gulf of Finland ! With
30,000 or 40,000 French soldiers sent out to the
aid of the maritime force of the BaltiO ! With
the British and French centiAgents united with
the victorious Turks and Egyptians, in the presence
of the retreating ranks of the Russian invaders !
What, we ask, might not be accomplished under
these circumstances, with proper vigour and promp-
titude 7 Why it is only necessary to glance for a mo-
ment at what has already been accomplished through
the aid, of vigour and promptitude by the unas-
sisted. Turks and. Egyptians I That will clearly
enough imply what might be expected from the
soldiers of the SULTAN, aided by those of Queen
VICTORIA and the Emperor NspoLEoN—if only
the right signal were given in earnest at last by
the French and English, Governments. Is that
signal to be pronounced ? It remains to be de-
cided before the closing of the present session of
he L egislature.

We may well be pardoned. if we cannot help
taking a little malicious pleasure in the perplexi-
ties of Honourable Members on Monday night.
The Bribery Bill was before them. The concm-
trated essence of the RUSSELL, the WALPOLE, and
the FITZROY KELLY Bills. The last election with
its glaring and superabundant corruption, de-
manded that something be done ; public propriety
must be maintained ; the pockets of members, the
matter of greatest consequence at St. Stephen's,
must be protected, and the grosser appearances of
the degrading vice must be " put down." What
shall be done ? The Parliamentary doctors, of
course, proffer their advice gratis. The author of
one Reform Act, and two Reform Bills, and we
know not how many Anti-Bribery Bills and Acts,
first came forward and prescribed in his usual
Parliamentary style. The prescription is but half
relished, and those hearty old reformers, Sir
Frrzno KELLY and Mr. WALPOLE, volunteer their
independent proposals, oaths and auditorship
being the principal elements in their recipe. Very
good temperedly the Head Physician consents to
the reference of all the prescriptions to a commit-
tee of anti-bribery doctors; they retire and consult.
Meantime, and pending the consultation, a bold
and honest practitioner comes forward with a well
known remedy, one which is found to work
most admirably in little republics or in great
ones, in Geneva or in America ; one which
made the election of an Emperor for
40,000,000 of people a scene of order and quiet,
and which is found of marvellous efficacy in Par-
liamentary clubs or building clubs, or, indeed,
wherever it has yet been tried. It is popular,
too--decidedly popular, and half a Ministry, and
much more than half the professed Liberals in the
House of Commons, have faith in it. It is pro-
posed, but alas ! the Liberal Court doctor cannot
stomach it. "Cure bribery by such a simple ex-
pedient ! Pshaw—pure quackery ! Tell me as
soon of the cold water cure, or globules. Sheer
quackery, Mr. SPEAKER and gentlemen of the
House of Commons, I assure you. Did her MA-
JESTY ever recommend such a thing in a Speech
from the Throne ? Has any Ministry ever pro-
posed such a nostrum ? No, let hon. members
patiently wait the result of the anti-bribery con-
sultation." Exit BERKELEY and the Ballot ; exit
Sir Wm. MOLESWORTII and his unanswered and
unanswerable logic ; and enter, on Monday, the
11th of. July, Lord J. RUSSELL, attended by Mr.
WALPOLE and Sir FITZROY KELLY.
Many as have been the pretended objections to
the Ballot, they were far exceeded in number and
nlTtllrrehimirpassed in force by the objections to the
—be of Monday night. Yet this, be it remem-
bered, was quite a Parliamentary Bill. Whigs
and Tories
a palliative
were by no means
their wits and their votes, and as
however, likianierebeeaad
ntmtsheaoorntbt in nothing, Radical
House
mseemed,
obstructive. The
towards severity thenupnitodhugeergoing the ordeal of walk-
ing among
it stepped towards laxityhabthi
to render elections bill would
If itt steppedrk.
if
vSiindecedretlhyeywidishdin
ngot lose the power.
ito
nc could not
cheaper,
work.
Honourable
ee
mtoetmhbeewrseawltehrye or the titled canedlidpartoe,
completelyof bewildered
g
in adjusting definitions, legal phrases, and penal-
ties, to accordance with their object. What was
meant by "on his behalf "
voter's ride to the hustings bribWeryas? payingWa for a
s a re-
freshment ticket per se, or one above 25., bribery?
Or was "asking " for money, situations, Sz;c., cor-
rupt and punishable solicitation of the Member ?
Was "indiscreet asking" to be included ? or, ought
asking and actually receiving to be punished alike ?
What again, under the treating clause, was "ordi-
nary hospitality," and what " corrupt treating ?"
A cheerful list of many modes of pure and vir-
tuous banqueting were readily suggested. In fact,
Lord JOHN himself came hereon to that renowned
conclusion, " that there was a good deal to be said
on both sides of the question." Experience was