The Sun.
London, England, 1854-07-24 00:00:00

tary glory and material results, have something in
return for our money. " We all believed that in four
or five weeks after the amount asked foil was given,
our troops and those of France would have been in the
thick of the conflict, on the banks of the iDanube, and
that by our valour and skill in the field, ip conjunction
with those of our ally on the other side of !the Channel,
we should by this time have expelled ever' Russian
-•
truder from the Principalities.
What the facts are it is unnecessary tosay. Never
was there a greater variance between anticipations and
results—between promise and performance. The mil-
lions we voted some time ago are all gone, or are going
very fast ; and yet we have literally done nothing. The
Turks have done marvels, but the Anglo-French army
have as yet achieved no conquest. We might as well,
notwithstanding the immense expenditure we have in-
curred, have remained at home. Instead of sending out
one of the finest armies that ever confronted a foe, we
might, speaking as regards the past, have sent out an
equal number of automatons. It now turns out, that,
notwithstanding all the positive' assertions which have
been made, to the effect that our troops had taken part
in the battles of Oltenitza and Rustchuk, no one solitary
English soldier was engaged in either of these affairs.
Down, therefore, till the present hour the Rassians have
not lost a single man through the English ally of the
Turks. We have not fired a shot—no, not one.
As regards the Turks, it has been, and is, a war in
reality, and most nobly have they acquitted themselves
in it. Bat as yet we are not at war. If, therefore, the
3,000,0001. are to be voted this night, let it not be pro-
fessedly for that for which it is not in reality. Let not
the House sanction the use of a misnomer. Let it not
give its consent to the pretendedapplication of 3,000,000/.
towards a war with Russia, when it is for no such object.
We have not, down to the present time, been actually
at war with the Czar, notwithstanding all that we daily
hear to that effect. Let the 3,000,000/.--if that sum is
to be given—be given avowedly forlceepineour armies
in any part of Turkey except where they can fight for
the Sultan ; and for keeping our fleets in the Black Sea
' and Baltic in that state of inglorious inactivity in which
they have remained ever since they reached those waters.
It is right to remind the members of the House of
Commons, that if they this evening acquiesce in the ad-
ditional 3,000,000/. which are to be asked by the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer for the purposes of the war,
without exacting from ministers undoubted guarantees
that something material will be done for the money, they
will become implicated in the Government guilt, and
will have to answer for their complicity to their consti-
tuents and the country.
There is one thing which, we presume, those members
who arrogate to themselves the terms independent and
patriotic will take care to see done, namely, that Par-
liament shall re-assemble after an interval of seven or
eight weeks. Any member voting the public money
to-night, without extorting from ministers a pledge that
Parliament will be again called together in the course of
the autumn, will incur a responsibility of the gravest
kind, and one which he will afterwards have cause
deeply to regret.

THE BLUNDER.

The Times thinks that the Austrian Government
has committed a " gross blunder" in not fulfilling
its engagement to occupy Wallachia. We are in-
clined to think that the gross blunder was com-
mitted, not by Austria, but
.by those who relied
upon her word.
It now clearly appears, as was indeed tolerably
evident from the first to all who have paid atten-
tion to dates and are acquainted with distances,
that the allied forces had no share in the successes
of the Turks at Giurgevo and other points on the
left bank of the Danube. Although the Englishtroops, after
passing more than two months in
utter inactivity, contrived to reach Varna at the
commencement of June, •yet they were even then,
as we repeatedly alleged, utterly unprovided with
the means of making the
few days' march which
still separated them frdin the Danube. Not a horse,
not a cart, not an ambulance had been provided ;
and, although serviceable horses could have been
purchased in Asia Minor at a very small cost, no
step appears to have been taken for this purpose.
If we inquire why a measure which the military
authorities must have known to be indispensable
was neglected, the answer will be, that the English
Government relied upon the assurances of Austria
that she would interfere at the first moment the
Russians attempted .to cross the Danube. Acting
under the conviction thus produced, the allied
troops have lost the glory of sharing in the tri-
umph of the Turks, and the immense advantage
which must have resulted from attacking the Rus-
sians with an overwhelming force at the very mo-
ment when they were in full retreat, humiliated by
their defeat at Silistria; and "deprived of the only
generals who could inspire the wretched soldiers
with the slightest confidence.
Austria has thus succeeded in impeding the ad-
vance of the allies until a season when it can be
prosecuted only at the greatest disadvantage. The
heat during July, August, and September is, in the
great Danubian plains, intolerable. There, no
shelter can be found against the fierce rays of the
sun, which from morn to eve looks down pitilessly
through a cloudless sky. There are few wells, and
the air is oppressive and sultry. Some idea of the
climate may be formed from a fact stated in the
German papers, that of 6,000 Russians who com-
menced a day's march, one-half were left upon the
road, and had to be conveyed in carts totheir desti-
nation, most of them affected by coups-de-soletl.
The Russians have also, as appears by the latest
accounts, taken advantage of the movement toVarna
rendered necessary by the breach of faith on the
part of Austria, to prepare a warm reception for
the allies at Sebastopol should they now proceed to
attack that port.
Our Austrian friends have thus contrived to cut
out for us some very agreeable work. In the
and French
meantime, according to the correspondent of the
Times in Vienna, the wits of that city are "sneering
and jeering" at the delays of English
troops mainly attributable to Austrian intervention.
are doing her work
Austria continues her armaments, while the English
the great German river. When enough has been
done to suit her interests, she will doubtless offer
and opening the navigation of
her mediation, backed by a powerful army. The
proverbial gratitude of the House of Hapsburgh
will then have full scope.
But the mere threatened occupation by Austria,
after the retreat of the Russians, is already pro-
ducing a disastrous effect in
Wallachia. The
Turkish Government had decided on appointing
General Maghero,
an honest , atriotic , and very
influential man, a native of the principality, as the p
'Governor of Wallachia. It was to this General,
whilst in Vienna, that the Russian Government
had offered 100,000 ducats
(nearly 50,00010 to
make common cause with them against the Turks.
He rejected the proposal.with
disdain, and at
the request of Reschid Pasha
proceeded to Con-
stantinople. His appqdntment had been decided
upon, but the convention with Austria, from
which so much benefit has been reaped, put a stop
to it. There is even too been
reason to fear, that
if the Wallachians continue to find their interests
induced to follow the councils of those Russian
emissaries, who with an ultra-democratic zeal are
now urging them to attempt a revolution on their
oenwtniraelcycoduinstr.egarded by the
allies,
they will be

resolute" Duchess Sophia, the
~..__________ .
young Empe-
rstee,rnthaenArdro
ror, and the proceededt er of the Jesuit party in
Austria, has. o Berlin
mother In th
e ofmtehaen t‘
) no doubt with
the view of drawing closer the 1
a4iance between the
two cabinets. The influence hitherto exercised by
the Arch-Duchess over the e councils of
Austria haS
been most pernicious. She was at the head of the
conspiracy which precipitated. . the war with Hun-
gary, aud led to that eposition of the Emperor
Ferdinand in order
it
son might be placed
on the throne.' To her it is that.nearly all intelli-
gent Austrians attribute the evils which during
the last five years.have.gone on accumulating with
such frightful rapidity in their unhapp—
y country,
and which threaten it at no distant period with
bankruptcy, dismemberment, and revolution.--
Examiner.

to the compe-
)epnetition, Alessrs.
the examples of
SILVER MANIIPACTURE.—The Goldsmiths' Company,
on the occasion of the Great Exhibition of 1851, in order
lhaitse c
oomi
and
to test the state of art as applied to silver manufacture,
itaii wtui aoarntd eo df
gildaa
RI stuomthe
oe
if 1
tmrwaoedi
were
ee.
their work, which are now on view at the establishment
in New Bond-street, are well worthy of inspection. They
consist of a large candelabrum, on which is represented
the granting of the charter. of incorporation to the Gold-
smiths' Company by Richard 11. ; a candelabrum for
y successful, flonr pt
10 lights, with figues of Cellini, George Heriot, and Sir
Martin Bowes ; a similar candelabrum, with a group re-
presenting M. Angelo in the studio of his master, Gliirl-
landaio ; and two groups illustrative of the benevolence
and the business duties of the Goldsmiths' Company.
The whole of these pieces of plate are designed and mo-
delled by Mr. Alfred Browne, and they do credit to his
invention and powers of execution.
LIVERPOOL, SATURDAY.—The British and North Ame-
rican Royal Mail steam-ship Canada, Captain James
Stone, sailed from the Mersey for Boston, via Halifax,
with the usual mails for the United States and British
possessions in North America, 160 passengers, and a full
cargo of valuable merchandise on freight. The Marco
Polo, Captain Wild, sailed per same tide for Melbourne,
with 616 passengers, z very large mail, including 9,000
letters, and an immense number of newspapers, and a
full cargo of merchandise on 'freight,

accounts for the half year, it is from no intention
to be partial or do an injustice that we omit them:
London Union, dividend at the rate per an 15 per cent.
London Joint Stock
10
London and Westminster, including bonus l2
London and Commercial, and bonus of 16s —
per share
6
Chartered Bank of Asia
..... . .................. 4
Colonial Bank
Union Bank of Australia 4
42 --
The dividends for the present half-year are the
continuations of dividends equally good for the pre-
vious half-year, and the promise of
equal dividends
for the half-year to come. Besides the circumstances
favourable to banking, the great increase of
trade and great demand for money have con-
tributed to the result ; the one great element of•the
success of the banks has been the confidence of the
public, more due to the good management of the
banks than to the possession of an immense
capital. The Union Bank which pays 15 per cent.,
has only of paid-up capital 422,9W7. ; but this has
st ufficedcommta, wih the confidence of the publice, to give
i acommand of 7,000,000/. The deposits of
its customers amount to about that sum, and
and they enable it, including the discount of bills
to transact business to this amount. So, the
Joint Stock has a paid up capital of 600,000/.
and deposits of upwards of 6,000,000/., and
business to an equal amount. Again, the Lon-
don and Westminster has a paid-up capital of
1,000,000/. ; it discounts bills to the amount of
6,600,0007., and commands the use of a capital of
nearly 8,000,000/. Thus, with a capital of about
2,000,6007., these three banks have business to the
amount of 21,000,0007.—nine-tenths of the capital
they used being placed in their hands by the confi-
dence of their customers. It is thought the Bank
of England did an immense discount business last
last year, amounting to 25,000,0007., which has,
we believe, only been exceeded twice in its history,
but its paid-up capital is more than 14,000,0001.,
or seven times as much as that of the three Joint-
Stock Banks, and they with a capital of only
2,000,0007., have a discount business—for that con-
stitutes the bulk of their transactions—three-fourths
as large as that of the Bank of England. This Bank,
being placed by its charter above the public, haring
to regulate the currency as well as carry on the busi-
ness of bankers, shows little or no disposition to stoop
to the needs of the great majority of traders. It nei-
ther supplies their wants, nor obtains in an equal
degree with the Joint Stock Banks their support
and confidence ; and its 14,000,000/. capital wooes
to itself little more than double its amount, while
that of the Joint Stock Banks attracts ten times
its amount. The great capital of the Bank is ac-
cordingly less profitable than it would be if man-
aged without a charter, exclusively to supply the
wants and obtain the confidence of the trading
public. Though the joint-stock banks pay interest
on some deposits, and the Bank of England pays
none, they can afford, in consequence of the large
capitals entrusted to them, to do business at a lower rate than the Bank of England.
The facts stated of joint stock banks have an
important bearing on the question, now beginning
to be agitated of a State Bank, which finds
favour
in certain high quarters. Successful banking is
the result of skilful management, commanding and
securing the confidence of the public. We ca say
without the risk of being charged with error or ex-
aggeration, that there is no example of the skil-
ful management of such au institution by Govern-
naeut, as to command for a considerable period the
confidence of the public. Why, even the Post-office;
which performs a duty approaching to a mercan-
tile operation, supposed to be more within the at-
tributes of Government than other similar duty,
does not command the entire confidence of the
public. By penalties the people are obliged to use
the Post-office, but, notwithstanding the reforms
introduced into it by its able manager, Rowland
Hill, the complaints are continual that the service
the public have a right to expect of it is often
performed inefficiently. The conveyance of letters
by private hands, it is believed, if the conveyance
of them were not retained in the hands of
the State as a source of revenue, could now by
the ordinary facilities of travel, be more effectu-
ally organised, and more cheaply performed, both
as concerns the transmission and. distribution of
letters at home and abroad, than it is done by Go-
vernment. A State bank, we may be quite sure,
would not be skilfully managed. No regulations,
no system, could secure constant activity and vigi-
lance, care and honesty; and it never could com-
mand, in the same degree as Joint Stock and pri-
vate banks, tho public confidence. Such a bank
would want the chief element of success. It is a
mistake therefore to suppose that it would succeed,
or could supply the place of other wants. It is
equally a mistake to suppose that the profits of
Joint Stock or Chartered Banks are something de-
ducted from emoluments which rightfully belong,
being the prerogatives of the Crown, to the State.
They are, on the contrary, the result of public
confidence in private individuals, and in their ma-
nagement of business, which, by its very constitu-
tion, the State, and all which proceeds from it, is
incapable of acquiring.
Mr. Burke long ago stated that paper money was
valid on 'Change because it was not valid in West-
minster Hall. It was not coined nor issued by the
State, and therefore it passed current with the mer-
chant. The essence of Government is coercion. It
does not make a bargain ; it dictates the terms of
obedience and of its own duties. It does not stipu-
late to receive a certain sum for doing so much
work ; it chalks out for itself what it will do, and
settles even to the salaries of its door-keepers what the
people must pay for its services. How can deposi-
tors place confidence in a body which is under no
control. To the State individuals look to decide
between them when they differ, or to enforce jus-
tice when wrong is done. But what power can
settle disputes, or judge between individuals and
the State ? A body which possesses uncontrolled.
power, or a power only controlled and checked
by a fear of revolution, will never command
like the Banks the pecuniary confidence of pri-
vate depositors. They may be ready to advance
money at a stipulated rate of interest authorised to
be borrowed to a specific amount by the national
authority, and guaranteed by it ; but the floating
balances of which they may need to avail them-
selves every hour—which they trust to bankers
often to receive from them temporary loans of a
far greater amount than their deposits, they aro
not likely to place in the hands of a national bank
which will care nothing for their custom, and can-
not be reached by their complaints. It is a delu-
sion to suppose that a national bank, like a private
or joint-stock bank, can be a source of profit to tho
State. It will consume more in salaries than it can
possibly earn. If it be merely intended to take
care of the money of the State, the Exchequer is
already established for the purpose ; and it is a very
significant fact that the money in many cases was
only ordered to be placed in the Bank of England
because it was found by experience to be safer in
the hands of a private company than in the hands
of irresponsible officials.—Daily News.

EXAMINING CHAPLAIN TO THE BISHOP OP BATH
AND WELLS.—We understand that the Rev. R. W.
Browne, M.A., prebendary to St. Paul's cathedral, pro-
fessor of literature in King's College, London, and chap-
lain to her Majesty's forces in the garrison of London,
has been appointed examining chaplain of the Lord
Bishop of Bath and Wells.

CinaYthseTactryPsAtaLlAPCl----aoeoinsethOof
the most
THE TAXIDERMY
interesting o THE
features
collection
of
preserved animals and birds which illustrate
the zoology of the various parts of the world. In order
to carry out this important branch of natural history,
the services of Mr. Bartlett, the celebrated Taxidermist,
have been secured ; in proof of whose skill and ability it
may be well to mention that he received from the Jury
of
are th
awaree Eibithtion of 1851 the prize medal. Few persons
Exhibition
of e difficulties which the Taxidermist has
to overcome in
serve them from thdestr uce prepa
tionration of the specimens to pre-
impart to them the natural forand, at the same time, to
m and life-like characters
w the arse
alone
imal can convey to us a correct idea of the habits
of kingdom. That Mr. Bartlett has suc-
ceeded in this, the specimens exhibited fully prove. The
groupes to which we wish particularly to direct the at-
tention of our readers are—Two Leopards Fighting, the
natural ferocity of these animals is finely represented,
and the form of the muscles is carefully developed.
The Tiger Runt with Elephant, and the Leopard wounded
by the dying Antelope, are also very effective groupcs, as
they pourtray interesting incidents in animal life men-
tioned by Mr. Gordon Cumming, the celebrated "Lion
Hunter." At the north-east end of the building is a
splendid group, consisting of two Mexican Indians de-
fending themselves from the attack of a powerful jaguar,
which has been wounded in the side by an arrow from
one of the Indians. The man has fallen to the ground
almost under the paws of the enraged creature, and the
expression of the face is well rendered. His companion
has assumed a cold and courageous attitude, which
friend.
The jaguar (a splendid animal) appears smarti n
con-
trasts well with his prostrate and fear-stricken fr
the effects of the arrow, and is one of the perfectmos
specimens of this interesting art. Uponwe
smarting underinquiry,i Bartlett
find this group is the joint-production of 3,r
seen to every
the building, but, for want of space, or some ors
and Mr. Piericcini, and was intended for aneootthheerrpeaarntso! e
i
is placed as before indicated, where
advantage, and creates more inquiry, perhaps, than if it
rtment
; had boon placed in its proper depa ,