The Sun.
London, England, 1854-12-01 00:00:00

who cannot conceive the possibility of rendering
the apportionment of the Income Tax in any de-
gree more equitable than at present ; and who,
after exhausting the national purse for the pur-
off an old demand, or rather of
pose of paying
concealing the serious losses occasioned by his
own humiliating failure, desires that the whole ex-
penses of the War may be defrayed from the cur-
rent revenue of the country. If the country had un-
limited confidence in the efficiency and determina-
tion of Lord ABERDEEN, if the People were satis-
fied blindly to trust all matters to his control and
management, certain that the War would at length
be carried on with vigour and energy, then there
would be some show of reason, some plausibility in
the demand. But, as we believe that not one man
in ten, or possibly in one hundred, entertains
such reliance, we must still hope that the British
Parliament will vindicate its independence, and
insist on taking a fitting part in the government
of the nation, and more especially in all matters
affecting its relations with Foreign Powers.
Although we do not agree in all things with
Mr. GLADSTONE, we cannot refrain from quoting
his 'manly and spirited denunciation of such a
course. The Right Honourable Gentleman dis-
dained to avail himself of such a paltry pretext
for evading legitimate discussions. In his
Financial Statement of the Bth of May he
said " There are, indeed, those who say
that the period of war is not a time when a
question of confidence should be entertained. Sir,
to that I reply, even as regards an Administra-
tion, still more as regards a Minister, and most
of all a Minister of Finance, that a period of war
is the very last when that important trust should
be committed to hands that have been discredited
in the view of the House and the country ;"
boldly adding—" Now, don't let it be said that
this is a time of war, and that, therefore, the
question of confidence should not be raised. It
being a time of war is the very reason why you
should make up your minds whether financial
matters have been mismanaged or not
These -views are so sound in themselves, and
so appropriate to the present occasion, that we
make no apology for here repeating the very
words *1 the Right Honourable Gentleman, which
constitute a decisive and convincing answer to the
argument from whatever quarter it may be pre-
ferred. It cannot be relied on as a defence by
any supporter of Mr. GLADSTONE, or as an excuse
for apathy and indifference by any independent
member.

The main questions at this moment are--Ilas
Lord ABERDEEN the unalloyed confidence of the
country? Can the safety of the Army of the
Crimea, the honour of the British nation, and the
hope of a permanent and satisfactory peace, with
ample guarantees against its future violation, be
left in his hands without check or interference ?
We are told that the Ministry have " gained valu-
able experience, and have warmed to their
work." This is all that one of their ablest
and most thorough-going advocates is able
to put forward in their favour ! Why what a
confession of early incapacity and indifference is
this—they have "warmed to their work !" It
might be said of a spavined hack, scarcely able
to crawl forth from its stable, but surely it ex-
hibits in the most pitiable light a Ministry to
whom we are gravely asked to confide matters of
such immeasurable interest and paramount im-
portance to every true-hearted Englishman.
The independence of Parliament must be
boldly asserted, and amply -vindicated. Ministers
reckon without their host, if they imagine for a
moment that they willescape so easily, or that there
will only be a few matters of form gone through.
They may be well assured that they will be called
to an ample account, although perhaps, not by
" a hasty or inexperienced member." The country
requires satisfactory explanations, both as to the
past and the future, and an unequivocal declara-
tion that the War will be carried on " in earnest,"
until the pride of the CZAR has been humiliated,
and his power for mischief been materially re-
duced, if not absolutely broken.

POLAND AND OUR PEOPLE

Poland is to become the test of English states-
manship—the test both of its heart and of its
capacity. The annual meeting of the Poles, con-
signed by Cabinets sneeringly to the benevolence
of the lamented Lord DUDLEY STUART, is elevated
this year by events to the highest significance.
It seems to have survived for a time like this—

survived to rebuke the cold-heartedness of our
politicians, yet to offer them an invaluable light
to their path. This year, also, the meeting itself
was marked by two striking facts. It had to
commemorate the death of a truly noble martyr
to the Polish cause, and to listen to the eloquence
of a new but mighty champion, in the person of
the great Hungarian exile. And while the evi-
dence was being furnished to every hearer that
Kossuni has not been studying military science
altogether in vain, it must have glanced across
the thoughts of many- that PROVIDENCE may have
been raising up the man as necessary to the pre-
sent crisis as was Lord DUDLEY- STUART to the
long four-and-twenty years of Polish exile and
distress. Of course, the merits of his strategical
propositions are open to the fullest discussion.
The noble Hungarian himself would, above all,
wish them to be honestly canvassed. But, as to
his two main points, we do not think honest
men—by which we mean men who guide their
policy by the rights and interests of nations, and
not by the interests of dynasties and court fac-
tions—we do not think such men can hesitate
about them for a moment. The war has been
aimlessly and unskilfully conducted, though waged
with unparalleled bravery by our soldiers—that
is one point ; and who can deny it I And that
" The twenty-fourth anniversary of the Polish
Revolution is a query by which the genius of the
future is about to test the vitality of the British
Empire," that is the other point. And we think
it equally needs no demonstration ; every genuine
British heart has already adopted it.

Poland has been long a burden to the conscience
of England (and of France too), whether England's
rulers know it or not. Our people have always
in heart groaned over the Russian and Austrian
policy of her Cabinets. They have never borne
without sadness the memory of the first sad par_
titions, and the sight in later days of Russian and
Austrian devilry, in Poland in 1830, and in
Hungary in 1849. The perfectly Satanic provo-
cations and barbarities of NICHOLAS in Poland in
1830 would have made a war against the perpe-
trator of such unheard-of atrocities as popular as
the Turkish one is now ; and possibly all the
wiliness of our Ministers would have scarcely saved
Austria and Russia from feeling the- effects of
British bayonets and broadsides when Hungary
Was crushed but for the fatal predominance in
our councils at that time of the Manchester
school. We thou said, and all will see it now, that
firm words and deeds for Hungary in 1848 would
have saved millions of money, perhaps hundreds
of millions, and thousands of lives more precious
still. Even Lord Joux RUSSELL, who sneered at
the Hungarian " rebellion," and virtually embcd-