The Sun.
London, England, 1854-04-17 00:00:00

be allowed to be somewhat reasonably dubious,
so long as the Earl of ABERDEEN, still babbling
about Peace, Peace, remains at the head of her
Britannic MAJESTY'S Government.

In taking into account the variety and extent
of the Russian population, the manner of its dis-
tribution is, at this critical junoture, not alto-
gether unworthy of consideration. If—as is actu-
ally the case there are amongst the inhabitants
of the Russian Empire, as the Baron AUGUSTE DE
HAXTHAUSEN has remarked, "more than a hundred
peoples, speaking a hundred different idioms"—
these various peoples speaking different languages
are confined to the number of the subjects of the
CZAR scattered along the frontiers of his enormous
dominions. Beyond the narrow boundary of those
frontiers, within that restricted belt of land crowded
by a motley and contrasting population— the
whole of the interior of Russia is inhabited by one
isolated and homogeneous race, that of the Russians
Proper, a race numbering no less than 50,000,000
in the aggregate. Little more than 15,000,000
give the sum total of all the other tribes put to-
gether. For example-2,000,000 Letts and Li-
thuanians ; 500,000 Illyrians and Bulgarians ;
6,500,000 Poles; and 12,000,000 Germans,
Dacian Romans, Tshads, Tartars, Mongols,
Munshus, Greeks, Jews, Gipsies, Caucas-
sian tribes, Hyperborean races, and Miscel-
laneous. From 15,000,000 to 20,000,000
of all these differing peoples put together, and,
beyond them in the interior of Russia, of Russians
Proper from 49,000,000 to 50,000,000 in the
aggregate. Everything considered, an awfully
kindred population to be directed by the strong
arm and the puissant will of the head of an irre-
sponsible Autocracy ! Against whose ambition,
by the way, we are opposing a handful of 25,000
fighting men, allowing even these to dawdle over
dinners and reviews at home prior to their de-
parture, and even then, when they are gone,
causing them to loiter about the streets of Valetta,
as if there were no necessity whatever for their
prompt removal onwards for rather severe work
in the Principalities !
Let us hope that before much longer we shall
hear no more of these delays of our troops at
Malta, or of our fleets casting anchor for several
weeks, first at Beycos and then at Varna, and
HEAVEN knows where afterwards.

Let us cherish, moreover, at least some faint
notion of the possibility of a considerably larger
number of soldiers being sent out, and that at once,
from France and England to their preconcerted
rendezvous in the Dardanelles. Otherwise than
by some such prompt and energetic measures the
Western Allies of Turkey cannot hope to termi-
nate the war with Russia either speedily or
gloriously.

" A nurse who was endeavouring to quiet a
froward, bawling child, among other attempts
threatened to throw it out of doors to the wolf

,f it did not leave off crying. A wolf who chanced

to be prowling near the door just at that time
hoard the expression, and, believing the woman
to be in earnest, waited a long time about the
house in expectation of seeing her words made
good. But at last the child, wearied with its
own importunities, fell asleep ; and the poor wolf
was forced to return back to the woods empty and
supperless !"
Never was an ancient myth more powerfully
illustrated than the foregoing on Saturday last.
Truthful and instructive as were the tales ascribed
to the witty Phrygian, none ever went more
directly to the mark than that above ex-

tracted. There was the venerable Nurse Times

endeavouring to quiet the " froward, bawling
child" in the Bank Parlour, to induce it to swal-
low the dose prescribed by its good grandam,
ABERDEEN, in the dear old lady's peaceful seclu-
sion in Downing-street, and insisted on by the
more vigorous and energetic housekeeper who
settles the weekly accounts at the Exchequer.
The urchin, however, proved rebellious, and
threats and reproaches fell from lips previously
accustomed to praise and pet. If it did not forth-

with cease crying, it should be thrown out of

doors to the wolf (the financial reformers) who
prowled about the sacred portals. With painful
accuracy the many extraordinary favours were
enumeratedfor which it was rendering so unworthy
a return. It was receiving—naughty brat—no less
than 180,0001. per annum for paying the divi-
dends on the National Debt. It was also " in-
vested by Government with the exclusive power
of issuing bank-notes, which should be a legal
tender ; in other words, of creating capital to the
amount of some twenty millions annually I" Was
not that a nice little sugar plum for the petulant
darling ? But that was not all. Those bold
children (the private bankers) should not get a
particle—all was for the pet of Threadneedle-street,
if it would only cease crying and go to sleep when
it was bid. "In order to make the privilege
more exclusive," says Nurse, " private bankers
are restricted from issuing more notes than they
did in 1844, and no now private bank is per-
mitted to issue notes at all." This is, indeed, a
snug monopoly !
" There needs no ghost come from the grave "

to tell us that " these are no inconsiderable pri-
vileges," or that the bold child had fallen into
very comfortable quarters. It was clearly a
foolish as well as an ungrateful brat to quarrel so
imprudently with " its bread and butter," or
rather the " rich cake," which it should thankfully
have accepted, and appropriated with silent satis-
faction, doing as it was bid in return. But if so
very bold and unreasonable, it may find to its cost
that it will not escape the punishment it has so
richly merited. If it continue " crying" it will
be cast out to the wolf, for it is told that " the

question of their " (the privileges above referred

to) " continuance may come before Parliament
next session, seeing that after August, 1855, they
may be abolished upon 12 months' notice." If the
child be disposed to run out into the woodand brave
its dangers, perhaps its indignant granny may
suffer it to follow its own foolish vagaries. "The
Government, on its part, might possibly be at
least equally ready to sever the connexion 1"
So the Nurse tells us—aye, and argues power-

fu __-
sollpy too torfu showlly,iudte eehd,prtohpartiety of u
she
might
isghc a se
th
well
loiuurdu—ee
anythe theth wcorl
fe d ihta,st hbee
been
sincerityn
taught o
af
inehexidipeurgies:icedßuwtolf
salutary lesson. If he was once so silly as to be-
lieve that the Nurse meant what she said, he has
beeen convinced of the absurdity of such cre-
dulity, and though he may
in-
formation afforded by the injudicious revelations
of the angry care-taker as to the weakness of the
make use of the
defences, and the ease with which entrance may
be effected, he will trust to his own exertions,
and
eunot admit
carried
therienatlio ut
s:xtieoenoiofn.
threats never
We cannot indeed conceive how any of the
"Times-servers" can disregard the arguments put
forward by their organ. It is true
tat we have
uttered them for years, but what availed it unless
the views, however accurate, could be inspected
through Times glasses. Now, however, that
the Leviathan is pinned to the point—that it has
enunciated that the functions referred to are by
no means "peculiar to bankers or improper for
Governments"—that it declares that the payment
of the dividends " might well be transacted by a
public oflice"—that "the power of creating twenty
cr thirty millions of money, and employing it for
any purpose that may be thought proper," is " an
m undoubted prerogative ofits tloiewnC7id"s
so and
e
that
" the holding in _

teu millions of the public debt" would
offer in the possession of a convertible property a
means for dispensing with the machinery of
balances and deficiency bills"—we may hope for
many converts from among the Times-ridden
population of the City, and the dabblers in the
Money Market. Since the Times has proclaimed
its adhesion to the cause of a really national bank
and a really national note, we may hope for many