The Sun.
London, England, 1854-02-13 00:00:00

contemporary against Sir CHARLES NAPIER. He
is declared to be too old ! while the Earl of DUN-
DONALD is lauded as the man for the emergency.
GOD forbid that we should ever utter a word
in depreciation of the gallant " COCHRANE"
that we should for a moment be supposed to slight
any of the brilliant exploits of which he has been
the hero. But when it comes to be a question of
age, we cannot forget that the Noble Earl
was born in the year 1775, and that he is
consequently in the 79th year of his age,
having, as we believe, entered the navy
before the birth of Sir CHARLES NAPIER.
Twelve years certainly constitute an important
difference of age between persons, the youngest of
whom only wants three years of the appointed age
of man. Under all the circumstances of the case,
we believe that Sir CHARLES NAPIER is all but
unanimously looked to as the future Commander-
in-Chief of the Baltic squadron ; and we have
no doubt that the Government will yield to the
voice of public opinion so freely and unequivocally
expressed. But if need be, have DUNDONALD and
NAPIER too. One brave man will never hesitate
to fight under the command of another, his senior,
equally brave and gallant as himself.
What, then, may we look for from the appoint-
ment of such chiefs to the command of a well-
appointed, and fully-manned, and fully-equipped
fleet, where the duration of the war and the in-
terests of the country alike depend on the vigour
and promptitude displayed, in the first instance.
Just what we have sketched in the imaginary
yarns to be hereafter spun by one of their gallant
followers. The defeat of the Russian fleet, and
the destruction of the Russian arsenals in the
Baltic, the capture of Riga and St. Petersburgh,
the landing of a military force on the coast of
Livonia and Courland, the uprise of Poland—of
long-suffering but indignant Poland—would fol-
low as a matter of course. Nor would the people
of Galicia, nor the gallant and chivalrous Magyars,
remain idle or inactive. Every arm would be
nerved by the sense of unmerited injury, by vio-
lated treaties, and irreparable wrongs. What a
diversion in favour of the Turkish troops
would thus be effected ! Their opponents
would find themselves placed between two
fires—their supplies cut off. They could no
longer think of crossing the Danube, or invading
the Turkish dominions, when provided with
such ample employment at home. The AUTOCRAT
would then, too late, deplore his audacious and
insolent aggression. The intentions of Austria or
Prussia would be no longer doubtful. They
would speedily perceive the necessity of crush-
ing the general enemy. The abdication of
NICHOLAS and the paring of the claws of
the Russian Bear would follow as a matter of
course. Russia would be stripped of her unjus-
tifiable acquisitions, and Europe would for ages
be preserved from the untoward consequences of her
nefarious machinations. Such would be the re-
sults of a naval victory in the Baltic, and the
landing of 100,000 French and English troops on
the coast of Courland and Livonia—which, the
Russian flag being swept from the ocean, could
easily be effected early in the spring, aye, before
the Ist of May. Thus, then, we would not only
bring the war to a speedy conclusion, but would
obtain ample guarantees against its resumption,
and we would secure the enjoyment of permanent
peace and tranquillity by the prompt display of
vigour and resolution when forced into a contest.

not tolerate a considerable amount of bribery

cut through one of the most densely crowded por-
tions of the City, and which is rapidly hastening
on towards its completion. The changes effected
in the West by the alterations consequent
upon the building up of the great archi-
tectural masterpiece of Sir CHARLES BARRY,
augur likewise a marvellous variety of results
calculated to assure the adornment of some of the
most unsightly purlieus hitherto to be found under
the very shadow of the Palace of the Legislature
in the good city of Westminster. Another pro-
mise of kindred advantage to our metropolis has
lately been whispered about in connection with
the proposed New Law Courts somewhere in the
vicinity, or within the actual limits, of Lincoln's-
inn-fields. In connection with this scheme
an intelligent pamphlet* (accompanied by an
engraved plan of the suggested alterations)
—a pamphlet remarkable for the candour and
lucidity with which its purpose is argued through-
out—has very recently made its appearance.
Whoever the writer of this brach/11/re may be (and
at this moment we possess not the slightest clue
to his identity), he comes before us under a nom
de plume at once calculated to excite our interest
and to propitiate our good will—viz., that of " An
Old Law Reformer." It will be found on an exami-
nation of his argument, illustrated as it is by the
chart already incidentally referred to by us in paren-
theses, that the suggestion therein advanced would
fix the site of the proposed New Law Courts in
the very centre of Lincoln's-inn-fields--having, of
course, every regard at the same time for the sani-
tary benefit of the surrounding neighbourhood.
It will be perceived, moreover, that in connection
with the project, is the scarcely less notable design
of a new street leading across Wych-street, Vere-
street, and Duke-street, connecting Little Queen-
street with the Strand, immediately opposite
Somerset House, and opening up between the
Strand and Holborn a new and direct line of com-
munication. Alterations such as these naturally
require very serious consideration beforehand—
but in many respects they must be at once allowed
to be almost as desirable as the removal of Holy-
well-street, and Middle-row, and similar obstruc-
tions in the midst of our principal thoroughfares.

rather than give the elector absolute power over
his vote, and we may be also allowed to rest this'
doubt upon another—namely, whether he really
deems landlord influence over tenant votes undue
influence. 111 the vulgar and brutal forms of
intimidation he has no reluctance to punish
as becomes a gentleman ; but the intimidation
which is as mighty, yet as regular, as noiseless, as
invisible, and in the counties as all-pervading, as
the pressure of the atmosphere itself—would Lord
JouN RUSSELL like to destroy this ? If not, he
dares not give the ballot to a single town. No
urgency will move him to do it. No reasoning
will conquer an aversion which yet may not be
uttered. Not even two-thirds of the electors, as
Mr. HUME suggests, could gain from the great
Whig Lord the local privilege, which would soon
inevitably become a national one. We consider
it so sure that the ballot, if tested in a few con-
stituencies, would, by its palpable merits, provoke
an irresistible demand for it from all, that we can
conceive of no other reason for the dogged refusal
of a single trial. A politically free and indepen-
dent tenantry is the King of Terrors to landlords.
To all real reformers, on the other hand, the fear
which needs neither look nor hint, is the Doctor
HORNBOOK who unobservedly destroys the freedom
of more votes than the grim forms of intimidation
against which the hero of two Reform Bills pro-
fesses to legislate.

Lord Joinr proposes to attack bribery and
" undue influence" by some modifications of the
old Parliamentary remedies. The heavy penalties
which no one would sue for, and which in the
case of the poor elector would bring to the prose-
cutor but a proverbial return, are to be super-
seded by the more classic penalty of the loss of
civil status ; the bribery candidate is to be in-
capable of ever attaining the object of his ambition,
the bribed elector to lose for life the right of
voting, and, in addition, to be posted annually on the
Lists of Electors as a disfranchised man. We may
suggest to his Lordship that to make the parallel
complete the disqualified member ought to be
posted also on the doors of the House of Commons.
The agent, if we understand aright, is not to be
so heavily punished ; he, however, is just the per-
son who ought to be unsparingly dealt with ;
but for him, bribery would be almost impossible,
at least to any large extent. These are the chief
alterations in the bribery penalties. Lighter ones
are provided for treating. That is not to con-
sign the guilty party for life to political annihi-
lation. The alterations in the plan for trying
election petitions may probably be most of them
for the better. The introduction of responsible
legal assessors to aid the committees we regard as
the most substantial improvement ; it is a step
towards that rendering a contested election a
matter- of legal investigation before a Judge
sitting in public, which would, after all, be the
safest and most effectual procedure. On the working
of the proposed Grand Jury of fifteen members
we can hardly offer an opinion, but hope for little
from it. The proposition that when a member is
unseated for bribery his opponent should have
the seat, if he polled two-thirds of the votes, will,
we suppose, after the remarks upon it, be with-
drawn. It would obviously open the door to the
worst species of fraud, and it would often occur
that the unsuccessful candidate had bribed as well
as the other, or that he had not a real majority of
votes.

We freely concede that reasonable penalties, and
none can be more so than those now proposed,
are likely to be far more effective than penalties
which it seemed almost malicious to enforce.
Moreover, bribery is still a misdemeanour, and
liable to be proceeded against as such. Still, but
little can be hoped for from the best system of
penalties. If too severe, impunity is secured by
the general reluctance to inflict an odious punish-
ment. If moderate, and more likely to be
enforced with general approbation, ingenuity
will quickly devise " good and safe" schemes
defying all detection. We have heard of some
which would nonplus Mr. Inspector 13troxgrr him-
self, even if he knew the general fact of their ex-
istence. What it is the interest of all the parties to
conceal, what would bring punishment upon them
all, will never leak out, but must be extorted on
the rack. It would, however, be impossible to
apply the commissions on bribery to the criminal
conviction of individuals. It will not be endured in
England that a man should be compelled to criminate
himself, if doing so rendered him liable to
punishment. The Commissioners are at piesent
empowered to indemnify those whose answers
convict them. Even a great religious body has
lost in the last few years some 70,000 of its
members through asserting the right to propose
self-criminating interrogatories, under the guise
of " brotherly questions." Right or wrong, every
Englishman deems it a birthright that he may
not be compelled to accuse himself. Lord JOHN'S
proposals were viewed in a friendly spirit by all
parties, but Mr. M. GIBSON and Mr. BERKELEY
did not fail to remind him that the true remedy
was to deprive the corrupt and the corrupter of
the power to deal securely with each other, and
that no conceivable remedy for rural intimidation
could be thought of but the Ballot.

Preparations for war are actively going on
amongst ourselves, both in the military and mari-
time departments. A similar movement has for
some time past been apparent among our Gallic
neighbours. The martial enthusiasm manifested
during a considerable interval among the Turks,
has become still more ardent throughout the
masses of the Ottoman population, according to
the account conveyed by our latest advices from
Constantinople. Looking, moreover, further
northwards, we learn that " matters wear a war-
like and sombre aspect" at St. Petersburg. Yet,
in spite of all these incontrovertible facts—Lord
ABERDEEN cannot for the life of him see that, even
now, war has become inevitable. Even now,
when the. Russian Ambassadors have with-
drawn from their diplomatic positions at the
Court of St. James's and at the Court of the
Tuileries. Even now, with the truth before us
that Sir HAMILTON SEYMOUR and General DE CAS-
TELBAJAC have been peremptorily recalled from the
Russian capital by their respective Governments.
Certainly the Prime Minister of England has earned
for himself the right of being regarded as among
those who illustrate the memorable phrase of Holy
Writ, crying " Peace, peace, when there is no
peace." According to the view taken by the
Premier, there is nothing whatever of importance
in the inhuman butchery at Sinope, in the pro-
longed struggle at Citale, in the double victory
achieved by the soldiers of the Sultan at Oltenitza.
Neither is there anything out of the ordinary
course of pacific occurrences, according to the
same sagacious statesman, in the presence of the
combined fleets in the Black Sea, no matter
whether the direction taken by Admirals DUNDAS
and HAMELIN be towards Batoum, or towards
Varna, or towards Sebastopol. Negotiations
may have passed, diplomatic relations may
have been interrupted, the Vienna Conference
may have been broken off positively for the last
time—emulating in this the penultimate Benefit
of Mr. VINCENT CRUMMLES of immortal memory
—nevertheless, the Earl of ABERDEEN will still
insist upon obdurately believing in the possibility
of effecting at the eleventh hour, and at the last
gasp, the long-talked-of, but vainly-looked for,
pacification. It is altogether a touching instance
of credulity—an affecting evidence of the faith
still cherished by the venerable under-secretary of
M. GuizoT, in the integrity of the Czar NIOTIOLA.S.
A faith, remember, which has survived the pas-
sage of the Pruth, as well as the Mission
of MENscHIKOFF—the seizure of Moldavia
and Wallachia, as well as the unsuccessful attacks
made previously upon' he Turkish position in the
neighbourhood of Oltenitza, and in the neighbour-
hood of Kalafat—the massacre of the inhabitants
of Sinope, as well as the sanguinary conflicts which
have taken place simultaneously along the banks
of the Danube, and along the whole line of the
Caucasus. Never was there such official fatuity
or ministerial infatuation.

Mr. BALL introduced episodically a charge of
bribery against Norwich, which met with a just
denial. We suppose the lion. Member has not
quite lost his soreness from the signal defeat which,
as East Anglian champion of Protection, he re-
ceived from Mr. COBDEN in the old city during
one of the great Leaguer's campaigns against
agricultural ignorance. We happen to know,
however, from some inquiries we had occa-
sion to make at the time the affair of
Colonel DroxsoN's petition was under discussion,
that the last election of Messrs. PETO and WARNER
was really a pure one. The written compact
entered into by the four candidates was honour-
ably kept, 'and, for the first time probably, a Nor-
wich election was decided without recourse to
bribery, cooping, and every disgraceful resource
of party. We have the very best evidence
that it was a fair stand-up fight, and it is an
example, which ought not to be lost, of the
possibility of electoral regeneration in a con-
stituency which had been schooled in corrup-
tion by all parties from time immemorial. We
only hope the City will be stedfast in its repen-
tance. We may add, what we believe has not
been hitherto noticed, that in Norwich, and, no
doubt, elsewhere, the corruption at municipal
elections is the source and training-school of that
complained of in Parliamentary elections. Occur-
ring annually, and not being conducted by ballot,
they keep bribery live in the intervals of Par-
liamentary elections. There is no time for
the habit to be lost, the consequences are
not so likely to be serious to the individuals, and
frequently the spirit of party runs as high as in
contests for national honours. If Lord JOHN
could overcome his fear of any trial of the ballot
issuing in the freedom of the counties, it might
do much. towards diminishing the habit of bribe-
taking, if, as we believe has been asked in a me-
morial from Norwich, municipal elections at least
were taken by ballot.

* " Where shall the New Law Courts be built ?"
By an Old Law Reformer. Bvo., pp. 23. T. F. A.
Day. London. 1854.

Examining carefully the latest documents ema-
nating from the British Cabinet, in reference to
this Eastern Question, we discover in words of
undeniable explicitness, that the hope of peace,
spoken of by the Earl of ABERDEEN, on Friday
evening, in the House of Lords, is literally alto-
gether chimerical. It would be absurd to
dream, for a single instant, of a pacification
being practicable under existing circumstances.
Lord CLARENDON has entirely set the matter at
rest by his Note in reply to the inquiries ad-
dressed to him by the Russian Ambassador in the
name of his Government. Not only has the un-
welcome truth been distinctly asserted in that
manly and outspoken avowal as to the real nature
of the intentions actuating England and France,
at the present juncture, in sending their maritime
armaments into the Black Sea for the defence of
Turkey, and especially (to this end) for the pre-
servation of the Ottoman coasts from any other
attack like that which has reduced Sinope to a
heap of ashes—but the Foreign Secretary
of her Britannic MAJESTY has announced the
course which must henceforth be pursued in
the matter by her MAJESTY'S Government,
more boldly and more distinctly still, through the
despatch addressed simultaneously to Sir HAMIL-
TON SEYMOUR, and communicated by that Minis-
ter forthwith to Count NESSELRODE. Throughout
these documents, it is plainly enough intimated
that peace can alone be secured upon terms which
have been already more than once rejected by the
Russian AUTOCRAT. Consequently, it is quite
manifest that the Prime Minister of England can
nowhere discover facts capable of justifying his
extraordinary assertions made on Friday evening
--language which can only be accounted for chari-
tably
as being the result of some bewilderino,
hallucinatiois.

Conspicuous among the many acts which have
gained for NAPOLEON 111. that extraordinary po-
pularity which he is now known to have acquired
among the masses of the French population, are
manifestly and in contestibly his magnificent schemes
for the beautifying of Paris by a series of grand
and remarkable building improvements. It were
well for London if this imperial display of enter-
prise and munificence excite a salutary emulation
amongst ourselves. There is a probability of
its doing so ultimately. It is the duty, therefore,
of every conscientious journalist to accord a prompt
and earnest attention to whatever project may
give promise of carrying these hopes, however
slightly, towards their desired realisation. We
may not cherish the extravagant day-dream of
erecting a Louvre of our own, but, at any rate,
it cannot be unreasonable to look forward to the
time when the capital of England may, at
least, possess some structure not altogether
unworthy of being designated a National Gal-
lery. The admirable and eminently beautiful
design of Mr. LIONEL GISBORNE has afforded us
something like a rational prospect of a compre-
hensive succession of Thames Improvements.
Then there is the spacious thoroughfare recently

We give Lord JOHN RUSSELL full credit for
wishing to extirpate bribery. We believe he
also wishes to annihilate " undue influence ;"
but we may be allowed to doubt whether he would

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY is, 1854.

MUNE Y. MA RKE :V

AND
COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.

CITY, TWO O'CLOCK.

The sales of cotton at Liverpool on Saturday
wore estimated at from 8,000 to 9,000 bales, of
which 500 American and 1,500 Surat were taken
on speculation. The market closed firmly without
alteration in prices. The sales comprised 200
Pernam and Maranham, at 6P. to Bd. ; 100
Egyptian, at sd. to Bd. ; 2,000 Surat, at 3d. to
4d., and the remainder nearly all American.
Railway Shares were firm.
The railway meetings announced are the fol-
lowing :

Company. Date. Place, &c.
Belfast and County Down Feb. 28, Belfast.
Birk., Lanc., and Chesh. Jn Feb. 25, Birkenhead.
Boston, Sleaf., & Mid. Coun Feb. 18, Euston HoteL
Bristol and Exeter
Buckinghamshire Feb. 22, Eustm Station.
Cork and Waterford Feb. 28, London Tavern.
Direct London and Portsm Feb. 24, London Tavern.
Dublin and Belfast Junction Feb. 15, Dublin.
Dublin and Wicklow
Eastern Counties
East Indian Feb. 17, London Tavern.
East Kent
East Lancashire Feb. 22, Bury.
East Lincolnshire
Graissessac and Beziers Mar. 14, Paris.
Great Northern Feb. 25, London Tavern.
Gt. South. and West. Ireland Feb. 25, Dublin.
Great Western
Imncasber and Carlisle Mar. 3, Liverpool.
London and Blackwall Feb. 21, London Tavern.
London and North-Western Feb. 22, Euston Station.
London and South-Western Feb. 16, 34, York-road.
Lowestoft
Madras
Manch., Buxton, and Matlock Mar. 2, Derby.
Manch., Sheffield, and Line.. Feb. 22, Manchester.
Maria .ntonia
Maryport and Carlisle Feb. 22, Maryport.
Midland
Newp., Aberg., and Hereford Feb. 23, London Tavern.
Newry and Enniskillen Feb. 28, Guildhall Coffeeho.
Norfolk
Northern and Eastern Feb. 16, Bishopsgate-station
Northern Counties Union Feb. 24, London Tavern.
North Devon Feb. 27, London Tavern.
North London
Oxford, Worcester, & Wolv. Feb. 22, London Tavern.
Royston and Hitchin
St. Andrew's& Q ,ebec (Cl. A) Feb. 24, 26, Parliament-st.
Severn Valley
South Devon Feb 28, Plymouth.
South Wales
South Yorkshire
Taff Vale Feb. 17, Bristol.
Thames Haven
Vale of Neath
Waterford and Limerick Feb. 22, Waterford.
West Cornwall
W. End of Lon. & Crys. Pal. Feb. 27, London Tavern.
Whitehaven Junction Feb. 15, Whitehaven.
Worcester and Hereford Feb. 28, Euston Station.
York and North Midland.., Feb. 17, York.
York, Newcastle, d; Berwick Feb. 17, York.

A portion of the letters from Australia has been
delivered, and their general tenour is satisfactory,
although there are exceptional points. The gold
production, measured by the amcunts received at
Melbourne and Sydney, had fallen off ; but there
are doubts whether the diggers had not abstained
from sending down gold, owing to the agitation
respecting the license.
The Osmanli steamer had been wrecked while
on the voyage from Sydney to Adelaide, off Kan-
garoo Island.

The Adelaide accounts represent the supplies of
most articles of import as being abundant, and
prices were, in many instances, depressed. The
Legislature had imposed an additional duty of 3s.
per gallon on spirits, but enough was previously
cleared for two months' consumption. The duty
upon wine was lowered to ls. per gallon. Owing
to the high prices asked for the new clip of wool
by the sheep farmers, the sales were but limited.
Large quantities were arriving for shipment, how-
ever, seven vessels being in course of loading. The
rate of freight to London and Liverpool was 3d.
to 4d. per ounce for gold, and id. to id. per lb.
for wool.

The letters from China report unsteady markets
for piece-goods, owing to the rebellion, and at Cal-
cutta money was scarce and dear.
There has been considerable firmness in the
English stocks, and the quotations are higher than
on Saturday, by to per cent., although with a
very limited business doing. Consols have been
at 91i, and since as high as 92, for transfer, the
account prices being 91i to 92. The New Three-
and-a-Quarter per Cents. have realised 93k, and
are now 931 to I ; Bank Stock is quiet, at 216 ;
Exchequer Bills are 19s. to 205., and India Bonds
105... premium. _ _

Most foreign securities have been dull, but with-
out any decline in prices. Spanish Bonds are
merely nominal, and Portuguese also—the former
at about 404 to 4 for the 3 per Cents. Mexican
Stock has been at an advance to 25i Chilian
3 per Cents. have realised 75, Brazilian Old 5 per
Cents. 971, Equador 4, and Grenada Deferred 64.
Russian 5 per Cents have been quoted 1041.
BRITISH MINES.—Mr. J. S. Lane reports as fol-
lows :—A dulness still prevails, and only a few
mines can be quoted. These are the Great Alfreds,
32 33 • Alfred Consols, 24 25 ; Sortridge Consols,
1 ; ifollands, 44 ; Tavys, ; Devon Great
Consols, 445 ; North Pool, 195 200 • South Devon
Great Consols, 225. 6d. 275. 6d. ; Balnoons, 44 4 ;
East Russells, 5 54 • West Sortridge Consols, 4.

The Railway Share market has Leer inanimate,
and the arrangements connected with the settle-
ment of the account are in progress, and occupy-
chief attention. Oxford, Worcester, and Wolver-
hampton, are rather higher. There have been
only a few bargains in North-Western, Great-
Western, and Midland. French shares quite
neglected.
The Gold Mine Shares have been without altera-
tion, the Banks are tolerably firm, and the Land
shares nominally the same.
The current prices for the Jamaica Mines not
officially quoted are as follows :—Metcalfe, to
prem. ; Sue River, f dis. to par ; Port Royal, to
B- prem.

BRITISH FUNDS THIS DAY.—CLOSING PRICES.
(From the Official List.)

Buimess done
Bank Stock
; per Cent. Reduced Annuities 92s 4 4 .3
3 per Cent Consols Annuities 92 113 2
New 31 per Cent. Annuities 93i 4
Long Annuities, Expire sth Jan., 1860
Ditto 30 Years, Expire sth Jan., 1860 5
India Bonds, 21000 .......
Ditto, under £lOOO lO p
Consols for Account 15th Feb. 914 21$
Exchequer Bills, Id.
£IOOO
£5OO l9
Small l9
PRICE OF FOREIGN FUNDS THIS DAY.
Brazilian Bonds, 5 per Cent.
Ditto Now, 1852, 4.} per Cent 9B
Buenos Ayres Bonds, 6 par Ceut 59
Chilian Bonds, 6 per Cent
ritto 3 per Cent ..... .............. ...... 75
Equador Bonds
Grenada Bonds, Deferred
Mexican 3 per Cent.
Russian Bonds, 1822, 5 per Cent. £ St 1044 54
Spanish Bonds, 3 per Cent 4O
Dividends on the above payable in London.
Dutch Exchange, 24 per Cent. 12 Guil
THREE O'CLOCK.
Consols
Ditto February Account

LINCOLN RACES.
(BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.)

ARRIVALS. —Jack the Giant-Killer, Windsucker, Vic-
tress, Star of England, Maid of the West, Strip-me-
Naked, Beresford, Wildgoose, Psyche, Horatio, Lioness,
Tomboy, Topsy, White Mouse, Alp, President, Dor-
mouse, The Prince.

The following leave Malton this day for Lincoln :
The Jewess, mare by Yaxley, and Cardsharper.

MANNING THE NAVY.

TO THE EDITOR OF TRH SUN.

Snt,—The able manner in which you demonstrated
the manner by which our men-of-war can be furnished
with crews has given general satisfaction to many ex-
perienced naval officers with whom I have the pleasure
of being acquainted. Surely this is not a time for our
Government to hesitate about the paltry outlay of a few
thousands. Let them go energeticaby and fearlessly to
their work, and the country will find the supplies ; even
our old friends the farmers, on such an occasion, would
cease to grumble. In your edition of Friday evening there
is a paragraph to the effect that the whereabouts of NIT.
Bell, the English ei.gineer, could not be discovered. Why
do not our cannon ask the question ? Their language
could not be misunderstood, and must elicit a speedy
reply. As to his having taken service under the Rus-
sian flag, no one in his senses will credit it, and I trust
our Government will not allow the brave fellow longer
to remain a prisoner, as the heroes of Sinope cannot be
very merciful 6r humane guardians.—l have the honour
to remain, sir, yours obediently,
A CONSTANT READER.
Bedford, Feb. 12.

CABINET COUNCIL. —A Cabinet Council was held on
Saturday afternoon at two o'clock, at the Foreign-office,
Downing-street. The Ministers present were, the Earl
of Aberdeen, Lord John Russell, the Marquis of Lans-
downe, the Lord Chancellor, Earl Granville, the Duke
of Argyle, Viscount Palmerston, the Duke of Newcas-
tle, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir James Graham,
Sir Charles Wood, the Right Hon. Sidney Herbert, and
Sir Wm. Molesworth. The Earl of Clarendon arrived
in town at half-past 3 o'clock to attend the Council from
Windsor Castle, and joined his colleagues at the Foreiga
office. The Council sat three hours and a half,

LATEST FOREIGN NEWS.

RUSSIA AND TURKEY.

NEW NEGOTIATIONS.
From Vienna we learn, by telegraph, that Aus-
tria proposes a Congress, and that Count Orloff
rather approved thereof.
This, however, is at variance with the account
published by the Journal des Debuts.
" According to letters from Vienna which we
have received (says that journal on Saturday), the
Austrian Cabinet has adopted important resolu-
tions in consequence of the communication it re-
ceived from Count Orloff. Not only, it is said, has
Austria refused to enter into an engagement of
absolute neutrality, but she is represented to have
declared that she will consider the passage of the
Danube by the Russian armies as a declaration of
war ; and that she will also consider as a declara-
tion of war the permanent occupation of the Prin-
cipalities by Russia. An understanding remains
to be come to as to what is to be considered a per-
manent occupation—that is to say, to fix a time
within which Russia shall evacuate the Princi-
palities. These resolutions are said to have been
communicated by Count de Buol to Baron de
Meyendorff, who has transmitted them to his Go-
vernment. The intermediary of Count Orloff has
been set aside ; his mission has therefore termi-
nated."
The Journal de Francfort publishes an article
having all the marks of a semi-official communica-
tion, in which it is said that " the German Powers
have firmly resolved, though unwilling to make
their resolution the subject of a treaty, to preserve
strict neutrality, whatever may happen."
The. Constitutionnel says these resolutions attri-
bated to Austria by the Dlbats are not definitive,
but eventual.
The Constitutionnel confirms the news that Aus-
tria has declared that she shall consider it a casus
belli either if Russia keep permanent possession of
the Principalities, or if the Russian troops pass the
Danube. The Constitutionnel adds that Count
Orloff is the bearer of an autograph letter from the
Emperor of Austria to the Czar Nicholas.
The Paris correspondent of the 'limes, writing
yesterday (Sunday) makes the subjoined important
statements :
" It is certain that fresh negotiations are on the
tapis for the settlement of the Ristern question,
and, however they are destined to terminate, that
hopes are again very generally entertained that
these negotiations will not be unsuccessful. The
propositions said to be adopted by the four Powers
make a concession to the Emperor of Russia on a
point which he has had most at heart, namely,
the liberty of negotiating and treating to a cer-
tain extent alone with Turkey. The Porte will,
of course, have the right to consult with its
allies ; but the negotiations will take place
without the intervention of third parties, who will
only step in when the moment comes for negotiat-
ing a separate and independent treaty, by which
the four Powers will guarantee the stipulations of
the first. With reference to the evacuation of the
Principalities, it is proposed that it shall take place
simultaneouslrwith that of the Black Sea, and that
the fleets will re-enter the Bosphorus when the Rus-
sians re-cross the Pruth. Neither is it certain that
a notification of a menacing kind has been addressed
to the Czar relative to the passage of the Danube, no
more than to the evacuation of the Principalities ;
but it is positively stated that Count Orloff has
been made acquainted with the real sentiments of
the Prussian and Austrian Cabinets, and of the pro-
bability, if not the certainty, that the prolongation
of hostilities will decide these Powers to unite,
once for all, with the Western Government. Count
Orloff has quitted Vienna with the fervent resolu-
tion, at least to all appearance, to impress upon
the Emperor of Russia the absolute necessity
of no longer persisting in a line of policy which
must sooner or later alienate from him the Powers
that were hitherto most friendly. The facts just
mentioned proceed, I think it right to say, from an
Austrian source.
"In another quarter less open to suspicion it is
alleged that on the 29th or 30th ult. the autograph
letter, of which mention has been already made,
from the Emperor of the French to the Czar, (and
which was previously communicated it is said to the
English Cabinet,) proposed that a treaty of peace
should be negotiated between Russia and Turkey
on the bases of the Vienna note as modified by the
Porte ; that the negotiations should take place di-
rectly between a Turkish Plenipotentiary and a
Russian Plenipotentiary—Turkey of course re-
serving to herself the right of taking counsel with
her allies ; that if an arrangement be effected, the
treaty shall te concluded between Russia and
Turkey, but that a convention between the Ca-
binet of St. Petersburg, the Ottoman Porte, and
the four Powers should place the execution of such
treaty under the guarantee of Europe, and that
the seat of the negotiations should not be either at
Constantinople or at Bucharest.
" Another authority mentions that propositions
have been made to the Emperor of Russia, in the
name of the four Powers, for the conclusion of
a treaty between the belligerent Powers only
with the second treaty or convention between the
four Powers, guaranteeing the execution of the
first • that the old treaties are to be re-examined
by the four Powers, and that a new treaty between
Russia and Turkey of a more explicit nature as to
the relations between those two Powers should be
adopted.
" It is further said that the combined squadrons
are to occupy the Black Sea at three points—the
first at Varna, the second at Sebastopol, and the
third on the Asiatic coast as far as Batoum, to pre-
vent hostilities and to keep the sea open until the
negotiations shall be brought to a close.
" The propositions above mentioned—and which
we are assured that the King of Prussia and Em-
peror of Austria use all their personal influence, in
addition to the Emperor of the French, to induce
him to accept—are substantially the same, parti-
cularly with reference to the two treaties, one as
between Russia and Turkey alone, the other as be-
tween the Four Powers guaranteeing its execution.
" The concessions thus proposed to be made to
the Emperor of Russia refer to a question of amour
propre and of time. There is no doubt that
some consideration ought to be had for a man
who is at the head of 70,000,000 of human beings,
all devoted to his will ; but the greater the consi-
deration, the more honourable and the more dura-
ble ought to be the peace intended to be restored.
It must not for a moment be forgotten that
Russia can now only gain by time—a month or
two more for the concentration of her forces would
be of the greatest importance to her, and there
is little doubt that she will profit by the over-
tures again made, in order to obtain the delay
which is so necessary to her. If it be true, as
is affirmed, that the autograph letter of the Em
peror of the French was despatched on the 29th
of January, it will have reached its destination
destination about the 7th inst. Allowing three or
four days for reflection, even in case the Czar
wished to wait for the return of Count Orloff
1 before deciding, the reply to these propositions
ought to be received here about the 22d of the pre-
sent month.
" I am unwilling to throw any doubts on the
sincerity of the proceedings of Austria and
Prussia, on the more favourable interpretations
of the result of Count Orloff's mission, or on
the prospects opened by them of a pacific ar-
rangement ; but I think it right not to refuse to
take notice of what is said by many of the Russian
party here, and apparently believed by them.
I mention it with all the more hesitation
and doubt, that it is contrary to what is
declared to be the case in other and generally well
informed quarters. The Russians here say that
Count Orloff has succeeded, instead of failed in his
mission ; and that he has obtained all he desired—
namely, the formal assurance on the part of Aus-
tria and Prussia of an absolute neutrality. That,
nevertheless, the Court of Vienna is to act so
as to make the Western Powers believe the con-
trary, and that she is to declare to the Ca-
binets of London and Paris the very opposite of
what she has accorded to Russia. They maintain
that the menacing independence assumed towards
Russia is only affected. The persons who speak in
this manner go still further, and maintain that an
absolute neutrality will be the policy of even
Prussia."