The Sun.
London, England, 1854-03-11 00:00:00

SPORTING NOTES.

SAYINGS ABOUT SALISBURY.

The Salisbury meeting, which was brought to the end-
ing post yesterday, was in every respect successful. The
supply of spor:, was ample, and the attendance of business
men and pleasure folk was unprecedently numerous. The
proceedings, too, were conducted in the most efficient and
satisfactory manner by a well-organised and competent
body of " officials." The racing was interesting, and
was marked by many incidents of extraordinary
importance. The leading " features" in Thursday's pro-
gramme were the Trial Stakes and the Wiltshire
Stakes. The first mentioned event occasioned much brisk
speculation ; and indeed, it derived its importance mainly
from the meeting between Cineas and Orestes. 7to 4 was
freely betted on Cineas, whilst his old opponent, Orestes,
found few spirited supporters. Both, however, were easily
defeated by Defiance, who was immediately afterwards
brought under prominent notice for the Northamotonshire
Stakes, for which he is handicapped at 7st. 121 b. Orestes
beat inem for second honour, an achievement which
was long calculated upon by his owner, who made a bet, I
believe, during the September meeting at Doncaster,
where Cineas beat Orestes easily for the Don Stakes,
that their running there would be reversed on their
next fair encounter. By the result of this race the "Le-
viathan bookmaker," it is said, won nearly 3,0001. ! Seven
horses started for the Wiltshire Stakes. Pantomime was
the favourite, and at the start was backed freely at 2 to 1.
He, however, finished a bad third Indeed, for the last
half mile the race was entirely between. Cleveland and
Trifle, and an exciting " set to" they made of it, the latter
winning by three quarters of a length. Although Trifle
broke clown at the road, yet he continued the contest with
the most extraordinary gameness 4nd pluck. On being
pulled up, however, be was very lame, and his off
fore-leg appeared to be so weak that it is questionable
whether it will ever be sufficiently strong to enable
him to run another severe race. A similar accident
occurred to him, it will be remembered, last year at Good-
wood. The fields on the second day wore numerically
strong, and the racing gave brisk employment to the b
fraternity. The sport, however, does not now require
particular remark; the most imrortant incident connected
with it was, perhaps, the defeat of Little Harry by St.
Spiro for the Queen's Plate. Oulston cut down his oppo-
nents in rare racing style for the Wilton Park Stakes. He
is a fine slashing colt,.andappears likely to train on most
advantageously.
Frank Butler, the jockey, is dangerously ill. He has
for many weeks been under medical treatment, and my
letters from Newmarket inform me that slend-r hopes are
entertained of his ever again resuming his professional
duties.

Another Steeplechase Meeting will take place at
Epsom on the 7th of April. Whether it be got up for
the especial benefit of certain individuals who have of late
become so notorious for the daring and impudent manner
in which they bring their peculiar " tactics into play, is
at present uncertain, though not improbable. The ground
will not be the same as on former occasions. The line of
country selected is over the Epsom Court Farm. At any
rate the undertaking is likely to be profitab e, for it is the
intention of its promoters to charge each person sixpence
admission to the ground ! . „

A FRESH MAN.

March 11.

AUSTRIA, PRUSSIA, AND RUSSIA.

We have before us three official communications emanat-
ing from the Governments of Austria, Prussia and Russia,
and published by their respective organs in the form
usually given to the Ministerial declarations of those
Powers. They are all of the highest importance, and
throw considerable additional light on the political state of
Europe. The language of Austria is not entirely explicit,
but, as far as it goes, it is clear and firm. She publicly
records the conviction of the Imperial Government that
the peremptory summons of the Western Powers to the
Court of Russia is founded on substantial rights, and to
which Austria has constantly adhered. She adds, that up
to this time Austria has endeavoured to reconcile as well
as she could the general interests of Europa with the duties
which her friendship and alliance with Russia imposed
upon her; but that on the declaration of war she shall con-
sult her own interests, which compel her at once to take
measures against the imminent dangers of war and insur-
rection. Considering the circumstances in which she is
placed, and that her diplomatic relations with Russia are
not yet broken off, this language is, perhaps, as much
as could be expected from the Court of Vienna at this
moment, embarrassed as that Court is by the tergiver-
sation of Prussia and the intrigues of the minor Ger-
man States. This document is more remarkable for
what it omits than for what it says. It does not
pronounce the word "neutrality "—it does not profess any
hope of reconciliation—it does not threaten to stand aloof
in the easy attitude of expectation, and to side with the
winning party in Cris convulsion of Europe. The Austrian
Government continues its preparations for war with unre-
mitting activity. Tr3ops are on their march to the south-
eastern frontier. General Coronini has advanced his head-
quarters from Temesvar to Semlin, and the Archduke Al-
bert is appointed to the chief command of the forces. It
may here be observed that the attitude assumed by Austria
appears already to have had the effect of causing the Rus-
sians to make a retrograde movement in Little Wallachia ;
the troops which were concentrated in the villages round
Kalafat are falling back on the Schyl, and the threatened
attack on that position seems indefinitely postponed.
There cannot be a greater contrast to these measures of
the Cabinet of Vienna than that which the language of the
Court of Prussia unhappily presents The Prussian Cor-
respondence of the 7th of March publishes an elaborate
official declaration, calculated, as it seems to us, to bear
out to the fullest extent the observations we had made on
the conduct of Prussia a few days before. Prussia alone,
in this great conjuncture of European affairs, renounces
all participation in the active measures contemplated by
the other Powers. Prussia alone, and truly, boasts that
she is bound by no positive engagements to that extent.
But by withdrawing her active concurrence from the other
Powers she concedes to Russia all that the Emperor Nicho-
las could presume to ask, and she aggravates the general
position of the continent by neutralising the part which
the people of Germany were called upon to play. The in-
dividual forces of Prussia may be of little importance in
such a contest, but the effect produced by this abandon-
ment of the public interests of Europe for the most paltry
motives and confused reasons is clearly the result of Rus-
sian influence over the King of Prussia, and it will affect
every man who has a heart for the independence of Ger-
many with more pain, humiliation, and resentment than
we care to express.
The importance of this determination on the part of the
Prussian Government is considerably increased by the cir-
cumstances under which it has been formed and published
to the world. The German papers have already stated,
and we believe with perfect truth, that several weeks ago
the draught of a formal treaty, binding the Four Powers
to settle the Eastern question on the broad basis of
European interests, and providing means for insuring
that object, was prepared by England and France,
and presented to the German Powers for their adop-
tion. The Cabinets of Vienna and Berlin were at that time
of opinion that such a measure was premature ; but more
recently, and since Count Orloff's mission, the project of
the treaty has been resumed at Vienna in a manner highly
honourable to the Austrian Ministers, and there was rea-
son to suppose that no obstacle would prevent the comple-
tion of this important scheme. The obstacle, such as it is,
has come from Prussia, and it is in consequence of the
pressure applied to that vacillating and feeble Court by
the other Powers of Europe that she has put forth the de-
claration which forms the subject of these observations.
She is therefore not only separating herself from the gene-
ral policy of Europe, but distinctly opposing the measures
required and recommended by Austria herself to give effect
to that policy. A course more utterly unworthy of a State
which is allowed to rank with the Great Powers we never
remember to have witnessed ; and the King of Prussia,
in his attempt to retain an expect tnt position between the
two great interests which divide the world, deserves to
draw on himself the hostility and the contempt of both
belligerents. We say nothing of the people of Prussia and
of Germany; it is for them to notice as it deserves a policy
which will make their Government the by-word of Europe.
We now arrive at the third, and not the least remark-
able, of these official productions, which is the answer of
the Russian Cabinet, inserted in the Journal of St. Peters-
burg of the 24 of March, to Lord John Russell's speech of
the 17th of February. The Russian Government thinks
fit to declare, that whatever might be the grounds of mis-
trust entertained by other Powers, the English Ministry
had no reason to doubt the views of Russia, inasmuch as
at an early period preceding Prince Menschikoff's mission
the Emperor Nicholas had " spontaneously communicated
with the Qaeen of England and her Ministers, for the pur-
pose of establishing an intimate agreement with them, even
in the event of the most formidable contingency which
could befal the Ottoman empire." In short, 'we are in-
formed that in the course of Lord John Russell's brief ad- '
ministration of the Foreign-office —that is, in January,
1853, Sir Hamilton Seymour was requested by the Empe-
ror, and empowered by his own Government, to enter into
a detailed private conversation with the Emperor himself
on this subject ; and a correspondence ensued, not of an
official character, and the secrecy of which does not con-
cern the Emperor alone, but which disclo-ed in the fullest
conlidence the views of the Court of St. Petersburg with
reference to the approaching dissolution of the Ottoman
empire. We assume these facts to be correct. We
have not now to learn for the first time that
before the Emperor Nicholas engaged in these extraordi-
nary transactions he had attempted at various times and
in different forms to lure almost every Court in Europe to
share in the plunder of Turkey. As long ago as his own
Visit to this country he held the same language, and it may
have been repeated in greater detail in the course of last
winter. But what answer did he get to these overtures ?
What answer did he get when he sounded Lord John Rus-
sell, of all men in the world, on the subject of an eventual
partition of Turkey? We confidently reply, that he was
met by an indignant refusal on the part of the British Go-
vernment. He was told, if we are not greatly mistaken,
that this country could entertain no proposal in any form
which presupposed the dismemberment of an empire the
integrity of which we had frequently engaged to respect
and even to protect ; that the British Government
strenuously opposed any change in the status quo of
Turkey, as a source of danger and difficulty to the world ;
and that, as this communication had been made in a
friendly spirit, England strongly recommended the
Emperor of Russia to abstain altogether and scrupulously
from any interference in the affairs of Turkey, which must
be productive of great perils to the world. As these com-
munications were of a confidential nature, and wholly an-
terior to and unconnected with the affair of the Holy
Places and Prince Menschikoff's mission, the Government
appear to have thought that they did not properly form
part of the correspondence recently laid before Parliament,
but constituted a separate transaction This challenge of
the Russian Government relieves them from all further
uncertainty on that point. Lord John Russell's answer to
the Russian overture will do him no dishonour ; and, al-
though in time of peace it might have been inconvenient
to lay bare the pretensions Russia has sometimes indicated,
our present relations are not likely to suffer from an " in-
discreticn" she herself has provoked; and we trust the
whole correspondence will be immediately produced.—
Times.

HYDE-PARS.--The authorities of the Woods and
Forests department have caused the principal promenades
in Hyde-park to be relaid with gravel and generally re-
paired for the ensuing season. The site of the Great
Exhibition is now entirely covered with grass, and has
been reopened for the use of the public. It presents no
traces of the ravages effected for the time by the erection
of the Crystal Palace.
ST. PETERSBURG.—The St. Petersburg letters are to
the 2d of March, at which date shipments of gold were
taking place upon an increased scale, although there was
difficulty in getting it, and a daily expectation existed of
the export being suddenly prohibited. The import-
market, under the increasing apprehensions of a block-
ade, was extremely firm. The weather was cold, with
much snow.