The Sun.
London, England, 1854-12-04 00:00:00

L 2

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mai Waugh many d fiat o**.ni frivi
the Crimea. The profuse publication of prieate letters
from that quarter is of unspeakable advantage. We read
in old- chronicles of generals, ou the eve of some great
battle, wandering under cloud of night from tent to tent, -
listening to the gossip of the soldiers. Doubtless- they
heard many grumbles of malingerers, many rash judg-
ments of conceit and ignorance ; but at times they picked
up useful suggestions, and, most important of all, they
learned the temperand disposition of their soldiery. What
these night rambles did for generals of the olden times
the numerous letters published in the newspapers may
do for our commanders before Sebastopol,- and for our
Government at home. Not every criticism in thisie •
letters is to be despised or superciliously cast aside. Ana..
the complaints of the soldier ought at least to be in.
qired into, and, if well founded, redressed as far as pos-
sible. The alloy of petulant and presumptuous criticism
to be found in some of the letters, ought to be patiently
endured as inseparable from the pure metal. But the
generarpublic, in reading the documents referred to,
will do well to bear in mind, that though it is evk'e It
there is Much in our military arrangements that calls
ur,entiv for reform, the organisation of the army has
teen itnmensely improvel Alive the beginning of the
l'ehlasular war. What we want now is, not an army
reform bill, 'but the perfectiuu of details left
incotnp?c to
by the searching reforms introduced in consequence of
our Peninsular experience. What seems most wanted is
an augmentation of- our light elvalry, for picket and
outpost service, and for patrols r eel- improved organisa-
tion of the commissariat and taw) spurt services ; and an
addition 'to the strength of the medic d department, and
its attendants. The understanding of Messrs. Pet° and
Co. ought to be turned to account, for the organisation
of a permanent corps of artificers and labourers. The .
pioneers of our army deficient in number, and not avail-
able for many emergencies ; they might be usefully re•
placed by such a corps as here suggested.
From the consideration of, our own army, we turn.
to that of the enemy. It is to be feared there is toe'
much truth in the eeports in circulation respecting the
atrocities perpetrated by the Russian soldiers. We are
told, indeed, that the Russian generals and'their staffs
are brave and chivalrous. This may be true of some of
them ; blit it is obvious that not a few, even of this
superior class, have become in the campaigns of the
Caucasus and the military operations on the Russian
frontier towards Tartary, soldiers of the same stamp as
the Tillys and Wallensteins of the Thirty Years' War.
Arid the character of the common soldiers is rude as it
is daring and enduring. It is customary for the ener-
getic and enterprising of the Russian serf to obtain leave a
from their lords to travel in search of employment, upon
the condition of paying tribute out of their yearly earn-
ings: Thesemen soon become pomades, without a home
They travel over the whole empire with their axes, with
the aid of which they can perform all kinds of service.
Throughout the working period of the year they sleep in
the open air, snatching their precarious meals wherever
they can procure them. Industrious and trustworthy
while employed, they indel'e during the winter Months
:in every sensual pleasure their summer's earnings can
obtain for 'them. Such men are the materials ant of
which to make hardy and unscrupulous soldiers ; and
when hounded upon their foes by priestly exhortatiene,
in which the excitements of bigotry and avarice are
blashphemously blended, there is no atrocity of which
they are not capable. It is the duty of our Caminan-
lders not to shrink from the sternest measures required
to intimidate the Russian Government and its Generals
into the exercise of a more vigorous oontrol of th a savage
disposition of their •soldiery. It is the duty of every
• civilised European Government to unite to drive back
, such barbarous armies.

OUR SUCCESSES IN THE CRIMEA;
• (From the Derbyshire Courier.) • ,
Our successes in the Crimea have been achieved by the
unflinching courage and the devoted selfsaciifice of our
soldiers. One to four, or one to seven they have thrown
themselves into the breach to conquer or die. Are the
meats by which the necessary resources are to be raised
at home to be attended with equal sacrifices? Are our
merchants ned tritclers, our industrious and hardworking
produzers of every kind to be half ruined before a sound
financial system be substituted for the present annoma-
ions and pernicious one ? We tell Mr. Gladstone that
if he wishes to raise, for any length of time, taxes, or
loans commensurate with the enormous demands of the
expenditure of a great war, he mu-t adopt the bald and
sagaCious financial system of William Pitt, that system
at which he ventured in his a, rogant ignorance to sneer,
but which enabled Mr; Pitt to do—what Mr. Gladstone
can only humbly hope to emulate him in doing—viz., to
carry this country safely and successfully through a great
European war.
A. Bank Restriction Act, or some measure sithilar in
its operation to that bold inexsure of Mr. Pitt, can alone
—even 'allowing for the fortuitous assistance which the
gold discoveries have afforded to the puny financiers of
our days—enable us to prosper at home and sustain
abroad the deadly combat with the Rnsiiian Autocrat in
which we are engaged.

AUSTRIA AND THE WESTERN POWERS.
(From, the Mo sing Post.)
It will be seen, from the important despatch which wit
publish in another column, and which we were the first
to make public in an extraordinary edition yesterdait
that the anticipations in which we indulged ten dayiitgo,
and the expectations we have .not ceased constantly t 9
express, have not been unfounded. Austria has taken,
as we signified she would, another step, and has entered
upon a closer union with the Western Powers.
On Saturday last, the ^d inst., the Plenipotentiaries
of England, France, and Austria, signed, as we are
infer coed hy_ the French official Afoniteur, a Treaty of
Alliance.
Till the formal ratification; are exchanged, the public
cannot, of course, be placed in possession of the text and
stipulations of this important document. But it is at
once most obvious that, in presence of war, by signing a
treaty with England and France, Austria places a barrier
between herself and Russia.
Of the effect this measure will produce at St. Peters-
burg, we cannot, of caurse, judge. It may possibly lead
to an attempt, more or less sincere, for peaceful negotia-
tions, or it may precipitate the further extension of the
war.

If it lead to further extension of hostilities, it is im-
po,sible not to be struck by the great advantages pos-
sessed by a Power which has two hundred and fifty
thousand men near the heart of the Russian Empire,
and where, moreover, but one hundred thousand are at
present opposed to them.
If it lead to negotiation, it is presumable that the
Emperor Nicholas may be much influenced in any pro.
positions ho might make by the new position of Europe,
and even that, both his necessity and his pride would
find convenience in yielding to the great States united
rather than to two only of them.
We publish also, in another column, the additional
article of the Treaty of the 20th of April, signed by
Counts Buol and ArnioasslSPßie 26th ' Into its
merits, those of the joint prOfoOrsition presented'by AuS-
tri3. and Prussia to the Diet, or those of the resolutions
come to by that Federal body, it were idle' to enter ; it-
would lead us at once into tha t world of wordy Specula-
tion in which Germans delight to waste their time.
It is plain, to common sense that the action of Austria
must influence Prussia and Germany. On the one hand.
they may remain bound to her and unite in her bond
with the WeStern Poivers; or-Prussia may choose a more
isolated policy, in which the other States may or may
not follow her. This would place her in a more difficult
position than ever, and virtually annul the engagements
she has just entered into with Austria.
We shall accept with the greatest pleasure, as with
the greatest advantage, the real assistance of Austria in
the armed struggle for Right—that struggle which Eng-
land and France took alone, and which they are deter-
mined to prosecute to a. suc9essfulissue. But that great
and noble war in which they are engaged has for its im-
mediate object the advantage of er State in whose inte-
grity and independence Austria is.more than any othlr
Power vitally concerned •, and though it had seemed at
first as if the Cabinet of Vienna had been unaware' of its
truest interests, and doubtful of its safest policy, the act
announced by the Monitotir seals a new resolution and a
I better course. .

THEATRE ROYAL ADELPIII.
Proprietor. Mr. B. Webetar.—Directress, Madame Celesta.
THIS EVENING. DEC. 4.

Will be performed THE GREEN BUSHES. Characters by
Messrs Par/elle, Smith, Ga-den, Rogers, and Bedford; Was Wool.
gar, Mrs Murray, and Madame Celeste.
Followed by BONA FIDE TRAVELLERS.
To which will be added a new Farce, entitled THE RAILWAY
/MLLE.

OTAL OLYMPIC TILE t.TRE.
Lessee and Manager, Mr. A. Wigan.
THIS EVENING, DEC. 4,
Will be presented TUE BElThill SPA. Principal characters
by Messrs. A. Wigan, Emery, V. Itobsoo, and H. Cooper; Silas
Marston, Mrs. A. Wigan, Mrs. Fitzallau. and Miss Julia St. George.
To be followed by THE FIRST NIGHT. Characters by Messrs.
Alfred Wigan, Leslie, Harwood Cooper, and Gladstone ; Mina Jolla
St. George, and Miss Emily Ormondo.
To conclude with the Farce, called A BLIGIITED BEING, in
which Mr. Robson will appear.

ASTLEY'S ROYAL ASIPRITHEATitis.
Lessee and Manager, Mr. William Cooke.

as
Never did the pages of D emetic History record such an iffect
that produ ed by the Spectacle now acting here—the BATTLE 01
THE ALMA ! Crowds nightly testify their surprise and admira•
ton by the most tamultuois applause.
THIS ETENING,

THE BATTLE or THE ALMA, by J. 11. SrocQtrELLEE, Esq.
The Stage and the Ring in one ♦ast Arena, with Four Handred
Auxiliaries.

After which, the CIRCLE will 3i3play the perfection of Equita•
tlou.

The SCENES inre+•.ted and the ll•rsea trained by Mr. W. Cooke

Tho whole to conclude with a FARCE.

Box-ollce open from Eleven till Four. Stage Manager, Mr. W.
West. Acting Manager, Mr. W. 11. Cooke. Equostrlan Director,
Mr. Win. Cooke, Jim.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGF:.
Tins DAY —Morning 29 inin.after 1 Evening 50 rnin.aft. 1
To .zioxitow Morning 0 min.after 2, Evening 29 atin.aft. 2

THE WEATHER.--Strx Onna, Dee. 3.

THERMOISIETZB, IN THE SHADE.
49—highest since noon yesterday.
48—lowest this morning and during the night.
50—this day, at noon.

BAROMETER, 29.95.
WIND, W. to W.S.W.—Light breeze, with fine mild
weather. Afternoon—S.W. ; fresh, with heavy send,
DECEMBER 4.
51—highest since noon yesterday.
45 —lowest this morning and during the night.
50 —this day at noon.
BAROMETER, 30'13.
N.W.—Light breeze, with fine clear sunshiny
Weather.

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