The Sun.
London, England, 1854-03-24 00:00:00

ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE, OXFORD-STREET.
Under the Managem,nt of Mr. CnAELEs KEAN.
THIS EVENING, MAacn 24,
Will be performed RICHARD THE THIRD. Principal charac-
ter by Mr. C. Kean.
To be followed by A STORM IN A TEA-CUP. Principal cha-
racters by Mr. and Mrs. W. Lacy.

ASTLEY'S EUROPE'S NATIONAL AAPHITUEATRE.
Lessee and Manager, Mr. William Cooke.
THIS EVENING, Msacn 24,

And during the week, will be presented the new, grand, and
romantic spectacle entitled THE wOODMI.:,'S HORSE; or, The
False Knight—the Woodman's Horse by the pet steed, Beauty,
expressly trained by Mr. William Cooke.
After which, the incomparable Scenes of the ARENA.
To conclude with BESS OF THE BELL.

Box-office open from Eleven till Four. Stage Manager, Mr. W
West.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
T,-IN DAY —Morning 50 cain.after 9 I Evening 41 min.aft, 10
To-Molutow:Z‘lorning 27 min.after 11 l Evening 0 cntn.aft. 0

THE WEATHER.—Sum OPPICB, 31Anca 24.
THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE.
52—highest since noon yesterday.
39—lowest this morning and during the night.
50—this day at noon.
BAROMETER, 30'37.
WIND, N.E.—Fresh and cold, with cloudy weather.

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LONDON, FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 1854.

As good fortune would have it, the villanies of
the Russian Government stand exposed—just
before the outbreak of the great Anglo-French
war against the AUTOCRAT-to the recognition
and the abhorrence of all Christendom. It is
perceived by France that England was tempted
by the CZAR to join with him secretly in a fraudu-
lent partition of Turkey, and that England de-
cidedly rejected his temptations. It is acknow-
ledged by the Moniteur that, subsequently to
this refusal on the part of Great Britain, Russia
made similar advances to the French EMPEROR
with a view to secure the complicity of his Go-
vernment. From these revelations the Cabinet
of VICTORIA and the Cabinet of NAPOLEON de-
rive only additional, and most opportune, and
more than ever effectual reasons for rendering
their alliance close, cordial, and permanent. At
the same time, the disclosure of those remark-
able documents has at last forced upon the
unwilling attention of the German Powers
that throughout these sinister advances of the
CZAR, first of all to England and afterwards to
France, with a view to precipitate the downfall
of Turkey and its ultimate dismemberment—
Austria was scarcely taken for a single moment
into consideration, and Prussia from first to last
was never once even cursorily mentioned. The
consequences of this timely exposure of the secret
machinations of the AUTOCRAT must be obvious
at a glance, disastrous to his own interests, and
singularly advantageous to those of the rest of
Christendom. They must draw yet closer the
bonds of sympathy which have at length bound
together in a cause as elevating and inspi-
riting as it is honourable and magnanimous
the hitherto divided policies of the French
and English Governments. They cannot fail
moreover, by any possibility, to diminish the
obsequious alacrity of Austria and Prussia to
pledge themselves to a neutral course during the
progress of these warlike movements. The Go-
vernment of Vienna must perforce feel in all its
bitterness, the ignominy of her treatment by the
northern AUTOCRAT during the development of
these secret and sinister negotiations. It must
necessarily be galled to the quick, now that those
negotiations have been revealed, and that that
treatment has been displayed to the observation
of Europe—it must necessarily, we repeat, be
galled to the quick by an intolerable sense of the
publicity of this faithless and scornful degradation.
The Government of Berlin, with all its callous
disregard of whatever is chivalric or high-
minded, must inevitably, we conceive, be
rendered for once at least to Rome slight degree
sensitive by the evidence now thrust upon the
knowledge of the world, that it has been treated

protect the weak, and to repel the spoliator, and
by establishing upon L more solid basis the peace
of Christendom, to seoure the future safety and
progressive development of civilisation.

A very gross and infamous fraud was brought
under the consideration of both Houses of Parlia-
ment, on Tuesday evening—in the Lords by the
Earl of ELLENBOROUGH, and in the Commons by
Colonel BLAIR. It appeared that a supply of hay
being required for the use of the expedition now
proceeding to the East, advertisements were pub-
lished, inviting tend3rs to ba sent in, according
to the usual course of Government contracts.
These invitations were not, however, responded to,
one tender only being sent in, and that for but a
small quantity. Under such circumstances, the
parties charged with the duty were obliged to de-
part from the ordinary routine, and to apply to
several eminent forage contractors to know upon
what terms and to what extent they would be
willing to provide the required stores. Four
firms responded to this latter application, and
returned answers stating the quantity, quality,
and the price of the hay they were prepared to
deliver. It may be assumed that, under such
circumstances, the bonds, with solvent security for
the due fulfilment of the contracts, which are
generally taken, were dispensed with. As the Go-
vernment sought the contractors, it was of course
impossible to insist on the conditions generally
enforced when there was an eager competition for
the engagement. This failure would not take away
the civil action for any breach of agreement, but
it would limit the remedy to the individual by
whom it was violated. The hay was sent in, and
very fortunately an examination took place, which
brought to light one of the most flagrant acts of
iniquity ever attempted. While there was yet
time to remedy the evil, and to avert the fearful
consequences that might have resulted therefrom
had it passed without detection, it was found
that many of the trusses, which appeared to be
perfectly sound and of good quality, were in the
interior filled with filth of the most disgusting
description—shavings, straw, litter, and even a
dead lamb, were used to fill up the trusses, and
the hay itself was damped so as to add to the
weight, but to the total destruction of its quality
as fodder, or fitness as food for the animals en-
gaged in the public service. The hay was, of
course, at once rejected, and the required quan-
tity obtained from other and more trust-worthy
dealers.

It is impossible to over-estimate the atrocity of
this horrible crime. It has already produced
serious consequences, for, as the noble Secretary
for the Colonies informed the House of Lords,
" great inconvenience had arisen in consequence of
the loss of time which had necessarily taken place
in obtaining fresh supplies." That delay may
have been productive of very formidable results,
for the absence of the artillery from the seat of
war, even for a single day, might have placed in
jeopardy the lives of the troops to whose hands
are confided the honour and interests of the
nation. The first operations might be defeated
and a protracted war rendered inevitable, and all
because a fraudulent contractor desired to enhance
his profits. These results are, as we have stated,
yet possible ; and we cannot at this moment tell
the amount of damage occasioned by the mis-
creants who participated in the infamous fraud.
But how much greater and more certain might
have been the damage, but for the providential
and unexpected discovery The damp hay would
probably have ignited on the voyage, and the in-
evitable destruction of the vessels in which the
troops were embarked, with all on board—sea-
men, artillerymen, horses, and all the munitions
of war—would necessarily have followed. Not a
single individual might have been saved to tell
the history of the awful transaction, or to reveal
the guilt of the would-be " MURDERERS." We
say murderers; for inasmuch as a general destruc-
tion such as we have indicated would be the only
way in which detection could be avoided, the
parties implicated must have coolly and deli-
berately contemplated the death of every
person who could give information as to the
circumstances, for by such means only could
the " damning evidences" of their unparalleled
guilt be suppressed. Even had the spontaneous
combustion of the article been averted, and the

by Russia from the beginning to the end of these
disgraceful transactions, with the most unendurable,
because the most supreme and contemptuous in-
difference. Nevertheless—setting altogether on
one side the effect likely to be produced by these
disclosures upon the two chief Powers of the Ger-
manic Confederation—it cannot fur an instant be
doubted that among the prominent consequences
of this most timely revelation will be the infu-
sion of still greater ardour into the enthusiasm of
Turkish patriotism, and the happy consolidation
of what has at last become a veritable entente cor-
dial between the French and English Govern-
ments.

men, and horses, and stores landed in safety, the
results would be but little less prejudicial to the
nation. As the Duke of NEWCASTLE truly stated,
"it would in all probability have entailed the
loss of all the horses, arid the consequent ineffici-
ency of the artillery on the eve of great military
operations, and might possibly have been of the
greatest consequence to the lives of her MAJEsry's
troops."

The criminality of the Russian policy has thus
been exposed betimes to the Cabinets of St.
James's and the Tuileries, of Potsdam and Schoen-
brunn. It has been laid bare in the last awful
pause, the lull before the storm, while the Western
Powers are waiting for the acceptance or refusal
by the CZAR of the ultimatum forwarded by courier
to St. Petersburg. Already it is known that that
peremptory demand on the part of England and
France for the immediate evacuation of the Prin-
cipalities has been met with the threat of a
haughty and abrupt rejection. The CZAR, on
hearing of its approach, intimated that it would
scarcely require six minutes for it to be answered
in—a remark sufficiently indicative of the bent of
his defermination. Wherefore Europe may count
upon the refusal of the ultimatum, by the Auro-
CRAT. And then, of course, the next move will
be the declaration of war—the first shot will be
fired, and the struggle will commence in earnest.
Whether that declaration of war will come from
Russia, or from France and England, or whether
that first shot will become audible in the Black
Sea or the Baltic, remains yet to be conjectured.
It is at least certain that the Western Allies of
Turkey are prepared at this moment for both—
for the declaration of war on the refusal of the
ultimatum, or for the firing of the first shot either in
the Baltic or in the Euxine—just as circumstances
might render it advisable. Admirals Eliatzurr and
DUNDAS are in readiness for any emergency—pre-
pared at any time to emerge into the waters of
the Black Sea from their anchorage in the Bos-
phorus. Admirals NAPIER and DESOHENES are
almost similarly situated in regard to the Sound
and the Baltic. For, while Sir CHARLES NAPIER,
at the head of his noble squadron, is known to
have advanced as far as Copenhagen, followed by
several of the French ships of war, other vessels
of the imperial navy of France are all but pre-
pared at this moment at Brest to hasten after
the English fleet, in order to join it under the flag
of Admiral DZSCHENES. Such is the position of
affairs northwards, while eastwards, we learn that
the Retribution and the Caton, the former an
English frigate, and the latter a French
corvette, have recently been despatched from
the combined fleets at Beycos, in order
to traverse the waters of the Black Sea as far as
the mouths of the Danube, there to break down
at Sulina the obstructions raised by the Russians
for the purpose of impeding the navigation. It
is manifest, therefore, that the allies of Turkey
are resolved upon being no longer trifled with by
the lawless despot, whose ambition has lit up in
the twin provinces of Moldo-Wallachia a flame
that may now speedily extend into a general
European conflagration.

Such might have been the natural results of the
" (tali sacra fames," this " greed of gain," and
unholy thirst for dishonest-, profits. What punish-
ment, then, should be inflicted on the wretches
concerned in this vile attempt to gain a few paltry
pounds in addition to the legitimate profits which
would have been obtained from the contracts, for
which, be it observed, they named their prices ?
As to the moral guilt, there could be no doubt ;
and we believe that there is no disinterested per-
son who would not say that " hanging would
be too good" for such criminals. There seems,
however, to be a doubt as to whether they can be
punished in any way save by recovering damages
for the breach of contract.

The Duke of NEWCASTLE, on behalf of the Go,
vernment, declared that " the case should be most
strictly investigated, and the parties treated with
the utmost severity." But what will that amount
to ? The mere publication of a name would be a
very inadequate punishment for such monstrous

turpitude, which, if unprovided for by law, shows
a deficiency in our Criminal. Code that should be
forthwith provided for. There may be no express
enactment on the point. Parliament might never
have deemed such atrocity possible. The Romans
had no law respecting parricide for a similar rea-
son. We cannot, however, believe that it may
not be brought within some of the provisions,
either of the Statutes or the Common Law. Lord
BROUGHAM declared that " if more than one were
engaged there could be no doubt that the Crimi-
nal Law would at once touch them, for they would
be engaged in a conspiracy of a grave nature,
mingled with the grossest fraud !" Surely a
single person could not have packed the various
trusses so carefully that there should be no ex-
terior appearance to indicate. the filthy contents.
Not merely one or two, but many persons must
have been not merely cognisant of, but actually
concerned in, the infamous fraud. Some of these
parties may surely be got a t by a little activity
and energy on the part of the authorities.
Again the chief offender—the man for whose
pecuniary profit the vile attempt was made—was
to be paid the supposed value. What, then, was
this but an attempt to obtain money under false
pretences ? The pretence being that the trusses
consisted entirely of sound wholesome hay of the
quality specified in the contract, the total false-
hood whereof could easily be proved. Here,
then, a certain, though very inadequate, punish-
ment might be inflicted on the miscreant. Even
a higher penalty might be inflicted without strain-
ing the law. The damping the hay, so as to
render it liable to spontaneous combustion, was
calculated to endanger the lives of the seamen
and others on board the vessels in which it was
embarked. If a single life had been lost, the
parties would unquestionably be guilty of " mur-
der," for they must be supposed to have intended
the natural consequences of their acts. Are they
to be exempted from exemplary punishment
because the attempt failed ? Surely it was as
likely to prove fatal as laying poison with the
intent of its being taken, and, if so, the same law
would be applicable to its punishment.
Lord CAMPBELL instanced the case of the par-
ties concerned in the fraud respecting the NELSON
Monument to show that there is a law to meet
the offence ; so that, under any circumstances,
they will nob get off Scot free. We trust, how-
ever, that the Attorney-General will be enabled
to show that an offence of a much more serious
nature than a mere fraud has been committed.
We feel quite assured that in his hands the ma-
jesty of the law will be fully vindicated.
It is to be regretted that the name of a gentle-
man of unimpeachable character should have

ROYAL OLYMPIC THEATRE.
Lessee and Manager, Mr. A. Wigan.
THIS EVENING, Masai 24,
Will be performed THE WRONG BOX. Supported by Messrs.
Alfred Wigan and Robinson ; Miss P. Horton, Miss Wyndham, and
Miss E. Turner.
To be followed by TO OBLIGE BENSON. Supported by Messrs.
Emery, Robson, and Leslie; Mrs. Stirling and Miss Wyndham.
To be followed by THE FIRS r NIGHT. Characters by Messrs.
/I're'l Wigan, Leslie, Franks, Harwood Cooper, ant Vincent ; Miss
Y. Horton, and Miss Wyndham.

If the Gazette de Leipzic might be relied upon,
the ultimatum, has already been formally rejected
by the CZAR, in a brief but decisive answer, ema-
nating in his name from the Cabinet of St. Peters-
burg. However this may be, the nature of the
reply may readily, at any moment, be antici-
pated. It will be a refusal, and that refusal
will be followed up by a declaration of war,
and thereupon the war itself will be at once,
without further parley, commenced in the
Black Sea by Admirals DUNDAS and HAMELIN, and
in the Baltic- by Admirals NAPIER and DESCHENES.
GOD alone knows the result, but in His hands the
issues of battle are ever left with a sublime
confidence by those who fight, as England and
France will fight, during this great contest—not
for the gratification of Imperial pride, or in obe-
dience to the lade of a lawlem ambition, but to

STRAND THEATRE.
Se!e Lessee, Mr. F. W. Ancroft.—Direetress, Mice Rebecca Isaacs.

THIS EVENING, Maacir 24,
Will be presented RUSSIAN TYRANNY; or, The Yatal Snow-
storm.
Followed by PADDY SUIOT [NO THE 110DN.
After which, THE BLUE JACKETS.
To conclude with THE CORK° %TIAN BROTHERS. Paddy and
Tim Mulligan (the
—1.0..ar8). Mr. G. Hodson.
Stalls, 58.; Boxes, U.' Pit, la. 6d; Gallery. 6d. • Private Ooze,,
it, us, to Da had of kt. ALlRott, lb. New Bowaqtroet.

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING-, MARCH 24 1854,

been erroneously mentioned in the first instance.
'We willingly gave insertion to the letter of Mr.
STURGES repudiating the charge. He has since
been justified in Parliament. The Duke of NEW-
CASTLE last night declared that the name was not
" STURGES," but " STURGEON," and that the in-
dividuals who supplied the hay which contained
the filth and rubbish were " THOMAS STURGEON
AND SONS, OF GRAYS, ESSEX." It will be for
these persons to exonerate themselves, if pos-
sible, from the grave accusa`ion.