The Sun.
London, England, 1854-07-07 00:00:00

LONDON, FRIDAY, JULY 7, 1854.

j.

• Everything denotes a change in the campaign
and a news` stir" among the belligerents. Some-
thing mug code of it-39 one would hope at last
—in the way of drawing the events of the war
onwards at last to some decisive catastrophe.
The combined Fleets of Prance and England in
the Baltic have at length
`` siohted" Cronstadt.
Aft Attack may therefore be expected to be made
at length upon that chief gate of the Russian
capital, the outer bulwark of that metropolis, as
we taw; already Called it •the Ostea or Pirus of
St. Petersburg. •
The combined fleets in the Black Sea, alth•il
according to the last,aldvices still at Balchik,ou cla
before much longer now, we do believe y
, be heard
of not far from Sebastopol.
- Meanwhile, matters continuing thus at sea-
on land land the situation is rapidly becoming one of
more imminent importance, one. every day more
and more obviouo7ca.lcillated to lead to events of
• , •
a, n2' owentous character, • •

Everybody knows already of the complete na-
ture of tho retrograde .movement made by the
Russian army in the Principalities. Alm'ost every-
body is aware, moreover, that the forces of the
CZAR. are said to have been utterly routed and
dispersed in the Caucasus. Wallachia is, by this
time, nearly evacuated by the troops of GORTSCHA-
KOFF or of PASKIEWITCH—for there are still doubts
as to who is henceforth to be regarded as the
Muscovite Commander-in- Chief. The rearguard
of the recent besiegers of Silistri- had been
again defeated by the Turks not far from its
gloriously defended fortifications. The Russian
retreat has, in consequence, been more precipi-
tate and comprehensive. Not only Wallachia
but the Dobrudscha is being formally abandoned
by the legions who, like a swarm of locusts or
an irresistible conflagration,
were to eat their
way way across Bulgaria and Ro i• either through,
the rooky passes of the Balkan, o; along the sea-
board by way of Varna, to the coveted palaces of
the SULTAN in the Bosphorus, to the gilded
mosques and minarets of Constantinople. Instead
of the boastful prediction of the AUTOCRAT being
realised, his discomfited so/diers, leaving 25,000 -
of their fellow-slaves dead upon the battle-fields,

or in the hospitals, are hastily concentrating their
thinned and dispirited numbers in Moldavia.
Recoiling before the valour of the Turks and the
tardy advance of the Allies—only to advance once
more to the encounter at the earliest discernable
opportunity.
At this juncture we hear that fifty thousand
of the Anglo-French contingent are rapidly ad-
vancing towards the Turkish head-quarters at
Schumla, from the city of Varna, where they had
been disembarked. The advance guard of the
French army, moreover, is known to have passed
in a sort of ovation through the streets of Adria-
nople. The gallant OAR PACHA must speedily,
therefore, find his victorious army of Turks and
Egyptians strengthened by the junction of his na-
tive forces with those of their more highly civilised,
more skilfully trained, and redoubtable auxiliaries.
Augmented by the arrival of the French and
English contingents, the allied armies will then
be in a position to act decisively against the
enemy, under the conduct of the Marshal ST.
ARNAUD as Generalissimo.

At this particular period in the great war with
the Russian AUTOCRAT, it may not be uninteresting
to revert for a while to a remarkable Contrast sug-
gested twenty years ago by an anonymous writer
of really marvellous prescience, in a pamphlet to
which we have already more than once earnestly
directed public observation. We allude, of course,
to that exceedingly curious, and, indeed, extra-
ordinary brochure, entitled simply, " England,
France, Russia, and Turkey," 119 pages Bvo in
all, .and published, without any author's name, by
Mr. Ridgway, of Piccadilly.
Turning to the 107th page of this prophetic
pamphlet--prophetic we term it advisedly, for at
that distance of twenty years from the present
time, the writer exactly described the position
which matters have actually now assumed in re-
gard to England, and France, and Russia, and
Turkey, and the rest of the chief Powers of the
European Continent--turning to the 107th page
of this prophetic pamphlet, we find the following
Contrast or Alternative, literally in so many words
thus depicted :

" If Russia is first at Constantinople, she corn-
" bines, necessarily, all the resources of the
" Northern Governments ; she developes a power
" to which there can be no possible balance in the
" Mediterranean ; Greece and Egypt become de-
" pendencies ; no State can partake in the
" Eastern commerce, save by her sufferance ; the
" possibility of all useful union against her on the
" part of England and. France vanishes : and ci-
" vilisation itself is threatened wiLh a more dan-
" gerous eclipse than it suffered from the over-
" flow of the barbarians in 604."

All this, mind, if Russia is first at Constan-
tinople !

But—observe the obverse :

"If England anticipates Russia, she has
" with her France, Prussia is left aside,
" Austria enters, to hasten the termina-
tion of the struggle, if necessary, the
" Whole Ottoman Empire is called to arms, the
" troops and fleets of MEHEMET ALI united to
" them, and the only result that will then be
"worth accepting, will be the retreat of Russia
"behind the Dnieper, which moderate prudence
"and sequence in the policy of the Cabinets of
" France and England would never have per-
" mitted her to traverse."

Well, the alternative which was thus clearly
defined in 1834, has now in 1854 been—in the
initial proviso at least--decid.ed. Notwithstand-
ing the fearful delays of our own Government,
and the lawless and desperate precipitation of the
Government of St. Petersburg—we have stolen
a march upon the Russian AUTOCRAT ! So far
from his troops being in possession of
Constantinople, they have been so, thbrOughly
beaten along the banks of the Danube that they
are compelled to withdraw precipitately into the
Moldavian Principalities. Thanks, hownv4, nut
to England; but to the splendid valour arid deter-
mination of the Turks themselves ! Consequently,
we have been enabled to "anticipate" Russia in her
designs in regard to the capture of Constantinople.
The result has been precisely that described by
the pamphleteer. England "has with her France."
—Prussia "is left aside." It remains, of course,
yet to be seen whether it is with good faith to
to her Western Allies that Austria " enters to
hasten the termination of the struggle"—but it is
at any rate certain that she is now pledged to
war with Russia, while her forces have already,
with that implied purpose, entered the Wallachian
provinces from beyond the frontiers of Transyl-
vania. From the commencement of the struggle
the Egyptian contingent, both military and
maritime, was supplied by the ruling PACHA, not
by MEHEMET ALI, but his grandson ABBAS, to the
reigning SULTAN, his liege Suzeraine. The object
of the war alone remains to be fulfilled, in order
to complete this singular prediction—the driving
of the Russians back " behind the Dnieper."
That is, in truth, as was declared twenty years
ago by this anonymous writer, " the only result
that will be worth accepting." Again, therefore,
we repeat, the watchword of the war is found—
the name of the " DNIEPER."

"The good old times" have long passed away
since it was an ordinary custom, for persons hold-
ing a tolerably respectable position in Ireland, " to
purvey themselves wives after the fashion of the
tribe of BENJAMIN." No " Abduction Clubs"
now exist in any part of the Emerald Isle, nor are
" young Hibernian bloods" accustomed to submit
their pretensions to the hand of some bloomine.
"heiress of the vicinity to the arbitration of a pack
of cards, a pair of dice, or the still more summary
decision of a thrown-up halfpenny, or what
is vulgarly termed " skying a copper"—
the disappointed claimants, like the suitors
of HELEN, being compelled to assist their
successful rival in carrying off the lady thus
unceremoniously disposed of. But the ancient
spirit has not altogether departed from the sister
kingdom. A recent attempt has been made to
revive the obsolete custom, and that not by a
vulgar, illiterate, or needy man, but bx ono oc-
cupying a highly respectable position in society,
a Magistrate and Deputy-Lieutenant of his
county, the owner of valuable real estates, in re-
spect of which he had on all occasions shown him-
self to bea considerate andimproving landlord. It is
needlessto say that such a person was highly respected
and esteemed by persons of his own class, popular
wit: his more humble neighbours, and idolised by
the tenantry of his wide-spread domains. He
had indeed won golden opinions from men of all
ranks, and was generally considered to • be one of
gn oafnda
tbhorell:wsthitfix;hiousivould attempt the perpetyroaitiino
eu-radst stringent enactments had been
brutal
au d'
nyn—inaannlyonotnratrgar foron tahe repression
arht:Fale
frequertilly perpetrators whereof
.had not un-
tracted exile from or by pro-
deaths llp
tit):ham 011.feir offences by ignominious
the hangman,
ordernative land.
The circumstances'
which Mr. JOHN GAR-
DEN, of Barnane, atte t
he now lies in 'prison, pawaed.the offence, for which
next assizes, for the county
features of no ordinary atrociT
day, on
attempt
on the Sab-
bwiatsb madew e inn
the
ee
partiesbrea d
w lightere
from the
been offering the
to th • R
parish church, where they had
tribute of praise and thanksgiving en. ea_
venly Father. What could have been the
tions of the man who had completed his arrgaenngsae:
meats for the abduction of one of his
in the
f rt. ge
d: p.uhpr
returning
ri
na trial
.disclose a tte
worshippers, while apparently joining
service, and listening to the exhortations of the
officiating clergyman ? How could hehavehardened
his heart so far as to proceed to the execution
of his nefarious project, while seeing his intended
victim engaged in her devotions, and utterly un-
conscious of the severe ordeal through which she
was about to pass ? He did so, however—unfor-
tunately for himself—and he has now to' meet the
consequences of his deliberate viol4tiort 'of one of
the most salutary laws of his country.
It is unnecessary to dwell at any length on the
particulars cf the attack which was so vigorously
resisted and gallantly defeated. The vehicle in
whiCh 'the young lady—the object of the
attack—was seated, had scarcely been stopped

—scarcely had she been seized by the ringleader,
when her screams and entreaties alarmed the
dispersing congregation, and a prompt and ener-
getic effort was made for the rescue of the young
lady, an effort that was happily attended with
immediate success. Happily not only for the in-
tended victim, but for the chief assailant and those
who lent themselves to aid in carrying out his ne-
farious designs. Had he succeeded in carrying off this
youthful heiress, he might have subjected himself
to more stringent punishment than that to which
he is now liable. She was restored to her affrighted
sister, while he, after receiving some severe in-
juries in the affray, was speedily pursued, cap-
tured, and lodged in the county goal to abide his
trial at the next assizes.

The offence thus attempted to be revived was
at one period so common that special statutes were
obliged to be enacted. Early in the 17th century
a law was enacted for the punishment of those
" who carried away maydens that be inheritors."
And nearly 150 years after, with intent either to.
marry or defile, forcible abduction was made felony,
without benefit of clergy, which subjected the
offender to the extreme penalty of the law. The
capital punishment continued in force until some
twelve years since in Ireland, when, in conse-
quence of the frequency of the offence, a more
stringent law was required than in this less excitable
country. It was then mitigated to transportation
for life, or a long term of years. It was indeed
essential to use every exertion to check the prac-
tice that prevented any father who had a hand-
some or wealthy daughter from feeling safe until
he had disposed of her in marriage, and thus in-
terposed an insurmountable obstacle to the de-
signs of the impoverished and reckless squireens,
or farmers of the district.

Those who are desirous of reading an accurate,
and at the same time glowing, description of
the nature of these illegal proceedings, will find
well worthy of perusal the admirable speech
of the celebrated JOHN PHILPOT CUBRAN, on the
trial of Sir HENRY BROWN HAYES for the forciMe
abduction of Miss PIKE, in the year 1797—an
event which created greater excitement in the
"beautiful city" than anything that had occurred
for a long term of years before, or at any time since.
This brilliant oration will be found in extenso in
the able work of Mr. Commissioner PHILLIPS* to
which we have had the gratification of directing
public attention on several occasions, and which we
cannot too warmly commend to our readers. The
criminal in that case was also a man of fortune and
station, who had but two years previously to the o ut-
rage served the office of High Sheriff of Cork, When
convicted he applied that the sentence of death
should be carried into immediate execution, but
it was commuted to banishment for fourteen
years. Twenty-three years afterwards he re-
turned to Ireland, and survived his sentence some
thirty-five years, the observed of all observers.
We trust that the unanimous feeling displayed by
men of all classes and ranks in society will prevent
the repetition of similar efforts, and rescue the
sister kingdom from the reproach under which it
so long laboured.

* Curran and his Contemporaries. By CHARLES
PHILLIPS, Esq. Blackwood and Sons, London and
Edinburgh.

There is, we all know; a, Pastoral Aid Society,
and we doubt not it aids the pastors well, and
that a staff of secretaries, clerks, and travelling
agents are eloquent in reports, circulars, diocesan
school-rooms, and in drawing-rooms too, on the
sufferings of over-worked rectors, and the spiritual
wants of the thousands whom no man careth for,
unless perhaps as the Record hath it, " Dissenters,
Papists, and Infidels ;" it is, however, a great
mercy for our reporters and readers that societies
of this kind do not plead their cause in Parlia-
ment. We are not sure.whether, there is also an
Episcopal Aid Society ; that bishops do need
some aid in bearing the burden of their incomes.
and estates is, of course, obvious enough, and
many have been the efforts of devout Marquises,
and reverent commissions to release the Right
Reverend Fathers from worldly cares by an easy
or luxurious salary disconnected from episcopal
superintendence of fines, reversals, ground-rents,
&c. But partial success has hitherto attended
these benevolent endeavours. It would seem,
however, that our Episcopal Church does obtaii
effectual aid from certain of her lay offspring—
Honourable M.P.'s, who feel it their especial voca-
tion to do battle on every occasion in her behalf
against the other great Episcopal Church in these
realms. Never did knight errant in story look out
more keenly for Paynim knights, or search more
zealously for some oppressor of innocence with
whom to break a lance, than does Knight
SPOONER, attended ever by his faithful Squire
NEWDEGATE, for some Papal foe in the House of
Commons. It was apostolic advice to Bishop
TIMOTHY, as many designate him, to do his sacred
work "in season and out of season," and Mr.
SPOONER, believing the charge binding upon him,
shows certainly no respect of seasons ; whether it
be when votes are taken for the spiritual superin-
tendence of those whom society has thrown upon
their self-communings in' the solitude of a prison,
or in one of the most important public financial
bills which has been presented to the country for
many years, it is all one to our Episcopal HUDl-
BRAS—straight he tilts at his grand enemy, " the
Idolatrous Antichrist"—whether a prison or the
Treasury be his supposed shelter ; or rather, we
should say, now he stands lance in rest to repel
him from tampering with thieves, vagabonds,
and pickpockets, again he charges at full
speed to dislodge him from quiet quarters
in the Consolidated Fund. Mr. SPOONER has
taken on himself the out-and-out championship of
Protestant Episcopacy ; nothing else is to have a
shilling of State pay ; Ireland may groan under
the burden of episcopal wealth, her Protestant
Church may in its luxurious endowment be the
scandal of Christendom ;—never mind, says our
hero, " the sword of the LORD and of CROMWELL,"
—Parliament to the rescue ! Well, the spirit of
episcopacy, like that of prophecy, disdains some-
times the regular channels ; it will pour down
upon those educated for worldly professions, and
we are quite confident that the mantle of the
Bisuor OF FERNS has descended with a double
portion upon this unconsecrated ecclesiastic.
Every one who has heard his anti-Catholic oratory
will have been compelled to remember the well-
known picture of his predecessor, and his senti-
ments :

" (And while he spoke his cheeks grew fatter),
The rogues may munch their Paddy crop,
But the rogues must still support our shop.
And depend upun it, the way to treat
Heretical stomachs that thus dissent,
Is, to burden all that won't eat meat
With a costly MEAT ESTABLISHMENT."

Mr. SPOONER was defeated luckily on Monday
evening by a majority, however, hardly large
enough to save the credit of the House ; but what
on earth could be more unhandsome, more unprin-
cipled almost we might say, than to hazard de-
feating the valuable measure for bringing all the
payments out of the nation's Exchequer under
Parliamentary control, merely to gratify a paltry
spite against Maynooth ? Let Maynooth be all
that SPOONERISM supposes, we yet maintain that
Parliament ought to frown upon such attempts to
accomplish an object per fas aut nefas. While a
Commission is inquiring into the state and working
of the College, to attack it pending the presenta-
tion of the report, and when its support had been
placed on the Consolidated Fund by Act of Par-
liament, to attempt to alter the arrangement by a
catch vote on a clause foisted into a bill for a
totally diverse object, is, it strikes us, the very
perfection of unfairness and of Parliamentary
thimble-rigging. We trust any renewal of such
attempts
will obtain the yet more marked dis-
approbation of the House. We hardly need assert
that
our Protestantism is, perhaps, more decided
than that of Messes. SPOONER and NEWDEGATE,
but our protes
taritisin embraces firmly the prac-
tical and Divine rule, " to do unto others as we
would that they shoud do unto us."

1 The Earl of Scarborough, we regret to state, is suffer-
ing from serious indisposition at his residence in Park-
street.
The Duke and Duchess of Hamilton and youthful
family have arrived at the baths of Fribourg, from Paris,
en route to visit the Royal family at Baden, where their
graces intend to remain un'il the end •of• the ensuing
month.