The Sun.
London, England, 1854-07-18 00:00:00

LONDON, TUESDAY, JULY 18, 1854.

The peculiarity of the war undertaken against
Russia by France and England is, that it is not a
war of conquest, but a war for the prevention of
conquest. It is not a dynastic war, or a war of
selfish ambition, but a defensive war, a war for
the punishment of cruelty, for the repression of
barbarism, for the avenging of civilised society
outraged by that blind and savage fanaticism
whose crimes are calculated to produce nothing less
terrible than a profanation of the unsullied benifi-
cence of Christianity. It must not be forgotten
that it was in the name of Christianity that the
CZAR first adventured upon that outrageous in-
cursion into the Principalities, which has already
caused such deplorable bloodshed, and has termi-
nated a Peace of nearly forty years' duration by
one of the most atrocious and unjustifiable con-
flicts ever provoked by one man's" insatiable greed •
of dominion. Not only was this the case, but
the Proclamation through which the AUTOCRAT
first announced the real criminality of his
intentions to the rest of Europe was closed
by a verse from the ROYAL PSALMIST, by which
the aid of GOD was invoked upon a cause com-
bining in itself injustice, duplicity, and barbarism !
In conformity with all which the first atrocity of
any note perpetrated in furtherance of this same

infamous cause was celebrated, it will be remem-
bered, from the Emperor NICHOLAS downwards,
throughout the chief cities of Russia by a solemn
.re Deum chaunted to HEAVEN in the " orthodox"
cathedrals. In taking up arms against the
Russians, therefore, England and France are
undertaking to wreak vengeance not only upon a
flagrant wrong-doer, but also upon a notorious
blasphemer. The triumph of the Allies over the
ll'orthern. AUTOCRAT Will not only be a victory
won in the interests of civilisation but in the
.nobler and holier interests of our common
-Christianity.
Fortunately for the Allies of Tarkey, they have
only, now, to follow up the 'successes already
obtained by the soldiers of the SULTAN over the
forces of the AUTOCRAT. For
all that
and France have done to prevent them, England
,tthe Rus-
sians might long ago, but for the
gallantry_
Turks, have passed not only the PrunthrY of
the
and the
Danube, but the more formidable line
Balkan mountains. They might have
apps the
successively before Adrianople and Constantinople
—or they might have advanced along the sea_
. board by Varna to the coveted palaces of the
Commander of the Faithful, on the Bosphorus
As it is, the .pride of the CZAR has been laid low
by the valour of the Turks and the gallantry of
their commanders, by the genius of OMER PACHA
and the glorious constancy of the defenders of
Silistria, without the aid of the Anglo-French
'contingent. So that when the troops of Lord
RAGLAN and of Marshal ST. ARNAUD at last reach
'the Ottoman head-quarters, they find the Russian
invaders already iu full retreat upon the left of
the Danube, through Bucharest in the direction
Of' Moldavia. So that, in fact, the CZAR, after
ail his boasting and all his blasphemies, might say
in the words of TERENCE, and with a twofold
significance----" Ita me Dii ament ast übi sim
n1°1" And this whether in regard to Europe
'n •
regard to Asia : for if OMER PACHA has
been successful on the Danube, SCHAMYL has no
less
his arms brilliantlytriumphantly
proved the might and glory of
him, the
phantly the Caucasus. As God
'shall judge
he is
at this
rnoment__CZAß can scarcely tell where
whether, that is to say, his
forctS are any longer in
of eircasshiais, oarrmofiesthme
ravagedession of the fortresses
WhetherPrin cipali ties—
ay not have to be with-
the not only beyond the Seretb but beyond
the Pruth, and beyond the Dniester, and
beyond the Bug, and the natural and re-
boundarY of Russia a 6 that part of her

dominions—beyond the Dnieper ! It must
come to that ultimately. Upon the boundary
line of the Dnieper for Russia (as it was in 1689
on the accession of PETER the GREAT ), so to
speak, there trembles in the balance the
dread alternative threatened for Europe by
the , prophecy - Of the Great NAPOLEON—
the alternative of its being overrun by the
Cossacks, or liberated by the genius of De-
mocracy. Drive back the Russians beyond
the Dnieper, and, with the help of GOD,
the liberation and the peace of Europe are assured
—not only the tranquillity and freedom of
Europe, but the continued progress of the great
nations already far advanced in the march of
civilisation !

The Guardians of the Public Purse are, it ap-
pears, to make further provision for " the ex-
penses of the war." They cannot be allowed to
separate for the long vacation until they have ac-
cepted another " little bill " in addition to those
which they have already so liberally met. The
amount, or, as Mr. MANTALINI might term it,
" the dimm'd total," is as yet unknown, but
full satisfaction will, of course, be given on that
point before the new " Vote of Credit " is de-
manded.

We believe that we speak the all but unani-
mous opinion of the English People in stating,
that everything necessary for the vigorous and
energetic conduct of the war, for achieving results
so decisive as to insure a permanent and honour-
able peace will be freely and willingly granted,
JOHN BULL, at all times a generous paymaster,
is peculiarly liberal during the continuance of
hostilities, and it is more than hinted that
Ministers are by no means unwilling to take ad-
vantage of that disposition, and to increase their
demands even in matters wholly unconnected with
these stirring events.

But, notwithstanding this profuse liberality,
which some people might feel inclined to stigma-
tise as " wanton extravagance," there is a general
disinclination to render Ministers independent of
Parliament, or to confide the exclusive manage-
ment of affairs to the " Excellent ABERDEEN" and
his colleagues for fully six months, during which
time they would be exempted from the supervision
and control of both Houses. Three months' money
in hand would surely be quite sufficient for every
purpose that could reasonably be required ; and
if any peculiar exigency, any unforeseen emergency
should arise, it would be far better that they should
be compelled to arouse the representatives of the
people, and to obtain their approval of the course
that had been taken, and which it was intended
to pursue. We would, therefore, entreat Honour-
able Gentlemen not to forget prudence and dis-
cretion in the excess of their generosity ; but, at
the same time, to protect the pockets of over-
burdened taxpayers, and insure for themselves
the influence and directing power to which they
are constitutionally and judiciously entitled.
With this view they should strictly scrutinise and
maturely consider the votes they are required to
sanction, and refuse to tie themselves to the
chariot wheels of any Ministry, however strongly
entitled to support and confidence.

There is another point on which they should
require full and explicit information. The
Ministerial Leader, in making the announcement
above referred to, declared that " there would be
no occasion for a Committee of Ways and Means ;"
adding that "the vote would be proposed in a Com-
mittee of the whole House in Supply." From this,
it seems that all now asked for is authority to
expend money, leaving to a future day the task
of providing the means of liquidating that outlay.
There is, however, a very serious objection to
such a proceeding. A prudent man will not in-
cur a heavy liability until he has, in the first in-
stance, ascertained the mode of liquidation. He
will not leave to chance a question of such vital
importance to his credit and solvency. How,
then, are the funds to be raised for the purpose
of meeting this new demand 7 It can scarcely be
by the imposition of new burdens—by heaping all
the charges on the present generation—and alto-
gether exonerating " posterity" from any portion
of the charges undertaken on their account. Al-
ready more than ten millions of pounds sterling
have been cast upon the people, according to the
estimate of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and
we believe that nearer to twelve than to ten mil-
lions will be collected under the increased imposts.
It was very distinctly and unequivocally announced
that one, at least, of the objects for which these
enormous sums were to be levied, was to disgust
the community with the war, and induce them to
accept any terms that might be offered. Mr.
GLADSTONE emphatically declared that " the ne-
cessity of meeting, year by year, the expenditure
which war entails, is a salutary and wholesome
check. It makes men feel what they are about,
and prompts them to measure the benefit they
anticipate with the cost of obtaining it ! " The
Right Honourable Gentlepian may very probably
be still influenced by this reasoning—may not
deem that the curb is even yet sufficiently severe
to restrain the warlike ardour and chivalrous
enthusiasm of the British nation. He may, there-
fore, be desirous of enacting new, or enhancing
old, imposts, so as to make the whole of the addi-
tional expenditure be collected within the year.
He may not next February entertain the same
objections to the reimposition of the recently-
repealed duties, the alteration of the rate of
postage, or to meddling with the taxes on tea or
tobacco. He may possibly think that the In-
come Tax screw will bear another turn, and that,
as he has already significantly hinted, the six may
be increased to ten per cent., and that, with-
out any attempt to equalise or render more
equitable and less oppressive the iniquitous im-
post. All or any of these courses are open to the
Financial Minister, and if the expenditure be sanc-
tioned without a clear and express understanding
as to the mode by which it may be liquidated, he
will be enabled to taunt the House, in his accus-
tomed manner, with being " quite willing to di-
rect the outlay, but not to pay for it afterwards."
Let those, then, who object to an unmodified In-
come Tax at the rate of ten per cent., who do not
want to see the re-enactment of the repealed
duties, or the retrograde movement in the path
of free trade, insist on knowing full particulars
and details on every point, and refuse to vote a
credit of a single shilling until they are clearly
informed as to the mode in which the money is
to be provided. Let them not be contented with
a Committee of Supply unless there also be one of
Ways and Means, an-ii a New Bud get opened by
the Financia I Minister.