The Sun.
London, England, 1854-02-07 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 7, 1854.

i root at 101. to 11/. 10s, powder 181. to 211.. and foreign
I root in bond 101. 10. to 11/. per ton.
TEA.—To-day demand was good for both flack and
Green tea, and full rates were obtained, in some cases a
small reduction took place for the latter, supply being
plentiful. Of 15,000 pkgs offered at auction, 5,000 found
buyers.
Rum.—To-day many purchases were made, and prices
closed firmly. Leeward Island 3s 10d to 3s lld proof,
Demerara 5s 8d to 6s lld as to quality and strength, and
Jamaica 5s 9d to 6s 9d per gallon.
TALLOW.—To-day the tallow market was brisker, and
rates are 63s 6d to 63s 9d on the spot, for P.Y. candle of
first quality.
OlL.—ForiSearpale realised 411. to 451., yellow and straw
361. to 401., and brown 341. 10s. to 351. 10s. An active de-
mand for Sperm, 901. to 911. 10s., for mid to fine ; and
Head matter 911. to 931. In Cocoa Nut large transactions
have taken place ; Cochin at 51s. 6d. to 525. 6d ; Ceylon
50s to 51s ; and Sydney 47s to 495. In Palm many pur-
chases have been made, and low to fine quality realised
44s to 475. Gallipoli selling at 621. to 631., and other sorts
581. to 611. per tun. Linseed oil, 34s Od. to 34s 3d for pre-
sent delivery. In Rape oil transactions have been larger
-pale at 46s to 475, and brown 44s to 463 6d per cwt.

SPORTING NOTES.

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS—(YESTERDAY.)
THE EASTERN QUESTION.
The Marquis of CLANRICARDE (who had given
notice of the following motion,—" To call the attention
of the house to the state of this country with relation to
the question of peace or war ") said,—My lords, when I
gave notice of the motion which appears in my name
upon the orders, I certainly thought, from the language
which was held in this house upon Tuesday last by the
noble lords the representatives of the Government here,
that the proposal which had been made to the Emperor
of Russia had been virtually, if not formally, rejected by
him, and that his formal refusal to accede to that pro-
posal would have arrived, I may say, immediately.
And, further, I certainly considered that all negotiations
for peace were virtually at an end. It appears, how-
ever, from the reports in the public papers, that up to
this morning no formal reply to that proposal has been
received from the Emperor of Russia. So far as I can
understand it, there appears to be something of the
semblance of negotiations still going on at Vienna.
Under these circumstances, while there is even so faint
a prospect of peace as I fear there is, I for one should be
extremely sorry to occasion any discussion which might
prevent a peaceful termination to those negotiations.
(Hear, hear.) I do not, therefore, wish to-night to
go into the question, and to discuss some very ne-
cessary points with reference to our present position,
the consideration of which, however, I think Par-
liament cannot delay many days. Our position,
whatever it is, is becoming so critical that I think
Parliament must be accurately informed thereupon be-
fore many days elapse. At the same time, not desiring
to interfere with the faintest prospect of peace until all
negotiations are formally closed, I do not wish to enter
upon a discussion which must necessarily arise many
points. (Hear.) I shall, therefore, not draw attention
to certain despatches which have been communicated to
Parliament, but shall content myself with asking my
noble fried at the head of the Foreign-office the simple
yet important question, whether any answer has yet
been received from the Emperor of Russia to those pro-
posals which have been laid before him, and what is the
present state of our diplomatic relations with that
Power ! I learn from the public prints that the Rus-
sian Ministers, both in Paris and London, have actually
retired from their functions, and I should wish to know
what instructions, if any, have been given to our Minis-
ter at St. Petersburg ? If my noble friend will be kind
enough to answer these questions, I shall reserve for a
short time any observations which I may have to make
upon the position in which this country appears to be.
The Earl of CLARENDON—I feel under much ob-
ligation to my noble friend for the consideration he has
shown in postponing any discussion which he thinks
might operate prejudicially to the slight chances which
still remain of maintaining peace. My noble friend is
perfectly right in supposing that, although there was
some reason to believe that the answer of the Emperor
of Russia, or, rather the terms on which he stated that
he would be prepared to negotiate for peace, had been
received at Vienna and were known there on Fri-
day last, it was only this afternoon that I received
from Vienna an official statement of the facts. It was
only on the 2d of this month that the Conference was
called together and these proposals, or rather counter-
project, of the Emperor of Russia were communicated
to the representatives of England, France, and Prussia
by Count Buol, and, as I have already stated, having
received the official despatch on the subject only this
afternoon, it is not yet in the hands of my colleagues ;
indeed, I have only had time to show it to my noble
friend at the head of the Government, and therefore I
would prefer not being compelled to enter into any de-
tails at the present moment. (Hear, hear.) Neverthe-
less, I think it my duty to inform your lordships that
the terms of the Emperor's proposal were quite unac-
ceptable, and not of a character to allow of their being
sent to Constantinople. (Hear, hear.) Upon this point
no doubt exited for a moment in the minds of the mem-
bers of the Conference. With respect to the second
question which my noble friend addressed to me, I have
to state that on Saturday evening Baron Brunow called
on me at the Foreign-office and placed in my hands a
Note, in which he announced that the answer he had re-
ceived from me to the inquiry he was instructed to make
by his Government was not of a kind that permitted
him to continue diplomatic relations in this country, and
that therefore diplomatic relations between Russia and
England were suspended. Baron Brunow took leave
of me on Saturday evening, but it was then too late
to depart from London, and I understood that he
was to leave early this morning. I can assure my noble
friend that I desire as earnestly as he can that the
fullest information should be given on this and all other
points connected with this important question, respect-
ing which there naturally exists so much anxiety in the
country ; and in the course of the week I will lay before
your lordships the note addressed to me by Baron
Brunow on Saturday, together with the despatch from
his Government and my answer, on which Baron
Brunow's note is founded. (Hear, hear.)
The Earl of ELLENBOROUGIL—I have always
thought that the state of things which has arisen out of
the conduct pursued by the Emperor of Russia could
terminate in nothing but war. I expressed that opinion
to one of the Ministers of the Crown as far back as
Easter, and I declared it in this house in August last.
I do not regret that the noble marquis has thought
proper to postpone his motion, because I am of opinion
that any retrospect of the conduct of her Majesty's
Government in these negotiations would not be in
the slightest degree profitable to the country ; but I
should deeply regret if the noble marquis, and those
who think with him,_or if Her esty's Ministers
could be deluded by anything which has recently taken
place into relaxing in any degree, or, indeed, into not
increasing to the utmost possible extent, their prepara-
tions for war. (Hear, hear.) I have no doubt we are
at the commencement of one of the most formidable
wars in which this country has ever been engaged.
I deeply regret that the people of this country do
not appear at all aware of the magnitude and probable
duration, or the dismal consequence of that war. It is
undoubtedly true that it is a war for which this country
is not responsible, nor are her Majesty's Ministers re-
sponsible for it. I acquit them altogether. I think
that, whatever they have said on the subject has been
said with ability, and that they have been ably seconded
by the various gentlemen holding diplomatic appoint-
ments at the different European courts ; but I do con-
jure Ministers to increase to the utmost possible extent
the preparation for immediate war. (Hear, hear.) War
is inevitable, and what is absolutely essential to the
preservation of the best interests of this country is, that
on the breaking up of the ice we shall show a superior
fleet in the Baltic. (Hear, hear.) Are we able to do
that ? (Hear, hear.) If we be not, Ministers are most
deeply responsible to the country, for they have had
their eyes opened, and could not have been in ignorance
of the danger pressing upon us. (Hear, hear.) I will
say no more now. I desire that your lordships should
have the opportunity of considering the whole subject ;
but what I now earnestly press Ministers to do is to in-
crease to the utmost extent the preparations for imme-
diate war, and for a war which will be one of the greatest
in which this country has ever engaged.
The Marquis of CLANRICARDE—I cannot refrain
from saying that in a material part of what has fallen
from the noble earl who spoke last I fully concur. I
agree with him in thinking that the war in which it ap-
pears we are about to engage will probably turn out to
be one of the most disastrous on which we have entered.
(Murmurs, and cries of " No !") I do not mean to this
country, but to humanity—(" hear," from the Earl of
Aberdeen)—on account of the grave and extensive con-
sequences which must result from it. On that account
I have postponed my motion, for I regard the approach-
ing war with. apprehension. I cannot, however, en-
tirely concur in the opinion which the noble earl ex-
pressed as to the inutility of entering into any retrospect
of what has happened. I think that a retrospect
of the past would enable us to comprehend better the
position in which we are placed. I cannot agree with
the noble earl in thinking that her Majesty's Ministers
are entirely irresponsible for the present state of affairs.
I certainly think, with the noble earl, that what has
been said, both by her Majesty's Ministers and their
diplomatic agents abroad, has been said with ability ;
but I think that very often the right thing has not been
said, and that much ought to have been said which has
been left unsaid. (Hear, hear.) I therefore think we
must have a discussion on the subject, partaking some-
what of a retrospective character, and, as the noble earl
at the head of foreign affairs seems anxious that there
should be no delay on the subject, probably to-morrow
week, if it should suit your lordships' convenience,
would not be too early a day to fix for the discussion.
It appears to me impossible that Parliament should not
then be in a position to form a proper opinion on the
question. It is evident that the present state of things
cannot continue long. With your lordships permission,
I will give notice at once of my intention to bring for- I
ward a motion on the subject to-morrow week.
Earl PITZWILLIAM—The noble marquis says that
the present state of things cannot last long. In that I
entirely agree with him, and I am the more desirous of
saying so, because, in my opinion, the present state of
things has already lasted much too long. (Cheers.) If
I were disposed to find fault with a single syllable of
the statement which has been made by the noble earl,
the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, it would be
because he still seems to indicate that there lurks in his
mind even the shadow of a shade of hope that there
could be any other termination to this state of things
than war, as has been announced by the noble earl
(Ellenborough) on the upper bench. With all that that
noble earl addressed to your lordships I do not entirely
agree, because I cannot believe that it was quite im-
possible to avert, at an early stage of the negotiations,
the state of things at which we have now arrived.
(Hear, hear). That, however, is a question which,
however, it may be determined in any man s mind, can
make no alteration whatever in the course which Par-
liament and the country must now take. (Hear, hear.)
Whether Ministers deserve credit for the whole of the
negotiations in which they have been engaged, or
whether it be the opinion of any man that in some par-
ticular part of the negotiations they may have failed, of
this I am sure, that it is the duty of every man to
afford them the strongest support when they
shall be engaged in that war with which the noble
earl on the upper bench has threatened us. (Cheers.)
There is one point on which I am desirous of

making an observation, arising out of what fell from
the noble earl on the upper bench. The noble
earl said, it appeared to him that the country was not
fully aware of the tremendous character of the conflict
in which we are about to engage. Whether the country •
is aware of it or not, I will not now stop to discuss ; but 1
of this I am sure—and I am sure of it from the commu-
nications I have had, and have the means of having,
from some of the most important communities in this
country—that there never was a war in which the Go-
vernment
was more cordially supported than it will be
in that in which we are about to engage. (Cheers.)
When the noble earl said that the people of this country
were not fully aware of the character of the war in which
we are about to engage, I am confident he did not mean
to impute to them any unwillingness to support the
Government. (Hear, hear.) I am sure the noble earl
-did not mean to impute such a feeling to the people of
this country, and I have adverted to the language he
used only because it might possibly be misconstrued.
Lord BEAUMONT.—I cannot help observing, that
the answer given by my noble friend the Secretary for Foh
reign Affairs is, even under the circumstances of the
case, more meagre than seems desirable. We are still
left without any knowledge as to whether we are in a
state of war or peace. I think we are entitled to distinct
information on this head, and I think so for this reason ;
it was stated that, if what is now called the Turkish
Note—l mean the one last agreed to by the Conference
of Vienna—should be rejected by the Emperor of Rus- •
sia, all further attempts to submit proposals to that
Government would be abandoned. Now, if I under-
stand my noble friend rightly, the Emperor of Russia
has refused to consent to the Vienna Note, and not only
refused that, but stated terms on which he was willing to
enter into fresh negotiations, which were of such a nature
that it was utterly impossible for any other Power to ad-
mit them. If things are arrived at this point, further nego-
tiation with the Emperor of Russia must be altogether out
of the question. (Hear, hear.) When the Emperor of
Russia has withdrawn his Minister at our Court—when
he has refused to accept the proposition we tendered as
our ultimatum—and when he insults Europe by offering
proposals at the eleventh hour which he knows must be
refused—l say that when we have arrived at a point like
this, there can be no other alternative than war or dis-
grace. At this state of things—if I understand my
noble friend's answer—we have now arrived—(hear)--
and therefore I think we are entitled to know whether
instructions have gone out from this country for the re•
call of our Minister from St. Petersburg, and whether
all negotiations will be ended at St. Petersburg in the
same manner as they are ended here ? lam as reluctant
as the noble marquis near me to enter preniaturely into
discussion on this subject, nor am I now referring to the
past. Since I have had time to read a large portion of
the despatches on the table, I am willing to give Mi-
nisters more credit for what has passed than I was pre-
viously inclined to do ; but I think we have now arrived
at a point when hesitation or holding out false hopes or
trying to make us believe that we are at peace, when we
are actually at war, would be highly culpable. (Hear.)
Let us meet the state of things as it stands, and not
hesitate to acknowledge that we are in a state of war,
if such be the case. I think I cannot be doing wrong
in asking my noble friend the Secretary for Foreign
Affairs whether instructions have been sent for the
withdrawal of our ambassador from St. Petersburg, and
for stopping further negotiations there ?
The Earl of CLARENDON—I am sorry my noble
friend thinks the answer I gave to the noble marquis
was meagre. I thought I answerel distinctly to the
questions put to me. My noble friend seems to think
—and so, also, did the noble earl (Fitzwilliam)—
that I am holding out hopes and expectations that
fresh negotiations may be entered into, and that
peace may still be preserved. I can assure them
both that I held out no such expectations at all.
These negotiations have—as I informed the noble
marquis—now been brought to a close at Vienna. I
also stated, in my answer to the noble marquis, that I
had received the official information of this fact only this
afternoon, and at a period too late to enable me to com-
municate it to my colleagues and therefore I thought it
better not to enter into details ; but, anxious, as far as
possible, to satisfy your lordships' natural desire for in-
formation on this subject, I added that the new propo-
sals put forward by Russia were wholly unacceptable—
that they could not be transmitted to Constantinople,
and that therefore there was an end of them. I have
no reason to think that fresh negotiations on the sub-
ject will be renewed. It is true that Count Orloff, who
arrived at Vienna some days ago, and was about to de-
part after having executed that particular part of his
mission which referred to the relations subsisting be-
tween Austria and Russia, has now prolonged his stay ;
' but what object he has in this I really am unable to state.
With respect to the other question asked by my noble
friend relative to instructions to her Majesty's Minister
at St. Petersburg, I can only tell him that, as it was
half-past 6 o'clock on Saturday when Baron Brunow
called upon me, and as it was necessary in this, as in all
other measures we have adopted, or shall adopt, to have
previous communication with the French Government
—(hear)—it was not possible, at the moment, to send
instructions to our Minister at St. Petersburg, but we
have already held communication with the French Am-
bassador on the subject, and instructions will be sent to
Sir George Seymour and General Castlebajac to-morrow,
which will place them on exactly the same footing as the
L Russian Ambassador here, and diplomatic relations be-
t tween the two countries and Russia will be suspended.
(The statement of the noble earl evidently made a strong
impression on the house.)
Their lordships then adjourned.

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.