The Sun.
London, England, 1847-01-11 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, JANUARY 11, 1847.

it is known what can be urged pro and con., either in
their behalf or in opposition to them.
The proposed resolutions are thirteen in number,
they chiefly relate to questions that have already
been considered by the committee and distributed
through the country. Some of them contain excel-
lent suggestions, which may be most beneficially
adopted, while others are of a more doubtful charac-
ter, and will require some modification and discussion
before the principles involved in them are sanctioned
or approved of. They relate chiefly to temporary mea-
sures, rendered necessary by the present emergency,and
are thus termed in the circulars in which they are
enclosed. The first four of these resolutions are di-
rected to the supply of food. They assert the signal
failure of the present system, and call upon the Go-
vernment, in the most imperative terms, to take such
measures as will secure local supplies of food suffi-
cient to keep the people alive, and to sacrifice any
sum of money that may be necessary for that pur-
pose, and declaring that any neglect or delay will
render them responsible for the safety of the people.
There appears in this something too much of the de-
pendence on others, that we have so often lamented
in the Irish nation. They seem to expect that every-
thing is to be done, that Government is to be all-
powerful, and that they themselves are to be spared
from all trouble—to have provisions made for the
people without any exertion on their own
part. If Government provide them with
means which, if duly used, will enable
them to provide for the wants of their own poor, it
is all that can be reasonably expected; and the at- '
tempt to cast the responsibility of providing for the
safety of the people on the Executive appears an un-
fair attempt to evade and escape from their own so-
lemn duties, and to shift them on other shoulders.
We agree that everything should be done for the
miserable and starving people ; that no expense
should be spared to provide for their wants, and to alle-
viate their sufferings ; that not one single human being
should be suffered to perish in a Christian land, no
matter what may be required for the purpose ; but the
means must be fully and maturely considered. There
must be no grasping at temporary expedients that
may eventually lead to mischiefs of a more
dangerous character than those they are in-
tended to provide a remedy for. And the
landlords must consider that they themselves are the
parties on whom the first duty of providing for the
poor of their respective estates devolves, and that
they should be grateful for the assistance rendered to
them to enable them to discharge that duty effectually.

They call also on the Government to remove all
artificial impediments to the supply of the deficiency
of food, by the temporary suspension of the naviga-
tion laws and the duties on the importation of corn,
and to permit such vessels of her MAJESTY'S navy as
can be spared, to be employed in the transport of
provisions ; and also demand that the unrestricted
use of sugar and molasses should be permitted in
breweries and distilleries, and that relief committees
should be allowed to sell food at less than first
cost to the destitute in their respective neigh-
bourhoods, and that their doing so should not
disentitle them to Government contributions in
aid of, their funds. Every one must assent to the
object proposed by these several measures, but very
serious questions will arise as to how far the means
may be calculated to attain that object. Some of
them, at least, demand mature consideration, and that
the possible evils that may arise from their adoption,
may be fully inquired into. The fifth resolution re-
commends that seed depOts should be established by
the Government throughout the country. We are
convinced that every means will be adopted by the
Government to assist the landowners in having due
preparation made for the ensuing harvest, that the
frightful miseries of famine may be averted. But we
must again remind the landlords that it is they them-
selves that should take the first steps; that they can
only expect to be aided in that which is
wholly beyond their power, and that they
are not to look on in helpless imbecility while
their lands are lying waste and uncultivated, calling
on others to do that which they should at least
attempt in the first instance.
The next four resolutions are directed to throw the
burden off their own shoulders, and to make it fall
on the empire at large; and not exclusively on Ire-
land more particularly, not upon the lands which
would certainly appear to be responsible in the first
instance. These propositions, too, would require
some discussion, in order to convince those not now
responsible of the justice of the substitution. To
that part of the tenth resolution that declares that
each proprietor should be enabled to take upon him-
...self his proportion of the baronial assessment, to be
expended in reproductive works on his own property,
and that he should be enabled thereby to discharge
himself from any further taxation in reference to
that assessment, we fully and entirely assent. We
have long advocated its adoption, and we are con-
vinced that, if judiciously brought into operation, it
would be most advantageous to the country. The
state of preparation for the ensuing harvest, loans by
the Government to railway companies, and a system
of emigration, form the topics of the other three
resolutions. We think the discussion of every one
of these proposals would be useful ; but to make it
really so, the press should be freely admitted, and full
publicity given to all the proceedings.

The German Journal of Frankfort has the fol-
10
Tiflis,i relative to the affairs of the
Caucasusec from
ording to the latest accounts received from the
Caucasus, the military operations in that quarter have
not been interrupted by the winter season. The Chief
of the Mundes has not been discouraged by the victories
gained by the Russians in northern Daghestan, for some
days after the combat which took place near Rataschi,
which cost the Russians more than 1,500 men, 4,000 of
the Tschetschenses passed the Terek, carried the ad-
vanced posts, and marching forward as far as
the environs of Kislar, made a considerable booty in
spread terror to the very neighbourhood of
the mountain. At the same time a body of Schamyl's
fGmorrcoesaza, and although a larger body of Russians
advanced against them, they were not repulsed
until after some severe fighting, in which the loss
on both sides was very considerable. Camil Bey, at the
head of 2,000 Tschetchenses, made a fresh irruption into
Cachetin, where he was carrying on the war against the
Russians with alternate success and repulse. On the
Kouhan the intrepid Mansour Bey had again taken up
arms against
a great
the
r e warlike
part of thelt tribeid of the Abchuseslli and
the Russians. is sa that he has raed
race of the Übichs. Ile has already suc-
ceeded
e
a fortress on the ouban, and has even
h eidcatajkaillg Ktchergnoder. These events on the left
aroundttt ni h
n
wing of the Russian position has compelled the General-
in-Chief to dispatch considerable reinforcements to that
quarter. The energy of Schamyl and of his partisans,
who have resumed the offensive against the Russians, lead
to the presumption that operations on an extensixe scale
will shortly take place.
" The Russian officers who reckoned on getting some
repose at Tiflis look Very sad at these accounts. Schamyl
e
has dispatched numerous emissaries even as far as the
of Erzeroom, to preach up a holy war against
the Russians. He has lately made several expeditions
even under the walls of the Russian forts, and has in-
flicted a severe chastisement on those tribes who have
been faithless to his cause, which has spread great dis-
couragement amongst them, seeing that the Russian
forces have not been able to protect them. The par-
tisans of Russia are far from satisfied, and in spite of
the bombastic bulletins which are published at St.
Petersburgh, announcing the successive defeats of
Schamyl, affairs in the Caucasus are really anything
but favourable for Russia."

Advices have been received from Lisbon to the 6th
January by the Achilles steamer. The Miguelite
General, MACDONNELL, had been defeated by CASAL,
and expelled from Braga, with a loss of 240 killed.
The Miguelite force amounted to 2,000. MACDON-
NELL, at the head of 1,200 men, fell back upon
Guimares after the action, and eventually retreated
to Amirante. DAs ANTAs had not made any stand
at Coimbra, but, with the Marquis of LotLE's con •
tingent, was continuing his retreat on Oporto, fol-
lowed by
SALDANIIA, whose forces were in
possession of Coimbra. Several of DAS AN-
TAS'S men had deserted to SALDANIIA. The
troops under VASCONCELLAS, after evacuating
Santarem, havQ retreated upon Abrantes, where they
are fortifying
themselves. The Count DE MELLO
still occupies Evora, and commands the provinces of
Alemtejo and the Algarves. SCIIWALBACK is ad-
vancing
against him from St. Übes. Negotiations
are still going on between the Miguelites and the
Junta of Oporto to form an union. To this, however,
SA DA. BANDEHLA refuses to listen, and declares that
should it be carried into effect, he will resign his com-
mand and leave the country. The number of volun-
teers in garrison at Oporto does not fall far short of
8,000 men. In Lisbon everything was quiet, but
there was no business transacted.

The discount on bank notes has got up to 26 per cent•