The Sun.
London, England, 1856-07-16 00:00:00

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, 1856.

" EVACUATION OF TIIE CRIMEA." Words that
will go to the hearts of Englishmen. Evacuation
by conquerors who held every fortified town in it,
who had driven their foes from every place but a
few forts on the north side of Sebastopol, which
they could not have held throughout the spring. By
conquerors who had buried there in thousands the
brave defenders of European liberty, and who now.
leave the ashes of these heroes to the slaves of the
CZAR. Not with such thoughts did Englishmen
wish success to the autumn expedition ; not for
such a result did they bid their devoted soldiers
hold on through the first awful winter ; not for
such a reward did they pour their treasure into
the Exchequer of a new War Administration, and
send forth more numerous thousands to replace
the victims of early mismanagement ; not with
such hopes did they hear of the last " fire of
hell," and the fall of the Malakhoff and the evacua-
tion of the long-contested possession. Through
melancholy sacrifices, through victories at Alma,
at Inkerman, at Kertch, at Kinbourn, as well as
at Sebastopol, the one hope was that the Crimea,
—the Crimea—the selected centre of the whole
struggle, should remain a trophy of the Allies ;
monument of encouragement to vindicators of
national independence, to the repressors of bar-
barian insolence and ambition, and a monument
of warning to the CZAR and his slaves. Czars
and Czarinas had shamelessly displayed oa their
southern conquests the motto—" The Read t
Constantinople." Perekop and Oczakoff should
henceforth have borne at their gates the ins3rip •
tion, " The Road to Moscow."
But nothing could cure the infatuation of NA.
POLEON and PALMERSTON. One must parade his
care for the honour of Russia, and the other must
imitate. One must fall in live with the coward
and bully, Austria, and the other must smile on the
lovers. A PALMERSTON ought not to have dozed
on the lap of such a DELILAH if a RUSSELL did ;
but the old antagonist of the hated HAPSBURGS
could love them for a NAPOLEON'S sake. True,
the latter had small cause for his coquetry with
the Court of Vienna. It loved him not, nor
loves him. It feared him in Italy, perhaps else-
where, and left him to thank her for driving him
to the choice of a beautiful and intelligent En-
Press, by insolently denying him a petty German
Princess. Louts NAPOLEON may have profoundly
patriotic and philanthropic ideas iu his head, for
ought we can tell, in selling himself and PAL-
MERSTON with him to Austria, and through her
to Russia ; we are, however, too shortsighted to
see further yet than the brotherhood of Autocrats
and the proclivity of aristocrats to their cause.
Hence the evacuation of the Crimea. Russia
must not be humbled ; Austria dare not see her
too much weakened, or lose all title to her good-
will. Autocrats could not see one of their num-
ber branded as a political felon, and Aristocrats
must not lower the dignity of one Crown in Eu-
rope, not even by relieving it of a stolen gem ;
therefore the Crimea must be evacuated—there-
fore no mention must even be'made of it in the
" bases of negotiation ;" therefore the Russian
EMPEROR could stipulate that " lode unity," terri-
torial or pecuniary, should not be mentioned; and
therefore even Bessarabia must be unnaturally
divided to secure the mouth of the Danube from
Russian perfidy.

Since the fall of Sebastopol all has been humi-
liation for the Allies. The starving of the heroes
of Kars into surrender ; the ignominious bases of
peace ; the indecent exultation of the French at
the mere prospect of so paltry a Treaty,
the importance assumed by the shabby power
whom even a NAPOLEON could denounce as faith-
less to her engagements. tier admission to a
conference with AMER whom she bad deserted in
every hour of need ; her holding the Principali-
ties (even to this day), and her insults to Turks

and Englishmen there, besides her assumption of
authority over, and cruelty to, the subjects of the
SULTAN ; then, at the Conference, the silence
about Poland, the surrender of the Aland Isles,
the curtailment instead of the enlargement of
the demands on Bessarabian territory, the non-
enforcement of indemnification even for the un-
questioned outrage on Turkey, the surrender of
the Circassians to the murders and conflagrations
which are now wasting the country, the absti-
rience from any guarantee against rebuilding forts
under whose cover thousands, if need be, of gun-
boats built up the rivers could nestle for an
attack on Turkey—humiliation for the Allies, for
England above all, was the course of all things
from the fall of Sebastopol to the signing of the
peace—the safe and honourable peace !—safe
enough assuredly for Russia, honourable enough
for her—and now she enjoys the final honour,
now she is permitted to inscribe on the walls of a
Sebastopol far stronger than ever,
g EVACUATED BY THE ALLIES,"
" JULY THE 9TH, A.D. 1856."
" Praise to the Czar."

The brave old general at Kinbourn could quit
his fortress with sentiments of humiliation, could
in a paroxysm of mortification contrast his shame
with the glory of Suwarrow. Who of us can but
feel a like emotion as we read " every person of
the army has embarked " 0, Crimea, we too
must exclaim, "glory of our brave soldiers,
shame of our statesmen. Remain henceforth a
monument to all the East, from the Euphrates to
the Adriatic, that Russia is the final victor."

We are always ready to bestow approbation
where it is fairly merited ; and it is but justice to
Sir CHARLES WOOD to say that the plan which he
last night ventilated in the House of Commons
for the purpose of insuring an adequate naval
reserve is deserving of the highest credit. In
such a case considerations of expense must yield
to others of paramount importance. The safety,
honour, and welfare of our SovEREIGN and her
dominions are closely connected with the power
and efficiency of our " wooden walls." They are
the real bulwarks we require—the chief defences
which guarantee our shores against invasion, and
prevent the British soil from being polluted by
the footstep of an enemy. We have always re-
posed implicit confidence in our navy. It is an
Englishman's pride. On that point he will admit
no rival. England must remain not only
a great Maritime Power, but the Maritime
Power par excellence of the world, and any petti-
fogging or paltry saving that might endanger that
prestige would be regarded by ninety-nine out of
every one hundred of the people, as " a penny-
wise and pound-foolish" policy, reflecting the
deepest disgrace on its authors.
Ent although the efficiency of the navy was an
article of unwavering national faith, the late
War has opened our eyes to some manifest de-
ficiencies which require prompt and effectual
remedies. We have an ample supply of
ships of all classes, but ships without crews would
be of but little practical utility. These crews
must pass through a long course of training to
qualify them for the efficient discharge of their
arduous duties. It will not suffice to bring a
body of landsmen, however gallant, together.
They would only be in each other's way ; and
what should prove a source of strength might be-
come a cause of weakness and confusion. What
would be an Englishman's feelings if he saw his
country's flag shirking in harbour, and an Eng-
lish vessel avoiding a contest with an enemy
of equal size? No allowance would, in such
case, be made for the inexperience of the crew.
The disgrace would be cast upon us, and would
sink deep into our hearts.
That there are tried and experienced sea-
man, sufficient to meet any emergency, is in-
disputable. But how can they be obtained at
the critical period ? That is the important ques-
tion. The nation will no longer tolerate the in-
famous system of impressment—save under cir-
cumstances that permit no option. Every other
means must be exhausted in the first instance,
and any negligence or parsimony on the part of
the authorities will not ba sufficient to justify
compulsory servitude. That door must be con-
sidered as virtually closed up. When the impor-
tant question of " how shall we man our navy ? "
comes to be decided, we must either pay the actual
value of the commodity, or make up our minds
to do without it.

Now, in war time, merchants will so greatly
enhance the pay, bounty, and other advantages,
that her MAJESTY'S navy cannot possibly com-
pete with them. The best men too will be dis-
persed all over the globe—a large proportion,
probably, driven into the service of those to
whom we may happen to be opposed. It is ob-
vious that enormous difficulties will be encountered
in obtaining the requisite supply when it is actually
wanting. How, then, can these difficulties be
obviated ? Clearly by offering in time of peace
such advantages as will induce men to enter into
a solemn contract to be forthcoming whenever
their services may be required, and also by in-
suring that they will be in the way at the proper
time. Find them remunerative employment
during peace, and we shall be certain of getting
them whenever war may break out.
The Coast Guard service and pensions offer the
most obvious inducements ; and from these, as at
present constituted, some 2,500 men might be ob
tained at any moment. But that is palpably
insufficient to meet the exigencies of the case.
The number should be at least quadrupled, and
that is now proposed by Sir CHARLES WOOD ; and
Government contemplate further progress in the
right direction.
The present planis to increase the Coast Guard
from the present number of 5,000 men, of whom
about two-thirds are able seamen,. to 10,000, all
of whom shall be available as trained sailors for
the general maritime service of the country. The
appointment to the Coast Guard will be made the
reward for good service to those who have been
discharged from the Royal Navy.
There may be some apparent expense in the
first instance, but it will be more apparent than
real, for the effectual check on smuggling opera-
tions by the inereasedGfficioncy of the Coast Guard
may very materially improve the Customs revenue,
even toan extent far more than sufficient to defray
the expenses of the additional 5,000 men. It will
be not only a great engine for the protection of
the revenue, but at the same time an effective
reserve of tried seamen, from which a large addi-
tion may be made to the naval forces of the
country at a .moment's- notice. This is as it
should be, and so long as Sir CHARLES WOOD
brings forward similar measures he will obtain
the thanks and gratitude of the community.

PUCK'S boastful promise--" I'll put a girdle
round about the earth in forty minutes "—we all
know perfectly well is virtually reduced already to
a mere common-place matter-of-fact by the Elec
tric Telegraph. So is it likewise with the famous
wishing-carpet of the "Arabian Nights Entertain-
ments ! " Upon which one only had to sit down
cross-legged and "think of a place" (as children do
in the old Christmas game of Question and Answer),