The Sun.
London, England, 1856-04-26 00:00:00

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7

luterEountry, with so much genius an:. so many
resourem..ikis necessary to 1-egin in autumn the
preparations for a campaign in the ensuing
spring: Even Birmingham and Woolwich 'cannot
extemporise . weapons and material, nor call the
most hardworking officers turn raw recruits into
soldiers in less than a given time. General
Williams, without any legitimate power • but •
that of advice, had to reform the Generali, re-
construct the army, purify the administration, and
provision the fortresses of two important •:aud
remote provinces.. Can it be said that if, through
the neglect or ill-will of anyenen, five months
were lost, 'and the season of activity retUrne,d with.;
out the season of intermission having been fitly used,
the person who was the cause pf thie delay is, not
responsible for the haste _and unreadiness of subse-
quent proceedings? But'from general considerat ior a
we may descend to facts. Kars, it is well known,
fell -by famine; and not by assault: On one occasion
only did . the Russian General attack those well-
planned forts, the construction and defence of which -
are such an honour to British officers. lie was re-
puhed with slaughter. It cm hardly be denied
-that if the place had been well provisioned it 'would
probably have ktme held through the entire win er .
Nay, it is almost certain that if Mouravieff had not
known that famine was doing his work within-the
walls he would have retreated after the great-as-
sault of September. Now, Gen-. -Williams" bad la-.
boured ahnuet front the beginning at the collection
of supplies. Hie 11aef object, in dEsiriaz the atte la-
ment of Turkish military rank and the acknowledg-
ment of his official position was that he might pre-
pare the defence of the two fortresses 'of Erzerolim
and Kars Yet, owing to the neglect of his rernou-
strauces at Constantinople, it was not till February .
die 25th, after he had been five mouths in the coun-
try, thathe obtained his first victory over his oppo-
nents and the recognition of his personal authority
through the exertions of Lord Clarendon. Then
it was that he was enabled to begin all that -ought
to have been done during the winter. The results
of the delay are at once evident. On April the
20th Colonel Lake informs the General that,
though it is expedient to call the Ardahandetai.th-
ment into Kars; it is impossible to do so," owing to
the great ecarcity of food in the place. " There -
are " he says, " only 15 days' provision in store
for the .treops Row in (ra.rrison." General .
Wil-
liams is fund at once actively engaged in supplying
these deficiencies.' Four days after the date of Co-
lonel Lake's letter ho writes to Lord Clarendon:
—"Neither land carriage for the army at Kars nor
the provisions for that force are to be had in suffi-
cient quantities, and I have this day' received in-
telligence from Colonel Lake drawing my atten-
tion to these points, And echoing the prayers I have
in vain addressed during the winter to Constanti-
nople." He then tells how he is usingevery effort
to obtain grain in the neighbourhood, and repre-
sents that " ieis absolutely necessary that-the Go-
vernors of Diarbekir, Kharpoot, and the more re-
mote provinces should be ordered to forward provi-
sions." It must be remembered that summer had
now begun, and the Russian armies were already in
the field. The necessity for immediate and energetic
action was every day more evident. On the Ist) of
May—little more than a month before Mouravieff
appeared at Kars-e-Gen. Williams again address e
the Ambassador, and this despatch is the best an-
swer to those who would divest the conduct 'of
Lord Stratford of all influence in the fate of Kars.
" Several weeks ago," writes the Commissioner,
" I addressed your lordship on the necessity of my
having authority to take an active part in the pur-
chase of provisious for this army ; but, although
Lord Panmure has expresged-lils decided sentiment
en this vital point, I have not received a line in al-
lusion to it from your Excellency, and I have to
state that this army cannot be supplied with pro-
visions without I can control those who have this
matter in their hands. Colonel Lake informs me
that the 'provision has dwindled down to ten or
twelve days' -supply, and I have not authority to
oblige the Medjlis to expedite food to our force,
which I may soon have to designate as a starving
army." All the comment that we have to make ou
this despatch-is that it seems to have been treated
like so many of its predecessors. There is in the
blue-book no answer from Lord Stratford de Red-
cliffe.

-

Now, however, we have to learn what an earnes t
man can do. On the 7th of May nothing had
reached Kars ; but by unceasing exertions General
Williams had two days before sent off a supply
from Erzeroum, and from this time the stock
steadily increases. On the 3d of June there aro
nearly four months' provisions in Kars. Thus,
in the space of four weeks the Commissioner,
by his personal influence, was able- to provis ion
the chief stronghold of the country and
prepare for a defence which may vie with the
noblest deeds in history. We may now ask
what would have been the result if General Wil-
liams had been acknowledged, upheld, encouraged,
from the time he landed in Asia, in Sept., 1854 ?
Suppose that, instead of commencing his prepara •
tions in March or April, he had had fair powers of
control six months before, can any one believe that
the disaster of Kars would have occurred at all ?
May it not, on the contrary, be fairly presumed
that the Turkish army, well disciplined, well fed,
and undoi oompotont leadership, would have vita
dtstinetion even in offensive warfare I. --Whatever,— t.
discussion-:may arise as to subsequent events- - -
whatever jiadgment may be-passed on the foresight
of the allied Governments or the skill ofthe
mean Generals—one great :got must still stand
conspicuous—that Kars fell by famine, and. that
famine would have been avoided had not a merito-
rious British officer received neglect and contumely
at the hands of those who should have been fore-
most to uphold him.

Tan NEW LOAN.—A strong desire is expressed that
if the Government have decided upon the amount
of new loan to be proposed they will make it pubic as
soon as possible. It was generally rumoured in the city
yesterday afternoon that the intention is to raise
10,000,0001. in Consols and to fund 5,000,000/. of Ex-
chequer-bills. If thia should prove correct, it will be
evident that the attempt to preserve secrecy on the point
has failed, and that the only safe plan in such matters is
to give them general publicity at the earliest possible
moment.

IMPERIAL LOMSARDO-VENETIAN AND CENTRAL TTALIAN
RAILWAY COMPANY.—A full prospectus of this company,
the concession for which has been granted to the various
firms of the house of Rothschild and other capitalists in
Austria, France, Italy, and England, has just been
issued. It states that the Lombardo-Venetian conces-
sion comprises 437 kilometres, constructed by the State,
extending from Casarsa to Milan and Como in an unin-
terrupted line, with the exception of a break of 37 kilo-
metres between Bergamo and Monte. Also, 355 ki'o-
metres to be constructed by the company, which inc le
the above link between Bergamo and Monza, a line to
connect Casarsa with the Trieste and Vienna Railways,
and a direct communication from Novara, on the Sar-
diniau frontier, via Milan and Lodi, to Piacenza. There
will also be connecting links between Milan and Sesto
Calende, on Lake Maggiore, and Milan and Paeia. Of
the lines already constructed the company are to take
possession any time before the beginning of next year,
and they are to be worked on account of the company
from the Ist of next month. .The capital required for
the purchase and construction of the whole is 6,000,0001.,
of which the London amount apportioned to Baron Lionel
de Rothschild and Messrs. Laing and Uzielli is under-
stood to be 1,200,0001. The concession is for 90 years,
with a guarantee frona Austria of 5 2-10ths per cent. for
interest and amortissernent. The Central Italian conces-
sion is to comprise a continuation line from.Piacenza, via
Parma, Reggio, Modena, and Bologna, to Pistnja,
where a junction will be formed with the Tuscan rail.
ways to Florence and Leghorn. This ooncession com-
prises 280 kilometres, and is to be met by an issue of
obligations, carrying a guarantee from Austria equal to
more than 7 per cent. These obligations are to be no-
mioal'y of 500 f. each, but are to be issued at 2701., with
151. per annum interest from the Ist of May (equal to
5,4 per cent.), and are to be reimbursable at par by an-
nual drawings spread over 90 years. One obligation is
to be allotted with every two shares. The amount to
be paid on the 201. shares is 61., and no further call is
expected for a year or a year and a-half. The payment
to the Austrian Government for the existing railways is
to be made by an instalment of 666,0001. in three months
after taking possession and five yearly instalments of
333,0001. from that date without interest. An addi-
tional 1,000,000/. is also to be paid after the end of that
term out of half the net profits exceeding 7 per cent.
Even the present unconnected sections now at work are
yielding enough to insure a comparatively high dividend
on the small amount of capital to be expended on them
during the first years, and the greatest confidence is ex-
pressed as to the results to be looked for when the
various routes shall be completed, bringing the whole
system into connection with Vienna, Munich, Florence,
Leghorn, Turin, and Genoa. The entire system of the
c)mpany u ill consist of 284 miles of existing railway and
of 398 miles of new railway, making in all 682 miles.
[Anvederisemexe.]—The following is net the least remark-
able among the numerou§ extraordinary cures without medi-
cine effected by Du Barry's delicious Health-Restoring Re-
valenta Arabica Food, of Indigestion (Dyspepsia), Flatulency,
Constipation, Nervous, Bilious,and Liver Complaints, Cough,
Asthma, Consumption, and Debility:—Maastricht, Holland,
Aug. 7,1854.—My daughter Virginia had long been consump.
tive, with diarrhcea and night sweats, and was in July last reduc-
ed to such a state of prostration and exhaustion, that our medi-
cal men agreed there was no hope of recovery left, and that
she could not survive many days. Upon the recommenda-
tion of a friend, we tried Du Barry's Revalenta Arabica,
which, to the astonishment of all, caused an immediate
change for the'better in the symptoms. After the first few
meals she felt less miserable, and in six days the diarrhcea
and night sweats had left her. She gained strength gradu-
ally, and in two months time was perfectly well, This excel.
lent remedy deserves to be more generally known, and
I consider I am only discharging a most sacred
duty iu recommending it to all sufferers.—S, Zsersas.
In canisters, 51bs. lls.; 121b5., 225. The 121bs. carnage
free, on receipt of post,office order. Barry du Barry and
Co., 77, Regent-street, London ; Fortnum, Mason, and Co.,
Purveyors to her Majesty, Piccadilly; also at 60, Grace.
church-street; 333 and 451, Strand; 4, Cheapeide ; 68,
Cornhill • 49, Bishopsgate-street ; 55, Charing-arm ; 54,
Upper iakerltttet ; 63 and 150, Oxford-4PM.