The Sun.
London, England, 1856-01-25 00:00:00

MR. CAIRD AND PRINCE ALBERT.

A daring passage in Mr. Caird's recently-published
sermon has caused some notice, and not a little amaze-
ment in London. The rev, gentleman is arguing that
not only is seclusion from the world unnecessary for the
formation of a true Christian character, but that the
perfect development of the Christian virtues demands
that we should mix with our fellows and be exposed to
the difficulties and trials of common life. This position
he illustrated by the following example, looking sted-
fastly all the time at Prince Albert, it is to be hoped :
"No man can become a thorough proficient in naviga-
tion who has sever been at sea, though he may learn
the theory of it at home. No man can become a soldier
by studying books on military tactics in his closet :
he must in actual service acquire those habits
of coolness, courage, discipline, address, rapid com-
bination, without which the most learned in the
theory of strategy or engineering will be but a school-
boy soldier after all." Mr. Caird is certainly the
Knox of military reformers, and the courtiers must
have stared at each other aghast as they listened to the
plain denunciations of the bold, uncompromising Scotch
divine. As the Royal Field-Marshal and Colonel of
the Guards has never seen " actual service," of course
he stands convicted, high in rank though he be, of being
" but a school-boy soldier after all." If you ask me
how so uncourtier-like a sermon came to be printed " by
command," I can only refer you to a story tirrlonetheonn.
the subject, without vouching at any way for Itcsjuall ser-
ticity. It is said, then, that exhausted by
vice" on the moors during the week, Ponce Albert was
-
enjoying a comfortable nap during the de.l.ivery of the
passagejust quoted. A jog fro ma Royal elbow aroused
him, and with pardonable anxiety to maintain a soldierly
character for wakefulness at his post, his Royal High-
acesen
ness instantly exclaimed, " Ye,:3 ; very good, indeed.
Decidedly ougahntdtoprbine
into the joke, tepdrinittewda. licoerrd Mainglyty. Whethertered
the Prince Consort will profit by this lesson, and resign
all his military titles and emoluments, is to be doubted,
but anti drawing-room soldiers will not be the less
obliged to the minister of Errol for his honesty and fear-
lessness.—London, Correspondent of Dundee Advertiser.

LA JOIE FAIT PELJR."—On Tuesday night Mr. John
Burgess, shoemaker, of Lowestoft, was expecting his
son from the Crimea, after an absence of between three
and four years. On Tuesday the 10 p.m. train had ar•
rived, and when against the Crown Hotel the son on
1118 Way up met the father, but neither appeared fully
to recognise each other. The son walked en, and the
father overtook him, looked at him, and passed ahead
of him, not even then it appears identifying his son, un-
til the other said, "Hold hard, father, don't be in a
hurry ;" when he stopped and said, " Good God ! is
that you, Joha ?" They walked on together, when the
son went into Waters's beershop, and wished his father
to go forward and break the news of his arrival to his
mother. Observing that he looked pale and excited,
the son would have had him take something, bit he did
not, and proceeded to inform his wife of the arrival of
their son, intending to go back to the son and again
return home. On returning home he opened the door
and exclaimed, "Good God ! Maria, John , and
fell down dead before finishing the sentence.—Bury

We put it to our readers if it be possible, at this
present moment, to anticipate or even to guess at
the result ? Nay, we will go further, and ask, can
any one distinctly figure to himself what may be
the end or object proposed by the Governments of
the Western Powers ?
Of Russia there can be no doubt. One of her
objects is to interrupt the preparations of
Franco
iEnngland for the campaignof 1856 ;
btlt h sc
w r
ly s
secondary to taking ad-
vantage of those very negotiations for the purpose
t andeo submit is only
of sowing dissension among the allies ; and her do.
cision for peace or war will entirely depend upon
whether she shall find the one or the other most
useful in promoting this object. .
This attempt is principally carried out by insinu-
ating and asserting that while France considers the
object of the war as fully obtained, England persists
in wishing to carry operations further, for Asiatic
purposes, in which our ally has no interest, as well
as to procure an opportunity for recovering a lost
prestige.
The time is well chosen, as we told our readers
sometime since. Francehas obtained all the objects,
the prospect of which induced her people to submit
to the sacrifices necessary for enrryilg.on the Tar.
The memory of 1812 has. been buried in the ruins
of the Malakhoff ; and the *fent moment presents
the spectacle of England in tfie position of a mere
auxiliary of her opponent of centuries. We are not
afraid of any desertion on the part ofoui allies ;
but no one can deny that Russia• has chosen her
time for making such proposals as she has done
with her usual astuteness.

Austria, of course, has acted in ehani4iik. SIND
looks entirely to her own interests, and subserres
her objects by trying to establish:herself in the
situation of mediatrix, and thus becoming " mis-
tress of the situation." Our readern may, perhaps,
remember we made use of those very words now
nearly two years ago, and accused Lord Aberdeen's
Government of adopting a policy the very object of
which was to place the Court of Vienna in the
coveted position.

It would be satisfactory if we could lay down,
with equal distinctness, the objects of the Western
Powers, but unhappily they can only be described
by negatives.
I. It is not to diminish finally the power of
Russia in the Black Sea, for if the proposed plan of
neutralisation were adopted to the very extreme
point proposed, there is nothing in it to prevent
the re-establishment of the power of Russia, how-
ever reduced for the moment, within a very s'iort
period after the disarmament of the allies.

2. It is not the integrity of the Ottoman empire,
for the direct proposal is to render the principalities
independent, while we have reason to believe that
the real object is to enthrone an Austrian prince
in the new state. Be it observed that the coercion
of Turkey by her trusty allies of necessity hangs
upon this point—for one of the fundamental prin-
ciples of the Ottoman Empire is that it cannot
give up the suzerainete of any province or kingdom
which has come under their rule by a suppliant ap-
plication for protection against worse enemies—
as was decidedlythe case in the original annexation
of the Danubian Principalities. Here we imagine
is a wide basis for confusion—while the establish-
ment of a Roman Catholic prince, educated at a
Court which has just accepted the concordatum,
does not bode well for the religious peace of a
Greek community.
3. The object of the allies can scarcely be the
independence, any more than the integrity, of the
Sultan's dominions ; for we find that the very power
which has passed 150 years in sowing dissension
between the Turkish Government and its Christian
subjects is—as soon as peace is concluded—to be
" invited " to take part in the deliberations for re-
gulating the privileges of these very subjects.
We submit that the good sense and good faith of
this proceeding is something very similar to that
which would be exhibited in "inviting" Mr. Pal-
mer, of Rugeley, to decide upon the diet of George
Bates, in case the former had succeeded in establish-
ing the proposed insurance upon the life of the
latter.

These three examples, we believe, are sufficient
to prove the honesty of the proposals made by Aus-
tria and accepted by the allies. The nature of the
confusion likely to be occasioned by their discussion
is quite as evident. Does the dismantlement of
forts and arsenals in the Black Sea include Kher-
son and Nicolaieff? Or are. he forts on the eastern
ooaet to be rebuilt, which, according to the- de-
cisions in the Vixen ease, may either serve for the
purposes of a warlike blockade of the Circassian
Mountains, or for the establishment of a line of
custom-houses in a country where Russia possesses
neither right nor dominion. The mention of a few
of the reports publicly spread, either by the minis-
terial papers, or by the Austrian Government, for
the purpose of creating confusion, may be useful.
Within the last few days the Globe announced that
"the blowing up of the docks at Sebastopol has
been postponed for some weeks." Again the
Vienna telegraph informs us that England has
tacked on as conditions in the sth category—
That Bomarsund is not to be rebuilt.
The establishment of consuls in the Black Sea.

That a definitive boundary between Russia and
Turkey in Asia shall be agreed upon by a commis-
sion.

We do not object to these conditions ; but we
ask, what chance is there of their being conceded ?
Again, we hear that Russia has discontinued
hostilities. Per contra, we have news that she is
preparing expeditions against both Kerteit and
Kinhourn—by favour of the ice. Suppose these
expeditions to succeed, we rather think Russia will
be in the best position for dictating terms. But
really between electric telegraphs and secret diplo-
macy, poor truth has a bad chance.
From great things we are sometimes compelled
to descend to small people—when they engage in
great undertakings, and thus we point out to our
readers the fact, that the Administrative Reform
Association is to hold a meeting on Saturday upon
the subject of the " Fall of Kars." We hope the
society may prove more effective this year than it
did the last, and as we fancy the destructive element
of tho four L's has been eliminated, perhaps it
may. _ .

However this may be, we wish to warn our
readers not to consider the object of the meeting
insignificant, or the attempt to prove that Kars
fell by the treachery of the English Government of
impossible attainment.
An example of what has occurred will always
serve to prove that things may be, the existence of
which we would diselaim if we could.
We refer our readers to the second volume of the
Blue-books upon the Eastern question, page 256.
The writer is Sir H. Seymour; the date, St.Petere-
burg, Nov. 11 ; the subject, a conversation with
Count Nesselrode.

(Extract.)
"What fell from Count Nesselrode went to con-
firm what I had already been told as to the feeling
of the Government being, that no serious negotia-
tion could be conducted until the Turks, calmed by
defeat, should have been driven from the Princi-
palities."
Let our reailers note the reply of the represen-
tative of England and ally of Turkey :—" I re-
marked
Majesty's
Gomveeransumreezt,
looked
always disposed
more to the object than to this or that plan for
bringing about an amicable arrangement."
phaer
to peaceable
The next hopeful opportunity which occurred of
" calming the Turks by defeat" was during the
siege of Silistria, when the French and English
armies lay at Varna, and the Turkish forces under
Omer Pacha at Shumla.

Twice during that memorable siege did Omer,
relying on the promises of the allies, announce to
the suffering garrison that they would be relieved,
and twice did ho announce the day ; but en the Bth
of May previous a convention had been signed, by
which it was agreed that when the armies of the
three powers were in line together none of the
generals could move for any independent operation
without the concurrence of the other two.
Now, it is notorious that the allied commanders
would not move, and that Onier could not, in con-
sequence of the aforesaid convention.
Silistris, was left to its fate ; but, 1/1 spite of all,
the Turks were encouraged by victory, instead of
being " calmed by defeat."
oldLsettourys souvbesrtilttugateinK.
The latterarsforSilis wastria, and it in- the
deserted, to
save the pride of the Czar. Why should not the
gotiation?---a
former have remained unsuccoured. in
ne order to give
The great organ of the Government announced
isleitm-offa febrasSiesboasf tocp°ouln. terpoise for
last week that the blame was all to fall on our am-
bassador, who had left sixty-three despatches of
General Williams unanswered.
T" n correspondent," how-
ever, within great organ'saverY ow
few days, announced that Lord
Stratford had made all preparations for sending the
Turkish Contingent to Asia, but was stopped by
peremptory orders from home.
Where is this mystification to cease ? and bow
long will England submit- to be juggled by f' iba-
postors ?" The word is John Bright's—not ours