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

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ris.PER
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1. - a S
lised country, with so much genius and: sd'inaUS,
resources, it is Recessary to begin in autumn the
-preparations -ilfoi a campaign -in the ensuing .-
spring. Even Birmingham aud Woolwich cannot . .
extemporise weapons and material; nor can the
most hardworking officars turn raw recruits into
soldiers in less than a given time. Genenal
Williams, without ' any legitimate power but
that of advice, had to reform the Generals, ro-
t construct the army, purify the administration, and
provision the fortresses of two 'important and
remote provinces. Can it be said thatif; through
the neglect ,or ill-will of any man, five months
were lost, and the season of activity returned with-
out the season of intermission having been fitly used,
the person who was the cause of this delay is not
responsible for the baste and unreadiness of-811118e-
quent proceedings? But from general considerations
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 defenee of which
are such an honoiir to British officers, He was re-
pulsed with slaught3r. It can hardly be denied
chat if the place had been well provisioned it would
probably have l eel... held through the entire win' or .
Nay, it is almost ctrtain that if Motravieff 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 had la-
boured almost from the beginning at the collection
of supplies. _His . hief oldt ct in d siring the att:4a-
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 Erzeroum
and Kars. Yet, owing to the neglect of his remon-
strances at Constantinople, it was not till February.
the 25th, after. he had been five months in the coun-
try, that he obtained his first victory over his oppo-
nents and the recognition of his personal authority
through the exertions of Load Clarendon. Then
it was ‘that he was enabled to 'begin-all that ought
to have been done during the vtinter. 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 Ardahan detach-
ment into Kars, it is impoSsible to do so, owing to
the great scarcity of food in the place. "There
are • he says, " only 15 days'
.provision in store
for the troops now in garrison." General Wil-
liams is found 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 at Kars nor
the provisions for that force are to be bad 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 "it is 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
tke field. Thenecessity 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—Gen. Williams again addres:ei
tue 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 &Kars.
" Several weeks ago," writes the Commissioner,
" I addressed your lordship-01i the necessity of my
having authority to =rah active part in the pur-
chase, of provisions for this army ; but, although
Lord Panmure has expressed his decided sentiment
on 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 iu their hands. ColOnel Lake informs me
that the provision has dwindled down to ten or
twelve daj s' supply, and I have not authority to
oblige the Medjlis to expedite fool to our force,'
which I May soon have to designate as a starving
army." All the comment that we have to make on
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.

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L.

Now, however, we have tolearn what an earnest
man can. do. On ihe 7th. of Atty _nothing had
reached Kars 2 • but by unceasing taw tions General
Williams had_ two days befdre sett off a supply
from Erzerouw, and flout this tithe 'the stock
steadily increases. .on,the Motif June there are.
nearly four months' provisions Liu liars; Thus,
in the space of foitr- 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 . n history. We may now ask
F what would have been the result if General Wil-
-1

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 may 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, welt disciplined, well fed,
and under competent Ladership, would have won
dtstiuction even in offensive warfare ? Whatever
discussion may arise as to subsequent events—
whatever judgment may be passed on the foresight
of the allied Governments or the skill of the Cri-
mean Generals—one great fact 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.

THE NEW LOAN.—A strong desire is expressed that
if t'le Government have decided upon the amount
of new loan to be proposed they will make it pub la as
soon as possible. It was generally ru.noured in the city
yesterday afttrncon that the intention is to rais3
10,000,0001. in Consols and to fund -6,000,0001, of _
Ex-
chequer-bills. IT this should provecorrect, it will be
evident that the attempt to preserve secrecy on the point
bas fal.cl, and that the only safe plan in such matters is
to give them general publicity at the earliest possible
moment.

IMPERIAL LOMBARDO-VENETIAN AND CENTRAL ITALIAN
RAILWAY COMPANY. —A full prospectus of this company,
the concession for which has been granted to the various
firms of the house of Roth-child and other capitalists in
Austria, France, Italy, and Elogland, has just been
issued. It states that the Lontbardo-Venetian conces-
sion comprises 437 kilometres, constructed by the Stat",
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 Monza. Also, 355 ki'o-
metres to be constructed by the ooiupany, which inc a le
the above link between B rgatn and Mintz t, a line to
connect Casarea with the Trieste and Vienna Railways,
and a direct communication from Novara, on the Sar-
dinian frontier, via Milan and Lodi, to Piacenza. There
will alsa be connecting links between Milan and Sesto
Caleude, on Lake Maggiore, and Milan and Pavia. 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 lst 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 I7zielli is under-
stood to be 1,200,000/. The concession is for 90 year,
with a guarantee from Austria of 5 2.loths per cent. for
interest and amortissemcnt. The Central Italian conces
sion is to comprise a continuation line from Piacenza, via
Parma, Reggio, Modena, and B ilogna, to Pistoja,
where a junction will be formed with. the Tuscan rail=
ways to Florence and Leghorn. This concession 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-
minally of 500 f: each, but are to be issued at-270f., with
15f. per a- num interest from the let of May (equal to
5i 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 01., 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 male by an instalment of 666,000/. in three months
after taking possession, and five yearly instalments of
333,0001. front that date without interest. An addi-
tional 1,000,000/. is also to be paid after tho 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)rnpany w ill consist of 281 miles of existing railway and
of 393 miles of new railway, making in all 682 miles.

[ADVARTIMENTJ—The following N not the least remark-
able among the numerous 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 Virginie had long been consump-
tive, with diarrhoea 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 wee no hope of recovery left, and that
she could not survive many days. UPOII the recommenda-
tion of alriend, we tried Du Barry's nevalerzips 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 hi six days the diarrhoea
and night sweats had left her. • She gained strength giadu-
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. &suns.
In canisters, slbs. lls.; 121bs. 225. The 121bs. carriage
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 ; 330 and 451, Strand; 4, Cheapside ; 68,
Ccrnhill ; 49, Bishopsgate-street;. 55, Charing-ems; 541
Upper Baket-frost; 63 and DO, Orlord-rattak