The Sun.
London, England, 1856-12-13 00:00:00

L 'll )ON, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1856.

The Russian War over—the Persian War has
commenced. It was declared at Calcutta on the
Ist day of November. Our maritime armaments
in those waters were immediately placed in readi-
ness for commencing active operations without
any more delay than was absolutely necessary
under the circumstances. Our troops were in
some measure already in motion upon the shores
of the Persian Gulf, according to advices, dated
the sth, from Constantinople. And—time, in-
deed, something energetic was at last attempted
in the name of England, seeing that, on the 26th
of October, Herat had actually fallen into the
hands of the Persian General, MOURAD SHIFI
Herat, the pearl, the prize, the HELEN of the
whole struggle ! Herat, at once the object and
origin of the contest long preparing between
Persia and England, the contest which may now
be regarded as having actually commenced be-
tween the forces of the Queen VICTORIA. and
those of the Shah NASR-00D-DEEM !
The announcement of the formal Declaration of
War against Persia, on the Ist of November, at
Calcutta, is, curiously enough, accompanied by
the intimation that India is profoundly tranquil.
Meanwhile, the various members of the British
Consulate at Teheran have taken their departure
from that capital—one for Tabriz—another for
Bombay—the whole legation being, at once,
strangely scattered. France, about the same
time, proffering her mediation with the Court of
the Shah, with a view, if possible, to the effect-
ing, in some way, of an amicable arrangement be-
tween the British and Persian Governments.
Herat, all the while, taken ! Herat actually in
the hands of the Persians. Herat, about the
possession of which, the whole stormy quarrel has
originated.

It may be interesting—notwithstanding the
untimely fall of Herat, or, perhaps, we should
positively rather say because of the untimely
fall of Herat—to note in a few sentences why it
is this one particular city is regarded, by Persians
tnd British alike, as a spot of such enormous im-
)ortauce. A spot so remote from England, and
40 distant even from Hindostan, that it may be
lescribed in general terms as situated midway
between Tartary and Beloochistan, as constituting
in a manner the extreme eastern boundary of
Persia and the extreme western boundary of
Affghanistan ! Herat, then, or Heraut,
the ancient Alexandria in Ariis, it is sup-
posed, being so called after the name of
the great Macedonian Conqueror Herat,
once upon a time the capital of the empire of
AMEILL A.NE and his successors, until it became
).bsorbed into the Persian D)minions, passin g
thence, however, as far back as 1715, to be there
tnd then embraced within the frontier line of
Affghanistan—Herat is covetted at once by
Persia and by England, because it happens to be
lite direct road from the former to Hindostan A
sufficient reason for either, assuredly ! A consi-
deration rendering it obviously a matter of the
very first importance to England that Herat should
not only be held safe from Persian domination,
but that besides this negative advantage to us in
its regard, there should be secured a positive ad-
vantage as well, by insuring its retention intact
by some friendly power. For, let us abandon
Herat to Persia, and the SHAH has at any
moment the power of disturbing our Eastern
empire by way of Cabool and Kandahar !
Besides being a costly prize in itself—as being
rich in the staple exports of saffron and asafoetida,
—as having almost undisputed command (in
shawls, indigo, sugar, muslin, and various other
Articles) of the markets of Yazd and Ispahan—
and as being renowned throughout the East for
its manufacture of carpets, fur-cloaks, and slippers:
besides being thus intrinsically a very costly
prize, Herat is in a manner inestimable, either to
Persia or to England, as being the key to our
Indian Empire through Cabool and Kandahar.
The Government of Teheran puts forth a
shadowy claim of right to its possession, be•
cause of its being situated in a lovely valley falling
within the Persian province of Khorassaun !
And because, moreover, of its having at one time,
hafore 1715, actually appertained to Persia prior
to its passing in that year into the possession of the
Affghauns ! It must be remembered, likewise,
that by means of the conquepts of NADIR SHAH
it was again restored to Persia in 1731—less than
a score of years, after which date Herat became
again merged in the territories of Affghanistan !
Since which time it has remained to all intents
and purposes, as it had remained from 1715 to
1731, an integral portion of the country of the
Alfghauns. Nevertheless, now, in 1856—before
the Crimean War has been definitively smoothed
over by the, miserably deceptive gloss of the
Peace of Paris—Persia (beyond all doubt at
the instigation of Russia !) is again putting for-
ward her robber-claims upon Herat ! Herat—
only seized by her originally when it ceased, as we
have seen, to be the capital of the empire of the
successors of TAMERLANE !
Persia is not only puttingforward her shadowy
Claims upon Herat—she has boldly by a lawless
coup-de-main ravished the covetted prize from the
grasp of Affghanistan ! Let Herat be abandoned
toherpossession—and a broad and beaten highroad
will re
main open at the whim of the SHAH, or of tho
CZAR, or of both of these trustworthy and most
amiable despots
united, a highroad condinting
their troops through Cabool and Kandahar to the
still more coveted
wide world regions known throughout the
as England's golden empire in Hin-
dostan !

Population of the captured city
According to Mr. WILSON("Ariana Antigua,"
ut 45,000 or 50,000 in the
aieebnotsurrounding ruins, scattered far
iasom 1841),e
wt
aggregate.hhee
rperTe
and wide over the precinctsof theexisting strong-
hold,a attest
visibly and unmistakably
its ancient
magnificence. The principal stream called. the
Heri-rood, becoming, by means of a bum./ or dyke, a
veritable Nile to the valley on which Herat is g,
charmingly situated, aids the natural fertility of
the soil in enhancing the wealth of the manifold
cornfields and vineyards of Khorassaun. This—
viewing it simply in regard to itself intrinsically
—is the pearl-city rifled of late by a sort of
political garotte from the Affghauns, by the
robber Persia, out at the time " upon the loose,'

upon a kind of tacit diplomatic ticket-of-leave !
This, literally, is the "swag" secured for a while
to Persia by these nefarious means, at the secret
instigation, we may be sure, and for the particular
advantage, ulteriorly, of Persia's hidden arch-
accomplice, the wily Russian AUTOCRAT !
No wonder, with Herat actually seized by
MURAD SHAFT on the 26th of October, with
NASR- 00D-DEEM urging on his forges upon Aff-
ghanistan, with the Paris Conferences at the
same period about to be resumed, and Russia
about to assume once more her haughty and arm-
, ;ant pretensions—No wonder war was at length
declared against Persia on the Ist of November
at Calcutta I Further delay, under the circum-
, stances, would have been nothing less than infamous.
At any rate, now that we have at last actually
mustered resolution enough to meet the lawless
outrages of Persia by flinging down the gage of
battle into the arena, committing the result of the
struggle, while we do so reverently but confid-
ingly, to the decision of the GOD OP ARMIES—
now, now, at least, let not the frightful experience
' gained during the late dieastrous but glorious war
in the Crimea be lost ! The sword being drawn
' —let the blow be struck as England can strike
when she lists—swiftly, keenly, daringly, trench-
' witty, irresistibly!

The nation is indebted to Mr. WILMA MS, the
Member for Lambeth, for the complete returns of
the income and expenditure of the country, dur-

ing the eventful years ending in March, 1855.
and 1856, which has just been published by order
of Parliament. They are indeed important docu-
ments, and prove beyond the possibility of doubt
the vast pecuniary sacrifices so cheerfully sub-
mitted to by the people, in the vain hope of
humiliating the pride and reducing the power of
Russia. Similar returns should be presented
every year. They constitute a national balance-
:sheet that ought to be placed before every tax-
payer, so that it may be seen where the shoe
really pinches, and what can be effected in the way
of economy and retrenchment. We mean of true
economy, for there is nothing more unwise than a
penny-wise and pound-foolish policy, alike discredit-
able and injurious to the best interests of the com-
munity. These may be regarded as the years of
actual war, during which our fleets and armies
were in motion. The precious Treaty was signed
on the 30th March, although for his own pur-
poses the Chancellor of the Exchequer chooses to
ignore that unquestionable fact, and to consider
it to have only dated from the ratification in
April—a point, however, in which he may be
considerably enlightened before Parliament has
been many days assembled. They do not, of
course, comprise all the outlay. There must
necessarily have been a heavy supplemental expen-
diture iu bringing home our troops, and reducing

the surplus strength. But the war taxes for an
additional year should be quite sufficient to pro-
vide for all these oharges, so as to leave no excuse
for continuing the most onerous and inequitable
of all our war burdens until the sth of April,
1858, even if the paltry quibble that has been
raised could be justified and sustained.

First, as to the income of the country, we find

that it has amounted for the year 1854-5 to
64,091,5711., and for 1855-6 to 70,552,1451.
Enormous sums, which have been chiefly realised
through the agency of the iniquitous Income Tax.
In ordinary times about fifty-six millions in round
terms is obtained, and with proper care it is suf-
ficient for all demands—for meeting the liabilities
ou account of the public debt, and the efficient
maintenance of the national establishments. We
therefore see what may be regarded as the fund
in hand, with which the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer may deal in his next financial scheme,
and which he must dispose of with wise discretion
for the benefit of the community. Of these sums,
the costs of collection cost, in round terms, for
the former year two millions and three quarters,
while in the latter nearly six and a half millions
more were collected for an additional sum of
140,0001. This, however, is by no means sur-
prising, as the full staffs were formed, and the
chief extra charge would be the additional al-
lowances to the Income- tax collectors. We are,
however, convinced that, with ordinary prudence,
very considerable savings might be effected, that
would reduce those charges to a more reasonable
figure.

The expenditure for 1854-5 amounted to
70,236,8701., leaving a deficiency of 6,145,571/.
to be raised by extraordinary means. No-
thing out of the way, when we • consider the
gigantic operations in which the country was en-
gaged, that in that year we fitted out the expedi-
tions to the Crimea, and the Baltic, and that the
battles of the Alma, of Balaklava, of Inlierman,
and Tchernaya were fought, and the siege of
Sebastopol carried on for six months. But in
the following year " the little bill" is greatly
swelled ; it comes with a formidable sum total of
93,149,1301.(! !) leaving the serious deficiency of
22,597,156/. to be provided for. This enormous
sum exhibits the most powerful testimony that
our Government was at length thoroughly aroused,
and that Lord PALMERSTON had spared nothing
to vindicate the national honour, and to insure
triumphant success in the noble cause in which
we had engaged. It is only to be regretted that
these wonderful exertions were terminated by a
conclusion "so lame and impotent," and that the
nation had nothing to show for its unsparing outlay.
Never was Great Britain more fully prepared for
any alternative than is March last ; and had she
refused to be influenced by the fraudulent pretexts
of her avowed opponent and the lukewarmness of
pretended friends, she might hare produced re-
sults that would have insured the peace and tran-
quillity of Europe for a long succession of years,
until the existing generation had been numbered
with the past.
The costs of our armaments during the year
ending March last nearly amounted to forty-seven
millions and a half (47,461,1881.), of which the
army alone came to 17,395,0591., the navy to
19,654,5851., while the ordnance disposed of the
handsome residue. The other features of the case
do not at present require particular no-
tice, save that of the "correction of
criminals," which amounted to the extrava-
gant sum of 1,424,9071. nearly double
what it had been in the preceding year, and
teaching the salutary lesson that prevention is
better and far cheaper than punishment. The
total reduction in the United Kingdom is scarcely
a third of that amount.
We must, however, be prepared to let " bye-
goes be byegones," and to forget the past if we
get satisfactory assurances for the future. Let
Sir G. C. LEwJs deal liberally with the people in
his approaching Budget, and we shall not force
any unpleasant reminiscences on his ears. Let
him eschew the paltry quibble of which it is more
than hinted that he intends to take advantage.
Let him meet the Property-Tax difficulty fairly
:A/R1 honourably, without attempting to postpone
the evil day. Let him, disregarding Mr. GLAD-
STONE, respect the claims of industry, and endea-
vour to produce a fair and judicious apportion-
ment of the tax, and he will render himself a.
truly popular Minister ; but if not—should he
hi till cling to red-tapist traditions—he must abide