The Sun.
London, England, 1856-12-19 00:00:00

-)Nf:ON, FRIDAY, DECENIBF,R 19, 1856.

The probable encroachments of Russia are still
the source of chief anxiety to the Western Powers
of Christendom. It were folly, absolute folly, to
fix our attention overmuch just now upon such
comparative trifles as the insurrectionary 'wive-
meat of the SiciliSns against the Neapolitan
Government, or as the territorial nretensio'ns by
which Prussia is endeavouring to wrest Neuchatel
from Switzerland. The evils we have to guard
against at the .present moment are of considerably
than any that could possibly
larger importaace.
result from the strengthening
..,0111B9'S petty
the spread of CLICQUOT'S
despotism, or from

nation. What we have to look to at the pei
of the preposterous renewal of the Paris Con de-
rences, are—not the miserable little n ao-
narchical intrigues brewing at Naples and
Berlin—but the daring designs, the hereditary
policy, the implacable ambition, the insatiable
lust of political, commercial, and territorial ag
grandisement which, together, constitute the seer( it
motive power of the Dread Russian Autocracy !
That- gigantic and terrible Autocracy which,
during two hundreed years, has proved to the
surrounding nations what to the idolater's of
Asia, Moloch and Juggernaut, were wont to be of
old, the pitiless Devourers, the wholesale aad
inexorable Destroyers. Sweden, Persia, Turkelv,
Poland, Tartary each in turn has bee.n
ploughed up by the grinding wheels of the Rus-
sian Car of Destruction. Finland has been
absorbed (from Uleaborg to Helsingfors) into
the immensity of the Muscovite dominions.
Circassia (from the northernmost extremity of
the Caucasus to the southernmost limits of
Chirvar, from the western frontier-line of Georgia
to the eastern shores of Daghestan) has been
added to the vast aggregate of Russia. Bess-
arabia, Nicholaev, and Taurida, have (in one mag-
nificent sweep of the sword) secured to the rule of
' the CZAR the whole of the northern coast of the
Caspian. From Warsaw to Cracow, from Thorn
to Tomaszow, the bulk of the spoil of Poland has
fallen to the share of the robber-house of Ro-
NANOFF. Astrachan, too, has entirely been se-
cured, as it were, under the heel of the Rus-
sian Despotism, from the region of the
Calmucks to the mouths of the great river flowing
down from the remote acclivities of the Ural
Mountains. Thus has Russia ravaged the con-
tiguous frontier provinces of Sweden, of Persia,
of Turkey, of Poland, of Tartary, in turn. Until
we find her now, in 1856, at the Close of the
Crimean War, unscathed, uncurbed, undiminished,
bent openly upon the realisation of her one
great design of beating smooth, and straight, and
clear before her the broad pathway from her own
territories to those of the British Empire in Hin-
dostan. Such is literally and undeniably the secret
source, the hidden meaning, the latent object of
the recent seizure of Herat, and, with the capture
of that important fortress, the inauguration of the
conflict now actually begun between Persia and
Eo gland.
The Russian Autocracy is at the bottom
of it all. The Czait is really and truly the
originator of this new war, and that too at the
very time when he is affecting such purely pacific
intentions. The fact is notorious. It is alto-
gether• undeniable. As for the emergency through
which it has come to light, that was foreseen long
since; it wax distinctly and explicitly foretold years
ago by Sir JOHN WNEILL, when he described the
principal aim kept in view by Russia, through all
the mazes of her southern conquests, as being the
gradual diminution of the difficulties standing in
the way of the invasion of British India ! He
recognised, moreover, in this very stronghold of
Herat, the readiest means through which the
Muscovite-despotism might arrive at the goal of
its ambition in this direction. For, observed this
distinguished and far-seeing diplomatist, in
a very notable passage, which we gladly
transfer to our columns from those of an

." From

eminent =ruing contemporary :
the moment she occupies this position
it will become necessary to augment our army in
India; especially the European part of it, as to be
prepared for the contingencies that may arise out
of her proximity. This would be a large addi-
tion to our national expenditure, which would
become permanent ; because, if Russia were at
"Herat, we could no longer send troops out by
sea as quickly as she could march theth by
land. . . Were Russia established at Herat,
the influence she would exert in India, even in
time of peace, would be such as to render the
Government of that country much more delicate
and difficult than it now is. Those who know
India, not merely the presidencies, but the
provinces, will comprehend the change that would
be effected in our position there by the presence,
within such a distance as to make a collision pro-
bable, of any Power equal to our own. Rebellions
would become more frequent and more formid-
able. The revenue would, in many places, be
collected with difficulty, and in some the full
amount would not be paid. The minds of all men
would be unsettled, and every disturbance in the
north-western provinces, every movement on the
Indus, and beyond it, would assume a new cha-
racter from the connection it would or might
have with the new and powerful neighbour to
whom all the disaffected would have recourse."
Years ago these deductions were drawn by the
sagacious judgment of Sir JOHN APNEILL from the
purely hypothetical possibility of the seizure of
Herat.- And—lo ! Herat is now actually in the
possession of our enemies—the notion of its cap-
ture being no longer a merely idle hypothesis. It
is in the possession of our enemies through the
sudden and treacherous violation of the Treaty of
1853—and our reply to the outrage has been the
formal declaration of war against Persia on the
lst of November at Calcutta. Already the Persian
Gulph is in the possession of the British fleet,
our forces being directed against the foe (in re•
taliation for the surprise of Herat) through their
chief Persian seaport=the seaport which is
to the dominions of the Shah NASR OOD -DERN
much more than Trieste is to those of
the Emperor FRANCIS-JOSEPH the City of
Bushire, the great mart of the Caspian, where
Indian and European commodities are exchanged
principally for silk and for bullion. That, it
appears, is the course taken by our military and
maritime, our political and diplomatic atrategists.
Were it not advisable, let us ask, that a simulta:'
neous effort were made against Persia by way of
Caubul and Candahar? Might not the prowess of
the Affghaans be directly enlisted to the end that
some more straightforward, right-onward blow
might be aimed at the Persian capital of Teheran?
By way of Astrabad rather than by that of Ispahan.
At any rate, in whatever direction we act against
Persia, and, through Persia, against Russia, let
'lB act (in the name of common sense and right
reason) promptly and decisively. Not hesitating.
Not temporising. Not hair-splitting as to the
choice of some more obvious scheme of a cam-
paign than the grand spacious one alone calculated
to lead our forces to viotory. But—having
Bun;
sword from the scabbard, and leaped into the
Irma—let us
!
" strike home" to the heart of our
aggressive antagonist

Russia is alikeastonished and indignant at the
refusal of the French and English capitalists to
invest their superfluous cash in the construction
of an extensive system, of
military railways. This
is the more provoking, as it was only very re-
cently that the old Muscovite, or war party,
gave in their adhesion to the Project, and it was
then fondly imagined that every difficulty was
removed. Indeed, as we have already explained,
a double object was contemplated. It was not
merely to obtain the much-required means of
transporting safely, cheaply, and expeditiously
the troops and stores--the personnel and materiel
of war—to any locality where they might be

required, but also to drain France and England of
their specie, and replenish the treasury of

J 1 cassia at the expense of their late opponents.
And all those agreeable plans are frustrated
by the obstinacy of the Western unbelievers. The
CZAR cannot get his pretty plaything at other
people's expense. He must either do without it,
or supply the cost out of his own pocket. And
even if he accepted the latter branch of the
alternative, he could not, for a considerable time
at least, carry into execution hie cherished plan
of Cossackising Europe ; and all this from the
perversity of the fancied gudgeons, who will not
even nibble at the hook, although skilfully baited
by the experienced hands of PEREIRA, HOPE,
BARING, and Co., and even by the Credit Mobilier
itself. This is, indeed, too bad. France and
England are not, it appears, sufficiently
grateful for the leniency of the Czar, who so
greatly condescended to , overlook their opposi-
tion to the Imperial will in preventing
him from helping himself to a handsome slice of
Turkey.

But, seriously speaking, if the CZAR hoped to
merit the confidence indispensable where an
advance of more than forty-two millions of pounds
sterling was required, he should have exhibited
less trickery in the performance of the stipulations
contained in the Treaty of Paris. He should
have shown himself incapable of taking any unfair
and petty advantage of those who trusted his
plighted word. But, when it was gravely put
forward by his Government that the Russian
Plenipotentiaries were not responsible for in-
accurate maps that they might justly be-
nefit by the letter of an agreement,
however strongly opposed to its spirit and
the belief of all the parties by wham,
it was executed, he must have known that the
terms of the late contract would be strictly inves-
tigated, so that there should be no loophole for
evasion. It is oue thing to deal with a high-
minded person, whose word is as good as his
bond, but it is a very different transaction where
the customer is one who will, if possible, wriggle
out of his obligations, and who takes care that
the judges, by whom any differences shall be de-
cided, are wholly under his own influence and
control.

Five per cent. is a very pleasing return for
capital. Notwithstanding the enormous rate of
discount still charged, capitalists would be glad to
insure it for a permanency, or even a protracted
period. But it can be obtained in English
securities of an unexceptionable character, with-
out the provision that they shall be annihilated
at the end of 85 years. It is not, therefore, so
extraordinary a catch that the parties must jump
at it without closely scrutinising the soundness
of the security. From what we have already
stated, it is obvious that the railways themselves
cannot by any possibility pay a reasonable divi-
dend. Even the Grand Trunk Line from
Petersburg to Moscow did not return from
profits more than 1 per cent, to the share-
holders, notwithstanding the stimulating incident
of a coronation, and the mass of wealthy
foreigners thereby attracted. There is nothing,
then, to depend on, save the Imperial guarantee
of 5 per cent., out of which all expenses for ma-
nagement, maintenance of way, replacement of
material, accidents, ac., dm., must first be de-
frayed. These numerous items will make a
serious inroad on the gross amount ! And then,
supposing that the traffic is insafficient to pay
the working expenses—no very extravagant notion
when the scanty population and impediments
to locomotion in the shape of the passport system,
the difficulties of obtaining wood and water, and
other acknowledged obstacles are taken into con-
sideration. 'What will be the result The CZAR
cannot, under any circumstances, b 3 required to
pay more than 5 per cent., and that may in a
great degree, if not altogether, be absorbed in
matters not thought of by the promoters.
Besides, we may reasonably inquire on what
is the 5 per cent. to be paid—simply on the ac-
count of the original estimate, and should that be
exceeded, as has been invariably the case in
every French and English railway, what return
will be made for the extra capital ? The
CZAR will be entitled to have that for which he
bargains provided in good working order. He
will not relinquish a single point of his bargain.
In fact, if he keeps faith even in what he has
stipulated, the parties may be well contented.
An excess of ten, fifteen, or twenty millions in
the expenditure will grievously reduce the divi-
dends, so that in place of five, three, or two,
possibly one per cent. may be all that can be ob-
tained ! This will be a just retribution on those
who send their money to benefit an implacable
opponent. None will sympathise with their losses.
" Sarved them right" will be all but the unani-
mous verdict. If their money is indeed " burn-
ing their pockets" so that a way of escape must
be discovered, they may easily find more promis-
ing schemes to reduce the superfluity. The
chariness of the Russians themselves to take shares
in the undertaking should teach a salutary lesson
of caution even to the most reckless speculators.

There are private and personal reasons, in addi-
tion to those of public policy, that should induce
the French EMPEROR to hesitate, before entering
on a crusade against the Liberties of Switzer-
land, in favour of the obsolete and ima-
ginary claims of Clicquot. He should not
altogether forget the chivalrous hospitality
displayed in favour of a certain Lovis
NAPOLEON, once designated as a mere political
adventurer, an unauthorised " Pretender to the
throne of France," which called forth some
eighteen years since the cordial expression
of grateful thanks, " exalted esteem, and
distinguished sentiments" from the party
concerned. He then hoped to prove to the Swiss
people that he was " worthy of the marks of esteem
and affection they lavished on him," and declared
that he should " never forget the noble con-
duct of the Cantons, who declared so couragesly
in his favour, and particularly the recollection of
thegenerous hospitality accorded to himby the Can-
ton of Thurgooen," which would, he assured them,
" remain profoundly engraved on his heart !"
Had the Confederation yielded to French menaces
in 1838, Louis NAPOLEON might not have had
the opportunity of writing that " Switzerland
should not be astonished, if, in the course of
events, she should no longer find that good-will
which she might so easily have obtained at a
trifling sacrifice !" The career of the adventure?'
would have been brought to a summary conclusion.
The celebrated carpet-bag experiment would never
have been tried—the quondam. prisoner of Ham
would never have occupied the French throne, or
founded an Imperial dynasty on the ruins of the
Republic.

We are told, on high authority, to " place not
our faith in Princes," and most assuredly the Swiss
Cantons have ample reason to acknowledge the
efficiency of the salutary caution. What in 1838
was a noble independence is now designated as
" a lamentable obstinacy, an exaggerated suscep-
tibility, and a complete indifference to French
counsels !" But Switzerland will maintain the
even tenour of her way despite the praises or the

threats of Louis NAPOLEON. She acts on a just and