The Sun.
London, England, 1856-01-19 00:00:00

IN

,/#777 1571,
,
Spirit of. ;the Public o
(From the Times of this y)
Nothing could exceed the reluctancemcith which
Great Britain toaTi up arms against RUslia in "the
spring of 1854. ]?:very feeling, every habit, every
interest of the nation, seemed to draw them back
from the struggle,, and cry, like Macbeth's fancied
monitor, " Hold, hold !" We were enervated by a
long peace ; the w hole force and energy of tho
national character were thrown into the effort to
improve to the utmost a period of boundless and
unexampled prosperity, and to accomplish in every
quarter of the world tla4isemagnificent public works,
on the erection of which the present generation has
discovered that natiow; may lavish millions and be
all the richer for the expenditure. The present
period is one that calls for caution, vigilance, and
resolution more loudly and more peremptorily than
any that have preceded it since the commencement
of hostilities. The lea st relaxation of vigour, the
least semblance of yielding to the siren calls of in-
dolence and ease, will he felt immediately in the
change of the tone of :the negotiations, in the re-
suscitation of abandoned claims, and the persist-
ence in those which would otherwise never have
been pressed. Th sword of Damocles hanging by
a hair is a fitter eiAlein for the saloons of plenipo-
tentiaries than 413 banquet-halls of princes.
Whenever their eyes are lifted from their paper
they should see before them the long array of
embattled hosts, and whenever the dialogue flags
they should hear the interval filled up with the
distant sounds of cannon. We believe that we
shall obtain peace, and the reason we have for
believing so is that to us peace is not indispens-
able that we can afford to abide our time
and adhere to our demands, without covering
internal weakness by hollow bravado, or assuming
a tone in council which we are not prepared to
justify in the field. How much the allies have
done we learn from seeing how ninch is yielded,
and these things furnish us a scale upon which to
calculate with some precision how much, if they
be called upon, they are yet able to achieve.

Meanwhile there-is one debt of gratitude which
even now it is not too soon for those who assume
to represent the public opinion of England to pay,
and which duty and inclination alike urge us to
discharge. Compare our position now with our
position last April, when Gladstone, Graham, and
Herbert, terrified at the effects of heir own coun-
sels, and unmanned by the contemplation of the
disasters for which they were responsible, were
urging a base and ignominious peace ; and when
Lord John Russell, in the character of Ambassa-
dor, was but too faithfully seconding their efforts
to degrade and ruin us in the Senate. To the
courage, the foresight, the unflinching firmness
and unsleeping vigilance of Lord Palmerston we
owe it that we escaped that danger and that dis-
grace which were so much nearer to us than we
supposed, and that we are now in a condition to
conclude a peace or to wage a war of neither of
which any honest English heart wil have cause to
be ashamed. Such a peace will be a suitable termi-
nation to the long epoch of a life devoted with
but little support from political party or popular
sympathy to thwarting, counteracting, and over-
throwing the designs of Russia, to frustrating and
foiling her at every point, with a firmness and per-
tinacity not unworthy of the great founder of the
liberties of Europe, whose name has just been il-
lustrated by the pen of the most eloquent of our
historians.

(Front Galignani's Messenger of yesterday.)

The all-absorbing news of the acceptance by
Russia of the Austrian ultimatum as a basis for
negotiations has naturally inspired the Paris jour-
nals with hopes that peace has at length arrived.
The tone of the journals and the great rise at the
" Bourse" betray the universal confidence enter-
tained in Paris with respect to the termination of
the war. Amidst such unanimity of opinion, it
would almost appear ungracious on our part to
adopt a leas sanguine point of view ; nevertheless,
we would beg of our readers to weigh seriously the
past history of Russian diplomacy before placing
full reliance in the approaching re-establishment
of peace. Russia, according to the interpreta-
tion of the official communication, consents to
treat on the terms expressed by the Austrian
ultimatum. It must not be forgotten that
Russia also consented to treat, and did treat, on
the stipulations contained in the four points ;
but that circumstance did not prevent the Vienna
conferences from terminating in a disgraceful
failure. Will the present negotiations obtain a
more successful result ? Is Russia sincerely im-
pressed with the necessity of concluding a peace,
demanded by her own exhaustion and by the com-
bined interests of Europe, or is she merely aiming,
as before, to obtain a delay, in order to arrest the
progress of the immense warlike preparations pur-
sued in England and France, whilst reinforcing
herself for the approaching campaign ? Finally, are
the Western Governments not destined to be duped
once more by a diplomacy at once astute and un-
scrupulous ? These are questions which are for-
gotten to- lay amidst the universal surprise and
satisfaction created by the intelligence on which we
comment, but which will infallibly present them-
selves when the first impressions have vanished.
In the meanwhile, we offer to our readers the views
entertained by the more important Paris journals
on the subject of the day.

( Front the Dcbats. )

The only or at least the principal obstaole to
peace has disappeared. Russia at length gives way
to the general and pronounced wish of all Europe.
The propositions of the three allied cabinets, ac-
cepted purely and simply by the Cabinet of St.
Petersburg, offer an excellent basis for the nego-
tiations which will now open in all regularity be-
tween tie interested powers. We have arrived at
the preliminaries of peace ; this is a happy, an im-
mense fact ; we may almost say it is the peace ;
for at this point w e cannot believe otherwise than
that the preliminaries of peace must necessarily
lead to peace itself. In announcing this result we
congratulate France and all Europe. We all con-
gratulate those Allicd. Powers which have pro-
duced this result either by their resolution displayed
in the war, or by their firmness in the pacific nego-
tiations. Finally, there would be injustice in not
rendering honour to Russia, for the spirit of con-
ciliation and wisdom brought by her into the late
negotiations has contributed largely to prepare the
happy result.

(From the Union.)

It is useless to describe the impression produced
by this despatch. It has put a stop to the doubts
entertained with respect to the reply of Russia ; it
has dissipated the fears, reassured the minds of all,
and has given life to hopes which hitherto had
only appeared in order to vanish at once. If this
intelligence is not peace, it is at least a great step
towards a pacific solution.

(From. the Pays.)
The first consequence of this resolution will ne-
cessarily be the opening of conferences with the
object of regulating the definitive application of the
principles now admitted by all parties. It, as we
hope, the adhesion of Russia is without second
thoughts, if no difficulty is raised in the applica-
tion of those principles, peace will be speedily re-
established. All Europe will congratulate itseif
on a result which is due to the energetic attitude of
France, England, and Austria, and to the loyal as-
sistance of a portion of Germany.

( From the Siecle)
veryish forhop warehopes
of a
seeing t any
.
We shall be considered very incredulous; it'will
perhaps
repeated
eventhat
w
price,
tithe termination of hostilities, which cost France so
biaet
many men and so much treasure. This injustice
will little affect us ; it
will
not prevent us from
saying, as good and loyal patriots, !to the Govern-
ments of Prance and England : "Do not let your-
selves be defrauded ; be on your guard !" We
would also say, not to speculators, who inspire us
with no interest, but to honest and serious mer-
chants : "Be calm in the midst of the feverish
agitations of the Bourse. Await the result of the
negotiation and think of the fate of the past nego-
tiations. The issue of the conferences of 1855
prerves that it would be imprudent to abandon
oneself to a confidence which might again be ill-
inspired, and it is impossible that the events of the
war, that our victories, have not suggested to the
Western Powers fresh exactions in virtue of the
reserve made in the treaty of alliance and in the
ultimatum of Austria. Let us await, therefore,
with dignity the result of the negotiations."

e6atrh September,
h e
of
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THE NEW GOVERNOR OF NEW ZEALAND.—By the M-
atce i pAtuocfklater ANueswtrazlei aanl a
na
dd,v
the ship Merchantman, from London, having on board.
Colonel Gore Brown, the new Governor of New Zea-
land. ocens'th7ee n
EXECUTION OF GIMES ASSASSINS AT SMYRNA.—The
two Greeks who, on 16th Sept. last, murdered a gunner
of the French brig of war Olivier, were executed at
Smyrna on the 29th ult. They were conducted under
a strong military escort to Chaar Hann, where they were
decapitated. Their bodies, after remaining exposed for
a couple of hours,were removed for interment to the
Greek Hospital. This double execution produced a deep
i-npression on the inhabitants of Smyrna, who were be-
ginning to believe that the sentence would not be carried
into effect. On the Ist inst. three other executions took
place at Smyrna, the one at the Fassolo, the other at
the Three Streets, and the third outside the first bazaar,
which are the most frequented points of the city. The
sufferers were also Greeks. They had formed part of
the band of Simo, who last June arrested and carried off
[several persona in the vicinity of Bournabat, and were
I subsequently convicted of various murders.

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