The Sun.
London, England, 1857-05-01 00:00:00

LONDON, FRIDAY, MAY 1, 1857

The Russian Railway scheme—the designa-
tion is peculiarly appropriate in the present in-
stance—has been duly launched on the Stock-
Exchange, and shares are quetlfi at a nominal
premium of to 1. It is more than hinted,
however, that few, if any bona fide English ap-
plications for allotments have been made. The
speculators have, much to their credit, refused to
touch the unclean thing, and even the prospect
of gain, usually so alluting, has been insufficient
to induce them to permit their names to be CJIII-
promised in such a transaction. 'rho patriotism
that has induced them to stand aloof, will in
this case meet with its own reward, and they
may be saved at some future time from very con-
siderable annoyance and inconvenience, and p-,p_
sibly serious losses in consequenv. " The policy
of abstention " is certainly that which should 1 •
pursued in the present instance, and it would be
well if the Committee of tha Stock Exchange
promptly came forward and passad, a resolu-
tion to the effect that the undertaking should not,
under any circumstances, be quoted in the offi-
cial lists. They have already interfered in matters
of far less importance, and a resolution such as
we have suggested would be hailed with thanks
by the entire community.
It may seem strange to the uninitiated

that the scrip or shares should be quoted
or purchased at a premium when any appli-
cant could receive as large an amount as lie
could possibly desire at par. This, however, is
one of the mysteries of Capel-court. It is well
known to the promoters of all kinds of companies
that the shares will not be applied for or paid on
unless a market has been made. A cert tin sum
is almost invariably applied for that purpose ; and
we believe that it is by no means unusual for the
parties concerned to purchase the letters of allot-
ment which they have themselves just issued. A
moment's reflection must, however, convince even
the most credulous that there must be some object
to be •attained that " premiums" are not so
lavishly bestowed or so easily acquired as the
proceeding may seem to indicate. They may
rest assured that the trap is skilfully baited,
and that those who enter into it with the de•
sign of stripping others will be thoroughly
plucked before they can effect their own escape.

The first desideratum, is, as we have stated, to
make a market. For this purpose sundry decoy
ducks in the shape of " Clergymen at Brussels,"
and others, are used. They have received ample
indemnities from capitalists, who, no doubt for
sufficient reasons, are contented to remain in the
background. The deposit is provided, and that is
the main consideration ; but the lion's share of the
profits —if any will be appropriated by the
sleeping partners, who will not suffer their own
names to be used. These men, then, are merely
" decoys" to bring others into mischief—and with
the first operation their dirty work is ac-
complished. Not 'so, however, with the vic-
tims. They may fondly imagine that when
they have pocketed the original premiums the
connection has terrain 4ted, but to their cost
they will find that they are then but at the
commencement of their misfortunes. The pur-
chasers will net have to execute any deed, or
bind themselves to the payment of future calls.
The Muscovite agents may not be contented with
the mere forfeiture of unpaid shares. They may
deem it expedient to institute actions against the
defaulters, and the cervine flock may find "a rod
in pickle" ready to administer a castigation, of the
severity whereof they have but little notion.
As a respected correspondent, "One of her
MAJESTY'S Justices of the Peace for Lanarkshire"
—whose admirable letter will be found in another
part of our impression—truly declares, "it is
difficult to conceive how any respectable Eng-
lish house could be found to embark in any
scheme so well calculated to advance and
strengthen the most powerful, and certainly the
greatest enemy England ever had." The BARING
BROTHERS, however, have always been the agents
of the AUTOCRAT, and a trans-atlantic element is
largely mixed up in the composition of the
House. One of the chief partners is, we believe,
an American, and certainly we have seen enough
of the tendencies of " Brother JONATHAN," to
know that " extremes sometimes meet," and that
the citizeniof the model Republic entertain a great
veneration for the "model" AUTOCRAT, the largest
slaveowner in the world. But that is no reason
why England should lendlherself to the project, or
part with her sterling coin for the aggrandisement
of her "powerful and inveterate opponent.," who
is merely biding his time, and striving to recover
from the exhaustion occasioned by the late war,
to avenge severely the thwarting of his traditional
policy by England. We• must not provide him
with the means to be subsequently used against
ourselves He cannot be permitted to early out
his demonstrations against the United Kingdom,
with resources wrung from the hard hands of
Btitish capitalists—even under the highly re-
spectable auspices of the BARING Brothers and Ce.

It is, however, Englishmen who must protect
themselves. A spirit ought to be exhibited, that
would prevent any more from dabbling in the
stock. As we have already explained, every
shilling subscribed must be drawn in hard cis')
from this country. The work will be constructed
by means of " paper roubles." It will be paid for
in sterling gold and silver, if Messrs. BARING
carry their present intentions into practical execu-
tion. We are already suffering too severely from
the steady ebb of bullion from our shores. While
the present monetary code is maintained it will be
impossibly to prevent that evil, but, if the Rus-
sian swindle prevails, the evil will be very greatly
aggravated, and a crisis must occur far exceeding
in intensity that of October, 1847, when there
were awful days, during which industry was para-
lysed, and business virtually suspended. If Messrs.
BARING choose to apply their own wealth in bc-
stowing it on the CZAR, we cannot help it,
although we may greatly doubt the taste
that induced them to give the sanction
of their names to such a proceeding. But we
call on all Englishmen who are not yet
committed, to abstain from connecting themselves
in any way with the matter. They must see that
they have no adequate security that the estimates
may not be greatly exceeded, or that the working
expenses will be defrayed from the earthing-
of lines in a country where there are
so many restrictions on traffic as in
Russia. We would, however, hope that
they might be influenced by higher motives, and
consider the injury that must be inflicted on their
native land by so large a withdrawal of the pre-
cious metals, and so great an increase to the
military power of our inveterate enemy, as must
result from the construction of the Russian mili-
tary lines by means of British capital.

America seems likely to realise the prayer of
CALIBAN, for "all the infections that the sun
sucks up from bogs, fens, flats," we may add from
Salt Lakes and deserts, " fall on her and make her
by inch-meal a disease." What with Mormons
in the wilderness territory of Utah, slavery in the
swamps of the Southern Stateg, and Missouri
ruffians in Kansas, she has a mass of avowed social
villany, of villany not only excused, but defended
—not only defended, but even gloried in, which
would be enough to shake almost any of the
States of the Old World to their foundations.
Probably the young Rqpnblic has growth and
vigour enough to exscind, or to heal, or at least
to survive all these maladies ; but maladies, and
horrible ones they are, nevertheless. What the
oldest of them can do, and how inveterate it is, we
saw in the late Presidential election : what Mon
monism will yet do, or the Union do with it, re-
mains to be seen.

WE:, in England certainly owe much to Ame-
rica. A great part of the raw material of Mor-
monism has been drawn from this country. Latter-
day Saints do indeed set up little synagogues here ;
and, to our personal knowledge, not only do
Mormon men preach in these Mormon emigration
oflics the blessings of the Edcu on the Salt Lake,
hut Mormon females carry Mormon tracts from
house to house tl teach our female servants the
comforts of polygamy and the privileges of being
spiritual wives to the very flesh-and-blood Saints
of Utah. One of these female miscreants happen-
ing to call when we were at home, we heard of
her errand, and after listening to a few minutes'
preachment on the vices of the patriarchs as pre-
cedents for Latter-day Saints' debauchery, we,
with quite as much pcliteneas as we supposed the