The Sun. — 1854-11-21 (London, England)

LONDON, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1854.  "Si :cis pacern, para helium." There are few rules better established than the foregoing. A constant state of preparation for war is unquestionably the best guarantee for permanent and lasting peace. It may be very wrong, but so it is. Even the best-disposed nations are a little too much disposed to encroach on the rights of others, and to insist on concessions from weaker states, which a conscientious and impartial arbitrator would by no means feel disposed to award. This reliance on " the strong arm" is the natural result of the absence of any international tribunal, which could decide all diplomatic differences, and pronounce a decree that all " nations and languages" should be compelled to respect. The establishment of an universal tribunal of this description was a peOcrotetet of the Peace Society, but there was one obstacle to the realisation of the Utopian project, a formidable one, certainly; for it was that the matter was wholly and absolutely impracticable ctb initio, and that no reasonable anticipation could be entertained of carrying it out until the revival of the Golden Age, when " the Lion should lie down by the Lamb," and the dove should bring up its progeny to nestle along with the young eaglets. The nearest attempt to such a tribunal is the association of several powers to compel the observance of equity by all others ; to protect the weak against the strong, and to prevent unwarranted aggressions. This is the cause in which the Western Powers have engaged. They have nothing to gain for themselves—no personal objects to achieve as equivalents for the blood and treasure that should necessarily be expended in the cause of Justice. This is a Goo-like mission ; and those who condemn the war, or say that France and England had no right to interfere, might as well censure the efforts of private individuals who assisted to arrest a robber, a burglar, or a murderer, because the violence had not been committed against themselves personally. So much for the origin of the war, which has been, entered on from the purest motives—which cordd not be avoided without indelible disgrace and even danger to England. We say " danger," because if Russia had been permitted to proceed unchecked in so reckless a course, we, or our children should, ere many years had elapsed, have been compelled to enter on a far more sanguinary and exciting contest, in which our very existence would be imperilled—the free institutions of the country, the lives of our men, and the honour of our women resting in the scale. Such a cause required super-human exertions. We could only reason with such a man as NICHOLAS by practical demonstrations, by proving beyond the possibility of doubt that we were iu earnest in our determination to keep him within check, and that We had the power of doing so, so as to render any resistance on his part worse than useless. :Now on both these most important points we have completely failed. The insane murmuring for cc u4ce) peace, peace," at any price or on any condition, induced the AUTOCRAT to persevere, supposing that his "friend of forty years' standing" was like the blushing maid who, whispering.—  "I will neer consent—consented ;" who, making a coy show of resistance, suffiient to save his credit, would eventually have allocwed him to take his own way, and do just as he thought proper. Nor were our demonstrations so formidable or decisive as to induce him to modify or alter these views. The Allied Fleet., Iv]) ich had the undisputed, command of tlie Euxine, lay icily floating in the while Poissir.ta vessels were bearing reinforcements to the Gast of Asia, or—shanieful to narrate—perpetraing the nalssaere at Sinop°. When actually engaged—fur instance in the bombardment of Cidessa—our Admiral apologised for so avenging a gross and unwarrantable insult to the British Flag—as well as a deliberate violation of all the laws of nations.  Nor did we, in the first instance, display much greater energy with our land expedition. The forces originally placed under Lord RAGLAN'S eon:inland, from the sailing of the first detach ment until the end of June, consisted of only 21 battalions of the line, 3 battalions of the Guards, and of the Rifle Brigade, being in all about 25 battalions of about 800 rank and file, and amounting, therefore, in round numbers, to 20,000 men. We are told by the ABERDEEN organ that the primary object of the expedition was the defence of Constantinople against the apprehended advance of the Russian army, if Prince