The Sun.
London, England, 1855-03-27 00:00:00

NG, MARC El 27, 1888

departure, the term to commence on the 15th of this
present month.
Vessels on board of which any goods contraband of
war whether under a neutral flag or otherwise will be
deemed lawful prizes.

A letter from St. Petersburg of 15th says:—
"I send you to-day a speech of the Emperor Alexan-f
der. I informed you in a recent letter that by order o
the Emperor Nicholas the nobles of each governmen t
were to be convoked by the marshals of the nobility to
hear read the manifesto which confides the defence of
the country to the militia. The nobles of our govern-
ment of St. Petersburg having asked permission of the
Emperor at the beginning of 1854 to organise a sort of
militia, could not necessarily refrain from accepting a
creation which, under the pretext of defending the
country, places in the hands of the Czar an entire army
of serfs, at the expense of the nobles, and only partly
commanded by the latter. At the extraordinary meet-
ing of the 25th Feb. the nobles voted an address to the
Emperor, in which they protested their fidelity, their
patriotic sentiments, &c. On the 2d March, whilst the
nobles were assembled at the Casino, they received the
news that the Emperor was in danger, and they at
once hastened to the Cathedral of Kasan to pray. On
their return from the church they learned that the
Emperor had just died. The day after, the manifesto
announcing the accession of Alexander to the throne was
read to the assembly, and the Emperor, besides, made
known to them that the last consolation of the deceased
Czar was the receipt of the address from the nobility,
presented to him through the 'Minister of the Interior,
and that he himself deigned to admit to an audience
the deputies and marshals of the nobility. On the
4th, the nobles were allowed to lay at the feet of the
Czar an address, expressing their humble devotedness.
This address was thus conceived :—" Sire—lt has
pleased God to summon the late Emperor to eternal
life, at the very moment at which all Russia was
arming at his order, to defend the faith, the Czar, the
country, and its fellow believers in the East— that is to
say, all that constitutes our life. In this great moment
the hopes of the country are centred in you, Sire. The
faithful nobility of St. Petersburg having already ex-
pressed their sentiments at the first appeal of the de-
ceased Emperor, repeat them now, and respectfully
hasten to deposit at the feet of your Majesty a renewed
assurance of the unlimited zeal and devotedness with
which they are ready to sacrifice their lives and fortunes
to realise the great idea of the deceased Monarch,
who drew the sword to fulfil a holy mission. The nobi-
lity consider this mission as a legacy from the late Em-
peror to them." The Emperor Alexander replied :
" I have much desired to see you, gentlemen, in order
to impart to you the words of our deceased bene-
factor and my father of immortal memory. He was
FO weak that he could not read your address, but
it was read to him by me. Your zeal soothed his dying
moments. Thank them, thank them heartily
said he, `tell them that I never doubted of them, and
now lam more than ever convinced.' I thank you,
gentlemen ; I am convinced that the dying Emperor's
words will sink into your hearts. You are the represen-
tatives of some who are absent ; tell all of them this.
We live in grievous times. I was accustomed always to
say to the late Emperor, 'I trust in God's grace that he
will protect Russia.' I hoped that we should have seen
together the day of joy, but God has pleased to ordain
it otherwise. On you, gentlemen, I rely with. confidence.
I reckon on you fully. lam sure you will not let your
nobility be a name, your acts will be noble. Our nobles
are not mean-spirited. It must be—l with you, and
you with me. (Here the Emperor crossed himself, and
continued)—May the Lord help us ! We will not dis-
honour Russia. (Here the Emperor advanced, and em-
braced the spokesman of the party, and added)—ln your
persons I thank the entire nobility. Farewell, gentle-
men. God be with you."
A letter from St. Petersburg says :—The Grand
Dukes Nicholas and Michael, on their arrival in
this city from the Crimea, went at once to pray by

the side of their father's Coffin in the church of St.

Peter and St. Paul ; and they afterwards attended
a solemn service offered up for the repose of his
soul. They were accompanied to the Russian capital
by the old General Yormoloff, who has recently
been nominated chief of the militia of Moscow.
This General never visited St. Petersburg during
the lifetime of the Emperor Nicholas, and his pre-
sence now is considered quite an event. That part
of the Czar's manifesto which refers to the projects
of Peter the Great, Catherine, Alexander, and Ni-
cholas has been approved of at Moscow, and the
choice of Yermoloff as commander of the militia
there is considered as a beginning of the realisation
of the promises of the manifesto."