The Sun.
London, England, 1855-04-10 00:00:00

SIEGE OF SEBASTOPOL.

Mr. Wyl/1, geographer to the Queen, has just
issued the sixth edition of his map of " The Envi-
rons of Sebastopol, with the Batteries and Ap-
proaches." The fact of the map having gone
through so many editions speaks loudly for its
merits, and the impression thus conveyed is amply
warranted. The positions of the Allied armies are
laid down in it in distinctive colours from drawings
made on the spot, and information received from
Brigadier-General Torrens, Mr. Rochefort, and
English and French officers. They are, therefore,
readily traced, and their accuracy may be confi-
dently relied on. The public is greatly indebted to
Mr. Wyld for bringing out this well-executed map,
which is at once apropos, comprehensive, accurate,
and minute. Even the spot where the wreck of
the Prince occurred is marked, and a useful little
map of Eupatoria, with the late attack, is given.

COUNT DE BRIEY.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Six,,—ln Saturday's Sun I find the following
observations :

"Belgium herself, not contented with the ominous
neutrality she has so long observed, is deslatching new
emissaries to the Court of St. Petersburg. We learn by
a letter from St. Petersburg, of the 24th ult., that
`Count de Briey, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister
Plenipotentiary of the King of the Belgians, had, on the
previous day, presented his new credentials to the Em-
peror Alexander.' This is the unkindest cut of all. Well
may England exclaim `et-tic Brute,' when she sees the
Sovereign who owes everything to her—who was taken
from petty lodgings to espouse the presumptive heiress
to the British Throne—who has so long been the well-
paid of the United Kingdom, and whose
..epnew is the consort of our dearlv-loved Sovereign, pay-
ing such marked comp imant-i to Russia, sending an En-
voy Extraordinary and Mini-ter Plenipotentiary, possi-
bly to negotiate respecting ' the kingdom of Thuringia,'
should he induce England to waive her just demands.
These are matters that should not be regarded lightly."
Now, Count de Briey, so far from being a new
"emissary," has been resident at St. Petersburg,
in the same capacity, for just two years ; and the
" new credentials" were simply the usual diploma-
tic formality upon the accession of a new sove-
reign.--Yours, &c.,

J. WRIGHTSON.

AN UNDER SECRETARY FOR THE COLONIES.—The
vacant Under-Secretaryship of the Colonial Department,
which necessarily remained open until the bill for regu-
lating the number of Secretaries of State and Under-
Sec;•etaries became law, has been confided to Mr. John
M.P. for Carlow. Mr. Ball is now in Ireland,
but returns on Thursday to assume the duties of his
new office.

THE BALTIC FLEET.—A letter from Elsinore of the
3d inst. says :—" Four steam-frigates of the flying squa-
dron arrived and anchored in the roads on the Ist inst.,
at noon, but were obliged to return in the afternoon,
some with loss of anchor and chain. Five sail—namely,
the Arrogant, Lk, Tartar, Archer, and Desperate—
came in again yesterday, and, the Swedish side of the
Sound being clear of ice, they proceeded up to Lands-
crona. Four of the above squadron have arrived in the
Belt."

The Military Gazette states that the expeditionary
corps is to remain pro tempore at Constantinople, with
the French Imperial Guard. This is to be the army of
reserve of the Allies. The Gazette considers the destina-
tion assigned to the Piedmontese contingent as a proof
of deference and esteem on the part of Napoleon 111.
for the Sardinian army.
General Marrnora is about to establish his head-
quarters at Genoa, from whence the embarkation of the
Piedmontese contingent will proceed as rapidly as
possible.

It is said in literary circles in Paris that M. Th.
Gautier is to leave the Pressc, and to become theatrical
critic for the .MoniteuP, and that his late post on the
Prase will be filled by M. Nestor Roquelan, ex-director
of the Opera.

Letters from Athens contain deplorable accounts of
the progress of brigandage in various parts of Greece.
To such an extent has it proceeded that some foreign
influence of a detestable character is suspected to be at
work.

At Weimar, counterfeit autographs of Schiller have
been made use of in a most audacious manner. The heirs
of the poet are amongst the dupes. It seems that the
fraud has for its principal author a bootmaker, who, now
that the affair is in the hands of the law, doubtless wishes
that he had profited by the saying ne sutor, &a.
For the second time, the clergy of the convent of St.
Sergius, near Moscow (which passes for one of the
richest convents in Russia), have presented a sum of
money to the Emperor for the purpose of carrying on the
war, their gift on this occasion amounting to nearly a
million francs.

THE MAILS, SOUTHAMPTON, April 9.—The Royal
Mail Company's steam-ship Great Western, Captain
Bevis, left this afternoon with the usual monthly mails
for Buenos Ayres, Monte Video, Rio Janeiro, Bahia,
Pernambuco, St. Vincent's, Teneriffe, Madeira, and
Lisbon. She has on ho-rd 64 passengers, among whom
are C•nnmander Thiirnburn, Captain Stout, and Cheva-
lier Gondini. On freight the Great Western takes
14,3591. in specie, 16,542/. value in jewellery, and a full
general cargo. The Plata, Captain Weller, with the
next West India and Pacific mails, and the Solent, Cap-
tain JelEcho, with the Brazilian and River Plate mails,
may be expected on or about Sunday next. The Penin-
sular and Oriental Company's steam-ship Iberia, Ca.pt.
Christian, will leave on the 11th inst. with the mails for
Vigo, Oporto, Lisbon, Cadiz, and Gibraltar. The Ma-
drid, Captain Cook, with the homeward portion of these
n-Ails, is expected about the 14th inst. The United
States' mail steam-ship St. Louis, Captain Wotton, will
leave Southampton ea route for Havre, with French and
English mails on Wedne,day.
A. private letter from Sirnpheropol, published in the
Vienna Prene, and dated March 8, mentions, amongst
other matters, that the city is almost entirely converted
into a place d'armes ; none but soldiers are to be seen.
The high prices of provisions are quite beyond the means
of the civil officials, who can only afford to purchase pro-
visions absolutely indispensable. The churches are
thronged with suppliants, who pray fervently for peace.
"I saw a young woman from Sebastopol," continues the
writer, " who bad been kneeling all the morning, praying
God to end the war quickly. In the meantime threatening
; in the horizon. Our enemies in-
with fresh force. The inhabi-
tants
the
and Kertch are anxious about
areyi
ngga tohne
thein
tants of Theodos;a
tc,lm"ddcsarr
fate of their property. But we hope that the will of the
malignant proposals of the
resist all the
Emperor will
European cabinet.
THE NUMBER AND
TONNAGE OF VESSELS.—Yester-
day, a return ordered by the House of Lords was printed
the year
ended the sth January last,
number and tonnage of
vessels. Ih
built and
of the
there were 1,343
registered in the several ports of the British empire, and
the tonnage was 320,869. Onthe the
31st December last
several ports
there were 35,900 vessels belonging to
,vhich was
of the United Kingdom, the tonnage of
5,043,270, and the number of inoc employed iu vav
isg the came was 206,491.