The Sun.
London, England, 1855-12-24 00:00:00

THE RUMOURS OF PEACE.

The Frankfort German Journal contains the

following :

" It is quite true that new stipulations have been
added by Austria to the Four Points, which will
serve as bases fur negotiations during the winter
months ; these stipulations take into considera-
tion the advantages obtained by the Allies through
the fall of Sebastopol. These propositions were
first submitted to the Emperor Napoleon, • who,
desirous of a lasting and honourable peace, list-
ened to them favourably, and succeeded in recom-
mending them to England. If we are well in-
formed, Sir Hamilton Seymour and Viscount de
Serres took with them to Vienna the consent of
their respective Governments, who refused, how-
ever, all mediation from neutral Governments.
Subsequently, however, the Emperor Napoleon
consented to waivo this question of form, and
prevailed on Lord Palmerston to do the same."
The Bourse Gazette, in a letter from Vienna, of
the 17th, says :

" Sir H. Seymour is treated with the greatest
distinction hero. Ile has daily interviews with
Count Buol. The language of Sir Hamilton is
constantly pacific, and it is said that he is charged
with the task of advising the Porte, through its
ambassador here, to accept the terms agreed upon
by Austria and the Western Powers."

OMER PACHA IN MINGRELIA.
(From the Times Special Correspondent.)
TURKISH CAMP, SUGDIDI, Nov. 14.
The anniversary of the terrific storm which swept
over the Crimea last year finds us still encamped at
Sugdidi, under a cloudless sky and a bright sun.
Our commissariat arrangements have involved a
delay hero of a few days. It is not to be wondered
at that, with the inadequate means of transport
which our almost bankrupt Government places at
Omer Pacha's command, he should find some diffi-
culty, now that he is 40 miles distant from his
nearest depot upon the seacoast, in provisioning a
considerably larger army than that which nearly
died of starvation within six miles of Balaklava,
when England was straining every nerve to sup-
ply it. Hitherto we have not been able to calculate
upon receiving any assistance from the people of the
country through which we have passed, and, al-
though confidence is gradually beginning to be re-
stored among the Mingrelians, and theyaro bringing
meat and vegetables in small quantities into camp
for sale, still in our onward progress we must de-
pend entirely upon our own commissariat for sup-
plies. It is to be hoped that before very long
our depots of provisions will be moved to some
line upon the coast nearer the scene of operations,
and that we may be enabled to draw our sup-
plies either from Anaklea or Redoubt Kaleh.
Even now the roads to those places are reported
free of Russians, and the force which was
watching Redoubt Kaleh when I visited it two
months ago has now retired. We may therefore
hope soon to see the Rhion made available for pur-
poses of transport, and it would be a most valuable
effort on the part of the British Government to assist
the operations in this quarter, if it would place at
the disposal of Omer Pasha two or three steamers
of light draught to tow flat-bottomed boats upon
the river. The water is deep to within a few miles
of Kutais, but the principal obstacle to its naviga-
tion is the bar at the mouth, upon which there is a
little over six feet of water.
I rode down to the old fortress of Ruchi a few days
ago to look at the ford by which Skender Pasha
crossed the river, and to command which we had
erected two small batteries two days before the
battle of the Ingour. It was matter of congratula-
tion that Omer Pasha did not attempt the passage
here with his whole army. Although the ford was
not commanded by any Russian artillery, the thick
woods had been made available in every direction
for riflemen, and an abattis had been thrown up at
every angle of the narrow road which winds up a
steep hill past the old castle. For more than a
mile there was scarcely a point which was not swept
from some stockade concealed in the woods, and
which we only discovered in the course of our ex-
plorations. The castle itself is a picturesque old
Genoese ruin, of great extent, and its ivy-grown
towers, surrounded by massive loopholed walls,
rise high above the surrounding forest, and form a
charming feature in the landscape.
Skender Pasha had only two men wounded at
this point while the river was being crossed by us
lower down. Two days afterwards he passed over,
to find the opposite shore deserted. This veteran
warrior has now moved on a day's march in ad-
vance to a village in which the Russians had stored
magazines and 'provisions, which they have now
blown up and abandoned. Skender Pasha is well
qualified to command the advanced
guard of the
most dashing caralry soldiers hi the Turkish army;