The Sun.
London, England, 1855-01-08 00:00:00

MOVEMENTS AT ST. PETERSBURG.

The Constitutionnel publishes the following letter from
St. Petersburg, dated the 28th ult.:—
o" Now that the two grand dukes have returned from
the Crimea, the Cesarewitch Alexander and Prince
Paskiewitscli are expected. The journey of this latter
is caused by military and political reasons. In his
quality of Commander-in-Chief of all the active army,
his opinion is of paramount authority on all matters re-
lating to the army under his orders. He recommends
officers to the command of corps and for other employ-
meats. It is he who got Prince Gortschakoff appointed,
first to . the command of the army of the Danube, and
then to that of the army of the south. It is he who
had Osten Sacker named to the 4th corps d'arrnde, Read
to the 3d, Rudiger to the command in Poland, and
lately Berg to the command in Finland. AboVe all, he
has to render an account of ail the measures taken for
the defence of the empire in the west and south-west.
The following is the way in which the frontier preritiees
are provided with troops. In the provinces of the Baltic
are the Grenadiers of the Guard and of the reserve, in
addition to the garrisons in the towns on the coast ;
in Poland and Lithuania, there are the let corps
d'armde having its head-quarters at Radom, garri-
sons at Zamoie, Ivangorod, and Nowogeorgiewsk,
two divisions of grenadiers, two divisions of the guard,
two brigades of cavalry and two of the artillery of the
guard, the artillery and cavalry of the Ist corps, of which
two divisions are near Kamienitz and .I.;ajow. The last-
named town is the centre for the position of the reserve.
From Katnienetz to Kischenew, Odessa, eand Reni ex.
tend the remainder of the 3d corps, under the orders of
Gertschakoff; the corps of the cavalry reserve, Cossacks
and garrison troops, as far as Kherson and the Taurida.
The second line of this defensiv9 position is formed by
the army of reserve, which has its head-quarters, under
the orders of Tscheodajaw, at Moscow itself. Such are
the principal points of the position which Russia has
selected for displaying her armies in the face of Europe,
a position which, notwithstanding its great extent from
St. Petersburg to Odessa, appears to many persons in
this country so exceedingly strong that they would look
on the acceptance of the four conditions as an act of
shameful condescendence towards the Western Powers.
M. Brok, our Minister of Finance, provides perfectly for
all our wants of money. In order to insure to the
Russian merchants a sort of monopoly in the commerce
of tea with China, he has had the ingenious idea of levy-
ing a duty, double that paid by the native merchants,
on all teas imported from the frontiers of Siberia
and Orenburg by the other merchants of Asia. This
measure will have the inevitable consequence of leading
to the naturalisation of the Asiatic traders as Russian
subjects, or at least their inscription in the corporations
of the empire, whence it follews that the new measure
has, at the same . time, a political bearing by bringing
the non Russian merchant under •a sort of dependence
with respect to our government, as in order to save his
commercial existence he will be obliged to pay what is
called the corporation-tax. The day before yesterday, a
young man was so imprudent as to allow his. tongue to
run on, somewhat too freely, wtlich act brought Alin)
into trouble. He had remarked that the four points
sent from Vienna were somewhat too highly salted, and
that Austria: seemed to have thrown into them same of
the 'products of her salt-works of Whlicka, in order
to sell them as dearly as possible. But, added he, no
one will believe that the Czar will yield as long as he
has a conscript left. These short observations wore
made last Thursday in a society of intimate friends at
Strelna. The next day, the young man received from
the government a passport to proceed to his property
at Saratoff, with these words : " Count S--off will
be pleased, like a good patriot, to explore his property
and see if he can find any wilt there, and free Russia
from the necessity* of obtaining her salt from other
countries."