The Sun.
London, England, 1862-12-23 00:00:00

RUSSIA.

A letter from St. Petersburg, dated 15th inst.,
says :

g, The severity of the winter continues. The absence of
snow makes it the more felt. At Moscow it is worse still.
Nevertheless, balls and festivals in honour of their Majes-
ties succeed each other. There is to be a grand chase on
the 21st. Their Majesties gave a grand ball on the 12th,
in the Kremlin Palace, to which 1,000 guests were invited.
Prince Albert of Prussia was present, as also Count Golz,
formerly Prussian Minister to the Court of St. Petersburg."

FRANCE.
THE BOURSE, Dec. 22.—The market has been
heavy, and the amount of business doing shows a
slight decline on the closing rates of Saturday:
Threes, for the account, are now at 69f. 90c. The

Railway Share Market
market closed as follows

4t per Cents 97 7
Do. end month
3 per Cents
Do. end month 69 80
New 3 per Cents
Do. end month —
Credit Mobilier...,llo7 50
Do. end month 1111 25
ILA IL'

is also inanimate. The

Bank Shares 3390
Credit Fonder 1341 25
Piedmontese Fig es
Italian Loan 72 10
Russian

Austrian
Threes 5O 25
Home Debt -
rAYS.

Cash. Account.
Orleans 1065 .. 1065
Northern
New ditto • • • ---
Lyons and Mediterranean 1150 -- .. 1152 50
Geneva..
Southern
Western
Eastern
Sardinian
Austrian
Lombard
North of Spain
Saragossa 655 .. 656 25
Ditto to Barcelona

CAPE 01 GOOD HOPE.

PLYMOUTH, MONDAY, DEC. 22.

The East India and London Company's steam-
ship Hydaspes, Captain Forster, from Madras 721
days, and the Cape 38 days, has passed up Channel.
She brings 68 cabin aid 27 steerage passengers,
and a cargo including 1,134 bales of cotton, two
cases of ostrich feathers valued at £14,000, a
quantity of silk (raw and manufactured) wool, skins
linseed, rapeseed, lac, dye, &c.
The Hydaspes spoke, November 13, the Albion,
126 days from Foochow for London ; 29th, the bark
St. Bede, 47 days from Port Louis for Falmouth
and, on the 30th, the French bark Assumption, 47
days from Reunion for Bordeaux.

By this arrival we have intelligence from the
Cape 21 days later than by the Athens, which ar-
rived here on the 29th ult.

Governor Sir P. Wodehouse, on a tour through
the Western Province, has laid the foundation of a
new light-house at Cape St. Blaize. Secretary
Rawson is gone to the Eastern Province.

The Colonial Government has been compelled to
borrow 1:30,000 from thp Table Bay Harbour
Works. The Customs' return for the quarter ex-
ceed by £lO,OOO that of last year. The value of the
imports show a slight increase ; the exports a de-
crease.

Potchefstroom has been stormed byVan Rensen-
berg, who has declared that, if captured, Pretorious
will be treated as a rebel.

Cattle are dying in the northern districts through
the drought.
Five thousand pounds has been subscribed in
the Eastern Province for the Lancashire fund. The
Western Province sends £l,OOO by the next mail.
The steamship Alhambra, from Southampton, left
Table Bay on the 10th of November.

The ship Summer Cloud, from China, which ar-
rived inTable Bay on the 23d of October, spoke, on
the 13th, the City of Manchester, which reported
having spoken a passenger vessel with the crew of
the foundered ship Nepaul, supposed from Moul-
mein, with timber for Falmouth.

The ship Melbourne, 1,160 tons, Captain White-
hall, from Shanghai, with tea, cotton, wool, silk,
&c., was wrecked on the 4th of November on
Buffel's Hock.