The Sun.
London, England, 1854-01-04 00:00:00

LATEST FOREIGN NEWS.

RUSSIA AND TURKEY•
The following important telegraphic despatch
has been received in Paris from Constantinople,

dated December 26 :
" The Council of Ministers had on that day
notified to the four Ambassadors that it had
adopted, very nearly, the propositions suggested at
Constantinople by the representatives of, the Four

Powers.
" The Council of Ministers had not yet drawn
up its statement in due form, but it was to do so,
and to transmit copies to.the four Ambassadors on

the 29th of December.

" The Caradoc arrived on Monday night at
Marseilles. She left Constantinople on the 25th

ult., and no doubt must bring intelligence of im-

porta nce, since Lord Stratford de Red cliffe thought
fit to despatch her, for some reason, before the
Porte made known its resolutions respecting the
propositions ofethe Ambassadors."
The following has been received from Vienna,
dated Tuesday evening :
" The Overland Constantinople mail of the 22d
of December had not reached Vienna yesterday
evening.

"No mail from London bad arrived since the
27th of December, and the Oest. Corresponclenz was
totally silent on the Eastern question.
" Russia is as much excited against Austria as
against England and France.
" Kars is said to be in the hands of the
Russians."

The Monitiur confirms, by the following tele-
graphic despatch, the news that some disturbances
had broken out at Constantinople :
" PERA, DEC. 22.—The general meeting having
authorised the Minister to negotiate, the students
of the mosques, urged on by some Ulemas, met
yesterday to petition against that determination ;
for an instant a riot was apprehended, but the measures
taken by the Cabinet, assembled at the Sultan's, pre-.
vented all disorder. From 300 to 400 students
were arrested, and at present everything is tranquil. A
proclamation announces the real object of the delibera-
tion of the general meeting, and declares that severe
measures will be employed against all disturbers of the
public peace."
A letter from Erzeroum, of the sth ult., in the
Patrie, announces that the family of Mr. Thomson,
Charge d'Affaires of England at the Court of Tehe-
ran, bad arrived in that town. Mr. Thomson was
himself to leave Persia, and to rejoin his family as
. soon as his last instructions, expected ' about the
15th of December, should arrive. The same jour-
nal adds :

" Private letters from England announce that it had
been ascertained by the last news from Asia that the
affair of Persia was only the commencement of a general
system adopted by Russia to cause a rising of all the
Asiatipeople, and to draw them into its sphere
of action. But the English agents, who for several
months have followed all the phases f that policy, have
succeeded in baffling it on a great many points • and up
to this moment Persia alone has allowed herself t,o be
drawn into a demonstration which will be fatal to her.
However, the alliance of the two great Western Powers
re-assures all interests in England ; and the frank and
firm policy of the Government of the French inspires
absolute confidence."

The Augsburg Gazette, under the head of " Last
news from the theatre of war," states that the
amount of the Turkish force on the I:anks of the
Danube is 123,000 men, without including the re-
serve at Schumla ; and the force of the Russians
on the Danube, including the reserve, only 110,000,
but that the ussians are preparing to assume the
offensive. General Luders, it is said, is to force
the passage of the Danube at Matschin ; Prince
Gortschakoff is to besiege Rutschuk ; and General
Aurep is to attack Kalafat.
A. letter from Tiflis, of the 2d ult., positively
states that Prince Woronzow had just received
very important despatches from St. Petersburg.
They announce, it is 'said, the sending of a rein-
forcement of artillery, which he had demanded,
and which will place at his disposal eighty pieces
of artillery. They also announce that two fresh
divisions of infantry will be added to the forcenow
under his command. These despatches, which
reached him before the affair of Sinope, order him
to continue energetically the war in that part of
Asia. _ .

A letter from Erzeroum, of Dee. 5, states that
a serious difference had taken place between the
Governor of Tauriz and the Consul of England at
that place, which, as is well known, contains a
considerable number of English. The difficulty
was regarded as the counterblow of what had
passed at Teheran between the Minister of Great
Britain and the Government of the Shah of
Persia.

A letter from Malta of the 28th, states that the
English merchants who have entered into contract
for the supply of coal to the English squadron in
different points of the Black Sea, have received
notice to prepare themselves to execute their 'con-
tracts within a very short delay. The depots of
coal are to be established at Sinope, Trebizond,
and Varna.
The Journal of St. Petersburg, of the 23d ult.,
notices as follows the articles against Russia, which
appeared in the London journals, after the receipt
of the intelligence of the affair at Sinope :—" On
the receipt of the news of the naval combat at
Sinope, the English journals published furious
articles against Russia, calling for war, and
terrible reprisals against the Russian navy. We
give the reply of the Journal des Debats to these
declamations." This paragraph is followed by the
article of the Debats, offering a sort of excuse for
the Russians, and which was noticed at the time
in the Messenger.
The Journal of St. Petersburg, of the 23d ult.,'
after stating that, from the 3d to the Bth ult., the
Turks had not made any incursions on the left
bank of the Danube, publishes as extracts from a
report of Prince Gortschakoff, a detailed account
of remarkable acts of courage displayed by different
officers and men in what the St. Petersburg jour-
nails calls " the obstinate affair of Oltenitza."

It has already been ,stated that the Emperor of
Russia has conferred the Grand Cross of the
second class of St. Vladimir on M. Stur ve, Coun-
cillor of State, director of the principal Obser-
vatory, for his services in measuring the arc of
the meridian from the Polar Sea to the Black
Sea. The Journal of St. Petersburg now an-
nounces, that, for their services in the same
affair, M. de Stang, Minister of the Interior of
Norway, has received the Order of St. Stanilas
of the first class ; Dr. Hanstean, director of the
Hydrographic Department of Norway, the Order
of St. Anne of the second class, with the insignia
in diamonds ; M. Prazmowski, first assistant of
the director of the Astronomic Observatory of
Warsaw, and M. Seelander, director of the Ob-
servatory of Stockholm, the Order of St. Anne
of the second class ; Dr. Lindhagen, assistant
to the director of the principal Observatory, the
Order of St. Vladimir of the fourth class ; Capt.
de Lund, of Norway, Lieutenant Skogmann, of
the Swedish navy, and Professor Agardh. of the
University of Lund in Sweden, the Order of St.
Anne of the third class ; and Dr. Woldstadt,
professor and director of the Observatory of
Helsingfors, and the candidate Wagner, rings set
with diamonds.

THE AFFAIR AT MATSoHIN.
A detached account of the affair at Matschin
has reached us. It appears that in the night be-
tween
the 12th and 13th December, two Russian
steamers, having six gun-boats in tow, passed
in front of Galatz on their way to Ibraila. On
the following morning, about ten o'clock, a :
heavy cannonade was heard at Galatz in the
direction of Matscbin, a Turkish town contain-
ing from 4,000 to 5,000 souls, situated about four
leagues south-east of Ibraila, in the embouchure of
one of the arms of the Danube, at the foot of a
range of mountains, where a few small breastworks
have been thrown up. According to the latest in-
formation received, the following are the cause and
circumstances of the combat which took place near
Matschin. For nearly a month the garrison of that
place, consisting of from 5,000' to 6,000 infantry
and a small detachment of cavalry, was a continual
source of annoyance to the garrison of Ibraila, by
sending out excursions of sharpshooters to attack
the Walachian outposts stationed ou an island
ePPosite the town. These outposts, eight or ten'in
in-
nu 1,
er, which com. manded a view of the Turkish
operalio -
getachmnenb,tslvere successively destroyed by small
01, the island, which, under cover of night, landed
General t...
~ surprised and set fire to their quarters.
continual u2ers, wishing to put an end to these
=ander attacks
o hal issued the order to the com-
volunteer the garrison of Ibraila to organise a
corpssharpshooterst to constitute some companies of
to make excursoi be conveyed across the right bank
But as the appe:ins in the vicinity of Matschin.
heightened, it a was feebly responded to, though
of booty in the PearB' by the prospects held out
to attempt a coup shaped of Pillage, the general resolved
the night of the 1,,,e. main against Matschin. On
landed ,
the two steamers, with the
six gun-boats,of the Danue, 2,000 'o°°° men on the right bank
garrison of Ibraila, 1,00 which belonged to the
and the remainder o the to the camp of Sereth,
little . corps, commanded 'garrison of Galatz. This
commanded
by Brighdier-General