The Sun.
London, England, 1854-05-16 00:00:00

POLICY OF SWEDEN.

The following is from a letter, dated Stockholm,
May 6 :
"Now that Sir Charles Napier's squadron has left
Elfsnabben Bay, as well as the friendly inhabitants of
the adjacent group of Swedish Tolands—a significant and
eventful departure—the people of this kingdom, influ-
enced by alternate hopes and fears, are anxiously and
eagerly inquiring what their King will do ? That mo-
narch is still a popular one, for the Swedes are attached
to the new dynasty of their choice, and his present Ma-
jesty is deserving of their esteem and affection. He is a
man of deep reflection, of much amiability of disposition,
of generous purposes, and even of high literary attainments.
The important reforms which he effected in the beginning
of his reign, notwithstanding the opposition of a power-
ful and long sustained absolutist Camirilla, will never
be forgotten. It was he who mitigated the unreason-
able severity of some penal laws--his work on prison
reform is a master one, both in argument and style, who
abolished the oppressive privileged tribunals, and who
introduced a beneficial change into the law regulating
the distribution of family property. He was, moreover,
a zealous advocate of parliamentary reform, and of a
liberal system of commercial policy. On the whole,
King Oscar is a distinguished and enlightened sovereign,
arid, unlike his father, who never could abandon his
French habits, customs, and opinions, he is a thorough
Swede.

" Unfortunately, the old advisers of Bernadotte
(King Charles XIV.) were allowed to regain by
degrees a portion of their former influence, an influ-
ence of which they were for a time totally deprived
on the accession of King Oscar, in 1844. It is no
secret that the Russian court bad succeeded in
moderating the reforming ardour of the Swedish
monarch, and the events of 1848, which led to some
popular excesses even in this capital, were converted
by the wily Czar into so many lessons for his Swedish
neighbour and distant relative. All this implies that
King Oscar has not been able or willing to fulfil many
of his promises of further reforms, and at the same time
shows how necessary it is for Sweden to shake off, once
and for ever, the deadening influence of Russia, if the
former desire to be, as it deserves to be, a truly indepen-
dent country. And shortly will the opportunity be
afforded—one which Sweden did not create—and which,
if neglected, may never return. Already are the future
political and social destinies of this country in the hands
of its own people—of its King and his subjects. Sweden
has been ere now a great and a glorious state, and its
vital powers are still sound. A noble future awaits it
as one of the bulwarks of European civilisation and
liberty against Muscovite barbarism and despotism ;
but, to remain long such a bulwark, it is essential for
Sweden to aid in defeating and chastising the great
enemy of mankind.
" That the court still hesitates may be for the moment
excused, at least interpreted in no unfriendly manner.
The time for Sweden to not may not, in the opinion of

that court, have yet arrived. It may think that, under
present circumstances, all that can be expected from I
is to be still active in its military and naval preparations
—to be still ready to concentrate, when needed, troops
in any menaced or exposed portion of the Swedish tern'
tory, and to remain on terms of friendship with Eng'
land and England's representative in the Baltic. CI;
tain it is that if the day far Sweden to declare itsei
openly for the Western Powers should shortly arrive,
the King would very soon have appropriate councillors
at his side, and a gallant and well-disciplined army to
execute his and their resolutions.
" Englishmen must not attach any great importan!e
to the maintaining of the present Swedish Cabinet 1:
power. Ministers here are scarcely anything
head-clerks of their respective departments, and this 1_
particularly the case with reference to the Minister f!.1:
Foreign Affairs, the 11th and 12th articles of the COns.°
eetissrs
tution virtually intrusting to the Sovereign the
management of those affairs. It is King Oscar wh°,o
old Louis Philippe wished to do, regne gouverne• t
word, it is to King Oscar, and to him alone, we mus
more thns
look for the solution of the great question for Sweden
Shall it form an alliance offensive and defensive with the
Western Powers ? I believe, too, we may confidenq
look to him. Public opinion is clearly and resolutely!!
favour of England ; the great majority of the public icTr„
nals both of Sweden and Norway are openly denounlist,
the present neutrality as untenable ; three out of the Otes
orders composing the Swedish Diet would record 0.0
for an alliance with the foes of Russia, and the inaPriu'r
(if the Norwegian Storthing are enthusiastically on e
side. Under all these circumstances, we may well PPe
and certain facts have arisen of late to render that PP;
loubly sure, to see his Swedish Majesty at the head
Da
his people in close union with those of Great Britain
France."
The following is from Copenhagen, dit'a
May 9 :
" Calskrona harbour now offers a picturesque Idgbtit;
Not less than eleven armed ships are lying there-4.,„
Norwegian and seven Swedish. The former are co
inanded by Rear-Admiral Hesselberg, the latter by W.:l',/
Admiral Krusenstjerna. Prince Oscar is on board
Swedish frigate, CarI.XIII.
" The Prussian vessels Gefion and Mercur have pass
the Sound, were saluted from Kronborg, and have P-
ceeded up the Baltic.
It is rumoured that Wendes' artillery regiment vitt
immediately marchto Stockholm, and that a considerf‘x
force will be stationed along the Finnish border, e`-
Haparanda.
" A well-known Swedish author, John F. Lundt
has just expired. His histories of Charles X., °!,l'.
vus, and Charles XII. are well-known, and have g's"
merit.
"According to the last accounts, the English geet'
strengthened by the Au,terlitz, and now numberil
nearly thirty sail, left Elfsnabben on the sth, it is °go
in search of the Helsingfors fleet, which will try to I:
over to Cronstadt.
" Efforts are being made to expedite the F1en5,,,b,,11.
Railway along the whole line, from Rendsborg and
laj
ning, so that it may be opened by the King's birth to
(October 6). There are some hopes of continuing*
line northwards, notwithstanding the unfavotiraw
aspect of political affairs. bill
" The English fleet is still at Elfsnabben, and is
Joined by a vessel or two. Visits by strangers C"
tinue. The other day a steamer brought a whole Paris
from Nykoping. Among the passengers was a Cal' Viet,
H., who had formerly served under Admiral Nal'ty
Sir Charles received them most kindly, and, le
hair
course of conversation, it came out that one of the laul
visitors, a Countess Hamilton, was a distant relative
the Admiral.
" Mr. Freeland, an officer of the Royal George,
obre,P
suddenly expired of apoplexy. He was buried on eihy,
the Swedish population showing the noblest symlntoe
This has led to the following paragraph in the ly the
bladet, of the sth ; An Englishman begs, froei.oh.
bottom of his heart, and in the name of the whole 131101
fleet, to express his gratitude for the warm syelPeLie
which dictated, and the accomplished hand which r-01
the beautiful inscription over Freeland's grave. „ to
course I cannot explain the particular eircuinstane"
which reference is here made. 1 (18
" Helsingfors is now quite open. Lieut.-Genera '
Junker will command the troops stationed in 1ri,"„,4
,7'
The export from Finland of corn, flour, Sec., is forbidue4
Courier posts are now daily expedited from Abo to
Petersburg, calling at KaHs, Helsingfors, Borgi3,e'rn;
visa, Fredrikshamn, and Viborg. M. Brassier de
Simon, Prussian Minister at Stockholm, has been
called, and will probably succeed Baron von Werther
Copenhagen, who goes to St. Petersburg. The 80,,.51
Society of Northern Antiquities has just held its arin:tyr
meeting at the Palace of Christiansborg, his Ma.le",
the King in the chair. An English screw-liner I',.
passed the Belt, going south. A large quantity of 0°51',1
it is said from 20,000 to 30,000 barrels, is stored at -or,
for the use of the fleet ; whether it will also provielp
there is uncertain. Meantime, speculation is eetive;g
this direction, and prices are rising. The calculatt
machine invented by the Swedish mechanician 50111.6.
has been tried in the presence of a great number °
cial people, and found to answer admirably." de
A few days back some experiments were 1:6130
on the Hazenheide here of firing six mines tic
distance of 3,000 feet by means of an eleo'ot
battery and wire. A number of military officers re
high rank were present, and the experiments wee
pronounced to have been eminently seeeese4n;
The method here observed by Herr Siemens, e'ig
ex-artillery officer, and now telegraph engineer:ho
described to be the same as that adopted by
Emperor of Russia, at the suggestion of PeefeSs°-
Jacobi in St. Petersburg, for the defence of Cr°ll'
stadt. It is affirmed that there is positive inforillr
tion here of these metal caissons havino• been Pl.‘e
a4'
Revel, pared for the roads of Sweaborg and Rev, as well
of Cronstadt; the caissons are kept ready chargee
with powder, and will only be lowered into til
channel when an attack on the part
0;
of the fleets
4
seems certain. The wires inserted in these cai
will be brought into connexion with battetieg:he
land, and two telescopes will be so adjusted ill "of
fortress as that the bisection of their two liae%o
sight will correspond with the spot where the ramlie
is sunk. The moment when a ship becomes vis'"„t
to both observers will correspond with the moree:"
is.
when the vessel is just over the combustible ca'-'
sons.

tijo
Among other quiet preparations for war that are
ir
being made at Berlin is the manufacture of a nu
ber of red lanterns, which are to be used oil
evening and night of a battle to indicate the sitir
tion of hospitals and ambulances, by suspells'oll
on long poles over those spots.

RUSSIA.
'de
So little does the Russian Government cons', itg
St. Petersburg secure from attack, in despite °Jibe
almost impregnable bulwark at the mouth of to
Neva, that extraordinary precautions are tab
010
almost as if an enemy menaced the place. °°oo4
of the great barracks are so filled with troops
itt,
to necessitate the neighbouring houses being cAt
ployed for the purpose of billting soldiers. be
Revel, where a bombardment is apprehended, deg
governor, General Berg, has placed the fire brig 3 ji,
under the command of General Vogt, and hag ti
vided the city into seven districts, each furniBup
7be
with a fire brigade and requisite engines ; whilst "ts,
attention of these brigades, and of the inlia,bitao,o6
is specially called to eighteen different spots wh,
are regarded as most exposed to danger from
tile shot. There is no lack of patriotic denstirr%e
for war purposes, or to, the invalid funds. The
celebrated convent of the Holy Trinity,in
diocese of Moscow, has sent 50,000 silver rono'vet.
through the Metropolitan, for the pgrpose of erto
ing Christian temples within the conquered Turijill
territory ; and Count Scheremetieff, Cliambere'er
to the Emperor, has handed over 150,000 oi,l'vto
roubles, the interest of which is to be devoted
the support of invalid soldiers.
The Russian journals announce that the Russian
Government has decided that all the storehons et%
magazines, and works of defence which had bee
o.
destroyed by the combined fleets, shall be rec°lo..
strutted at the expense of the town. These P, of
nals add, hypocritically, that the GovernreeTntio
the Czar yields in this matter to the pat'''.
wishes of the inhabitants of Odessa. og'
Several German journals announce that the—the
lish corvette, the Amphion, had been taken Uinta
Russians near Revel, and that all the ere( TV
been sent prisoners of war to St. Petersburg.. to
last news from the Baltic allows a contradiction
be given to this report. • 05
A letter from Cracow of the 9th, in the in
Deutsche Post, of Vienna, says :—" It is eery
that a Russian corps, about 2,000 strong, ac' dg
panied by artillery and stores, is marching tow_ to
our frontier, and is on the road from Warsavliieli
Kielic. The vacancy in the see of Cracow, 1"1,0
has existed since the death of the last bishoP, free,
not yet been filled up. When Cracow was n
town, the three protecting Powers had the 'iglht
oo°
nominating and confirming the bishop ; but, :or,
Cracow has been a fort of the Austrian EulPtien.
Austria claims the sole right of notilinaosi-
Russia, however, protests against this, as a c, are
derable part of the estates of the bishopric
situated in Poland." the
le
The Moniteur of yesterday publishes a the
from the Russian frontier, which says that ex
levies of troops have ceased throughout thcozar
pire ; they amount to 200,000 men." The The
seems to have done all he can in this waY... aie
writer goes on to say :—" The principal arinie,.' the
stationed in columns along the frontiers e'eye
south and the north-west. The different r,es• yr.
corps are concentrated around Moscow and -11'1e
There are 50,000 men now in Poland."

BOMBARDMENT OF ODESSA. ii,A
ODESSA, April 30.—The damage done by 1';
bombardment to the Government property is 1.61

greater than is enerll d
y suppose .
The Invalideg
Bussae, of May 3, publishes tsce
new reports from General Osten-Stickers, relativ:
to the bombardment of Odessa. They are 5
follow :
" No. 1. REPORT OF Apart 25.—To-clay the Egl.ijj
and French fleets have not only undertaken anY thl
against Odessa, but continue to look on at the svemilq s
1712icla we mode on en ntOlakiTO Oftle. and 49- 1-1°.1.7-