The Sun.
London, England, 1854-06-14 00:00:00

THE FLEET BEFORE HELSINGFORS.

The following are extracts from a letter written
by an officer of high rank ih the Baltic fleet, dated
from Barosund, some twenty miles from noising-
tors, June 6 :

"The shot that the different forts have fired at our
ships weigh upwards of . 261bs , equalling our 24-
pounders. They look ridiculously small to our enor-
mous shot, and I fancy that wounds or damage done by
them would be by the splinters they cause. One shot
pessed through a crowd of 20 men, and did not hurt one
till it struck a gun-carriage, and made splinters, which
killed one man, and knocked another over. The wounds
made by the Minis rifle ball are very severe.
" Those who do not get under fire are very impatient,
but it seems very doubtful if we shall have any general
a etion here. The Imperieuse looks in every night to
Helsingfors, and reports the state of the ships in the
harbuir in the morning. A story is current, that, under
afl of truce, a challenge will be sent in, giving them
the advantage of a ship or two, and allowing them to
state their own numbers if they accept. They are con-
foundedly good. gunners ; so perhapq you may hear of
the results of the challenge in a naval tournament.
"Tie idea of attacking the batteries of Heisingfors,
Cronstadt, or Revel, appears to be quite banished.
The war will therefore be a strict blockade. I can't see
any finish to it."

OPERATIONS ON THE CIRCASSIAN COAST.

The Afoniteur publishes the following despatch
from Vice-Admiral Hamelin, the Commander-in-
Chief of the French fleet in the Black Sea :
" Baltchick, Ville de Paris, May 25.
"Monsieur le Mimstre,—ln my preceding letters I
had the honour to inform your Excellency that reports
were current that the Russians had continued the evacua-
tion of their forts and establishments in Circassia and
Georgia, even those of Soukoum-Kalil and Redout-
Kahs, which are, however, the victualling ports of their
army in Asia, and so precious to the latter. These re-
ports have been officially confirmed by the arrival of the
French frigate Mogador, forming part of the Anglo-
French squadron sent by Admiral Dundas and my-
self to the coast of Circassia. By a report received
from the Commander of the Charlemagne, I can in-
form your Excellency that Anapa arid Sujack Bay
are the only points retained by the Russians ; the gar-
risons of these places had even been increased, and pre-
sent an effective force of 20,000 men. This concentra-
tion of forces, not far from Kertch Straits, indicates
that the enemy wishes to defend the approaches of the
Taman peninsula which command those straits. Re-
dout Kal6 was not yet completely evacuated when the
Anglo-French naval division appeared on the coast ;
but a demonstration by our vessels, and a battalion of
Turkish troops provided by Selim Pacha, sufficed to
procure us possession of the place, which was occupied
by the battalion which now forms its garrison.
" However satisfactory were these actual results, Ad-
miral Dundas and myself were informed that there was
not a moment to be lost to send a reinforcement of
Turkish troops and steamers to take possession of Sou-
koum, wherel the Circassians and Georgians were begin-
ning to dispute for the rule, and themselves called for the
assistance ofTurkish troops to take possession of localities
where the Ottoman flag already flies. Yesterday we
held a conference on this subject with Vice-Admiral
Ahmed-Pacha, and it was resolved that, considering the
urgency of the case, the steam-ship Le Sans Pareil and
two Turkish steamers should start at once to convey
troops, arms, and ammunition to Soukoum-Kal4—in a
word, all that Ahmed-Pacha himself might judge it suit-
able to send there.

" Y our Excellency will therefore see that matters
have taken a favourable turn on the Georgian and Circas-
sian coast►►, where the Ottoman flag will not fail to float
everywhere where it floated before.
" Bardan has been selected as the point where we
shah enter into regular communication with Schamy
and his delegates.—l am, &c.,
(Signed)

"Hamm."

THE PRUSSIAN LOAN.

A letter from Berlin, in the Borsenhalle of Ham-
burg, says :—" The mobilisation of the army is
resolved on. But only a part of it will be placed
on a war footing. The loan of 30,000,000 thalers
is about to be issued. The bill respecting it has
received the sanction of the King on the proposition
of the Minister of War."

TUNIS.
A letter from Tunis says :—" The expedition
which the Bey is preparing for the war in the East
will be composed of five vessels of war and 10,000
men of regular troops, but the departure will not
take place until after the Ramadan, that is to say
at the commencement of July. It is said that in
order to meet the expenses of this expedition, the
Government has proposed to sell 6,000 couffes of
corn of the coming crop, and 20,000 metals of oil.
The troops destined for the expedition are infantry
and artillery, under the orders of Sidi Serschidi.
The purchase of horses by English officers continues.
On May 22, the Bey left Mahamedia for the Go-
letta, where he is to pass the summer."

CO-OPERATION OF DENMARK WITH THE

WESTERN POWERS.
A letter from Copenhagen, of the 7th, in the
Moniteur, says—" In consequence of the notifica-
tion from her Britannic Majesty to the Danish Go-
vernment of the blockade of all the Russian ports
on the Baltic, on the Gulf of Finland, and on the
Gulf of Bothnia, the Danish journals of this day
contain an official announcement of the same from
the department of Foreign Affairs, and which ter-
minates with these words—' Any vessel attempting
to break the blockade will be seized."?

GREECE.
Friendly relations between Greece•and the West-
ern Powers have been re-established.
Suli and Laki have submitted to Fuad Effendi.
They now will march against the insurgents.
It is stated, says a Constantinople letter of the
Ist June, that in the neighbourhood of Samos the
number of pirates continues to increase. Within
the last few days a number of Greeks have quitted
tha island, some to betake themselves 'to this despe-
rate life, others to swell the bands of the Thessalian
insurgents. A kind of propaganda is being carried on
through the islands of the Asiatic coast by the emis-
saries of the Hetceria. One Heracles, who had been
expelled from Samos two months since for endea-
venting to excite a movement among the po-
pulation, has returned clandestinely, and is hid,
probably in expectation that a favourable moment
is at hand for revolutionising the island, which has
always been one of the most turbulent in the Ar-
chipelago. There are four large pirate vessels in
the neighbourhood, and their crews receive acces-
sions from the inhabitants of the villages on the
coast. The vessels pass boldly up and down before
the island, and the crews land to carry on depre-
dations, without the possibility of hindrance from
the authorities. In the neighbourhood of Rhodes
Admiral Le Barbier de Tinan has captured a boat
with four persons, supposed to belong to a piratical
crew. • He landed them, and continued the search.
The islands and harbours of the south-west coast
of Asia Minor have always been favourite resorts
of these corsairs. They are well wooded, and a
craft can lie hid far within one of the narrow gulfs,
safe from the pursuit of all who are not thoroughly
acquainted with the spot which she has chosen for
a refuge.