The Sun.
London, England, 1854-04-05 00:00:00

CONSTANTINOPLE.

CONSTANTINOPLE, March 27.—A great council
has been held to-day, on the subject of Greece.
M. Metaxas, the Minister from King Otho to the
Sultan, has received his passports, and all foreign
Greeks are to be sent from Turkey.

Nechet Bey, the Turkish Minister at Athens, has
returned from Greece.

All political and commercial relations between
Turkey and Greece are broken off.

! The steam-vessels of war Samson and Cacique
have, by mistake, bombarded a position occupied
by the Circassians.
There is a rumour that the endowments of the
mosques are to be made national property.
By letters from the Black Sea fleet, we learn that
Captain Brock has been out to correct the sound-
ings in the Black Sea, which he found anything
but accurate. He had the assistance of all the
masters of the fleet, and made quick work of it.
He is now away in a steam-frigate, reconnoitring
the Russian ports, probably to discoVer where the
missing Russian ships have gone to. Weather,
bitterly cold. Thermometer, 29 deg. Fleet,
healthy.

SMYRNA, March 29.—A violent earthquake was
felt yesterday.
A letter from Constantinople, of the 20th, in-
forms us that, immediately atter the return of the
Retribution, English frigate, and the Caton, French
corvette, from their voyage to the mouths of the
Danube, the two admirals sent off the Caradoc
with despatches for the Russian authorities at Su-
lina, demanding that the obstructions should be
removed, and all merchant vessels in that part
of the Danube be allowed to navigate freely.
After leaving the Sulina, the Retribution and
Caton proceeded to Sebastopol, and ascertained
that the Russian fleet had not moved. Their
report on the subject arrived at the very moment
when the squadrons at Beycos were making pre-
parations for departure, in order to look after the
Russian fleet, which some masters of merchant ves-
sels pretended to have seen at sea. The two English
and French frigates, the Samson and Cacique, which
returned on the 19th from the coast of Circassia, saw a
division of seven Russian frigates which bore away
from them, and, at another time, a brig, which the
bad weather prevented them from boarding. From
the accounts brought by the Cacique and the 'Sam-
son, it appears that the Russians have evacuated
and destroyed all the small fortresses which they
had constructed and occupied on the coast of Al-
basia ; they only retain the two most important.
The ships of the allied powers put themselves in com-
munication with the Circassians, who are at pre-
sent in an extraordinary state of agitation, and
promise to recommence hostilities more warmly
than ever the moment the find weather returns,
and particularly so if they are supplied with
arms and ammunition. The news of the pas-
sage of the Danube by the Russians had not
reached Constantinople when the letters of the
20th left, but the last despatches from Omer
Pacha announced that such a movement was
very probable, and mentioned that he was also
about to effect a very important operation. He
was preparing to leave Schumla with all his staff,
but the direction he intended to take was not
a
known. The news of the affair at Turtukai had
reached Constantinople, but it was considered that
the attack, though attended with severe loss, was
only intended to conceal other movements of the
Russians. The order of the Russian Government

prohibiting the export of corn had had the effect
of reducing the price of wheat at Odessa from 26
paper roubles to 10, and even at that price there
were no buyers.

Another letter from Constantinople of the 20th
says the departure of the Sultan for the army is
definitively fixed for the sth May. If his Minis-
ters accompany him, the corps diploinatique will
follow.

A letter from Trebizond, of the 15th ult., states
that five vessels bad just ,arrived there with 20
pieces of artillery and a quantity of ammunition for
Kars.

A letter from Trieste, 30th ult., states that three
Sardinian merchants at Odessa, who had made
some observations on the Government, had been
expelled.

MONTENEGRO.
The A gram Gazette states that a courier from St.
Petersburg had arrived at Cettinje in 12 days,
bearing positive orders for the Montenegrins to
attack the Turkish province of Herzegowina.
From Vienna it is announced that Russian cou-
riers are passing in rapid succession between Rus-
sia and Montenegro.