The Sun.
London, England, 1854-03-29 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, MARCH 29,

were presented authorising loans or the imposition
of extraordinary taxes •in the towns of Saumur,
Orleans, Alby, and Dunkirk, in the commune of
Aix-la-Chapelle, and in the departments of the
Gers, Maine-et-Loire, Yonne, and Loire-Inferieure.
The Minister of State was then introduced with the
usual ceremony, and, in the name of the Emperor,
read to the Chamber the following message :

SHARE MARKETS.

(THIS DAY.)

BRITISH RAILWAYS.

Closing Prices
yesterday.

Business done
this day.

" Messieurs les D6put4s—The Government of the
Emperor and that of her Britannic Majesty had declared
to the Cabinet of St. Petersburgh that if the difference
with the Sublime Porte was not replaced in a purely
diplomatic position, in the same way as if the evacuation
of the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia was not
commenced immediately and terminated by a given day,
they would see themselves forced to consider a negative
reply or silence as a declaration of war. The Cabinet
of St. Petersburgh having decided not to reply to the
communication thus made, the Emperor charges me to
inform you of that determination, which places Russia
with respect to us in a state •f war, the whole responsi-
bility of which appertains to that power."
The moment the Hon. Minister concluded, the
loudest acclamations arose from every part of the
Chamber. The President then rose, and after
having formally acknowledged the reception of the
message just delivered, said :
" The Emperor may reckon on the unanimous co-ope-
ration of the Legislative body as on that of the whole of
France."

Fresh acclamations greeted the assurance thus given
by the Hon. President. The proceedings then ter-
minated, amidst reiterated cries of Vive l'Empereur !
At three o'clock the Minister proceeded to the
Senate to make the same declaration. It was
greeted there, as in the Legislative Chamber, by a
unanimous assent with the loudest acclamations.
The President then said :

" The Senate gives a formal acknowledgment to the
Minister of State of the communication which he has
just made in the name of the Government, and which it
has listened to with a profound sentiment of most entire
and most devoted co-operation. I think I express the
unanimous feeling of the Senate in adding that it con•
fides fully in the Emperor, who will know how to con-
duct the war with the ability and energy which have so
eminently distinguished the negociations. The commu-
nication of his Excellency the Minister of State shall be
inserted in the minutes of our proceedings, and the ori-
ginal shall be deposited in the archives."
The Senate hailed these words of the President
with unanimous cries of Vive l'Empereur
It is believed that, notwithstanding the order
issued by the Emperor Nicholas, recalling to their
own country the Russians residing in France,
there are still a considerable number in Paris, and
who, not having property to be confiscated in Rus-
sia, will not leave this country, of which they in
some sort consider themselves natives. The last
Russian Consul, M. d'Ebeling, leaves Paris to-day.

It is said that a contract has been entered into
with the Government for the transport of 2,400
English horses by the Lyons Railroad.
Every one was taken by surprise immediately
after the proceedings in the Senate on Monday by
the announcement made by the Minister of State
with respect to the declaration of war. The only
sitting of the Legislative Corps announced was in
its bureaux, and the Senate was not summoned at
all. The consequence was that messengers had to
be despatched in every direction for a few members
of both houses ; but, notwithstanding these efforts,
very few members were present in either house
when M. Fould read the passage.
Some doubt is entertained if the French Govern-
ment is quite so well prepared for commencing the
war as has been generally supposed. It appears
that the embarkation of the troops is proceeding
with much less alacrity than could be desired ; and
delays have occurred, not only at Toulon and Mar-
seilles, but in Algeria. Besides this, the troops which
have embarked have been rather unfortunate. The
Veloce and another, which accompanied the Chris-
tophe Colomb, encountered a violent gale in the Gulf
of Lyons, and were obliged to put back to Toulon.
The Veloce is so much damaged that she will have
to be laid up. The troops and officers who were
on board of these two ships have been disembarked,
and are now waiting a passage by some other
means. The French Baltic squadron is also far
from being in a forward state. So badly off is the
Minister of the Marine for ships, that he has been
obliged to detach the Henry IV., and four other
ships from the Levant fleet. They have received
orders to return to Brest forthwith, to be placed
under the command of Admiral Parseval Des-
ch e snes "

On Monday evening M. de Hatzfeld, the Prussian
Minister, was received by the Emperor in a private
audience, for the purpose of delivering an autograph
letter from the King of Prussia, which had arrived
in Paris that morning. He remained for an hour
with the Emperor.

A report was current here yesterday and Monday,
which, strange as it may appear, it is right to
mention. It is said that certain members of the
Senate and of the Legislative Corps have conferred
together on the propriety of offering a dictatorial
power to the Emperor during the continuance of the
war. A meeting of members of the two Chambers
took place on Monday evening (the report goes),
at which was discussed the best mode of draw-
ing up a proposition for the suspension of the ordi-
nary laws, and the establishment of a dictatorship.
Persons who are well informed seem to think that
this project is not without chances of being carried
out.

The committee to inquire into the affair of M. de
Montalembert has at length, after a great number
of sittings, nominated its reporter. It is M. Periet,
whose opinion has been always considered favour-
able to M. de Montalembert, inasmuch as he is
against granting the required authorisation to pro-
secute.

The fall of English Consols, and the official an-
nouncement of the state of war, produced a general
decline yesterday on the Bourse. The Three per
Cents closed at 62f. 40c. for the end of the month ;
and the Four-and-a-Half per Cents. at 89f. 25c. ;
Orleans Railway Shares, 1,040 f. ; Rouen, 830 f. ;
Havre, 425 f. ; Great Northern, 705 f. ; Strasburg,
680 f. ; New Shares, 505 f. ; Lyons to Paris, 780 f. ;
Lyons to the Mediterranean, 637 f. 50c. ; Western
of France, 555 f. ; Bordeaux to Cette, 510 f. ;
Great Central of France, 400 f. ; Lyons to Geneva,
420 f. ; Bank of Credit Mobilier, 492 f. 50c.