The Sun.
London, England, 1854-09-11 00:00:00

2brit to
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SUN OFFICE, Six o'clock.

TATTERSALL'S.
(MIS EVENING.)

The most of the members having gone to Doncaster,
there was no business done.

PORTUGAL.

isl3oae arrival
, Sep .
of
Every one is eagerly expectingl
Queen Christina from Madrid. It was rumoured
yesterday that she had arrived at Elvas, and the,
palace at Belem is said to be prepared for her re-
ception. Strange vicissitudes of fortune ! Not many
years ago we beheld Espartero a fugitive. from his
native land, on board an English man-of war, the
refuge of the oppressed, not permitted to disem-
bark here from dread of the vindictiveness of the
Queen-Mother. Now she is herself exiled, and
probably indebted for her life, and escape from a
dangerous captivity, to the man whom she ruth-
lessly persecuted. It is believed that some of her
children passed through this city, under the care of
Senor Cohoa, and proceeded to England by the
Madrid steamer. Persons assert that they had an
interview with the King at the Pena convent, but
that their incognito was strictly preserved.
There is a
current rumour that the King is de-
sirous to yield up the reigns of Government to his
son as soon as public convenience will permit. He
postpones the decisions of any matters to which he
objee ts until the time when the young King shall
be able to determine It is also believed that the
dissension in the Cabinet.
is
only so
return of
the twopprices, who are
of September.ledrxepeecdtetdillhtehre
about the 10th e

RUSSIAN NEWS FROM THE WHITE SEA.

The Journal de St. Peterabourg of the 31st tilt., re'
prints from the Gazette du Gouvernment d'Archangel the
following veracious (?) article on the proceedings of the
White Sea squadron, which, to judge from the silence
of the Gazette seems to send home no account of its
operations :
" The recent naval proceedings of the English in the
Baltic and Black Sea are sufficiently notorious, and in the
opinion of all enlightened men, no matter what may be
their country, are little calculated to reflect honour on the
nation or its flag ' - but now, in the White Sea, they are
found carrying out the same system of operations. Towards
the early part of last June English ships of war were en-
countered in that sea by the captains of foreign vessels and
by our own sailors. On the 14th of that, month two
English steam frigates, and one sailing frigate arrived at
the bar of the port of Archangel. Since then they have
cruised about those waters in various directions, commit-
ting acts wholly unworthy of brave and honourable
seamen.

" Thus have we found them stopping even the craft
loaded with fish, in order to possess themselves of such
poor spoils, after which they burnt or sunk the fishing-
boats themselves. As to the masters and the crews of
larger vessels (when their bravery exercised itself upon
such), they have been left to gain the shore by tra►ersing
the swelling waves in frail boats and without provisions.
They have also seized various vessels laden with corn, and
bound for Norway from ports in the White Sea, in viola-
tiod of the solemn pledge made by their Government to
that of Sweden—a pledge which guaranteed entire liberty
of commercial intercourse between Russia and Norway-,
the latter, as is well known, receiving from us all her
supplies of wheat.

"Whenever they have seen defenceless villages on the
coasts where they were cruising they have made a pastime
of pouring in shot and shell. Witness, for example, the
village of Luzma. Not only so, but, withoutitny sense of
shame or decency, they have directed their pirnical cannon
against the monastery of Solovetsky, known throughout
all Russia, and held in the highest veneration. On the 6th
and ith July two steam-frigates poured a shower of shells
on this abode of meditation and prayer, some of the bombs
being of 401 b and 801 b. weight. On the first occasion, it is
true, the bombardment was not of long continuance. The
assailants soon launched a boat, carrying a flag of truce,
and bearing a written demand for the surrender of the con-
vent, with its guns, arms, standards, and military stores,
not forgetting the garrison—that is, invalids—who were
its inmates. But the Archimandrite Alexander, the
superior of the convent, who had formerly filled the office
of a military chaplain, and who np to 1853 had been arch-
priest of the Marine Cathedral of Solombal, sincerely loved
and respected by all who knew him, was not wanting in
his duty as a faithful son of Russia and a worthy chief of
that illustrious monastery. He rejected the dishonourable
requisition of the enemy, and defended himself bravely ac-
cording to the extent of the means at his disposal. After
the rejection of their summons the English commanders,
for nine consecutive hours, maintained a tremendous fire
on the sacred edifice, which was so protected by Provi-
dence as to sustain only inconsiderable damage. A bat-
tery, hastily constructed on a headland in the vicinity of
the channel, and mounted with three 3-pounders, com-
pelled be steam-frigates to quit their anchorage, and thus
prevented them from making any further attempt to injire
the convent, the walls of which were ancient and strongly
built.

" It is evident that nothing but covetousness incited the
English in this attack. Everybody has heard, through the
description of travellers, of the great wealth of the convent
of Solovetsky, and the English crews hoped for a splendid
prize if they could suceed in taking it. They would, never-
theless, have been egregiously mistaken in their calculations
for precautions had been previously used to place all the
treasure of the convent in a place of safety.
"Nevertheless, the enemy did not o away entirel
empty-handed. Four of the ships crew lagnded n the littley isle of Zaiatchy, one of the Solovetsky group, and having
forcibly effected an entrance into the wooden church, they
broke open the sacred door of the altar, tore the consecrated
cloth which covered it, plundered the poor-box, and also
took away three small bells from the steeple, with which
they regained their ships, which then left the channel, and
steered towards the Gulf of Onega. On the Bth of July
these same vessels were signallisod in sight of the village
of Liamitakaia, G 5 versts from Onega. The only enemies
they found here were five old men. All the other inhabi-
tants had disappeared. Raving killed two oxen, eight
sheep, and several chickens, the English threw the old
men three Russian gold pieces, of 5 roubles each, and,
loaded with provisions thus derisively paid for, they re-
turned to their ships, which on the evening of the same day
presented themselves before the Isle of Kiy, 15 versts from
Onega. In this island the English heroes covered them-
selves with new laurels. They burnt the Custom-house,
and also the buildings in which the employes and servants
resided. By the light of this conflagration they directed
their triumphant march to the convent of St. Croix,
founded in that island by the venerable patriarch Nicos.
In this ancient but poor convent they found nothing in the
shape of booty, but, to recompense themselves for their
ineffectual attempt against Solovetsky, they wished by any
means to carry away something from St. Croix. They ,
took, therefore, from the treasury ten gold pieces of five
roubles each, also several articles appertaining to the poor
brotherhood, and joined to this glorious booty a bell weigh-
ing six pounds, half-a-dozen old brass cannon, completely
useless, having been kept for 200 years as antique speci-
mens, and 15 rampart muskets of a similar kind. Such
were the precious and glorious trophies taken by the Eng-
lish in their campaign against the monastery of St. Croix.
Soon, however, they awoke to a perception of the merits
of the cannon, and, as if indignant at their blunder, they
broke one in pieces, threw three into the convent well, and
the remainder into the sea.
" Nevertheless, it must not be believed that they can
always thus act with impunity against the inhabitants of
the coasts. Desiring one day, in the village of Pousch-
lakhta, to make up the complement of the fresh provisions
which they had taken in that of Liamtsa, they were dis-
embarking under cover of their guns, and commenced, as
is their usual custom, by opening a discharge of musketry
upon the peasants. These latter, however to the number
of 23, directed by two old soldiers who had re-entered the
military service, and commanded by the Government
secretary of Volkoff, in conjunction with the chief of the
district of the domains of Kholmogory, were Rot intimi-
dated, but, on the contrary, so well returned the enemy's
fire, that five were killed on the spot, independently of the
wounded, while our compatriots were uninjured. At
length, the smallness of their number having been dis-
covered, they were obliged to beat a retreat, which they
effected with order, retiring step by step, but still ma in-
taining a resolute defence. The English, too fatigued to
pursue them further, to revenge themselves for this resist-
ance, set fire to the village, consisting of 40 houses, with
an unpretending wooden church, and then regained their
ships, carrying with them a great portion of the effects of
vil-
lage
wofoLnuhzym au,nathlereteofianshertinheeitir'snvaevsaslelsexlapdloe
the inhabitants. The next day they burnt, near the vil-
intswoifththwishdeelt.
are become the glorious actions of English sailors
scription.ch
esu
in these days !"