The Sun.
London, England, 1854-04-07 00:00:00

PROPOSALS OF THE GERMAN POWERS.

The following is from the Times' Correspondent,
in that capital, in his letter dated yesterday, 6
p.m. :—lt is stated in Paris that a communica-
tion, forwarded from the King of Prussia, and em-
bodying the terms of the propositions brought by
Prince George of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, from St.
Petersburg, has been made to the British Govern-
ment and rejected. It is not gate certain whether
a similar communication has been made here,
but if it should be made no doubt is entertained
that it will meet with the same fate. Even sup-
posing these propositions to be founded on a sin-
cere desire for peace, which there is every reason
to doubt, it is felt that the time at which they
could have bemi accepted has long since passed by.
The points touched on in the communication of the
Prince, are believed to be more developed in the
conversation which followed the presenting of the
Imperial missive than in the document itself. But
whether in the letter or in conversation with the
Austrian Ambassador, the following are said to be
the leading points :—the approbation by Austria
of the policy and measures adopted by the French
and English Governments, up to the latest period;
a detailed explanation of the reasons, founded on
the diversity of German interests, which have
hitherto prevented Austria from entering on a more•
decided action; hopes held out, if not a piomise
given, that within a period, not fit distant,
Austria will assume a more decided attitude. The
" period, not far distant," must have reference to
some contingency, and that contingency is pre-
sumed to be the further advance of the Russian
army into the Turkish territory. Indeed, it is
added, that, either in the letter or in the conversa-
tion, it was stated that so long as the Russians re-
mained on the left bank of the Danube Austria
would have continued to maintain her neutrality ;
but that the Russians having passed the Danube
Austria would send an army of observation on the
frontier of Servia and Bosnia ; and that if they
passed the Balkans, then, indeed, Austria would re-
• main no longer in bservation I,ut would co-operate
with England and France. Nor are all hopes of Prus-
ia given up, for there are indications that that Power
will before long assume an attitude befitting a
great and independent nation. I have heard it
stated this day on the authority of a letter from
Berlin, proceeding from a distinguished personage,
that when matters come to the point, to which, by
the way, they have very nearly reached, Prussia
will not go against France and England. For
some days past matters wore a gloomy aspect,—to-
day all appears couleur de rose, and confidence in
the union of the great Powers against the common
offender is high indeed. We have intelligence that
the fleets have again entered the Black Sea. If
they fall in with the Russian squadron there can
be no doubt entertained of a collision, and a colli-
sion with the defeat of the enemy will seriously in-
terfere with the semi-pacific intentions attributed
very recently to the Czar.
On the same subject, the Paris correspondent
of the' Morning Chronicle writes :—" The autograph
letter written by the Emperor of Austria to the
Emperor of the French, together with the mission
of the Dake de Mecklenburg to Berlin, has once
more raised a faint hope that, after all, peace may
not be disturbed ; and that it will be seen that the
effect has been a considerable improvement in con-
fidence at the Bourse. But it is to be feared that
these expectations are once more doomed to disap-
pointment. As far as regards the letter from the
Eiriperor of Austria to Napoleon, believe I can
assure you that it contains nothing decisive as to
the part to be taken by the Austrian Cabinet in the
event of hostilities actually commencing. The
tone of the letter is very amicable as regards
Napoleon himself, and reiterates the approba-
tion of his Majesty as to the course followed
throughout the transaction, both by England and
France. But the Emperor does not give the most
remote hint as to what he will do • himself.. He
merely holds out the hope that a still more complete
understanding may exist between himself and thr.
Western Powers, and hints at tile possibility of a
common action as soon as circumstances will
permit. In short, the policy adopted by Austria,
Lot only as shown by this letter, but as it is to be
gathered from recent events, is this, that she dis-
approves of the conduct of Russia, but will not for
the present join the allies against the Czar ; but
that if the efforts of the Western Powers should be
successful, Austria will then join them in forcing
Russia to make peace."
A letter from Berlin of the 3d, in the Cologne
Gazette, Dias the fell, wing on the statement that
Russia has made, through the Duke of Mecklen-
burg Strelitz, new propositions of arrangement
" The opinion of intelligent people is that the real
object of the Czar is to embarrass the diplomatic negoti-
ations between Prussia and Austria. Nevertheless, at
St. Petersburg as at Berlin, it is perfectly known that
the Western Powers, on their part, will not allow them-
selves to be tricked, and that they will only make peace
on condition of obtaining solid guarantees for the
future."

The Universal German Gazette declares, on the
authority of a letter from Vienna of the Ist, that
the rumour that the Austrians have marched on
Belgrade, is totally unfounded. It adds that the
march of the troops was continuing.
The Deutsche Volkshalle announces that, on the
convocation of the Chamber of Commerce of Cre
feldt, an assembly of delegates of all the Rhenish
chambers of commerce was to be held at Dussel-
dorff, in order to draw up an address to the King,
pointing out the injury which would result to the
Rhenish provinces from a rupture with the Western
Powers.

The Courrier de Marseille gives the following news
brought by the Caradoc, which left Constantinople
on the 26th. The day before the departure of the
combined fleets for Varna, the Mogador and Inflexi-
ble, French and English steam frigates, left for same
place, with 1,000 Ottoman troops armed with Minie
rifles to reinforce the garrison. The object of the
combined fleets was, it is stated, to support the
operations of the Turks, and to attack, if necessary,
the Russian fleet, which had been seen by several
ships near Varna, for the purpose of supporting the
movements of Prince Gortschakoff. The Sampson
and Cacique steamers, during their last cruise, saw
the Russians burn and blow up a certain number
of fortresses on the coast of Asia ; they also saw
the Circassians enter and pillage Soubachi after it
bad been set fire to and abandoned by the Rus-
sians. Sotclia met with a similar fate. They
visited in succession Bombary, PsizouaPi, Galindzik,
and Loujak-Bey. The fort of Pshad was on fire,
and had been also pillaged. The Circassians, with
whom the frigates communicated, stated that
Schamyl was in the South with 40,000 men, and, only
waited for instructiors to act. The Russians were
making great preparations at Anapa, and repairing
all the fortifications. The Russians on.all the coast
Were in a state of extraordinary panic. . A _to

sight of the steamers, they fire I guns to warn the
neighbouring forts to put themselves on the defen-
sive. Soukoum Kale appears to be the place which
the Russitins intend to make the centre of their
operations. The accounts from Malta by the Ca-
radoc are to the 30th ult. Vessels were every day
arrivkg there from Toulon and Algiers with troops.
When the vessels having them on' board passed the
English transports, there was an exchange of bur-.
raps, and the "Marseillaise" and the " Chant du
Depart" responded to by "God Save the Queen"
and " Rule Britannia." Up to the 30th ult. the
English forces which' had arrived there amounted
to 422 officers, and 11,577 non-commissioned officers
and privates. The order for all the troops to pro-
ceed to the Dardanelles had been received, and the
movement was commencing.
A Constantinople letter states that considerable
surprise has been excited in that city at the news
of the abandonment by the Russians of several im-
portant points on the coast of Circa.sia, as they
were well fortified, and had large garrisons.
A hasty despatch received at Malta states that a
steamer making for Constantinople had been nearly
wrecked oil the Island of Mitelene. The pilot was
a Greek, and it was suspected that, knowing there
-was on board the vessel a large sum of money for
the use of the Tursish Government, he purposely
brought the ship and her treasure into danger.
It is asserted from Odessa that there are 30,000
soldiers at Sebastopol; the fortifications on the land
side are pushed forward with vigour.
The Coiogne Gazette, under date of St. Peters-
burg, 29th ult., says :—" Ain Imperial rescript
addressed to the Governor-General of Finland, is
thus conceived :

" ' When I visited Finland at the beginning of the
month. I felt myself deeply affected at the j..yful wel-
come given to me by all classes in my Grand Duchy,
which is very dear to me. I found in the general de-
votedness which was -manifested a testimony which was
the echo of my cordial sympathy. It was equally agree-
able to me to see that all the authorities and the people
rivalled each other in promoting the development of the
welfare of the country. I had long' before been aware
that this constant object of my solicitude was favoured
by the exalted morality of the people deeply penetrated
with a sense of their duties and conscientious in the ful•
filment of them. I have never doubted the sentiments
of loyalty of my faithful Finlanders, and I charge you
to express to them the sentiments of Any sincere grati-
tude and of my unchangeable kindness towards them.
" St. Petersburg, March.'" " NICHOLAS.'

The Emancipation, of Brussels publishes the fol-
lowing extract of a letter addressed by a German,
to one of his political frienls iu the Belgian
capital :
Whatever may be the sensation produced in Ger-
many by the diplomatic revelations of France and Eng-
land, a still deeper one may, perhaps, be caused by the
approaching publication in the Journal de St. Pet ersbourg
of a correspondence exchanges: between personages still
more elevated than MM. Russell, Seymour, and Nes-
selrnde. This information has reached us from Vienna,
where the Russian Ambassador announced the publica-
tion as a threat against England. I might tell you more,
but for the present content yourself ,with this, which is
strictly true, although it may appear to you rather enig-
matical."

FRANCE.
Some doubts are expressed whether the English
soldiers, so long and so earnestly expected, will
pass through Paris. The great obstacle is the
insufficiency of water in the Rhone, and particu-
larly at Valence. The boats have been much re-
tarded on their way down the river, and a telegra-
phic despatch, received from Valence, from a pri-
vate traveller, mentions the stoppage.
A gentleman, who has returned from a lengthened
visit in the central parts of France, mentions that
on his journey to Paris ho mots crowds of 3 01111,1 re-
cruits traversing the country in all directions to
join their respective corps. The first pang of part-
ing from their families and friends was naturally
bitter enough, but they had been scarcely a day
on the road when the gaiety of the Erench characl
ter returned, and most of those he met were singing
the couplets latley composed for street vocalists, all
of course relating to the war, and predicting defeat
to the Cossacks. As they encountered each other
on the road, cries of " Vive mpereur," " A bas
les Busses" were loud and frequent.
The Greek Church in Paris is rather thinly at-
tended since the departure of the Russians ; yet
prayers continue to be offered up for the Czar, and
during the mass the prayer, which is not a short one,
is repeated not less than four times. It is plated
that, on a recent occasion, his Imperial Majesty
requested the Holy Synod, of which one. of his
aides-de-camp is the President, to shorten tie mass
as much as possible. He was told that of
.course
it could be done, but that the service was length-
ened by the prayers for his Majesty and the
Princes ; if these could be abridged or left out, the
mass would be very brief indeed. This, however,
the Czar would not listen to, and the service re-
mains uncurtailed.

The Legislative Body had submitted to it yes-
terday a bill increasing to 140,000 men, instead of
80,000, the number of recruits of the class of 1853.
Prince Napoleon sets out on the 9th for the
Army of the East. He will arrive on the 10th at
Lyons, on the 11th at Valence, on the 12th at
Avignon, on the 13th at Marseilles, and on the
morning of the 14th at Toulon.

Marshal St. Arnaud leaves on Monday for Mar-
seilles, where he purposes staving about ten days.
The Moniteur contains a long report from the
Minister of the Interior to the Emperor on the em-
ployment cf part of the credit of 10,000,000 fr.
allowed for the improvement of the lodgings Of
workmen in large manufacturing towns, by the
decrees of the 22,1 January and the 27th March,
1852. It states that a 'subvention of 200,000 fr.
has been granted to the " Cite Napoleon," is
Paris, the first workmen's lodging-house that
was built ; that Messrs. Pereire have contracted '
to build workmen's lodging-houses to the •
amount of 4,550,000 fr., on condition of re;
ceiving a subvention from the government equal
to one-third of the expense, and that they have
already constructed two large buildings, one at
La Chapelle, and the other at the Batignolles, in
which they are bound to let single bed-rooms
for unmarried men at 20c. a-night, and apartments
for married couples at 7f. 50c. par supertLial yard
per annum ; that M. de Heckeren, senator, and M.
Kenaard have also contracted to build lodging-
houses to the amount of 4,140,000 L, on receiving
a subvention equal to one-third of the expense, and
that they are raising a vast edifice in the Rue do
Montreuil ; anti that Messrs. Puteaux, who have
obtained a recompence for the first plans, have
already built four houses on the Boulevard
Mazas, and are constructing six others at the
Batignolles and at Grenelle. The report further
states that, in addition to this, workmen's
lodging-houses have been built and grants made
at Ka-seines and Mulhouse ; and that arrange-
ments are in progress for building other houses at
Rouen, Lille, and other places. It also states that
an arrangement has been made for building 110
houses in groups, and surrounded with gardens,
in the Rues de Reuilly and de Picpus—these houses,
being on a plan already adopted with success et
Mulhous. On the whole the report declares that'
3,892,083 fr. have bean ("ranted in subventions, and
that consequently 6,107,918 fr. remain to be granted
to make up the 10,000,000 fr. ,The accommodation
already provided consists, it says, of 5,300 lorlgiegs.
fur unmarried, and 800 for married workmen at
Paris, 150 for unmarried men at Marseilles, and
300 for married couples at Mulhouse.
There was a general rise yesterday on the Bourse.
The Three per Cents. closed at 63f. 25c. for thee
end of the month ; and the Four-and-a-Hall
per CentS. at 89f. 70c. ; Orleans Railway Shares'
1,030 f. ; Rouen, 812 f. 50c. ; Havre, -410 f. ;
Great orthern' 722 f. 50c. ; Strisburg, 695 f. ; Nei
Shares, 515 f. ; Lyons to Paris, 7851: ; Lyons to
the Mediterranean, 645 f. ; Western of France',
540 f. ; Bordeaux to Cette, 490 f. ; Great Central 01
France, 392 f. 58c. ; Lyons to Geneva, 415 f.; Bank
of 'Credit Mobilier, 485 f.

ITALY.
A letter from Parma of the 31st ult. , in the
Piedmontese Gazette, gives some further partied.'
lars respecting the murder of the Duke. It states
that on the 26th the Duke was walking with e'
young aide-de-camp, who had accompanied him t 0
Spain latterly, in one of the largest and most fre-
quente,l streets of Parma, full of people at the tinle,
while the Duchess was taking an airing on the
Corso. Suddenly the Duke was jostled by a ru,,,
Duke ait
great haste.
in rather an aug.l.J
who
turnedap p ea
round,redto be passingandsaid
in
tone, ‘, What an ill-bred fellew !" But an ei
stant afterwards he fell to the ground, saying,
am wounded. The assassin, taking advantage
of the confusion caused by the people hastening
to the relief of the Duke, effected his escape'r
the spot being particularly well calculated to favelld
it, in consequence of the many little crooked an,
narrow streets that intersect each other close to OS
principal one. 'The assassin left two things behieu
him that may help to identify him, viz., his el°3o
a
and the instrument of his crime, consisting o', ,110
very
.thin triangular blade, with wooden han'a.
of a red colour. This weapon he left in the wetl,l
1110
Several persons were immediately arrested.
Duke evinced great fortitude, bid the phYsici—r.
tell him all about his wound, and died asking P.
don of all whom he might have voluntarily or ll',
voluntarily offended, and pardoning his assassin. s
Another letter, in the OpiniOne of Turin, slo
that a man named Bocchi, "
a turner, who liv,..°.en
;53
one of the by-streets already alluded to, has
arrested. It is rumoured that a piece of cloth L
been found it, his possession of the same colour '
the cloak which the assassin of
behind him. Sl.-)1110
iron-filings had also been remarked in his 10ti,V20,,
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