The Sun.
London, England, 1854-02-14 00:00:00

THE COMBINED FLEETS.

A letter from Malta, of February 7, says :
The Triton, despatch steamer, which left Beycos
Bay at three p.m., on the 2d February, and the
Golden Horn at nine on the same night, reached
Valletta harbour yesterday afternoon, bringing
despatches for England from Lord Stratford de
Redcliffe and from Vice-Admiral Duudas, which
are forwarded this afternoon to Marseilles by the
Peninsular and Oriental Company's steam-ship
Vectis. At the above-mentioned date the combined
fleets were still at anchor at Beycos, barring the
Firebrand and Sampson (English), which left on
the 27th January to await, at the entrance of the
Euxine, the Descartes and Seine, which left on
the 28th. These four powerful steam-frigates have
orders to proceed to the offing of Sebastopol, there
cruise for twenty-four hours (verymuch like defying
or rousing the bear in his den), and then return to
Beycos and report proceedings. Rear-Admiral Sir
Edmund Lyons was under orders to proceed on the
3d or 4th of February, with the steam force of
both squadrons, for the purpose of convoying a
number of Turkish steamers and transports con
veying 10,000 troops, gunpowder, and other
warlike stores to Batoum. The Fury, which had
been sent to Odessa to deliver a despatch to the
authorities thereat, returned to Beycos on the 25th
without execu:ing her mission, having found the
approach for some distance seaward so frozen as to
render all communication by sea impracticable. Cap-
tain Tatham, unwilling to return with the despatch,
tried to push his boat through the blocks of ice, but
without a successful result. The Vauban, from
Toulon and Malta, joined the French Admiral on
the 26th January, and would be immediately fol-
lowed by the Cacyque, another steam-frigate. The
Spitfire left for the Dardanelles on the 2d February,
conveying thither three British engineer officers,
who arrived from England on the 30th in the
Banshee (which likewise brought Captain Brock of
the naval surveying service), for the purpose of in-
specting the Turkish batteries and defences, and
putting them into fighting order. The Caradoc ar-
rived at Malta from Marseilles with despatches for
Constantinople from London and Paris at 9 a.m.
on the sth of February, and having on board
General Sir John Burgoyne, inspector-general
of fortifications and military defences, with an
aide-de-camp, Captain Coote, of the 11th Hussars,
Captain Fuller, of the 12th Lancers, and Colonel
Ardent, of the French Engineers ; besides several
other distinguished officers of the French army,
who all went on in the same vessel at two p.m.
Several sappers and miners, volunteers from the
detachment at Malta, took passage by the same
vessel for service in the Levant. The Perdrix
French transport, coal laden, left Malta this morn-
ing for Constantinople, and will be followed this
evening by the Provençal, another coal transport.
A third, the Chandernagos, has just arrived from
Constantinople for a like cargo, so that it would
seem that there is every prospect of " going ahead."

FRANCE.
The French ocean squadron, under the orders of
Admiral Bruat, has arrived at Algiers.
The discovery of a Greek conspiracy in the do-
minions of the Sultan has induced the French Go-

vernment to address a Note, couched iu strong
and energetic terms, to the Government of King
Otho.

The Independant de la Moselle states that a
number of cannon balls and shells are every day
arriving at the arsenal of Metz from the founderies
of Douai and Toulouse ; and adds that if the same
activity prevails in the other fortified places, pre-
parations of war will have been made on a most
extensive scale by the approaching spring.
The Courrier du Nord publishes the following
curious anagram, lately discovered by a magistrate
at Valenciennes :—" By combining the seventy
letters of the following phrase—' A sa Majeste Im-
p riale, le Czar Nicolas, souverain, et autocrats de
toutes les Russies,' will be found letter for letter,
except the vowel o,' which is doubled—' Ta vanite
sera to perte, elle isole la Russie ; tea successeurs
to maudirout t jamais.' "
An Imperial decree, dated the 4th, promulgates
the convention for the protection of literary pro-
perty recently concluded between France and
Spain.
We read in the Siec/0—
~ For several days past the autograph letter of the
Emperor of the French to the Emperor of Russia has
been spoken of. The reserve which we have employed
in entering on so delicate a question aia.y be compre-
hended. But since the English journals and the Assembled
Nationale have broken the ice, we think we can mention
what we have collected on the subject of this letter, con-
sidered as a last attempt at conciliation before coming to ,
extremities. It was on the 29th of January that the
autograph letter of the Emperor of the French was '
sent to St. Petersburg. It was previously, it is said,
communicated to the British Government. The propo-
sitions which it contains would, consequently, engage
France and England. These propositions, it is said,
may be thus summed up : A treaty of peace should be
negotiated between Russia and Turkey on the bases of
the Vienna note as modified by the Porte. The nego-
tiation is to take place directly between a Turkish
plenipotentiary and a Russian plenipotentiary. The
seat of the negotiations would not be either at
Constantinople or at Bucharest, hut in a neutral
town, at which the representatives of the Four
Powers would be assembled, to whom the convention
would be naturally deferred. We shall be sober of
reflections. It will suffice for us to remark that the
concessions made to the Char bear on the question
of self-love and on that of time. In what touches the
amount of consideration shown to a prince who com-
mands 70 millions of men, we have nothing to say, ex-
cept that we should sincerely like, at that price, to see
an honourable and solid peace re-established. As to the
question of time, it is different, and we confess that we
are not without distrust. Russia has so visibly need of
some months to complete the concentration of her
troops, that we fear she will profit by the overture
made to her to obtain the delay which she may re•
quire. But what every one knows the governments
of France and England cannot be ignorant of. The
autograph letter despatched on January 29, ought
to have been presented the 7th of February. In
giving three or four days fur reflection, in supposing
even that before deciding, the Czar has wished to await
Count Orloff's return, the answer to the letter of the
Emperor of the French ought to arrive in Paris by the
20th or 22d instant. If the Autocrat consents to nego-
tiate on the basis decided by the Powers and accepted
by the Ottoman Porte, peace will not then have been
made ; there will always be danger that Russia wiil
profit by the delay accorded to her to prepare better for
the great struggle which she will have provoked. How-
ever, a significant engagement will have been entered
into by the Muscovite Government, and the re-establish-
ment of peace will have chances which it has not at pre-
sent. Besides, the letter mentioned above has not slack-
ened the preparations."

The Bourse was remarkably firm yesterday, and
there was a considerable amount of business trans-
acted. The speculators in general appear to believe
that the new negotiations opened between the
Porte and the Emperor of Russia will lead to an
arrangement of the differouces existing between
them. The Three per Cents. opened at 70f. 25c.,
rose to 70f. 40e., fell again to 70f. 10c., and closed
at 70f. 20c. for the end of the month. The Four-
and-a-Half per Cents. closed at 99f. 10c. ; Orleans
Railway shares, 1,105 f. ; Rouen, 925 f. ; Havre,
450 f. ; Great Northern, 760 f. ; Paris and Stras-
burg, 740 f. ; ditto, New, 587 f. 50e. ; Paris and
Lyons, 842 f. 50c. ; Lyons to the Mediterranean,
680 f. ; Western of France, 590 f. ; Bordeaux and
Cette, 560 f. ; Great Central, 447 f. 50c. ; Lyons
and Geneva, 460 f. ; Shares of the Bank of Credit
Mobilier, 648 f. 75c.

ITALY.
The Piedmontese Gazette of the 10th announces
that the 2d Company of the National Guard of
Villanova has been dissolved by a royal decree for
acts of insubordination.
The Genoa papers announce considerable arrivals
of grain in that port during the last month, and
attribute it to the late suppression of the duty on
corn.
The Corriere Mercantile states from Florence.
sth, that the Minister of the Interior has suppressed
the Genio, a theatrical paper.
The Cattolico of Genoa, a clerical organ, was
seized on the Bth instant, for au unconstitutional
article.