The Sun.
London, England, 1854-05-13 00:00:00

grade, orders were oiven to all citizens to bold
their carriages and horses at the disposal of the
Government, which will probably establish its seat
at Kragujewatz."

-FAN CE.
The Moniteur of this morning contains an Im-
perial decree abrogating entirely the ordinances of
the Bth February, 1826,t which prohibited the im-
portation into France of Asiatic, African, or Ame-
rican products loaded from English bonded ports,
and which also prohibited the importation under
au English flag of European products loaded from
any other ports than those of the United Kingdom
or its possessions in Europe.
General Forey will, it is generally said in Paris',
be appointed to the command of the division of
12,000 men destined for the occupation of Greece.
However painful it may be to those who really
love their country to see it occupied by a foreign
force, the measure is highly approved of by the great
majority, if not the whole of the Greeks in Paris--
and this without distinction of party. They are glad
that the country will be thus relieved from the ma-
noeuvres, and perhaps the presence, of Russian in-
triguers, who will not dare to show themselves when
the French occupy the country ; and it is almost
certain that the Russian Minister at Athens, who is
at the bottom of these plots, will quit the moment
the French flag floats in the Piraeus. The Emperor
of the French has declared that he will never permit
Greece to stir while France is engaged in so serious
a matter as a war with Russia ; and he feels all the
more indignant at the conduct of the King when he
calls to mind that France, on account of the injus-
tice with which it was considered Greece was treated
in the affair of Don Pacifico, went so far as to re-
call her Ambassador from London (the actual
Minister of Foreign Affairs) and to supend diplo-
matic relations with the English Government.
There are a good many persons spoken of for the
mission to Constantinople vacant by the recall of
General Baraguay ; but of those there
are but three who are considered as likely to be
named. M. de Bourree, who has left en route for
Athens, and who is the bearer of the Emperor's
letter to Kin.. Otho, is not included in that list.
The parties who have the best chance of a selec-
tion being made from them are M. Thouvenel, Di ti
-
rector of Political Affairs in the Foreign Department,
and who is long known in the diplomatic world ;
General Daumas ; and General de la Rue. M.
Thouvenel, who held the honorary rank of Minis-
ter Plenipotentiary of the first class, will very -
probably be the person. Nevertheless, it is
thought that Marshal St. Arnaud may receive dip-
lomatic powers, and as the Legation at Constanti-
nople possesses a most intelligent and active secre-
tary in M. Benedetti, that no other arrangement
will, for the present at least, be concluded.
Applications being every day made directly to
the Minister of War by officers of the army for
admission into the imperial Guard, the Moniteur
publishes a notice that not only will these applica-
tions not be attended to, but the officers making
them will run the risk of punishment for an in-
fraction of hierarchical regulations. The Minister
of War having prescribed to the generals com-
manding the military divisions to send in lists of
officers under their command whom they may think
deserving of entering the Guard, it is only from
such lists that the appointments will be made.
We read in the Moniteur :—" At the moment
when the armies of France and England are united
in the East to defend the same cause, the Emperor
is desirous to extend to the English soldiers a
favour hitherto exclusively reserved to French
soldiers. The Minister of Foreign Affairs has, in
consequence, informed the Government of her
Britannic Majesty that English officers, soldiers,
and sailors, will enjoy for the transport of their
letters, all the reduced charges granted on our
territory and on board our packets to our of-
ficers, soldiers, and sailors. Lord Cowley has
already been charged to transmit the cordial ex-
pression of satisfaction, with which his Govern-
ment has received this fresh proof of the friendly
sentiments which unite the two countries, and, on
its side, the English Postmaster-General has just
assimilated the charge on letters from our officers
and sailors in the Baltic squadron to that on those
of the English officers and sailors. Thus the sol-
diers and sailors of the two countries whether in
the East or in the Baltic, notwithstanding the dis-
tance of the scene of war, will have equal advan-
tages for themselves and their families."
The Moniteur publishes the following report
from Admiral Hamelin :

" Ville de Paris, Odessa Roads, 25th April.-- Mon-
sieur le Ministre—l have the honour to inform you that
the division of three steamers, consisting of the Retri-
bution, Captain Drummond, the Descartes, Captain
Darrican, and the Niger, Captain Heath, which were
seat on the 11th inst. from Baltchiek to blockade the
port of Odessa, have captured 14 Russian merchant
vessels. After this capture it was agreed upon by these
cruisers that the prizes should be sent as soon as pos-
sible to Constantinople, and that Captain Drummond,
the senior officer, should have the direction of the affair
and the custody of the papers of the said prizes, they
having been made in common by the said cruisers.
When the squadrons anchored of Odessa, where we were
joined by the Retribution and the Descartes, I removed
from the latter on board the Ville de Paris, a part of
the Russian crews of the captured vessels, and Admi-
ral Dundas had the other part put on board one of
his ships. Yesterday, the 24th, the English Admiral
proposed to the Governor of Odessa to exchange these
men captured by the right of war, for the English sea-
men belonging to the merchant vessels detained without
any declaration of embargo in the commercial port of
Odessa, which our cannon respected as well as the town
during the 22d. Wishing, as far as we are concerned,
to continue to give to the war which has just been de-
clared the character of justice and humanity, which our
two Governments have in view, we have just decided
that we will place these prisoners at the disposal of the
authorities of Odessa without any conditions. We shall
only detain a certain number of prisoners in order to
validate the capture of the enemy's merchant vessels.
I am, &c., HAMELIN.
" Vice-Admiral, Commandant-in• Chief of the
Mediterranean Squadron."
The Pays notices as follows the announcement
by the Bank of France of the reduction of the rate
of discount :

"Public opinion will hail with satisfaction this mea-
sure, which gives a fresh proof of the abundance of capi-
tal in the financial and commercial market, and of the
cessation of the various causes which had led to the ex-
portation of the precious metals in the course of the past
year."

The fact of the reduction must be regarded as a
satisfactory one under existing circumstances. It
proves that there is no scarcity of money, and that
when a country is engaged in war is a very impor-
tant circumstance. But money may be plentiful
from different causes, and a scarcity of it does not
always imply a state of adversity. A country may
be very prosperous even at a time when a very
high rate is paid for the use of money, for that may
arise from the readiness with which capital has
been invested in commercial enterprise.
The Bourse was again very firm yesterday. The
Three per Cents. closed at 66f. 45c. for the end of
the month ; the Four-and-a-Half per Cents. at
92f. 90c. ; and the New Loanat 66f. 15c. ; Orleans
Railway Shares, 1,082 f. 50; Rouen, 905 f. ; Havre,
450 f. ; Great Northern 785 f. ; Strasburg, 730 f. ;
New Shares, 567 f. 50c. ; Paris and Lyons, 866 f.
25c. ; Lyons to the Mediterranean, 710 f. ; Wes-
tern of France, 595 f. : Bordeaux and Cette,
540 f. ' • Great Central of France, 462 f. 50c. ; Lyons
to Geneva, 450 f. ; Bank of Credit Mobilier, 555 f.