The Sun.
London, England, 1854-03-02 00:00:00

LATEST FOREIGN NEWS.

THE WAR IN THE EAST.

The following, dated Constantinople, February
20, has been received by telegraph from Vienna :
" Negotiations relative to the future position of
the Christians in Turkey have been opened between
the representatives of the four Powers and the
Porte.

" On the 7th of February the port of Odessa was
almost free from ice.

"Three fruitless attempts have been made to take
Arta by storm." _ __

A telegraphic message from Berlin says Sir
Hamilton Seymour and his family arrived there
yesterday (Wednesday) from St. Petersburg.
Letters from St. Petersburg state that the Em-
peror of Russia is recovered, and that he was en-
abled to leave his bed on the 10th ult. The Grand
Duke Constantine is represented as about to set
out for Bucharest in order to take the command of
the army.

A letter from Odessa mentions that the Austrian
Consul has obtained the liberty of the four Aus-
trian sailors and a Tuscan subject, who were on
board the Medjari Tidjaret, when that vessel was
eaptured by the Russians. The two English en-
gineers are represented as not having been set at
liberty yet ; they are stated to be at Kaloga, near
Moscow. _ _

A telegraphic despatch dated Bucharest, Feb.
19, says, " the snow still renders the roads im-
passable. The two armies are yet in their old
positions."
A letter of the 15th ult., from the same place,
says—" Since it has been positively known here that
the mission of Count Orloff to Vienna has failed
people begin to breathe freely. Those who hope
to be delivered from the protecting yoke of Russia,
and the number is great, abandon themselves to
py. The Emperor of Russia had promised the
Principalities to render them independent—
though it is true that it was only a verbal promise.
God grant that the influence of the western
powers may be propitious to us and counter-
balance that of the Colossus of the North. The
certainty now felt that France and England will
energetically support Turkey, has damped the ar-
dour and defeated the hopes of the enemies of Tur-
key. Since the check given to Count Orloff all
their anger is vented against Austria. A singular
illusion has existed with regard to the policy of
that cabinet. Russia has for a long time used all
her efforts to deprive Austria of any influence in
these countries. In order to weaken in public
opinion the sad impression which might be raised
against the proceedings of Russia, exaggerated re-
ports are circulated about the Greek revolt at
Arta ; they even go so far as to say that King
Otho has fled. What is strange is, that the revolt
Was talked of here as a fait accompli before it broke
out, which proves that the origin of the movement
Came from this place, and that the discovery of the
conspiracy at Widdin and at Constantinople has-
tened the explosion of it. No great importance is
here attached to the affair."
The correspondent of the Times writes as follows,
from Constantinople, Feb. 15 :—The well-known
fact of a great concentration of Russian troops near
Kalafat, coupled with daily and almost hourly re-
ports of hard fighting there, keeps us in a perpetual
fever of anxiety. Owing to the miserable postal
arrangements, and the vague nature of the Turkish
military despatches which occasionally reach us,
we have to await the arrival of London or Paris
newspapers, with what patience we may, for true
accounts of what is really taking place. An Eng-
lish letter from Kalafat only 10 days old becomes,
therefore, a perfect prize. A military friend, who
has seen some hard fighting elsewhere, has kindly
favoured me with the following short account of
What was passing at Kalafat up to Feb. 4 :

" You will have heard of the advance of the Russians
on the 28th ult. to the villages of Muglavit, Golenza, and
Pojana, and the consequent retirement of the Turkish
outposts from those villages. Since that date we have
been kept in daily, nay hourly, expectation of an attack,
which, however, has not iyet coma off, and unless the
Russians are much stronger than they are reported to be,
I do not believe they 'have the slightest notion of
attacking Kalafat, but are waiting in hopes that the
Turks (getting weary of being shut up there) will take
the initiative. I was out to-day with a reconnoitering
party of four squadrons of cavalry. We got about
half way to Golenza, and about one mile and a half
from camp, when we saw the Russians advancing from the
village. Their forpe consisted of two regiments of ca-
valry, three battalions of infantry, and six guns. I
imagine that they have about the same at Pojana, which
looks as if they meant to keep possession of those posts
until a sufficient force is available to attack Kalafat, but
the Quartermaster-General's department at the Turkish
head-quarters is so defective that it is impossible
to conjecture with any degree of certainty the
Russian movements. However, the Turks have
employed their leisure time well in fortifying
Kalafat, and when the attack does take place
it will be no child's play. The Turkish infantry is
admirable. The men strong, hearty, cheerful and brave to
a fault (so says every man who has seen them in
action). They are not well drilled or set up, but be-
hind walls the latter is not of much importance.
Achmet Pasha, who commands, does not give one
the idea of a man of capacity, but I believe he is untried.
From all that I have seen I have every hope for the
Turks if the Russians attack, but I should dread the
event if they leave their stronghold, for I do not believe
they have a General here capable of moving a large body
of men, nor do I think that the soldiers are capable of
being moved with any steadiness or regularity under
fire. The affair at Cetate seems to have taken the
Russians by surprise, and does not in my opinion
prove that the Turks will always cope successfully in the
open field with an army disciplined and organised as the
Russian. We have been here since the 27th, and (finding
it excessively inconvenient to cross the Danube every day
from Widdin) have now taken up our quarters in the
only cafe at Kalafat. There are nine of us altogether. As
you may imagine, we are suffering a good many priva-
tions and hardships, and unless the attack, so long ex-
pected, comes off in a few days, I shall not wait for it."

The following statement of the probable num-
bers and positions of the Russian forces in the Prin-
cipalities at the present moment has been most
carefully compiled and collated from various sources
by a most intelligent foreign officer now here :—The
10th division extends fromKalafat to opposite Rust-
chuk ; the 11th division, the Valley of Argish to
Opposite Silistriaand Hirsova ; the 15th division oc-
cupies Ibralia and Galatz, extending up the Danube
to opposite Hirsova—the above may be termed the
first line. The second line is probably as follows :
-13th division moved westward towards Krajova
(one regiment of it was, we believe, at Cetate,)
Which, together with the Bth and 9th division, must
now form the attacking force at Kalafat. Say,
then, that two-and-a-half divisions of infantry and
one of cavalry form the attacking force • it should
consist of about 30,000 infantry and 6,000 cavalry.