The Sun.
London, England, 1854-05-24 00:00:00

THE BALTIC.

The Boersenhalle, of Hamburg, publishes a no-
tice which has been forwarded to Riga for the in-
formation of all the foreign Consuls there, and at
Liban and Windau, that these ports being in a
rigorous state of blockade any merchant-vessel
leaving after the 15th inst. will be captured, and
sent to France or England to be condemned. The
notice is issued by Captain Rey, of the Amphion,
aad is dated from Memel Roads, the 12th.
The Swedish postal steamer Nordstern arrived
at Stettin on the 18th, and the passengers that
came by her say that, according to the statement
of the crew of a fishing vessel that arrived at Stock-
holm on the 15th from the Aland Isles, our fleet
had, up to the 13th, commenced no operations
against Aland or the fortress of Bomarsund, but
that the English cruisers were to be seen all about
the coast of Finland. Other accounts describe
them as occupied in taking soundings about the
various islands. At Grissleham, that spot on the
Swedish mainland which communicates with the
Aland Isles, Rear-Admiral Plumridge, iu the Leo-
pard, is stated to have touched for the purpose of
obtaining pilots for the difficult navigation of the
archipelago of the Aland. Seas; and, further, that
the Leopard put to sea again without having ob-
tained the desired result. On the 12th and 13th a
heavy cannonading was heard on the east coast of
Gothland. As Revel is about 60 geographical
miles distant from G-othland, this was doubtless
produced by some gunnery practice of the fleet at
sea. The combined Swedish and Norwegian fleet,
11 sail strong, with Prince Oscar on board, passed
Gothland on the 9th, sailing for Elfsnabben.
The reports in Danish journals describe the
French vessels as carrying a much more numerous
crew than the English of the same size. The In-
flexible, for instance, has 1,500 men on board, and
the other line of battle ships, Le Tage, Jemappes,
and Duguescelin, have each over 1,100 men—per-
haps part of this number consists of land troops.
The French fleet was anxiously expected at Kiel
by the 18th, but, as already mentioned, it was at
that date still in the Great Belt. Since the Ist of
May colliers have been arriving there frequently
with a supply of 22,000 tons of Newcastle coals for
the French fleet, the depot of which is on the quay
of the Kieler Hafen ; but it would seem that the
French Government has given a similar tranquilis-
ing assurance with our own to the Danish Govern-
ment, that their vessels shall not, unless hard
pressed, put into the harbour at all. It is stated
in Kiel papers that the route for despatches and
certain articles of transport for the Baltic fleet will
be by way of Kiel, and that French steamers and
transports are appointed there to that service.

BLOCKADE OF BALTIC RUSSIAN PORTS.

The following is a copy of an official notice
establishing a blockade of Russian ports
H.M.S. Amphion, Harbour of Memel, May 12.
Sir,—l have the honour to inform the Consuls of her
Majesty at Riga, Libau, Windau, that those ports are,
at length in a state of rigorous blockade, and that all
the ships which leave after the 15th May, either wholly
or partially laden, will be stopped, and sent to England
or France, to be there declared good pi izes. This com-
munication is to be made public in those ports.—l have
the honour, &c.,

(Signed) A. C. KEY, Captain.
M. M. J. Hertslet, Esq., H.8.M., Consul at Memel.

ST. PETERSBURG.

The Augsburg Gazette, of the 20th, publishes a
report, from which we give the following extract:—
" Within these la,t few days several Frenchmen have
passed through Berlin, having been obliged to leave St.
Petersburg. They state that a perfect paralysis is
seizing trade and commerce in that city, rendered more
grievous by the enormous price of provisions. Many
bankruptcies are imminent. Paper money had fallen
considerably below its nominal value, and gold was
eagerly sought for. Economy in every branch of the
national expenditure was being attempted. Thus, the
building of the Church of Isaac was suspended—a most
ominous and momentous mater in Russia. The pa-
trioti,m of the wealthy inhabitants was perpetually
racked by the crying wants of private misery and distress.
The bullion in the treasury was removed to Moscow.'
KONIGSBERG, May 19.—The English Consul-
General at St. Petersburg, Michel, has now, at the
desire of the Russian government, left that capital,
and arrived here yesterday.
A letter from Moscow, 12th, says that the
Emperor of Russia has ordered, in the Eastern
zone of the Empire, a levy of 12 men out of every
1,000, 9 being for the contingent of this year, and
3 to equalise the contingents of that zone with
those of the Western one.
The Journal de St. Petersbourg of the 11th
publishes a rescript, addressed by the Emperor
Nicholas to Admiral de Ricord, on the occasion
of the 60th anniversary of his entrance into the
Russian service. In the rescript the Emperor
announces to Admiral de Ricord, who commands
the division of the Russian fleet anchored in the
port of Cronstadt, that he appoints him to the
command of the two divisions united. The old
Admiral has served under four reigns.
The shareholders of the Steam-boat Company
on the Wechsel, at Warsaw, have received notice
that the Polish Government are about to put in
requisition, on paying an indemnity, the nine dis-
posable boats to transport military effects for the
use of the troops who are about to be cantoned in
the kingdom. Last month there were very few
movements of troops in Poland, but this month
they are very frequent, and Warsaw appears to be
chosen as the place of assembly. The military en-
gineers have re-established the bridge over the
Niemen, at Kowno, where five regiments of infan-
try, with a park of artillery, have already passed,
and a similar number are expected. 90 ovens for
baking bread for the troops have been established
near that town. It is generally mentioned in
Warsaw that a Russian corps d'armde will be soon
placed in observation near the frontiers and terri-
tory of Cracow.
Advices from St. Petersburg of the 12th instant
represent the Emperor's last ukase, requiring fresh
recruits for both army and navy, as his manner of
replying to the information that Generar*ou Grun-
wald lately brought him from Vienna. This calling
out of fresh recruits for the reserve levies, first of
all, nine in the thousand souls in the eastern pro-
vinces, to set them even with the western provinces,
and then three in the thousand more, making alto-
gether twelve. Of the Jews, who have to contri-
bute their flesh and blood on every occasion of a
levy of recruits, ten out of every thousand are to
be made food for heretical powder in defence of
the orthodox faith. The levy is to commence on
the 27th of July, and be concluded in a month.
Apart from the misery that is inflicted on these
220,000 men, who are torn from their homes
against their wills, and without their possess-
ing any of the elevating feelings that make
the career of a soldier bearable and even 'de-
sirable, the money value of this man tax, levied on
the landed proprietors, amounts to 22,000,000 of
silver roubles yearly (about 3,650,0001.), taking the
produce of a " soul" (duscha) at the highest valua-
tion put on that species of property by Herr Bezo-
brasow. Fortunately, this heavy taxation falls this
time almost exclusively on the Russians par excel-
lence, the inhabitants of the eastern provinces ; it
hits them particularly hard to have to raise 12 per
mille, and that, too, all at once, for when the Em-
peror in 1836, for the purpose of recruiting, divided
the empire into two halves, which were to be alter-
nately scourged by recruiting, the normal rate was
fixed at five for every thousand. In addition to the
value of the human property thus confiscated to the
use of the Crown, each proprietor has to pay down
in cash 10 silver roubles 20 copecks per recruit to-
wards his clothing, (Ix., ; this amounts, for the
220,000 men, to 366,650/.
One of the grand delusions kept up in Russia, in
spite of this drain on the population for their
fathers' and brothers' flesh and blood, is, that there
are no war taxes in Russia. Knowing by recent
and bitter experience how fruitless any attempt
would be at negotiating a loan anywhere in Europe,
the Russian Government refrains from attempting
to put forward anything of the kind ; and while it
points out to its subjects the Governments of the
West straining every nerve to obtain insufficient
supplies to commence the war with, it self-compla-
cently points out the contrast exhibited by the
paternal management of the Emperor. The ex-
isting laws provide for the furnishing of recruits ;
the voluntary contributions of the people, which
the authorities know so well how to extort by a
little gentle hint " how desirable it would be
that the Emperor shoal not remark any luke-
warmness on their part," have hitherto helped out
very considerably ; but lately a fresh method of
raising an equally voluntary taxation has been in-
troduced by Herr Bezobrasow. Before even any
circular for collecting contributions has been sent
round, he has notified, as he says, in order to meet
the wishes of several persons impatient to make
their offerings, that taking the net annual produce
of a " soul" at five silver roubles (15s. 10d.) as a
minimum, it is proposed to contribute half the an-
nual produce of a " soul." A house in the capital
worth 15,000 silver roubles is reckoned at an equal
assessable value with an estate to which 100 souls
are attached, and it is expected will tax itself ac-
cordingly. It is suggested to all owners of noble_
estates not yet registered to have them registered;
at once, so that they may enjoy the privilege of
Contributing. It must be observed that all the