The Sun.
London, England, 1854-05-22 00:00:00

WANT OF GUN-BOATS.

A letter from Stockholm, of May 12, says—
What Sir Charles Napier wants, is not ships of the
line and large frigates, but a not inconsiderable
number of small steamers and gun-boats, the latter
capable of bearing cannon of large calibre. The
majority of the ships in his squadron are byfar too
large for operations in the Gulf of Finland, and
particularly in the narrow channels of Sweaborg
and Cronstadt. Such a squadron would be all
well and good in the Mediterranean, or in a bay
like that of Algiers, or before such towns as those
which some years ago he bombarded and destroyed.
It would be an admirable squadron, too, if the Rus-
sians were to come out and have a fair and open
sea fight a few miles from the mouth of the above
gulf ; but come out they will not, and all their
preparations are for the defensive, trusting to the
difficult and dangerous access to their forts and to
the strength of those furls themselves. It would

be a less Imposing one, and it would not, perhaps,
excite so much admiration as it did in Kioge and
Elfsnabben Bays, but ere this it would, doubtless,
have tried its strength against the fortress of Swea-
borg. The cry, "plenty of small steam frigates, large
gun-boats, and troops for the Baltic," should be
raised in England as loudly and, above all, as
quickly as possible. There is no time to lose ;it
is a question whether too much has not been lost
already ; and, after all, it is a doubtful compliment
to expect wonders even from a Napier, if he be not
furnished with the means of carrying out his plans.
Give him only the proper sinews of war, and he is
the right man to turn them to good account.
Therefore, " plenty of small steam frigates, large
gun boats, and troops for the Baltic."
The following article appears in Sondags Bladet
of this city :
" Our intelligence from Finland is to the effect that
the inhabitants are still quite dispirited. The publicans
on the Finnish coasts must provide daily from 250 to li
300 horses for the transport of troops. The discontent
in Finland has, of course, greatly iucrea"ed since the
time the Russian Government commenced doing all in
its power to remove the population by degrees into the
interior of Russia. The Aland Isles, it is said, have
been deprived of troops, weapons, and ammunition ; so
they can be taken possession of ‘s ithout opposition—
another proof for our Swedish pro-Russians how fortu•
nate it is to be a Russian province. The Finlanders
have had their mercantile navy captured, and they will
soon see their coasts bombarded and laid waste solely
because this country is now the bulwark of Russia. Thee
will have both to pay and feed the large army the
Czar is sending them ; their soldiers are sent to Poland
and Turkey, never to return home ; and their sailors are
torn away from their homes in order to serve in the
Russian fleet—their to meet a certain death. Finally,
all the Finlanders who cannot be of use in the army or
navy, are compelled to emigrate to the depths of Russia.
whilst their native country is devastated and plundered,
in order that the enemies of Russia, who are the friends
of Finland, may not find wherewithal to support them
selves for a single month in the latter after they obtain
possession of it."

The Finland Tidning of Helsingfors, states that
the police authorities of that town have warned the
inhabitants against approaching any of the batteries,
cannons, or ammunition waggons—a proof that in
Finland the Russians are not able to distinguish
between friend and foe, and that they do not trust
the people.

REPORTED LOSS OF THE TIGER.
The second edition of the Patrie, published at
seven o'clock on Saturday evening, and conse-
quently after the receipt of all the despatches
known in London on the subject of the alleged
capture of the Tiger frigate by the Russians, per-
sists in its assertion that the whole story is a fable.
It says an English commercial brig was taken, and
afterwards delivered by the combined fleets, and
suggests that this circumstance gave rise to the
report.

APPREHENSIONS OF INVASION AT ST

PETERSBURG.

Mr. Frederick Bucknall, a son of Mr. W. Buck-
nall, of the late eminent Bristol firm of Bucknall
and Spark, has just returned from St. Petersburg,
where he had been for five years occupying a
responsible position in connexion with one of
the largest mercantile firms there, and from the
accounts which Mr. Bucknall brings with him
it is evident that, in high circles, the possibility
of an attack by the combined forces on the capital
of Russia itself is seriously entertained. Amongst
the masses of the city a superstitious confi-
dence in the successful issue of the war generally
prevails. This is founded on the widely-spread
belief that the war is a religious one, undertaken
for religious objects ; and it leads to a confidence
that God being with the Emperor he must prevail.
The Imperial Muscovite himself does not appear to
be so well at ease. It is understood that the
commandant of the important fortress of Cron-
stadt has informed him that, although of
great strength, it is not impregnable. The Em-
peror is obviously very anxious on the matter,
for he goes himself to Cronstadt twice or thrice a
week, and all conceivable efforts are being em-
ployed to strengthen it as far as possible. Mean-
while the imperial city is being crowded by troops,
which are continually pouring in in large masses.
The barracks being all crowded these are quartered
on the inhabitants, to their very evident and great
annoyance. Mr. Bucknall saw a body of 1,500
Cossacks marching towards the capital, which is
of itself a significant mark of the feeling of the
Government, for troops of that class are rarely
if ever employed in the city. Many of the no-
bility and leading families are quitting their town
residences and retiring into the interior, carrying
with them their plate, jewels, and portable pro-
perty of value, and the English, French, and other
foreign residents were quitting in such numbers
that Mr. Bucknall had to wait for six weeks before
he could get a place by the conveyance, which runs
twice a week from St. Petersburg to Tukun. As a
further evidence of the apprehension felt touching
an invasion of the capital, Mr. Bucknall noticed
that some houses on the side of the Neva were
being pulled down and defences erected opposite
the main part of St. Petersburg.