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

THE BALTIC FLEET.

It appears, says the correspondent of a contemporary,
that several masters in the navy have been sent to sur-
vey the Cattegat and Baltic, to endeavour to make
themselves acquainted with the pilotage of those waters,
which is all very proper ; but, in the few weeks that
will elapse before the fleet must sail for the Baltic, much
cannot be done. Our ships will in all probability visit
the Gulf of Finland, the navigation of which is not
to be trifled with. Rocks, with from one to three
fathoms water on them, whose vicinity is not to be
ascertained by the lead ; currents uncertain, and to-
wards the Finland shore magnetic attractions, rendering
the compasses useless ; whilst near some of the islands
thick hazy weather often prevails, even in the best part
of the summer season ; the navigation, therefore, of
those seas ought not to be trifled with. I have no doubt
that every precaution has, or will be taken by the Ad•
miralty, by procuring the most efficient pilots that can
be obtained. I was at Cronstadt in the summer of 1852
with a friend in a yacht. On the voyage up the Baltic
and Gulf of Finland the weather was fine, though gene-
rally too hazy to get an observation. We were several
times puzzled to account for the finding ourselves much
out in our reckoning. At Cronstadt, meeting with seve-
ral English masters of merchant vessels, some of whom
had been running between that port and Hull many
years, I had a good deal of conversation with them about
the navigation, and found that even those who had been
constantly in the trade admitted they were often thrown
much out in their reckoning. They were clever, intelli-
gent men, and would do no discredit to a warrant as
extra acting master and pilot. The Admiralty should
engage their services in such capacity, if they can, and
each of our ships should have one on board. The
small flag beacons will no doubt be removed from
the rocks and shoals in the gulf, and. every-
thing done to deceive our ships if they try those
waters. The entrance to Cronstadt which is
rendered intricate by sunken vessels laden with
stone, upon which are placed small flag beacons remove-
able in a few minutes—is strongly fortified, and other
forts were then building. The principal difficulty would
be the getting at them. In the gulf we fell in with a
fleet then exercising. It consisted of eight ships of the
line (two of them three-deckers), and one frigate. I could
hear of but one more ship in commission, and that
was a two-decker as guard-ship at Revel, besides a
few brigs and corvettes. In the Mole at Cronstadt
were lying 17 sail of the line, two or three of them three-
deckers ; nearly all of them had their lower masts in,
rigging up, and topmasts pointed. There were also
two frigates, one of them fitting out ; three or four
steamers of the Magicienne class, and half-a-dozen
smaller ones in the roads, in commission. I could not
see or hear of their having a single screw ship in those
waters. The Russian sailor may coldly face dangers
and death, with the dogged indifference of an ill-fed serf,
but not with the energy of a British tar, whose heart
and soul is in the cause for which he fights.

BANKRUPTCY COURT-•(THIS DAY).

(Before Mr. Commiseisner Evans.)
IN RE OREEBO AND HAY.

These bankrupts were described as of Mount-street,
Lambeth, tailors, and to-day was appointed for consi•
deration of their certificates.

The amount of the debts is only 4171., and the assets
are estimated at about 300/., 2001. of which has already
been realised.

Mr. Beard, from the office of Mr. Buchanan, ap-
peared for the bankrupts, and applied for high class
certificates, and there was no opposition ; but one
of the assignees concurred in the application as th•
bankruptcy had chiefly arisen through the long continued
illness of one of the bankrupts, and every item in the
balance-sheet was vouched.
His Honour granted immediate certificates of the
second class.

Mr. Beard then applied, with the approbation of the
assignees, an increase of the usual allowance to the
bankrupts, and a return of the court fees for the
meeting.

His Honour granted the application.

DON PEDItO'S MOVEMENTS.—The National Gazette of
Berlin, of the 10th, says :—" We understand that Don
Pedro of Portugal will visit in the spring several of the
Courts of Europe, commencing by London, and then
proceeding to Brussels, here, Dresden, and Vienna.
His Majesty will return home by Munich, Brussels, and
Paris."

THE DlREcrrrox op THE EAST INDIA COMPANY.—On
Wednesday last, the Bth inst., Mr. Loch announced to
the Court of Directors of the East India Company that
it was not his intention to offer himself as a candidate
for a seat in the direction, at the election of 15 directors,
which, pursuant to the act of last session, will take
place on the Bth of March next. Mr. Loch's address,
which intimates this intention to the proprietors of East
India Stock, will be found in another part of this
paper. _

Tax LONDON DOM.—A portion of the large tobacco
warehouse at this vast commercial establishment has
been set apart and added to the cigar warehouse, ex-
pressly for the show of cigars to the trade. The entire
building is covered with glass and otherwise rendered
light, and' especially well adapted to the show of this
article of merchandise when exposed for the inspection
of the trade. The formation of such a place has long
been felt to be desirable ; and the new show-room is
nearly completed, and will shortly be ready for its in-
tended purpose.
VALENTINE'S DAY IN THE LONDON DISTRICT POST-
oPricE.-7This morning orders were issued by Mr. W.
Bokenham, Superintending President of the Inland De-
partment of the General Post-office, and of the London
District Post, that the letter carriers employed in the
last mentioned es tablishrnent shall be provided with a sub-
stantial dinner, consisting of roast beef, plum pudding,
vegetables, and a moderate supply of beer, at a respect-
able tavern in their respective walks, the dinner to take
place in each district at one o'clock. The sorters, sub-
sorters, messengers, porters, constables, and supernume-
raries
employed in the department will be regaled in a
similar manner in the Great Hall, on the basement of
the building ; or at their option they may each re-
ceive a shilling in lien of the entertainment.
The drivers of mail carts, express riders, (post-
boys), and others whose services cannot be well
dispensed with during official hours, will be provided
with an excellent supper, and each person employed in
the establishment is to be supplied with a limited quan-
tity of ale. The business transacted in the department
this morning exeeeded by far that of former years. By
the first delivery at 8 o'clock the number of letters sent
out was 42,000, which at the 10 o'clock delivery in-
creased to 78,000, and it is fully expected that the total
number that will pass through the office during the day
will not fall much short of a quarter of a million. This is
exclusive of those letters transmitted by the General
Post.

AMSTERDAM AND ROTTERDAM PRODUCE MARKETS.—
The weekly reviews of the Amsterdam and Rotterdam
produce markets state that business continued inactive.
Some descriptions of coffee were in greater demand, but
no material alteration had occurred in prices. Sugar had
been supported with steadiness, although the operations
were limited. Sales of rice had produced a tendency to
lower rates. The late advance in dried fruits was main-
tained.