The Sun.
London, England, 1836-12-21 00:00:00

lOREIGN INTELLIGENCES

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PAais Pf.t, 18.—The Russian calendar beiiig twelve
daya behind ours, it is only to-day that thßussiatt Lega-
tion celebrates the fete of Olo,pnipleiA3k7
hotel of the Ambass-41(4 Pale des Champs Elysees is
brilliantly and a splendid banquet unites the
dirli.+Agi,2:oody, With the exception of Lord Granville,
awn() happens to have the gout, and of M. Le Hon,
Belgian Ambassadtn-, who is doubtless stir fatiiio(ll
conscrnce of the fete whieh kW, i.r.c,•;.'.4.!: '6'n the 16th, the
birth-day of King,laetVollAt
DEc. 197 ,-4 .;'•tier from Toulon, speakihg of b. new ex-
peclitiOtt ;.;onstantina, says—" 7TA ikkthre the s'uc'cess of
X 11! expedition so important hs that agaiiAt eemiitantina,
we must emple,!7 •ittltriers 'iritred te the eli*.ntt, and accus-
tomed to tktt rnanner of tg'h'tihe of tbe Arabs. We have
artillery, provisions, and ttansports.. Noir, ait it intended
to go to ConstAntina In the menit'lk of March:, it will be ne;
cessary immediately to send NM° melt to Alkietill,
Oran, and Berefia. treat magaiifteS 0-'e\-:tions must be
formed at Bona, at the vamps tit tlausel and Dream, and
at Gathna. Camels and beasts of burden Might 13e.
lected at all parts of the Regenty, akd *a some days
before the departure of the ttnps to the place of rent
de4vous. All these preliminary operations and iiidif±pU%
sable to the success of the expedition% Meantime, excur-
sions might be made during CM) months in the provinces of
Algiers and Oran, to thw the Arabs that we are net ihtt&
midated, and to season the troops who have e htt fought in
Africa?'

The last letters fret Ilona (says the Courrier Frcmcait)
paint our di aster in even darker colours, tt ttefns that
we left in the hands of the enemy d,OtYt) muskets and seve-
ral chests of cartridges, The booty made by Achmet's
army must have been considerable ; for besides the, pit viQ
sions and ammunition, the baggage of tilt) Prince, the
Marshal, and the superior officers, mks abandoned. It was
said that the Arabs of Jounod had abandoned him and
gone over to the enemy ; but the report was false. it was
only the natives that had the care of the mules, who left
their beasts of burden, lean And miserable animals, that
could not reach Cootantina. Some persons think they
heard the order to fire from the ramparts, given in French
and English. What is certain is, that the guns were much
more accurately pointed than those served by Turks usually
are. One 24 pounder kept up a constant fire for three
days on a ford, by means of which there might hare been
a communication between the first brigade and the re-
mainder of the division, It is not accurately known with
what number of troops we had to contend, but it is sup-
posed that there were 4,000 combatants in the city, and
that Achmet had on the outside 2,000 infantry and 2,000
cavalry.—Journal du Commerce, Dec. 19.

The Eclefreur de la Atediterrance states, that the
French army in Africa has lost 1,500 men, with two pieces
of artillery, la waggons, and all the implements belonging
to the engineeringdepartment, amounting to 1,000 articles.
A portion of the hospital apparatus, a large quantity of
arms, boxes of rampart muskets, 50,000 cartridges, and
most of the private baggage, were likewise left behind.
The Council of Ministers held on Sunday lasted until six
o'clock in the afternoon. They have not, it seems, as yet
been able to come to an understanding on the question of
Constantina. It is the third time the subject was brought
before the Council without any result.—Mcssager.
It is stated that Admiral Massieu du Clerval has already
set off for Toulon, with orders from the Minister of the
Marine to prepare three ships for conveying troops imme-
diately to Africa, and which will afterwards be followed by
a much greater body of forces. We are also informed that
orders have been sent to General Castellane, who has the
command of the Pyrenees Orientales, to embark at Poi
Vendres for Bona the Ist Regiment of the Line and the
Ist Light Infantry.
The &sac alludes to a report that Marshal Clausel's re-
signation of his post has been offered and accepted, and
that the Government of Africa is reserved for the Duke
de Mortemart. " The Noble Duke," observes the Siccie,
" has since his mission to Russia been in high favour at
at Court, and the rumour now circulated, if true, may
explain the object of his visit to Algiers."
The Presse says—" Since a new expedition against Con-
stantina has been talked of, innumerable applications have
been made to the Minister of War by officers of all ranks
to serve in it as volunteers. A strong indication of an ad-
vance towards conciliation in political parties is found in
the fact, that among these applicants there are a certain
number of officers who belonged to the Royal Guard, and
who have hitherto refused to serve under the tricoloured
flag."

FRENCH FUNDS.—Pasts, Dec. 19,
Five per Cents., 107 f. 50c. 55c 60c.
Four per Cents., 99f. 30c. Pc. 20c.
Three per Cents. 78f. 95c. 79f.
Bank Actions, 2,350 f.
Rente de Naples, 97f. 30c 40c. 5-c.
Roman Five per Cents., 101.
Spanish Actives, 21 21% 21.
Spanish Passives, 5%,
Belgian Loan, Five Ira Cents, 101%.
Portuguese Thref! per Cents. 29N 3o 30%.
Dutch Two PAid a half per Cents., '55.
Haytian Loan, 350 f. 355 f. t),Boe.
rxcittarola trN Lormox.
One month paw:sr, Lsf. 371,4 c. ; money, 251 875 c.
Three mouth', paper, 25f. 12%c. i money, —f. —c,
-tk,te)'s AuthenliQue.

BOURSE, HALF-PAST Foua,—Tbe funds looked rather
better to-day, without any very obvious cause to occasion im-
provement. Portuguese stock rose in consequence of a report
that an assurance that the dividends would be paid had been
received from London. Spanish Active was firm at 21. A
rumour prevailed here that on the arrival of Marshal Soult,
who is expected in Paris on Wednesday (this day), he would
receive a carte blanche from the King to form a new Ministry.
LAST PRICKS.—Five per Cents., 107 f. 80e. ; Three
per Cents., 79f. 20c. ; Five per Cents. Spanish, —; Three
per Cents. Spanish, —; Cortes, —; Coupons, ; Gueb-
bards, —; Differes, 89; New Loan, —; Actives, 21 ; Pas-
sives, 51,- ; Ducats, —; Romans, 101 ; Pedros, —;
Belgians, 1001 ; Dutch, 55f, ; tlaytians, 355 f. —c. ; Mi-
guels, —; Brabant Bank, —; Belgian Bank, 331- ; Con-
tinuation, —c. ; New Differes, —; Five per Cent. Perpc-
tuelles,—; Royal Loan, —; Three per Cent. Portuguese, 30 ;
Bank Actions, 2,350 f. ; Austrian, —; Rente de Naples,
97f. 70c. ; Portuguese Five per Cents., —.

PAIN,
SIEGE OF BILBOA,

Diary of the proceedings of General Espartero, from the
25th olt.to the 12th inst, ail Eye-witness.

" Towards evening, on the 25th of November, General
Espartero, with a body of troops, amounting to nearly
fourteen thousand men, arrived at Portugalette. The first
division had been brought by the British steamers and a
flotilla of chassemarees round the coast from Castro, whilst
the other, under the personal command of Espartero, had
marched from the same place over the hills. On the fol-
lowing day, the 26th, the village of Sertaos was occupied
by a part of these troops, whilst a bridge of boats was
being constructed across the Galinda by the sailors of his
Majesty's brig Saracen, under the direction of Lieutenant
Le Hardy. On the 27th, the army crossed the Galinda,
and attacked the fortified convent of Buena, from which
they drove the Cari;ts, not, however, before they had set
fire to it, and tot without a loss of nearly 300 killed and
wounksi. Some companies of Christinos crossed the bridge of
BAireena and pursued the Carlists in gallant style and to a con-
siderable distance, but finding themselves most unaccountably
not only unsupported, but
,summoned by a bugle call to re-
treat, they were forced to make a precipitate and retrograde
movement towards and across the bridge, in doing which
thew suffered very severely from the Carlists, now pursuing in
their turn, and who were also enabled by this retreat of the
Christinos to blow up the bridge of Bercena and another
further en, that of Castrejana. Espartero then gave up all
atttrripts at a forward movement in that direction, and de-
termined to cross over to the right bank of the river Ner-
vion, opposite the fortified conduct of the Desierto, and
take possession of the heights of Evandio. On the 28th,
to enable him to effect this operation, the Comet steamer
towed up the river a great number of chassemarees and
launches for the purpose of forming a bridge, and in her
progress, while passing the hill of Aspce, she had an officer
and boatswain's mate wounded by a discharge front the
Carlists. Whilst the bridge of boats was being con-
structed, Espartero all of a sudden changed his mind,
and marched his troops back to Portugalette, suffering
them to set fire to all the villages and detached houses and
cottages that lay in their way. Having made up his mind
to cross the river at Portugalette, instead of at the De-
sierto, where he would have been some six miles nearer to
Bilboa, the Comet was ordered to tow back the fleet of the
chassemarees and launches, and on the 29th another bridge
was constructed by the blue jackets of the Ringdove, un-
der the superintendence of Captain Lapidge and Lieu-
tenant. Hervey. At noon the next day, the 30th,
Espartero with his army passed over to the right bank of
the river and occupied Argota. That night the weather
broke up, and the troops suffered most severely, many of
them having to bivouack on the bleak bill sides, exposed to
am incessant deluge of rain. On the following day the
army made an onward movement as far as the valley of
Evandio, and Espartero established his head-quarters at
Andecca, a position which he might have occupied three
days before had he, according to his first intention, crossed
the river in front of the Desierto on the evening of the
28th. Instead, therefore, of being close to, if not inside
the walls of; Bilboa on the Ist of December, which he
might and ought to have been, a whole week since the 25th
of November had not only been frittered away in senseless
marches and countermarches, but the ground gained at.
the cost of 300 men killed and wounded, recklessly, if not
Pusillanimously abandoned ; for, with the most ordinary
exertion of energy, the bridges of Burcena and Castrejana
might have been passed ; in fact, nearly .50 of the Christino
infantry did cross over the former, and General Castenada
did not hesitate to assert that had he not received orders to
halt before coming up to the bridge of Castrejana, he might
have passed it and made good his footing on the other side
with a very slender addition to his numbers. Towards noon
on the '2d a small body of troops made a dash at the bridge