The Sun.
London, England, 1841-08-28 00:00:00

LEVANT MAIL.
.
T URriE Y.

CONSTANTINOPLE, AUG. 7.—ln my letter of 23d June, I
stated that it was the intention of the Porte to collect at, Con-
stantinople the militia of Roulnelia and Anatolia, for the pur-
pose of organizing them as an available force. Ido not know
if the whole number inscribed for uniting at the capital will
come If they do, we shall hive 92,192 men in addition to
the troops of the line. Orders have been given to prepare
for Tripoli or Barbary two regiments of infantry, 6,500; two
regiments of cavalry, 1,200 ; and one regiment of artillery,
2,200 men, who are to be sent off as soon as possible.
The expected change in the Ministry in England has ex-
cited sensation even here. The Turks have a very high opi •
nion of Lord Palmerston, and almost adore Lord Ponsonby.
Report says that Sir C. Begot is expected to be appointed to
this embassy, and we have heard some true patriots rejoice that
Lord Ponsonby may quit us, because they consider he has
been here too long. Russia and Austria are not of this opi-
nion, and their diplomacy certainly does not suffer from the
fact that their Ambassadors here grow old on a service on
which they first entered in their youth. Turkey is so different
from other countries, that it really requires years before the
most astute can fully comprehend.
A girl has died at Therapia of a disorder suspected to bs
the plague, and Lord Ponsonby has put his palace in quarantine.
(From the Alanzari Shark of the 7th. )
The Government steamer Peiki Sherket arrived here on
the 29th ult., bringing the welcome intelligence of the termi-
nation of the Candian insurrection without further bloodshed.
The rebels had accepted the amnesty offered to them by the
Caudan Pacha, and had surrendered to his Excellency Aus-
tapha Pacha. Sonic of the must guilty had effected their
escape by an outlet, perhaps designedly left open fur that pur-
pose, whilst the submission of the rest was unaccompanied by
the slightest disorder. From the first the orte laboured to
save and not to destroy the misguided perturbators of the public
peace, and its success in this benevolent object will be a source
of r'joicnig to every well-thinking man. By the submission
of the insurgents, the Ottoman empire is restored to a state
of tranquillity more complete than it has at any time enjoyed
during the last two-and-twenty years.
A measure of paramount importance has just been adopted.
It. must long have been apparent to close observers that the
grand clog upon the actiou of the Porte, which impeded its
progress, and superinduced a semblance of weakness that in
truth existed not, was the want of unity in the direction of
affairs. In the latter part of the reign of the late Sultan, in
particular, the Government became a complete oligarchy ;
every high functionary being within his sphere an independent
ruler, perfectly uncontrolled in the exercise of Ins office.
He did just what he pleased, on a kind of understanding
that he interfered not with the proceedings of his col-
leeesiie,. and the contusion that ensued was deplorable.
This matter has for some time past been a subject of frequent
and serious discussion, and we are most happy to be enabled to
state that on Wednesday last the Sultan sent to the Porte a
hatti-scheriff, addressed to the Grand Vizir, commanding him
to take upon himself the control of affairs in general, at the
same time ordering the other Ministers to consult him (the
Vizir) on all transactions of importance appertaining to their
respective departments, and to abide by his instructions. Thus
the ruling power is, to a certain extent, collected and centered
in one personage, who, by a proper exercise of wisdom, firm•
tress, and justice, will undoubtedly be able to effect immense
good.
The Sultan frequently takes exercise. On Thursday he
was up the Bosphorus ; on Friday, after going in state to the
mosque at Defterdar Bournou, he paid a visit to his eldest
sister, Salihe Sultan, the wife of Halil Pacha, and dined at
her palace.
Last week a circular was addressed to all the foreign mis•
sions with regard to the sale by Franks of the wine anti spirits of
the country, liable to duty and excise, which they (the franks)
find the means of avoiding ; thus at once defrauding the revenue
and inflicting injury on the rayah dealers. The shopkeepers here
who have foreign protection may sell foreign wines and spirits
without impediment, but they have no right to deal iu those of
the country without conforming to the regulations under which
Turkish subjects pursue this commerce. It will be difficult,
hcia•t:er, to prevent their continuing the traffic, even with the
best will on the part of the ambassadors, because there are hun-
dreds of Frank shops in Galata and Pera, and the police have
not the right of searching them, or punishing offenders in
any way.
Sir John 111'Neill proceeded for Trebisond on the 26th ult.,
in the Polyphemus. Major Farrant, who arrived here a few
days before to meet him, accompanied his Excellency. The
second son of the late Sir Walter Scott, attached to the em-
bassy, was also of the party. Sir William Symonds went too,
and after leaving Sir John M'Neill at Trebisond, he will repair
to Odessa, there perform his quarantine, and subsequently
visit the naval establishments of the Russian Government in
the Black Sea. The Persian ambassador dined with Sir John
on board the steamer on the day she set out.
Colonel Barnett will shortly set sail for Egypt, whither he
will be accompaaied by J. H. Drummond Hay, Esq. (an ac-
complish"d Arabic scholar) on behalf of the embassy here.
On Friday las: Pera was thrown into a dreadful state of
alarm by the news that a plague case had occurred at the con-
vent of Terra Santa, situate almost in its centre. Three
Catholic priests lately arrived here from Beyrout—orie of
them died in the quarantine, of a disorder supposed not to be
plague : his companions, after the usual term of isolation, were
admitted to pratique, and all was well ; but it appears that the
quarantine guardians had neglected to purify the personal
effects of the priests, and one of them was quickly seized by a
malady which was pronounced to be pestilential. He was in
the evening transported to I.eander's Tower, under proper
care, and the severest sanitary precautions having been adopted
at the convent of Terra Santa, the evil appears fortunately to
have been nipped in the bud. We have, however, a foul bill
to health for 15 days, and if nothing in the meantime happen
of prolong it, there will be 15 days more of a suspected bill,
after which, it is hoped, we shall once more be pure again. In
the meanwhile, many travellers are stopped. This event has
not in the slightest degree affected the personal comfort of resi-
dents, and social frequentation is as free and unreserved a/ever.

An Armenian was last week taken up and lodged in prison
for coining six piaster pieces.
We had on Tuesday, in Fero., what has not been seen for
many a day—viz., the execution of a culprit. An Armenian
fireman, some time ago murdered one musician and wounded
another, merely because they would not, at his order, leave
off playing the clarionet in a tavern where he was drinking.
He was a most violent character, and had killed several othrr
persons at various times. After a proper trial, he was con-
demned to he beheaded at the door of the tavern where his last
crime was committed. No professional headsman (Djellad)
was to be found, and the execution was entrusted to a eavass,
whose nerves so little fitted him for the task that the culprit
was badly mangled before the operation was complete. This
shows that such events are very rare here.

Reports state that there has horn a great deal of fighting
lately in Eavern Caucasus, between the Rus,ian army and
the Cire:ssians under the celebrated Shatnil Boy, the chief
of Daghestan, to whose forces were united those 'of Great
Kabarda. The CircasAans here assert that their countrymen
were completely victorious. Little Kabarda is now united
with the Abazeks, and both have been unmolested this year.
The `37th ult. was an oppressively hot day here. The ther-
mometer rote to 97 of Fahrenheit, and the wind which was
from the S. W., was quite scorching. In the evening it fell
calm, and lightning was playing about in el directions ; the
air smelt as if it came from a heated charnel-house. About
nine o'clock, without the slightest warning, a squall burst
upon us like a clap of thunder, clouds of dust, stones, tiles,
and the branches of trees, swept past with fearful rapidity,
the houses were shaken to their foundations, and we had
truly, to use an Eastern expression, " A sample of the last
day." Most fortunately this took place at night, or the loss
of human life would have been dreadful. The Magicienne
and Polyphemus each lost an anchor, and the well known Seri
Pervaz was, they say, damaged to the extent of near 6001.