The Sun.
London, England, 1848-12-04 00:00:00

RUSSIA.

The IColniche Zeitung gives the following letter
from Posen, dated 25th November:--
"A traveller, who has just arrived from Warsaw, as-
sures us that the strength of the Russian army, which is
already assembled on this side the Weischel, amounts
to nearly 400,000 men. The head-quarters of their
artillery, which numbers some 300 pieces of cannon,
is at Kresniewise, thirteen miles from the Prussian
boundary, on the high road from Kalisch to Warsaw,
and which is the connecting point of the roads to
Thorn, Posen, and Breslau. Warsaw and the sur-
rounding places are also full of troops. Up to the de-
parture of ourinformant, the guards had not arrived from
St. Petersburgh, as had been reported fur several days;
neither had any commander-in-chief been yet named.
The arrival and appointment of one was expected when
war should be declared. Upon the affairs of Germany
generally the most complete ignorance prevailed at War•
saw and nearly throughout the whole kiagdom of Poland.
The official papers give in their reports the most fright-
ful accounts of the prevailing anarchy, of the desecration
of churches and murders; and, in short, they state that
the struggle is not one for the political freedom of the
people, but a purely religious fight, in which a parcel of
wild, hot• headed pagans and blasphemers were striving
against the believers in Christ. These assertions are
not generally credited by well-informed people;
but it is considered that they are put forth for
the purpose of exciting the common soldiery, in whom
they have created the wildest fanaticism. The strictest
observation is kept on foreigners. Every one must, On
his arrival, declare the object of his journey; and if he is
a workman, he must at once go to the person by whom
he is engaged, and even then the strictest surveillance is
exercised towards him. My informant himself had per-
fect experience on this point; because he had, immedi-
ately on his arrival, changed some foreign money for
Russian silver coin, before ho had reported himself to the
police-office for foreigners, he was compelled to undergo
the strictest examination, which lasted for eight days;
and, as long as he remained, he was compelled to report
himself daily to the police, and to give an account of
his doings.
"But if the foreigner is merely travelling for amuse-
ment he is immediately regarded with suspicion, and
everybody is more or less suspected, and he is conducted
back over the border, unless he is provided with
the recommendation of some influential party. If
that is the case, he is allowed, with the greatest
precautions and civilities, to proceed to Warsaw
with a companion, who appears in the character of
a friend, but who makes a daily written report of all
circumstances and people to whom he may speak, which
report is, daily forwarded to the highest authority in the
district, and his companion never leaves him night er
day, but eats, drinks, and sleeps in the same apartment
with him until he takes his departure. From such policy
towards strangers, and from the prohibition of all Ger-
man papers, it is only natural that the grossest igno-
rance should prevail as to occurrences in the other parts
of the world. Nevertheless there are several amongst
the higher classes who are perfectly well-informed of
what is going forward here and in Germany. Thoy ob-
tain news personally and at great risk even to the
greatest and most important personages. We know of
a Magnate from the neighbourhood of Sandomierz, who
has been no less than six times here, to inform himself
of what is going on."