The Sun.
London, England, 1856-01-24 00:00:00

GREECE.

Letters from Athens of the 10th inform us that
a ball had taken place at the palace, being the first
which had been given since the death of the Em-
peror Nicholas. The members of the family of M.
Boudoura, who had been carried off by the bri-
gands, were restored, after a ransom of 60,000 f.
demanded by these freebooters. In three or four
months' time the elections for the Chambers will
take place. The Queen was using her influence
with the mayors and persons in authority to throw
every difficulty in the way of those who were
known to be attached to the policy of the Western
Powers, in opposition to the Russian party. Should
her Majesty succeed, the Greek Chambers will not
certainly represent the people, and, on the con-
trary, favour the intrigues of the Court. The
Queen was using the utmost courtesy, however, to
the representatives of England and France, who
have lately made very strong representations to
Government on the subject of brigandage.

THE BALTIC.
HAMBURG, Jan. 22.—The arrival of as many
as 300 vessels laden with salt and other neces-
saries from the various German, Swedish, and
Danish ports at Russian harbours, principally at
Revel, Riga, and Baltic Port, is announced in
our journals, which mention that the quantity
of salt alone has been about 1,500 lasts, reducing
the price of that article considerably in conse-
quence. It is further stated, however, that very
few ships have been enabled to reach Russian
ports with colonial produce, so much required ;
that many vessels had taken in cargoes for
Cronstadt and St. Petersburg again from the,e
places, but with the questionable probability of
reaching those harbours, in consequence of the
weather having changed to hard frost again. On
the 15th inst. 20 degrees of Reaumur had been re-
ported to be the state of the barometer in St. Peters-
burg, which will render it impossible for any vessels
to approach the coast. Very large quantities of
corn (chiefly rye) were ready for shipment at Riga,
and some vessels laden therewith were frozen in in
the harbour with cargoes taken on board for St.
Petersburg.
The reports from St. Petersburg state that much
severe weather had been experienced in the Crimea,
and that heavy snow had fallen in the vicinity of
Simpheropol. In order to reduce as much as pos-
sible the amount of the civil list, the Emperor had
given orders that all vacancies occurring in the
Imperial Court appointments should, for the
future, not be filled up as heretofore, until his or-
ders were made known on the subject. This
ukase proves that all due regard is not paid to the
strictest economy in the State expenses. All
troops organised from among the Bashkir tribes
are henceforth to be called soldiers of the " army
of the Bashkirs."

The weather continues very mild and rainy hero,
and steamers have commenced running again.

THE SOUND DUES.

The Sound. dues conferences were formally opened
at Copenhagen on the 4th in=t., but the business
transacted consisted of little more than the presen-
tation and verification of the different credentials.
The Russian Commissioner, Tengoborski, was the
only specially nominated deputy there. The
Danish papers for a long time observed the most
perfect silence on the subject of these conferences,
and it was not till the 14th inst. that the Dagbladct
favoured the public with a few particulars from a
private source. According to this statement the
Minister Von Scheel opened the proceedings by
announcing that Herr Bluhme, the ci devant Mini-
ster for Foreign Affairs, was deputed by the Go-
vernment to represent Denmark, after which
communication he withdrew. The assembly
was composed of the representatives of twelve
States. Herr B.luhtne proceeded to develope a
plan for the capitalisation of the Sound dues, and
of the other incidental payments, based upon a
mixed calculation of the imports and exports of the
various nations. At that part of his speech in
which he described Denmark as having come for.
ward to meet the others half-way he was inter-
rupted by Herr Tengoborski, who maintained that
it was Russia that came half-way to meet Denmark,
seeing that the former bad no desire at all to capi-
talise her share ; Hamburg and Mecklenburg had
also already declared they had no desire to com-
mute their payment of the Sound dues for a fixed
sum down. The speech of the Danish representa-
tive was answered by Baron Lagerheim, the re-
presentative of Sweden and Norway. As all the
materials had not been collected that the members
thought necessary for their deliberations, more
particularly the reports or the Sound dues from
the years 1841 to 1847, the conferences were ad-
journed till the end of this month. The delibera-
tions seem hitherto not to have been conducted in
the most regular and tranquil manner possible, for
it is mentioned that it took considerable trouble to
get a protocol or minutes of the proceedings drawn
up and agreed to.

Letters from Vienna state that the Esterhazy
prepositions are ifeerpreted by the Russian party
there to permit the maintenance of Nicolaieff, and
also of the Russian forts on the Circassian coast,
as well as the re-edification of those which have
been partially destroyed.
Several of the foreign
,journals allege that the
Czar sent orders to Prince Gortschakoff on the 18th
to suspend hostilities.
The courier expected at Vienna from St. Peters-
burg, with the despatches containing the acceptance
of the peace propositions, was to arrive in the Aus-
trian capital to-day.

A letter from Vienna of the 18th, in the Pose
Ampt Gazette, says :—The armistice will be con-
cluded, it is said, for three months, because it is
hoped that by that time the negotiations for peace
may be sufficiently advanced to allow their result
to be foreseen with certainty.

ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM IN AMERICA.—The fol.
lowing letter, which has been addressed by Richard B.
Connolly, Esq., the county clerk, to his subordinates,
will exert a salutary influence in securing their atten-
tion to the public duties required of them. The example
thus set by .I,fr. Connolly may be followed with profit
by the heads of other departments :—" County Clerk's
Office, New York, Jan. 2.—Dear Sir,—The under-
signed embraces this mode of informing each clerk in
the office, or under his direction, that he has observed
for some time past a great want of attention to the busi-
ness of the office on the part of a number of tho clerks ;
and as all such clerks who have failed to perform
their duty must be aware of the fact, this note sin
tended to advise them that no considerations of a politi-
cal or other nature will induce the undersigned to tole-
rate a neglect of official duty ; and as each person ad-
dressed fully knows the hours prescribed by law for the
performance of the duties of the office, he begs to say
that hereafter he will require the faithful attendance of
each clerk from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. ; and further, that
a non-compliance with this request will be considered as
a resignation. Clerks who shall he assigned to perform
duties in the several courts are required to attend at
this office when not on actual duty in courts.—Respect-
fully yours, RICHAND B. CONNOLLY. —New York Courier
wsd Enquirer.
CHARGE OF ROESERY AT THE EXETER POST-OFFICE.—
Mr. Edwin Hyett, a clerk in the Exeter Post-office,
was charged before the Mayor and magistrates, sit-
ting at the Exeter Guildhall on Monday, under the lst
Victoria, cap. 36,
secs. 25, 26, and 27, with abstracting
money from a letter while in course of transmission
through the Post-office. The prisoner is respectably
connected, and has a wife and three children. Some
years ago he was charged, in conjunction with his
brother, with robbery at the Exeter Post-office, and,
although they were acquitted, Mr. Edwin Hyett, the
prisoner, was suspended from his situation for two years.
In the meantime a letter-carrier named Harrapp was
apprehended on several charges of robbery at the same
Post-office, and, being convicted and sentenced to trans-
portation, he confessed to have committed the robbery
with which the Hyetts had been charged. On this
being made known to the Post-office authorities Mr.
Edwin Hyett was restored to his situation. The cir-
cumstance of the present charge, as sworn to by a
letter-sorter in the Exeter Post-office, named Elliot, were
these .--On Friday, the 18th inst., Mr. Hyett
was on
duty as superintendent for the day. The north mail hav-
ing arrived, Elliot put the paid letters into their usual
places previous to " sorting," and tank the unpaid let-
ters to Mr. Hyett, for the purpose of having them
checked, Elliott then took bundles of letters to sort,
leaving one on a counter. Shortly afterwards he alleged
that he saw Mr. Hyett come over to the counter, feel
several of the letters, and ultimately take a coloured
one, with two or three others, to his desk, this being no
part of his duty. While at his desk Elliott said he dis•
tieetly saw him open the coloured letter, and just as he
had done so the postmaster, Mr. Teesdale, came in tothe
office, when Mr. Hyett re-folded the letter. Elliott
stepped forward and said " That's not sight, Mr. fly-
ett, and took the letter in 'question from his hand, giving
it to Mr. Teesdale, and telling him the circumstances.
The letter was from Toronto, and contained three
one of them being wrapp9d in a piece of paper
which contained the words "This is for mother." When
Mr. Hyett was charged with the offence he indignantly
denied it, and said that the letter, as it often happens,
was opened, and that he was about to go to Mr. Tees-
dale and tell hi n of it when he was accused by Elliott.
The letter was sealed with three wafers, but had the ap-
pearance either of not having been securely sealed, or
that the person who opened it did it so very carefully,
as there were no pieces of paper sticking to the wafers.
The magistrates committed the prisoner for trial at the
next antes, but accepted bail,