The Sun.
London, England, 1856-01-03 00:00:00

LATEST NEWS.

ST. PETERSBURG, J. 1.

In conformity with a new Ukase, the non-com-

missioned officers of the navy who, in conse-

quenee of their wounds, can no longer serve on
board the fleet, will be employed in the batteries
destined to defend the coasts of the Baltic in the

approaching campaign.

CONSTANTINOPLE, DEC. 24.

Many persons have already abandoned Erze-
romn in the fear of a Russian attack, and taken

refuge at Trebizond.

Omer Paella has returned to Soukoum-Kaleh,

renouncing his intention to attack Kutais.

FRANCE.

PARIS, WEDNESDAY EVENING.
At the reception at the Tuileries yesterday the
Emperor and Empress in the private apartments
of their Majesties were Prince Jerome, Prince
Napoleon, the Princess Mathilde, Prince Louis
Lucien Bonaparte, Prince Lucien Murat, the
Princess Baccioehi, and the Princess Lucien
Murat. When the corps diplomatique were pre-
sented, the Apostolic -Nuncio acted as the organ of
that body to express their congratulations and
good wishes to the Emperor and Empress. When
the general reception took place the Emperor seated
himself on the throne, having on his right Prince
Jerome, Prince Lucien Bonaparte, and Prince
Joachim Murat ; and on his left Prince Napoleon
and Prince Lucien Murat.

" Our port (says the Armoricain, of Brest) is
every day displaying greater activity. Fete days
and Sundays the men are hard at work, to have
ready in sprinc, the immense mass of stores and ves-
sels required for the naval operations which are to
take place against Russia."

BOURSE, Jan. 2.—The following are the last
quotations :

Cash. fr. e. End of Month.
41 per Cents 9l 50 —f. --c.
3 per Cents 63 33 G 4 90
New Loan 64 30
Bank Shares 3170 Roman
Credit hlobilier 1333 Austrian
Belgian Fives ...... .. Spanish Threes —
Piedmontese B6 75 Home Debt ...... ... 32

RAILWAYS—POE CASH.
tr. e.
Or!qans ... ll3O Western 750
Northern
Lyons ... . 1132 50 New Ditto 740
Niediterranean — Grand Central 575
Dons Geneva 6Boj— Tests
Catte

POSITION OF OMER PACHA.
The Vienna Military Gazette publishes the fol-
lowing :—" It is probably no longer doubted by
any one that our correspondent at Trebizond was
well informed when he wrote that Omer Paella
had not for weeks lost sight of the Pontic coast,
and that he had not advanced further than the
small town of Chopi, on the right bank of the
small river bearing the same name. Skender
Paella, it is true, advanced along the excellent
road that runs to Abasha, but did not venture fur-
ther than Tchenitzehale. He only did this for the
purpose of ascertaining whether or no the Russians,
under the command of General Bagration Mu-
harski, and reinforced by the troops of General
Brunner, had taken up a position in Levano and
Kutyri on the left bank of that river. Having
done this, Omer Pacha decided on retreating to
Redoubt Kaleh and Anaklea. It having at
the same time become known that the Russian
Commander intended sending to Mingrelia all
the troops collected in the fluvial districts of
the mountains near Gori, so that they may
act on the offensive, die Turkish Admiral,
Alimet Paella received orders to place all the dis-
posal Turkish and Egyptian steamers at Omer
Pacha's service. It is possible that a re-embar-
kation of the troops is to be made.
Mustapha Pacha has, in a similar way, retreated
to Batoum, in order to pass the winter in that un-
healthy coast station. As we cannot suppose Omer
Paella means to persist in wintering where he is at
present, seeing that he is exposed to the danger of
being attacked by the Russians, and unable to
make any great resistance, Anaklea and Redout
Kaleh being only small forts, it is highly probable
that the entire Turkish army will be brought to
the Roumeliaa harbours, and stationed there in
winter quarters. The Russians too will do no
more than garrison Kars, and will not advance on
the offensive in the wide radius between the Wes-
tern and the Eastern Euphrates. General Moura-
vieff has detached one division to Achalkalak and
Achalzik, whilst another division has escorted the
captured garrison of Kars to Tiflis. The Pachas,
and few superior officers, will be transferred to
Moscow ; the remaining officers with the men,
will have probably to pass the winter in the govern-
ment of Tiflis.

TURKEY.

CONSTANTINOPLE, DEC. 24.

The news of the fall of Kars, although long ex-
pected, has produced a deep impression here, espe-
cially on those who are most concerned by it—
namely, the Turks and the Turkish Government.
Numberless are the councils and conferences which
have taken place in consequence.
The object of all these councils is, first, to find
out the person or persons who are to blame for the
disasters, and then to guard against its conse-
quences. Everybody seems agreed that no blame
could possibly attach to the garrison of Kars, which
did whatever was humanly possible to do.
Just as all opinions are unanimous in respect to
the garrison at Kars, so are they divided as to the
really guilty parties. The Allies, the Turkish
Government, Selim Pasha, and Omer Pasha are all
in their turn pointed out as the offenders.

The Allies are blamed for not having speedily
enough supplied the means of transport for the
Turkish troops in the Crimea. Whoever knows
anything of the circumstances will easily absolve
them on this score.

The mistake of the Allies seems rather to have
been that they broke up the Turkish army by
taking away such a large portion of it to the Cri-
►nea, where they were of no earthly use. They
thus paralysed the whole and rendered it inefficient.

The charges which are brought against the
Turkish Government are of a more general charac-
ter, and certainly this changeable nondescript body
must in a great measure be held responsible for the
state in which it left its Asiatic frontiers. A
Turkish town was to be rescued, and an army to be
formed in a Mahomedan country ; what better
centre of union could have been found than Turk-
ish troops organised by European. officers ? Whose
fault it was that the idea of sending there the
Turkish Contingent has not been carried out is a
mystery. Some blame General Vivian, others
fiord Stratford, others the French Government,
and others the Turkish Government. The most
probable supposition is that the project failed on
account of the different views entertained about
matters of detail.

When the sending the Turkish Contingent for
the relief of Kars was given up, the army of Omer
Pasha was thought of ; and he, anxious to escape
from the anomalous position in which he found
himself in the Crimea, eagerly seized this opportu-
nity, and went down to Constantinople to make
the final arrangements.
Gdneral Williams had written several times that
he did not think it advisable to attack the Russian

position in front, and that the best way to relieve
him would be to make some flank, or rather rear
movement from Batoum ; and it was with this
understanding that Omer Pasha departed. After
a few days' stay in the Crimea he went to Batoum,
and the original orders for the troops which were
to be concentrated were to go to that place.
But this original plan to operate from Batoum
was not adhered to. Soukum-Kaleh was chosen
as the point of concentration, and Kutais as the
line of operations. This was tantamount to giving
up the idea of relieving Kars. When the first
troops were beginning to arrive at Soukurn-Kaleh
the garrison of Kars was already on short rations,
and it required no great power of combination to
see that before the effect of this demonstration
could be felt Kars would have fallen.

oukum-Kaleh, as a base of operations for an
army of (30,000 =en, well provided with every-
thing—especially baggage animals--would be in-
valuable in the spring and would lead to consider-
able results, but it could never have had the effect
of relieving Kars. Mouravieff did not send a single
man away before ho was sure of the fail of Kars ;
ho ignored entirely the flank movement as soon as
Soukum-Kaleb was chosen as the point of opera-
tions.

It would be, however, unfair to condemn Omer
Pasha without inquiring what were the reasons
why he abandoned the original plan.
Besides this fatal alteration of the original plan,
Omer Pasha is likewise accused of having lost time
uselessly.
Selim Pasha, the Commander of Erzeroum, is
the last on the list of those accused of not having
done enough for the relief of Kars. He had
10,000 nien in Erzeroum, and he ought to have
moved. Besides the inquiry into the causes of till
fall of Kars, the Turkish Government is busy

making arrangements for the better organisation
of the Asiatic affairs ; troops are sent there from
every part of the empire, with provisions and
clothing, as well as ammunition. Erzeroum is so
full of the latter that the Government has been
requested to stop sending any more.