The Sun.
London, England, 1858-12-13 00:00:00

RAILWAYS.

Cash. Account.
Orleans
Northern .
New ditto ... 840 .. 842 50
Lyons and Mediterranean....... 880 .. 880
New ditto —

Geneva 625
Midi .
Southern
Western 6lO 605
Eastern ... 700 .. 692 50
Grand Central
Sardinian
Austrian

.. 622 50

Exchange on London, at sight, paper, 25f. Inc. ; money,
25f. 10e. ; three months, paper, 24f. 051 e. ; money, 24f.
90e.

ITALY.

NICE, Dec. G.—The Grand Duke Constantine of
Russia, accompanied by the Grand Duchess and
their son, arrived at Villafranca, at 10 o'clock this
morning in the Russian war ship Retzivan, fol-
lowed by the frigates Bayan and Polkan. As soon
as the Retzivan had cast anchor in the roads a
salute of 21 guns was fired from the fort of Villa-
franca, and was answered by the Bayan gun for
gun.
The Intendant-General de la Marmora, Majot.
General :Kollar, the Russian consul at Nice, and the
Russian vice-consul at Villafranca, went on board
the Retzivan to salute the august visitors. At noon
their Imperial Highnesses disembarked, the three
Russian ships firing salvos of artillery, while the
bands played national airs. Carriages were in
waiting to convey them to Nice, to which place
they were escorted by a picket of Sardinian cara-
bineers. At a quarter past one they arrived at the
Victoria Hotel, where a detachment of Sardinian
troops was in readiness to receive them.
At Genoa, from which the Imperial party had
come, the Grand Duke and his consort were received
by the authorities, and drove about the town in an
open carriages.

A St. Petersburg letter says:—" The nomina-
of Count Karolyi as Austrian ambassador to our
Court appears to be confirmed. It is now apparent
why the Cabinet of Vienna hesitated so long in
choosing a representative. M. de Balabine, our
Minister to Vienna, had never been at the head of
any legation, having been previously Secretary of
Embassy. Austria, in consequence, did not wish
to send to St. Petersburg any but a young diplo-
matist, who would be in an analogous position; and
it has now found that person in Count Karolyi.
The Austrian and Neapolitan Governments, a
Vienna letter states, have come to an understand-
ing on the subject of the small island of Pelagosa,
situated in the Adriatic, which is for the future to
form part of the Austrian possessions, and have a
lighthouse constructed on it by that power.

The Boersenhalle of Hamburg of the 7th says :
" The commission on the navigation of the Elbe
which has been assembled in this city since June
last has just brought its deliberation to a close, but
-without coming to any definitive result. iilthough
Prussia, Austria, Saxony, and Hamburg modified
their previous propositions, and merely demanded
that the dues on the river should be reduced one
quarter instead of one half, as they at first pro-
posed, Hanover and Mecklenburg have persisted in
opposing any reduction whatever. At the last
sitting Prussia and the other powers above men-
tioned again proposed the reduction of one-fourth,
but that course was again opposed, and the sittings
were adjourned sine die."

Accounts from Damascus state that the Porte
had obtained the most complete success in its
Syrian expedition. Ismael Bey had been aban-
doned by all his people, and given up by the in-
habitants of a village where he had taken refuge,