The Sun.
London, England, 1857-07-03 00:00:00

TURKEY.

CONSTANTINOPLE JUNE 22.
The Sultan has at la.t undertaken his long
talked of tour in the Sea of Marmora. Every one
thought that he bad given up the idea, or at least
deferred it until the festivities of the circumcision
were over, when, all of a sudden, on Saturday last
at noon, the Grand Nizler received a notice that on.
'Sunday (that is, yesterday), at 1 p.m., his Ma-
jesty would start, and wished the Grand Vizier
and his two brothers-in-law (Ahmed Fethi, Three-
tor-General of the Ordnance, and Mehmed Ali, the
Capudan Pasha) to accompay him. This trip of
the Sultan, ordered and counter-ordered as it was,
is, like every other movement in the palace,
brought into connexion with changes in the Go-
vernment, and speculation is so much the more
busy as on onts occasi, m. a change of air for the
health of the Sultan was followed by a change in
the Ministry. Strange things are these changes.
Since the beginning of the Ottoman history there
never has been a reign during which so many
changes have taken place as under the present.
In 18 years as many as 17 diff•rent Governments
have been lot med, which gives almost one for'every
3161 r—nay, if we calculate that Redschid Pasha
has been twice in power for several years, we shall
find that there are almost two f,r each of the re-'
rnaining years. This is so much the more curious
as these frequent changes fall justar an ep,ch when
Turkey
,is supposed t.) have aband .iied the old
BYstem 'of favouritism under which the Sultan's
Whims were law, and to have establishod fixed
rules according to which the Government of the
evapira is to be carried on.

Her Majesty's ship Medina, Captain T. Spratt,
left this on Wednesday 1 Ist for the Dinube, where
she will be of the greatest service to the Com-
te ission on the Danube Navigation. The Medina
was up in those parts last year, and all the three
branches of the river have been minu'ely sur-
veyed and sounded by Lieutenant Wilkinson, un-
der the superintendence of Captain Spratt, who has
drawn up a report on the subject. I shall have to
speak of this report at some other time. I wish only
to remark here that these are the first reliable sur-
veys ever made of that country, and that they
will, together with the practical suggestions of
Captain Spratt, considerably" facilitate the work of
the Comnoi,sion. On her way from Malta to this
place the Medina has made soundings between the
formerisland and Candia,wh'ch have given some very
interesting results. The bottom between the two
islands appears to be one large valley or basin, with
very steep sides, so that at 30 or 40 miles from the
shore the depth rapidly increasea over 1, 000 fathoms,
showing at the deepest point explored as much as
2;000 and odd fathools. By an ingenious contri-
vance Capt. Spratt has succeeded in getting up a
considerable quantity of perfectly dry and hard
yellowish soil from that depth, the examination of
which will throw considerable light on the forma-
tion of the whole basin of the Mediterranean.
According to an announcement of the Messageries
Imperiales, the direct boats of that company will
leave this from. the Ist July on Wednesdays instead
of Moucloys.