The Sun.
London, England, 1857-08-18 00:00:00

FRANCE.

" PARIS, MONDAY.
The Emperor and Empress left St. Cloud to-
day at 4 o'clock for Biarritz.
The Moniteur announces the reception, by the
Emperor, of his Excellency Ferukh Khan, Ambas-
sador of the Shah of Persia, at a private audience,
whereat the Ambassador presented an autograph
litter from the Shah, together with a sabre which
belonged to Shah Abbas the Second, as an offering
to the Emperor.
M. B•llault, Minister of the Interior, is ele-
vated to the dignity of Grand Cross of the
Legion of Honour, and M. R. Maud, Minister of
Instruction and Public Worship, to that of Grand
Officer in the same order.

Marshal Vaillant, Minister of War, is charged
with the Ministry of Public Instruction and Wor-
ship, (luting the leave of absence granted to M.
Roul and. There are also several lists of promotions
in honour of the fete of Saint Napoleon.
The distribution of medals to the successful
artists at the exhibition of 1857 is also contained in
the official journal.
The prefect of police has issued the following
circular to the police commissaries of the depart-
ment of the Seine, on the important subject of
the reimbursement of the sacrifices made during
the last three years to keep down the price of
bread. in Paris :

My decree of this day's date lowers the price
of bread to 40c. (it was previously 44c.) for the
second fortnight of August. The dearness of bread,
which involves high prices of almost all the neces-
saries of life, has not only been openly combated
during the long crisis which we have passed through,
but it has also been indirectly remedied by measures
of a,,sistance without preced,..nt, and I may also say
without limits. The Emperor's gifts have enabled
us to open in Paris and the department of the Seine
no less than 70 kitchens, where during the winter
substantial fool has been sold to the po)r at very
cheap rates. The Empress has generously endowed
the " Institution of small lodgings." Their Majes-
ties, through the Minister of the Interior, have
placed at my disposition large resources, which have
enabled me to make daily distributions of in onty a,nd
provisions. Thinks to these coin' dned efforts w e have
been able t,) attenuate the effects of the crisis, which

now Approaches its termination. But th conse-
quences willbe felt for some time to come. It is only
by great saciifices that, during the last three years,
the price of bread has been kept in Paris and the
department of the Seine at a rate much lower
than what people have been paying in all other
parts of the empire. The municipal council of
Paris, which has lent its aid to the government
iu these trying circumstances, has been compelled
to call for the restitution of very considerable
advances, bath in the interest of the city and of
the great public works, which concern alike the
present and the future. Its resolution, approved
of by the ministers of agriculture and commerce,
makes it necessary to keep up the price of
bread a little above its natural level, but the mea-
sure will be used with an extreme reserve, and the
surcharge will never in future Exceed two or three
centimes the kilogramme. This trifling surcharge of
a CCIIVIII,3 the p,mnd proves sufficiently that the Em-
perm. will not allow the people to pay by new suffer-
ings for the relief they received formerly. LA
them know this, and assure them that no one is more
penetrated than I am with these stm:iments of the
Emperor, who, as you know, will never be satisfied
till he has assured the welfare of the labJurilig
clas,es.

Receive, &c., the Senator Prefect of Police,
PIETIU.

RUSSIA.

The Gazette de Cologne publishes a telegraphic
despatch from Koenigsberg, announcing that the
cabinet of St.. Petersburg has resolved t.) make a
rAuctiou of up% arcls of 30,000 men in the Imperial
Guard. Each regiment will have a colonel, and
will be reduced t.) 800 men. A reduction of the
whole army is sail to be probable. A despatch
announces also that the Russian government is
engaged in equipping a flotilla destined for the
Chinese Sea•.

PRUSSIA.
The Berlin Zeit makes the following reply to
the violent attacks made by the Austrian journals
against the policy of Prussia, more especially
as
regards the question of the Danubian Princi-
palities :
" A portion of the Austrian press, especially the
Ost. Deutsche Post, attacks in s.) uubecomin4 a
manner the Prussian Cabinet, because it has de-
manded the annulment of the elections in Mo!davia,
ami broken off its diplomatic relations with the
Porte, that we deem it beneath the honour of
Prussia to reply. In our opinion all that Prussia
has to do is conscientiously t,) examine the argu-
ments of her adversaries ; we have no ears to
to the violent outburs's of their anger.
" Prussia, as a great Power, follows her own line
of policy to-day, as she did during the war in the
East. Let them get accustomed to this at Vienna
in time, and let them not, even in appearance, un-
derrate the importance of the Prussian resolutions.
It is only by consulting reciprocA interests that a
guarantee of harmony can be. obtained. England
having, as it is known, adhered to the policy of the
united Governments, the Austrian journals will,
doublers, in a few days receive orders to change
their tone, so as not to render still more diffiewt
the position of the Cabinet of Vienna, which will
scarcely make an attempt to prevent the annulment
of the elections in Moldavia."

THE BALTIC.

HAMBURG, Aua. 3.5.

The extremely hot weather we have experienced
during the last few days has done much fur the har-
vest in the surrounding distriet4, and, excepting
some cases of sudden illness, has been productive of
great benefits to all classes of the community. A
striking proof of the power of the sun's rays was
observed on Thursday form, ion at the laboratory of
the Civic Artillery Ammunition Store, in which
the pyrotechnic artisans carry on their
While M. Bergholst and his two sons were employed
in their vocation and using every possible pre caution
to shield their operations, the rays of the sun fell on
a round piece of glass through the only small window
exposed to its effects, and set fire to some paper close
at hand avid burnt a hole through the boards on the
upper floor of the building through which it reached
some ammunition below, which immediately ex-
ploded. Fortunately the stock of ammunition was
not large, a portion having been previously removed
to the powder magazine close by, and the prompt
application of water stopped the progress of the
burning embers. The pyrotechnist and his two
sons had just time to esc ape, and the only personal
injury sustained was by one of the workmen, who
was slightly burnt. The alarm, however, was for
some time considerable for the safety of the adjoin-
ing powder store.
Accounts have been received that at the town of
Bojanuvo, in the province of Posen, in the district
or Kroben, situate between Nawietz and Lissa, and
through which place the Breslau asd Posen Rail-
way runs, a very large fire happened in a similar
way on the 13th inst., on which occa-ion 350 out
of 420 houses were burnt down, thereby causing
2,000 persons to be entirely houseless.
Telegraphic accounts from Stockholm of the 13th
inst. state that the Swedish Reichstag had decided
that the railway between Stockholm and Gotten-
burg should pass to the south of the Malarsee.
The latest bulletin on the state of the King's,
health was not so satisfactory as expected, and had
given rise to much alarm.

Commander B. P. Priest has been appointed
superintendent of the packet service and harbour-
master at Holyhead, at the disposal of the Lords
of the Admiralty, by the promotion of Comman-
der Skinner to the rank of Captain.
Commander G. A. C. Brooker and Commander
W. M'Dowell have bk en appointed respectively
to the Inflexible and the Hornet, in the room of
Commander Corbet and Commander Forsyth, both
promoted to the rank of Captain.