The Sun.
London, England, 1857-12-10 00:00:00

RUSSIA.

A the The reply of Prince Dleetbtaetre
sfraoyms
:_St,. Petersburg of the 29th ni
,l-. in
Gortscha-
koff to the notes of Turkey, France, Austria, and
England, in which those powers had demanded
explanations from the Russian government rela-
tive to the closing of certain ports in the Black
Sea, was certainly sent off some days ago. The
answer given by the Russian Minister of Foreign
Affairs is very perm piory He maintains the
right of his sovereign to close the said ports, into
which, under favour of a neutral flag, a con-
siderable quantity of arms and ammunition had
been introduced, for the supply of a
people with
whom Rue ,i 1 is at war. Cinfidence is felt here
that the arguments made use of by Prince Gort-
schakoff will be fully appreciated at London and in
Paris." The same letter says ;—" According to
the last accounts from Cronstadt 100 foreign vessels
are locked up by the ice in the port and roadstead,
and it i 3 more than probable that they will not be
set free until about the month of May next. Some
of these vessels are in such imminent danger that
it has been thought indispensable to discharge their
cargoes and convey the merchandise over the ice
and deposit it in warehouses in the town."
A letter from St. Petersburg, in the Siede, says:
—" The rebuilding of Sebastopol, as is well known,
is interdicted by the treaty of Paris,; but in that
stipulation it is only the south side of the town that
is mentioned, and nothing is said against the north
side remaining as it ict, or the fortifications
being extended. This part of the place was
in consequence very minutely examined by the
Grand Duke Nicholas during his late visit to the
Crimea, and works of fortification have been cern-
menc ?d. there. The Russian Government, profiting
by the lessons of the late war, is also building a
new fortress near Kertch. Letters from that place
announce the arrival of the Grand Duke there, and
state that,
in company with the Haman of the
Cossacks, he had visited the site of this now for-
tress."

The Bourse Gazette of Berlin stys:—"
PRUSSIA.
We have
already spoken of the invitation addressed by Aus-
tria to the Zollverein to assemble a conference to
give fresh extension to the treaty of commerce
which exists between them: Iu the conference in
question, which will probably opm about the 15th
January next, and at which the Zollverein will be
represented by conamisqoners from Prussia,
Saxony, and Bavaria, the propositions made last
month by Austria will be discaizsed,
adopted. T object r
more particularly is to faci-
litate relations on the frontiers, and to reduce the
duties on raw mater.als." and probably
h.)

----
MONTENECIRO.
"The differeac,)s which exist between Turkey
and Montenegro," says a Vienna letter, in the
Szvabiaib Mercury, "appear certain to be speedily
settled in some way or other, either by diplomatic;
negotiation or by force. The reign of terror up
held by Prince Dana() w:Aild in itself be a suffi-
cient pi etext for interference, but a batter reasin
eau be found in the refusal of that prince to pay
the tribute to the Paeha of Scutari, Turkey, it

must not be forgotten, has a considerable force in
the vicinity of Montenegro."

SPAIN.

The Madrid Gazette of the sth announces that
on the previous day the King gave a private audi-
ence to the Marquis de Turgot, French AmbaFsa-
dor, who congratulated Lim' in the name of the
Emperor and Empress of the French, on thebirth of
a Prince of the Asturias. The Gazette publishes
numerous addresses of congratulation to the
Queen, one of them from the Spanish Embassy at
Paris. It also contains a circular from the Minis-
ter of Grace and Justice to the bishops, stating
that the Queen entertains such veneration for the
mystery of the Most Holy Conception that her
Majesty desires that the special service for it may,
on the first occasion, be celebrated with great pomp
in all churches. A silver box, containing 3,000
newly-coined gold pieces, was about to be presented
to the newly-born Prince by the province of the
Asturias. It was believed that the ministry had
resolved not to choose a political personage as can-
didate for the Presidency of the Cortes, and. that
the opposition would not vote against the person so
selected.