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FRANOE.—The Prussian General Wedell returned to Paris last Satur- day. He had an interview with M. Drouyn de Lhuys on Tuesday, and with the Emperor on Wednesday. Nothing is said of the progress of the negotiations ; but we are told that General Wedell was the bearer of a letter from the King of Prussia, announcing the death of the Emperor Nicholas. Thejourney of the Emperor Napoleon to the Crimea seems to be postponed. The Minister of the Interior has issued a circular to the Prefects, call-

ing their attention to the mischievous consequences likely to result from the publication of letters in the journals giving details as to the strength and plans of the Allies in the Crimea and directing the Prefects to im- press on the editors of the journals the necessity of confining themselves to the recital of battles or other faits aecomplis.

Russu..—No fresh intelligence has been received from St. Petersburg; and we have not yet got further beyond the announcements of the tele- graph than the text of the new Emperor's manifesto, and some further details of the death of the late Czar.

(From the Journal of St. Petersburg, March 3.)

"St. Petersburg, Feb. 18 [March 2.] "By the grace of God, we, Alexander 11, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias, King of Poland, &c. &c. "We make known to all our faithful subjects—

"In His impenetrable ways, it has pleased God to strike us all with a

blow as terrible as it was unexpected. Following a brief but serious illness, which at its close was developed with an unheard-of rapidity, our much- loved father, the Emperor Nicholas Parlovitch, has departed life this day, the 18th February. No language can express our grief, which is the grief also of our faithful subjects. Submitting with resignation to the impene- trable views of Divine Providence, we seek consolation but in Him, and

wait from Him alone the necessary aid to enable us to sustain the burden

which it has pleased Him to impose upon us. Even as the much-loved father whom we mourn consecrated all his efforts, every moment of his life' to the labours and to the cares called for by the wellbeing of his subjects, we, at this hour so painful, but also so grave and so solemn, in ascendi our hereditary throne of the empire of Russia, of the kingdom of Po and of the grand duchy of Finland, which are inseparable, take, in the face of the invisible God always surrounding us, the sacred pledge, never to have any other end but the prosperity of our country. May Providence, who has called us to this high mission, so aid us that, guided and protected by Him, we may be able to strengthen Russia in the highest degree of power aW glory ; that by us may be accomplished the views and the desires of our il- lustrious predecessors, Peter Catherine, Alexander the much-loved, and our august father of imperishable memory. " By their well-proved zeal, by their prayers ardently united with ours. before the altars of the Most High, our dear subjects will come to our aid. We invite them to do so ; commanding. them to take at the same the the oath of fidelity both to us and to our heir, his Imperial Highness t revitch Grand Duke Nicholas Alexandrovach. "Given at St. Petersburg, the 18th day of the month of February of the year of grace 1855, and the first year of our reign. ALEXANDER." A more detailed account of the illness and death of the Emperor Xt.% cholas, dated St. Petersburg, March ; has appeared ;since our last publi- cation. For some time the Emperor bad suffered from influerma„ anima the 18th February Dr. Mandt asked permission to call in other physi- cians : the Emperor turned it off with a joke, yet he permitted Dr.

liarell to be called in. By degrees he became worse ; and his cough in- creased. Yet he would not keep his room, but drove out in his sledge, on the 22d February, to the Exercising-house, to see some infantry about to march to Lithuania. That was his last appearance in public. He re- marked, that although it was cold, he was in a "perfect bath of perspi- ratioi3." In the evening he complained of being cold, and sat with his cloak on in the room of the Empress. Ile never after quitted his study;

and on the 23d transferred all businest, to his son Alexander. During the whole time he lay on his camp-bed--" a easing of Russia leather

filled with hay, a bolster of the same kind, and with a blanket and cloak

over him." it was on the night of March 1st that Dr. Mandt told him he was dangerously ill, and that he was liable to "paralysis of the lungs." "On this," continues the account, "the Emperor very calmly and col- lectedly took the sacrament, (which he had previously declined,) took leave of the Empress, their children and grandchildren, kissed each, and blessed

each one, with a firm voice, and then retained only the Empress and the Crown Prince with him. This was about four o'clock in the morning. The

Emperor said subsequently to the Empress, 'Do go now and take a little rest, I beg ofyou.' She answered, 'Let me remain with von ; I would I could depart with you, if it were only possible.' To this the Emperor re- plied, 'No; you must remain here on earth. Take care of your health, so that you may be the centre of the whole family. Go now; I will send for you when the moment approaches.' Ibe Empress could not do otherwise than obey this distinct expression of the Emperor's will, and left the room. The Emperor then sent for Graf Orloff, Graf Adlerberg, and Prince Dol- gorouki, thanked them for their fidelity, and bade them farewell. Subse- quently the Emperor had all the servants immediately about him sent in, thanked them for their services, blessed them, and took leave of them : on which occasion be is said to have been himself very much affected. Last of all the Kammerfrau von Rohrbeck was sent for : the Emperor thanked her for the fidelity she bad always shown the Empress, for the care with which she had always tended her in sickness, begged her never to quit the Empress, and ended with 'And remember me kindly at Peterhoff, that l'm so fond of.' The Emperor pressed Dr. Karen's hand, and said to him, 'It is no fault of yours.' Whilst the Emperor's father confessor was speaking with him, he took the Empress's hand and put it into the priest's, as if he would confide the Empress to the ecclesiastic. After this the Emperor lost his speech for awhile ; during which time be was engaged in prayer, and crossed himself repeatedly. He subsequently regained his voice, and spoke from time to time up to his decease; which took place without a struggle, in the presence of the whole family, March 2, at ten minutes past noon. Al- most the last articulate words that the Emperor spoke were, 'Dace a Fritz, (King of Prussia) de rester toujours le memo pour la Russie, et de ne pas oublier lea paroles de papa,' (the late King of Prussia.) At first the face of the corpse was very much sunk and fallen in ; but in the evening the fine features had become more imposing than ever from their repose and regu- larity. Up to the present time the Empress has borne this unexpected and fearful blow with wonderful strength. Yesterday evening she passed an hour entirely alone with the corpse. The consternation which overcame every one at the suddenness of this fearful blow is now giving place to the feelings of pain and grief."

General Rucliger, newly appointed to command the Imperial Guard, is a German by birth, and a member of the German party ; but he is a soldier by nature and education, and enjoys high professional repute. He took an active part in the intervention in Hungary.

It is stated on official authority, that from the 5th October to the 3d December the losses in the Crimea amounted to 19 officers killed and 131 wounded, 789 men killed and 2934 wounded. But M. Kryloff, who drew up the report, confesses that it is impossible to make out a correct list of killed and wounded.

GERMANY.—The conference at Vienna met in form, for the first time, on Wednesday. The Minister of Prussia was not present; and no inti- mation of what took place has yet been published. We have already mentioned that a preliminary meeting of the plenipotentiaries was held on the 7th instant : we mention it again to name the persons present,— Count Buol and Baron Prokesch-Osten, on the part of Austria; Lord John Russell and the Earl of Westmoreland, on the part of England; Baron De Bourqueney, on the part of France ; and Arif Effendi and Riza Bey, on the part of Turkey. Baron Von Meysenburg, one of the Aulic Counsellors of the Austrian Foreign Office, acted as secretary. Of course, at the regular conference Prince Gortschakoff and perhaps M. de Titoff were present. At a recent meeting of the German Diet, Baron Prokesch-Osten pre- sented an account of the state of the Austrian contingent, which he de- scribed as assembled and ready to take the field, "to cover the territories placed under the common protection of the Confederation," in -virtue of it previous decisions. FL De Bismark, the Prussian Minister, objected to this description of the use to be made of the troops ; which he said were called out that they might protect Germany, and be "brought to bear on any quarter." Under these circumstances, the Austrian Govern- ment has upheld the view taken by its Minister, and has announced to the German States that it regards the Prussian declaration as inconsistent with the decisions of the Federation.

,Aa a sequel to the report that the Emperor Nicholas, in his last mo- ments, instructed the Empress to tell her brother the King of Prussia that he wished him to retain his kind feelings towards Russia and not to forget the last advice of his father, this version of the advice itself has been published-

" Beware, my dear Frederick, of that mania for innovations which has be- come so general ; beware of those numerous theories actually existing, and which cannot be put into practice ; but beware also of falling into another extreme, which might prove as fatal—I mean an exclusive predilection for ancient institutions. It is only by avoiding those two reefs that you can in- troduce really useful reforms. Remain, as far as possible, on good terms with the European Powers ; above all things, may Prussia, Russia, and Austria never be separated—their union is the safeguard of the peace of Europe." Prince Charles of Prussia, the brother of the King, has been sent to St.. Petersburg, charged, it is said, to inform the Emperor Alexander and the Empress-Dowager that the King still entertains the same sentiments; that his most ardent wish is to see peace restored ; that he does not despair of it, but that it cannot be obtained unless Russia consents to make certain concessions.

Tim CHIMEA.—The accounts received this week are extremely meagre. The ordinary letters come down to the 3d; the notices by telegraph to the 8th March. It now appears that the advanced works in front of Malakoffi captured by the French on the 23d February, afterwards -abandoned, have been reoccupied by the Russians, and threaten to prove very annoying to the foremost British lines. The Moniteur publishes the following official message from Admiral Bruat to the Minister of Marine.

"Port of Eamiesch, Montebello, March 7.—The news of the death of the Emperor Nicholas arrived at Kamieseh the 6th instant, at seven o'clock in the evening. For some days we have been throwing rockets into the town, which have succeeded in setting fire to it in different places. Two Russian. officers have deserted, and sought refuge in the English lines. The siege works are pursued with activity."

[From the London Gazette, March 16.]

Lord Raglan to _Lord Panmure.

"Before Sebastopol, March 3, 1855.

" My Lord—Some more ships are said to have been sunk since I wrote to.

your Lordship on the 27th. I am not certain of this ; but, according to my observation, the new barrier across the harbour appeared yesterday evening to have been extended beyond the point at which I had seen it two days be- fore.

The enemy is busily occupied in establishing a work considerably nearer the French batteries on the extreme right than that which was attacked by our allies on the morning of the 24th.

"The enemy seem to be increasing their force in the neighbourhood of Sebastopol, both to the Northward and upon the Tchernaya. "The railway continues to progress satisfactorily, and we already make considerable use of it in the conveyance of stores, hutting materials, &c., as. far as Kadikoi ; and the electric telegraph is completed between that village and my head-quarters. "The weather has again become extremely cold, and there was a fall of snow yesterday, and some little this morning.

"I enclose a return of casualties to the 1st instant inclusive.

"I have, &c. RAGLAN." The return of casualties shows, that from the 26th February to the 1st March, inclusive, two men were killed and nine wounded.

The Morning Herald publishes letters from its correspondent down to. the 3d instant, which afford some extracts.

The Railway.—" The railway has now passed over the top of the French hill, about three miles and a half from Balaklava. This length might be worked now only for the time and trouble necessary to fix the stationary en- gines, which require beds of stone and strong supporting timbers driven in the earth."

State of the Troops.—" As much fresh meat and vegetables as can be two- cured are now, served to the men two or three times a week; and the bene- ficial effects of this change of diet are becoming every day more and more apparent. Scurvy is fast diminishing, though fever is rather more rife than could be wished for at present. There are still no signs of any attempt to. cleanse the camp-ground; another month and it will be too late.'

Huts.—" I mentioned in my last letter that none of the regiments were hutted : I was partly right and partly wrong. Ruts were then preparing for the Thirty-ninth, though not finished. These are now completed, an occupied by the men. Huts are now also in course of erection for the Thirty- eighth Regiment ; and these two are the only entire corps which are not under canvass."

Russian Batteries.—" The Redan Battery, at the commencement of the siege, mounted about forty-five pieces of heavy ordnance. Now, our artil- lery-officers estimate that with the upper second line of works there are more than 220 guns in all, placed so as to command every conceivable point from which we can approach. This rule, and almost to the same extent, applies to all the other defences. Malakoff Tower, the earthworks round which mounted 25 guns on the 17th October, now mounts 70; and the Flagstaff Battery, which mounted 40 or 50, now mounts upwards of 150. The-Gar- den Battery, Quarantine Battery, Barrack Battery, and Mud Fort, have all been strengthened in proportion."

Captain Christie.—" The removal of Captain Christie from hia post as superintendent of the transports is much regretted at Balaklava, more espe- cially when it is recollected that Captain Heath is to succeed him. The masters of our transports, as a slight memorial of the esteem and respect which they entertain for Captain Christie, are about to present him with a testimonial, and 1001. has already been subscribed for that purpose. What- ever gratification Captain Christie may derive from this tribute, it must be far more to him to reflect that in a most arduous time he has thoroughly discharged his duties ; and that he is almost the only officer connected with the port of Balaklava who has not been spoken of in the moat disparaging . terms, or against whom there are not innumerable charges of neglect and mismanagement."

ITALY.—The ratifications of the treaty of alliance between Sardinia and the Western Powers were exchanged at Turin on the 4th March. On that day the Government notified the fact to the Governments of Eu- rope, and transmitted at the same time the declaration of war against Russia. In his circular of notification, Count Cavour again states at • length, and with great force, the reasons which have induced Sardinia to array herself against Russia.

CE OF GOOD Horz.—The recent arrivals bring no fresh news of the state of the British Caffre frontier. The Governor, Sir George Grey, visited Uitenhage and Port Elizabeth at the end of January. He was next expected at Graham's Town ; and the inhabitants had prepared an address expressing their hope that he would mature the policy originated by Sir George Cathcart. Interesting news arrives from the Transvaal Republic. The Caffres, under Makapan, had murdered Field Cornet Potgieter, and several men and women, with revolting cruelty. Prietoriva collected 500 men and four guns, and hunted the Caffres to certain caverns, 2000 feet in length and from 300 to 500 feet wide. Not liking to venture an assault, he at- tempted, on the 30th October, to blast the rocks above, and so to crush the enemy. But this failed, owing to the loose nature of the soil. He then resolved on a blockade. On the 6th October, Commandant-General Potgieter was shot by the Caffres, and his body fell within the outer - defences ; but they were instantly stormed, and the body recovered. As the siege went on too slowly, he blocked up the openings of the caverns with loads of atones and trees, brought and thrown down by friendly Caffres, cooperating with the Dutch. This reduced the enemy to extremities. Day by day they died or were shot down. The women and children rushed out to get water, and many died drinking it. At length possession of a part of the caverns was obtained; and much of the property of the murdered men was recovered. But the stench rising from the dead Caffres-900 bodies were found—compelled the Dutch to raise the siege on the 21st November. Prretorius next led his men against, another Caffre chief, Mapala who fled at his approach. In the kraals, the remains of the murdered men were found cut up and roasted with

fat! Mapala took a position where he could not be assailed. The Com- mando was out two months, and captured 3300 head of cattle and 1200 sheep and goats.

Another chief, Duahani, has been promptly punished in Natal, for some outrage, and compelled to pay a fine of 1038 head of cattle. The Natal Mercury remarks that the thorough union between the Dutch and English had astonished the savages.