The Press. — London, England, 1854-09-30 00:00:00

I I ! w w • • 924 - THE WEEK. THE fate of the Crimea expedition is still in suspense. Thus far, all the circumstances attending it have been favourable. The sea which bore the vast armament was only ruffled by the gentlest gales, and the splendid sun which has enabled us to house the last remnants of our harvest in excellent condition cheered the spirits of the troops as they neared the shores of the Crimea. The landing was unopposed, and effected with as much order as a parade movement. The spirits of the men were wonderfully exhilarated by the voyage and the prospect of speedy action; and the natives of the country, lost in wonder and admiration at the numerous and splendid host, with their varied costumes and imposing display of arms, manifested a friendly disposit ion, and offered their services. Nothing could be better. The whole force has landed in excellent condition, and the only feeling in this country can be one of surprise that what has been done now with such ease was not effected months ago, when the allies were stronger, and when the Russians were certainly less prepared for resistance than they must be at present from the warnings afforded them, and the time they have had to prepare fortifications on the land side. It is two months since they were all but officially told that the attack would be made, and they have employed the interval, as we learn from many sources, in collecting troops and erecting works to sustain and to prolong the contest. It is stated, and with every appearance of probability, that a Russian army was entrenched on the Katscha, the third of those four streams which separate the spot where the allies landed from Sevas topol. If this be true, it is here that fighting will commence ; but it is unlikely that the Russians will be able to concentrate a force which can do more than retard the advance of their opponents. Their game is delay; and the question is, whether, with the force at their command, and the positions they have occupied, they may not he able to protract operations beyond the time when the season will allow of their being carried on. The spot where the main body landed is about thirty miles north from Sevastopol. That distance may present some defensible posi tions, but certainly does not oppose any considerable difficulties to the advance of an army. Should the Russians resist, fight, and fall back in good order, the first operations of the allies may be unattended with decisive results. The real struggle will probably be before the fortress itself. A time so full of anxious expectation this generation has never known. The enterprise thus successfully begun will surely not be abandoned without desperate efforts to accomplish its object; nor is it to be supposed that the Russians will yield their great fortress, their fleet, and their army, without some fierce fighting. No half result is likely—scarcely possible. The event must be success or failure. On the Danube the Turkish forces are about to resume activity by attacking the Russian fortress of Ismail. Lord RAGLAN, it is said, has called for this movement to prevent reinforcements from being sent to the Crimea. If the fact be so, it would seem that a speedy termina tion of the contest in the Crimea is not expected. The despatch of reinforcements from Marseilles and from our own shores points to the same conclusion. The gallant Scots Greys are now on their way to the theatre of war. In the Baltic it is reported that some work will yet be attempted before the season closes. An impression prevails that despatches have been sent out to Sir CHARLES NAPIER which may have the effect of bringing his fleet into action, and Revel is indicated as the most probable point of attack. Despatches from the ships sent to the White Sea to the com mencement of September have been received at the Admiralty. Kola, the capital of Russian Lapland—a proof of the wide range of hostile operations—has been destroyed by the Miranda, which, through the great skill and perseverance of her commander, Captain LYONS, was brought up, through a most difficult navigation, to a position in front of the town. He demanded the surrender of the Russian troops and the destruction of the defences, and, his conditions not being complied with, he opened fire on the fortifications and town, an interval having been allowed for the retirement of the women and children. The whole place was completely destroyed, and without the loss of a single man in the Miranda. A pleasing instance is related of the exchange of civilities in the Baltic between the commander of one of our small steamers and the Governor of Abo. The Alban was conveying twenty-five wounded prisoners, nine officers among them, to Abo, when she got aground, and sent to the Governor with a flag of truce for assistance. Before the assistance could arrive the vessel was got off, and the wounded prisoners were safely landed. Subsequently a cutter was sent off from Abo to the Alban with a goodly store of fresh provisions, and a cask of madeira, which the Commander-in-Chief at Abo begged the captain of the Alban to accept, as he understood from the wounded officers that they had " polished off" the ship's stock of sherry. The rebellion in China seems lately to have taken a new start. Canton was invested by the insurgents, and many of the inhabitants were leaving in alarm. Some curious details are given in the last ac counts respecting the insurgent leaders. Their notions of Chris tianity seem to be deplorably mixed up with old superstitions. One of them pretends that he is possessed at certain times by the Heavenly Father, and is commissioned to deliver His commands ; and another declares that he is the " Comforter, even the Holy Ghost," which style he appends to his name in all proclamations, and requires that it shall be included in tis 6 doxology which is addressed to the Heavenly Father morning and evening. • • 'IS. ... THE PRESS. SATURDAY, After directing a series of military evolutions on a grand scale by the army at Boulogne, the Emperor, with his Empress, has returned to Paris. An important innovation is to be introduced in the capital. A police force, on the model of our own, is to be established, which it is not improbably conjectured may hereafter rob Paris of its character as a city of barricades. At home the meeting of the British Association at Liverpool has been distinguished by extraordinary activity. So many papers were read and subjects debated in the different sections, that the reports which have appeared afford a very inadequate idea of the proceedings. The lecture of Professor OWEN on the leading distinctions between man and the several species of ape was a masterly exposition of the subject ; and his conclusion that man was the sole species of his genus, the sole representative of his order, the latest and highest form of animal life, and that the scientific interpretation of God's works correspond with what is revealed to us in God's word, met with the emphatic approval of his crowded audience. Among the practical subjects best deserving attention was a discussion on the decimal coinage. The plan, lucidly explained by Mr. W. BROWN, M P., of making the pound the basis of the decimal system, was approved by the vast majority of those present. The question is gaining ground, as it is of great importance viewed merely as an aid to education. Captain M'CLURE, the first man who can boast that he has actually discovered and accomplished a north-west passage, has arrived at Cork. It will be remembered that this gallant navigator steered direct for the pack ice off Behring's Straits, and, working his way through it with marvellous perseverance, at length reached the Banks's Land discovered by PARRY, returning home by Lancaster Sound. But what has become of Captain COLLINSON, who, up to the date of M`Ctuaz's steering for the ice, had kept company with him? Is his vessel still frozen up in that icy sea which separates PARRY'S disco- veries from the North American coast? His fate begins to excite ap prehension, and it is proper that all possible exertions be made to aid him, lest aid should come too late. Of FRANKLIN'S ships no trace has been discovered. The mystery which shrouds their fate forms the saddest chapter in Arctic discovery. The cholera continues to decline in most wonderful accordance with the decrease when it last visited us in 1849. In each case the abatement was visible on the same day. The returns disclose some frightful facts as to the filth in which portions of our population are compelled to live. The Board of Health, when willing to act, seems to want power to enforce its decisions. A gross case of neglect has been established this week against the Clerkenwell board of guardians, and it is to be regretted that at the inquest on the body of a child, whose death must be ascribed to their neglect, a verdict was not returned which would have told them that they are responsible to the law, as they are to God and society, for the faithful discharge of their duties. NAPIER TO ABERDEEN . (TILE LATEST VERSION OF BERNS'S " MY JO JANET.") NAPIER: Kind Premier, o' yer courtesy, Will ye but gie the word, sir, An' ships to stanes I'll gar ye see Is nae sic match absurd, sir ! Keep yer fire yer pipe to light, Charley ! Charley ! A'm no a man that's gi'en to fight, Ma frien' Charley. Then gin ye'll but the gun-boats sen', As a'm a leevin man, sir ! I'll gie ye news o' Neva's fen If aim to timmer stan', sir! Keep your guns to shoot the craws, Charley ! Charley! Wait ye till the Neva thaws, Ma frien' Charley. Guid guide us ! Maun I walk the deck? Jest puffin' ma cigar, man? Sent ye me oot to fill and tack, An no to wage a war, man ? Smokin's no sae far frae right, Charley ! Charley ! An' cruisin's safer than a fight, Ma frien' Charley ! ABERDEEN: NAPIER: ABERDEEN: NAPIER : ABERDEEN: THE ONLY MODE OF ENDING THE WAR. (Being Part of the Specification of Lord Dundonald's Patent for his" Secret Plan.") I. A Torpedo called the " ABERDEEN," calculated to benumb ships of-war and throw an Admiral into a mesmeric sleep, as far off as from Downing-street to the Gulf of Finland, no matter how lively and ad venturous the gallant officer may be by nature. This machine must be used carefully, as it is of ancient make and adaptation, being three score and ten years old, and liable to a sudden accident called "Mu' lar indignation," which compels it to drift northward before the wind. 11. A general regulator of machinery called the " Clarendon, which acts as a fly wheel, and controls the advance of warlike desires by an abating power called "negotiation," which, adroitly contrived, like the sae ortion of a ootton-mill, leaves the movement preci where it found p it, and generally restrains the velocity of the works.sely \