The Press. — London, England, 1858-07-10 00:00:00

or tign (forrtsguittenct. PARIS, Thursday. THE clouds which for some time past hung over the political horizon have rolled away, and all has be come serene. In the sitting of the Conference on Saturday last, the English plenipotentiary, Lord Cowley, is understood (I speak dubitatively because the proceedings of the Conference are kept secret) to have made a proposition relative to the Danubian Principalities, which, whilst declating, in compliance with the wishes of England, Austria, and Turkey, that those Principalities shall not be formed into a separate State, nor be politically united, yet, to please France and Russia, permits them to decide in com mon certain matters interesting to each. This pro. position appears to have been accepted ; and thus has disappeared the only real cause of dissension which existed between France and England. Be tween France and the other powers also the arrange ment of that affair has created a much better feeling; and the consequence is that no difficulty is now apprehended about the Montenegro, the Turkish, or any other question. Let due honour be paid to the English Cabinet for having brought about this great result. It has done its duty to England right nobly, and has relieved Europe from a load of anxiety. The affair of the Principalities, though it excited comparatively little interest in England, was of really momentous im portance, and it was so regarded all over the Conti nent! As it stood, it appeared that self•love, the interests, it may even be said the very honour of two great p wers, France and Russia, were staked on having it decided in a particular way ; those of two other great powers, England and Austria, on having it decided in a contrary way. War, consequently, might have sprung out of it—and more than once, if what is said in the highest political circles be true, was war trembling in the balance. Nothing short, then, of consummate tact could avert war, and at the same time preserve unimpaired the dignity of each of the great powers ; and that tact my Lord Malmes bury has displayed. The pleasure caused by the arrangement of the Principalities, difficulty was enhanced by the• an nouncement made on Tuesday last that the Queen of England had consented to accept an invitation from the Emperor Napoleon to attend the grand nautical and other fetes which are to come off next month at Cherbourg. Although no corroboration of the announcement has been received from London up to this moment, no doubt of its truth is enter tained here ; though, perhaps, the acceptance of the invitation has only been virtually, not formally made. The presence of the Queen a second time in France will of course have the effect of extinguishing alto gether the ill-feeling which the colonels' addresses, the refugee question, and some other matters created between the two Governments, and to a certain ex tent between their respective peoples, and of placing the Anglo-French alliance on the same solid basis as that on which it stood during the wer against Russia. In advising ber Majesty to visit France anew, and at this juncture, my Lord Malmeshury has displayed remarkable political sagacity ; for you must know that of late Russia has been labouring more energetically than ever—by her diplomatists, her nobles, and her journals —by flatteries, promises, and gold —to bring about a breach between England and France; and that her efforts, aided by what may be called the accidental misunderstandings of the last few months, bad been so far successful as to give her reasonable hope of an eventual and even an early triumph. The pamphlet on the Danubian Principalities, of which mention was made in my last (THE PRESS, by the way, was the very first journal in all Europe to notice it), created an immense sensation here, and even caused a fall in the public funds. But, as I anticipated, it turns out, contrary to what was positively asserted, not to have been produced by any one connected with the Government, nor in any .Tll. • THE PRESS, JULY 10, 1858. way " inspired " by it; it is, in fact, the production of a Roumain. It has nct, it is true, been disavowed in the official Moniteur; but the semi-official organs of the Government have declared that it is in no respect authorized, and the correspondents of foreign journals who derive "inspiration" from govern mental sources have been instructed to say the same thing. The noise it has created has been so great that not only have two large editions been disposed of, but it is still raad with curiosity, though now known to be only the effusion of a simple individual. To be sure a pamphlet which proclaims war against England and Austria is somewhat of a phenomenon in a country where the press is subjected to severe restraint. The Emperor is living very quietly indeed at Plombieres ; so much in that a stranger arriving there would not suspect his presence in the place . And great would be the surprise of the stranger to be toll that the stoutish gentleman in garments cf the simplest kind and a wide-awake, whom he sees trudging, sometimes quite unattended, through woods and across fields, or it may bo chatting familiarly with peasants, is the Imperial Majesty of France, against whose life the hand of the assassin has been more than ones raised, and whose dis appearance from the political stage, come when or how it may, will create dire confusion in Europe. It is believed that the Emperor, being at no great distance from Baden-Baden, will, before his return to Paris, accompany the Duchess of Hamilton (in the absence of the Empress it is the Due bess who does the honours of his Majesty's simple household) on a visit to her and his august relatives in that place. I bear it said that the Empress already looks forward with the greatest pleasure to the prospect of meeting the Queen of England at Cherbourg. Of all the imperial and royal personages with whom the Empress has come in contact, since her elevation to the throne, the English Queen is incomparably the greatest; and yet none treated the Empress with more kindness, cordiality, and distinction, than her Majesty. On the amiable disposition of the Empress this made a deep impression ; end she has ever since entertained a respectful but strong attachment for the Queen. Count de Persigny has gone to London, it is be. lieved, to present the formal invitation to the Queen to come to Cherbourg, to receive the formal accep tance of it, and to submit to her Majesty a plan of the ceremonial to be observed. But in addition to these Lord•Chamberlaiuly duties, M. de Persigny will of course have something to say about politics ; and that something we may be sure will tend to the consolidation of the alliance between the two countries, of which he has always been a firm sup. porter. It was said a week or two back that Marshal Pelissier was rather anxious to resign the embassy at London; and in the event of his leaving you, it is, I believe, already certain that his successor would be M. de Persigny. The Government has not deemed it convenient to allow any account of the sanguinary frays between the French and the Papal soldiery, and between the French and the populace, at Rome, to be published in the newspapers here ; and the consequence is that exaggerated reports, based partly on private letters, partly on foreign journals, are current. It appears, however, that the frays were really vet) , grave, and that the French authorities, at one time, expected to be obliged to declare Rome in a state of siege. Of course the French are strong enough to put down any movement at Rome, short of a rising en masse ; but the fact of there being any revolt against them at all, proves that Italy, though calm on the surface, is as troubled as ever. And it is to be feared that she will continue so until she gets rid of the Papal Government, the great cause of all her woes. The new Minister of the Interior in this country, M. Delangle, is acting with far greater liberality than his predecessor. He has, I hear, amongst other things, given orders that one hundred persons wbo were exiled by General Et:pinasse shall be allowed to return to France. Some of the newspapers have lately been engaged in a discussion as to the propriety of the Government's granting a larger share of liberty to the people, and modifying the severe laws of the press. From a fear that this discussion, if continued, might produce in conveniences, the Government has intimated a wish to the editors of newspapers that it shall cease—and of coarse it will now drop. INDIA. The Times letters from India do not give us any strategic intelligence of importance. Bareilly is in our possession, and the army is on its way to Futteh ghur ; General Walpole being left behind to main tain the former position. The follow extracts from Mr. Russell's letter will doubtless be acceptable to our readers : THE APPROACH TO PAREILLY. The first shut as we approached the stream which crosses the road was fired by the enemy from a rude breastwork thrown up about half a mile in front of the bridge, but a few shots returned from our batteries speedily drove them back from this advanced position, and thee fell back from the bridge itself, whe re -.key made s show of a aunti e towards the deserted an half rui a buildings which formerly were the lines of our fe ' at Bareilly. It is difficult to say why the enemy l not hr make some preparation to resist the passage of thlatic al, which, though fordable everywhere, had steep banks, offering considerable obstacles for infantry, a still more breaking d for cavalry. Still more singular, perhaps, • it, that they did not impede our advance by n the bridge. tea the column advanced skirmishers fell ' and retired on the flanks, and the leading regiments d oyed into line. Little could be seen of the position of e enemy, as they were screened by the ruined cantonments and lines, but their cavalry showed now and then through the trees in considerable numbers on both flunks. Suddenly a gun was opened upon Tombs's troop p) our left in such good range that the first four shots all took effect ; but our guns, soon unlimbering, very apeodile silenced this piece, as well as some others with which thienemy sought to annoy our cavalry on the left. Advan • g still without meeting with I t any opposition from the er y's infantry, we approached our old cantonments, our rtillery now and then searching their front with its fire. The enemy replied with occa sional shots from their small pieces, which did nn execu tion ; but their cavalry exhibited increased activity, cud a strong body, with tnree horsed guns attached, came out from the inelosure end menaced our lett and baggage with distant demonstrations. On our front and right, also, such bodies of the enemy's horse came out from time to time as proved they bad more than 2,500 sabres in the field. In the absence of any definite information respecting the strength of the enemy's infantry, or the position they occupied, or even the locality itself, the commander-in chief was naturally averse to engage his choice troops in any precipitate attack upon the town ; indeed, so little did he know of the position of the place that he ordered up the mortars and heavy field battery to bombard what he thought was the town, but what in reality was an outlying suburb nearly two miles distant. Some companies of • Punjaub regiment were now sent forward to explore the ruined mass of one-storied houses in front of our lines ; the 42nd Regiment, divided into two wings, the left some what retired, moved up in support, while the 79th covered their left at some distance. As soon as the Sikhs got into the houses they wore exposed to a heavy Sre from a large body of matchlockmen concealed around them. They either re tired of their own accord, or were ordered to do so ; at all events, they fell back with rapidity and disorder upon the advancing Highlanders. And now occurred a most extra ordinary scene. Among the matchlocknien, who to the number of 'fkio or 800 were lying behind the walls of the houses, was a body of Ghezees or l'ilussultnen fanatics, who, like the Roman Decii, devote their lives with solemn oaths to their country or their faith. Uttering loud cries, " Bismillah, Allah, deen deen !" 130 of these fanatics, sword in hand, with small circular bucklers on the left arm, and green cutnmerbungs, rushed out after the Sikhs, and dashed at the left of the right wing of the Highlanders. With bodies bent and heads low, waving their tulwars with a circular motion in the air, they came on with astonishing rapidity. At first they were mistaken for Sikhs, whose passage had already somewhat disordered our ranks. For tunately, Sir Cohn Campbell was close up with the 42nd ; his keen quick eye detected the case at once. " Steady , men, steady; close up the reeks. Bayonet them as they come on." It was just in time, for these madmen, furious with bang, were already among us, and a body of them sweeping around the left of the right wing got into the rear of the regiment. The struggle was sanguinary, but short. Three of them dashed so suddenly at Colonel Cameron that they pulled him off his horse ere he could defend himself. His sword fell out of its sheath, and be would have been hacked to pieces in another moment but for the gallant promptitude of Colour Sergeant Gardiner, who, stepping out of the ranks, drove his bayonet threugh two of them in the twinkling of an eye. The third was shot by one of the 42nd. Brigadier Walpole bad a similar escape. He was seized by two or three of the Ghost-es, who sought to put him off his horse, while others cut at him with their tulwars. He received two cuts on the hand, but he was delivered from the enemy by the quick bayonets of the 42nd. In a few minutes, tne (dead bodies of 130 of these Ghazees, and some eighteen or twenty wounded men of ours, were all the tokens left of the struggle. AN INDIAN " OASIS." We passed through the large village of Tilhur, and en camped about eight o'clock in a large mango tope to the south of it, not without considerable opposition from some of the inhabitants, for it so happened that the first camp fire that was lighted disturbed a community of the moat vindictive bees in a hollow of the tree above that I ever heard of; they at once descended to the assault, and in a few minutes most of their enemies were utterly routed. The commander-in-chief himself was attacked and driven right out of the field, or rather out of the tope, for the 665