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

*EPTEMBER 30, 1854. their own retreat, The principalities have sutfered much from them. The utterly-impoverished dis tricts of Wallachia are mournful witnesses of the Muscovite occupation. These districts were amongst the wealthiest, especially in their live stock, of the principality, and now, through the incessant requisi tions and robberies of the Cossacks, they have been literally reduced to beggary. THE WAI4 IN ASIA. The Circassians ' commanded by Daniel Bey, a re lation of Schamyl, after they had crossed the Yarouk- Sou, burned sixty villages, the inhabitants of which had fled to Tiflis. They fought two battles with the Russians under General Wrangel. In the first, the Poles, forming part of that army corps, deserted with two guns, making prisoners thirty Cossacks of the regiment that pursued them. After the second corn bat the Russians fled, throwing two guns down a ravine. The Circassians effected their junction with Schamyl at Zakatala. That chief was about to pro ceed to the attack of Tiflis. The Turkish army in Asia occupies the camp abandoned by the Russians near Kars. We read in the Journal de Constantinople:— " Ismail Pacha, late commander-in-chief of the division at Kalafat, who so greatly distinguished himself in the defence of that important place, has been rewarded by the • Sultan with the appointment of Muchir. Ismail Pacha is appointed commander-in-chief of the army in Anatolia, in the stead of Zarif-Mowitiat Pacha." His Highness the Pacba of Egypt has been pressed by the Turkish Envoy to send off as soon as possible the Egyptian reinforcements and artillery which he had promised to the Porte. The Minateur states, that an English regiment of cavalry, destined to reinforce the army of the East, is shortly expected at Suez from India, and that the Egyptian Government instantly granted the free passage across the territory asked for by the English Consul. General. The recent courts-martial at Windsor delayed the departure of the main body of the 46th Regiment for the seat of war. They are now under orders to em bark at Woolwich in a day or two on board the trans port John Shepherd, which is fully prepared for their reception. Their arrival at the scene of hostilities, probably too late to take part in the most brilliant operations in the Crimea, will doubtless prove not the least portion of the punishment with which this ill-fated corps bas been visited. The 46th is the last regiment for service in the East. The Dublin Express states that it is reported in nrell-inforined military circles that the under mentioned line regiments will form part of the British expeditionary force for the Baltic in March next:- 18th, 51st, 54th, 50th, 60th, 72nd, 80th, 82nd, 90th, and 94th. The whole of these regiments will be in England before the close of the year, and it is anti cipated that there will be no difficulty in raising them to their augmented establishments long before they proceed to the Baltic, the whole of the recruiting staff being exclusively employed at the present mo ment in raising men for those regiments. THE SQUADRON OF THE ALUMS which arrived at Honolulu to water the ships and take in fresh sup plies, numbering 258 guns, and headed by the war steamer Virago, is bound north to the Russian Asiatic continent. The local journals notify the imposing appearance of the vessels at anchor, such as the in habitants of the Sandwich Islands have not previously been privileged to see, and add their good wishes for a successful cruise. The Pique frigate, which had been in pursuit of the Russian frigate Diana, joined the THE APARTMENTS AT WINDSOR CASTLE occupied by the present Emperor of Russia on his last visit to this country are being embellished and rearranged. A report from a quarter likely to be well informed on such matters reaches us that the Emperor and Empress of the French are coming over on a visit to her Majesty on the 16th of November. Mn. MACGREGOR, M.P. FOR GLASGOW, met a large number of his constituents on the 21st in the Mer chants' Hall in that city, for the purpose of laying before them an account of his stewardship during the last session of Parliament. The hon. member was accompanied to the platform by Bailies bi'Dowalland Macgregor, De acon C onvenor C r aig, Councillor *Adam, and a number of other local notabilities. MR. HUME has been suffering from a severe attack of indisposition at Thurso Castle, and the ceremony of the presentation of the freedom of Aberdeen to him has been necessarily postponed. . THE celebrated clipper Engle, Captain Boyce, ar rived in the Mersey on Wednesday evening from Melbourne, from which port she sailed on the 30th of June last, with 80,000 ounces of gold and 35,0001. m sovereigns —valued altogether at about 355,0001. IN return for the compliment lately paid by Eng land to her ally, by christening a man-of-war France, If is Intended to prefix the word Grind to the Bre tagne, now building at Brest, a war-steamer of 1,200 11°rse i power , which will, when finished, be the finest ship n the whole French navy. THE PRESS. lortign and 6olonial `,nttiligente. FRANCE. The Emperor Napoleon returned to Boulogne from the south on Saturday afternoon, having left Paris that morning and stopped at Montreuil to revit w the troops stationed there. On Monday evening the Empress Eugenie also arrived at Boulogne, where she was received with salutes of cannon, deputations, and other tokens of welcotne, military and municipal. The poissardes or fiat - mown of the town took a pro• minent part in these performances. They were dressed out on the occasion in their best holiday clothes, and, having formed themselves into procer• sion, walked to the railway station, and there awaited the arrival of her Majesty to pay their respects to their imperial mistress. Each of them carried a beautiful bouquet of flowers in her right hand, and the bright scarlet petticoats, with which they were all clothed, rendered the scene one of a peculiarly gay and picturesque character. After duly acknowledging the various marks of favour shown her, the Empress retired to the Hotel Brighton. Many fetes and reviews are projected for her entertainment during her stay in Boulogne, the Emperor, it is stated, being desirous to show his con sort to the army. Among other doings, a great sham battle was to come off before the end of the week. It was to commence about twelve miles from the town, and to extend several miles around. General Schramm on the occasion was to represent the Czar Nicholas ; and St. Omer was to be the Cronstadt or Sebastopol. The Emperor Napoleon was to com mand the attacking force, and to besiege and take the stronghold of the Russian enemy. The health of the Empress is stated to have much improved during her stay at Biarritz. The Boulogne theatre was burnt down on Sunday last. The fire broke out about noon, caused, it is said, by an actor going into his dressing-room with a lighted cigar. Assistance was soon at hand, the Emperor himself arriving early, and making him self active In attempting to extinguish the flames. The supply of water was, however, scanty, and the fire-engines ridiculously inefficient, so that the edifice was entirely destroyed. Fortunately the direction of the wind saved the neighbouring buildings from danger, or the calamity might have proved much more disastrous. The theatre was fully insured, and will be immediately rebuilt. An English company has been established for the purpose of supplying Boulogne with water, and the necessary works are in an advanced state of completeness, but the operations of the projectors have been strenuously opposed by the mayor and his party in the town. The Minister at War has written a circular to the prefects, commanding officers of gendarmerie, and directors of fortifications, directing them to exercise the strictest surveillance upon the frontiers of France. The customs duties in France for the past month show an increase of 918,344 f. over the corresponding month of 1853. . _ . Prince Poniatowski, the Tuscan Minister at Paris, who lately resigned his post, is about to obtain letters of grand naturalisation, and will, it is reported, be appoimed to high functions about the Emperor, who, it is well known, feels great interest in his welfare. The total number of deaths from cholera in all France amounted, up to the date of the last reports, to 88,626. But, according to the same accounts, it is everywhere dying away, and does not invade new localities. Lord Cowley, who has been residing at Chantilly for some months, has returned to Paris. The Moniteur has published a report from the Minister of the Interior, and consequent imperial decree, completely reorganising the police force of Paris, which is to be constituted henceforth in many respects upon the model of the London blue police. This reform, if fully carried out, will remedy a crying defect in the municipal organisation of the French metropolis. Hitherto the Paris policemen (called sergens de ville) have contributed but very little to the protection of life and property. In fact, their habits did not tend that way. The sergent de ville is very seldom seen at night. In the day time he struts about in a cocked hat, and addicts himself principally to eavesdropping about cafes in the hope of catching up some seditious expression, to making people " move on " on the little Bourse, to laying informations against spinsters who put flower-pots on their window-sills, and to enforcing the policy of muzzling dogs in hot weather. Although there is no reason why the streets of Paris should not be as safe as those of London, it is notorious that in many of the richest as well as the poorest quarters of the city a man may be robbed and murdered after eleven o'clock at night without its being even probable that his cries will attract assist ance. A patrol goes round at certain hours well known to the thieves, and merely shows its vigilance by picking up now and then a drunkard, or a vagabond, who may be sleeping in a doorway. In London the chances of a night attack are so small that a man walks any where between Paddington 917 and Whitechapel at any hour without taking the danger into account. In Paris, on the contrary, people would be thought mad if they traversed some of the fauboirgs and barriers on foot arler midnight ; and when a man is out from necessity he clutches a heavy stick, walks rapidly in the middle of the carriage road, and looks anxiously right and left ae he goes along. All this is to be altered. The London system is to be avowedly introduced; the Emperor having been struck with the excellent organisation of the London police, its efficiency against evildoers, and the services it hourly renders to the population. The estimated expense of the new measure is 5,000,O(X)f. a year (three millions less than in London) instead of 1,535,000 f., which was the annual cost of the old establishment. The first result of the increase of the police force will be to suppress a number of military stations, and to place at the disposal of Government a considerable por tion of the garrison, now thought necessary to protect the capital. A few thousand men leas in that mili tary force would more than cover that proportion of the expense of the police which is to be charged to the State. It appears that the old soldiers of the empire yet living are a much more numerous class than was supposed. The committee appointed to distribute the 1,500,000 f. appropriated by the Emperor in want faction of Napoleon l.'s legacy to the " officers and soldiers who fought for the glory and independence of the nation from 1792 to 1815" have received upwards of one hundred thousand applications, supported by vouchers. Claims pour in from all parts of Europe, and particularly from Italy. If all these claims are admitted, the present fund will only yield 15f. per head, which would be an illusory sum as a satiafaa tion of en imperial bequest. The committee propose taking the Emperor's pleasure before making their award, and probably a supplementary sum will be granted from the eight millions to which the claims of Napoleon's legatees upon the State are, according to present arrangements, limited, GERMANY. The Emperor and Empress of Austria arrived et Vienna on the 21st inst. on board the steamer Her 'nine, at Nussdorf. From the capital they proceeded to Schoubruno. Their M ajesties had left Lintz at eight in the morning on beard the imperial steam. yacht the Adler. After passing the shallows near Wallsee and Staining, the yacht grounded at a spot where there is a rapid and sprang a leak. The accident arose from the low water level. The Ilermine, belonging to the Steam Navigation Company of the Danube, came up at the instant, and took the royal passengers on board, bringing them on to their place of destination. The Moniteur states respecting the attitude of Austria : " In the discussions which have taken place between the Cabinets of Paris, London, and Vienna, on the subject of the occupation of the principalities by the Austrian troops, it has been agreed that the French, English, and Ottoman. armies may at any tine, if they deem it expedient, co-operate actively in the occupation, and that no impediment will thence result to the defensive or offensive operations which the three belligerent powers may direct against Russia. Faithful to this engage ment, his Majesty the Emperor Francis Joseph despatched orders to General Hess, by electric telegraph on the evening of the 21st inst., to offer no opposition to' the movement of the Turkish army upon Galati and lbraila' in the event of such a movement forming part of the am binationsof Omer Pasha." A private telegraphic message from Vienna, of the 23rd inst., announces the envy of General Hess into Bucharest. The Preue of Vienna calls for some explanation as to the eventual preponderance of foreign ►nfluence in the principalities, where the interests of Germany ought especially to be protected by the occupation of those provinces by Austria. The Diet of Frankfort met on the '2lst. The whole sitting was taken up with receiving reports. The committee on the affairs of the East will meet forthwith to ascertain what instructions have been given by the different Governments in reply to the question submitted by M. Prokesch in the name of Austria. The Cabinet of Vienne calls upon the Met to accede at least to the proposal of a collective pro tectorate for the principalities, and the free naviga tion of the Danube. A Prussian note has been pre sented to the Diet, promising a moral support to the four guarantees required from Russia, but urging a postponement of any discussion. DENMARK. Sixty-three deputies from all parts of Jutland arrived in Copenhagen on Monday to present to the King a monster petition with 11,000 signatures, de claratory of attachment to the old constitution. On learning the nature of the petition the King sent his Cabinet secretary to the deputation to announce his refusal to grant them an audience. The citizens of Copenhagen were to give a banquet to the mem bers of the deputation on Wednesday in the Casino Theatre. A decree was promulgated at the Hague on Wed nesday postponing till the 31st of December the re-