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

After contrasting the southern with the northern portion of the country, which he described as being different in their climate and general character, he referred to the Tauric chain of hills, which rise from the sea in a most delightful slope, on which the rich Russians come and spend the summer, as did the English when they retired in the autumn to Italy. With regard to Odessa, it was a place destitute of attraction in respect to climate and other cir cumstances. In winter the cold was extreme, arising from certain winds, and in summer the clouds of dust were such as to render it almost uninhabitable. The southern coast of the Crimea was protected from the effect of those winds. There was good vegetation on the slopes of the hills, and the vine grew in large quantities. He had heard at Kertch that a portion of the wine produced there was sold in Europe as an inferior kind of port and sherry. He was received at Kertch by Prince Woronzow in a most hospitable manner—a man who was born in England, and who lived in this country until he was twenty years old. He served through the wars with Napoleon, was popular in Europe and Russia, and at the time he ( Mr. Seymour) was there was entrusted with the oommantl of the Russian forces which extended from Poland down to the frontiers of Persia. He afterwards returned to Simferopol through the mountains. All the southern parts of the Crimea are covered with stone tumuli and other remnants of succes sive generations of Greeks who had lived there at a very remote period. Having described Kertch, a new place, now one of great resort, and much frequented by shipping, he crossed the straits which divided the Sea of Azof from the Black Sea. This was the Cimmerian Bosphorus, the place where the ancients supposed existed the entrance to the infernal regions, and of which an account was given by Homer. The general geography of that part of the world had altered much since it was mentioned by the ancient Greek geographers, and there were now no flourishing cities, temples, or monuments. Glancing at some of the ancient traditions connected with the localities he had visited, he directed attention to the country lying on the shores of the Black Sea to the east, which was extremely beautiful, and rich in vegetation, hearing a strong resemblance to the coast of Malabar. The southern shore of the Caucasus was also one of those fa toured regions for the growth of shrubs and plants, and considered extremely fertile. All that country now occu pied by the Russians, with the twelve forts, all of which had been abandoned except Anapa, those on the lower southern range of the Caucasus, and the lower ridges of mountains as far as Georgia, were inhabited by the people known as the Circassians. Then, tracing the different races of the Caucasus, and showing their origin, the speaker referred to the power of Russia in that country, observing that she only possessed the ground on which the forts were built, and there was difficulty in obtaining suffi cient food to support life. The forts on the east coast of the Black Sea were reserved as a sort of Norfolk Island for the army, and all men considered as going too quick in the march of progress were sent to finish the short remains of their existence in that country. Such was the mortality that the whole of the troops had to be renewed in five years. Those who went there seldom came back again, and the regiments were not relieved, but left there till they died. He had heard a great deal from Russian officers who had been there, and served in the army, and they had told him that when, shut up within the walls, they required a walk on the ramparts to refresh themselves, very often they would be suddenly struck by a ball, though no enemy was per ceived. The Circassian would lie on his stomach for a whole day in a place of concealment, and when lie got the opportunity he would steal from his hiding-place and, with his long rifle, shoot down his enemies, the Russians, who could not be prepared for an attack of such a nature. Attempts had been made by Russia to gain the confidence of the Circassians, but hitherto those attempts had been unsuccessful, and even Greek priests had been sent there by the Emperor to induce them to become converts to the Greek Church. _ Mr Seymour then described the country of the Black- Sea Cossacks, commencing at Kamarne, and referred to the Russian territory in that direction, more especial!) the steppes, which, he said, contained a rich loamy soil, only requiring cultivation by the hand of man to produce large and luxuriant crops. In Circassia the Cossacks were kept in a continual state of alarm by their enemies the Circas sians. They were always on the alert; and if any danger appeared they placed a torch to some straw of combustible material. This was a signal conveying the intelligence down the line by which 3,000 or 4,000 men could be sum moned when the Circassians were likely to surprise them. The Cossack dress so much resembled that of the Circas mans that it was almost impossible to distinguish them; and, as regarded personal safety, it appeared that every m m was obliged to be constantly on the alert to save his life. The Russian army in the Caucasus -vhen he (Mr. Seymour) was there, in 1840, was about 70,000 men; but a portion of them were always to the north of the Cau casus, the main part being concentrated to the left of Stavropol. After referring to the Circassian chief (Schamyl), whom he eulogised as a warrior, relating several anecdotes illus trative of his courage and devotion to his country, he glanced at the character of the Russi in officers, some of whom, he said, were men of intelligence, and prepared to do their duty as well as any men. Many of the younger ones had liberal views, read the French and English papers, %nil he had heard the sentiment expressed by one of them, "Let no co un t r y, w h en strong enoug h to b ecome a na tion, consent to remain a province." That showed the existence of a liberal spirit amongst some of the younger Russian officers. There was one circumstance he might mention as indicating the spirit of enmity fostered between the Russians and the Circassians. The Russians made an tnnual expedition into the country with the whole of their army, then object being, out of a spirit of revenge, to burn all the flocks, produce, ctc., belonging to the Circassian po pulation, In one part of the country the Emperor Ale:- ander allowed a colony of missionaries to be established, but the present Emperor, not so liberally disposed, had driven from his territory all the missionaries from every region. When he (Mr. Seymour) was there all had been sent away but one, and he, being a clever fellow, was kept as a spy. Had the missionaries been allowed to remain unmolested, he had no doubt they would have done much to advance the civilisation of the people. The missions were originated by Mr. Brunton, and, besides other efforts for the enlightenment of the people, the Scriptures had been translated into the Circassian language. Mr. Seymour then spoke of the general insecurity which prevailed in Cit.- cassia, giving, as an incidental illustration, the circum stance that on one occasion he was staying at an hotel, passing the evening with some friends, and they were obliged to return back without a lantern, in order to be in the dark, that they might not be popped off by the Circa.- sians, who would not discriminate between them and their enemies, the Russians. The Russians were obliged to ad mit the Circassians into the town to bring them provisions, and at night the Circassians went forth to slaughter any of their inveterate enemies whom they might find about the place. In speaking of the victories gained by Schamyl, he remarked that proper measures had not been taken during the present war to secure the adherence of the whole of the Circassian population in fi►vour of the allies andtpg,ainst Russia. The Georgian ►.ation to the south of the Caucasus was arrayed against us, and with proper ma nagement it might have been otherwise. He remembered a Georgian prince, a distinguished officer of the Russian army, telling him that when he went with the Georgian militia expedition into the mountains, some of the people called out, " Why come to fight us? It is the Russians we want to fight; we want to fight with you against the Rus sians." In proof of this the Georgian militia passed unin jured, but the Russian battalions who followed them were destroyed. With such a disposition the union of the Geor gians might have been obtained, and he regretted that no one had been sent out there, who understood the politics of Circassia, to effect that object The country, be sides, was not naturally one of a Mahometan population, and he had often been told by some of the people that they wished to have the means of visiting Europe to secure some co-operation in their favour, that they might not con tinue to expend their energies in a useless sacrifice of life, which had been going on long enough. He hoped the op portunity would not be lost of obtaining the support of this nuclei of a great nation, that scope would be given to their energies, and that they may be able to co operate and enjoy the advan'ages and the benefits of European civilisation. The address, which occupied upwards of two hours in the delivery, was listened to with the greatest at tention by one of the largest audiences yet assembled at any of the meetings of the section. SEPTEMBER 30, 1854. THE PRESS. THE RUSSIAN PRISONERS IN FRANCE. THE treatment and demeanour of the Russian pri soners who were allotted to French keeping is thu, described in a letterfrom the Isle &Aix given in the Courrier de l'Eure " The detachment consists of twenty-nine officers, 969 privates, and sixteen women, each of the latter with two or three young children. There are amongst the prisoners many Finlanders, two or three line soldiers of the Imperial Guard, and some Cossacks of the Don and the Dneister. The soldiers of the Imperial Guard form a striking con trast with the other Russian soldiers, who are all of middle height, with dark skins, and are exceedingly ugly. They appear robust, and accustomed to fatigue ; several have sore eyes : they are more clean in their persons than is gene rally supposed; they wear moustaches, like our soldiers, and some have them turned up with a certain coquetry. Several of the officers speak good French, and have excellent manners. By order of Marshal Baraguay d'Hilliers they are allowed to wear their swords. Their uniform is a blue frock with red collar and wrists, and a small blue cap with red edging; their epaulettes are silver, and vary according to the rank of the wearer. I have conversed with several of the officers, and, in particular, with an old captain of French origin, who is my neighbour, and they all agree in speaking highly of the ardour anti impf tuosity of our troops at Bomarsund, and blame their Emperor in severe terms for causing so much misery by his obstinacy. The officers are well lodged in the town, and treated with much consideration ; the privates are lodged in the fort of the island, and are treated like our soldiers. Their uniform is of a gross description, consisting of a long lightish brown outside coat, a dark green coat with red facings, blue trousers, and a small dark flat cap. Most of them are well pleased to be in France, and they are delighted with their rations, which are precisely the same as those of our men. They evidently enjoy their meals, and utter cries of ' Bona Francais' as they eat : they would not certainly wish to re turn to Russia. Hitherto they have been allowed to remain unoccupied, but they will soon be employed on the fortifications. I think they will turn out good workmen ; they are very respectful towards their superiors and the French officers ; it is easy to see that a severe discipline has been used towards them. Many of the prisoners have money, which they were allowed to bring with them ; they smoke in silence their long pipes and drink large quantities of brandy. Lately some of them indulged so much that the commandant has been obliged to take measures to pre vent a recurrence of the past. The women are very plain, but clean, although very simply dressed ; all wear a silk handkerchief wound round their head. One of them ex cites interest from having lost her husband during the passage, and being now left alone with three children ; and another from being separated by mistake from her husband, who has been taken to England. An hospital has been estab lished to receive such prisoners as may be ill, and a military surgeon and attendants are attached to it. The Isle of Aix is rather a stupid place, having about eighty houses. I intend turning my time to account by conversing with the Russians and by studying them in a military point of view. I have already had some long conversations with the Colonel of Engineers, who was charged with the works of defence at Boniarsuntl, and be acknowledges that what completely embarrassed him was the precision with which the Chasseurs of Vincennes hit the artillerymen in the em brasures of the fortifications. He is enthusiastic also about the long range of their rifles, and about the firing of the cannon on board the vessels." THE TRADE AND FINANCES OF TURKEY. THE alliance that has been formed between the Western powers for the defence of the Ottoman ter ritory cannot fail in the end to be highly conducive to the development of the numerous sources of wealth which Turkey enjoys, but which, from a variety of causes, remain for the present comparatively un known. The war with Russia necessarily keeps those sources of prosperity in an unproductive state, and also retards the general progress of the country, but, as the expenditure of the Government is now greater than it has yet been, the necessity of promoting their immediate development will be perceived and doubt less acted upon. How far they can be rendered available for the cost of the war remains to be seen, but the Government have the power of providing for its necessities by increased taxation. At present the expenditure exceeds the revenue, although only to a small ex,ent ; but then the expenses to which Turkey has been subjected by the war with Russia are not taken into acc unt. The revenue is derived chiefly from tithes, income tax, poll tax, customs, the Egyptian tribute, and sundry others, whilst, with regard to the expenditure, nearly one-half is absorbed by the expenses of the standing army. As the financial condition of Turkey is at the present moment a subject of interest to this country, we subjoin a statement both of its revenue and ex penditure:— RECEIPTS • Thwart's. The principal are the Nines, or tithes 220,000,000 Income tax Poll tax on non-➢lussulmana 40,000,000 Customs Egyptian tribute ViTallachis ditto Moldavia ditto Servia ditto Divers . . 30,000,000 2,000,000 1,000,000 2,000,000 150,000,000 733,1'00,000 EXPENSES. Civil List of Sultan Sultana Mother, ditto Army Marine Salaries of employes of all sorts in the ad ministration Subventions to religious establishments and mosques Annuities (life) for compensation of ancient fiefs dispossessed 40.000p00 Foreign affairs, ambassadors, Etc. Public roads, paving, (Lc., by dotation from Treasury Life annuities, interest on six per cent. Treasury bonds issued Without any fixed period for payment .. 9,000,000 75,000,000 8,400,000 300,000,000 37,500,000 195,000,000 Total expenses ... 733,400,000 The trade between Turkey and England has very considerably increased within the last few years. One of the principal exports to this country consists of grain, but it was not until 1842 that the Turkish Government permitted the shipment. Between that year and 1848 the increase in the exports of Indian corn from Galatz was from 597,062 quarters to 1,270,745 quarters, or 110 per cent. The quantity of wheat exported from Ibraila during the same period increased from 667,909 quarters to 1,862,909 quarters, or 180 per cent. The increase in the exports of Indian corn from the same port was from 224,310 quarters to 1,448,619 quarters, or 545 per cent. Some opinion may be formed of the extent of the agricul tural resources of Turkey when such results have been accomplished within the last few years. A REGIMENTAL COOK. Sour: adventures encountered in the course of im provised service as regimental cook are detailed in an amusing letter from a private in the 7th Hussars, dated from Varna on the 31st ult., and published in the Bristol Mirror : " About a fortnight ago there was an order from Lord Lucan that ten men out of every troop of seventy men were to be cooks, and relieve one another weekly. I was one of those sent to cook, and, when we marched from Yuah Buzzer, the cooking was no easy task, for after marching with the rest all day under a burning sun, and having cared for and watered toy horse 1, with a subordinate, had to cook and scour the country for wood wherewith to light and keep up a fire. Many and many were the adventures I encountered in this strange place in search of fuel. '' I generally.'used to make for some village, and always took my haversack over my shoulder, in case I met with any bread, or eggs or cheese ; and my calabash as well, in case I met with that great luxury milk, and, whether could get that or not, it was an excellent weapon in the hands of an active man, for it has a strong leather thong attached to a woolen barrel, bound round with iron hoops, 919