The Press. — London, England, 1854-07-29 00:00:00

f: . 706 A Putiatin ; for, according to accounts brought in to Shanghai by Chinese fishing-boats, there were six liatssian vessels-of war cruising in the Chinese seas These were probably the Pallas frigate, 50 guns, and another frigate which left Sitka about the 25th March, the corvettes Olivontza, Dwina, and Aurora, and the steam-tender Vostock. The Vostock bad been assi duously boarding all vessels she came across for in formation. Admirable Stirling, with commendable foresight, had prevented the despatches transmitted from reaching the Russian admiral, and they lie under seal at the British Consulate at Shanghai. At Shanghai there are now the Winchester, 50, with the admiral's flag, the Grecian brig, 12, the Encounter steam-frigate, 14, the Barracouta paddle - steamer, 0, and the Styx steamer, 6. The French steamer Colbert, of 6 guns, is also there, and the Constantine, French frigate, is cruising on the coast. The other vessels on the station are, the Corpus sloop, 14, at Wharnpoa; the Bittern brig, 12, at Foo chow ; the Rattler steamer, 11, cruising. The Spartan, '26, was left at Hong-Kong for the protection of the town against enemies or pirates, and the merchants and settlers bad not been idle in prepara tions for defence, two batteries to mount fourteen guns en barbette having been completed, and these, with some 30 guns mounted on the lower deck of the Hercules hospital-ship at one entrance, and the guns of the Spartan at the other, would give a warm greeting to any hostile intruders. At Singapore there were the Sybille, '26, the Lily, 12, and Rapid steam-sloop, 11. On the Australian station there are but three avail able vessels-of-war—the Calliope, 20, at Sydney; the Fantonse, 16, and the Electra, 18, which, by the last Recounts, was at Hobart Town in April. The Herald, Torch, and Pandora surveying-vessels are of course exempt from participation in hostilities. DEATH OF CAPTAIN PARKER. The intelligence of the death of this gallant officer, of which the telegraphic report was published in our last week's paper, has since been confirmed. The following details are given in a letter from Constantinople, dated the 13th inst.:— " The town of Sulina, at the mouth of the Danube, is almost surrounded by a jungle of reeds, where stockades had been formed fur the defence of the place by the enemy. These reeds are so high that they conceal both men and horses from the view of any one ascending the stream by a boat, and furnish great facilities for the enemy to harass troops whom he is unable to meet in the field. Atter the capture of Sulina last month, it was thought that the Russians had entirely left the neighbourhood, and a degree of confidence or negligence was inspired, which has ter• minuted most unfortunately. It appears that, so far from the enemy having abandoned the neighbourhood, they have never ceased to occupy the jungle which lines the banks of the river, and have waited for their opportunity to revenge the offhand capture of this important point. On Friday, the 7th of this month, Captain Parker, of the Firebrand, was ascending the river in his gig, and at some distance behind was another boat of the same vessel, and Captain Powell, of the Vesuvius, in a third. The excursion seems to have been entirely unconnected with any warlike object, and so completely was the presence of an enemy unanticipated, that the chaplain and surgeon of the Fire brand were in the boat with their captain. As the first boat came abreast of a stockade, supposed to have been long deserted, a shower of musket balls was poured in from an unseen enemy. No one was struck, but a ball passed through the surgeon's coat, and one or two others narrowly escaped. The boat immediately put back to obtain the assistance of the others, and Captain Parker and his companions were disposed to treat the matter very lightly, laughing at the Russians for not being better shots. Captain Powell with the other boats came up almost imme• diately ; the sailors rowed for the stockade, and Captain Parker sprang on shore to lead the attack. He had made but a few steps when he was struck through the heart with a musket ball, and fell dead. Captain Powell then took the command, and in a few minutes had driven the enemy from their stronghold. The Russians, however, made a brave resistance. The unfortunate commander who fell in this affair was one of the youngest post captains in the navy : he had, it is said, just completed his 29th year. He was the scn of Admiral Hyde Parker, late one of the Lords of the Admiralty. Belonging to a family long dis tinguished in the naval annals of this country, he gave promise of equalling any of his race in services to his country. The body was brought hither in the Firebrand on the 11th, and the funeral took place next day in the Grand Champ des Morta at Pera. The British Ambas sador, with most of his attaches, attended the ceremony, which took place with full military honours. The Count de Chabannes, captain of the Charlemagne, with most of his officers and a portion of the crew, was present. De tachments , ftom all the regiments which have left any of their number at Scutari formed part of the procession. Halil Pacha represented the Turkish navy in his quality of Superintendent of the Artillery. The Turks, who use no ceremonies at the burial of their dead, except in the case of the Sultan and his family, seemd much struck with the ceremony of a military funeral— e the first they had ever seen." THE LATE CAPTAIN BUTLER. Letters and despatches from Lord Hardinge, Lord Ilan, and Omer Facha, recognising the gallantry re late Captain Butler, and expressing sorrow at death, have been forwarded from the Horse Guards to his father, Lieutenant-General Butler. --um-in-Chief announces that the Queen THE PRESS. had placed him in the Guards, and conferred upon him army rank. Omer Pacha, in a despatch from Schumla of the Ist inst., says : " Le jeune Capitaine Butler, arrive pendant l'hiver avec M. Nastuyth au quartier-general de Chumla, itait au moment ou les busses commelicaient I'attaque contre la place. Toils les deux pouvaient se retirer, mais, la volt de llonneur parlant haut cbez eta, ils prefererent de rester, dans l'idee d'être utile dans la lutte qui se preparait. Leur exemple, leur conseil, ont puissamment coutribui la conversation des forts attaques ; malheureusement, M. Butler, blesse dune balle au front, a trouve la une mort glorieuse ; mais as memoirs ne perira pas dans l'armee Ottomane." Luau u,, Leh Eagle; 4 of the bis Guard The ( gout nub Sastion. HER MAJESTY remains at Osborne-house, where the principal incidents consist of frequent short cruises in the Fairy to various spots on the shores of the island. On Saturday last the Queen landed at the Needles and inspected the new works in course of construction for the purpose of fortifying the entrance to the Solent. THE EARL OF ABERDEEN arrived at Osborne on Thursday. The Duchess of Sutherland is expected to return to town to-day (Saturday) from a brief visit to her Majesty. THE DUCHESS OF KENT VMS tO leave Frogmore at the close of this week for the Isle of Wight, where her Royal Highness has taken a marine villa for the season, not far distant from Osborne. A CABINET COUNCIL was held on Saturday afternoon at the Foreign-office, Downing-street. THE marriage of Colonel Carleton with the Hon. Charlotte Hobhouse, daughter of Lord Broughton, was solemnised on Thursday at St. George's, Hanover-square. A MARRIAGE is stated to be arranged to take place between Mr. H. A. Bruce, M.P. a nd Miss Napier, daughter to Sir William Napier, k.C.B. THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF CLEVELAND gave a grand banquet on Wednesday evening to a select party of friends at their mansion in St. James's- square. THE VENERABLE DUKE OF RUTLAND, who again sailed from Cowes on Monday, on a cruise in his yacht, the Resolution, after visiting Guernsey and Jersey, and some of the French ports, intends to close his aquatic trips the first week in the ensuing month, and then proceed to his shooting quarters, Loughruoor, on the borders of Derbyshire. V alitual anb 6tntral. THE total number of deaths registered in London last week was 1,008, n early the same as in the pre • vious se'nnig bt, and about 100 less than the decennial average. The deaths returned as caused by zyrnotic diseases show an advance on the previous week. Diarrheea has also increased, and cholera has sud denly sprung into activity. The deaths from the former rose in the last two weeks from 46 to 58 ; those by cholera from 5 to 26. The easter► dis tricts, especially Limehouse, are the chief field of its earliest operations. THE consecration of the Bishop of Sodor and Man took place on Tuesday morning. The ceremony was performed by the Archbishop of York, assisted by prelates of the northern province. 'Fhe diocese over which Dr. Powys will have jurisdiction consists of the Isla of Man, the population of which at the last census was 52,387, the number of benefices being only twenty-seven. A FREEHOLD ESTATE in the county of Cornwall, Jamaica, comprising 3,507 acres, with buildings and stock, was sold on Tuesday at the Auction Mart for 3,0001., or considerably less than 1/. per acre. The Falmouth (Jamaica) Post, in a leading article on the condition of the island, says :—" The two great wants are labour and money, and until these are satisfied there is no hope whatever that the land will be again brightened by the sunshine of prosperity." THE LONDON 'VEGETARIAN SOCIETY held their seventh annual banquet on the 20th inst. The society is said to number 1,000 members, and the attendance was tolerably numerous. A great variety of vegetarian delicacies furnished forth the feast, and the occasion was improved by a vegetarian speech from Mr. James Simpson, the president. ACCORDING to the official returns there were 113 new cases of cholera and forty-six deaths from the epidemic a', St. Petersburg on the 14th inst. THE Tudor arrived at Penzance on Tuesday night from Port Phillip, bringing home forty passengers, and a quantity of gold. She sailed on April 16th. THE KING OE THE SANDWICH ISLANDS has issued proclamation of neutrality as regards the pending European war. LIEUT.-COLONEL FREEMAN MURRAY is appointed Governor and Commander••in-Chief of the Bermudas, or Somers Islands. SATURDAY, THE establishment of diplomatic relations with Rome is announced by the Dublin Weekly Telegraph, on the authority of a correspondent who "hears from Florence that it is expected Lord Normanby, who has been long residing in a beautiful villa near that capital, will shortly be appointed to succeed Sir Henry Bulwer as English minister for Tuscany, and that the sequel to that nomination will be the accrediting of our representative at Rome. Lord Normanby, it is asserted, may be in Rome, thus officially recognised as early as the ensuing winter." THE ANNUAL RETURN OF CIVIL LIST PENSIONS granted between the 20th June, 1853, and the 20th June last, on account of literature, appears in a par liamentary paper. The highest pension is 1001. and the lowest 401. There a e fifteen pensioners in the list. The widow of " Delta" has 1001, and the widow of " The Ettrick Shepherd" 501. The last was granted in April of 501. to the widow of Mr. Bow ditch, the celebrated African traveller. THE REV. DR. JACOBSON, Canon of Christ Church, Oxford, and Regius Professor of Divinity, has had a portion of his plate seized by Mr. Pratt, one of the overseers of the parish of St. Aldate, in consequence of his having refused the payment of a poor rate levied on some portion of his premises at Christ Church not extra-parochial. The plate was re deemed, and the proceeds applied to the payment of the rate. THE season of the Royal Academy Exhibition closed on Wednesday evening by a soiree, which was attended by nearly 700 of the nobility and gentry. THE directors of the South-Western Railway Com pany have resolved to recommend, at the general meeting on the 10th of August, that the dividend for the half-year, ending 30th June, 1854, be at the rate of 4} per cent. per annum. THE vacancy created by the death of Captain Hyde Parker has been filled by the promotion to post rank of Commander Houston Stewart, of the Modeste, and his appointment to the Firebrand. The name of the officer to be promoted to the rank of commander is not known. THE barque Lima, of London, nine days out for Hobart Town, put in to Falmouth on Thursday with six cases of cholera on board. One death has taken place. There are emigrants on board, but the sick ness is chiefly among the crew. THE CHOLERA has been very fatal in a colliery vil lage named Trinidon, near Hartlepool, in Durham. It broke out very suddenly, and fourteen deaths have taken place. Between forty and fifty persons have been attacked. Some of the deaths have been awfully sudden, and without those premonitory symptoms that have previously marked the early stages of this disease. THE member for Beverley, the Hon. F. C. Lawley, who has lately been acting as private secre tary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has been appointed lieutenant-governor of South Australia, in the room of Sir Henry E. F. Young, now governor of New Zealand. For the vacancy thus occasioned in the representation of Beverley, the only candidate hitherto announced is the Hon. Arthur Gordon, third son of the Earl of Aberdeen. Mr. Gordon ad dressed the electors at a public meeting on Tuesday, and was favourably received. AT a meeting of the executive committee of the Ballot Society, held on the 21st, it was resolved to promote in every way the return of GEneral Thomp son for Hull, on the occurrence of any election for that borough. THE laying down of the Mediterranean submarine electric telegraph cable took place on the 21st with great success, under a salute of twenty-one guns. THE number of persons who vis ited the Munich Exhibition of Industry on the and second days is given at an average of 1,400 first ; and the receipts at 710 florins. SIR GEORGE GREY, K.C.8., late Governor of New Zealand, is appointed Governor and Commanderin• Chief over her Majesty's settlements at the Cape of Good Hope. sporting. GOODWOOD RACES. The magnificent meeting of Goodwood was inaugurated on Tuesday last. The weather was most propitious, and the attendance of aristocratic and fashionable visitors little short of previous years, notwithstanding the absence of so many of the accustomed assistants in the East. The events were decided as follows : CRAVEN STAKES (handicap) of r) sous each, with :.')0 added. Sir W. Booth's Protest ( Plumb) 1 Mr. Greville's Adine 2 MATCH, It 01.: T Y.C. Duke of Bedford's Diomedia S. Rogers) I Lord Eglinton's Bianca .....................01d5. The LAVANT STAKES of 50 soya each, f.)r two-year- Half a mile. 20 subs. Mr. Merry's Lord of the Isles (W. Day) I Captain Lane's Paradigm Seven ran. Betting : 2 to 1 on Lord of the Isles, 5 to 1 against anY other.