The Press. — London, England, 1853-12-31 00:00:00

DECEMBER 31, 1853. THE MASSACRE AT SISOPE. Foli.owiNo the telegraphic reports, and the vain glorious Russian bulletins, announcing the eatas. trophe, or victory," at Sinope, we have received the following narrative, founded upon the investigation conducted by the officers of H.M.S. Retribution, which vessel, as we have already stated, was des patched from the British tteet in the Bosphorus to collect intelligence anti afford what aid was possible to the defeated Turks. The source from whence they are derived renders these details more authentic than any that have previously appeared : " on the lath of November a Turkish flotilla. consisting of seven frigates (one of sixty gluts I. three corvettes, and two steamers, anchored in the Bay of Simi's.. Ott the 21st a Russian squadron of three twosleckeis, a ffigate, and a brig, stood in for Shape, and, after reconnoitring the Turkish position, cruised off the harbour, maintaining the blockade in spite of very heavy weather. It wits suggested to /salmi Paula, the commander-in-chief, that, as au acti 111 l would be unavoidable. the best coins,. would lie to force the bleicks.le, and make a runmimg tight of it ; not contemplating any reinforcement of the Russians, he unfortutistely rejected the advice of his sulhoolinates, upon the consideration of some of his vessels having been damaged in a recent gale, and on tilt' probability of a slit , cessfid result it' the sellout were dough( at umlaut.. on the 11111910011 Or November atoll a large Russian 144111:11111)11, composed of three three-deckers and three twosleekers, under the command of Vice Admiral N0v11111144, having also the flag of a rear-admiral, stood in for the bay under fall sail bet we the wind, and took up a po sition close alongside the Turkish ships, the latter not firing upon them while doing so. Two frigates and three steamers remained outside to cut off the retreat of any Turkish vessel attempting tit escape. /spent hwita forthwith signalled his fleet to fight bravely to the last in defisice of their country. and at 1101111 a despentle actital .111 1111 l FOE ups ants of an hoot• soul a half the Turkish frigates resisted these fearful odds without flinching. The first of their losses was the Novick frigate, whose captain, Ali Bev, being menaced with boanling by a huge threesleeker, anti having abandoned all hope of a successful resistanee, with desperate devotion blew up his vessel. At the end of the above period the destruction of the Turkish twee was frightful and complete. Some of the ships were loom by the enemy's red-hot shot ; others blew up ; and the others, whose sides wen- literally beaten in by the em-Items weight of the Russian metal, slipped their cables, and, with the exception of two, drifted on shor e . The Russians now manned their yards, and cheered in !amour it ' t heir' 1111141Ily victory. Having done this, they intmediately immeneed tiring upon the helpless wrecks, trout which a feeble dropping tire was still ' tabled with unequalled fortitude, and did, not cease until they had completed the work a destruction and butehery. They then took possession of the twit vessels which had not gone on shore, but, front their battered condition, abandoned and destroyed them the following day. 4Me of the Turkish steamers, the nil, alone escaped. She had slipped her cable shortly after the commencement of the battle, and, atter tiwcing her way at some risk throtwit the three cruising outside, brought the first intimation of this fatal event to Constantinople. Be fore the action co uu uenced the Turkish crews numlwred 4, WO men ; of these 3AS have survived, the others having been slain to a Mall at their posts. Most of the survivors are Wlmittled ; among them are HO prisoners, whit were taken by the Russians on board the frigates abandoned by them, lota who lowe been canied off to Sebastopol. (hau l m Pstchit, the tsitionateler-in-thief, who was w dell in the soil at. is aiming the priso ners. Hussein Paella, the MINIM' in eolllllllUld. while trying to escape from his burning vessel, was struck by a grapeshot on the head, and killed. The loss on the Russian side is not accurately known, as they retired immediately after the battle ; but four of their ships were disabled in their spars. and were towed out by steamers. The support 'drooled to the Turks by the land batteries with ineffectual, owing partly to the lightness of their guns, and partly to their fire being intercepted by the Turkish ships. The town of Sinop*, is completely Ile stroyed, either by shells or bunting timbers, and the whittle coast is strewn with dead bodies. A few survivors have made their way, by swimming. to the town : but such is the consternation among the local authorities that all acti4lll till their phut is paralysed, and they can scarcely find means even to procure food or medical assistance for the sufferers. These latter found speedy alleviation at the hands of the medical officers brought by her Majesty's steamer Retribu tion and the French steamer Mvador, who were zealously assisted by three of the survivors, surgeons on board the Turkish fleet." It is r, lated besides that Ali Bey, commander of the Narick, seeing that his ship could not stand against the three-decker opposed to him, and with which he is said to have grappled, ordered her to be blown up, and, not feeling certain of the execution of that order, threw, with his own hand, a lighted match into the magazine. The explosion involved both the Navicl,• and the Russian three-decker in a common destruct The following is the official list of the Tin-kis!' fleet and their fate at Sinope : Nizamie frigate, 60 guns, tiou men ; blown up— Commander Rear-Admiral Hus , ,ein Paella and Com modore Kadri Bey, both killed. Navick frigate, 52 guns, 500 men ; blown up— Commander Ali Bey, killed. Neasini frigate, 52 guns, 500 men; sunk—Com mander Hassan Bey, killed. laid Zafer frigate, 50 gun, 500 men ; sunk— Commander Edham Bey, killed. Avni Illah frigate, 40 gun-, 41N1 men; sunk— Commander Rear-Admiral 0-•oicui Paeha and Com modore Reehid Bey, prisoners. THE PRESS. Fu:li frigate, 48 guns, 400 men ; sunk— Commander Ali Nalittr Bey, prisoner. I►iluiut Egyptian frigate, guns, WO men : sunk —Commander Altmet Hey, killed. Zrizi Moabat corvette, 21 guns, 200 men ; sunk— Commander Tzett Bey, killed. Gat Setid corvette,24 guns, lilt) men ; sunk—loin• launder Hey, escaped. Nez Jai lee ha is comet te,l4 guru, JIM) men ; stranded —0)11111111111tler 11 aSSIIII lied, prisoner. Er, g/i steam-corvette, 4 guns 190 inert ; sunk— Commander lstnail Hey. escape:l. Total number of meat, 4,190; total number of gun., 1:10. CoNFLAGRATION IN NEW YORK. IlyssowNED as New York has long since become for the frequency and extent. of the tires by which it is visited, there are few eahunities of this character on reeord more serious in the value of the property destroyed, or nusre remarkable on avemant of the world-wide fame attained by the pnqtrietors whose establishment has perished, than the conflagration that broke out, on the !Nth inst. mid destroyed the vast printing-works of the Messrs. Harper. This Ran, known as " Harper Brothers," was the most extensive publishing lininte in the United States, fuel by the burning down of their premises it is feared - that nut fewer than 1,000 wille ..trown, hands h though happily only for u brief period, out of work. The conflagration was occasioned by a piumher, who was at work in One Of the lower stories, and who, after lighting his pipe, threw the burning paper into a vessel of camphitte which he hail mistaken for water. Instantly the place was in flames. Fed with combustible materials on every side, they soon raged with veleanie fury. There was scarcely time fssr the occupants of the vast building to escape with their lives. Fortunately, out of the 650 eutpioyeN within its walls, some 400 had not returned front dinner, those who remained being chicly the young wAnen employed in the press-roms and bindery. Thanks to the daring etfmts of the tiremen, whose first efforts were direeted to saving life, these were ill rescued from a dreadful fate, though one of the number was so much injures! that she died on the way to the hospital. Several other persona were more or less hurt. The ravages of the fire were nut confined to Messrs. Harper's establishment, but extended to the neighbouring 1 ses. Several buildings and stores in !'earl and Cliff streets, toge• titer with the %%alum Hotel, an extensive edifice, built a hundred years ago by a gentleman of that name, but which 11114 of hue been an emigrants' boarding-114)11-e, were also completely destroyed. The following is the estimate of the property of the Harpers lust and saved:—Property in the build ings : The bindery establishment, estimated to be worth about 641,111111 dads.; :14 Adams presses, valued at 7501110 doll.; 11 hydraulic presses, 15,41410 debt.; materials in the composing-rom, 15,0110 duds. ; the stereotype foundry and electrotype apparatus, moo (Lois.; printed sheets of the Pictorial Bibles, half of which was owned by .1. 11. Adams, 30,4510 debt.; steam engine and boiler, 5,0411 dols. ; stork of honks and printed sheets, estimated in the inventory to be worth not far from 1400,000 dots.; wood cuts, esti mated at 50,000 dole.; ten buildings, worth probably 150,000 dollars; stereotype plates, valued at 4110,1NN1 debt.; total property, 1,655,0011 40114. Property saved : Stereotype plates, 400,0011 (1014. ; wOO4l cuts (probably), 411,1MN1 doh.. ; books, paper, gild Inn& - cellaneong, 10,1510 do's. , total saved, 450,4'5141 tbals.— total loss, 1,..,!05,000 dada. Int this amount the in surance does not exceed 1500100 dial"., distributed among a large number of companies, only one com pany, an 'English one, in Boston, having over 5,0410 dohs. The firm iv, however, enormously rich, and the catastrophe, large as is the loss it will entail, cannot of their commercial standing. Ten buildings were occupied by the establishment of the Harpers, five stories high, and extending through the entire block from Franklin-square to Cliff-street, five fronting on each side. They were also all of recent erection. Among the literary property consumed is an entire edition of the January number, stereotype plates in eluded, of Harper's Magazine, together also with a portion of the February number ; so that the next issue of this periodical, whose circulation is said to exceed 154i,1tt0 copies, will necessarily be delayed for a few weeks, until it can be rewritten and repro &teed. Most of their heavy and valuable stereotype plates of works are saved, having been fortunately stowed away in vaults beneath the pavements. An edition of Dr. Kane's "Arctic Expedition " fell a prey to the flames ; but, fortunately, Mr. Grinnell, the merchant, who fitted out the expedition, hail a first copy with all the engravings, so that this valuable work of scientific exploration need not be rewritten. Taken in all its bearings, this terrible conflagration has produced, in a literary sense, a loss that is regarded as national. The New York Daily Times gives the following sketch of the operations of this enterprising firm : ►• The establishment of the Harpers was founded by .110 James Harper, the eldest of the four brothers who now constitute the firm. lie came to this city in IMO, a lad fifteen years old, and served an appren ticeship of six years to Paul and Thomas, the lead • ing printers of that day. His brother John soon fol lowed him. anal learned his trade of Mr. .eymour, a punter John street. In Isl 7, with the small capital Jame?: had saved, the brothers opened small book and job ()thee in (loner-street. The first book they printed was Seneca's Morals; ' the second was an edition of• the ' Methodist eateehism."lho tirst book the) published) on their own account was Essay tan the !Inman Understanding.' They toiled with unremitting industry, and main• twined the highest character for enterprise and in tegrity. In ltsw► the third brother, Joseph Wesley., joined them, and six years later Fleteher became a member of the firm. From that time until now they have earned on tho publishing business with a degree ttf well-directed energy which has few psrallels. They removed tea Clitf-mtreet 'dwelt ISIVI, and have added one building after another to their establishment as the demands of their business re quirts'. The amount of books they have issued is almost inealculahle. For the last few years they have published. on an average, twenty live volumes a minute for tell hours a day ; and from three to lour thousand hint. Olitaillt'd a livelihood from their employment." THE CANADIAN CENsus. Tut: census reports of Canada, made up to the close of IS:W. are just published, and disclose many fart* of much interest. Their comrarison pith the parallel returns from the United States, which appeared in a recent number of t h e 1i11E5t4,1111%14 the unexpected result that the population of our Canadian colonies is expanding in number with even greater rapidity than that of the great %Tublie. The returns, which are necessarily vet:4y voluminous, are thux snn►nmu•ised by the Toronto Leader:— "The eimmis tulles furnish 1111 l valiant& information Nu the cuutpluatP.i iurrolro 4.1 Ito dini.sent nationalities in I Amer The comparnani cieibraves the periisl low tos ur i i I 4 I I and that of 11451. The greatest increase has taken plows. in Canadians of British origin ; living 1013 per vent., against 27.611 in the French Comm 'Hans. The 111 '‘I 11 41 114 'st ills the lust. 1.:11$11i1d1 and to 511; Scuteh, Kul ; and United Staters, 4.49. '('lse means of eawryitig 1.11 liw esomparionon do 1144 exist. In addition to the ',vagina 111011 , 11, there is a sprinkling of Nona Scotian*, New Itruilow jokers, Newfoundlanders, tierissitur, Hutch, French, and others, of whido the enumeratora obtained INI josiiieulars. " In Upper Canada there IM e‘esi a grcoster variety sit Hill 41110144.5. !tilt ill 111114 respect neither Canada 010 Slnn.s HM singular. Etiiignte brings its varieties of nationalities ; but after all tiny are nut greater than is to finind in ninny countries its Europe. There Is, liiin• (Wel, thim ilitb.rence betwown Canada and Europe, that in the lutist the distinct people often settle down by those sehes in cla n s, whereas liere i•Vvl)lliilig, espevially its l•pper Canada, tends to as • 'talon. The time will when the entire IMtpulatiou of Canada, l•pper and Lower, will be a inure homogeneous people thew 111:111) to-'ay. The Freud' rare its I,..ws , r( 'r a sh's will struggle against the extinction to huh MI races ill this aitotottion are inevitably dsommil, lout the struggle will be a bootless one. The essoople of I satisiana, a I.•retirla colony, purchased from Napoleon in 11 4 02, shows how rapid may be the alomortotioon of a race ler certain circumstances. Half a salstilly ago Ismisiouns woos a French Moony, witha Fis.nelo poopulootion. 'That 1 , 01.401111. has IlilW lust mousy of the distinct elsarowterimicos of its nationality, and in half century moor.. will Is. coomplets.ly merged in the general mass of the 11111110 Si it LIM the proes..ao is shower, but the whisk moat eventually he the Penn.. Whom Lower evesesl to be a French colony it hoist at once and for ever that French emigrat• which had founded the colony. The re 1111 l not of a French colony. deprheil of all neves% 111 l from extraneous sources, and dependent sully on the natural means sof increase, eon 1111 l t hold its. own against it rival illey who, lo 1141111A1 Means of increase', adds the advantage of constant accretions from immigration. " The Comparative increase of the religion* denosiiiiim thous is gis ell. In the period from 11112 to I/441 Ilse Church of England its Upper Canada increased 73.13 per cent., Ind the Church of Seotleml oleereamed 31432 ; the ('hutch of Home increased 111.4 i I ; the Presloyteriasios of all kind* the 'loom 1111 l t4stuoult of to 71.311 ; the Neale, an Methodists, 14 ; the Episcopal Methodists, 142 ; other 111etloodists, not 1 10 4 ; the Baptists, 131 ; the Lutherans, 10.51; tiro Congregatiolintliats, 48; and the /demonists mod Tan kers, 714.11 M, Snell lotus been the respective increase of Hoe %onions oletionsinati 111 l I pipet 'outoola daring the period oof nine yeam. 111 lAistrr 4 'swills the pcili of eionoptinoton is f rusta 1 14 44 t o 10451 . 'floeHoman Catholics increased 311.12 ; the Church of F:nizintol, 4.31 ; the church of Sent. land, /44; Wealo.van Methoolists, f.s; other Methodists not partietalitrised, ; Preo-byterianoo. 1115.1711. Among the minor ilessimiinutions the eiomposriason le carried tout. louring the tell years ouiertsl by Ilse es isauw the popula tion of I 'toper Cuitoola increased 1111 i per cent. At this rale it Wow 'limn 510551,11 . * eVery ten years. This far 'out strips the progri ss of the United States, which, from 10 4 0 to 1 , 440, ins.rrlturd uuly 651.611 per cent., mid is liver ten times Its great as that of England and Scotland. England "'able' in the first half of the century, 14eotland did not suits oloaillo•• At the commencement of the century this' litti..is sit Sys.thillii was 1.1i4N,V4), mid i n it way vu~y .!, , 7ut , t4,711. It was to be expeettil that the progress in err oigialigl ib ialii io4l/INI - ' 4 l