The Press. — London, England, 1854-11-18 00:00:00

1084 A GERMAN COLONY IN PALESTINE. THE official Gazette in Wnrtemburg published at the commencement of this month some account of plans now rife in that country for emigration to Palestine. A " Society for the bringing together of God's people in Jerusalem" has constituted itself, and among other proceedings has prepared a petition to the Bund at Frankfort the purport of which is as follows :—That the Assembly of the German Confederation will be pleased, through the agency of the two great powers of Germany, to induce the Sultan to permit the " Society for the bringing together of God's people in Jerusalem " to found communities in the Holy Land, under the following conditions:-1. Self-government in all civil and religious matters, thatthey may be able to be arranged entirely according to God's word. 2. Security for person and property against the arbitra ments of Turkish officials, and against uncontrolled and oppressive taxes. :3. Exemption from Turkish military service. 4. Guarantee of the. same rights to every one who shall subsequently become a member of this society, whether he may have previously been Christian, Jew, or Mahommedan, Turk, or fore►gner, 5. The assignment of the Holy Land to these com munities, in order that they may settle there con• formably to the object and purpose which they have stated above. This plan is by no means confined to a few or to illiterate persons. During the sittings of the Evangelical Kirchentag, the seventh of which was held in Frankfort towards the close of September, a number of its members endeavoured to procure the adoption of a motion, that the Kirchentag should in its totality apply to the Band to take steps to procure the Holy City of Jerusalem to be declared a free town and put under the protectorate of the great powers of Europe. Some of the leading members of the meeting, possessed of a little more wordly wisdom than these enthusiasts, advised them, however, first to apply to the sovereigns of Austria and Prussia, and endeavour to induce them to favour their views when engaged in settling the terms of a peace and in arranging the affairs of the East in general. CHLPLaNS FOR THE ARRY.—The following gentle men have been appointed assistant official chaplains to the army in the East in connection with the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel :—Rev. 14. A. Taylor, Rev. W. Freeth, Rev. L. J. Parsons, Rev. L. W. F. Robson, Rev. L. W. Whyatt. The two former are ordered to embark in the Bra rulon in the course of the ensuing week. The Rev. W. Ross has been appointed Presbyterian chaplain, and is under orders for immediate embarkation. H.R.H. Prince ALBERT, has, we are informed, ordered a eeal-skin fur coat to be supplied, at his own expense, to every officer in the Crimea or about to proceed thither. Some officers on the eve of de parture have already received these acceptable gifts, which reflect equal credit on the consideration and bounty of his Royal Highness. MR. WILLIAM HAzurr, barrister, whose name is well known in connection with law reform and literature, has been appointed registrar to Mr. Com missioner Fonbianque, in the room of Mr. Pollock, the late registrar, who has recently retired, after a long absence, through ill-health. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATIONS between Vienna and Kronstadt and Bucharest have been temporarily suspended in consequence of the breaking of the wire. Lord Raglan's despatch of the 6th to the War-office was delayed for some days through this accident; and the Moniteur makes the same state ment respecting the messages from General Can robert to the French Government. FARMERS IN THE SOUTH OF ENGLAND are pur chasing sheep in the north of Scotland to fat them for the London market. Four-year old sheep are purchased for about 17s. 6d. a head. The con veyance of them to the south costs about 3s. a head more. These sheep have been fed on the Moors, and have never tasted a turnip. They are found rather wild at first—almost too wild for the fences. THE total number of deaths registered in London last week was 1,160. In the ten corresponding weeks of the years 1844-53 the average number, raised in proportion to increase of population, is 1,112. It appears, therefore, that the mortality is now net much in excess of the usual amount, hut it exceeds in a more important degree the point to which the usual mortality, in an improved condition of London, might be reduced. Cholera, which was fatal in the two previous weeks in 66 and 31 cases, was fatal last week in 23. In the same weeks diarrhoea numbered 40, 33, and 35 deaths. Nine of the deaths from cholera occurred on the north side of the river, the remaining 14 on the south side, 3 of which are re turned in the sub-district of St. Paul's, Deptford, 4 in the district of Lambeth. Scarlatina has for some weeks predominated among zymotic diseases. In the first week of October the deaths referred to it rose to upwards of 100 ; since that time it has fluctuated near the same point, but its tendency has not been to decrease. Ift THE PRESS. THE WAR. ANOTHER BATTLE AND VICTORY. In our late edition last week we were able to announce that another great engagement had taken place before Sebastopol, resulting in a glorious victory to the allies, who had indicted a loss of 9,000 men upon the enemy. Official despatches transmitted by telegraph and giving a brief but authentic account of the battle have been received both by our own and the French Governments. The affair occured on the sth inst., and is thus described by Lord Raglan, whose despatch was published by the Duke of Newcastle in an Extraordinary Gazette issued at midnight on Wednesday night. November 6. The enemy, with immense forces, attacked yesterday, in the dawn of morning, the right of the English position before Sebastopol, which was de fended by the second division and the brigade of Guards of the first light division, the fourth division, and part of the third, and subsequently by the divi sion of General Bosquet and other corps of the French army, which by their gallant conduct contributed essentially to the decided success of the day. Gene ral Canrobert immediately came to the spot, and gave me the support of his assistance and of his ex cellent counsel. The battie was extremely obstinate, ' and it was not till past noon that the enemy was de finitively repulsed and forced to retreat, leaving the field of battle covered with his dead and several hundreds of prisoners. The number of the enemy much exceeded that which was opposed to us at Alma, and the losses of the Russians have been enormous. Our losses have also been very great. General Sir George Brown, Major-General Bentinck, Brigadier- Generals Adams, Buller, and Torrens have been wounded. They are all doing well. The conduct of the troops in the face of an enemy so superior in numbers has been excellent. RAGLAN. Received at Bucharest, Friday the 10th of Novem ber, at 4i p.m., and forwarded to Kronstadt at 0 p.m. TEE BEITISEI AGENT. A note appended to this despatch at the War-office states that it was delayed between Bucharest and Vienna by an interruption of the telegraph from injuries received during a violent storm. The French account arrived some days sooner, and was published as follows in Monday's Moni teur Before Sebastopol, Nov. 6, 1854. The Russian army, increased by reinforcements from the Danube, by the reserves collected in the southern provinces, and animated by the presence of the Grand Dukes Michael and Nicholas, attacked yesterday the right of the English position before the place. The English army maintained the combat with the most remarkable solidity. I ordered it to be supported by Gen. Bosquet's division, which fought with admirable vigour, and by the troops nearest at hand. The enemy, much more numerous than us, beat a retreat with enormous losses, estimated at ' 8,000 or 9,000 men. This obstinate struggle lasted the whole day. On my left., Gen. Forey had to drive back at the same time a sortie of the garrison ; the troops, ener getically led on iby him, drove back the enemy into the place, with a loss of about 1,000 men. This brilliant day's feat of arms, which was not achieved without loss to the allies,retlects the highest honour upon our arms. The siege continues regularly. CANROBERT. To complete the series of official narratives we subjoin a summary of Prince Menschikoff 's account of the battle, which was published in St. Petersburg on the 13th inst. : Prince Menschikoff attacked the north-east position of the enemy on the sth inst. The enemy was prepared. The Russians stormed two positions, spiked eight guns in one battery, and penetrated into the English camp. One division (Russian) arrived too late. The Russians retired to their previous positions. The enemy did not pursue. A simultaneous sortie was made near Bastion No. O. The enemy's batteries opposite the cemetery were stormed, and the cannon were spiked. General Foret's division attacked the Bastion No. ti, but were repulsed. The Rus sian loss was considerable. The Grand Dukes Michael and Nicholas were present. General Liprandi only made a demonstration. Lient-General Soimonoff was killed. The telegraphic advices received vid Vienna and Paris add a few items of intelligence to that conveyed in the official despatches. The Sinai steamer, which arrived at Marseilles on Wednesday with news to the 3rd from the Crimea, repotted that An assault had been decided on, to take place on the sth. L Four thousand men, under Prince Napoleon, were to at tack, in the first instance, the Russian fort near the ceme- SATURDAY, tery. An obstinate defence was anticipated. The state of the town is frightful. The hospital which was burned contained 2,000 sick and wounded, who were all consumed. The first division is detached from the siege operations, in, order to augment the army of observation. The fire of the place has much slackened. It is thought that the in ternal defence of the town will be warm. The houses are barricaded, mounted with guns, and transformed into kinds of citadels. Four of the ships of the Russian fleet have been sunk. The weather is fine in the Crimea, but farther at sea it is frightful, and losses must have taken place. The fleets under the commands of Admirals Hamelin and Pandas are in the hay of Katscha. Admiral Bruat had lauded near Yalta, and was well re ceived by the inhabitants, who supplied him with provi sions. Rear-Admiral Sir E. Lyons cuts off the communications between Tamane, Anafa, and the land, and watches the Sea of Azoff. All the vessels are rigorously searched. The Cacique and the Spitfire, which are cruising before the llneister, signalise the passage by Perekop of Russian troops proceeding to Sebastopol. According to a despatch from Paris two Russian frigates were burnt by the English with their Lan caster guns. The ship•of-the-line the Twelve Apostles had also been destroyed. Three thousand Zouaves had arrived from Algiers, and a thousand Tirailleurs had disembarked at Balaklava. From Vienna it was telegraphed on Thursday, under date of the 3rd, from the Crimea : Sir Ds Lacy Evans was ill, having had a fall from his horse. Sickness was on the increase, and the cold very severe at night. A French battery of 04 guns opened fire on the Ist, and made great impression. Our fire, as well as that of the Russians, was weak. A Turkish ship of Si) guns and a frigate had sunk during the late gale. The Himalaya is disabled, and unable to keep the sea. Advices of the same date (3rd), sent through Constantinople, state that the French lines were pushed to within 250 yards of the fortifications. The Paris correspondent of the Independence affirms that to General Canrobert's despatch of the Bth inst. was added a postscript representing the Russians as so thoroughly beaten in their last en gagement that it would be at least ten days before they would again expose themselves to the chances of a battle. The French Government, it is said, keeping in view the vicissitudes of war, and more alive than ever to the difficulties attending the en terprise of the allied armies, thought proper to with hold this prediction from the public. At Paris it was generally admitted that the allies are at the be ginning of a winter campaign. An Austrian service of Estafettes is established to replace provisionally the wires carried away by a violent storm on the Bucharest line of telegraph. At Malta, on the 11th, 2,000 English horses ar rived, together with a large quantity of munitions of war. On the same day the Miranda, Jura, and Queen of the South sailed for the East. THE SIEGE OPERATIONS. The following official despatches have been pub lished, since our last impression, by the War Minister, in successive Gazettes : Before Sebastopol, Oct. 18,1854. It was arranged between General Canrohert and myself that the batteries of the two armies should open immediately after daylight on the morning of the 17th, and we invited Admiral Dundas and Ad miral Hamelin to attack the enemy's works at the mouth of the harbour with the combined fleets, as nearly simultaneously as circumstances might permit. Accordingly, upon a signal being given from the centre of the French lines, the batteries of the two armies commenced their fire about a quarter before seven yesterday morning. On this occasion we employed about sixty guns of different calibres, the lightest being twenty-four pounders. It may here he proper to observe that the character of the position which the enemy occupy on the south side of Sebastopol is not that of a fortress, but rather of an army in an intrenched camp on very strong ground, where an areaaply unlimited number of heavy guns, amply provided with gunners and am munition, are mounted. The guns having opened as above stated, a con tinuous and well-directed fire was carried on from the works of the two armies until about ten o'clock a.m., when, unfortunately, a magazine in the midst of one of the French batteries exploded and occasioned considerable damage to the works, and I fear many casualties, and almost paralysed the efforts of the French artillery for the day. 'lye British batteries, however, manned by sailors from the fleet, under the comm and of Captain .Lush ington and Captain Peel, and by the royal artillery, under the superintendence of Lieutenant - Colon el G a mbier, kept up their flre with unremitting eneratis gy t h ro ughout the day to my own and the general faction, as well as to the admiration of the French army, who were witnesses of their g allant and perse,- vering exertions, materially injuring the e my s ne works, and silencing the heavy guns on the top of the Loopholed Tower, to which I adverted s B in my despatch of the 13 th inst. , a nd many of the ut -al