The Press. — London, England, 1854-12-09 00:00:00

DECEMBER 9, 1854. went, but each man believed that the battle depended upon his own individual heroism and exertions. (Hear.) They ( the people of England) would depreciate themselves if they did not afford those brave men all the assistance in their power. (Hear, hear.) Subsequently, the meeting was addressed and resolu tions moved by Major Howard Vyse, M. G. Barclay, and Lord E. Bruce. A house-to-house collection was determined on, and a sub-committee named to con duct it. The Canadian Legislature, on the 18th ult., unani mously voted the sum of 20,0001. sterling for the Patriotic Fund. _ _ At Lisbon a subscription Is getting up in aid of the fund, through the influence of Mr. Smith, her Majesty's consul. A public meeting of the inhabitants of Gibraltar was held on November 22, at which resolutions were passed, expressing their most devoted loyalty to the Queen, and their deepest sympathies for the suf ferings of the gallant soldiers and sailors who are now encountering the hardships of war, and declaring that they embrace with thankfulness this opportunity of affording assistance to the widows and orphans of the brave men who may fall in the present war with Russia. A committee was afterwards nominated for the purpose of collecting subscriptions in aid of the fund. Amongst the cargo brought by the Indus to South ampton were forty-nine packages of specie, value 119,805/., 5,0001. of which form the contributions to wards the Patriotic Fund, from South Australia. CRIMEAN ARMY FUND. An association has been formed under the above title, with the view of rendering some assistance to the British army while exposed to the many priva tions and hardships incidental to a winter campaign. A committee has been appointed including the Duke of Wellington, the Marquis of Blandford, Viscount Mandeville, Lord Robert Grosvenor, M.P., &c., and it is proposed to forward to Balaklava a supply of such articles of provisions, warm clothing, &c., as may be considered most useful. The committee have already at their disposal the Fairy yacht, the property of Mr. Wm. Lyon, member of the Yacht Club, and another yacht, 220 tons burden, the pro perty of the Earl of Ellesmere, which will severally have a freight of tobacco, tea, and other serviceable articles, as a gift to the non-commissioned officers and privates. A store of articles will also be esta blished at Balaklava, which will be sold at cost price to those who would be unwilling to receive such articles as a gift. PROVISION AND ATTENDANCE FOR THE SICK. The Sisters of Mercy and nurses for the hospital of Scutari, fifty-one in number, accompanied by Dr. Meyer, arrived in Paris on Saturday evening, on their way to Marseilles. Several of them attended divine service on Sunday at the Ambassador's Chapel. At Boulogne the officers of the Customs and the other authorities did everything possible to spare them trouble and inconvenience, and the directors of the railway delayed the train to prevent their having to wait for the last train, by Which they would not have reached Paris before midnight. Dinners had been ordered for them beforehand at the Hotel des Bains. When they called for the account all payment was refused, both by the proprietor of the hotel and the domestics, who had loaded them with attention. Last week twelve scripture readers have arrived at Scutari from England. They demanded permission of the authorities at the hospitals to read the scrip tures to the sick and wounded soldiers. This was willingly accorded, and they had every facility given them for persevering in their meritorious and ardu ous task. Dr. Jules Cloquet has proposed to the Emperor of the French to lend his country-house, situated on the seashore, near Toulon, for the reception of officers of the army or navy wounded in the East. The Em peror has written to Dr. Cloquet to say that he wil lingly accepts his offer, and congratulated him on the patriotic manner in which he has proposed to em ploy his villa. WROUGHT-IRON ORDNANCE. Mr. Nasmyth, the inventor of the steam-hammer, has proposed to make powerful guns of wrought-iron. He writes to the Times : Government have entered most cordially into my views, and in the most liberal spirit have empowered me to pro. ceed forthwith in carrying out my designs. TITZ TRAMES was visited one day last week by a shoal of t e Whales numbering between forty and fi , some of them ft apparently thirty or forty feet in len , who disported themselves in the middle of e river, between Gravesend and Tilbury Fort. They proceeded up as far as off Rosherville, then reversed their course, having come in contact with two steamers coming down the river. They were of that class of whales called by the fishermen • " finners "—a name, judging from the immense dorsal fin, which, when they arose to the surface, appeared to be from eight to ten feet in length, most appropriate to them. The appearance of these fish in the nver so high up as Gravesend created tivegreatest surprise, as a similar visit, as the vratermen and fishermen averred, had never before been observed. The whales were pursued by some fisher• men in boats, but succeeded in tamping unhurt. THE PRESS. jortign au golonial FRANCE. In a letter to the Minister of War General Canrobert asks for promotions and rewards for the sailors of the French fleet who have been serving on shore. In the course of his communication he says : " All the army admires the conduct of these brave men, who from the commencement of our operations have striven with unequalled energy against the greatest difficulties ever presented in a siege." The Emperor has raised Vice-Admirals Hamelin and Parseval Deschenes to the rank of admiral. Some model tents and huts have lately been erected in the " reserved " gardens of the Tuileries, beneath the windows of the Emperor's private apart ments. They were placed there in order that selec tion might be made of the form and material best suited for the army in the Crimea. His Majesty has made his choice, and contracts are already concluded which will result, as the Patrie states, in the com pletion and transport to the scene of action before the end of the month of a supply amply sufficient to shelter the whole French army, horses as well as men. It is said that a national subscription is to be raised in France in favour of the widows and orphans of the soldiers who have lost or may lose their lives in the Crimea, and that the Empress is to place her name at the head of the list. An imperial decree opens from the budget of 1854 a new extraordinary credit of 25,700,000 f. to meet the expenses of the war in the East, and particularly the cost of sending out two new divi sions. A sum of 12,250,000 f. is appropriated to pay and support of troops, and the remainder to stores of various kinds. Immense preparations have been made at Lyons and Marseilles for grand religious fetes on Dec. (the fete of the Conception of the Virgin), to cele brate the dogmatic declaration of the Immaculate Conception expected then to be promulgated by the Pope. The President of the Republic of Mexico, to show his good-will and esteem for the Emperor Napoleon, has pronounced a complete amnesty in favour of the French adventurers compromised and taken prisoners at Guaymas. GERMANY. An offensive and defensive treaty between Austria, France, and England was concluded on Saturday last. Couriers were sent off therewith to Paris and London. Prussia and/the German Bund will be forthwith invited to join•,..e alliance. The special provisions of this convention have not yet transpired, and the text will, it is stated, not be published until the formal interchange of ratifica tions on the 15th inst. The Berlin journals published on Tuesday a des patch, of the 15th November, from M. Manteuffel to Comte Arnim, expressing the desire of the Prussian Government that no concession should be required from Russia beyond the four points of guarantee. DENMARK. The result of the new elections, as ascertained on Monday, showed that eighty-four anti-Ministerialists had been returned out of one hundred members. On that day the King dismissed his Ministry, requesting them, however, to hold office provisionally until their successors could be appointed. General Keogh was, at the same time, summoned to Copenhagen by his Majesty. ITALY. A letter from Rome in the Parlamento of Turin states that the Conference of Bishops at Rome was closed on the 2nd, after coming to a nearly unanimous conclusion on the matter under debate. SPAIN. The Madrid Chamber on the sth inst. passed a vote of confidence in the Ministry, by a majority of 140 Against 42. Espartero and the other ministers have resumed their functions. On the 2nd, the Cortes decided that the municipal elections should be postponed till a law on the subject is passed. TURKEY. A change in the Administration took place at Con stantinople on the 23rd ult. Mehemet Kipresli Pacha, who has been the Sultan's Grand Vizier since May last, has retired. Redscbid Pacha, Minister of Foreign Affairs, again becomes Grand Vizier, and the office which he lately held falls to Ali Pacha, previously in the Ministry without portfolio. THE PRINCIPALITIES. The Journal. de Coottantinop/e, of Nov. 20, states that the Ottoman may of the Danube was to advance by forced marches to the Pruth, enter Bessarabia, and attack the Russians. Thirty thousand men under Achmet Pacha, for merly of Kalafat, and now a marshal, were to march to Babadagh to guard the Danube. Iskender Bey commands the vanguard of 5,000 men, and is going to destroy the enemy's works at Ismail. The 1161 cavalry under Halem Paella had reached Fokachany. The main body of the Turkish army, under Omer Pacha, and composed of about 88,000 infantry, was awaiting the cessation of the rains, upon which it would march for the Truth. Tassoun Pacha sends the troops under his orders from Rustchuk to Bucharest, and will himself keep garrison there with 8,000 men. A letter from Ibraila, dated Nov. 15, says : The Russians have been driven out of the Dobrudscha; the 3rd Regiment of the Imperial (Ottoman) Guards and the bashi-bazonks, under the command of his Excellency Hadjee Ali Pacha and Colonel Achmed Bey, defeated the Don Cossacks and Greek volunteers in some brilliant actions on the heights of Therna, and breve them back to Isatchka, where the Russians reerossed the bridge and broke it. Babedagh, Tultauha, and Matschin are in the hands of the Ottoman troops. Marshal Achwed commanding•in•ahief the Sultan's troops occupying the two banks of the Danube and those of the Sereth, has established his headquarters at 'bridle. The scene of hostilities is henceforth shifted to Bessarabia, where the Russians are preparing to make a resistance ; but they will have to keep a line of at least fifty leagues, which they can only do by scattering their !braes. RUSSIA. There are several indications of a Russian move ment on the Austrian frontier. The Russian Guards and Grenadiers are advancing into Poland. The entire Ist Infantry Corps, under General Sievers, is being concentrated on the left bank of the Vistula. Thu 2nd Corps, under General Paniutin, has orders to proceed to Volhynia and Podolia. An imperial decree, dated Nov. 13, orders two more battalions to be added to the regiments of the Finland army. Sixty battalions of sharpshooters are to be raised. The " state of siege" at St. Petersburg had been suspended by an ukase, dated Oct. 10. The Neva was entirely frozen over at St. Peters burg on the 25th ult. All the works in the forte situate at its mouth, on the seaside, and those con structing on the islands in front of that capital, had been suspended on account of the winter. Between Kowno and Warsaw sledges are now used, and in the neighbourhood of Kalisch and Leuzcio the ground is covered with snow. UNITED STATES. The latest New York dates are of the 26th ult., brought by the Atlantic steamer. Preparations were making for the assembling of Congress, and the various departments showed symptoms of activity. The Postmaster General's report will speak more favourably of the working of the cheap postage system than any since IHSI. The report of the Secretary of the Treasury will include the statistics of commerce and navigation, which are not usually furnished until the month of January. The rumoured changes in the American Cabinet are now contradicted. Thomas P. Hope, the originator of Hope's line of Liverpool packets, and who for half a century occu pied high positions, has died at his residence in Baltimore, aged seventy-eight. A terrible collision had occurred ou the Harlem Railroad between a passenger-train from White Plains and a freight-train from New Haven, the former staving in the rear cars of the freight-train, and breaking the legs or otherwise severely injuring about twenty passengers in the train from White Plains. The steam-ship Canada came into collision on the 24th ult. with another steamer, the Ocean, bound from New York to Hollewall, Maine. The latter vessel was struck amidships and severely injured. Several stores were overturned by the shock, the steamer caught fire, and one of her boilers shortly exploded, and she became a complete wreck. Many lives were lost among the passengers, the survivors being rescued by two passing steamers which came to their aid. The ship Conqueror arrived at New York on the 15th, from Liverpool, lost forty of her passengers during the voyage from illness. The whole number of souls on boa . rd the unfortu nate New Era at the time she struck was about 400, of whom only 155, including the officers and crew, were saved. M. de Cueto, the Spanish Minister at Washington, had been thrown from his carriage and received severe injuries, which were likely to terminate fatally. The Varieties Theatre at New Orleans was totally destroyed by fire on the morning of the 21st ult. The loss is estimated at over 00,000 dollars. CANADA. The third reading of the Clergy Reserves Secula risation 13111 wax carried in the Legislative Assembly, Quebec, on the 23rd ult. REVOLUTION IN LIMA. On the evening of Oct. 25 an attempt was made in Lima to overthrow the Government. The first intimation they had of it, was the turning over of two battalions in favour of Castilla, which resulted in the shooting of the colonel heading the battalion.