The Press. — London, England, 1854-06-03 00:00:00

512 tating the correspondence between Russia and the insurgent Greek population. On the arrival of Lord Raglan in Turkey, General Brown addressed to him a letter, containing an espe cial expression of thanks to General Canrobert and Admiral Bruat for the assistance they had given him in disembarking the troops. In this letter General Brown says:— " Finding myself without any other means of establish ing a communication with the steamers or transports but the very defective aid of boats furnished by the commissa riat, it would have been impossible for me to effect that embarkation without a considerable loss of time, had it nut been for the aid of our allies. In such circumstances, I did not hesitate to apply to the French admiral and gene ral. General Canrobert at once placed at my orders all the fiat-bottomed boats which he could dispose of, and Admiral Bruat was kind enough to employ all the boats of his squadron, both in towing the others and in carrying troops, wail all the men were placed on board. The result of this prompt and friendly co-operation was that the two regiments, which had already marched eight miles from their lines at Gallipoli, of which the embarkation did not, in consequence, commence until one in the afternoon, were all on board, with upwards of one hundred horses, by sunset, so that it was possible to weigh anchor before nightfall." The letter, being forwarded to Marshal St. Arnaud, produced a complimentary reply, in which the polite generalissimo felicitated himself on " the frank ac cord which subsisted between the two armies." Being reported at home, however, the circumstance has occasioned some remarks, both in and out of Parliament, very much the reverse of complimentary to the negligent authorities who left the troops un provided with the means of transport to or from the shore. Lord Ellenborough, having alluded to the subject on Thursday in the Peers, elicited from the Colonial Secretary the usual excuse, that the lapse was accidental, caused by the hurry of business, and would not occur again. & sad accident occurred at Scutari on the 19th of May. There had been a terrible storm of lightning and rain. Assistant-Surgeon Sinclair and Mr. Macnish, an officer of the 93rd, were walking over from the barracks to their tents close by, when they had to cross a small rivulet, not generally enough to wet the toe of a boot. It was swollen, and the men held each other's hands to spring over. The flood being wide and high, they were separated. Sinclair was stopped by bushes, stones, &e., much bruised ; but his companion was swept into the Bosphorus. The body was sought for, but could not be recovered. THE BALTIC FLEET. _ The frequent reports that the fleet had bom barded Hango fort, Gustafors, or even Revel itself, have dwindled down to the statement of a trifling affair between three small steamers on some de tached forts off Haago Point. The steamers were the hfagicienne, 16, flecla, 6, and Dragon, 6. They exchanged some shot with the forts, committing much damage, and receiving a little, one man being killed and another wounded ou board the Dragon. The Hecla, aided by the Arrogant, afterwards cut a Russian barque out from under the batteries. The Hecla lost three men, and the Arrogant was riddled with shot and lost several, but they knocked the fort to pieces. A Russian version of the affair seems to have appeared in the Petersburg Journal, which says that "on the 111th two frigates cannonaded the batteries at Wittsland, and on the 20th approached Ekenks, but were repulsed." The French fleet left Kiel harbour on the 31st ult. for the Gulf of Finland. The following account of a visit paid to the squadron while in that harbour contains some interesting details : "On arrival at Bellevue we had a magnificent view of the fleet. It was formed into three lines, four ships-of the-line forming the first, the like number the second, and four frigates the rear line. The steamers were lying in Kiel. As there was an ample number of boats, most of the visitors, including all the fair sex, took heart, and selected the different ships as fancy guided them. The party I was with steered for the Hercule, officially given as carry go guns, but which we were told actually mounted 100. On arriving at the ship's side we found a very con venient set of steps, or rather stairs, so that ladies could ascend without inconvenience. On gaining the upper deck the scene was a most animated one. The sailors and marines who had the watch and deck were busy whipping up provisions ; the lieutenant in charge of the watch on the poop; lieutenants, midshipmen, and under officers, in their splendid uniforms, in various parts of the ship, busily occupied in receiving and carrying out the orders of the lieutenant. On descending to the main deck a new scene presented itself. Officers and men who had the watch below amusing themselves, or wileing away their time as beet they could. In the after-part of the deck were two or three lieutenants, the chaplain in his canonicals, the surgeons, and other officers, walking up and down ; the petty or under officers generally reading or wilting; the men, a few reading, a few lounging or lying about, and a great number playing at cards. A part of the after•part of this deck is occupied as the o fficers' mess-room, cabins, etc.; but on the lower deck there is no bulk-heading wh-'tever, so that from the stern• posts to the bows there is an uninterrupted view. We found the men on this deck occupied pretty much as on the main-deck, except that there were no officers. Every THE PRESS. one was received with the most marked and polite atten tion. Every party in which there were ladies was accom panied by an officer, who explained the different objects we encountered. We were also shown into the officers' saloon, and there offered wine. The men were without exception polite to a degree. Although access was allowed to every part of the vessel, and their privacy was con tinually being broken in upon, not a word, not a look of dissatisfaction ; not a laugh, a scoff, or even a leer was to be seen or heard. The Hercule is manned by 1,000 sailors, and 200 marines. This, I think, is a somewhat larger muster than is generally found on board a British ship of the same size. The sailors are mostly young men, slender, low of stature, but intelligent-looking, active, and apparently perfectly contented. The marines off duty had a more listless and apathetic look. Everything relative to the fighting of the ship was in excellent order, the guns and small arms being provided with the most recent WI. provements. The men have not that robustness and mus cular strength of the British tar, nor is the discipline, order, and neatness quite so good. It is, indeed, a ques tion whether extreme politeness and urbanity can be united with such regularity and discipline as is to be met with on board of a British ship-of-war. The officers are generally of good family, have very much the appearance of Englishmen, and seem zealous in the performance of their duty, and are gentlemen in reality as well as in appearance." THE BLACK SEA. FLEET. By the last accounts from the Black Sea, dated May 11, the fleet was still off Sebastopol: for several days there had been a heavy fog, and they had to keep up constant noises to prevent their running foul of each other. The cable which is put across the mouth of Sebastopol is described as consisting of • number of chain cables twisted together and secured on each side by strong masonry, and is hove taut by capstans. From its being formed of separate chains, it would be sufficiently strong to keep out a steamer er any vessel going at full speed. A Constantinople despatch of the 20th states that several ships of the allied fleets—the Agamemnon •nd Charlemagne amongst them—arrived off Kalla, in the Crimea, on the 10th, and demanded the de livery of Russian ships, amongst them two frigates, and upon refusal bombarded that harbour for two days. Other accounts state that the town and harbour of Kaffa were destroyed. And a third state ment is to the effect that the ships looked in at Kaffa, found there only a few " popguns," and no forts or anything worth fighting, and then sailed off in search of nobler game. Advices from Malta of May 22 announce that • detachment of steamers, under Sir Edmund Lyons, viz., the Highflyer, the Retribution, the Niger, the Sampson, and the Firebrand, left the fleet oil Sebes topol on the sth ult. for the coast of Circassia. The Retribution took a ship with the Hellenic flag, and freighted with 145 Russian troops. The Higkilyer also took another, under the same flag, with 200 Russian soldiers on board. Many of these were wounded, showing that there had been fighting with the Circassians. LOSS OF THE TIGER. Ample confirmation has now been recieved of the catastrophe to H.M.S. Tiger. The Government indeed appear to be the only parties concerned who have received no intelligence of the event. Mrs. Domville, wife of Mr. H. J. Doraville, surgeon of the Tiger, and who is one of the prisoners, has received a letter from her husband: it is dated Odessa, May 15. It states that the ship struck the ground on the morning of the 12th during a dense fog, about 150 yards from the beach, and five miles to the south of Odessa. Every effort was made to get the ship off by throwing some guns overboard, but without avail. When the batteries on shore opened their fire, one gun only could be fired in return, and that with little or no execution. The captain and four others were struck down with wounds, and in less than ten minutes after the commencement of the firing the ship was in flames in two places. Russian colours were then hoisted, in token of surrender. The letter further states that they were received with great kindness by theircaptors, and the crew were as happy as circumstances would permit. Captain Gifford 's family have also beard from him. He was progress ing favourably, after having undergone amputation of his leg. He also speaks well of the Russian treatment of the prisoners, who expected to be allowed parol in a few days. The midshipman, a relation of Captain Gifford's, who lost both legs in the action, has since died of his wounds. Some of the sixteen guns belonging to the Tiger sank with the vessel when she blew up, but some were conveyed as trophies to Odessa, destined pro bably for St. Petersburg. The Invalide Ruue states that the flags of the Tiger bad been forwarded to St. Petersburg by Osten-Sacken, accompanied by a letter written in less vainglorious style than usual, an nouncing tho event- The Patrie states, however, " the Russians never boarded the vessel, and come gnently could not gain possession of the English flag. The Russian general sent as a trophy the flag of an English merchant-vessel which had been detained in the port before the bombardment, and which he represented as being thut of the Tiger." SATURDAY. .-_ • THE ANNE WALISTER. This vessel, which obtained so much celebrity on account of int detention at Cronstadt, anti the refusal of the Russian authorities to allow Sir H. Seymour's effects to be put on board her, was on the 15th per mitted to sail for England. She was, however, libe rated upon condition only of being worked home by a neutral crew, which Mr. Evans, the commande r , had some difficulty to procure, he an d hi a met : having been removed from Cronstadt, and detained at St. Petersburg for many weeks. On being re leased, Mr. Evans and the crew were ordered to pro ceed homewards overland to Berlin by wad of Warsaw and Myslowitz. To meet their travelling expenses the Russian Government presented him with one silver rouble (3s. 2d.) for himself and his men. As Captain Evans was fortunate enough in meeting with a countryman at Warsaw, who had juster views of humanity, and assisted him with 201., lie has been enabled to preserve this identical silver rouble to his journey's end. Even after arriving at Berlin the worthy captain had like to have fallen into trouble with the police, from an erroneous impression that he might show his contumely for a Russian pass port without fear of offence. After some words between him and the police agent before whom he was car ried on arrival, his patience got exhausted; and so, first spitting on the double eagle, and crumpling up the paper, he cast it in the functionary's face. Phis was a terrible offence, and a gendarme interfered, menacing him with his weapon. Whereupon Mr. Evans, not in the best temper in the world, jumped back, and exclaimed, "Thrust away, my hearties! but, by jingo, the first man that lays hands on me I'll floor as fiat as this one rouble which the Russians at Warsaw gave me to provide myself with on the road, and which I'll present to the British Museum as a curiosity !" At length the offender was libe rated, and stated his case to Lord Bloomfield, who had set matters right, and done all in his power to assist the master and his crew on their way home. ward. One and all of the latter have no other wish than to enter her Majesty's navy, provided they can get a slap at the Russians. Mr. Evans has pro ceeded to Hamburg and Kiel, in the hopes of get ting to Copenhagen, so as to meet his vessel in passing the Sound. The crew will proceed to Ham burg, and thence home. The Russian prisoners taken in different prizes, and sent from time to time on board the Crocodile, lying off the Tower, to the number of forty, have obtained employment in the British merchant service. _ _ . A number of engineers, boiler-makers, &c., volunteers from the factory at Woolwieh for service at Malta, left Woolwich yesterday for Southampton to embark in the Candia screw steam-ship for their destination. The Himalaya left Queenstown on Sunday for Constan tinople with detachments of the Royal Artillery, 6Sth Regi ment, 3rd Regiment, and 7th Dragoon Guards, on board together, with a number of horses. The fourth detachment of the 4th (Royal Irish', Dra goon Guards proceeded to Kingstown on Thursday, where they embarked for the seat of war. The troops serving in Ireland are to exchange the Minie rifles for percussion muskets forthwith. The rifles are to be put into the hands of those destined for actual service. Au electrical telegraphic apparatus, to be employed on the field of battle, for the purposes of forwarding com munications of the operations of the army from one por tion to the other, is now nearly completed at the Woolwich Arsenal, and will be shortly despatched to the seat of war. Each portion is fitted in a light four-wheeled waggon, which holds sufficient wire for a length of twelve miles. The Cork Conatiltaion states that a naval squadron rs about to be formed to cruise in the Channel and around the Irish coast. THE SEAT OF WAR ON THE DANUBE. Nothing positive is yet known of the siege of Silistria. On the 28th of May the fortress was still in the hands of the Turks, but said t, be closely invested and very hardly pressed. Despatches re ceived from Schumla of the 23rd of May state that the Russians had been repulsed four times, with heavy loss, at Silistria. Other accounts report that a Russian force of 60,000 men was urging on the siege with extreme vigour, and the position of the Turks had become most critical. Mussa Pacha had de stroyed all the buildings outside the fortress which might prove of service to the enemy. He had also caused the construction of new forts within the lines. It was added that when all hope of further resist ance was gone the commandant intended to blow up the works on the Russian side and cut his way through to Schumla. TURKISH ARMY IN ASIA. Advices from Constantinople of the 18th May state that the Ottoman corps at Kars almost entirely dis persed on the approach of the Russians on the stt of that month. A part formed into guerilla bands, the rest were sent to Erzeroum. Mr. Brandt, the English consul, has quitted Erzeroum for Batoum. Selim Pach a's corps was still in a satisfactory position at the latter place. The Russians were concentrating en army of 80,000 men at Gumri (Alexandropol). Want of money appears to have been the principal cause of the dissension of the Turkish troops.