The Press. — London, England, 1855-08-04 00:00:00

the position and anticipations of the allied fleets in that quarter. The writer says : I regret having to recount an untoward event, which has occurred through great want of foresight, to say the least of it, on the part of our officers in the Gulf of Bothnia. It appears that information was given to the Driver that several merchant vessels were lying in the small harbour of Ranmo, a port on the coast of Finland, fifty or sixty miles from Ginnie Carleby, the scene of the Vulture and the Odia's boats' misfortune last year. The boats of the Driver were accordingly manned, armed, and sent into the harbour, hoisting a flag of truce, to demand that these vessels should be given up, threatening that if this demand were refused summary measures would be taken to punish the authorities in the shape of burning and destroying the town, and otherwise ill-treating the peaceful inhabitants of Haunt°. A venerable gentleman, calling himself the chief magistrate of the place, most humbly informed the British officer that for the sake of humanity he trusted that he would not proceed to extremities; and that of course the vessels were at his command, all he had to do being to take peaceful possession. The boats accordingly pulled towards the vessels. Previous to boarding, to take them in tow, it was thought advisable to haul down the flag of truce; the moment this was done, front every house and every hush, from behind every corner, bang went the deadly Minis rifle, and grape from field-pieces. Seven men were put hors de combat at the first volley, two killed and five wounded. Seeing nothing but certain death could result from either opposition or perseverance in their object, a precipitate retreat was made, and so ended this unfortunate affair, which already is magnified by the Russians into a defeat. As a set-off against this, our old friends, Yelverton and Vansittart, in the Arrogant and the Magicienne, have been pitching into the enemy. In the neighbourhood of Wiborg an earthwork, mounting twelve guns, was thrown up, which, after resisting for two hours, was entirely destroyed, although they manned the battery three or four times. Our loss was one man killed on board the Ruby gun-boat. The preparations for a display of British valour continue here. The mortar-vessels are rapidly becoming an organised and compact force—sixteen English and five French (the latter carry two mortars ),making in all twenty-six eighteen inch mortars, which it is calculated will throw a hundred and forty shells an hour. Each mortar vessel has two hundred and forty shells on board. Amongst these would be mixed carcases, rockets, and other pleasant combustibles, which would, at all events, show that we are not shut up here merely to be looked at. A large fleet, under Admiral Baynes, remains at Cronstadt. The Austerlitz (90), French liner, has gone to cruise in the Gulf of Riga, and perhaps will throw shell into the outworks of that place, or at any rate keep the Russians on the look out. The admirals are constantly away reconnoitring Sweaborg and Revel. What we are to do is strictly kept secret. The mortar-vessels are put under the command of the first lieutenant of the Duke of Wellington, who is to act in concert with the officers of Marine Artillery, who will work the mortars. Everything looks like business. The Pembroke, and a couple of gun-boats, have gone to augment the squadron off Sweaborg, and to prevent their laying down any more Jacobis, one of which exploded unpleasantly near the Merlin, in one of her reconnoitring cruises, throwing up a column of water five or six feet high, and making a great row. It is supposed that these machines are fired by gal vanic wires from the shore, and are evidently much more likely to do damage, so it is high time the enemy be pre vented from laying down any more. The Merlin, with two gun-boats, have gone on a cruise to stop the trade which is said to be carried on by means of small vessels between Dago and Sweden : she returns in a day or two. All hands are in good health and spirits, living in hopes. A SERIES OF EXPERIMENTS on a new war projectile were made on Monday in the grounds adjoining Chelsea Hospital, by Captain Disney, the inventor. The invention is one of a very simple description, and can be adopted with little delay or trouble in the contest in which we are now engaged with Russia. It consists in fitting shells with a bursting charge of powder contained in a metal cylinder, and tilling the rest of their space with a highly combustible fluid, which upon exposure to the air ignites everything with which it is brought into contact. This fluid does not act upon the substance of the shell, is not in itself explosive, and being prevented from leaking by a nicely-fitted brass screw plug, enables the mis sile to be carried about without much risk. Water only temporarily extinguishes its incandescent power, which is so great as to make even woollen materials burn with a quick flame. Captain Disney states that by a similar use of another chemical fluid he can cause blindness for several hours to all troops coming within a quarter of a mile of its operations ; but this portion of his experiments was, for obvious reasons, omitted. Applied to hand-grenades, the substance which be exhibited would be found very destructive, but its chief use would probably be as a charge for large shells. Tits supplementary commissariat estimates were issued on Monday. They comprise pay and con tingencies of the Commissariat division of the War Department, 1,030/.; Land and Inland Water Trans port, including the supply of water provided by the Com missal iat Department, 701,7501.; freight of specie, including expenses of shipment, 15,0001.; provisions issued to the Army Ordnance and Commissariat at home and abroad, after deducting stoppages in aid, wn,7851. ; forage, including money allowances in lieu thereof, 786,8001. ; fuel and light, 78,0001. ; miscellaneous services, 102,0001. ; making a total supplementary vote required for the effective services 1855-58 of 2,588,3351. THE PRESS. THE BALTIC FLEET. (From our Own Correspondent.) OFF REVEL. JULY 10.—The excitement still continues very great as to the intentions of our commanders, whose every movement tends to increase the impression that we are on the eve of striking a blow (an event so long hoped for in vain) against the power of the great autocrat in this part of the world. A compact fleet, consisting of ten line-of-battle ships, twenty mortar vessels, two frigates, and ten gun boats, are collected here. Constant reconnoitring parties are moving about; the mortar-vessels are being tried, exercised, and, last, though not least, these formidable vessels are being painted a sort of lead colour, so as to make a more difficult object for the aim of the Rus sian guns. I have said in the above all I can tell you; for whatever project may be conceived by the " powers that he " is very properly kept strictly secret, and the greatest caution is obviously necessary. Still, time flies, and, as we learnt at school, " Procrastination is the thief of time." In five weeks more the season will begin to be breaking up, and we shall have to be thinking of sending our smaller craft home ; after which we must settle down into a blockading squadron. JULY 20.—T0-day we have news from the Aland Islands ; and it is with the greatest annoyance I feel myself bound to tell 3ou that in that quarter we have again been making geese of ourselves. The story is this, and I leave your readers to judge regarding the affair and its results. The Driver having heard that several vessels were laying in a creek about fifty miles from Abo, sent in her boats, with a flag of truce, to demand that the vessels should he given up, on the pain of, in the event of refusal, the village in the immediate neighbourhood being burnt. The governor of the said village replied that, rather than suffer so severe a punishment, he would give the vessels up, and that the English boats had better take them at once. The officer in command (too easily gulled) at once pulled towards the vessels, but, thinking it hardly the thing to make captures under a flag of truce, hauled it down before boarding them. No sooner was the flag down than a mur derous fire was opened on the boats, who were forced to make a hurried retreat, leaving the vessels at their anchorage. Five men were severely wounded, two of whom have since died. Of course the Russians make a grand affair of this ; and really if our com manders will place us in these ridiculous positions we can look for nothing but ridicule. I don't like dwelling on these subjects, as they are most painful to us all. One inference is to be drawn from all this, which is that the enemy have more respect for the white flag than they have previously evinced, as not a shot was tired until it was hauled down, although the boats were armed, and assumed a threatening position. Arrogant, Cossack, and Magi cienne have had some fun in destroying an earth work, mounting sixteen guns, near Wiborg. They threw so heavy a fire into the embrasures that the guns were silenced in an hour and a half. The Russian loss must have been considerable : on our side we had only one man wounded. The only excitement in the Baltic this year has been caused by Captain Yelverton's squadron in that neighbourhood. There at least the enemy have been kept alive and in constant motion. The cruisers from the entrance of the Gulf have been called in, and everything bodes something. The mortar-vessels are put under the command of the Hon. A. Hobart, first lieutenant of the Duke of Wellington, and are constantly drilled in the art of war. Several yachts have arrived here, whose owners it is to be hoped will have something to talk about when they go home. It is a great satisfaction to he able every mail to tell you that all the fleet are healthy. At this place cricket is the order of the day, and tends much to relieve the monotony of a Baltic campaign. The gun-boat affair which I mentioned in my last has died a natural death. Those concerned are doubtless ready and willing to show that, if they were indiscreet, they do not want courage, and that if an opportunity occurs they will be "to the front." I regret much that my letters should be so uninteresting, but let us hope for better times. At Revel they are constantly prac tising firing with guns, which appear at least to be of very heavy calibre. THE TURKISH GOVERNMENT hes issued a notice to the editors of journals, forbidding them to speak of the plans of campaign of the allies, and requesting them to confine themselves to the publication of facts. Any infraction of this order to be punished by the temporary suspension of the journal, and a second offence will expose the delinquents to a severer penalty. SATURDAY, Sortign ogorrEspithntt. FRANKFORT, July 20. IN the Trinity-house speech of famous memory it was affirmed that the Constitution of England was on its trial—that it would be judged by the evidence of the acts furnished by the war in the Crimea, and, that the verdict would be given, not only according to the success, or non-success of military operations, but in reference to the especial modus operandi of the Government of England, weakened, as it was said to be, by the indiscreet interference of Parlia ment, and the injurious license of the English press. In private conversation with some of the leading members of the Diet, M. de Prokesch-Osten, the representative of Austria, accepted this definition of constitutional error as just, and, moreover, he added that no further trial was needed, appealing to the revelations made in Parliament by a Minister of the Crown, during the last ten days, as being conclusive of the impracticability of dealing with the English Government upon terms of administrative equality. No satisfactory conclusion could be arrived at with a discordant Ministry and an unpopular Adminis tration. The evil done to England by the example of a divided Cabinet at so momentous a crisis can scarcely be estimated at its full extent. It has isolated entire Germany—made Austria quasi hostile—permitted her indefinite occupation of the Principalities on her own terms, under protest of an infringement by the allies of the December treaty— and has afforded an apology for the Bing of Prussia in defence of conduct basely disingenuous and cravenly dishonourable. But the naked truth is now made manifest, without a rag of concealment, and has been publicly announced by the members of the Diet without any mawkish parade of secrecy. It is stated by M. de Prokesch-Osten, in excuse for Austrian confidence in the assurances of Lord John Russell, that he is now convinced that the majority of the present Ministry is opposed in its pacific policy, at all cost, to the people of England—a fact thoroughly belying the statement made by the English Plenipo tentiary at Vienna—and that they—the people—are not truly represented by the so-called popular mem bers in Parliament, who have yielded more or less to Coburg and Ministerial subordination. In order to place the matter fairly before the German public, the following Ministerial programme has just issued from the Frankfort press. Its publication by a German is a consequence of the conduct of Lord John Russell, and the denunciation by Mr. Roebuck of the Ministerial peace party in the Cabinet and in the House of Commons. ALMAYACH DE GOTkIA. PIECE SUPPLEMENTAIRE. MINISTRES DE 8. MAJESTE LA REINE DE LA GRANDE-BRETAGNE. Cabinet du 1. Judlet 1865. POUR LA GUERRE CONTRE LA RUSSIE. Le Vicomte Palmerston—premier lord de la tresorerie. Le Comte de Clarendon--Secretaire d'etat. Affaires etrangers. Lord Panmure—Seeretaire d'etat, pour la guerre. Le Marquis de •Ministre sans—portefeuille. POUR LA PAIX A TOUT PRIX. Lord John Russel—Secretaire d'etat. Colonies. Le Comte Granville—lord president du conseil. Le Due d' Argyll—lord du sceau prive. Le Comte d'Harrowby—Chancelier do duche de Lancastre. Lord Cranworth—lord garde dea sceau Le Vicomte Canning—Maitre general des postes. Le tres bon. sir Charles Wood Etaronnet—premier lord de l'amirante. Le tres hon. sir George Grey isaronnet—Secretaire d'etat Interieur. Le tres hon. sir George Cornewall Lewis Baronnet-- Chancelier de rechiquier. Le tree hon. M. Vernon Smith—president du bureau des affaires des Indes. MCSICO-RADICAL. Le tree hon. sir WilliainifoleswOrth sionaire des pares et palais etc (grand maitre des ea= et forets.) accordera son vote, pour on contre, selon le cas les ordres palatials et domestiques. Le parti Radical au parlament anglais, contenant le parti pretre catholique et Mandela, M. Roebuck toujours eicepte, s'est absolument vendu on au parti Russel• Whig on au ministre, et cela en deft des electenrs. TOUR LA GUERRE. Le peuple Britannique. POUR LA PAIX A TOUT PRIX. Le parti Coburg. Francfort, le 10 Juillet 1855. SIENA, July 26. CONTEMPORANEOUSLY with the execution of the young military student Calvi at Mantua, has appeared a manifesto of Mazzini, reviling constitutionalism as not sufficing for the governmental wants of liberty, lauding the only righteous Government of re publicanism, and exhorting all to cherish those