The Press. — London, England, 1855-10-20 00:00:00

994 them during the winter at the former place. If this be true, the opprobrium was unfounded. There will be no difficulty in storing six months' provisions at Kertch before the bad weather sets in, and there are contractors here quite ready to undertake the work should the com missariat deem it too great an exertion. Meanwhile the contingent is away from this, with the exception of some two thousand men, or little more ; the same steamer that took a battalion to Varna went back, as soon as it returned to the Bosphorous, to convey it to Kertch, where some of the troops that left Buyukdere last week have probably by this time arrived. Should they again have to traverse the billows of the Black Sea, bound for the Danube's banks, we can but wish them light breezes and strong stomachs, and that the higher powers may know their own minds better another time. THE HEALTH OF THE ARMY. The fine weather and the release from trench duties appear to have had a decided effect upon the health of the army, which is excellent : The troops continue remarkably free from sickness of any kind : in no army has the per centage of sickness ever been so low, perhaps, as it is at present in the British force in the Crimea. Two hundred invalids have been sent for treatment to the civil hospital at Renkioi, near the entrance to the Dardanelles, being the firstcontingeot of sick soldiers sent to that establishment. The large number of wounded brought to the hospitals in the field by the final assault are reported to have made very favorable progress ; and it is asserted that, in the greater proportion of cures, the time occupied under hospital treatment has been consider ably less than would have been required, according to or nary experience, in hospitals in towns, or other situations with a less free circulation of air.—D. News Cur., Oct 5. The Times correspondent for once appears satisfied at the health and strength of the army : At present the troops are in excellent health. Our strength is very considerable. It is almost as numerous as that with which the Duke fought the battle of Vittoria. The infantry counts 27,000 ; the cavalry, 3,500 ; the artil- lery, 9,ooo—in fine, General Simpson has under his com mand not less than 38,000 effectives of all arms. There are few things to be complained of ; but an army is an in satiable creature, and its providers must. be as thoughtful and foreseeing as ants. Supplies must come in before hand in prodigious quantities, or we are starved out. A pile of stores disappears in a day. To all commissariat officers in charge at Balaklava it may be well said—" Nulkt fronli fides,"—" Have no faith in the front." THE WAR IN ASIA. Kars has for the present been saved by the bravery of the garrison, who, on the 29th of September, sus tained and repulsed a vigorous assault from the Russian besieging army. The heavy loss of the Russians in this attack, and the near approach of winter, it is believed will compel them to raise the siege. The following telegraphic despatch was re ceived at the Turkish Embassy on Sunday last from Constantinople : Constantinople, Oct. 13. An official report from the Commander•in-Chief at Kars communicates the following intelligence : On the 29th of September the Russians had attacked Kars ; the assault lasted eight hours, and during the conflict, which was fierce and obstinate, the enemy several times gained an entrance into some of the batteries with all their force, but were again driven back with considerable loss. _ _ . After having made the greatest efforts, the Russians were compelled to yield before the courage of our brave troops, and to retire, completely routed. Besides the dead and wounded carried away during the action, they left in and around the trenches of the fortress 4,000 men killed, 100 prisoners, and one gun. Our loss is from 700 to 800 men, among whom we have to regret the death of several superior officers. The Russians are preparing to retreat and abandon the siege. No further official intelligence has been received. but a private despatch to Hamburg on the 15th gave a few details of the assault : rhe battle lasted for more than eight hours, and was carried on with the greatest desperation on both sides ; the Russians appearing determined to take the place, and the Turks manfully resolved to keep possession of it. At one time the Russians succeeded in taking two batteries; but before they had time to turn the guns round, or even to spike them, the Turks rushed upon them with such vigour as not only to regain possession of the batteries, but, this movement being effected suddenly, to decide the fortune of the day. Being repulsed with such fury, the Russians were quite taken by surprise, and fell back upon their com rades, who were thrown into confusion. The Turks then rushed out of the fortress, and massacred an enormous number of the enemy, before they had time to form their ranks and recover from their surprise. The despatch (which is from a Russian source) adds that although a great number of killed and wounded were carried off the field of battle during the action, more than four thousand were left dead under the walls of the fortress. A couple of hundred Russians were made prisoners, and some pieces of ordnance fell into the hands of the Turks. In conse quence of this disaster, adds the despatch, the Russians determined to raise the siege, and when the courier left they were making preparations to carry this resolution into effect. —D. Newr Cor. The Russians, in a further despatch from St. Peters burgh, attribute their defeat to the loss of many generals and officers at the first attack. A corre spondent of the Times, writing from Soukbam-Kaleh on the 24th ult., gives a summary of the state of THE PRESS. affairs in Circassia and Asia Minor. After alluding to the impossibility of Omar Pacha, under thq most favorable circumstances, commencing an advance before November, he writes that the Russian army is at present quite sufficient to hold the Turkish commander in check and to continue operations in Asia Minor : The Russian troops at present quartered in Georgia, Mingrelia, and Imeritia would suffice to hold the pass of Suramin against the Turkish army, and check their progress until the Russian commander-iu•chief found it expedient to conclude the operations in which he is at present engaged. The pass of Suramin crosses the range of mountains which divides the plains of Imeritia from the highlands of Georgia. The Russian force at present upon the plains is estimated at only 0,0(X) men. The army of Mouravieff numbers :15,000 effective soldiers, and the troops in gar rison throughout the fortresses and frontier posts of these provinces amount to about 30,(X)0 more; from which it will appear that the total strength of the Muscovite army in Transcaucasia somewhat exceeds 60,000 men. The country thus garrisoned Omer Pacha is about to invade with an army of 30,000 men. He insists, in conclusion, upon the importance of affording prompt and efficient support to Omer Pacha, and advises that the reinforcements should consist of Christian troops, as likely to be much more acceptable to the native population than Turk ish soldiers. A letter previous to the attack of the Russians, dated Erzeroum, 20th of Sept., does not give a very favorable account of the bravery of the Turks in the field : Ali Pacha, with 3,000 cavalry, composed of regulars and irregulars, determined to make a dash into Kars, in order to relieve the garrison with a quantity of barley. When, however, he and his troops arrived at Panina, they were encountered by 1,500 of the enemy, which dispirited the Turks; and though the Pacha used every means to induce his soldiers to repel the attack they one and all took to flight, abandoning to the Russians the grain, and several pieces of artillery. The gallant Pacha, and two British officers who were with him, by the cowardly conduct of the Turkish troops, narrowly escaped falling into the hands of the enemy. AT THE FETE OF THE KING OF PRUSSIA, In Paris, this week, the banquet was presided over by M. de Rosenberg, the Prussian Charge d'Affaires, in the absence of M. de Hatzfeld. Among the toasts given were those of the Ring of Prussia and the Royal Family, but it is reported that that of the Emperor of the French was forgotten. THE KING OF PRUSSIA is causing the castle of Hohenzollern, in the district of Hechingen, to be magnificently restored and decorated. In Lddition to a royal residence, it is to serve as a small fortres-, and accommodation is provided in it for a strong mili tary force. THE EMPEROR or RUSSIA has nominated, in a late order of the day, Generals Vassilichikoff 11., and de Todtleben, aides-de-camps attached to his person. COUNT COLLOREDO WALSEE, Austrian Ambassador at London, is at present on leave at his seat in Upper Austria. It is reported that he returns shortly to his post. Count Colloredo, it is said, will be fur- nished with instructions which may facilitate a peace. PRINCE RICHARD DE METTERNICH, Austrian Secre tary of Legation at the Embassy of Paris, will be appointed Ambassador at Madrid in the place of Count Esterhazy, who has been transferred to Berlin. THE VALUABLE LIBRARY of the late Duke of Genoa is to be thrown open to the public at Turin on the Ist of January, 1856. The library contains many rare and valuable MSS. THE SUBMARINE TELEGRAPHIC CABLE intended to he carried from Sardinia to Algeria has broken in the attempt. Out of 100 miles, eighty have been left at the bottom of the sea quite worthless, and eighty miles are coming home. This is a loss of over 100,0001. to the company, and justifies the views of many telegraphic engineers, that the heavy class of cable they adopted was unsuited to deep water. NICOLAIEFF, THE RUSSIAN DOCKYARD Which attracts so much attention at present, is situated about' seventy five miles from Odessa, and about thirty five miles up the left bank of the ingul, in an uncultivated plairi t crossed only here and there by small hills, and at a short distance from the spot at which the Ingul, which is both narrow and shallow, flows into the Bug. There are in the town six Greek churches, one Catholic, and, one Lutheran, as well as two synagogues, one Jewish, and the other Karaitic. Among the number of its fine buildings are the Admiralty, several large bar racks capable of containing 25,000 men, the Depot of Hydrographic Charts, the Astronomical Observa tory, the clubhouse of the nobles, and three public libraries. The arsenal of Nicolaieff still contains an immense quantity of military stores, though having supplied a great quantity for the defence of Sebas topol. A handsome boulevard has been formed along the banks of the Ingul, and at about half a mile from the town, on the banks of the Bug, is a public promenade called Suhoi Fontan, surrounded with gardens, and where there is a spring which supplies the town with excellent water. SATURDAY, THE BALTIC FLEET. (From our Own Correspondent.) NAROEN, Oct. 9. ORDERS have arrived from England to send the gun boats home immediately; their 95-cwt. guns are to be taken out, and they will be divided into squadron, of four. The admiral has returned from his crui se , to the eastward in his flag-ship : he paid a visit * the fleet's old anchorage near Cronstadt, and haw doubtless formed in his own mind the plan he re commends for next year's campaign. Whether he i s to command the fleet or not remains to be seen. At Seskar, Admiral Seymour keeps his division for the. present; under his orders are the Exmouth (flag), Orion, Majestic, Colossus, James Watt, Nile, Cesar, Impericuse, Euryalus, Arrogant, Pylades, Geyser,, and Centaur. His ships form a cordon from the, anchorage of Seskar eastward to Cronstadt, round by the north shore to Biorko Sound. Two or three gun boats, anchored within signal distance of each other, up to this time have been attached to his division, so that all trade, coasting or otherwise, is most effec tually put a stop to in those wak-ra. Our ships steam daily almost within range of the forts that pro tect Cronstadt, hut the enemy shows no inclination to take the bait our captains are so anxious for him to swallow. No—there they lay, and however small the allied force which "beards them in their den' may be, they will not stir an inch. Be it so. Next year, perhaps, we may find a way of making a shindy amongst them. The English and French comman ders-in.chief are at present at Nargen, with their flag-ships the Duke and Tourrille, having with them, the Duguesclin (French), Royal George, Cressy,Edin burgh (the only block now in the Baltic), Amphiora. Mayicienne,Vulture,Bulldog,Lightning, and Volcano, with several gun-boats preparing for going home_ Admiral Baynes, in the Gulf Bothnia, has with hint the Retribution (flag), Harrier, Esk, Tartar, Aniel, Locust, and Firefly ; and in the Gulf of Riga. are Archer, Amason, and Conflict. I have not named the block-ships, as they are either on their way or start immediately homewards. The Cossack is at Wormroe Island, near Dago Ort, protecting Captain, Sullivan in the Merlin, who is laying down buoys for' the fleet. All the above-named ships, in fact, all the- Baltic fleet except the Bothnia squadron, will gra. dually retire as the winter sets in to Wormroe, from which position a most effective blockade can be' maintained until the ice sets in ; so it is hoped that we shall not be this season subjected to those jeers of Yankees and others, who throw in our teeth the remarks regarding the numbers of vessels that es caped our small blockading squadron last year, while the fleet lay quietly at Kiel. The Belleisle, hospitabship, which has been laying at Farosund since the bombardment of Sweaborg, is ordered home in a fortnight. By the way, there is a. small amount of Balaklava going on in the arrange ments at that useful port. It was considered neces. sary to have a vessel of considerable tonnage laying, there, as a receptacle for provisions, stores, ezc. The, wiseacres at home—instead lof taking one of the , many old frigates or line-of-battle ships that may be. seen laying in abundance in, or in the neighbour. hood of, the mud in our naval seaports, and sending twenty or thirty men from the ordinary, with a war rant officer in charge, many of whom (with. leen and officers) are idle, though receiving full pay, at the present inoment = have hired, at the cost of eight hundred pounds a month, one of Green's splen did frigates. Surely the cost of this Naris a suffi cient burden on the country, without such unneces sary extravagance as this being practised. This fact is a matter of ridicule even to the most untutored youngster in the fleet. The winter season, in spite of the threatening. appearance of the weather some weeks since, ap pears inclined to hold back. Strong westerly winds are prevalent, but no cold has as yet set in. We are given to understand that no end of vessels: at the neutral ports in the Baltic are watching their opportunity to make a run; so our cruisers are all anxiety for prize money, which seems all in the' shape of reward that we are likely to get for our services up here. I think the applications for ap.. appointments to the Black Sea fleet will be rather a nuisance to the Admiralty on the fleet's return. There, burn a haystack, and the commander-m -chief makes a despatch recommending the energy displayed ; here—but it's no use grumbling about it ; we are all bound to do our duty cheerfally and take our chance of justice being done. The French mortar and gun boats have all. left us, so that now we have only two line-of-battle ships belonging to our allies with us. lam happy bo say that the good feeling that exists between Navies so long deadly rivals is most remarkable, English and French officers being quite en frtre. No longer is it necessaty to drink bucketfuls of champagne, and make 1311 g speeches. A good, wholesome "cigar and glass of grog " feeling exists, and formal ities are• quite at an end. ly winds- ' vessels; ng their a are all in the , for our for ap.. -ather a. return. nder-in- ?. energy urablieg eerfality, a. L let us, ships y la say sines so lish and ger is it ne, and 3 " cigar - lities ar©• 1111