The Press. — London, England, 1856-03-29 00:00:00

MA.not 29, 1856. THE CAMP IN THE CRIMEA. THERE is little intelligence from the camp. Dates down to the 15th have arrived. On the 14th, the chiefs of the Russian and allied staffs met again at Tractir-bridge,and settled the terms of the armistice. On this occasion the line of the aqueduct was strictly kept as the boundary between the two armies. General Vivian has relinquished the command of the Turkish Contingent from ill-health. The gallant general reached Marseilles on Wednesday, on his return home. Gereral de la Marmora had left Constantinople for the Crimea. The weather in the Black Sea had been extremely tempestuous, and several transports were reported as lost. The allies had commenced the demolition of the inclosure wall round Sebastopol. The question of the ultimate fate of the Tartars in the employ of the allies in the Crimea, it is be lieved will result in their transmission at the close of the war to Algeria. From Asia Minor there is no intelligence of any importance. Omer Pacha had left the army, and arrived at Constantinople. Ismael Pacha was increasing the army of Anatolia. General Mouravieff had received reinforcements by the way of the Caspian Sea and Tills. A despatch from Berlin states that the Cossacks •completely environed Kertch, and before intelligence of the armistice had reached the town had made prisoners of three English and one French officers. Marshal Pelissier had issued the following order of the day : Soldiers,-4 medal commemorative of the war in the Crimea has been instituted by the Queen of England. That august ally of our Emperor has wished to decree it as a testimony of the estimation in which she has always held so many fatigues and dangers shared with her own sobliers. You will receive this noble sign, which will testify on your breast the glorious and fraternal achieve ments accomplished in twenty combats, and in a siege me morable for ever. Re-entered into your families. this medal will commemo rate in the most remote villages the alliance of two great peoples. Le Marechal de France, Commandant-en• Chef, PELIS szEn. THE BLOCKADE IN THE BALTIC. The following appeared in Le Nord : Stettin, March 21. Letters from Dantsic announce the arrival in those roads of the frigate f inperieuse. This frigate left the Eurvalus, the Falcon, the Pyladee, and the Harrier, at Earosund, in order to cruise before the Russian port of Libau, upon the coasts of Courland, where it made knowri the resumption of the blockade to the authorities ; and immediately, to give force to the menace, the English cruiser drove from the Russian ports some merchant vessels bound there under a neutral flag. These singular vexations at a moment when a proclamation of peace is regarded as certain by the English themselves, and the presence of the Iniperieuse in the Dantsic roads, have caused great perturbation in this commercial town. Our shipowners, who have learnt to their own cost how little the neutral flag is respected in this war, are determined to .undertake no expedition while hostilities continue. The navigation of the Gulf of Finland was still seriously interrupted by the ice. H.M. ships Majestic, 81, and Cesar, 90, arrived at Kiel on •tbe 23rd. CAMP OCCURRENCES. Athough no stragglers_ are allowed across Tractir bridge, the Tschernaya in parts is so narrow as to permit easy converse:— Before reaching the Tractirdwidge you fall upon some French batteries, commanding the approaches upon the Sardinian and French positions, but these batteries it is as well not further to allude to, for there is now much talk iu camp of war, and not peace, on and after the Ist of April. A sentry is stationed on the Tractir bridge, which is of stone, and has but two arches ; and the allies are not allowed to pass over it. The stream is here but a dozen yards acrosa, and thence winding through the valley, it falls into Sebastopol harbour, and in some parts of its course narrows to five or six yards from bank to bank. It abounds with reeds and rushes. At the narrow est parts groups of Russians are now daily found on the right bank; and groups of English, French, and Sar dinians on the left bank. Lively conversations are main- tamed, and even a little trade carried on, as well as an •exchange of donations. Most of the Russian officers speak French, and, from the study of their own difficult 'tongue, positively setts accent. Yon could not distinguish them from Frenchmen, save by their appearance. There were some splendid fellows aniGng them on Sunday, both officers and men. The first group I fell iu with was com posed only of Cossacks, one of whom spoke a little Italian, so that we ru triaged to communicate tolerably well. They had nothing to sell, so we ihrew them a bundle of tobacco, and passed on. The next group consisted of three privates of the line. We threw them some money—a few shillings, and they untied the crosses on their necks, and pitched them over the stream. At this point of the Tschernaya, the celebrated Mrs. Seacole was seen on horseback. The Russians lifted their hats to her as she THE PRESS. rode up, and she received from them a medallion (which is to be set in a bracelet, at Malta), with the Virgin Mary painted on one side, and Christ on the reverse. Other parties obtained some Russian coins, and I got one of the crosses. The supply did not equal the demand. Four Russian officers now came np, and, seeing Mrs. Seacole, asked an individual standing near her whether he were her husband, and, if so, would he sell his wife? " You ask us to sell our crosses and decorations," said one of them, "we may as well ask you to sell your wife." This raised a hearty laugh, and, at this moment, as some of the English wished to visit Sebastopol, I pushed on with them for that place, and I can't say that the ride by the south side of the harbour, till you reach the English side of the city, is one a man would travel often from choice; but, " pending the armistice," everyone is anxious to see the lions everywhere. Near the tunnel, close to the aqueduct, opposite the caves of Inkerrnann, many Russian bodies yet laid unburied; and English soldiers were busy, as we rode by, in cutting off buttons as trop}:ies from the rotten uniforms of the slain. Skulls and bones were seen on all sides; and one of our party picked up a Russian rifle.— Herald cor. There appears to have been some difficulties upon the settlement of the exact terms of the armistice : It seems as if the armistice were likely to expire before its terms are settled. The first difficulty arose upon the demand of the allies to embark things in boats from the south side of the harbour, the object being to ship the cannon, anchors', fix., captured in Sebastopol. But to this the Russians demurred, saying that the seaboard was not ours, and that we could not use it. This is perfectly true, and is a striking commentary upon the oft-repeated vaunt, that Sebastopol is captured. We have certainly got the town, but the north forts command it, and not a cock boat can put off from shore without imminent danger of being sunk. However, the allies agreed to waive the sti pulation, and the delay now arises from certain questions relating to the blockade of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azoff. This I know to be the case, although I cannot state what those questions are, but I am assured that they are not of grave importance. Nevertheless, they retard the formal conclusion of the armistice, but meanwhile the suspension of tire (after all, the chief point) coniinues. We are not quite so intimate with our Muscovite friends; our enthusiasm or curiosity has a little subsided, and, moreover, general orders and sentries are there to check it; but we may be said to be on terms of distant civility. It is probable that there will be another meeting of generals this week at Tractir-bridge.—Tiraes car., March 10. An amusing instance is given in a private letter from the Crimea of the sharpness of a Piedmontese soldier at the late conference, between the chiefs of the staff:— During the interview of the chiefs of the staff some Zouaves were seen upon the banks of the Tschernaya with bottles in their hands, making signs to the Russians invit• ing them to cotne and partake. But how was it to be done? The Tractir-bridge was reserved for the passage of the generals ; possibly because it was wished to prevent a crowd at the place where the conference was being held ; a multitude of officers and soldiers. nevertheless, ardently wished to cross the river to the Russians ; a boatman would have made his fortune that day. Every one com plained of the fate which kept him on the bank. All of a sudden a strong, healthy Sarctinian soldier entered the stream and offered, fur a suu per head, to pass to the other side of the Tschernaya any one who would mount his shoulders. He was instantly overwhelmed with orders, and for two whole hours he remained in the water, transporting to the enemy's bank every amateur who presented himself. One sou! Every one cried out how cheap it was, and vied with each other in embarking upon the shoulders of the intrepid and generous trooper. On touching the opposite bank they tendered him their warmest thanks, rallying him a little upon doing so much for so little money. He replied with a malicious smile, which no one understood, but which nevertheless had its significance, as they very soon dis covered. After the interview all who had passed the river upon the soldier's back wished to return to the left side by the same road. They called to the aquatic warrior, and made signs to him to approach, but he replied, laughing in a most provoking manner, that the water was cold, and that he was afraid of the rheumatism. "But how are we to return to the camp?" they cried in an excited manner. " As you have done part of the work, you must finish it." " I am ready to consent," replied the cunning Piedn3on• tese, "but if I catch a cough, I wish to have the means of making broth as I like it. In place of a sou, you must pay me a franc." A universal cry was raised against this increase of price, but he would not swerve from it. "If you find it too dear," said he with resistless argument, " ford the stream yourself. After all, you are not so sen• sitive to the cold as I am, and you will find the water good enough." In brief, it was necessary to pay him what he asked. They treated the matter as pleasantly as they could, and in a few minutes the soldier found himself in possession of a good round sum. " Gentlemen," snit, he, in withdrawing, "I have had so much water out side, that you'll not think ill of me if I now put a little wine in." THE SICKNESS OF THE FRENCH ARMY. The amount of sickness still prevailing in the French army is really terrible. That fine army, writes the Times correspondent, is dwindling sadly : Scurvy and fever are playing havoc in its ranks. I recently stated its daily loss at 170 men, but reserving • doubt, although my information was pretty trustworthy, for I hoped and be'ieved that the number was exaggerated. 1 can now tell you positively that the French admit tbe present mortality in their army to be 120 a day, and on me days considerable more. The right of the army, in the Baidar Valley, suffers the most. I am assured that the deaths there have reached 100 per diem. Our brave allies must not for an instant doubt that their sufferings are deplored and warmly sympathised with by this army. Last winter's trials are far from forgotten by the limited number who endured them and still survive, and we might have been justified in hoping that the sad experience was not lost upon the e'rench. Then we heard nothing of their sufferings; the English army was decimated, but the French were supposed to be healthy and well supplied. But last winter was far severer and more trying than this one, so that the natural deduction is, either that the French suffered far more than was known during the trying five months from the beginning of November, 1854, to the end of March, 1855, or that the preparations for this winter and the sanitary precautions taken have been very inadequate. Ido not hesitate to say that the French army .s being expended at least as rapidly as it was by shell and shut during the severest part of the siege. A sanitary commission's investigation of the French camp would reveal a startling amount of suffering. Insufficient shelter and covering, and a deficiency of vegetable food, readily account fur the sickness that prevails During the last week the French, I regret to say, have suffered terribly from the cold, especially those who are encamped on the hills between Balaklava and the Tscher naya. At head-quarters it is stated that they have been losing, on an average, for some time back, 145 a day. One can scarcely credit this; but I am informed that Colonel Mackenzie, Assistant-Quartennaster General, stated that they had lost this winter nearly 19,000 men. If these figures at all approach the truth, they show what bad cloth. ing, had feeding, and bad housing will bring about. Last winter we suffered in the same way, but this winter we have lost fewer in numbers, with the exception of the Land Transport Corps, than the usual per centage amongst troops in England, clearly showing that the Crimea is one of the healthiest military stations in our possession.— Daily News cur., March 11. lortign dorrtspoubtutt. FRANKFORT, March 26. TUE coolness, without adopting the word antipathy, that already subsists between I'russia and Austria, cannot but receive an accession of asperity by the discourtesies of M. de Buol at Paris. On the 22nd, when the Prussian Plenipotentiaries were in attend ance, awaiting a formal introduction to the Con ference, M. de Buol declined to proceed in the observations he was charged to make by his Go vernment in the presence of M. de Manteuffel and M. de Hartfeld, and they were made to wait in the antechamber for more than an hour. As the com munication could not in any way affect the terms of peace definitively agreed upon, and bore chiefly on the subject of the Danube, the incivility was inten tionaliy overt, and one of the plenipotentiaries, at did .. • his • least, - not care to disguise opinion. The Danubian clause is found to be replete with ulterior contingencies, requiring care in adjustment to guard against future difference. The river rises in Baden, passes the small State of Illhenzollenf Sigmaringen, enters Bavaria at Ulm, going through the Archduchy of Austria, traverses Hungary, and then by Selavonia and the Banat of Teuneswar flows onward by Servia, Wallachia, Moldavia, Bulgaria, and Bessarabia, to the Black Sea. It is evident, by reference to the excellent map of Wyld, that Austria has only riverain rights of passage, shared in common with others, from the spot where the stream commences to be navigable ; and the more beneficial portion, as to commercial supply and breadth of navigation, belongs to the principalities. Hitherto the Danubian advantages of the upper and middle pas sage have been usurped by Austria and made a purely Austrian appendage—a pretension that is not just, and will not be permitted. The stream is not more Austrian than German, and acquires public proper ties from the moment it bears merchandise for a distant market. If Prussia, therefore, is held to represent German interests, her right of inter ference on the subject of the Danube is equal to that of Austria; for, were it otherwise, and the above rule be rejected, the owners of territory at the river mouth would claim the right of preventing ingress and egress. it is this very conduct of Russia that is the actual subject of complaint, and which a similar course on the part of Austria would go to justify. By the intervention of Prussia the question of the Danube becomes of European interest. In furtherance of this German view a canal has been projected and is in course of construction from Dietfurth, near the Danube, to Bamberg on the Mein, whereby a line of communication would be continued from the Black Sea by the Danube, Mein, and Rhine, to the German Ocean. The opposition to this international relationship has mainly pro ceeded from Austria, for that Government of syste matic misrule has always furnished every obstacle to throwing open the river trade. In 1833 the proposal for a steam navigation company on the Danube, founded on a report showing the various benefits of commercial and passenger traffic, was scouted with derision by the Austrian Government, and the author of the scheme was declared to be insane. By perse.