The Press. — London, England, 1855-10-27 00:00:00

THE WAR. Admiral Lyons' despatches relative to the opera tions of the fleet under his command have not yet arrived. The capture of Kinbnm on the 17th was suc ceeded by the blowing up of the fortress of Otchakoff by the Russians themselves on the 18th, and from that date up to the 22nd nothing further had oc enrred. The entrance to the Beg had been examined by the gun-boats, and preparations were no doubt being made for further operations either against Nicolaieff or Kherson. From the Crimea there has been but little news during the week. The allied forces at Eupatoria on the 22nd had advanced in force as far as Toulat, and had taken up a position on the road to Perekop. The light brigade of English cavalry had been sent to Eupatoria. Before Sebas topol nothing of consequence had occurred. The French were steadily pushing on towards Baktchi- Serai, and reports from Marseilles stated that the Russians were retiring from the north forts, but the Marseilles telegraphs are not always trust worthy. The Emperor of Russia, according to tele graphic despatches from Berlin of the 25th, had left Nicolaieff on his return to St. Petersburg. It was believed that he would not visit Odessa. ADVANCE FROM EIIPATORIA. The following Russian despatch has been received from SL Petersburg, via Berlin, dated the 25th : On the 22nd inst. the allies marched from Eupatoria towards Toulat 40,0.10 strong. On the 23rd inst., having arrived at the height of Actasa Djenin, they perceived onr Lancers on their left flank, and returned behind Aktatschi. Nothing fresh has occurred between Kinburn and DEPARTURE OF THE CZAR FROM NICOLAIEFF. Vienna, Wednesday Evening. The Oesterreickisehe Cor►espondenr states that the Em peror Alexander has left Nicolaieff for Elizahetgrad, situated to the north of that place, ant about 130 English tulles from it. THE CAPTURE OF KINBURN. Marshal Valliant, Minister of War at Paris, re ceived from Marshal Pelissier the following tele graphic despatch : Sebastopol, Oct. 21, 5 p.m. I have just received the report of General Bazain re specting the capture of Kinburu. The Anglo-French division of the army has worthily contributed to the success of the allied squadrons. Having been landed on the peninsula five kilometres from the for tress, it firmly established itself, and in the night between the 16th and 17th opened the trenches at 800 metres from the fortifications. When the fleet opened its heavy fire on the 17th, two companies of Chasseurs, under cover at a distance of 40 metres from the batteries, were able to shoot the Russian artillerymen at their guns. On its side the field artillery played a very useful part. One thonsand four hundred and twenty prisoners, amongstwbom are General Koianowitch, and forty officers, 174 guns, military stores, and other munitions, the occupa tion of an important position—such are, for the allies, the results of this fortunate enterprise. The Russians have rendered these results complete by blowing up, on the 18th of October, the fortifications of Otchakoff. I shall send you the flag with the arms of Russia upon it, which floated over Kinburn. OFFICIAL DESPATCHES. The following despatch from the Foreign•office was received too late for our second edition last week : Foreign-office, Oct. 20. Lord Clarendon has received this day the following in telligence from her Majesty's Charge d'Affaires at Vienna, dated October 19 : The allied fleets bombarded the three forts of Klnbnrn on the 17th. The garrison of 1,600 men, and 70 guns, under General Konovitch, capitulated, and are sent pri soners to Constantinople. Loss of the allies unimportant. Russian loss 120 men. The forts have been taken pos• session of by the allies. The fleets are at anchor at the entrance of the Dnieper. On the same evening the Admiralty also received the accompanying telegraphic despatch fromßear- Admiral Sir Edmund Lyons : Off the mouth of the Dnieper, Oct. 17. The three forts on the Kinburn Spit, mounting upwards of seventy guns, and garrisoned by 1,300 men, under General Kotovitch, have this day capitulated to the allied forces. The day before yesterday a flotilla of gun-vessels forced the entrance into the Dnieper, end the allied troops lauded on the spit to the southward of the forts ; thus, by their simultaneous operation, the retreat of the garrison iMd the arrival of reinforcements were effectually cut off, so that the forts being bombarded to day by the mortar vessels, gas-vessels, and French floating batteries, and being closely cannonaded by the steam line-of-battle ships THE PRESS. and frigates (having only two feet of water under their keels), were soon obliged to surrender. The casualties in the fleet were very few, but the enemy had forty-five killed and 130 wounded. A steam squadron, under the orders of Rear-Admirals Stewart and Pellion, lie at anchor in the Dnieper, and command the entrance to Nicolaieff and Itherson. The forts are occupied by the allied troops. The pri soners will be sent to Constantinople immediately. On Tuesday a second telegraphic despatch was received from the gallant admiral, announcing the blowing up of the fortifications of Otehakov : October 18. This morning the enemy blew up his fortifications on Otchakor Point, mounting twenty-three guns, which were assailable by our mortar-vessels. On the same day Lord Panmure received a de spatch from General Simpson inclosing a comph• mentary letter of the Sultan to that general Sebastopol, Oct. 9, 1&5. I have the honour to transmit to your lordship the com plimentary letters which I have received from his Imperial Majesty the Sultan, on the occasion of the termination of the siege of Sebastopol. JAMES SIMPSON, General Commanding. (Inclosare.) General,—A brilliant victory, obtained by an heroic courage, has crowned the arms of the allies. As I have congratulated our gallant allies the French and Sardinians, so do I and my country congratulate you and the brave army which the Queen, my august and close ally, has placed under your command. The capture of a town of which the siege will always be memorable in military annals, is the most glorious re compense of the heroic efforts which the children of these united countries have achieved since the commencement of the campaign. The Almighty, in blessing their arms, has made them the pride and glory of their country. Monsieur le General, be the interpreter of these my sentiments to your brave army. The President of the Council General of War, the ti:;!neral of Division Rifeat Pacha, whom I charge with delivering this letter, will express viva voce to you and to your brave companions in arms my most sincere congra tulations. I pray God to have you always in His holy keeping. (Sigred) ABDUL MBJIHD. Done at the Palace of Tcheregan, the Ilth of the moon of Moharem, 1172 (Sept. 23, MO). To General Simpson, Commander-in-Chiefof the British Troops in the Crimea. An additional congratulatory letter from the Tnrhisil Minister for Foreign Affairs informed General Simpson that the Sultan had been pleased to confer upon him the Imperial Order of the Medjidie of the First Class. PROCEEDINGS IN THE CAMP. The siege guns have been nearly all removed from the old lines, and the trenches in some in stances levelled and filled in. Drilling and manes 'ring are constantly practised in the Tschernaya camp, while road- mulung and hutting employ the men left hi the old camp : On the Tschernaya line drilling is the order of the day and target-shooting. Yesterday two French divisions were going thrJugh some manoeuvres on a larger scale in the Balaklava Valley and in the Cavalry Valley, so named from the light cavalry charge last year. In the presence of four different armies it is rather interesting to observe the difference in the style of movement between them. You have all the gradations between the minutely regular movements of English troops, the less stiff but still very regular manoeuvres of the Piedmontese, the loose order in which the French troops perform their evolutions, and the rather more loose movements of the Turks. Not less striking is the difference between the dead silence of an English line—where not a sound is heard except the word of command and the regular step of the soldier—the com parative silence in a Piedmontese body of men, the amusing observations and commentaries in a French column, and the noise in a Turkish battalion.—Times Cor., Oct. 9. Still, with all their work, our men seem to keep np their national character for drunkenness very generally What with these works and road•making the soldiers are kept busy enough ; but, I am sorry to say, the old idea that labour is the best preservative from temptation seems not to be confirmed by experience in this instance, for wherever you pass you see individuals pacing about in heavy marching order over a limited space of ground and daring a limited period of time, or going about in a circle lifting np stones and putting them down again at a certain distance, as a punishment for drunkenness. But, in spite of this, the road•making is progressing favorably.— Timex Cor., Oct. 9. Hutting is busily carried on in every part of the allied camp: French, Sardinians, Turks, English, are alike hurrying on their preparations against winter:— Preparations are being everywhere made among the divisions on the heights near Sebastopol to raise sheds and shelter of a more substantial kind than tents, against the trying severities of the approaching winter. The wood which is still to be obtained from some of the buildings in the town, though nnder the enemy's fire, Is found to be of very great advantage in the construction of stabling, cooking-places, and for many other purposes for which pro vision could not be made away from the neighbourhood of the army.—D. News Cos., Oct. N. The underground huts of the Sardinians seem built upon the beat principles:— SATURDAY, The Sardinians are likewise still busy hutting them selves, and every day you see tents disappear and buts arise ; they are all under ground, with only the gable roof showing. Similar ones are now in construction for the cavalry and artillery horses. They will afford excellent shelter, only the labour is rather great. Besides these underground huts, the ruins of the houses of Damara are being repaired, and made again fit to receive stores—Times Cor., Oct. O. One of the usual blunders of the Government had come to light. The hats they have sent out consist of " five " descriptions, and, as might be inferred, as a matter of course, no instructions had been sent with these model huts, or no invoice of the separate packages ; hence, until such advices arrive, it is im• possible to know what one part belongs to the other, and so the huts are condemned to be kicked up in store:— Four shiploads of huts have arrived, but they ate of a different construction from those sent out last winter, and, as no less than five distinct kinds have arrived, It re quires some key or descriptive return to enable the autho rities to make the necessary assortment of packages, and give the necessary directions for their proper erection. Unfortunately, this explanation has not arrived with the huts, so that at present they must remain in store, and continue so until the descriptions arrive, or endless confu sion in their distribution would result.—D. News Cos., Oct. 8. At a general court-martial held in the camp be fore Sebastopol on Oct. 3, Private James Salmon, 93rd Highlanders, was found guilty upon the follow. ing charge :—" For having deserted from the 93rd Highlanders when on duty in the trenches before Sebastopol, on or about the 13th of August, 1855, with intent to go over to the enemy " : Sentence—The Court having found the prisoner guilty of the charge preferred against him, and having received evidence of there having been no previous eonvietiens against him, and of his indifferent character since he joined the regiment, do now adjudge him, the prisoner, Private James Salmon, to sutler death by being shot, at such time and place as the Commander of the Forces May appoint. Remarks—The Commander of the Forces entirely concurs in the justice of the sentence pronounced by the Court. He therefore approves and confirms the seine, but he is induced to commute the sentence of death to penal punishment for life. This commutation is made entirely from consideration of the good and faithful con duct of the regiment, and of the army to which the prisoner belonged, and of which he has been so unworthy a racinber. Marskal Peliasier has forwarded to the Minister of War a liat.of stores captured in Sebastopol. The number of guit-3 is not included, and the following form some of the principal items : Rour,d-shot, 407,314; pollow projectiles, 101,755 ; canis ter cases, 24,080 ; gunpowder, 525,0001b5. ; ball cartridges for muskets and carbines, 4 10 , 000 in a good condition, and 160,0u0 damaged; waggons, 80 ; yawls, 6 ; logs of lignum vita, 500; anchors of p),rt moorings, 400 ; anchors of different sizes, 90; grappliugOnd small anchors, 50 ; chains fur anchors, 200 yards; oldcopper for sheathing, 104,0001bs.; old ropes, 100,000Ibs.; I ‘NAter casks, 300, &c.; with immense quantities of nails ana\old iron ; several steam-engines; 500 quarters of wheat ; d 2,000 tons of coals. The several armies are to share • Pro Portion to their strength. MOVEMENTS OF THE ALL! S• The belief that a grand attack on th Russian position would shortly take place was held in the camp on the Bth. But the plans of the allied enerals were thoroughly well kept, and nothing eel nor official had been permitted to ooze out: There is still an expectation that a combined at,tenlP t will be made either to surround or to carry by direct ttet, k 1 the Russian position on the Mackenzie heights and mrt° side of the harbour. The men of the Highland divi i° ll l as well as of the first and third divisions, are impre sea with the belief that they are reserved for some move 9t of this nature. It has even been rumoured that the attYK would not be delayed many days. All is, however, uner; tainty on this subject. Whatever may be the plan I°' operation of the allied commanders, it is very wisely kegt closely secret, and officers holding high positions hsrks little more opportunity of drawing deductions or forminif opinions on the subject than is afforded to persons of all i \ ranks by the knowledge of the facts and circumstances o the passing time.—D. News Cos., Oct. ti. For some days previous to the 12th, the rumour of ‘ ; an assault upon the Russian position appears to , have been very general, and received direct, accord ing to the Daily News correspondent, from high , authority. The distribution of the troops and the various preliminary orders issued upon the occasion ‘ give some colour to the statement : The .e. arrangements for an . attack against the enemy's \, position on the Mackenzie h ei ghts , in concert with a cor responding movement on the part of our allies, were men- 4 tioned on high authority. The third and remaining brigade of the fourth division were to have this time the honour of being in front, part of the second and light divisions acting as supports, and the first and Highland divisions being in reserve. One brigade of the light and one of the second division were to remain as a guard for the Karabelnaia part of Sebastopol- Such was the stated distribution of the British force, and the 10th instant was generally understood to be the day flied for the assault. The report *Rain some degree conftrmed by a comrannication, sent from head-quarters to each division of the army,