The Press. — London, England, 1855-07-21 00:00:00

686 Germany has no pretext to interfere in the question of the Black Sea, or of that appertaining to religious toleration in Turkey. Their undi'guised animad version upon the severity of the terms demander at Vienna, even according to the Ausuian interpreta tion, ranges them against the Hapsburg empire, and in favour of Russia. Germany is, therefore, per se, clearly against Austria. On the other hand, Eng land and France have officially notified the insuffi ciency of the four points to satisfy their present demands. Here, again, Austria is at pointblank variance with the allies. M. de Buol, through his emissaries at the Diet, has made free use of the names of the French and English plenipotentiaries, and hAs added another name, it may be supposed with the consent of the same English Minister, which has still more compromised high parties. The Austrian Cabinet has been highly offended with the speech of the Emperor of the French, and explanations are vain to turn aside the deli berate and growing displeasure. It has found a ready revenge in publishing in extenso the oration of M. de Montalembert, and praising the pacific sentiments contained therein, at the expense of the more stringent expressions of the Imperial manifesto, wherein the equivocal neutrality of Aus tria and the non-fulfilment of the December treaty are properly censured. By the diminution of the Austrian army on the northern frontier a large rein forcement of Russian troops has been despatched for the Crimea; so that in reality Austria is directly the cause of increasing the means of Russian war fare, and is affording aid in a most essential manner absolutely contradictory of the spirit of neutrality. The King of Saxony is amongst the most deter mined of the confederated princes against England. Whether his opinion is supposed to represent the entire house of Saxe is not stated, but the unanimity of Germany is pretty well assured ; and the Russian organ writes, "On pent dire que l'Allemagne unie presenters une telle force que nous pourrons attendre dans le plus grand calme tout ce que l'avenir voudra decider." The visit of the Prince of Prussia to St. Peters burg is said officially to be without political motive. It would have been more prudent to have omitted any mention of the occurrence, since it is known that the Empress mother is seriously alarmed at the state of affairs in Russia, public and private, social and political. Many of the German party have taken part in the late conspiracy, and some of the staunchest friends of the Empress have been compro wised. Neither have the ramifications of the secret mano3uvres been confined to the nobles alone. General Yermoloff has proved that the late Czar Nicholas had cogent reasons for keeping him far aloof from the Court. These various circumstances, untoward and conflicting, render the position of Russia most critical. It is perfectly untrue that unanimity of opinion prevails at St. Petersburg in regard to the war. Too many vital interests have been injured to admit of such general consent. J. E. L. PS.—The news has arrived of the resignation of Lord John Russell. The publication of the official correspondence relating to the conferences has infi nitely displeased the Austrian Cabinet. They main tain that it is impossible to treat with any degree of success on delicate and important subjects with a country wherein the liberty of the speech in Parlia ment, with the power to demand and to enforce the production of secret papers, together with the liberty of the press on all subjects, reign paramount. They quote the speech of Prince Albert as corroborative of this view, and say that the constitutional system has been tried and found wanting for the higher purposes of State policy. AMONGST the Russian officers wounded on the 18th of June at Sebastopol was Major-General Todtleben, who was badly injured by a rifle ball in the calf of his leg. This is the officer who planned and exe cuted the defences of Sebastopol. He is the scion of a German family long resident at Riga. He was a great favorite of the late Emperor, and appears to be also in favour with the present Czar, who has just granted him the distinction of having his name engraved on the marble tablet in the dining-saloon of the Military Academy, where he was educated, on which are inscribed the names of those pupils who, in later life, distinguish themselves by their talents or courage in the field. In the autumn of 1854, before the commencement of the siege of Sebastopol, Todtleben was only a simple captain of engineers. THE good-service pension vacant by the promotion of Captain Michell has been bestowed by the First Lord of the Admiralty on Captain the Hon. Henry Keppel, who was captain of the Dido at the taking of Woostme and Shanghae ; present at the opera tions in the Yangtse Kiang in 1842 ; and commanded an expedition against a piratical force on the coast of Borneo in 1844, and the St. Jean d'Acre in the Baltic fleet in 1814. 1b... THE PRESS. jottign ant( doloniat ]Attiligente. FRANCE. The Emperor Napoleon lia;decided that the sums which are annually given by the State to celebrate the 15th of August shall be dedicated this year to the support of the families of the soldiers who have died in the East. This decision, says the Moniteur, will be followed by a more general measure, by which his Majesty wishes to associate the whole of the country in pre• sensing next session a law for increasing the pension granted at present to the widows of the officers and soldiers killed before the enemy. The following is given as an account of the efforts already made by France to sustain the pending war. When the complete conscription of 1855 will have been called up it will form, with those of 1854 and 1853, a number of 420,000, to which add the half contingency of 1852, 1851, 1850, 1849, forming 160,000 men. Deducting the killed, wounded, &c., France will thus have put and retained tinder arms in the space of three years an army of 550,000 men. AUSTRIA. General Letang, the French Military Commissary, left Vienna on Sunday on his return to Paris. Fresh differences that have broken out between the Emperor Alexander and his brother the Grand Duke Constantine are said to be the occasion of the Prince of Prussia's journey to St. Petersburg. It is understood that the negotiation recently opened with the Austrian Government by Messrs. Rothschild, Laing, Uzielli, and others, for the pur chase of the whole of the Lombardo-Venetian rail ways has been broken off on account of a wide dif ference of view between these gentlemen and the Vienna Cabinet as to the price that should be paid for them. DENMARK. The Constitution Committee presented on the 18th a report strongly recommending the govern mental proposal respecting the Constitution. The re port was adopted. SPAIN. The Pope's Nuncio, at Madrid, has demanded his passports, and the request was immediately acceded to by the Spanish Government. The complaint of the United States relative to the ship Black Warrior has been definitively settled, Spain consenting to pay an indemnity of a million of reels. The Cortes adjourned on Tuesday till the Ist of October. The Budget was previously voted. Forty millions of reels are to be raised in foreign countries. Accounts from Barcelona, to the 15th, state that all was quiet, and the workmen were returning into the city. RUSSIA. Accounts from St. Petersburg have been pub lished in Vienna, stating that the Emperor Alex ander may shortly be expected in the southern districts of his dominions, and that it is not impos sible that he may seize the opportunity for paying a visit to the Crimea and Sebastopol. The immediate object of his journey is the inspection of the army and the several works of defence bordering upon the waters of the Black Sea. Upon his return, it is generally thought that he will visit the fortresses of Poland, and take up his residence for a few days in the city of Warsaw. The Emperor dedicates almost the whole of his time to military affairs. A correspondent of the 4ugsburg Gazette, dating, "from the Polish frontier, July 6," enumerates the Russian troops now on their way from Poland to the Crimea, having been set free by the declared " ex pectant policy" of Austria. He says :-- llThe order of the day issued by Prince Gortschakoff on the 19th of June to the garrison of Sebastopol is con sidered important here. It announces that the reinforce ments sent from Poland will very shortly make their appearance in the Crimea. The reinforcements in ques tion consist of 24,000 grenadiers, who, together with the guards, form the Elite of the Russian army, and will de• cidedly not fail to produce a great moral effect on the troops now serving in the Crimea. Besides the grenadiers, there are also eight complete regiments of infantry now on their march from Poland to the Crimea, and their strength is 32,000 men. The grenadier corps and these eight regiments of the 2nd infantry corps will each be accompanied by a body of 4,000 cavalry, and artillery in proportion ; thus the kingdom of Poland alone sends a reinforcement of picked men, 70,000 strong to the Crimea. AFRICA. Cape of Good Hope papers have arrived to the 12th ult. inclusive. The Parliament had been pro rogued by Sir G. Grey on the 7th. The colony was tranquil. Several respectable houses had failed, and fear was entertained that others would follow. A large proportion of the mining companies had be ccme defunct, and it bad been found in every case that much more capital would be required than had been originally supposed. In consideration of this circumstance it was expected that at the next meeting of the colonial Parliament the leases at the various SATURDAY, "centres" would be extended from fifteen to thirty or even fifty years. , An expedition sent in her Majesty's steamer the Teazer, to compel the chief, Bamho Munich Lake, to fulfil the treaty entered into between him and Com mander Selwyn, of the steam-sloop Prometheus, in which the chief promised to pay an indemnity of 1,030 dollars for injury done to the British, is stated to have failed. In this affair we have lost two officers killed Lieutenant Wylie and Acting Paymaster Andrews, of the :fewer; and two seamen. Lieutenant Nicolas, in command of the Tearer, and Lieutenant Vincent, 2nd West India Regiment, were severely, and Lieutenant Dielleth, Sierra Leone Militia, slightly wounded. Mr. Frith, deputy-assistant-com missary-general, was taken prisuner. Of the 150 rank and file of the West India Regiments forming the expedition, 77 were killed, wounded, and missing The African journals give the following details : The affair occurred at Mallaghea, a small native village, the chiefs of which had suddenly ordered the ships and cargoes of our traders to leave the bliillicouri river To en force indemndieation (promised some time ago) the Teaser, with 15U rank and file of the lat. and 3rd Weat India Regi • ments, was sent up. They set lire to the town of blade ghea and embarked. It was then resolved to proceed to the mouth of the river and return the following morning. On returning the next day a portion of the town still ap peered standing, u hen it was determined to land the troops and lire the remainder. A wan was bent to the masthead to look out, who reported uo sign of the natives in the town but a considerable number at a distance. An advanced guard having been selected, consisting of forty persons under the command of Lieutenant Vincent—Commander Nicholas and Mr. billet volunteering to accompany it—they proceeded into the town. They had not gone far into the ruins, when a murderous fire was opened upon them, by a numerous and formidable enemy there concealed. Mr. fillet was wounded at the first discharge in the. head and leg. The main body soon came up to the support of the leading party, when a smart retiring fire was kept up with the enemy till our troops had reached the wharf, where, under cover of the ship's guns, they had partly succeeded in embarking ; but the pinnace, with a number of men, on pushing otlfrotu the wharf, is said to have been struck by a bullet, and tilling with water, the men, from alarm, capsized her. A flag of truce was immediately hoisted from the ship, hut the men were barbarously shot at in the water by the enemy on shore. Lieutenant Wylie was among this party, but is sup posed to have been drowned. Several of those who had been capsized fortunately escaped the deadly lire of the natives on the shore and swam safely to the ship. To the above melancholy disaster the severe loss of our troops is said to be principally attributed. Of the advanced party, but five returned to the ship. Commander Nicholas, Lieut. Vincent, and Mr. Dillet—all wounded; and two soldiers severely wounded in the head; Acting• Paymaster Andrews, who had also volunteered, having been killed among the others of the party. Sergeant Scanland, an Irishman, and formerly of one of the Irish regiments, who was also shot while leading his company, is said to have behaved nobly, and died beckoning his men on to their duty. The men also behaved well, and were with some difficulty induced to obey the sound for the retreat. The quarrel with the natives has been arranged. The rivers have been declared open to the free intercourse of English and French traders—the payment of the money has been promised in instalments ; and two prisoners, with nine guns, and a soldier's coat, delivered up. UNITED STATES. The Royal Mail steam-ship Asia has arrived in the Mersey with advises from New York to the 3rd instant. The steam-ship Livingston, plying between St. Louis and Louisville, exploded on the 2ud instant, k►lling thirty-live passengers. Advices from Havannab, per Black Warrior, to the 27th ult., state that a revolt had broken out at Porto Rico, and troops had been sent to repress it. Accounts from Mexico state that the revolution is gradually gaining ground, and that the prospects of the President, Santa Anna, were very gloomy. AUSTRALIA. Melbourne papers have arrived to the 14th of April inclusive, three days later than those previously received. The only fact of importance thus commu nicated is the opening of the first term of the Uni versity, which took place on the 13th of April in due form by his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor, in the presence of the Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, and Council of the Institution, and a number of the principal members of our community. There were sixteen candidates for matriculation. A large pro portion of the spectators were ladies. The whole ceremony was exceedingly impressive. There is no news from the gold districts. The labour-market continued in a healthy state, and wages were well maintained. SOME of the arrangements for the meeting of the British Association in Glasgow, in September next, have been reported to a meeting of the local com mittee. The funds for the expenses of the meeting were stated to be ample ; several conversaziones and excursions were named ; and, among other objects of interest, it was mentioned that a local geological museum would be formed, with collections of the chemical manufactures of the west of Scotland.