The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1885-05-09 00:00:00

DEFENCES of the BLACK SEA:

4. correspondent who has recently visited various
ports on the Black Sea and Sea of Azof, gives the
following details of some of the preparations: "The
fortress of Kertch is constructed on the promontory
on the south forming the Bay of Xertch. It is a worl
of extraordinary strength, and covers a large space of
grdund ; it may be said to occupy the whole promon-
tory, for there is a detached redoubt not far from the
south end of the harbour of Kertch. I could not
make out a detached fort on the other side, but, see-
ing the one on the Kertch side, I have no doubt that
others exist, and from the design there are probably
three detached forts altogether. One very strong
battery of about twenty guns completely commands
the only channel leading up to Kertch and the Sea of
Azef. On the crest of the ridge the land defences
are of the most elaborate description all
earthworks ; battery after battery has been
piled up, reminding one of the Bastion du
mat at Sebastopol, which defied the French attack
during the whole of the celebrated siege. The princi-
pal bastion at Kertch is named after General Toffleben.
Thp Treaty of Paris had declared that Russia was not
to construct any strongly,lds on the shores of the
Black , Sea; but it was assumed by the Russian
Government that the Straits of Kertch were not in
the Euxine, and they took upon themselves to create
this strong defensive position. At Sebastopol the
two large ironclads are making progress. Men are
working overtime upon them; and one, the :Chesma,
is to be ready for launching early next year. The
other is called the Sinope ; they are both to be 10,000
tons each. The two Popoff ships are in the harbour,
One is called Vice-Admiral Popoff, and the other the
Novgorod. The first of these has two 38 ton Krupp
guns; and the other has two 35-ton guns of the
same kind. These vessels can only be of use
as harbour defences, for their sailing speed
is something of the tortoise kind. The
Bastion du Mat has been lately converted into a
boulevard, and planted with trees, shrubs, flowers,
&c., and will become a fashionable place of resort.
The old batteries in the rear have all been flattened
down; the salient is still visible, and it forms the
south end of the boulevard. The mounds left by the
blowing up of Fort Nicholas are being smoothed
down, and it is to become a promenade, and connected
with the garden, which is a little higher up, and
behind where the fort stood. Odessa is a business
place, and the great:question there is the rise or fall
in the value of the rouble. It is the political
barometer of Odessa. When the paper money is
'up,' then it is considered peace is probable; when it
is 'down ' that is called bad news, and war is ex-
pected. Within the last few days very stringent
orders have been received from St. Petersburg as to
passports. A vise is necessary before leaving Russian
i
territory. Considerable anxiety s felt both here and
at other business centres on the coast, at the English
naval preparations, as these ports are practically de-
fenceless." The same correspondent gives the following
items of intelligence from Odessa, under yesterday's
date: "In military circles here the general opinion is
that, whether sooner or later, the Afghan question must
inevitably be solved by an appeal to arms. The
coming struggle will be, it is thought, not a short and
sharp campaign, but a fierce and lengthy series of
desperate encounters covering a period of two or
three years. The enormous number of troops which
the Russian commanders will be. enabled to concen=
trate at all strategic points will, military judge(
assert, give Russia an advantage at first the results of
which will tell distinctly in her favour for the first
twelve months of the contest. Indeed, a few military
authorities go further, and declqre that they antici-
pate no stubborn or important resistance before ap-
proaching-the Indus. Two humired thousand troops
are, it is stated, beingmobihsed for the Trans-Caspian
territory. The:fortifications of this port have been
commenced with all celerity. Sonia sensation has
been caused by a report which was mad, to the
harbour-master by the Messageries Comparir's
steamer of the presence of an English man-of-war
anchored at the entrance of the Dardanelles, pre-
sumably in order to prevent the defence of the Straits
by torpedoes."

The French Chamber reassembled" on Monday aftei
the recess.
On Monday the deputation from the City of London,
headed by the Lord Mayor, presented an address to
King Leopold, at Brussels, on the recognition by the
Powers of the new Congo State. In reply his Majesty
said that the Congo State had its origin in the desire fot
the abolition of slavery and the wish to serve in Africa
the cause of civilisation and commerce. The members
of the deputation were afterwards invited to dine all
the Palace.

THE WAR IN THE SOUDAN.
LORD WOLSELEY AT SOUAKIM.

From Souakim last Friday the special corre-
spondent of the Standard telegraphed: Last night
General Graham himself went in the patrol train
which runs during the night between Souakim and
Handoub, to endeavour to put a stop to attempts
upon the line. While the engine was taking in water
at Handoub the rebels set fire to the sleepers in six
places, burning them for some two hundred yards.
When the light was seen, the train at once ran back
to the spot, but the marauders had made off before it
arrived there. The men at the first look-oat station
saw large numbers of them retreating towards
Hasheen, and accordingly General Graham went out
at daybreak with a cavalry escort to the highest hill
of the range between Handoub and Hasheen, but no
enemy could be seen. During the night some hundreds
of shots were fired into the camp at Otao. The
Australians, the Camel Corps, and Madras Sappers
and Miners returned here from Otao this morning;
the 70th have also come into Souakim, and the 49th
will return to-morrow. The Shaterab tribe have
tendered their submission to-day at Otao; they can
put in the field fifteen hundred fighting men, and are
a branch of the Hadendowah tribe.
On Saturday the same correspondent wired: Lord
Wolseley arrived here in the Queen at half-past three
o'clock this afternoon. Generals Graham and
Greaves with their personal staff, Colonel Cherm-
side, and Commander Molyneux at once went on
board to receive him, and remained there until he
landed at half-past five. On landing, Lord Wolseley
was received by a guard of honour of fifty men of
the Grenadier Guards under Captain Reynolds and
Lieutenant Sandford. He was accompanied by
Colonel Groves, Military Secretary, Captain Lord
Charles Beresford, and Majors Creagh and Adye.
The Craysfort fired a salute of seventeen guns. Lord
Wolseley rode through the camp to bead-quarters,
where General Graham presented to him the Heads
of Departments and the members of the General Staff.
After this Lord Wolseley returned by train to
Souakim, and went on board the Queen again for the
night. The post at Otao was again fired into last
night. The enemy were very numercus, and
kept up a hot fusillade from all sides; but fortu-
nately no casualties took place among our troops.
The patrol train last night, manned by thirty men of
the Grenadier Guards under Lieutenant Scott-Kerr,
moved up and down the line until morning, bat the
rebels did not try to repeat their attempt to burn the
sleepers. The Marahs, who are the principal herders
and graziers of cattle in this part of the country, and
are, like the Shaterabs, a branch of the Hadendowah
tribe, have sent in to say that they are ready to
tender their unconditional surrender. They number
three thousand men, women, and children, and are at
present encamped, with their flocks and herds, eight
miles along the coast to the north of Souakim. The
twelve hundred coolies from Bombay, who came here
in the Jumna, and, after disembarking, were again
sent on board and ordered back to Bombay, have
been stopped, I believe at Aden, and are now on their
way back here again.
On Sunday the following message was received:
Colonel Chermside, as Governor General of the Red
Sea littoral, was to-day officially visited by Lord
Wolseley, who was received with a salute of seventeen
guns. The rebels are becoming more and more daring
and persistent in their attacks. Last night they sur-
rounded both Tambuk and Otao, and fired heavily
and continuoasly. They keep, however, at so long a
range that their firing is altogether ineffective. A
forward movement in force is expected to take place
in a day or two, not improbably to-morrow night.
Our troops will move by moonlight in separate
columns upon Tamai and Tamanieb in hopes of laying
hands upon Osman Digna, and so putting an end to
the troubles at a stroke.

_
Telegraphing on Sunday from Meravri, a Standard
special correspondent said: Colonel Temples-, at day-
break yesterday, started with a troop of Hussars and
the Egyptian Camelry to visit the Gasal Wells, lying
ten miles to the east of this post. When he arrived
within sight of the village, the inhabitants, fearing
that the British force had come to make a raid, fled
hurriedly. The wells were found to contain a supply
of water amply sufficient for a large force. The
position is an important one, as it would serve the
enemy as a point of concentration for any attack in
force upon our position here. Although it is now the
dry season, there was plenty of vegetation in
the neighbourhood of the wells. The troops
were careful not to disturb the belong-
ings of the villagers in any way, and
having investigated the capabilities of the place re-
turned here in the afternoon. The work of hut
building is now completed, and the troops are en-
gaged upon the repair of the whale boats. The sick
are doing well, and the medical officers report that
there is a very marked improvement in many of the
cases since they were removed into the newly-erected
hospital tents. Indeed, the heat in the marquees
and tents was so great that the sick had but a poor
chance of doing well. It is found that since the occu-
pation of the new quarters, slight cases mend rapidly.
The sick list of the English troops here is only five
per cent. of the strength, showing that Merawi is, for
the Seadan, a healthy position.

exist-to the neighboirhood of Tambuk, says that there
is gold bat not in sufficient quantities to pay for working.
He has however discovered that the hills contain rich
and very profitable deposits of copper ore. The heat
is becoming almost unbearable, and cases of heat
apoplexy are greatly upon the increase. Lord
Wolseley has not as yet visited any of our advanced
positions. Being slightly indisposed, he remains on
board the Queen. General Graham starts at twelve
to-night with the Cavalry, Mounted Infantry, the
Camel Corps, and 13th Sikhs for a ride to Derberet
Valley, when he hopes to surprise and dislodge a
strong party of the onemy reported to be there.