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

THE PRESS.

THE BALTIC FLEET.
(From our Own Correspondent.)
Jura 19.—Having heard a great deal of firing in the
direction of Narva, in the neighbourhood of which
place Admiral Seymour, in Exmouth, accompanied
by Snap and Pincher, gun-boats, had been the last
day or two, we were anxious to know what they had
been about, and were glad to see thorn all returning
safely at daybreak this morning. It appears that on
their arrival near the mouth of the river they found
it strongly defended by a battery mounting twenty-
four guns, with a pontoon drawn across to prevent any
vessels of light draught passing. The gun-boats
and boats of the ships accordingly threw some shells
and rockets at the 24-gun battery and troops at two
thousand yards. Their fire was warmly returned,
on which the line-of-battle ships steamed in as near
as the soundings would allow them, and opened fire
with their pivot guns. Having capsized three or
four guns, set fire to some outworks, and dispersed
the soldiers, and finding they could do nothing more,
they hauled off, the Blenheim having received one
shot in her mizenmasthead, a splinter from which
wounded slightly her captain of marines, and another
shot in her maintop. The gun-boats were struck
once or twice, but nobody was hurt. The fact is,
we cannot get at these Russians. Nature has de-
fended them by having made all the waters in the
approaches to her seaports so excessively shallow
that vessels carrying guns cannot approach near
enough to do any damage. Still we must not despair ;
" never give up " is the signal for glory. Let us go
on worrying our skulking enemy as long as the
season lasts, and I'll answer for it he'll not look for.
ward with any pleasure to our visit next year. The
mortar-boats and additional gun-boats daily expected
under Admiral Baynes will be a great help. But I
will not anticipate.
This

JUNE 20.—. morning, at ten o'clock, a signal
(which took us all unawares) was made, "Prepare
for sailing immediately," and sure enough in an hour
afterwards we were under weigh with the heads of
the ships pointing towards Cronstadt. On nearing
the lighthouse the fleet separated, Captain Codnng.
ton, in Royal George, with four line-of-battle ships,
standing off to south-east side of the island, and the
admiral with the remainder, including the French
admiral and his squadron and all the gun-boats,
steering towards the north-west side. At six o'clock
the former ships anchored about four and a half
miles from the forts at the mouth of the harbour,
and at about the same time the other division an-
chored three miles from the fortifications on the
north side and four from the town of Cronstadt. As
the ships were taking their positions, a loud report
was heard, which turned out to be another of those
infernal machines, which had exploded under the
Vulture's bottom, doing no harm. However, it
nearly knocked Captain Glasse off the paddlebox,
and lifted some 68-lb. shot out of their racks on to
the deck. This is the fourth occurrence of this
nature. As yet these machines have proved pro-
ductive of little harm; but we certainly don't like
them much, as we cannot be certain whether any of
them have gone off properly. The Russian flotilla
on the north side, consisting of six line-of-battle
ships and fourteen steam gun-boats, are well in view
some five miles from us. We cannot get at them on
account of the row of piles they have thrown across
between us and them.
JUNE 21.—The boats have been all day creeping
for these infernal machines. They have picked up
twenty or thirty of them ; and 1 am sorry to say that
in examining them Admirals Dundas and Seymour
were hurt by the explosions which took place, from
their not understanding how the machinery worked.
One of them actually —..

r Viva ter

burst in Admiral Sey-
mour's hands. It is
very much to be feared
that he will lose one of
his eyes. Admiral Dun-
das is only slightly hurt.
As I said yesterday,
they are comparatively
harmless to ships, only
containing 10 lbs. of
gunpowder, in a zinc
case shaped as in the
margin, and anchored,
which is exploded by
a vessel's bottom com-
ing in contact with a `ten"'' lioNam
trigger set near to the top of the machine. They
are eight or nine feet below the surface. Four
or five officers were more or less severely hurt
by the explosion on the poop of Admiral Sey-
mour's flag-ship. The general opinion is, that
those now picked up have been laid down for some
time, as the anchors and stones by which they were
Moored are much covered with seaweed, and the

637

rope cables very much damaged by long immersion
in the water.

JUNE 24.--The creeping for infernal machines has
gone on all day, and the result has been that some
fifty in all have been picked up, two or three of a
smaller size than those Y already mentioned. The
admiral has been in reconnoitring to-day. Some
shots were fired at his ship from the vessels at the
rear of Cronstadt, but the range was too great for
them to do any damage. We hear from Kiel that
the gun boat and mortar vessel squadron have left
that place; so we anxiously look for their arrival. It
is said also that some French vessels of a similar
class are on their way here. Admiral Seymour is
much better to-day, and hopes are entertained that
his eye will be saved. The others wounded by the
infernal machines are doing well. Bulldog has made
her defects good, and is just coming iu with two col-
liers in tow. Dragon and two gun-boats are gone
in shore to cut off the coasting vessels, who ate
getting bold again from our not bullying them.

We find the following description of the Russian
infernal machines in the Baltic letter of the Times
dated June 25 :

Each machine consists of a cone of galvanised iron, 16
inches in diameter at the base and 20 inches from base to
apex, and is divided into three chambers; the one near
the base being largest, and containing air, causes it to
float with the base uppermost. In the centre of this
chamber is another, which holds a tube with a fuse in it,
and an apparatus for firing it. This consists of two little
iron rods, which move in guides, and are kept projected
over the side of the base by springs, which press them out-
wards. When anything pushes either of these rods in-
wards it strikes against a lever, which moves like a pen-
dulum, in the fuse-tube, and the lower end of the lever
breaks or bends a small leaden tube, containing a combus-
tible compound, which is set on fire by coming in contact
with some sulphuric acid held in a capillary tube, which is
broken at the same time, and so fires the fuse, which com-
municates with the powder c)ntained in the chamber at
the apex of the cone, and which holds about Olb. or 10Ib.
At the extreme apex is a brass ring, to which is attached
a rope and some pieces of granite, which moors them
about nine or ten feet below the surface, so that the only
vessels they could hurt, the gun-boats, float quietly over
them, and, now we know what they are, they have been
disarmed of all their dread.

Dantzic despatches of Thursday, the sth instant,
state that the British fleet was still lying off Cron-
stadt. Admiral Baynes and his squadron were at
Nargen.
Sweaborg has been bombarded. Some magazines
were blown up and various buildings tired. The
island battery of Narva also has been attacked with
success, several cannon having been dismounted and
shipping destroyed.
The A mphion, Captain Cooper Key, in reconnoitring
the newly-erected works at Sweaborg, unfortunately
got aground within range of the enemy's guns,
which opened fire on the frigate. Four balls hit the
vessel, killing one man and wounding two, but the
Amphion returned the fire with such effect that
she blew up a powder-magazine, the exploslin of
which seriously damaged some of the works also.
Intelligence has reached Stockholm that Nystadt
had been destroyed by a British squadron.
The Ordnance are preparing mortars upon a pro-
digious scale, some to carry shells as large as the
huge stone balls used by the Turks at the siege of
Rhodes. The range of these monster missiles Is
calculated at five miles. Cronstadt will probably
have the benefit of their first experiments.

THE CELEBRATED GREAT BELL " REM," suspended
in the tower of St. Iwan, in the Kremlin, whilst
being tolled for the late Czar, fell, in consequence of
the iron supporters giving way, and broke through no
less than three separate storeys of vaults, killing five
persons on the spot, whilst five were wounded severely
and four slightly. The accident made a deep im-
pression at the time on the minds of the superstiticus
Russians, who regarded it as a direct visitation from
Heaven in condemnation of the war undertaken by
the Emperor ; and processions were made, fasts insti-
tuted, and candles burned to the Panagia, or Holy
irgin, to appease the wrath of Heaven. The bell
is probably the largest in the world, weighing no less
than 2,o°t) poods, or 80,000 lbs. After three months
incessant labour it has been swung again.
SINCE the war with Russia a new kind of domestic
fowl has been introduced into England from the Black
Sea, and is likely to prove a formidable rival to the
Shanghai and Cochin China. It is quite as large as
the barn door fowl ; is crested, has feathered legs ; its
colour is genet ally all white or black—when the latter,
of a raven hue and glossy. This bird is pugnacious,
and its movements are very lively. Several of these
fowls are to be seen at Southampton, where they have
been landed from the war-transports.
ACCOUNTS RECEIVED AT ODESSA from the Sea of
Azoff state that the quantity of wheat destroyed by
the allied squadron at Taganrog was about 12,000
quarters, and that at Marioupol the total of grain of
all kinds destroyed was about 68,000 or 78,000
quarters.

638

lortign 6orrtsponbtutt.

FRANKFORT, July 5.
LORD LYNDHURST never strikes other than an effec-
tive blow. Neither that venerable lord, nor Lord
Derby, nor Mr. Disraeli, have ever flinched from de-
claring the actual state of the Continent, as to Ger-
man sympathy for, or animosity against, England.
The pages of THE PRESS, nearly a year since, pre-
dicted the course that would inevitably be pursued
by Prussia, and would most certainly be followed by
Austria. And now, at the end of another year, how
stands the case—was THE PRESS right or was it
wrong ? In the weak reply of Lord Clarendon to the
noble and venerable lord on Tuesday last, there are
both fallacies and something more mixed up with a
copious insincerity.
It is not true that the German people, as a people,
are inimical to England and the English ; it was the
unpopularity, the insincerity, and the palpable im-
potency of the Aberdeen and Coalition Government,
that shattered reliance upon their old ally. It was
the flagrant antipathy of the English people, openly
declared, to the Aberdeen Government, that naturally
and properly destroyed all confidence in the acts of
a Ministry that was forced upon an unwilling and
exasperated nation. Had the first Coalition, and
the second and present Coalition Ministry taken a
bold and decided tone with Austria and Prussia
matters would have been settled differently—a plain
word and a strong army on the Rhine would have ex-
plained everything. But the Coalition went unwil-
lingly to war, mismanaged the militia, and crippled
the recruiting. Then came the appeal to the foreign
bayonet, which was to be procured in countries at
peace with Russia, subjecting the enlisted, when
taken prisoners, to be shot according to the rules of
war. The project of Germanising the army was
unpalatable to the English nation, and the expres-
sions of dissent and censure that fell from Lord
Derby and others belonging to the great national
party on that ( ccasion were just and in strict
harmony with public opinion. Seeing this national
disrelish to the late and present Coalition Ministries,
and coupling it with the recorded animadversion of
the House of Commons and the duplicity of the
Vienna Conferences, how is it possible that the
Germans can have a respect for a country rendered
almost governmentally impotent from the permitted
usurpation of office by five or six Whig families ?
Regard and disrespect are incompatible, and, there-
fore, it is, as Lord Clarendon observes correctly, that
the sympathies of other nations have been alienated;
but to him and to his fellows that alienation is due,
and not to the English people.
Another proof of our governmental debility, in
German eyes, is the publication of Le Nord, at
Brussels, without remonstrance and par:iamentary
observation. It is held to be a case of superlative
defiance, to be a mocking insult, and the more grave
since M. de Creptowitch boldly puts forth that
although hostile to England, yet the journal is to be
conducted in strict conformity to the opinions and
principles, if not sympathies, of Mr. Gladstone and
Mr. Sidney Herbert. It is so publicly affirmed in
Le Nord. It may or may not be the case; but M.
de Creptowitch, in proof of his affirmation, quotes at
length from the pages of the Morning Chronicle.
At any rate he has justified himself. Nothing has
been more fatal to the reputation of England on the
Continent than the conduct of the peace party,
public and private. It hardly wanted the addition
of incompetency and insincerity displayed at Vienna
by Lord John Russell thoroughly to injure national
character. J. E. L.

lortign anb Colonial ntelligtrite.

FRANCE.