The Press.
London, England, 1855-12-29 00:00:00

OFFICIAL DESPATCHES.

A despatch from Marshal Pelissier, dated Dec. 11,
has been received by the Minister of War at Paris,
detailing the incidents of the attack of the Russians
on the Bth against the French outposts in the valley
of Baidar. The surprise, for the moment, appears
to have been complete, the Russians, during the
dark and rainy night, having advanced and stir
rounded the villages of Orkousta and Baga before
they commenced their attack at the break of day.
The French outposts held their ground most gal-
lantly, against far superior numbers, till the reserve
companies arrived to their assistance, under General
Niel and Colonel Lacretelle, when the offensive was
immediately undertaken by the French ; after a
sharp fusillade and a short struggle, the Russians
were driven back, and pursued for some distance,
with the loss of 150 men killed, wounded, and pri-
soners.

The Invalide Russe of the 20th instant publishes
the following extract from Prince Gortschakoft's
journal of the military operations from the 7th to
the 25th of November (Nth of November to 7th of
December :

From the 7th to the 25th of November (19th of Novem-
ber to the 7th of December) nothing of particular import-
ance took place in the Crimea; the allies, under the fire of
our intrenchments on the north side of Sebastopol, con-
tinned their work of the levelling of the batteries con-
structed against Bastions Nos. 4 and 5, and the construc-
tion of a rampart between Bastions 5 and 8.

On the left flank of our positions, and at Eupatoria, there
have been some outpost skirmishes, in which our cavalry,
Cossacks, and our Greeks of Balaklava, have constantly
had the advantage over the enemy.

THE COMMANDING OFFICERS of the allied forces of
Constantinople lately entered into a convention with
the Divan to form a military police, for the purpose
of repressing crimes and misdemeanours in the town
of Constantinople. The Sultan, it is reported, when
the fact of the convention was brought under his
notice, put his veto on the project at once.
BARON SEEBACH, the Saxon envoy at the French
Court, arrived at Dresden on Sunday from Paris.
After receiving fresh instructions, be proceeded im-
mediately on his way to St. Petersburg. Baron
Seebach is son-in-law to Count Nesselrode, and his
mission is said to be connected with the negotiations
for peace.
THE GRAND DUKE CONSTANTINE, who holds to the
ultra policy of the war party in Russia, is related to
have frequent and violent altercations with the Em-
peror on the subject of the war. On one occasion
the Grand Duke is reported to have said :—" Qu'il ne
voulait rien avoir de commun avec un Rornanoff
assez peu soucieux de l'honneur de son mon et de la
dignite de sa couronne pour songer a conclure la
pair avec les puissances occidentales " ; while at
several state ceremonials and councils it was re-
marked that he affected not to place himself beside
his sovereign.
THE EXPLANATIONS demanded by the Western
powers of Austria, on the subject of the disarmament
of so large a portion of her army, are denied by the
Vienna papers, which assert that no such demands
could have been made, " as Austria voluntarily gave
the fullest explanations beforehand."
THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT, OD the withdrawal of
the allied fleets from the Baltic, hastened to make
known that 1,000 lasts of salt for the provinces of
Livonia, Esthonia, and Courland would be admitted
duty free. Notwithstanding the rigours of the season
several cargoes of salt have been shipped in Swedish
harbours, and run successfully to the Russian ports.

SATIMDAY,

Sortign litarrzsgbatutt.

Vitisixeorer, Dec. 2tii.
BEFORE discussing the terms of the treaty betwixt
the allies and Sweden, it may be well to mention the
effect that it has produced at the Diet and in Ger-
many. The trepidation that was discernible a short
time since amongst the members of the " parti de
la Croix " has been sensibly augmented. That which
had before been treated as vague and problematical
has been brought home with a force at once distaste-
ful and unexpected, and they see before them the
danger that hitherto had been pertinaciously dis-
credited. With the allies Austria is not believed nor
trusted—neither honoured nor feared—and her.
offices, for which she may presume to claim thanks,
are purely selfish. Prussia, as constituted under the.
"de la Croix" faction, is held to be a spurious
Russia, and under such camarilla guidance cannot bee
treated as an independent State, master of itself..
Let it be always and carefully understood that the
army, the people, and the partisans of the Primo
Royal, resist the policy that opposes them to England.
The war of 11354-5 has shown that there are three
primary powers France, England, and Russia.
Each can make war, unassisted, on its own account.
The first is military, " quand meme," and of a prat_
tical experience that has met with general accepta-
tion and honour, save at the hands of M. de Gerlach,
the associate of the King of Prussia. The third is
equally military, by force of position, but of a nature
defensive rather than aggressive, excepting on the
Persian and Turkish frontier, away from the soldier
foes of Western Europe, with whom, unaided, it has
never coped with setters. The second is maritime,
to:an extent, predominant in material and moral excel-
lence, never before witnessed on any waters of the old
or new world, and possessed of an army whose prowess.
is in an inverse ratio to its numbers. With the
mighty three, with that all-powerful triumvirate,,
rests the dominion of the world. A state of conflict,,
where amity is an indispensable requirement, is
unwise and injurious, and pleasing only to those who.
watch the expenditure of blood and treasure in a.
deceitful and inglorious pusillanimity. Other king-
doms are secondary in their military combinations,.
and dependent upon that chance of circumstance,
which renders them, from sordid motives, dishonest.
to friend and foe. Austria was defeated by her
oppressed subjects in Italy, and was prostrated in
Hungary. Prussia owed its existence, as a nation.
to the treaty of Tilsit, and was incapable of boldir
the royal Government against a constituent asserr
.bly
in Brandenburgh Castle. The minor kingdom• 3 and
states are bought or beaten into subjection,
,lowing
with hesitating steps the master who buy s or the
satrap who maltreats them. Germany, as • ,mediator,
is incompetent. Although there may k some that
are not faithless, and others who rev have a decent
respect for public virtue, yet, aa
upon the country that is not, Aar whole, a taint is
gerous to others
only because it is impotent, Vita
mercy of England, and hoe- .ports are at the
.ins of trampled corn
have been used and may be used again by France,
without permission and Sri thout indemnity, as a
common stage for the ;teat fights of Europe. Is it
necessary to turn to UAW' y f There are many tomes
where the same tido. is
told and retold with unde-
viating
Iteration, *DA %tv,:re is a dark page not yet un-
folded.

France and )filar great powers, are at war with
Russia, a mighty na' Jon. The cause of conflict must
be arranged betwii t them, without petty intervention,
or else by a Enror,ean and catholic consent that shall
be honourable V.) all, and where foes may be reunited
as friends, with out halting to dwell on the memory of
the past. Silo/ ild the power of Russia he diminished to
an extent de4..rimental to her European position, that
decrease of prestige would go to furnish an increase of
Germanic power ; and this last, chequered by disunion,
venality, and faithlessness, would be destructive of
the European balance. Whatever amount of influ-
ence be subtracted from Russia, and added to Austria
or P 1 ussia "improper," must produce a result that
wov.ld immediately send France to the Rhine in self-
protection, and put on a war footing a naval arma-
ment in England ready for cooperation in the
Baltic.
The mission of General Canrobert to Stockholm
was commonly said to be one of a character simply
complimentary, and the illusion was not dispelled
until after the return of MM. do Pfordten and Von
Beust from Paris, when palpable misgivings were.
exhibited of a proximate dilemma. The tone of the
minor kingdoms underwent an ambiguous change.
They affected an independence of action for the
nonce, by having a direct communication with St.
Petersburg, which only served to raise the contemp-
tuous ridicule of Austria and Prussia, for the Ger-
manic States were not in concert together, and
Austria was not primarily interested in the Baltic

DECEMBER 29, 1855,

question. On the departure of General Canrohert,
private envoys arrived to probe the extent of evil to
Germanic interests, and to neutralise their effects by
countervailing propositions. German journals as-
serted that no treaty had been in question; that the
signature of such supposed treaty was a fable, re.
Tiled the acute Times, made merry at the altic
expeditions of Napier and Dundas, and boasted of
being, by virtue of their disingenuousness, the
privileged carriers of the increasing traffic of Russia.
The treaty of November 21 was proclaimed, and the
telegraphic despatch announcing the fact scattered
confusion, broadcast, throughout the Confederation.
Many reasons contributed to this dismay. The neu-
trality of Germany had been of the didactic kind.
It was solemnly respectable, or affected so to be, and
was phlegmatically undisturbed of mien, because it
believed danger to be afar. The minions of the
Prussian Cross had made their sinister calculations
of disaster, and gloated over the expectancy of re-
verse to the allies. But they had miserably failed.
That "fontanelle de sang" in the Crimea—that
wasting and waning strength of the allies—described
by M. de Bismarck Schonhausen to be the measure
of German safety—has not worked out the prophesied
end. Two hundred thousand men are in the Crimea,
fresh for action, and only awaiting the opportunity,
and now—in determination to carry on the war with
vigour—preparations are made for the seizure of
the Baltic.

The treaty of November 21 contains two clauses,
simple and direct in language :-1. That his Majesty
the King of Sweden and Norway shall not cede any
portion of his territory to Russia—" aucun droit de
piturage de peipe on de quelque autre qui ce soit."
2. That any proposition from Russia, whatever it he,
shall be forthwith communicated by Sweden to
England and France; and that, in resisting any act
of aggression by Russia, Sweden shall be supported
by the military and naval forces of France and Eng-
land—" suffisantes pour co operer avec les forces
navales et militaires de S. M. le Roi de Suede."

In a warfare of this kind every port in the Baltic
would be at the disposal of England and France,
neutrals, or non-neutrals. It cannot be imagined
that the drivelling of a puerile " mezzo termine"
would be hearkened unto for an instant, when op-
posed to great interests and affecting greater nations
conflict. Every port would be occupied or block-
aded, and the mouth of every river be hermetically
sealed. This menacing danger, " ripe and real," has
awakened the German with a start, and he sulkily
contemplates the result of his unworthy conduct.
His position of mediator is shown to be valueless
from want of potentiality, and his neutrality is not
cared for. There is more than probability—the fact
is not doubtful—that the November treaty bears the
germ of one of far graver consequence ; but, should
the present one only remain in force, without other
addition, the change of power in the Baltic is
thoroughly effected ; fcr neither Russia nor Prussia
will be independent for the future in that sea. Bo-
marsund has ceased to be; one shore of the Cattegat
belongs to Norway; and Heligoland, at the mouths
of the Elbe and Weser, holds Hamburg and Bremen
in its clutches. With an assumption of indifference,
not happy in spirit, the Russian and German organs
treat lightly of the stipulations between the con-
tracting parties.
" Actuellement, en effet, ce traite est peu de chose
si non rien. On aura beau faire et beau dire, le seul
resultat de cette entente etablie entre les trois
Gouvernements, c'est d'assurer la neutralite de la
Suede." And then it is said immediately afterwards,
"Le Roi de Suede avu consacrer par la France et
par l'Angletrere la delimitation actuelle de sea Etats;
il a recu la promesse du contours ankle de ces puis-
sances, pour le cas ou it serait attaque." This is not
a neutrality, but a positive protectorate, with a right
of interference, the principle of which is engrafted in
the first clause, upon express contingencies. Russia
can take no step in regard to Sweden, territorial or,
in a certain sense, commercial, without reference to
the allies. This ir a direct contradiction to the re-
mark of simple neutrality.
" La neutrality de la Suede depend de la Russia
qui, dans la pensee seule des Gouvernements de
France et d'Angleterre a l'intention d'user de violence
envers une nation avec laquelle elle eat dans les
meillurs termes." To reply to the words, "la pensee
settle," the King of Sweden said to one in whom he
could confide, " Treason is before, around, and behind
me ; I cannot speak or move without every word and'
action of my life being reported at St. Petersburg."
"II m'en vent et mime—qui sait r"lhe " qui salt'
is rather mistrustful of safety, and not in strict accord
with the expression, " meillurs termes," the intrinsic
worth of which shall be straightway tested. "Alex-
andre avait dit au Ministre de Suede QUATRE JOURS
avant 'invasion de Finlande, ' Dieu m'est temoin
qua je ne desire pas un seul village dans les etats de
votre maitre." And after the act of spoliation the
same Alexander continued, "De malheureuses et
regrettables circonstances m'ont amene a dormer 6.
mon empire une nouvelle frontiere. Le mal est fait.
Son mil etait humide, a ce bon Prince, en prononcant