The Press.
London, England, 1855-04-14 00:00:00

THE WEEK.

IT was not without reason that Lord Joint RUSSELL sent for his family
to join him at Vienna. He has already been absent these two months,
and, as the real business of the Conference has hardly yet commenced,
it would be vain to conjecture how much longer he may be detained.
The Conference met on Monday, but only to be again adjourned, as
' the Russian Ministers had not received the instructions they required
from St. Petersburg. It is said that those instructions are not ex
pected until the beginning of next week—and, from the slow space at
which the negotiation has hitherto proceeded, it would seem not un-
likely that some further occasion for delay may arise.
As the allies raise no question concerning the reduction of Sebas-

topol, the main point to be decided is whether Russia will consent to
a limitation of her fleet in the Black Sea. Continental statesmen—
presumed from their position to be cognisant of the views of the St.
Petersburg Cabinet on this point—insist that she not, and
that she will carry concession no further than to consent to the erec-
tion of a fortress on the shores of the Black Sea as a counterpoise to
Sebastopol. The Russian party in Paris insist, we hear, that even this
would be a great concession in the actual circumstances of the war.
" Franchement c'est deja beaucoup," said a Prussian diplomatist in a
distinguished Parisian circle this week ; and he intimated his opinion
that should the allies demand more, on them would rest the respon-
sibility of rejecting the only practicable accommodation. Not much
importance, however, is to be attached to the ideas which Russia skil
fully disseminates through such channels. If she be really sincere in
her professed desire for peace, it does not seem probable that she will
break off on a point of such comparatively little importance as the
strength of the navy to be maintained in the Black Sea, it being evi-
dent that until some vast change takes place in the relative position
of the great Powers of Europe her ships could not keep the sea in face
of the force which could readily be arrayed against them by the
Western nations. The point is one admitting of easy adjustment, if
we suppose that there is a disposition on one side or the other to put
an end to the war. But the present safety of Sebastopol, and the un-
accountable inaction of the allied forces, may not improbably induce
Russia to take higher ground than she would otherwise care to assume.
When, in presence of a distinguished Russian lady in Paris, a hope
was expressed that the allies might yet succeed in capturing Sebas-
topol—" Oh, mon Dieu, c'est a faire mourir de mire !" was her scornful
reply. The weakness of our Government is becoming a byword on
the Continent, and whatever prestigs once attached to Lord PA!.
MERSTON'S name is fast being dissipated by the feebleness of his Ad-
ministration.

The arrangements for the visit of the Emperor of the FRENCH,
with his Empress, to our Court are now settled. It is decidedthat their
Majesties are to leave Paris on Sunday, and sleep that night at
Boulogne, and cross over to Dover the next morning. Prince
ALBERT will arrive at Dover on Sunday, and will stay at the Lord
Warden Hotel, where a dejeuner is to be prepared for their Majesties
and the Prince at noon on Monday. A special train will leave Dover
at two o'clock, and the Imperial party will praceed direct to Windsor
Castle. The Court will remain at Windsor until Thursday, and will
then repair to Buckingham Palace. The Imperial guests will go in
state to the Opera on Thursday evening, and will leave London for
Paris on Saturday.
The Imperial suites, including personal attendants, servants, &c.,
will not number less than sixty persons. The Emperor sends
forward fifteen horses, and a number of grooms. Great apprehension
exists in Paris, we hear, as to the safety of the Emperor in London.
It is stated that there will be collected in our metropolis several
thousand of the vagrant rouge refugees, who would desire nothing
better than to shoot his Majesty should an opportunity present itself.
It is certain that every precaution is being taken, and that a detach-
ment of the Imperial police has been for the last ten days in London
to discover the abodes and learn the sentiments of these desperate
characters.

By the letters of the different correspondents from the camp it
would appear that the long and wearying work of the siege for the last
four months was, in general opinion, upon the point of being changed
for either active operations in the field or for the opening of the
second bombardment. Of the result of this bombardment it is said
that our engineer officers speak with great confidence, but the energy,
determination, science, and skill, which the Russians continue to
display upon every occasion certainly call for a little less confidence
upon our part, and a little more respect for our enemies. Our main
attacks, though certainly mounted in some instances with guns and
mortars of heavier metal, are still at the same distance from the
Russian lines as they were upon the 17th of October, and the injury
which we have done to the town throughout the whole siege appears
to be trifling. Since the attack upon our lines on the 22nd ult., the
Russians have been singularly quiet. The accounts which have been
received of that attack, and its complete repulse, shed fresh glory upon
our gallant soldiers. The bravery with which a mere handful of men
in the trenches withstood the desperate attack of an immensely
iluperior body of Russians, and drove tham out at the point of the

SATURDAY,

bayonet, has never been surpassed in the records of heroism. But
we have to mourn the loss of some most gallant officers and men.
The despatch of General CANROBERT shows that the assault on the
French lines was hotly made, and not repulsed without determined
fighting. His army lost upwards of 600 men in killed, wounded, and
missing ; but, as usual, the loss of the Russians was three or four fold
that of the allies. It is computed that at least 2,000 were placed
hors de combat. Up to the oth of April the bombardment had not
commenced, though it is said that all preparations were completed
and each gun furnished with 400 rounds of ammunition.
A novelty in the art of war is to be met with in our lines at
Sebastopol—the electric telegraph, which is now completed from head-
quarters to the different batteries. As an instance of its effect, it is
told that on the 23rd the Russians unmasked a very heavy gun
against the Seaman's Battery ; the intelligence was instantly trans-
mitted to Lord RAGLAN, with a demand for instructions. The reply
to " fight it" was returned after a few seconds, and so well laid was
our gun that the third shot snuffed out the enemy's fire, by knocking
the gun to atoms.
Omsa PACBA has not advanced from Eupatoria as generally stated.
lie simply executed a reconnaissance in force on the 26th, and re-
turned to the town, awaiting further reinforcements before he com-
mences offensive operations against the enemy. Eight thousand
Egyptian troops had sailed from Varna, and the cavalry and artillery
were hurried off as fast as the means of transport allowed. There
appears to be no doubt that the Russians are concentrating a very
powerful force in front of Eupatoria, and that, ere this, probably au
attempt to storm the town has been made, as the preparatory step to
attacking the allied position at Bala.klava, and relieving Sebastopol.

The papers which have been laid by Dr. ANDREW SMITH before Mr.
ROEBUCK'S Committee fully exonerate the late Medical Inspector-
General from any charge of want of forethought or arrangement for
the requirements of the army in the field. In these three letters
(April 4th, 13th, and May 11th, 1854), addressed to the proper autho-
rities, Dr. SMITH proposes, first, that a Hospital Corps should be
immediately organised and attached to the army, in order to faciliate
the removal of the wounded from the field of battle; that proper and
suitable clothing, adapted to the peculiarities of the climate, both
summer and winter, should be prepared for the use of the army with all
despatch; and, finally, that a number of vessels should be imme-
diately fitted up and placed in readiness off the coast for the recep-
tion of the sick and wounded; convalescent hospitals to be established
upon some healthy spot ; and a proper system of sea transport
arranged by which the wounded might be removed rapidly to the
established hospitals in Constantinople, and invalids periodically
conveyed to England. It is only due to Dr. ANDREW SMITH to state
that these recommendations were made by him to the Government
upwards of five months before the English army took the field. This,
at all events, is one instance in which the proper suggestions were
made by the proper officer, and left unnoticed by the Government.

Tho " Constitutional Government" which Lord PALMERSTON'S ad-
mirers boast that he succeeded in establishing in Spain, does not
appear by its conduct to our ambassadors to appreciate very highly its
obligations to his Lordship. Lord HOWDEN has been involved in a
dispute with the Government at Madrid, by rather zealously insisting
upon the rights of Protestant residents attending service in the house
of their Minister without interruption from the local authorities. It
appears, however, from the explanations of the Governor of Seville.
that the late outrage upon the English Protestants in that city was
committed by the ecclesiastical authorities. Lord HOWDEN'S indignant
protest has led to the anticipation that he will be recalled.

The nomination of Mr. JOHN BALL, M.P. for Carlow, to the Under-
Secretaryship of the Colonies, has come upon many people by surprise.
Mr. BALL is a Raman Catholic, and the son of one of the judges in the
Irish Court of Common Pleas. He was formerly a commissioner in
the Irish Poor-Law Board, but at the time of Cardinal WISEMAN'S ag-
gression Mr. BALL began to take a warm interest in politics. His
Parliamentary experience has been very brief, as he was elected for
Carlow only at the general election of 1852, and yet he is now Under-
Secretary for the Colonies, while the principal of his department is at
Vienna. It is worth recollecting that the Roman Catholics in the colo-
nies never liked Lord JOHN RUSSELL as a Colonial Minister, and the
appointment of Mr. BALL may be meant as a tribute to the sect, which
for the time seems to aid Lord PALMERSTON.

The Cavan election has resulted in a decided triumph for the
Conservative candidate, Mr. BURROWEB. This victory is of consider-
able importance, as Mr. HENRY GEORGE HUGHES, formerly Solicitor-
General for Ireland, strained every nerve to gain success. Every re-
source was put in requisition by the Liberals, and the influence of the
Roman Catholic priesthood most unsparingly employed. It is stated
that the tenantry of Sir JoHN YOUNG, late Chief Secretary of Ireland
under Lord ABERDEEN, all voted for the Conservative candidate, a
significant fact as to the growing desire of union amongst the Conser-
vative body at large.

A letter from the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER to the members of
the Stock Exchange was published yesterday, announcing that he
would, with Lord PALMERSTON, attend at the Treasury on Monday
next, to see gentlemen who might be willing to contract for a loan,
and to state the amount he required. It is supposed that ten millions
at least will bo required, or prebablay fifteen.