The Express.
London, England, 1855-11-02 00:00:00

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LONDON, FRIDAY, NOVENA= 2.

Ii the operations of the Allies in the Lhasa el the
Dnieper lead to the rapture of Nioolaieff,:or Rhos"
or both. before the close of this year's comgely,
their importance will be great. If these **ln ass
not achieved, the whole affair must be regarded is a
amp seerigni. The capture of Fort Milburn, widths
evacuation of the Malakoff forts, are only et owes-
(pence as giving the Allied squadrons free inpme
and egrese into and from the Liman. And the Ws
themselves, though of respectable strength, were me
inadequate to withstand the overpowering naval
foree brought against them, that their destruction
is really " not worth making a song about."
Bat the capture of Nicolaieff and Eheeson
would not ooly cause an immense quantity
of Russian stores to fall into the hands of the Allies,
or be destroyed by the Russians themselves, but
would intercept the direct road by which the Russian
troops in the Crimea maintain their communication
with Odessa, the great depot of provisions drawn
from the Ukraine. It is not without anxiety, thes►
fore, that we await the arrival of further intelligsmse
from the Dnieper. The season is now far advanced.
and we may soon expect the advent of storms, frosts,
and fogs that will render any advance upon Rhereon
and Nicolaieff from the seaboard impossible till
the return of spring. And even during the hest
sewn of the year attacks upon these places must
necessarily be attended with serious &faculties.
From the entry into the Liman, between Fort
/Unborn and the Otoliskoff forts to the Delta of the
Dnieper, is a distance of thirty-six miles. The Bug
falls Into the Liman at right angles (flowing from the
north) about midway. From the mouth of the Bug to
Nieolaieff is a distance of twenty-four miles. The
river is shallow, its course tortuous, and commanded
by steep basks on both midge. If an attempt is made
to approach Nicolaieff by water, the field batteries of
the Russians may be brought into play to gall the
flotilla at every yard of its progress. If the advance
is made by land, we are utterly ignorant of the num-
ber ri Russian troops concentrated in the neighbour-
hood that can be brought to oppose it. The position
Nieolaieff is naturally strong. It stands on the
neck of a peninsula, two sides of which (the southern
sad western) are washed by the waters of the Bug ;
the third (the northern) by those of the Ingul, which
there falls into the Bog. We know that great efforts
have been made of late to strengthen the entrench-
ments ; and we know, by the experience of &bow
Ispi. with what skill the Russians construct
Ilarthworka, and with what pertinacity they
defend them. Khanna is situated on the north
bank of the Dnieper, opposite the apes et

the Delta, at a distance of eighteen miles boa the
Liman. The river at this part of in course is, hire the
Bug, shallow and tortuous, and is divided into
many channels. But it appears to be overhung
only on the north side by steep banks and
one of the two navigable channels is towards the
southern shore. The navigation, however, is per-
plexed and difficult ; and a land advance to Kherson
would lead the Allied troops over a greater expanse
of country than an advance upon Nicolsieff. Khersou
is not naturally so strong as Niecisieff; still it is
placed in a hollow, surrounded on three sides by
abrupt eminences which are crowned with foes and
batteries. The month of the Bug, Nicolaieffi and
Khanna are at the three angles of a triangle, of
which the side extending from the month of the Bog
to Nioolaieff is twenty-four miles long ; that extending
from the mouth of the Bug to Rhonda thirty-six
miles; and that from Rhona' to Nioolaieff also
thirty-six. These scanty details will suffice to show
that the reduction of either or both of these two
places is likely to be attended with considerable diffi-
culties ; and there now remains little more than a
month for the accomplishment of the enterprise, as the
Liman of the Dnieper is frozen over from December
till February. It is impossible to rant on these cir-
Gemstones@ without regretting that pnoioeu weeks
were wasted before the expedition started from
Sebsatopl, and also that instead of steering
direct. for the Linen of the Dnieper, it
anchored off Odessa, where six more days were lost.
It is true that the mere presence of the Allied fleets
in the waters between Odessa and the mouth of the
Dnieper, and their moms in the only action that hos
taken place beetween them and the Russians, cennei
fail to make an impression on the minds of the
natives. The description given by our Correspondent
of the appearance of the shores along which the
squadrons sailed from Cape Fontana (the point weal
of Odessa at which they first neared the land) Is
Binbarn, is the picture of a country flourishing under
the auspices of a long peace. The presence of a hostile
and apparently resistless Armada can scarcely fail to
suggest to the minds of the inhabitants that it is their
own Government's lust of conquest that bee be
this vlsitation upon them. The wealthy end '
Naha chines in Odessa—whoa mercantile enter►
psis. is the source of the prosperity of the whoa.
surrounding district--an hardly be ealled Russians.
They are principally foreigners, attracted by the
resources of that emporium from distant shores
Their sense of allegiance to the Ceas—of identifies.
Lion with the Muscovites—is extremely feeble. Rs-
oept in one direction Odessa is only accessible from the
heart of the empire across wide and roadies§ steppes,
utterly impracticable during • part of the year. The
event. now in progress around Odessa cannot
but prepare the minds of the inhabitants for a wish
to be severed from a State which by its conduct ex-
poses them to hostile attacks from which it cannot
effeetively defend them. But such a result is •
mere contingency; it belongs to a remote biters
What is wanted is some immediate decisive
blow that will be felt to the core of the Ma►,
oovite empire; and when all circumstances are takes
into consideration, it appears extremely problema-
tical whether such a blow will be struck during the
course of the present year.