The Press.
London, England, 1854-08-26 00:00:00

800

pestilence and the efforts of three armies, they returned
with honour to their country. Soldiers ! have confidence
in your General•in•Chief and in me. lam watching over
you, and I hope, with the assistance of God, soon to see a
diminution of your sufferings and an increase of your

glory.
"Soldiers ! farewell, au reroir. " NerotEow."
The British army numbers 32,700 men, including
the sick and invalided, but not more than 20,000 men
could be brought under arms. The French could not
muster so many men fit for service in proportion.
Their divisions, which are nominally composed of
1'2,900 men, cannot be considered stronger than 9,000
or 10,000. Inclusive of cavalry and artillery, they do
not, therefore, dispose of more than 45,000 men.
Accounts from Constantinople to the 14th inst., re •
ceived via Vienna, state that a serious conflagration
had broken out at Varna, by which one-third of the
town was destroyed. The greatest part of the muni-
tions belonging to the allied forces, including the
powder-magazines, were, however, saved. Little was
lost except some hay, wine, and camp utensils.
Sir Edmund Lyons had sailea into the Black Sea
with his division. Ships-of-war and transports are
still proceeding there, but the object of the expedi-
tion is kept strictly secret.
Forty thousand Russian troops are said to be en-
camped round Sebastopol.
Cholera and typhus had committed serious ravages
among the troops. The French had suffered most,
their forces in camp having lost 720 men up to the
9th inst. The British loss to that date was 260 men,
of whom 100 belonged to the light division. Lat-
terly the virulence of the epidemic had diminished.
By far the worst consequences, however, fell upon
the French division under General Canrobert during
an expedition to the Dobrudscha. The following
account of this resultless and disastrous enterprise is
given in a letter from Varna of the 9th inst.:—
"On Sunday, the 6th, 5,000 or 6,000 men of the
Zouaves and Light Divisim returned from Kustendje, in
the Dobrudscha, to Varna, by sea, and on the same day the
great mass of the French expedition, which had come back
by land, encamped in the neighbourhood of the town.
They had been absent on their reconnaisance exactly
twelve days, and perhaps in the annals of modern warfare
it would be impossible to name another expedition of the
kind in which sickness bad committed such ravages in so
short a space of time. It is no exaggeration to say that
cholera and typhus literally decimated them. Of the
whole force of 33,000 men, they have lost, includingßashi-
Bazouks, upwards of 4,000 in the space of twelve days.
" Those who came by sea were principally the invalids,
and men too delicate to bear the fatigues of marching
back. The former alone numbered upwards of SOO. I
went down to see them disembark, and I thought I never
saw troops in a worse condition ; they were the ghosts of
their former selves—sunburnt and haggard, fatigued and
dispirited; and even the most hardy and robust spoke of
the climate and malaria which existed in the Dobrudscha
as being such as would destroy Europeans. The Russians
appear to have lost, in their five or six months' occupation
of this country, upwards of 40,000 men.
" During the time the expedition was absent it tra-
versed the greater part of the Dobrudscha, from south to
north, without meeting scarcely a human being. The
whole country, which the French say seems remarkably
fertile, is as desolate as Sahara. Most of the villages were
deserted, and, to all appearance, had been so for some
time. In most instances no attempts had been made to
sow the land, and the few crops which they found were
standing and choked with weeds. About 10,000 of the
French remained a little to the north of Hadschlogli-
Baser, while the main body pushed forward for Karasu
and Kusteudje, with the Bashi-Bazouks, Chasseurs
d'Afrique, and light infantry in advance. The army was
decidedly sickly when it commenced its march, and cholera
and typhus had manifested themselves, though not very
estensively until the second and third day of the advance,
when an alarming number were attacked by both diseases.
From that time until their return on Sunday the sickness
spread, and literally ravaged the camp ; of the French
nearly 1,700 died in about eight days, and almost as large
a number were sick, and rendered for the time unfit for
duty. But the loss which fell on our brave allies was
nothing to that which visited the Bashi-liazouks, under
the command of General Yusuf. Everything about these
unfortunate wretches predisposed them towards taking the
diseases in their worst forms. Their dirty habits, and
fashion of sleeping uncovered in the op
coen, damp night air,
induced fever ; their irregular meals, mpooed almost en-
tirely of fruit and vegetables, brought on cholera; and
the mortality from both causes was doubled owing to their
peculiar belief in fatalism, which led them in most cases
to refuse all offers of medical assistance. Typhus and
cholera, therefore, raged in their ranks unchecked, and
literally destroyed them. It is a psitive fact, that, of the
2,01)0 Bashi-liazouks who started with the French, up-
wards of two thousand perished within ten days. I do not
suppose there ever was an instance of such a rate of mor-
taliy occurring among such a limited number of men in
the same space of time. The French have now no Bashi-
Basouks, for of the :2(X) or 300 which have returned nearly
all are invalids or wounded."
Prince Napoleon has returned to Constantinople
sick. Lord De Ros, whose return home from ill-health
was announced some time since, had recovered, and
remains in the East.
Lord Raglan has issued orders to the English
commissariat to supply each man until further orders
with two ounces of barley, half a gill of spirits, and
half a pound of meat extra, making the allowance a

THE PRESS.

pound and a half instead of a pound ; and the men
are not to be charged anything additional for the
extras, but they will cease as soon as the sickly season
is over.
It has been reported that the French Government
intends to send as speedily as possible to Turkey
10,000 men to fill up the blanks caused by deaths or
sickness in the French army.
THE PRINCIPALITIES.
The last letters from Germany state that, after all,
Russia does not evacuate the principalities. Ibraila
is not evacuated, and orders have been given to
various corps to march upon Galatz. General Luders
commands a considerable force, whose head-quarters
are to be in these towns. Two lancer regiments have
been sent by forced marches from Odessa towards
the west.
The Austrians crossed the frontiers into the prin-
cipalities on the 20th inst. General Count Caronini
is appointed Commander of the Austrian army of
occupation.
Letters from Bucharest of the 14th inst. state that
the most perfect tranquillity and most exemplary
order reigned in the city. Several shops which had
been closed were at that date reopened. The great
majority of those inhabitants of Giurgevo who had
fled to Bucharest bad returned to their homes. The
Russian soldiers in the hospitals will, upon their
recovery, be set at liberty. Halim Pacha has pub-
lished an order of the day threatening to inflict the
severest punishment on any who may commit ex-
cess. The Turks pay for everything with ready
money. Omer Pacha had not arrived in Bucharest,
but was daily expected, having quitted Giurgevo on
a tour of iwection.
THE ARMY IN ASIA.
The Invalide Russe contains the announcement of
a victory obtained by the Russians over the Turkish
army in Georgia. It. states that 3,000 Turks had
been left dead on the field, the remainder having
taken to flight ; and that the Russians had taken 15
guns, 84 officers, and 23,000 troops, besides munitions
of war. There are ample reasons for believing that
this success is largely exaggerated, if not wholly
apocryphal. Under the head of "The Caucasus," the
same Russian journal publishes a pompous account
of some affairs in the beginning of July between the
Russians and a body of mountaineers, 15,000 in
number, under the immediate command of Schamyl.
The mountaineers are stated to have attacked and
taken possession of the village of Schil'dy, the Russian
force there being very inferior in number ; but they
were subsequently driven out, leaving 480 dead,
whilst the Russians had (says the journal) only 19
killed and 38 wounded. Several other conflicts
ensued, all of which, if we are to believe the Invalide,
ended gloriously for the Russians, and by the 10th of
July this part of the Caucasus had been entirely freed
from the presence of the army of Schamyl.
Another and more trustworthy account runs to the
effect that Sheik Emin, with other Circassian chiefs,
had paid their respects to Lord Redcliffe at Tberapia,
and made many interesting communications respect-
ing the state of Daghestan, where it is understood that
nearly 200,000 men only wait the signal for the fray,
and a little supply of arms and ammunition, if pos-
sible, from the generosity of the allied powers.
The Constantinople correspondent of the Austrian
Lloyd says, in reference to the army of Kars, that
Kourschid Pacha ( General Guyon), in a communi-
cation of the 25th ult. to the Seraskier of Kars, com-
plains bitterly of the Polish and Hungarian officers of
this army, and gives the following extract in reference
thereto :
Had I been free in my operations (says General
Guyon)—had not these ignorant and stupid emigrant
officers continually intrigued—l should have advanced
weeks back into the Russian terrtory, and the Russians
would nut have had time to collect their forces. lam a
man of few words, but this eternal inactivity of our com-
mander in-chief, who seems to adopt the counsels of all
those who would dissuade him from undertaking any
energetic measures, forces rue to speak openly to your
excellency. So long as Zarif Pacha is at the head of this
fine army, and so long as these Polish and Hungarian
officers remain here, there is not the shadow of a hope of
attacking and conquering an enemy whose forces are daily
increasing in strength."
This communication of General Guyon, it appears,
has had the desired effect. The correspondent says
that Zarif Pacha was to be recalled, and those officers
dismissed who interfered with the operations of the
Turkish army. At the date of his letter (the 7th)
Count Maflre was en route for Kars, where his mis-
sion is the settlement of those dismissals, and the
reformation of the Turkish general staff.
THE WHITE SEA.
Telegraphic advices from Archangel to the 13th
inst. state that the blockade had commenced.
The Monifeur says :—" It has always been the benevo-
lent intention of the allied powers that the blockade of
the ports in the White Sea should offer no impediment to
the commercial relations existing between the inhabitants
of Norwegian Finmarck and those of the coasts of the
White Sea, a people in either case so little favoured by
nature. The Minister of the Marine and Colonies has

SATURDAY.

just confirmed to our cruisers in those latitudes the in_
structions given to them for this purpose in the month of
May, previous to the declaration of the blockade."
amusing account of an affair, verbal), founded
on some resi occurrence on the'Shores of the white
Sea, is given in the Petersburg journals, in the shape
of a communication from the Archimandrite Alex-
ander, superior of the Solovetsky convent. In his
report to the Synod he states that when his monas-
tery was bombarded by two English screw-frigates, on
the 18th ult., his garrison consisted of only an ensign,
ten soldiers, and a few volunteers, and his artille
of only two 3-pounders. The enemy, he says, bom-
ry
barded for more than nine hours with shells, with
120, 06, and 36 pounders, and with red-hot cannon
shot; but the monks never for a moment ceased
their devotions, and of the brave garrison not one
was either killed or wounded. The bombarding
ships of course sheered off. The only wonder is
that the Archimandrite does not inform the Spot(
that he sank them.

THE REINFORCEMENTS.
The 34th Regiment, mustering 650 rank and file,
embarked at Portsmouth Dockyard on Monday on •
board the hired screw-transport Maraius for Corfu,
en route to the Ea-t.
Messrs. Dunbar's new troop-ship the Hougomont,
of 1,000 tons, Captain R. J. Downes, proceeds to the
Baltic for the conveyance of French troops. In
compliment to our allies, the Government, with the
sanction of Mr. Dunbar, has altered her name.
The Admiralty are taking up transports at 20s.
per ton, to replace those now in the Black Sea used
in the transport of troops, and which are hired at the
rate of 30s. and upwards per ton the calendar month.
This arrangement will effect a considerable saving.
Two new screw first-rates are to be built forth-
with, viz., one of 3,950 tons, 245 feet in length, by
61 feet in breadth ; and one of 4,116 tons, 260 feet
in length, and 60 feet wide. These ships will be
the finest and most powerful that the world has
yet produced.
An order has been sent down to Sheerness to pre-
pare the Devonshire for receiving five hundred
Russian prisoners of war coming home from Bomar
sund.

An ingenious proposal for annihilating not only
Cronstadt, but St. Petersburg also, is offered by Mr.
James Gill, jun., who communicates his scheme to
the Edinburgh Witness. He says :
" Beyond the reach of the batteries at Cronstadt the
channel of the Neva is only six miles broad, with an average
depth of about four fathoms. In the centre of the stream it
deepens to about six fathoms, which is little more than suffi-
cient for a man-of-war. By sinking stone-laden hulks in this
narrow channel, one month would suffice to imprison the
Russian fleet inside ; and this itself would be of the highest
importance. More than this, however, might be accom-
plished. If Britain were to make a permanent barrier,
the effect would be so destructive to the power of Russia,
that, very possibly, the mere threat might induce Nicholas
to make peace on any terms. Two or three thousand hulks
laid down in the channel I have referred to would produce
an important geographical change. The impeding of the
current would, of course, raise the level of the water con-
siderably, and form extensive lakes and marshes where
there are at present roads and houses. The silt, instead
of being swept through the narrow channel, would settle
down in the hollow, and in a few years fill it up. Peters-
burg, which lies so low that it is in danger every year of
bei flooded would feel the effects of the change almost
immeng diately ;, but the complete catastrophe would not take
place till spring, and then the destruction of both St.
Petersburg and Cronstadt would be inevitable. At the
breaking up of the ice the present channel is scarcely suffi-
cient to allow the deluge of water. ice, and mud which
sweeps downwards in the Gulf of Finland to puss; but,
when that channel is choked up, St Petersburg and Cron-
tadt would be entirely submerged, and the whole lower
basin of the Neva covered with debris, increasing in
quantity each successive spring."

A gentleman named Haagg has been for some time past
at Omer Pacha's head-quarters as correspondent of a
London morning journal. He is an Austrian by birth,
and took a leading part in the political events at Vienna
in 184 S, since which time he has been an exile. He has
made himself in the interval an American citizen, and
carries an American passport. He is a man of considerable
scientific attainments, and was recently appointed the
head of the exploring expedition which is about to be sent
into the interior of Australia. He has been pursuing his
occupations now for some months upon the scene of opera-
tions peaceably and without molestation, as be came to
Omer Pasha backed up by letters of introduction from the
best possible quarters. A few days since, however, Omer
Paella sent for him, and in the politest manner possible
requested him to absent himself from head-quarters, or in
other words to go away altogether, inasmuch as the,
e
Austrian authririties had protested against his presenc
and requested his removal.

Ma. WYON, of the Royal Mint, has issued designs
for a new coin to be used by the state of Sydney.
The idea of issuing any design for a decimal coinage
has been abandoned. It would take ten years, ac-
cording to the Mint authorities, to carry out any such
plan.