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

THE WEEK.

FROM the Baltic, from the Black Sea, and from Asia, the accounts are
of hostilities conducted on a vast scale. The operations of the allies
thus far have been conducted with great prudence and complete suc-
cess; but in Asia, where the Turkish troops seem completely dis•
organised, the Russians have gained victories which leave the country
at their mercy.
The capture of Bomarsund is chiefly remarkable as being the
first decided success obtained by the allies. With highly commend.
able humanity, the approaches against the forts were conducted so as
to spare the men engaged as much as possible The attack on the
first fort commenced on the 12th, and on the 18th the last and prin-
cipal fort surrendered. Two thousand prisoners, with stores for a
twelvemonth, were the prize of the victors. The most singular cir
cumatance connected with the attack was the effect produced on the
apparently solid granite walls by the cannon-balls. Great was the
speculation among the assailants whether the walls would yield to the
shot. The uncertainty was dispelled almost as soon as the guns
opened their fire. Down came huge blocks of granite that seemed
to form a solid wall, and masses of rubble fell out in heaps. If these
forts be a fair sample of the defences of Cronstadt, the " stone
walls" would not long stand fire, if a position for attack could be
taken up.
It always seemed questionable whether a considerable French
force would be left to garrison the rocks of Aland. The last
accounts say that the troops had been re-embarked, after the defences
had been blown up, and that the fleets had sailed in the direction of
Hango or Sveaborg. If an attack is meditated on one of these places
a sharp action may be anticipated, but the allied forces, we imagine,
would be fully sufficient for the enterprise. It is now announced
that the French Baltic army will winter at Copenhagen.
A telegraph despatch received in town yesterday stated that sixty
thousand men had sailed from Varna for Sebastopol. The report re-
quires confirmation, yet on the whole it is credible, from the extensive
preparations known to be in progress. Five hundred vessels, with
numerous transports and flat-bottomed boats, crowded the bay of
Varna. The cholera made fearful ravages among the allied troops, and
particularly among the French : in the division of General CANRO-
BERT, alone, three thousand are said to have perished. The hospitals
afforded no accommodation for the sick. Typhus added its horror
cholera. More men have probably died from disease than would have
perished in a decisive battle.
At Sebastopol forty thousand Russians were reported to be
encamped around Sebastopol, and that number, it was probable,
would be largely reinforced. It is from this quarter, then, that in-
telligence will be expected with anxious impatience. The strength
and importance of this great stronghold of Southern Russia, the com-
pleteness of its garrison and resources, the considerable bodies of
troops sent to aid in its defence, on the one hand ; and the magnitude
of the allied fleets, with the perfectly-equipped and powerful army, on
the other, will render the struggle here, if indeed the expedition is
destined for its capture, one of the most memorable in the world's

history
From Asia a despatch from General WRANGEL reports the defeat
of a corps of 12,000 Turks under SELIM PACHA at Bayazid. According
to this despatch the Turks were completely routed, with a loss of
2,000 killed, and a few hundred wounded. In these engagements
between Turks and Russians quarter appears to be seldom given.
General WRANGEL, noticing his surprise of a considerable body of the
Turks, says, " The greater part were killed on the spot, only a few were
" made prisoners, and not one escaped." The telegraph reports a
much more considerable defeat of the Turkish army in Asia by Prince
BEBUTOFF himself, but the details are wanting. It is singular that,
while in the Danube the Turks have been almost uniformly success-
ful, in Asia they have been constantly defeated. The
enhances our opinion of the masterly generalship of OMER PACHA.contrast

More State papers have appeared this Nteek. Austria has taken cog-
nisance of the conditions laid down by the Western Powers as the only
basis on which they will treat. The protectorate of Russia in the prin-
cipalities to be abolished ; the navigation of the Danube to be
free ; Russia to have no exclusive protectorate over the Christian
subjects of the Porte ; and the treaty of Kainardji to be revised.
Austria further engages not to treat except on these bases, "if it
" should happen itself to be forced to take part in the war." Austria
does not appear to have made any great concession by this note,
though our papers regard it as a diplomatic victory of the allies. The
Austrian troops have at length entered the principalities in force, and
the war in that quarter, therefore, may be considered at an end.

London, though the full stream of traffic in commercial thorough-
fares seems to be positively on the increase, wears a dreary aspect in
all its marts of fashion and pleasure. The cholera returns for last
week show a further increase of deaths, which, with mortality from
diarrhoea, amounted to more than nine hundred ; but the dread with
which its advent was at first regarded has now abated. The mortality de-
pends mainly on the range of level. The elevated localities are
almost exempt from it ; the localities near the level of high water
suffer fearfully,
A fearful accident occurred to an excursion-train from Dover to
the Crystal Palace on Monday. An engine was on the rails at Croydon,
taking in water, when the excursion-train came up. The signals were
duly made, but the train could not be stopped hi time, and ran into
the engine, causing a tremendous concussion. It is marvellous, con-

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