The Express.
London, England, 1853-11-22 00:00:00

FRANCE.

- • -
PARIS. MONDAY BYTNINO.
I collect some facts of interest from the latest let-
Iters from Constantinople, dated Nov. 7. Feed Ef-
fendi has been appointed imperial commissioner to
the army of the Danube. This nomination is highly
important in two points of view; first, because Fuad
Effendi was the minister whose dismissal was so
insolently demanded by Menchikoff ; and next,
because he is on terms of intimate and
' cordial friendship with Omer Pacha. Although
further notes were talked of at Constantinople on the
7th, these rumours are of little worth, because the
appointment of General Baraguay d'Hilliers to super-
sede M. de La Cour was not then known. The Otto-
man government had bought 30,000 horses for the
cavalry and artillery, of which the first 10,000 had
been already delivered. Notice had been given that
after the 20th the Russian flag would not be admitted
into the Turkish ports. It was said that three or four
Turkish towing-ships had been captured by Russian
cruisers in the Black Sea. Sirri Pacha had been
appointed caimacan, or lieutenant, to Selim Pacha,
General-in-Chief at Battoum ; and f3adoullah Pachs,
lieutenant to Abdi Pacha, commanding at Kars.
The Bourse was exceedingly animated to-day, the
opinion that hostilities would be interrupted in the
East being very generaL The Threes rose 46c. for
amount, and 60e. for money. Many of the railways
rose 10fr. and 131 r. Bank of France fell
10fr., but this was almost the only 'security
out of favour. Don Miguel Bonds, which have long
been stagnant at 41, rose to 6to 6!. This rise was
not attributed altogether to the death of Donna
Maria, but also to a rumour that negotiations for
the liquidation of these bonds bad been set on foot
at Lisbon.

Namik Puha was not the only Turk of distinction
who landed at Marseilles from the Mentor. Said-
Bey, son of the Governor-General of the Isle of
Crete, was also on board, coming from Candle, and
must by this time have arrived in Paris.
A terrible fire broke out on Saturday night in the
quarter of the Rue St. Martin, and entirely destroyed
seiea houses in the Rues Beaubourg and Montmo-
rency. It was hoped up to a late hour to-day that no
lives had been lost, but I learn this evening that the
dead bodies of a M. Desjardins, his son and daughter,
inhabitants of the destroyed houses, have been found
among the ruins.
I regret to state that a domiciliary visit has been
made by the police at the house of M. Leon Faucher.
I have noklearned that anything treasonable has been
found among the japers of Louis Napoleon's former
prime minister.
The Emperor has given 15,000 fr. to the mayor of
Fontainebleau, to aid the municipality of that town
in reducing the price of bread in favour of the neces-
sitous classes.

To-day the Cour de Caseation met in full session,
and gave judgment in the prates of the " corre-
spondence. It has affirmed the right of the polio.
to open letters at the post-oftice. As this is the
judgment of the united court, there is no further
appeal.

RUSSIA AND TURKEY.

A communication from Constantinople, dated Nov.
7, states that M. de Bruck has given the most
formal assurances to Reechid Pacha of the friendly
feeling of Austria towards the Porte, and its deter-
mination to preserve the strictest neutrality. M. de
Wildenbroch has also given similar usuranecs on the
part of his own government.
The Lloyds of Vienna of the 18th says :—" The
Turks are still strongly entrenched at Kalafat. The
Russian head-quarters are near Budeschti, and they
receive every day rations for 40,000 men. A letter
from Belgrade states that the reigning prince of
Semis, after having received a despatch from Omer
Pacha, soliciting permission for the Turkish troops
to pass through his territory, sent a courier to St.
Petersburg, Constantinople, and Vienna. It adds
that Semen troops were being marched to the fron-
tier. According to a medical report from Bucharest,
there are 10,000 Russians in the hospitals of Molda-
via and Wallachia. It is certain that there are 2,000
at Bucharest."

A Berlin letter of the 18th, in the Cologne Gazette,
says :—" A St. Petersburg. letter states that the Cur
is suffering from illness.

CONSTANTINOPLE, Nov. 7.
The Ottoman government has sent Fuad Effendi to
the head quarters of Omer Pacha with a mission
analogous to that of the diplomatist Kotzebue in the
Russian camp. He is called " Director of the poli-
tical chancery of the army of Roumelia." Next to
hi own merits it is to Feed Effendi that Omer Pacha
owes his advancement in the Turkish army.
The prisoners made by the corps d'arioie of Bat-
toun at St. Nicholas have arrived here, as well as a
great number of muskets and three guns.
Yesterday a council was held on board the flag
ship of the Turkish Admiral, which was attended by
several superior naval officers, both English and
French. The immediate entry of the whole Otto-
man fleet into the Black Sea was the subject of dis-
cussion. The decision of the council was not known,
but it was understood that the ambassadors were
manoeuvring as hitherto to draw off the Turks from
active measures.

The Paris journals, while admitting the superior
satisfaction with which they would have heard of
the Turkish headquarters being transferred to Bucha.

rest, agree for the moat part in viewindllOincr Puha'.
withdrawal front Oltenitza, under the new bet of

circumstances which he encountered, us an act of
good, generalship; proving that be unites boldness
with prudence, and that, while ho will omit uo op.
portunity, he will neglect no precaution. The Turks
crossed the Danube in daihimg style, fought well,
and gained a prestige on Wallachian ground, and
having accomplished all that was to be effected, have
withdrawn unbeaten and unhumiliated to a good
position. The effect of the recent fighting upon Omer
Pacha's own troops is likely to be good. The restless
and unmanageable among his warriors, if there were
such, will now be somewhat tamed. The inexpe-
rienCed will have acquired confidence and nerve, and
the whole army will be better prepared to meet the
foe at the next encounter. The Constitutimind pre-
sents the following as a summary of the recent events
on the Danube:

It may bz remembered that the Ottoman army, in assum•
imp the offensive (in a military sense), had fur object to dia.
turb the Muscovite troops which occupied the principalities,
the head quarters of which were at Bucharest, and, with
other corps, stationed at Sistine and Krajowa. The opera-
tions of the Turks were directed with ensemble and vigour.
The Danube was crossed at Widain, where a permanent
bridge was established; entrenchments were thrown up on
the left bank of Cie river, and Lesser Wallachia was oc-
cupied without a shot being fired. At the same time a
similar movement was attempted at Halarash, where it
equally succeeded. After having pushed on the corps
d'ormee to the two extremities of the:Russian line, the Ottie
man army conceived the project of making a point on Bu-
charest. It took possession of the island opposite Giurgevo,
and a Turkish carps went and invested that place. Giur-
gevo was not, how, vet, the peeper road to Bucharest ; it is
Oltenitsa which is the key to that city. In fact, Oltenitza,
which stands on the left hank of the I anube, opens the road
to Bucharest, and which, in ordinary times, might be reached
without meeting with any considerable river. An army
starting from Oltenitss, in order to pass over the distance of
36 miles, which separates it from Bacharest, leaves on its
left the river Aegis, which crosses the capital of Wallachia.
The plan of the Turks, which was well combined, was
courageously executed. Tho principal corps of the Turks
crossed the Danube, established itself in the quarantine
building of Oltenitza, and supported without giving way
the reiterated attacks of the Russians, who were about to
retire, leaving them masters of the ground. At this mo-
ment the greatest anxiety was evident in the Btu sian army.
General Gortschakoff sent eff couriers to demand reinforce-
-1 meats. He called to his aid the corps spread along the road
I from Statute. It Omer P..cha had been able to march
itn-
mediately on Bucharest, it is probable that that place
would have fallen into his hands. The heavy rains which
prevail at this season had, however, swamped the ground,
and transformed into torrents the small rivers Aegis and
Donibowitea. These obstacles, which no human force could
1 overcome, and which play such a great part in the fate of
combats, impeded the march of the Turks, and caused them
to lose much valuable time. Prince Gortschalroff took
! advantage of this to concentrate his forces, rind he re-
ceived reinforcements, which secured him an evident pre-
ponderance. The opeortunity was lost for the natio.
They were compelled to make a retrograde movement, which
they effected without bring disturbed, end recrossed to the
right bank of the Danube. It was not therefore a defeat of
the Turks, but a voluntary retreat, effected without com-
bat, sad without disorder. When we first announced that
the Turkish army had crossed the Danube, we did not con-
ceal the fact that it was a hazardous manoeuvre. The event
has justified our idea.. But although the adventurous
movement which Omer Pscha made on Bucharest has not
succeeded, the Turkish arms have not met with either
humiliation or defeat, nor have they been subjected to the
calamities of a tetreat under the fire of the enemy. In re- , '
crossing the Danube the Turks carry with them the conso-
lation of having tried their strength against the Russian
troops, and of having come out victorious in the struggle. I
If the retreat of the corps d'ormee which had occupied
Oltenitra necessarily leads to that of the dete.chments
which were posted near Giurgevo, the Turks do net the
less remain established on the left bank of the river at Kala-
fat,
in Lesser Wallachia, and they have obtained undoubted
success in Ada.

A letter received via Constantinople from an officer
who accompanied Omer Pacha from Schumla to Tur-
tukai shows clearly that the Turkish Commander-in-
Chief was not at IViddin during the passage to
Retard. The writer, dating Turtukai, on the let,
says :—" On the 27th I left with Omer Pacha and
General Prim from Schumla. A great part of the
garrison left on the 27th, and part on the 28th. On
the 31st we arrived at Turtukai. The march of the
troops was executed in admirable order. At Turtukai,
on tho 31st, at ten o'clock in the forenoon, some of
the riflemen and a battalion of infantry crossed the
Danube in boats, and occupied an island which is
distant from the left bank about 100 yards. On the
same night they fortified themselves there, opening
trenches. They have already placed three cannon
there, and others are being transported across the
river. A thick fog favoured these operations. We
did not get a glimpse of any Russians until next
morning, when our riflemen exchanged sh-ts with
some Cossacks. One Cossack was killed, and thereat
made oft The troops will very soon occupy the left
bank of the Danube. The passage of the river has
been executed with great success. We have no news
of the movements of the Russians. The Danube has
been creased in a similar manner at Widdin, and yes-
terday it was to be crossed also at Silistria (to Ksla-
rach) and Rustsbuck (to Giurgevo)."
The veracity of Russian accounts may be fairly
judged by the following bulletin issued by Prince
Gortschakoff, which is an account of his decided de-
feat at Oltenitza :

BUCHAREST, Nov. 6 —The attack made by General
Dauneuberg on the Turkish position at Oltenitza was at-
tended with brilliant success for the Russian arms. Al-
though the Turks fought with great courage, and their
most advantageous position was protected on the right fltnk
by three rows of batteries of 40 guns, planted on the right
bank (of the river, probably), and by numerous batteries
on the left bank, the Russian infantry division, in the very
face of the enemy's fire, succeeded in dislodging him by
means of a bayonet attack.

The 1,200 new muskets of Liege manufacture
found by the Turks at the taking of Shefkatel have
been brought to Constantinople, and are to be used
against their former owners on the Danube. Ar-
rangements bad been made to receive daily informa-
tion from both armies at Constantinople.

A Berrien paper, dating from Belgrade on the 4th
instant, says :—" At the Servian cannon-foundry at
Kragojevatz, six pieces of ordnance have just been
cast, i.e., four six-pounders, and two twelve•pounders.
At Widdin, some Semi= vessels had been taken
possession of by the Turks. It appears that these
vessels were required for the passage of the Danube.
At Widdin, about a thousand vessels have been col-
lected, among which it is said is a steamboat, which
has also been detained. The Turkish government
has, according to the statement of a merchant who
has just arrived from Roumelia, entered into a con-
tract m Bosnia and Roumelia for a supply of 80,000
:ilea' for the army."
Private letters from Bucharest state that Prince
Gortschakoff is again exerting himself considerably
to obtain the incorporation of the Wallachhin militia
with the Russian army. Having failed in this, be
had entered into negotiations with Colonel Salomon,
of Krajowa, for raising a free corps of Pandours. The
imountaineers of Lesser Wallachia are the most war-
like of their race. It happens, however, that they
are at the same time the best-disposed towards the
Turks. This, it is believed, is one reason why Omer
Pacha chose Kalafat, the key of Lesser Wallachia,
as the entering point of so large a corps as that
which crossed from Widdin. This part of the
country, moreover, is well suited by nature for the
purposes of the expedition. To the north and to the
west it borders upon the great chain of the Carpa-
thian Mountains; and to the east it is protected by
the river Ohs, which separates it from the rest of
Wallachia, and would enable an army, too deficient
in number to take an offensive part, to defend itself
with safety and success.

It was said at Constantinople that Fund Effendi
would draw up a new constitution for the Principali-
ties, by which the Moldo-Wallachians would acquire
important political rights. It was expected that the
promulgation of this act would give a deathblow to
the moral influence of Russia in those countries.
A correspondent writes from Jassy on the 7th
correcting the statement of Osten Sacken's passage
through Jassy on the sth :—The entry of the third
army corps under General Osten Sacken is expected
here daily, and with it the remainder of the corps of
General Luders. Yesterday a battalion left for Wal-
lachia. The latter is marching from Bessarabia by
Reni. Luders was, a few days ago, at Galatz and
Bnilow ; after inspecting the positions of the troops
there he returned to his former quarters. On
the line of the Sereth, between the Danube and
Fokshan, there are 5,000 men, with one battery.
The garrisons in Sulina and on the island of Letis
have each received a reinforcement of about 250 men.
A reserve corps of 4,000 men has arrived at Kilia, a
fortified town at the mouth of the arm of the Danube
which bears the same name. -

The following is a summary of a very long bulletin
issued by Prince Gortschakoff on the 6th at Bucha-
rest :—" Oa tho let instant a considerable number of
Turkish troops left their camp at Turtukai and oc-
cupied the Danube island which lies at the mouth
of the Argie. On the 2nd the Turks took possession

of the quarantine Lulling at °Dennis.), winch is
stone, and the first brig,,ile of the llth infantry diii.
lion with two batteries, six squadrons of lancers with
two guns, and 300 Cossack., received orders to attack
them hum the side of the villaae of Nlitreei.
Foudeni. On the 4th, at 1 o'clock, General Danner.
berg advanced against the enemy " who Ltd hid
time to fortify his position," of which the quarantine
was the centre. His lett flank rested on the river
Arjieli, his right on the Dottube, and iu front were
palisades. The right flank was further protected
from the right bank of the Danube, whitli is here
only 212 toises (424 yards) broad, by three batteries.
The left flank was also protected by batteries
planted on the island in the Danube. two of the
Russian batteries advanced to within nine hundred
yards of the Turkish psition, and the engagement
began. In spite of the " murderous tire of the
Turks, the Russians forced their way into the
trenches, and this bold attack threw the Turks into
confusion. The cavalry first took to flight and rushed
into the Danube. As the Russian mr,siles had
caused two explosiens iu the quarantine building,
the Turks lost no time in removing their artillery
from it, and hurried in disorder to the steep descent
leading to the stream. As General Donneuberg bad
succeeded in preventing the Turks fortifying them.
selves in their position, "he was of opinion that the
advantage to be gained by completing the defeat of
the Turkish detachment would not be equivalent to
the loss our troops w.dttrl suffer from the fire of the
40 guns on the right 'mirk of tho Danube. As our,
loss was besides pretty considerable, he resolved to
take up his former position. Th..! Turkish troopsdid
not attempt to impede his movements."