The Express.
London, England, 1853-12-09 00:00:00

RUSSIA AND TURKEY.

The Cologne Gazette has the following upon the
prospects of peace which have lately been held out:
—" It is again our disagreeable duty to depress un-
founded hopes. We can scarcely build too little upon
the new accord of the Powers on the Oriental ques-
tion. It is now said that they have sent a collective
note to Constantinople, and that there is every pros-
pect that the Turks will accept it. We must limit
and correct these statements. A collective note by
England, France, Prussia, sad Austria has not been
sent to Constantinople, but the ambassadors of the
Four Powers there have received like instructions.
They have b. en directed to inquire of the I'orte
under what condition it is prepared to conclude a
peace. Her answer, it is thought, may supply a
basis for the proceedings of a conference. it is of
course to be supposed that Turkey can at once state her
terms, but what will have been won when this is dose?
Those terms may be never so just and right; Russia
I has decl wed beforehand that she will not accept
I them. It is said that the moment has been chosen
for this new application to the Porte because Russia
has shown herself disposed to negotiate. On that
point her extensive preparations for war are the best
possible evidence. The English ministry in this
newest move can hardly intend more than to supply
a new pretext for continued inactivity. Much more
important than all these pompously announced
reports from London is the fact which reaches us at
the same time that the English Admiralty has not
yet formed a plan of operations to be carried out on
the Black Sea.

The Vienna IVanderer states that the activity
reigning at Ode-sa favours the belief that the winter
will not be allowed by the Russians to suspend
hostilities.

The Lloyd of Vienna has intelligence from Odessa
to the effect that the garrison of that town is to
march into the Principalities, and be relieved from
Taurida. Supposing that the Black Sea were com-
manded by a hostile fleet, the Czar could not bring
the troops now is Taurida into the Principalities
before next spring, and then only under the most
disadvantageous conditions and at immense loss, so
vast is the distance, so bad the roads, and so un-
favourable the season for marching. The difficulty
would be still greater in the case of the Caucasus.
But to that country the transport of troops has
been already effected. The battles in Asia, of which
intelligence has this week arrived, were fought at
the end of October and beginning of November. Since
then Prince Woror.zoff should have received impor-
tant reinforcements, as letters from Odessa state that
between the 29th of September and Bth of October
18,000 men left that port for Ansklea, in Mingrelia.
It does not appear why these troops were not landed
nearer to the scene of war, at Poti or Redut Kalch
for instance, unless it was intended to march them
into the interior. From Ansklea a military road
leads along the coast as far as St. Nicolas (Shelkatil),
and another leads to Sugdidi. It was doubtless a
portion of this force which perished in the Black
Sea, before St. Nicolas, when the Foudroyant was
wrecked, after being disabled by the Turkish guns.
The name of the Turkish passenger steamer which,
as previously announced, was captured by the Rus-
sians on the Black Sea ts the Needyi Tedjarsd.
A writer at Bucharest says : That part of General
Liiders' corps which occupied Oalatz and Ibraila has
marched for Bessarabia. What the object of this
strange movement is I have not been able to learn.
Some suppose that the soldiers are simply going into
whiter quarters • others say the whole of Ludes'
is to embark at Reni for the Black Sea.
The medical correspondent of the Vienna Worken-
sehrOt writes from Shumla that the weather had
changed suddenly, and the cold set in. The low spurs
of the Balkan were covered with snow, and for six
days the quicksilver in the thermometer had been at
30 Fehr. The frozen ground now permits the carts,
drawn by oxen and the pack-horses, to traverse the
roads. Enormous quantities of provisions are an-
nounced from Varna, Shumla, and Matshin, and a
small part of them have already reached the quarters
on the Deists and Tabender. In Rassova all the
barques are laden, and there is little doubt that all
the necessities of the army will soon be supplied.
Considerable consignments have also arrived from
Beryls, and from Lesser Wallachia. The number of
Europeans, which is already great in the army, in-
creases, and a great reinforcement is expected when
the next transport arrives. A Babylonian confusion
of torques prevails—English, French, Italian, Hun-
garian, and Polish, are mixed up with the Slavonic
and Semitic dialects. The state of health has im-
proved; cholera is declining, and the number of
wounded does not increase much. Warm clothing
begins to arrive, and shoes, of which the troops were
len great want.
A. letter from Belgrade of the 26th tilt., in the
Lloyd of Vienna, says :—" It is positively stated that
the Turkish government will recognise the declara-
tion of neutrality of Sorvia but under the formal
condition that it will oppose any foreign attempt by
arms. The Servian government has only given au
evasive answer."

The Sleek has the following on the answer made
by the Sultan to the French ambassador at Constan-
tinople :
The words of the Sultan are marked by a clearness which
is not usual in diplomacy, and if they were pronounced as
given by the Austrian journal we can only express our re-
gret at not having seen them published in the Moniteur,
after the addre,a of the new ambassador of France. It is,
besides, to be presumed, from the general aspect of the news
received and front the letters which have arrivod, that the
aspect of the audience given to General Baraguay d'Hil-
liers was still more warlike than the language given in the
official journal would lead one to suppose. We ere, in
fact, informed from Constantinople that, after an inspec•.
tion of the fleet, Admiral Hamelin published an order of
the day, in which he says—" Let every one be prepared
to act at the first signal." The success of the Ottoman
armies has much disconcerted in Europe those persons
who went about saying that the Russians would only
make a mouthful of the Turks. But these first advan-
tsges, which arc real, have produced an indescribable OE ct
on the rono, aud even on the ray's. It was so locg, in
consequence of their defective military organi•ation, since
the Turks had tasted of the cup of victory, that th, y may
be pardoned for being somewhat intoxicated with it. It is
certainly a noble spectacle to behold this people, who is de-
termined to again revive to glory, achieving the right to
immolate, without its being accused of weakness, its ancient
rrejudices to the triumphal march of progress. It rushes
headlong round the printing-offices; it pays without count-
ing for the bulletins of its general, and carries them away
in triumph. We are already tired of the recitals given of
the various affain on the Danube, but the people of Con-
stantinople and of the provinces read theta over and over
again as if they were the greatest novelty.

DRINKING FOR A WAGER.—On Saturday evening
a foolish drunkard at Liverpool undertqak for a wager of
I/. to drink a glass of strong ale every tire minutes for an
hour. Ile won the het, hut at the expiration of the sixty
minutes he was dead drunk, foaming at the mouth, aml .n
a dangerous state. The stomach pump was succesquily
applied, and a little rkill and attention restored him to
health.