Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-07-14 00:00:00

RUSSIA.

A despatch from St. Petersburgh of the oth
inst , announces that the Rusiiiians have occup;.ed
Gagny, on the frontier of Abasia.
A letter from St. Petersburg, in the Deutch-
Inad of Vienna, says :
It to well known that tale Atisslan goye-rnment jutende

establishing a cammunicatiou between the Caspian Sea
and Sea Aral by means of a canal; or rather by changing
the bed of the river Oxus, and making it fall into the
Caspian. The government and the Geographical Society
have already several times sent engineers to examine the
course of that river, and it has now charged M.
Schmercon, professor at the University of Moscow, to
proceed to the spot to complete the previous surveys. Ano-
ther important enterprise is said to be in contemplation—
that of forming a communication between the Caspian and
Black Seas. The Government some time back sent a
commission to the spot, and according to their first report
the operation will not be difficult, as a canal might be
readily formed from the Msmyss, which is a tributary
stream of the Dun, and running to toe Kuma, which falls
into the Caspian. More recent surveys, however, made
under the direction of the celebrated geographer Baehr,
have shown that the scheme will be attended with much
greater difficulty tha❑ the commission appeared to think,
and would entail a enormous expense."
The Caucasus of Tiflis is filled with despatches
from Russian commanders in the Caucasus des-
cribing strategical operations against the tribes.
The acconnts, however, are not by any means
marked by clearness and precision. It would appear
that Gneral Filipson, on the 15th May, penetrated
into the territory of the Shansugues tribe, and
formed a camp in the valley of the Attakum. He
was there attacked by Sefer Pacha, at the head of
a body of infantry with some cannon. The
Circassians were driven back with loss (amount not
stated), While the Russians lost 32 killed and
wounded. On the 22d May, General Debu passed
the Laba, and after forcing a defile, with a loss of
13 men, commenced constructing a permaneet fort.
The Circassians attacked a blockhouse, buv, were
repulsed with loss ; on the other hand, they sup•
prised a detachment of 43 men of the Daghestan
Regiment, and killed thi-m to a man.

NAVAL AND MILITARY.

PORTSMOUTH-, JULY 12

The Norman Morrison, sailing transport, arrived
yesterday from the West Indies, with the remain-
ing portion of the 36th Regiment. They land to-
morrow, and proceed to Manchester.
The Timara, mercant steamer, arrived to-day
from the eastward. with troops, acid sailed again
this afternoon with them for India.

The Hastings, 60, screw coastguard ship, Captain
Mends, sailed this afternoon for Plymouth.

There are now thirteen ships already taken up
to embark troops from Portsmouth for India during
the present month.
General Patrick Grant, who was appointed Gen.
Anson's successor by the Indian government, is in
the Company's service,•an f a short time since was
selected for the command of the forces at Madras
—a post until that time always filled by a Queen's
officer. He was Quartermaster-Goneral under
Lord Gough in both the campaigns of the Put'jab,
and has always been described as possessing the
confidence of the Indian army.

SIR COLIN CAMPBELL —Lieutenant-General Sir
Colin Campbell, who has just been appointed
commander-in-chief, in India, entered the army in
1808, as an ensign in the oth Regiment of Foot.
He served in the Walcheren expedition, and
throughout the peninsular campaigns, having
been present, among other engagements, at the
battles of Vimiera, Corunna, Barroso, and
Vittori, and at the siege of San Sebastian He
received two severe wounds at San Sebastian, and
was again severely wounded at the passage of the
Bi lassoa. He then proceeded to North America,
and served there during 1814 and 1815. He was
subsequently employed in the West Indies, having
been attached to the troops which quelled an
insurrection in Demerara in 1823. In 1842 he
embarked for China, in command of the 08th
Regiment of Foot, which he headed during the
storming of Chinkeangfoo and the operations
in Yang-az-Kiang, which lead to the signa-
ture of the peace of Nankin. His next field
of service was India, where he greatly distinguished'
himself in the second Punjab campaign, under
Lord Gough, in 1849 and 1849. Throughout that
campaign he commanded a division of infantry,
which was engaged at the battles of Ch llianwallah
and Goojerat • and the other affairs with the
enemy ; and ho took an active part after the
battle of Goojerat in the pursuit of Dost Ma-
hommed and occupation of Peshswur. He was
among the wounded at the battle of Chillianwalloh:
and iu consideration of his distinguished services
in the campaign, he was appointed knight .com-
mander of the Bath. He subsequently held the
command of the troops in the district of Pesha-
war; and, during the years 1851 and 1852,
he repeatedly undertook successful operations
against the Momunds and other turbulent
tribes of mountaineers in the neighbour
hood of Peshawur and Kohat. He afterwards
returned to England, and proceeded to Turkey in
command of a hrigade of Infantry. His brilliant
services throughout the operations in the Crimea,
during which he commanded the Highland Bri-
gade and the Highland Division are fresh in the
recollection of every one. His services during the
Russian . war were rewarded with promotion
ti
a Bath,
eelfd the d
important
of
the
to the rank of lieutenant-general and the
Hgreannedur,croashsed h
s oef
ster d
n n
St. Lazare. He has recently
office of inspector-general of infantry, which he has
now quitted in order to assume the supreme com-
mand in Bengal at a time when the actual and
contingent dangers arising from the mutinies in
the Bengal native army render it necessary to
employ a general officer possessed of the highest
vigour, activity and capacity, and acquainted with
the nature of Indian service and the peculiarities of
the native soldiery.
We regret to learn the death of a gallane old
officer, Sir Robert Howe Bromley, Bart., Admiral
pf the White, intelligence of the event arrived on
Thursday at the Admiralty. The gallant officer
died at Florence, after a long and severe illness.
The death of this officer will promote the Errle
of Cadogan to be admiral; Rear Admiral Fanshawe,
C. 8., to be vice admiral ; and Captain Smart, K.H..
Superintendent of Pembroke-yard, to be Rear
Admiral of the Blue. Captains W. Robertson,
William Hargood, and Sir Thomas R. T. Thomp-
son, Bart , will be promoted—the first to the retired
list of rear-admirals, and the two last to the re-
served list.

GRAND NIGHT ATTACK AND SEIGE OPERATIONS
BY TELE TROOPS AT CHATHAM.

On Friday night last the whole of the troops
belonging to the Royal Engineers, and the East
India Company's Sappers and Miners at present
at head quarters at Chatham, together with the
troops from the provisional battalions and those
of the Royal larine Light Infantry, were
engaged, until nearly midnight in some siege
operationa of a very interesting description,
together with a night attack on a strongly
fortified position, defended by a large force
from the garrison. The plan of the operations
carried out consisted of an attack on those portions
of the line of fortifications which surround Chat-
ham garrison, known as the Spur Battery, the
King's Bastion, the Prince of Wales's Bastion, and
Prince Edward's Bastion, the spot selected by the
attacking Tarty at the base of their operations
being the extreme end of the lines, where the
usual preparations were made for tracing the
parallels. constructing batteries, consisting of
sunken, half sunken, and elevated, together with
the other siege operations usually undertaken by
a large force in their attack on a strongly forti-
fied position.

EXPENSES OF THE CHINESE WAR.—The sum required
to be voted by Parliament this session towards defraying
the expense of the naval and military operations in China
beyond the ordinary grants for navy and army is esti-
mated at £500,000.
It has been arranged that instead of the punishment of
seven years' transportation, as originally proposed in the
Fraudulent Trostees Bill now before Parliament, the term
of three years shall be adopted, and that this may be
modified to fine or imprisonment for not more than two
years, with or without hard labour.
We stated some time ago that the Paris Observatory
had made arrangements for receiving by telegraph, daily,
meteorological observations from different parts of France.
It is now stated that the establishment has just completed
arrangements for receiving similar observations, by eleel.ric
telegraph, every day from Madrid. It is probabl,, that
seqd cloP:tehes.
Rome and Vienna will likewise shortly