The Sun.
London, England, 1855-11-01 00:00:00

TIIE RUSSIAN VESSELS IN THE PACIFIC.

.( From the Constitutionnel. )
The Russian fleet decidedly represents the phantom
ship. It is seen in a fog and is pursued ;at the moment
when on the point of being seized it disappears, and one
does not know if it has sunk in the waves or vanished in
the air. Thus two English ships ordered to watch the
inovetaents of the Russian frigates and schooners at Pe-
tropaulovski anchor before the harbour, and keep their
eyes fixed on the Russian masts which rise above the
batteries. The allied squadrons arrive. The Russian
ships are gone. The English officers rub their eyes, and
ask if they have been duped by an illusion or mirage.
the Allies sail towards Amoor after having destroyed
the defensive work of Petropaulovalti. The English per-
ceive a Russian frigate and schooner in a Japanese Lay.
Hurrah ! the day of battle has arrived. The decks are
cleared for action, and the bay is Entered. A new dis-
appointment. The frigate and schooner have disappeared.
How did they escape No one knows, and the success
if this miraculous flight is again ascribed to the fog. It
is then deemed certain that in the Gulf of Saghalien, at
the entrance to the river Amoor, will be found these un-
approachable vessels. One thing is alone feared, that they
have been disarmed, sunk, and converted into batteries.

Travellers report the formidable preparations they have
seen, the rows of cannon, the ships shelved in the sand,
and the narrow passages filled up with stones and
rubbish. The Petropaulovski squadron appears before
the Gulf of Saghalien, and finds it open, free, and no-
where are discovered fortifications or ships. Decidedly
Russian powers resembles those visions which disappear
on approaching them. Nothing confirms this more than
this perpetual flight of Itetrian shjps, these ruins of for-
tifiCations these coasts which ari!said to be impregnable,
and which are found utterly undefended. The English,
on entering the Gulf of Saghalien, which they did with-
out obstacle, found no other trace of Russian occupation
than an open town, without defences and abandoned.
This was the town of Ayan. A small iron steamer was
found and destroyed by the English. In discovering
the town, it was however discovered not to be totally un-
inhabited. Two citizens of the United States, who had
been bankrupts in San Friancisco' had come to try their
fortunes on Russian soil, and had brought with them a
cargo of planks. The flight of the inhabitants had caused
their speculation to fail, and they were on the point
of leaving the pace. The English allowed these two Tro-
jans to start on their unknown destination. The squad-
ron then attempted to enter the river, but no channel
deep enough to receive vessels of war could be dis-
covered. The boats were therefore armed and received
orders to ascend the river. Their researches were in
vain, and they returned to the Admiral with the
conviction that if the Russians bad any military
establishments in these regions they were far in-
land. However, it is certain that the campaigns of
1854 and 1855, have been disastrous to the Russi,in
navy. Nowhere has it found the Allies, and it has
always sought safety in flight. At Sebastopol it only
found refuge under the water of the port. At Cron-
stadt and Sweaborg it remained concealed behind the
land batteries. These tactics would be excusable if the
Allies had always presented themselves in superior force,
but far from that, detachments of the fleet with the Eng-
lish and French flags, have scoured with impunity the
Baltic Sea, destroying all the Government stores with-
out being attacked by the Russian vessels, who were
infinitely stronger and more numerous. In the Pacific

the frigates of the same nation have subsided into mere
jack.° -lanterns. There remains this day to the Russian
navy only the recollection of Sinope, and it is not that
event which will re-establish its reputation."