The Sun.
London, England, 1855-10-20 00:00:00

THE LATE ATTACK ON TAMAN.

A letter from Kertch, of the 2d inst., in the
Con6titutionnel, gives some further particulars of
the sinices;3ful attack on Taman. :
"You will not be much astonished at hearing of the
complete destruction of Taman, Fanagoria, and some
of the surrounding villages, but a few words of expla-
nation as to the position of those places, and their
valuable resources, will suffice to demonstrate the ne-
cessity of the late expedition. Taman and Fanagoria,
which are situated at only a short distance from each
other, are built on the slopes of hills forming part of the
uninterrupted chain which closes the horizon on the
eastern side of the strait of Kertch. The distance which
separates the two shores is about nine or ten miles ; from
one to the other, the passage of heavy waggons on the
ice is perfectly practicable in the depth of winter, and it
is well known that last winter the Russian army in the
Crimea received the greater part of its supplies by
that road from the coast of Asia. The existence of
Taman and of its vast buildings, which th;s winter
might again shelter a considerable body of troops,
was a perpetual danger for our possessions at Kertcb,
and more particularly at Yenikale, which could not
be protected by the flotilla. Taman was a free town,
and independent of the empire, and was admitted to
certain privileges of neutrality. Only a few days ago it
was a depot of corn, of provisions of all kinds, of timber,
and of clothing. There were also there a large num-
ber of wooden huts for barracks, and the refusal of the
town to deliver 'them up to us, to meet the pressing
wants of our troops, led to the expedition, and the re-
sult is, that we have now, in eur possession a large
quantity of corn and timber, all the wooden huts which
we require, as well as storehouses full and camp equi-
page and clothing. These last-named articles you may
imagine are not the least valuable to us, and we shall this
winter see our soldiers wrapping themselbes up in the
large Russian great coats, or, as one of them expressed
himself—' We shall have comfortable dressing-gewna.'
Our vessels are now engaged in taking on board all that
the enemy has left us, and it is probable that they will
have to make several trips with their cargoes. The
troops are well established on shore ; they have taken
up a position where, in the event of an attack, which
is not very probable, they can be well protected by
the guns of the vessels. In two or three days we
shall have completed our work, and nothing will
remain of Taman but the name and the place. The
laws of war ere hard, and the consequences of them
are terrible ; but they are necessary, particularly
as we are situated. A great part of the town has
been set fire to by our shells, and a fresh breeze from

the northward tended to spread the flames. Every
night we witness grand illuminations, the glare of which
is reflected across the strait. In the anticipation that
there might have been a considerable number of troops
concentrated at Taman, an order had been given to
five large English gun-boats to quit the Spit of Ara-
hat on a given day, and effect a diversion in the
Gulf of Teroruk, situated at the eastern entrance of
the Sea of Azoff. This diversion vas effected, and
produced the best results. It bad the effect of
bringing to that point numerous detachments of in-
fantry, who, on hearing the cannon at Taman, hastened
to the assistance of that place. Temruk has, however,
shared the same fate as Taman, for the English have
annihilated it."

Taman is an island of Russia in Europe, situ-
ated between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azoff,
at the entrance to the Strait of Yenikale. Its length
is 40 kilometres (25 miles), and its breadth about
the same. The inhabitants are almost all Cossacks.
It possesses springs of Petrole, which is a kind of
dark brown or black naptha, that throw out a
considerable amount of odour and smoke when set
fire to. On the island may be seen the fort of
Fanagoria, and the ruins of Tmoutarakan, which
place was built on the site of the principal town cf
Taman. The princes who resided in this latter
town, from the 10th to the 12th century, often
played a very important part in the revolts which
took place against Russia. In addition to the fort
of Fanagoria, there is also a town of that name,
situated on the island, and mentioned by Admirpt
Bruat. A great number of villages axe to be seen
all round the coast.

THE SING OF PRUSSIA AND HIS
ARMY.

BERLIN, Oct. 17.—0 n occasion of presenting to
the King the sword that the officers of the army
have subscribed for, the Prince of Prussia used
the following words :
" The representatives of your Majesty's army appear
before you in an unusual manner and to perform an
unusual act. Unbounded respect for your Majesty
as our King and Captain, and the recollection of
the gracious indulgence which we have so fre•
quently experienced at your Majesty's bands have
alone emboldened us thus to appear before you. To.

day the army celebrates the anniversary on which your
Majesty, now half a century back, entered its ranks and
became its companion in arms—an era full of the most
impressive recollections. Not a year had passed before
your Majesty was called to witness the cruel destinies
that befell the army and the country (1806). But your
Majesty was then also a witness how our Royal Father,
eliminating all that was old and obsolete, with firm and
sure hand called into life a new military organisation
founded on patriotism and honour. And when the King,
to whom your Majesty in the darkest moment of our
lives gave the name of Hero• King (Heiden-Konig), sum-
moned his people to arms, your Majesty was not only a
witness, but a heroical participator in the achieve-
ments which stand imperishably chronicled in the annals
of the Prussian army. When peace was restored, an
element that had been created in the moment of need
(Land weir) was permanently associated with the stand-
ing army. In this army your Majesty rose step by step
till Providence called you to be our King and General-
issimo. With unremitting activity and affection your
Majesty has ever since cherished this jewel of Prussia
and furthered its development. And when a period
came, which we all would fain see blotted out from
Prussia's history (1848), the army stood by your Majesty
in unshakeable fidelity ; and, when many of us were
called upon to lead parts of it against the enemy, the
youthful warriors showed themselves worthy of their
forefathers, and the enthusiasm with which the people
obeyed your Majesty's summons to arms is a pledge
that its ancient devotion to the lineal King is still undi-
minished and that it is capable of great deeds. These
are the most eloquent proofs of the gratitude of a nation
of soldiers for the unflaggingly affectionate solicitude
of its chief. No more appropriate day than the
present could have been chosen by the army for lay-
ing its thanks at the foot of the throne, and at the same
time congratulating itself that Providence has for
half a century chosen its first companion in arms to be
its brilliant ensemble of martial virtues. In token of
this unbounded gratitude the army ventures to lay at
your Majesty's feet the weapon which in the Royal
band of its chief will ever lead it to glory and new
honour. With this aspiration, with which we are all
every moment ready to offer up our blood and our lives
for your Majesty, I lay this weapon, in the name of the
army, at your Majesty's feet. Long live the King I"
After this, and while the cry of "Long live the
King" was still sounding, the King took the
sword, had a porte-ekee attached to it, put it on,
and answered with much emotion—

PARLIAMENTARY REFORM.—An important meeting on
the subject of Parliamentary Reform is to be held in the
Town-hall, Northampton, on Monday next, the 22d
inst. It is expected to be one of the most important
and influential meetings ever held in that part of the
country.
COLLISION IND Loss OF LIFE.—DARTMOUTH, OCT. 16
—The Maria, Vick, from Newcastle to Valentia, has
been brought into harbour with bows store, foremast
sprung, rigging cut away, and other damage, having
last night been in collision, about 25 miles S.E. of this
harbour, with the Chica (Bremen barque) bound to
China ; one man drowned.
ANOTHER PRUSSIAN PRINCESS.—The Emperor of the
French on Thursday received a letter from the King of
Prussia, notifying the birth of a princess, daughter of
Prince Frederic Charles of Nicholas of Prussia, his
nephew, and the Princess Maria Anne, daughter of the
Duke of Anhalt-Deassu.

The Minister of Grace and Justice at Turin has issued
a circular, directing that the oath to be administered to
the members of the Jewish persuasion in courts of law
is to be as follows :—" I swear, calling God to witness
for the truth of what I say." This oath is to be taken
on the Jewish bible, and the person sworn is to keep his
head covered while pronouncing the above words.
GAME.—Game has not been very plentiful of late,
though the market is still pretty well supplied with par-
tridges, which are selling at from 2s. 2d. to 2s. 4d. per
brace. Black game are scarce, and sell at from 3s. 6d.
to 4s. per pair. Pheasants are beginning to make their
appearance in the market, but they are still very rare—
jus t now they sell at from 4s. 6d. to .55.--Ayr Adger.
tiser.
THE BRADFORD PATRIOTIC FUND.—The Bradford sub-
scription to this fund is now closed. The gross amount
raised is 4,6281. 7s. id., from which the moderate sum of
391. 18s. 6d. has to be deducted for expenses; the balance,
4,5881.85. 7d., has been remitted to the Bank of England.
The result is very satisfactory.—Bradford Observer.
SPECIFIC CLASS OF TRADE BILLS.—The annexed
communication relates to the operations of the measures
of the Bank on a specific class of trade bills :—" City,
October 19.—Sir,—I beg to call your attention to the
very serious inconvenience to which the numerous whole-
, sale houses whose engagements fall due on the 4th of
ea..;11 month will be subject to by the resolution of the
Bank of England not to discount hills having more than
60 days to run, except at the high rate of 7 per cent.
If a house holds bills due on the 4th of January, and
wishes to discount them, to provide for payments on the
4th of November, it will be shut out from the Bank of
England except at 7 per cent. As those bills would ea
the 3d of November have 62 days to run, and as most
tra le bills are drawn at three or four months' date, the
wholesale traders will be, for all practical purposes, shut
out from the Bank of England. If the limit had been 65
days, instead Of 60, it would have afforded cousiderab,lo
sir, your obedient servant, —A THADBU.

" I am so deeply moved by this proof of my army's love
and affection that you must not expect a speech from
me. One thing. however, I must say, and that is, how
infinitely I regret that I was not called, as my departed
father was, to be your leader also in war. That which I
feel bound to thank the army for the devotion that I
have always found in it, and almost more ; still I must
thank it for having chosen my nearest relation to be its
spokesman—him whose happy fate it has been to lead
my banners to victory !"