The Sun.
London, England, 1854-02-07 00:00:00

BULGARIA.

The following is from the special correspondent
of the Times :

" The three front rank places in the Danubian
defence of Bulgaria are Widdin, Rustchuk, and
Silistria. The operative base of the first is Sofia
and the Sumugh passes of the Balkan, now strongly
fortified. The root, or support, of the two latter
is Shumla ; while further behind is Adrianople, an
admirable point for the reserve army, now in active
formation, which, in whole or in part, may be
pushed over the Balkan to Shumla, or with equal
facility may pursue the high road to Sofia, in the
immediate rear of the upper scheme of operations,
having its nucleus at Widdin.

It therefore must be admitted that the territo-
rial arrangement of Turkey in Europe is well
adapted for defence. This, with the natural
bravery of the Turks, made the Russian conquest
of 1828 difficult. But European art and science
had then done very little for Turkey. Now the
European art of war has completely revolutionised
the military arrangements of Turkey, and at Olte-
nitza it was not the mere brave, resolute Turk of
the old stamp, but the Minie rifle and. the Prus-
sian school of artillery that contributed to gain the
victory ; and the conquest of Bulgaria by Russia
is a thine, as improbable of realisation as it would
be for the Turks to drive Russia out of the Prin-
cipalities without cavalry able to cope with the
more powerful horse at the disposal of the Czar.
Rustchuk has neither the systematic fortifica-
tions of Silistria, nor the freedom from territorial
disadvantages of Widdin, and still less the strong
natural position of Shumla ; but it is impor-
tant from being the Government of the pashalic
of Silistria, the emporium of its trade, and having,
a population of about 50,000 souls, with consider-
able wealth and property in more pacific times.
Rustchuk is on a dead flat, above the level of the
Danube, and overlooking the low islands in its
channel ; but immediately behind Rustchuk,
to the south, are hills which have always had a few
inartificial redoubts ; but it is clear that, whoever
holds these hills, holds Rustchuk.
But the efforts that have been made to put it in
a valid posture of defence show that, when the
Turks really are roused out of their habitual apathy
and indolence, they can perform wonders in an in-
credibly short space of time.
It may be as well to mention some of the prin-
cipal points of reform which have been carried out,
or are in progress and on the eve of completion
before the opening of the spring campaign. First,
as regards the ramparts, many embrasures were
made up of unburnt bricks, which having been first
exposed to the wet weather, then frozen in winter
and dissolved by thaw, were in course of years in a
lamentable state of decadence and obliteration, but
now all the bastions have been done up with bas-
kets and fascines. The parapets were too small
for the recoil of the guns, now larger ones with
solid beams have been set in. In the bastions
there was no refuge for the men in reserve against
shells and grenades, but now there is a shell proof
blindage or retreat in every bastion.
As regards the artillery, all the worn-out 013
pieces that have stood on the walls since the days of
Kainardji and Sistow have been replaced by new
artillery, cast at the top Khaneh, in Constantinople.
Both the guns and the ammunition in the maga-
zines were of such various calibres that there was
considerable confusion in serving. Now all the
batteries have been divided and classified in calibre
according to the accidents of ground commanded
and range required, and the local magazines filled
with the corresponding ammunition. The old
Turkish block wheels have been abolished, and 200
new carriages, with spokes and iron hoops, have
been taken from the ammunition carriage store,
and the latter replaced by the extensive new
smithy and carpentry established iu the town arse-
nal this autumn. The powder was overhauled by
a chemical commission ; that which was found to
have been spoiled, and not good enough for artil-
lery, was put into a reserve store as mine powder.
Not only have these alterations taken place, but
several additions have been made to the service
which had no existence previously. In each bastion
and battery there is now a magazine of extra tim-
ber, pickaxes, baskets, &c. Charcoal magazines
have also been erected from timber cut in the
forest near Rasgrad, burnt in the forest itself, and
brought into Rustchuk.

Passing from materiel to men we find au organi-
zation for the four services of battery, alarm,
cordon, and fire, which embraces the whole male
Moslem population capable of bearing arms ; and
this utilizes the labour of the town in such a way
as to show that the studies of the young Turkish
officers in Europe and the services of the European
officers in Turkey have not been fruitless, and that
this skill, exercised on the excellent native impasto,
presents a combination for passive resistance calcu-
lated to inspire the respect of any enemy.
At the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus is a regi-
ment of 3,000 artillerymen, carefully taught their
profession by the best European (mostly Prussian)
officers. When the first alarm of war came most of
them were dispersed over the border fortresses of
Europe and Asia,
and immediately set to work im-
proving the local artillerymen. _Rustchuk received
some, who have been drilling the local artillery
militia all the autumn, and at this moment there
are a great many butchers, carters, and even
cooks, tailors, and other unwarlike sounding