The Sun.
London, England, 1854-05-24 00:00:00

THE LOSS OF THE TIGER CONFIRMED

The Journal d' Odessa states, on the 12th of May,
that the Tiger, of 1,275 tons burden, and mount-
ing 10 guns, which stranded at seven wersts from
Odessa, was forced to surrender before the Vesuvius
and Niger could come to her assistance.

Her captain (Gaud) lost one leg, a midshipman
both, and five men wore wounded. Two hundred
and twenty-sir prisoners we're taken.

The Russians had two officers wounded and two
soldiers killed.

As the vessel could not be removed she was set
on fire, and sank the same day. Some of her guns
were taken as trophies to Odessa.
We find the following in the Press of Vienna
on the same subject :—" We have received direct
accounts from Odessa relative to the recent events,
and communicate them to our readers without
changing anything. The inhabitants of Odessa are
now in the greatest uneasiness. The Russian
batteries have cannonaded an English war steamer
which, on her return from the mouths of the Salina,
was driven by stress of weather into the roadstead
of Odessa. Some say it was the Tiger, others the
Niger, and one version is that it was the Retribu-
tion. This vessel made signals of distress and
hoisted the white flag, but the Russians paid no
attention to it and fired red-hot shot at her until
she caught fire. Notwithstanding the shower of
balls the vessel approached the shore, and the crew
were able to land. The vessel is now in the tort
of Odessa in a very bad condition, and the crew
are prisoners of war. Several line-of-battle ships
and corvettes of the combined fleets have shown
themselves before the port. The inhabitants are
in great alarm, not knowing what may happen.
At the moment I am writing, a vessel with a flag
of truce is approaching the port."
PERSIA.
RUSSIAN ULTIMATUM.

We learn from St. Petersburg, under date of
May 16, that au ultimatum has been sent to Persia,
and a reply demanded within two months.

CONSTANTINOPLE.

CONSTANTINOPLE, May 11.—Our ears have be-
come so accustomed to the firing of salutes, and we
have had so many false alarms within the last few
days, that, yesterday morning, when the guns from
the ships in the harbour were fired, scarcely any-
body felt inclined to stir. The evening before
everybody had made a rush to the terraces
and flat roofs of the houses ; and the same
occurred twice before. However, this time it
was not the wolf's cry, for the Caradoc was
at anchor off Tophana, and all the Turkish
ships of war stationed there had manned
their yards, and were thundering a welcome to his
Royal Highness. In the forenoon the Duke of
Cambridge repaired to the British embassy at Pera,
where he was received by his Excellency Lord
Stratford de Redcliffe. All the persons of note here
had gone to meet him at Tophana. In the after-
noon his Royal Highness proceeded up the Bos-
phorus, and was received at the Imperial palace of
Ferie, immediately adjacent to the Sultan's resi-
dence of Tcheragan, by Ciamil Bey, the in-
troducer of Ambassadors. A similar ceremo-
nial was gone through to that already de-
scribed on the arrival of the Prince Napoleon.
To-day there was a grand reception held by his
' Royal Highness at his palace of Ferie, on the Bus.
p!iorus. All the corps diplomatique repaired there.
The British troops being stationed at Scutari, and
encamped on the Asiatic side, it is to be foreseen
that his Royal Highness will spend most of his
time there. We are looking forward to a grand
review and field-day. Now that Marshal St. Ar-
naudaud Lord Raglan, the two commanders-in-chief,
are here, and the Ou;ie of Cambridge, Prince Napo-
leon, and the whole off their staff, we may expect
an early active moment towards the seat of war.
The French are expected• to march
,up to Adria-
nople from Gallipoli very shortly. Until the artil-
lery and cavalry have arrived, a general movement
of the British troops cannot take place. The City
of London, which arrived here the other day from
Malta, brought Brigadier-General Aire and
twenty-three staff officers. This steamer likewise
brought a great many horses, and a portion of the
equipage, of the horse artillery. They were
all landed at the barrack of Couleli, on the
Asiatic side of the Bosphorus. A grt a'.
number of transports have arrived with
horses and ammunition. They have also
been landed at the barracks of Conleli and Seliinie.
The steamers and transports are still detained
here. This has given rise to . a general belief
that troops will immediately be sent to Varna—
a most natural, and I should say, true conclu-
sion. The fortifications of the Bosphorus are being
inspected, and it is now said that considerable
alterations and,improvements will be made in them
Behram Pacha (Colonel Cannon) has arrived
here from Schumla, accompanied by his aide-de-
camp, Colonel Ogilvy, and several Turkish officers.
They are all sent by Omer Pacha to compliment
Prince Napoleon, the Duke of Cambridge, Lord
Raglan, and Marshal St. Arnaud on their arrival.
Lord Stratford de Redcliffe, who is detained
at home by indisposition, was not present at
the presentation of the corps diplomatique to-day.
The heat is increasing every day, and many per-
sons are suffering from its effects. There is a close-
ness in the atmosphere which causes a dry feverish
sensation, and were it not that the nights are cool
much illness would be the consequence among those
not acclimatized. As yet, however, the real sum-
mer has not commenced. In another month the
climate will be tropical, and the stifled inhabitants
will fly from the capital to their villas on the Bos-
phorus or in the Islands. Pera in June and July is
like London in September ; no one remains but the
shopkeepers, and many of those might be absent
without much loss, so small is traffic at that languid
and sultry season. Whether the events of the war
will have any tendency to change the usual
state of things it is difficult to say, but certainly a
country residence will be more than usually desira-
ble this year, as the town is crowded to suffocation,
and the summer bids fair to be more than usually
sultry. Steamers ply daily between Constantinople
and time villages aljAcen t, and as the head-quarters
of diplomacy are transferred to the cooler spots,
there is little necessity or inducement to remain
within the limits of the stifling town.

THE COMBINED FLEETS IN THE BLACK

SEA.

MALTA, May 16.—The Vulcan steam troop-ship,
and the Peninsular and Oriental Company's steam
vessel Euxine, which arrived last night from Con-
stantinople, bring dates from that city to the 10th,
and from the fleets blockading Sebastopol to the
sth of May, from which the following intelligence
is gleaned

On the evening of the 25th of April the several
Russian prisoners taken in the merchant vessels
captured by the English and French vessels of war
were put on board a Sardinian brig and sent to
Odessa, from the offing of which, at daylight on
the 26th, both fleets took their departure, to the
no small delight of the inhabitants of the town,
who could not be brought to give credit for the
moderation which, under the circumstances of the
case, has been shown iu sparing it as the English
and French admirals have d 'no. Next morning a
strange steamer was reported, but at 'a great dis-
tance, whereupon the Arethusa and Sampson were
sent in chase, and though, after a while, the steamer
disappeared, still they had the satisfaction of find-
i▪
ng that they had come up in time to oblige her to
abandon an English merchant brig which she bad
j▪
ust previously captured, and was towing for a
.Russian port. Three prizes were taken that morn-
ing by the English ; and in order that the force
might not appear too imposing on reaching Sebas-
topol, for which the fleets were steering—and by
way. ofenticing the enemy out of his strongholds—
the Queen and Marengo, ships of the line, received
orders to part company from the rest. On the 28th
the offing of Sebastopol was reached ; and on the
26th, cruising closer in, with a strong breeze,
the Sampson and the Arethusa, (the light infantry
of the British fleet) were sent in to reconnoitre,
and on their return reported one three-decker, ten
other sail of the line, four frigates, and four or
five, steamers afloat. During the day the Tiger and
1 ury joined, having been back to Odessa for a
reconnoitre, and steamed round by the coast of the
Crimea, without falling in with a single vessel.
At about five p.m. on the 29th, when the fleets
were about 25 miles distant from the port of Se-
bastopol, a steamer was seen, and coming from
that direction, which left no doubt of her being a
Russian. The Tiger was ordered down upon her,
when she soon went round, and stood back again
to port, into which she got by dusk, the Tiger
having chased her nearly within shot of the bat-
teries, followed at a distance by the Inflexible and
Vauban, to guard against it being any decoy or
snare, which no doubt was the case, since from
the Tiger's deck five steamers were
.observed to
have their steam up, and the four frigates had
run up their topsails ready for a start. The ap-
pearance of the Inflexible and Vaubanin the dis-
tance no doubt spoiled the sport, and induced
them to weigh the odds as to the result, if they
(the Russians) put out to sea. It is to be hoped
the next decoy will be a little bolder, and venture
out a few miles further ; for the mere nabbing of
transports and merchant craft is not altogether the
work which either the English or French seamen
would prefer. On the oth of May the Agamemnon

was taking in at sea a quantity of gunpowder for
the Circassians, and would leave on that or the
following day with a small steam squadron, under
the command of Rear-Admiral Sir Edmund Lyons,
composed of the Sampson, Retribution, Firebrand,
Charlemagne, Vauban, and Mogador ; proceeding
in the first place to Kaffa, in the Crimea, to destroy
a small dockyard thereat, and where it is hoped
several steamers will be found and taken; after carry-
ing out which service, this steam squadron will pro-
ceed to the coast of Circassia, tilere land the ammu-
nition, and endeavour to destroy by cannonading and
bombardment the forts which the enemy still holds.
If this be found impracticable without a land force,
this is to be supplied, on application, without delay,
from the nearest Turkish garrison or station. The
Terrible, which joined Admiral Dandas from Con-
stantinople on the sth of May, brought several
Circassian chiefs, who will accompany the expedi-
tion. They speak most confidently of the earnest
desire of the majority of their fellow-countrymen
to rid themselves of the Russians. On the same
clay there was some great-gun exercise at Sebasto-
pol, creating much noise and smoke.
The hills close to Sebastopol were tipped with
snow, and those at a great distance had a good thick
coating. Very cold weather continued to prevail,
with stronger breezes than one would prefer in the
vicinity of au enemy's coast.

THE DANUBE.
REPORTED FALL OF SILISTRIA.

On the 16th inst. the last Russians left Little
Wallachia.

The Widdin correspondent of the Lloyd writes,
that Sami Pasha has received official intelligence
of the fall of Silistria.

A private letter states that Silistria on the 20th,
was still in the hands of the Turks.
The Presse of Vienna has the following :
" Omer Pacha has caused to be published at
Schumla a bulletin on the affair which took place
on the 28th ult. near Nicopolis. According to this
document, Sali Pacha, after having passed the
Danube on the 28th at Nicopolis, demolished the
works of the tete de pont of the Russians, took two
pieces of cannon, beat and pursued the enemy as far
as Tournow, and occupied Islas. These accounts are
confirmed by our private information, but never-
theless a bulletin was published at Bucharest on
the 30th ult., in which it was announced that a
victory had been gained over the Turks, and a Te
Deum was even sung on the occasion of it. A letter
from Orsova confirms the details of the affair which
took place on the 10th near Giurgevo. Said Pacha
crossed the Danube at the head of 1,500 men, at-
tacked and destroyed the enemy's batteries, and
drove back the Russians as far as Giurgevo. The
Turks took two pieces of cannon from the batteries.
Said Paella, after having set fire to a quantity of
timber and other materials, collected for the pur-
pose of constructing a bridge, recrossed to the other
side of the river."

The same journal says :—" We have to-day re-
ceived a letter from our correspondent on the Lower
Danube, which announces that another very obsti-
nate and sanguinary engagement took place on the
12th, near Oltenitza-Tourtoukai. 800 irregular
troops crossed the Danube for the mere pleasure of
fighting, and attacked the quarantine post. The
combat lasted some time without success, and the
Turks at length retired with the loss of 200 killed
and wounded, after taking several pieces of cannon
from the Russians."

SCHUMLA, May 5.—" The only news of any im-
portance is that the Russians have suffered a
defeat in a small engagement which has just taken
place in Little Wallachia. In withdrawing from
that country the Russiltns naturally stationed a
rear-guard on this side of Krajova, to cover their
retreat, guard their hospitals, and observe the
movements of the troops at Kalafat. On the
28th of April, Skender Bey (Count Ilinski)
was reconnoitring at the head of a regiment
of Ottoman cavalry, when he met, near Radovan,
a body of the enemy's cavalry, superior in num-
ber. He did not hesitate to attack them. Skender
Bey is a very brave and intelligent officer. The
Ottoman cavalry, when well commanded, are good.
In this engagement the Turks proved the victors.
They captured sixty horses and made twelve
prisoners The exact number of killed and
wounded is nut known. On the Turkish side the
loss was not considerable. Skender Bey will be
promoted and decorated. On the 2d of May a re-
c )nnoissance was made on the left bank of the
Danube by a body of 300 Arnauts. They sur-
prised an entrenched outpost of the Russians, who
at that time still maintained their line of obser-
vation on the Danube, in front of Nicopoli. The
300 Arnauts had to contend with four of the
enemy's battalions and a battery. They fought
with great desperation. Only fifteen were made
prisoners ; the rest seem to have been cut
down. Transylvanian papers say that the army
which entered the Dobrudscha on the 23d of March
is composed of the troops of the sth corps d'armee,
and of one division of the 3d. The corps d'armee
of General Luders has only three brigades of in-
fantry with the army of the Danube ; add to this
the 7th division of the 3d corps d'armee, and you
have a total of five brigades of forty battalions,
besides four regiments of cavalry and some Cos-
sacks, who must also have crossed. Thus you have
in the Dobrndsclia a total of 30,000 or 32,000 men.
Up to the present we can form no idea of what the
Russians are about. You will do well to contra-
dict all accounts of other engagements On the
Lower Danube, as none have taken place there
since the 23d of March. Hirsova, Tultscha, and
Matschin are not strong places, but open towns, in
front of which a few earthen outwarks have been
thrown up. It is therefore no matter of astonish-
ment that the few Turkish battalions stationed
there evacuated them on the 23d March."

- -
sels of Austria. Servia is divided into five
districts, commanded by the Prince and by Genet'',
Kiczanin. Both of these commanders are
Kragujewatz, from which place they date thor
orders. Servia has at present a regular in,'
fantry of 48,000 men, -6,000 cavalry, and B,°°'
artillerymen, with 150 gulls.