The Sun.
London, England, 1854-05-03 00:00:00

OMER PACHA AT SHUMLA.

The loss or sickness of Omer Pacha at this time
would be a calamity of incalculable magnitude to
the cause of Turkey. There is no other man
the army who is not immeasurably below him in.
all the qualifications requisite for a military com-
mander. The amount of labour that he undergoes
is immense. During the day he is occupied, not
only with riding along the vast chain of works, and
in attending to the discipline of the army, but in
looking at the quarters of the troops, and in visiting
the hospitals. He leaves nothing entirely to subor-
dinates. He may be said to be not only military
chief, but adjutant-general, quartermaster-genera 4
and physician-general. During the night, the cor-
respondence that he has to read, and the despatches
he has to write and send off deprive him
of much of the time that should be given to the re-
storation of nature's exhausted energies. So over-
worked has he been that lately he had a serious de-
rangement of the stomach or bowels, and he way
apprehensive his system was giving way. Notwith-
standing his unwearied attention to his professions/.
duties, he is not a man who prefers war to peaco,
or whose ideas are confined entirely to battle fields
In a conversation which a friend of mine had withs
him the other day, he expressed himself very anxio
to see the present contest brought to a close, a-,ni
has made up his mind, should he get out of it, t(
travel through Europe. He has his eye particu
la rly on England, and is anxious, in the mean
time, to make himself acquainted with the chi
ratter of her public men. A man of his inqub
ing and liberal mind could Rot fail to appreciai to
the superior system of Government and style •of
manners prevailing in your quarter of the worlsil ;
and on his return to his adopted country his gr rAftt
influence would undoubtedly be employed ix ell'
deavouring to get Turkey to start on the sa m 0
career of civilisation. Every day confirms us
the opinion that here the stand against the Rus
sians will be made. All the troops along ti lee
Danube will be marched up, excepting a portion of
the force at Kalafat and Widdin, and the garrisol 13
of Rutschuk and Silistria. These latter places wi .11
certainly fall into the hands of the Russians, shod ld
they attack them ; the former will hold out f 1r
three or four weeks at least, and the latter
three months. It is considered that the time th at
will be thus gained for the concentration of tl 1°
allied and Turkish forces will be quite equ 31
to the sacrifice submitted to. Although t. tie
Russians are good at handling field artillex .Y,
yet they are very slow in their besieging operatics is-
In that line they have had very little experiem,
except in attacking old Turkish towns and fortifi-
cations, which were not nearly so capable of defence,
as those of the present day. If Omer Pacha were
to follow the counsels and orders of the Govern:
ment at Constantinople, in all probability the arra)
would soon be annihilated and the country lost;
for I am told, upon the best authority, that the
instructions of the ministers there were to recover
all the p
osts along the Danube. He however,
stands so well with the army and the nation, and
the foreign powers, that he can afford to act for
himself.

THE BRITISH TROOPS AT SCUTARI.
SCITTARI, April 20. ,
which is situated in front of Cow,

This town