The Sun.
London, England, 1854-05-02 00:00:00

all necessary matJriel and provisions. It will be difficult
to induce an Enslish Ministry to sanction such an ex-
Pehse, although a saving in the end, part:cularly as the
transport of- the remainder of the army here must
proceed at the sane time. still, with the fleets, and
the French and Tui la.h transports, we may yet hope
that a whoie year will not bo wasted. The auxiliary
armies have surely not come here merely to prevent
Lussia advancing further. A little money, and 20 engineer
officers, would have enabled the Turks to do that alone.
\Ye are altogether not strong enough to drive the Rus-
sians back by an attack on their strong front. It is,
therefore, not unreasonable to expect that an attack
will be made either on the Crimea, or some part of
the Russian coast more easily approached than the lie-
mediate neighbourhood of the Danube. The troops are
in excellent health. As an example of what may be
done, I may mention that the day before yesterday,
before noon, 5,000 French troops landed at Gallipoli at
the ordinary landing-place. In lauding in the Crimea,
troopfi would not be so particular about wetting their
feet, and, unless the naval authorities were interfered
with, the boats of the entire fleets !night assist. Aber:
crombie landed 10,000 troops in the face of an enemy.

lIR.A.D-QUARTERS 'OF OAIER PASHA AT

SHUMLA.
SnumLA, A pril 4.—Nothing of importance has
taken place here. Troops are still arriving ; this
niornher two battalions marched in, and one en-
eampetrupon the eawern heights. Large fatigue
Parties are daily employed in throwing up field-
works, and 6,000 of the inhabitants are pressed to
assist them —we should hardly call it pressed, for
the inlmbitants set about the work with a will,
never grumbling. Omer Pasha is in himself Com-
niander-ni-Chief, Adjutant and Quartermaster-
General, Engineer-in-Chief, and Commissary-
General. He leaves his qUarters daily at 10 a.m.,
inspects the different works in progress, and
marks out in a rough yet practical manner what
new works are to be thrown up, and what addi-
tions should be made ; mentions the number of
men to be employed, and when the work is to he
completed. He generally goes round the heights
in the forenoon, returns to his dinner between one
and two o'clock, and then visits the works on the
Plain, returns home about five p.m., when he
receives all who wish to see him, then writes
his despatches. He is quite ignorant as to what
are to be the movements of the Anglo-French
army, but is in great hopes soon to be joined by
at all events a large portion of them. You are,
of Course, aware that the Russians have been quite
3nceessfut in everything they have attempted in the
320beudscha. They have crossed the Danube in
four different places. There have been several
severe affairs, in all of which the Turks have been
defeated, with the loss of some heavy guns that
;w3'ere in. position. Some Turkish officers behaved
iadly, particularly a colonel, wlo was the first to
;_new his men the way to the ilar. Omer Pach..-.
has orders from Stamboul to drive the Russians
across the Dobrudscha. He could just as easily
urive them out of the Principalities without the
assistance of either the English or French armies.
There are 50,000 Russian troops at this moment in
the Dobrudscha, and the Turkish inhabitants are
eaving that part of the country as fast as they can,
~,31(1 are going to the south of the Balkan Range.
'toe Bashi-Bazcuks are scouring the country in all
lirections, and are under no control. They are
i'ne greatest ruffians on the face of the earth, pil-
laging in all directions, murdering, and fearfully
effusing the men and women they come across • in
One village they killed 26 men, women, and
'jell. Omer Pasha does not know what to do with
the villains; he has not the power of lite and death,
.i.and he has not hit upon a plan of getting rid of
them, and I regret to say 700 more of the same de-
scription are en route to join the army here.
APRIL 9.—lt is not thought the works in Shumla
could resist a determined attack of first rate troops
hOurs, with the force that Omer Pasha has at
his comman(L ; but, fortunately, the Russians have
Proved that they are by no means equal to the other
great Power in their attacks upon fortified places.
Lthink, therefore, Omer Pasha will be able to hold
his ground here now ; as the enemy have allowed
the golden moment to pass, and have emibled him
to concentrate his army, instead of pushing on the
Inement they had crossed the Danube, as they
should have done. At that time the Pasha had
not More than 12,000 men here, now he has 60
battalions, 7 regiments of cavalry, two parks of
artillery, and is as well prepared as his means will
admit of. But the works are far too extensive, and
You may, perhaps, be astonished to hear that the
position is a faulty one ; this is evident to all mili-
tary men, and also that the defences are not of the
description which they should have been. Just now
Shumla would require an army of 100,000 men to
defend it. Stimuli), is in a gorge, with hills of 600
or 700 feet high on either side. The hills must
be defended by works, for they command the
town ; yet they are too far apart to assist each
other, and the distance round the town from
the eastern points of the two hills is very consid-
erable. But Oiner Pasha is making, indeed
has made, the best of a weak position. He has
been working day and night for the past tiiree
weeks, and everything may now be said to be ready
for the enemy, with the exception of three redoubts
that are to be erected, as it were in reserve, on the
town side of the works that defend the road lead-
en; from Pravaoli. Rather an odd circumstance
took place in his tent to-day, previous to our seeing
a squadron of Cossacks go through a few move-
nlents—viz., 10 English officers taking coffee in a
Cossack 6 tent (Zadick Pasha's), on the plain of
The officers were General Cannon, Col.
..1-alfour Ogilvy, Col. Hinde, Captain Simmonds,
Engineers, Captain Nolan, Major
.Evelyn,
.NaSmyth, Bombay Engineers, Capt. Butler,
~ICeylon Rifles, Mr. Crow, and Captain Grainger,
thB first time I am sure so many Englishmen ever
niet in Shumla.
APRIL 10.—Mustapha Pasha, with the remnant
of his division, consisting of 43 guns, two of which
are pieces de position, 6 battalions of infantry,
nd a small body of cavalry, marched in here on
e Bth inst., from the different posts in the
Dobrudscha, now occupied by Russian troops. In
the
action of the 23d of March the Turks suf-
l'ered most severely at Chatal Bournon, a place
about 5 hours' journey north-west of Tultscha,
and at Porbasni, near Matschin. At the former
place, which was held most gallantly from daylight
'id dark, they lost 500 men, killed, wounded, and
taken prisones, beside 3 6 guns taken by the enemy.
9ne of Omerr Pasha's aides-de-camp arrived yes-
rrday from Rustchuk, and up to the day he left
(the 7th) the Russians had made no demonstration
in that direction. At Rustchuk, Kalafat, and the
Pther stations -on the Danube, there is a great
dearth
of medical officers, whose services are unfor-
tunately greatly wanted at present, and from ac-
counts lately received from Widdin the treatment
• Of the sick seems to be very bad. We hear sad ac-
nnts of the atrocities committed by the Bashi-
41azouks on their march fr an Matschin, Tultscha,
several of whom have been brought in here
as prisoners, and Omer Pasha intends making a
frightful example of them. One party of them
happened to be billeted for a night on a man who
/',,nowecl them every hospitality, in return for which
they committed various outrages on his property
and family ; and, to add insult to injury, they
asked their host how much he was prepared to
re them for the remnants of the breakfast he
had prepared for the ruffians.
APRIL 11.—Matters are going on here much as
usual. The Bashi-Bazouks are at their old trade
rapine and murder. Almost all the cavalry are
out after them, and when taken they will be sent
away as prisoners. The best thing Omer Pasha
could
do with the rascals would be to take their
A7rses from them, and ship them from Varna to
Ce'ae Their horses, wretched as they are, would
of great use as baggage horses to the armies. I
'egret to say there is every probability of the Bill-
arians risinc, should the Russians advance. Omer
1 1
- as la has information relative to the rising, which
s giving him considerable uneasiness. You per-
haps have not heard that Mustapha Pasha, who
c:?sillinanded in the Dobrudscha, was the first to
his his back to the enemy. He thought only of
15 own safety, nothing for that of his troops ; his
conduct is a common topic of conversation. His
men) however, behaved well. Omer Pasha men-
Turks last night that one battalion and a half of
defended themselves fora h
24 hours
against 15 battalions of Russians, assisted by gun-
boats, and then made good their retreat. Two
Russian spies have lately been taken—one inside
the Camp, the other a few miles to the eastward.
al
V
er rasha examined the former in a manner that
.veuld have done credit to any gentleman of the
°ng, robe. The examination lasted an hour.
APRIL 16.—Beyond a report of the arrival of a
part
of the English troos at Varna, there is little
intelligence to communicate regarding the move-
ments of the belligerent armies. The Russians still
retain, their former position in the Dobrudscha, with
,ntposts of Cossacks, pushed on a very considerable
distance in advance of their main body, whilst
the Turks continue to concentrate in Shumla, and
leave gathered fresh confidence from the dilatory
tactics of the enemy.
_IA great portion of the troops
here,a as well stlieini inhabitants, are constantly em-
P,OYed on the' fortifications and batteries, carrying
out the requisite improvements and additions sug-
gested by the foreign engineer officers. Along the
heights above the town, a continuous breastwork
for musketry, with a few field-pieces en, barbette
has lately been thrown up, and the d brush-
wood
in front, which, were it allowed ere remain,
would afford excellent cover for the enemy'sn.
rifle-
men and light troops, is in the course ofbel
PidlY cleared away. From the loose and filrf raablde-
nature of the soil, the works seem to stand i need
of constant repair merely from the effects of the
Weather and are, with the exception of some of the
Eger '
r forts outside the enceinte, which are rivetted

:

with stone, retained by revetments of wattles and',
gabions. On the 15th Omar Pasha put his forces
into divisions, appointing general officers to each.
He lms 40,000 regulars and 15,000 irregulars, includ-
ing Redifs. This force is formed into six divisions
—two for the plain, three for the heights, and one
as a reserve in the town. The two Mushirs, Ismael
Pasha and Hassam Pasha, command the first two
divisions ; Mustapha Pasha the reserve. The three
divisions on the hills are also allotted to separate
commanders. It was expected that there would be
some field days immediately, and the English were
anxious to see the manner in which the Turkish
soldier would manoeuvre. On the 12th a ceremony
of some interest took place. The finnan was read
conferring the dignity of Mushir upon Ismael
Pasha. All the officers in Shumla were assembled,
but their personal appearance did not favourably
impress their European critics. Ismael Pasha is
said to be a man of undoubted bravery, but no
general ; the commandant of the artillery is also a
good olhcer, but the chief reliance must be upon
the foreigners who have taken service in the army.
Omar Pasha gives himself credit for the move-
ment just completed, by which he has successfully
concentrated his troops at Shumla. He is deter-
mined to remain in position there and await the
Russian attack. He has every reason to believe that
the Russians expected an offensive movement on
his part in the Dobrudscha. Had he advanced in
that direction, the enemy might have thrown 60,000
men over the Danube at Rustchuk, Shuuda, might
have fallen, and the whole country passed into
possession of the Russians. As it is, no forward
movement has been lately made by the enemy,
and there have even been reports that some of
their battalions have recrossed the river. The
army of Bulgaria consists of 140,000 men, regulars
and irregulars. Of the former there are 95,000
men, including the garrison of Sophia. At Widdin
and Kalafat there are 20,000 ; at Varna, 8,500 ;
at hustehak, 7,000 ; at Silistria, 71,000. At
Shumla there are now 55,000 men, and 320 guns, of
which 138 are for field purposes. The number of
guns in position are said to be insufficient, but as
the arsenal at Constantinople is turning out 20 per
week, this want may be soon remedied. The re-
mainder of the troops are in garrison at Sophia,
Turtukai, and in the passes of the Balkan.
The British contingent now begins to make a re-
spectable show. At Gallipoli there are a battalion
of Rifles, two companies of Sappers, the 44th,
20th, 93d, 14th, and 28th Regiments. At Scutari
are the 53d and 41st who arrived in the Himalaya;
the 49th, 77th, 47th, and the 88th, which last ar-
rived yesterday in the Niagara. Our men are on
excellent terms with the Turks, who, notwithstand-
ing the reputation for honesty which they have
somehow obtained in the west, cheat them to no
slight extent. I heard of one Irishman who pur-
chased four dip candles, for which be tendered a
sovereign, andreeeived change to the value of eight-
pence. The barracks are spacious and tolerably
clean. There is plenty to eat, of excellent quality,
and if the men keep clear of raki they will do very
well.

THE WAR IN ASIA.
The last number of the Caucasus contains a long
proclamation from Prince Woronzoff, Lieutenant
of the Emperor, and Commander-in-Chief of all the
troops in the Caucasus, to the inhabitants of the
Trans-Caucasian provinces. It is in four languages
—Russian, Armenian, Georgian, and Tartar, and

says :
" You are aware that the Turks, in their gross blind-
ness, have excited the just indignation of our great and
most gracious Sovereign by the oppression of the Chris-
tians, his fellow-religiobists, in Turkey, whose defence
has at all times been embraced and supported by
the monarchs of Russia. Our Emperor, in his pa-
ternal solicitude, in order to spare the blood of his
subjects, has made all the efforts in his power to set
aside the hostile intentions of Turkey, but this desire
has not been crowned with success, and the Turks,
stimulated by dangerous insinuations, and the ill-will
of the foreign powers of the west, have rejected all our
just demands, which were for nothing more than the
execution of treaties. Although after the rupture of
peace by the Turks themselves, the Almighty God, de-
fender of equity, has blessed the Russian arms by caus-
ing her to triumph in Asia and on the Black Sea, where
the Ottoman fleet was destroyed at Sinope, our enemies
are not yet undeceived, and the Governments of Eng-
land and France, placing themselves on their side, have
caused, without previous declaration of war, their united
fleets to enter the Euxine, under pretext of defending
them, and in order to embarrass the free navigation of
our vessels of war for the protection of our coasts. His
Majesty, with a firm hope in God, whilst combating for
our oppressed brethren, relies with confidence on the
zeal and firm fidelity of all his devoted subjects, not one
of whom will hesitate to take arms against the enemy,
should circumstances require it."
The proclamation then goes on to exhort the
" brave Georgians, Armenians, Mussulmans, and
other faithful subjects of the Emperor" to be ready
at the first signal " to defen l their country and
repulse the aggressor." It next reminds them
that, in former days, they, even without the aid
of the " glorious Russian troops," gained signal
victories over the Turks, with much inferior num-
bers ; and it asks if they can feel fear whatever
may be the odds against them, when they are sup-
ported by the numerous battalions of Russia. The
proclamation concludes by announcing that the
Prince, in consequence of the weakness caused by
a grave malady and. excessive labour, has been
obliged to obtain leave of absence for six months,
but that he calculates on being with them in the
autumn to take part in their exploits.
Accounts from Asia state that the snow is still
very deep on the hills, and that, though in th- mid-
dle of April, the weather is still very severe. This,
coupled with the fearful scarcity of food, which
has risen to five times its ordinary price, is causing
great suffering. Of money, however, a supply had
been received, 3,000,000 piastres having arrived
by steamer for the use of the Pasha of Trebizond.
A circular had been addressed to all the Consuls at
Trebizond by the Turkish Government, in which it
is stated that, in the case of the poorer Greeks being
unable to procure the means of travelling, the Porte
will convey them to the Pirmus free of expense.
The Hellenes have nearly all left the capital, but a
further delay of 15 days has been granted to mer
chants, and domestic servants are altogether ex-
cused from the necessity of leaving. Great loss
will be experienced by English firms, 'especially
the Manchester manufacturers, as the Greek
firms are their chief customers in the East, and
many of them must be prevented from fulfilling
engagements already contracted. Achmet Pasha,
who lost the battle of Soubatan in December
last, had arrived at Trebizond, on his way to
Constantinople. It is said that he is to be tried
by a court-martial. He is quite sanguine as to
the result, and boasts that in a few weeks he will
be back in Asia as Commander-in Chief. Ferik
Ali Pasha is also to be subjected to a similar in-
quiry, and is equally hopeful, relying either on the
justice of his cause or the length of his purse.
Forty pieces of artillery, with tumbrils and ammu-
nition, were at Trebizond, waiting for the roads to
become passable, before going up to replace those
lost at Bayazid and Soubatan, where 27 were need-
lessly abandoned on the field and left for the
Russians to carry off at their leisure some days
afterwards. Only two mountain train guns were
to be seen ; which does not look as if offensive
operations were seriously intended. Most of
the pieces were much too heavy for such a
country. Typhus fever was making great ravages
at Erzerouin, and great want of medical aid,
hospital stores, &c., was felt. The pressure of the
war on the agricultural population was evident
from the fact that not less than 9,000 loads of
goods for Persia, chiefly cotton manufactures from
Manchester, were lying about from the impossi-
bility of obtaining either men or horses. The Per-
sian trade along the great road is almost extinct.
Money to the amount of 14,000,000 piastres is re-
quired for the payment of the troops at Erzeroum
and Kars.
ERZEROUM, April 3.—The little there is to re-
port is anything but cheering. Sickness, by the
last account from Kars, has returned with in-
creased fatality, notwithstanding the pains taken
to lessen it by removing a portion of the men to
the neighbouring villages, and by supplying them
with warmer clothing and better provisions. Here,
also, in Erzeroum, 15 or 16 are daily carried to
their long home. A large body of the troops has
refused to march hence to Kars, in consequence of
the arrears of pay due to the men and the bad
quality of the miserable shoes lately issued, being
of such frail materials as to admit the water from
the melting snow. These men have been for some
days shut up in their barracks, or khans ; it is said
they they amount to 4,000, but it is difficult to as-
certain the exact truth, as every means is takt.;ll to
conceal and hush the affair up. 600 men deserted
some time since from the same cause, on their
route from Kars to Ardahan. The time is past
for striving to hide the real state of the Asiatic
Turkish army from the Lai- of exposing its weak-
ness, as has hitherto been done. It is the impera-
tive duty of every British and French subject,
official or otherwise, when the allied Powers are
assisting Turkey in men and materials at so great
an expense, to lay open the scandalous and infa-
mous proceedings of the Pashas, Beys, and other
high elap/oy6s, who are themselves hourly and
daily fattening on the resources of the State, while
everything, as a consequence, is at a stand-still,
or going to ruin. The weather continues as bad
as ever—hard frost by night, and a great deal of
snow.

MONTENEGRO.
The Presse of Vienna gives the following as the
test of the proglagation whi rriFl4
, _