The Sun.
London, England, 1854-11-13 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 13. 1854,

An incessant fire of musketry was kept up against the em-
brasures of the Russian batteries. Deserters state that
the number of killed in Sebastopol amounts to 5,000. Al-
though the rocky nature of the ground renders the works
very difficult, the Allies were in hopes of being masters of
the place before the end of 10 days.—The journal de Con-
stantinople estimates at from 4,000 to 5,000 the number of
Russians put hors de combat before Balakla.va, and the
loss of the Allies 1,500. The three last redoubts were
re-taken on the 26th. The African Chasseurs distin-
guished themselves very much in that affair.—Ac-
counts from Asia state that the Russians were strength-
ening and increasing the fortifications of Bayazid
in order to make that place their winter quarters.
It was also reported that they were marching on
Kars.—Mustapha Pacha had, while waiting the arrival of
Ismail Pacha, proceeded with the reorganisation of the
Turkish army, and had distributed clothing and amseu-
Dillon among the troops. The enemy was expected. Com-
merce in Asia was paralysed by the numerous bands of
brigands."
"MAisszmr,us, th.—The aconnts brought by the Thabor
positively state that 5,000 Russians had been made prisoners
in a late battle. A letter from Sebastopol of the 28th states
that the Generals-in-Chief after leaving a sufficient force
in the trenches, had marched towards Balakhva with the
hopes of destroying the corps of twenty thousand men
under General Liprandi. The above two accounts appear
to coincide. Two batteries of 32 guns, half belonging to the
army and half to the fleet, were in course of construction
on the 28th before the flag-staff bastion. These bat-
teries, which were at only 500 metres distance, were
intended to enlarge the breaches already made, and would
be completed by the 3d November. The new trench is at
250 metres from the place, and one branch of the trench
would be carried to within CO metres. The Russian artil-
lerymen having been decimated by the fire of the Allies,
the guns of the place are served by convicts. The southern
quarter of Sebastopol has been almost entirely destroyed.
Experienced military men were of opinion that the place
would fall about the 10th."
The Minister of Public Instruction and Worship
has just sent to the prefects of departments and
rectors of academies very detailed directions on the
duties they will have to perform in execution of
the law of the 14th June last, relative to primary
instruction. The Minister has also sent copies of
the directions to all the bishops, and has solicited
their co-operation in carrying them out.
The divisions of Generals'Dulac and de Salles,
who had been sent to the Camp of the South, have
now received orders to embark at Toulon to rein-
force the army of the East. These two divisions
are now probably on their way to the Crimea.
The Conseil Imperial des Prises has just de-
cided that the capture of the Russian vessel
Orione, effected whilst she was sailing under
the Tuscan flag, by the Averne Government
steamer, was a good and lawful one ; but by
application of the Imperial declaration of the
_29th March relative to neutrals, the cargo has been
restored to a firm in the Netherlands who claimed
it-Lon condition, however, of the freight and costs
being paid.
We have already stated that orders bad been
given by the Government for the construction of
four gun-boats on a new principle, at each of the
four naval dockyards. We now learn that M. Nor-
mand, the well-known ship-builder at Havre, has
also received orders to build four gun-boats on the
same plan, thus making a total of 20. The steam
engines for these boats are being made at Indrel.
It has been stated that a thousand convalescent
wounded soldiers had been brought back from the
East to Marseilles in the Gauge and the Euphrate.
They have been in general lodged in the buildings
of the old lazaretto, but a certain number have been
sent home to their families. General Rostolan has
visited the lazaretto, and assured the men that all
their wants shall be carefully attended to. The
wounded are to be sent to Paris, and placed in the
military hospital of the Val-de-Grace.
After long hesitation, the Count de Morny has
at length decided on accepting the office of Pre-
sident of the Legislative Corps. It was only yes-
terday that the affair was finally settled. The
Count de Morny frequently declined tho place on
account of the delicate state of his health, but the
Emperor having pressed him as a personal favour
to accept, he at length agreed to do so on the
understanding that if he wished, he should be at
liberty to resign in April next, in which case he
will be appointed a member of the Cabinet sans
portefeuille.

THE OVERLAND MAIL.

ALEXANDRIA, Nov. 6.

The Nubia, with the India and China mails, is
to leave Alexandria on the 7th; with advices from
Calcutta to the sth October ; Shanghai, 4th Sep-
tember ; Hong Kong, 27th September ; Singapore,
7th October ; Penang, Bth October ; Bombay, 14th
October.

India is tranquil.
The markets are dull, owing to the holidays.
The harvests are fine.
Exchange at Calcutta, Is. 11d.
The Russians have taken Tas-kand, near Bohan.
Shanghai is still in the hands of the rebels.
Fighting is still going on near Canton, and no
tea had arrived there.

The British, French, and American plenipoten-
tiaries were to proceed to a revision of treaties in
China.

Nothing doing in imports. The shipments in
silk are much diminished.

Exchange, at Shanghai, 6s. Id. ; Canton, 4s. 9d.
Tho steamer, Calcutta arrived at half-past ton
o'clock a.m.

THE UNITED STATES.

ARRIVAL OF THE AFRICA.
LIVERPOOL, SUNDAY.
This clay the Royal Mail steam-ship Africa, Cap-
tain William Harrison, arrived in the Mersey with
the usual mails from the United States and British
North America.

She sailed from New York on the Ist inst., and
has brought, besides the mails, 80 passengers and
about $900,000 in specie on freight.
The United States mail steam-ship Pacific, from
hence on the 18th ult., arrived at New York on the
30th.

At the departure of the steamer business was
active, money very tight, aad stocks again rapidly
falling. e
All the vessels that left Newfoundland in search
of the Arctic's missing passengers have returned
unsuccessful.

The Indiana sailed for Southampton on the 31s
ult.

In the Cotton market the sales were moderate,
with prices firm at the close, with a good demand
for export.
The Bread-stuff market was unsettled. Wheat
in good request, with but slight alteration ; flour
reported without change in price.
There was a good demand for provisions at former
prices, the market closing quietly.
Freights remain unchanged.
Exchaage3
n L ondon, lo 109.; ditto on Paris, 5
12i- t 0515 05-
0.

AWFUL CATASTROPHE ON THE GREAT
WESTERN RAILROAD.
(From the Detroit Tribune, Oct. 27.)
Through the kindness of W. 0. Ruggles, we aro able to
give the particulars of the most heartrending and terri-
ble railroad disaster that ever occurred in America. He
says a few minutes after 2 p.m. yesterday we left Nia-
gara Falls with the first class and two second class
passenger cars, one express and one baggage car. After
leaving Hamilton we were detained about midnight be-
tween Hamilton
Afteran and
a delayLondonof an hour we started and
by a freight engine being
on hetrack.
reached London about six hours behind time. About
three miles west of London the cylinder head of our en-
gine burst, which delayed us two hours. We backed down
to London, took a new engine and started again for Wind-
sor. About one o'clock and about thirteen miles west of
Chatham, on the Baptist Creek Flats, going about twenty
miles an hour we came in collision with a gravel train of
fifteen cars backing east. The collision was frightful in
the extreme.
Our locomotive was completely thrown over to the
right, the express car thrown over and crushing the first
and second class cars into mere splinters, demolishing the
next and making a wreck of the third car and driving in
the end of the fourth. The passengers in the last cars
escaped unhurt or with slight bruises. Almost the en-
tire load of the second class cars were killed or wounded,
some cut completely in two, others with mangled heads
and bodies, and without limbs. The screams and groans
of the mangled were awful in the extreme. Every effort
was made by the conductor and passengers to relieve the
totssuffeing ; but, notwithstanding the almost superhuman
effort relieve them, all were not extricated until more
titan four hours sifter 'the collision. Among those whose
exertions were conspicuous in saving the victims are Thos.
F. Meagher and Junk, the baggage man, Mr. 0. A. Brown-
F;012, and others of the passengers. Heaps of the dead and
wounded were found in the ruins, piled together in all
mangled shapes.
Ono poor fellow was cut out of tho express car, his limbs
hanging out of the side, fifteen feet from the ground. One
of the strangest features of the accident is, that all the
gravel cars were demolished and piled upon each other,
with the tender of the engine stove in. The conductor of
the gravel train was on the rear car, with his signal light,
and a negro boy at his side. The conductor saved him-
self by jumping; the negro was killed.
At the time of the collision there was a dense fog, it
being almost impossible to see lights. Where the blame
belongs in this awful catastrophe, we know not ; but there
is gross and culpable negligence in the affairs of the road.
The conductor of the gravel train says he was ordered out
by the superintendent of the gravel pit.
We ought to mention that on the third car from the
rear, we had no light at the time of the collision and were
is total darkness, nor had we anything but pieces of candles
stuck in tubes at any time. Those had gone out at the
time of the collision.
The dead are lying around, and being mostly emigrants,
their names cannot bo readily got ; but about fifty are killed
outright, and many of the wounded must dig, of which
there are about forty alive. There was one woman
buried under a mass of ruins, and lay there over four
hours before she was extricated. She must die.
We were thirty-two miles from Detroit and thirteen
from Chatham, the surrounding country for miles a
vast swamp, and no aid or physicians at hand, which
with the denseness of the fog, and frightful screams of the
wounded for help and water, rendered it the most appal-
ling scene imaginable. It was heart sickening. Yet all
was done that could be during the long five hours that the
miserable unfortunates lay waiting their turn ler assis-
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