The Sun.
London, England, 1854-04-27 00:00:00

THE DANUBE.

The last accounts from the banks of the Danube
describe the Russian army in the Dobrudscha as
suffering considerably from sickness. Entire com-
panies were daily carried off by dysentery, and the
mortality was so great in several newly arrived
regiments that they were ordered to recross the
Danube.

The Mowiteur says :--
"We have received fresh intelligence relative to the
passage of the Danube by the Russian troops. It con-
firms fully the details given by Omer Paella in his report
to the Ottoman Government. The flotilla and numerous
transports, of which the Russians could dispose, enabled
them to cross the river in three places, at Port-Bachi,
below Matchin, at Schatal-Bournou, above Taulcha, and
on a third point below that town. The Russians attacked
with vigour the fortifications raised on the first points.
One of their regiments sent in the first instance
against thg position of Tchatal-Bournou disappeared to
the last man. Two battalions, afterwards sent for-
ward, were nearly destroyed in totality, and it was
found necessary to send 15 battalions to carry the
entrenchments. The Russian troops, charged to seize
on Pot-Bachi, were three times repulsed at the point of
the bayonet, and left 1,000 men on the ground. The
Turkish battery dismounted three guns brought by the
Russians. The heavy fire of the opposite bank did not
allow the Turks to carry them off, and the pieces re-
mained until the evening on the field of battle. The
Turks held their positions for 48 hours, fighting without
any cessation, exposed to the fire of the gun-boats, of
25 guns of large calibre, and of two mortars, placed on
the island and on the opposite bank. The Turks eva-
cuated the place after having fired their last cartridge,
carrying •ff their cannons and falling back on Karassu.
This movement was in conformity with the formal or-
ders of the general-in-chief ; but before quitting their
positions in obedience to these orders, it is evident that
the Turks gave the enemy new and brilliant proofs of
their bravery."
A letter from Bucharest, of the 15th, in the Post
Ampt Gazette of Frankfort, says :—" It is stated
that a slight skirmish has taken place between
some Cossacks and some English marines, who had
landed to give assistance to some wounded Turks.
The Belgian Consul, -who for some time past has
been charged with the protection of French and
Belgian subjects, has received orders from the
Belgian Envoy at Constantinople to suspend his
functions and strike his flag. The Russians have,
it is said, commenced the siege of Silistria. M.
Anrey, Director of the General Consulate of France,
left Wallachia on the 9th, and proceeded to Cron-
stadt, in Transylvania. He will wait at Herr-
manstadt for orders from his ambassador. Mr.
Grant, the director of the English co.sulate, and
M. Johannides, the vice-consul at Giurgevo, left
on the 10th. The order for expelling the French
and English was withdrawn on hearing that the
Emperor of the French and Queen Victoria had
permitted Russian subjects to remain in their re-
spective countries. General Deprandi is waiting
for orders from St. Petersburg to cross the Danube
near Kalafat."
From Krajova, of the 10th, we learn that the
Russians are fortifying the road leading from Sla-
tina, towards the Danube, and which runs between
the Badea and the Aluta at three several points.
The Turks had collected an immense quantity of
sailing vessels, barques, and gunboats at the ford
or passage of Columenda, near Nicopoli ; and had
also constructed two batteries there of guns of the
heaviest calibre. The Russians had fortified the
opposite side of this ford or shallow in an equally
imposing manner. Cannonades were taking place
daily from both sides. A field hospital for 2,000
patients had been formed at Plojeschti. News of
the 14th from the seat of war (says the Lloyd) men-
tions that the Turks are still very actively engaged
with their fortifications on the island near Nico-
poli ; whence people infer that they are seriously
meditating a passage of the Danube at that point.
Everything shows great activity at Kalafat. It is
also stated as a fact that English and French troops
wore landed at Varna on the 10th.

AUSTRIA AND PRUSSIA.
RESIGNATION OF CHEVALIER BUNSEN.
BERLIN, Monday, April 24.—1 t is thought that
the resignation tendered by Chevalier Bunsen will
be accepted provisionally. Count de Bernstorf,
Prussian envoy at Naples, is spoken of as his even-
tual or temporary successor.

OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE TREATY.
A Paris letter of yesterday states that the fol-
lowing are the principal clauses of the treaty re-
cently entered into between Austria and Prussia :
—" The treaty lays down that the operations of
war undertaken by Austria must be concerted
beforehand with Prussia, whose consent will be a
necessity. This is the general rule, but the excep-
tion is made in the following case :—Austria is
to have liberty of action, as far as she may con-
sider advisable, in the Danubian provinces ; that
is to say, that the Emperor of Austria is so far
master that he is empowered, without the con-
sent of Prussia, to make the only war that he is
really likely to make in the present state of
affairs, and certainly the only one that Pran_cetiaiad
nt,
England could wish him to undertake ; d
as respects Prussia, he is only to be boundtoanto deli-
ulterior
berate with that Power with respect necessity
operations, of which the bearing or
can-
not at present be calculated. For th:snelatter event,
should the necessity arise, Austrias to provide an
army of 150,000 men, and Prussia to support her
with 100,000 men."
If this account be correct the policy of Prussia
at the present moment appears to be, to allow Aus-
prevent Russia from
tria to do all she chooses
taking possession of Tur houro- the Danubian pro-
vinces ; but to be ready,
.d the Czar be beaten
by the allies, to join Austria in preventing the Rus-
sian territories from being dismembered. It will be
remembered that a very short time since Prussia,
when asked to join the allies in guaranteeing the
integrity of the Ottoman empire, refused, unless a
clause was inserted guaranteeing the integrity of

Russia.
A letter from Berlin of the 21st says :—" General
Hess insisted formally on the necessity of an ener-
getic declaration in order to put an end to the he-
sitations of the Prussian Cabinet. This declaration
has not failed to produce a ()Teat effect, for yester-
day the treaty of alliance offensive and defensive
was signed without any clause having been inserted
which would engage Austria beforehand, or which
would be favourable to Russia. The principal
stipulation of the treaty states that the two high
contracting parties reciprocally guarantee their
possessions, whether German or non-German, and
engage to lend assistance in the event of. one ot.
them being attacked. The second stipulatwan icts
al_
o
the effect that the two powers engagei
to
understand-
ing in common, and on a recipr.o,
towards other countries. Thistr:tipulation ties
as it were the hands of the twocola
3ctisnepgapraatreties.
There is an annexis to treatythe
that the two
ofil l
ar-
ticles, which determines the
assistance
lend reciprocally to each
other, as well as the manner in which that asst-
delay ffour weekssi liaA
awe is to be given.