The Sun.
London, England, 1859-10-05 00:00:00

THE CAPTURE OF SCILIMYL.

The St. Petersburg journals publish long accounts
of the recent military operations in the Caucasus
which have terminated with the surrender of
Schamyl. The following is the despatch referring
to the last event :

" Head-quarters, under the Ao6l Keghery,
August 27.
. _ . .

" Yesterday the Commander-in-Chief sent a de-
spatch to Simpheropol to be forwarded by telegraph
to St. Petersburg, announcing the capture of
Ghounib and the surrender of Schamyl.
" Thus the last blow has been given to Muridism.
The fate of the eastern region of the Caucasus is
finally decided. After a sanguinary struggle of halt
a century, the day of peace has arrived for it.
•' In a former bulletin it was stated that the Com-
mander-in-Chief had put an end to the fruitless ne-
gotiations with Schamyl, and taken his measures
to capture Mount Ghounib.
"The troops were placed round Ghounib in the
following manner :—Against the eastern face two
battalions of the Infantry Regiment Schirvanski,
with four mountain field-pieces, under the command
of Colonel Kononovitch ; against the northern face
two other battalions of the same regiment, the Ist
battalion of the Grouzinsky Grenadiers, one batta-
lion of the Samoursky Regiment, five sotnias of ir-
regular cavalry, and two sotnias of Yeomanry,
under the command of Major-Gen. Prince Tarkan-
Maouravow ; against the southern side, two batta•
lions of the Regiment Apscheronsky, two battalions
of the Regiment Samoursky, and the 21st battalion
of sharpshooters, under the command of Colonel
'Fergoukassow ; finally against the western side two
battalions of the Infantry Regiment Dagestansky,
under the command of Colonel Radetzky.
" The command of these advanced troops and the
measures to be taken immediately for the engineer-
ing works were intrusted to Major-General De
Kesseleri,under the chief command of Aide-de-Camp
General Baron Wrangel.
" On the same day Major-General De Kesseler
made a minute reconnaissance of all the localities,
and commenced preparing gabions, scaling-ladders,
&c., and all articles necessary for a siege and assault.
" An inspection of the approaches to the summit
of the mountain showed that the eastern decline,
though the weakest and most accessible from the
nature of the ground, offered, nevertheless, the
greatest obstacles, as the paths were intercepted by
strong breastworks, vigilantly watched by the ma-
jority of the garrison of Ghounib. It was conse-
quently decided not to attack that side, except as
a last extremity, preferring, if possible, an attack
on one of the other sides ; nevertheless, to occupy
the attention of the enemy and to keep him always
on the alert, in the expectation of an attack on
thp.t side, Colonel Kononovitch ordered troops to
advance gradually on that quarter by regular siege
works, intrusted to Captain Falkenhagen, of the
Engineers.
"In the night between the 23d and 24th the
sharpshooters of the Schirvansky Regiment made
a dash forward limier fire of the enemy,. and esta-
blished themselves behind some rocks not far from
the walls, leaving their reserve in some outhouses
abandoned by the enemy.
" On the 24th Major-General De Kesseler visited
the troops of the north side, and took measures to
occupy on the following night some points in the
vicinity of the craggy heights on the summit of the
mountain. Similar orders were given to the troops
on the south and west side.

" On the 25th, before daybreak, Colonel Tergou-
kassow, commanding the troops on the south side,
ordered Lieut.-Colonel Yegorow, in command of
the Ist battalion of the Infantry Regiment Apsche-
ronsky, to approach the rocks, who, finding he did
so unobserved by the enemy —thanks to a dense fog
—took advantage of the moment to advance his men
still closer to the summit. The ground, which had
been previously explored by voluntesrs, offered such
great difficulties on this point that the besiegers
doubtless considering it inaccessible, had only a
small post to defend it.

" In front of the besiegers rose perpendicularly
like a wall, one above the other, three pointed crags
(each from eight to ten sagenes in height) open only
at one point where there was a narrow transversal
defile. One hundred and fifty volunteers, led by
Captain Skvartsow and Ensign Kouschnarew with
sandals of bark or leather, provided with scaling
ladders and grappling irons, succeeded in scaling
the rocks, helping each other up till they gained the
terrace which separates the first crag from the
second, and were followed by the battalion, which
left a body of riflemen placed on prominent points
below, where they could pick off any one on the
upper crags. The volunteers, followed by the bat-
talion, now scaled the second point by means of
ropes and ladders, but under the fire of the enemy,
who had discovered them, and finally succeeded in
reaching the upper plateau of Ghounib, where the
whole battalion took footing about 6 a.m. Mean-
time the volunteers had circumvented the enemy in
his barricades placed against the rocks, had made
seven prisoners, and killed 15 (three were women
armed) ; the others withdrew under cover of the fog.
" Simultaneously (at 15 versts' distance from the
Battalion Apscheronsky) the troops on the north
side, led by Major-General Prince Tarkan-Maoura-
vow in person, had scaled Ghounib under the same
difficulties, and with the same success, on the oppo-
site side.

"On reaching the summit, Prince Tarkan-
, Maourvow advanced the company of riflemen of the
Grouzinsky Grenadiers, under the orders of
Sub-Lieutenant Mikeladze and the sotnia of irre-
gular cavalry under Captain Djafar-Aga, who
took the lead, followed by the whole battalion of
Grenadiers, under Lieutenant-Colonel Gabaiew,
against Schamyl's tent, and on the outposts of
,the entrenchments upon the eastern decline of the
mountain, so as to surround the Aoul.
" Taken aback by the simultaneous apparition of
our troops on v, rious points, the mountaineers aban-
doned the walls on the eastern decline, and fled in
disorder to the heights, exposed to the fire of the
riflemen of the Schirvansky Regiment. The ma-
jority of the Murides, including Schamyl and his
sons, sought shelter in the Aoul of Ghounib, and
posted themselves in the houses.
" Pursuing the Murides who had evacuated the
works, Colonel Kononovitch advanced rapidly the
Ist and 2d battalions of the Schirvansky Regiment,
with four mountain guns. Meanwhile Colonel
Radetzky reached the summit of Ghounib, after
encountering great obstacles on the western side.
" Some hundred Murides, who had fled in disor-
der from the entrenchments, and found themselves
cut off from the Aoul, collected together on a wooded
eminence on the left of the road leading to the
Aoul, and thence, under cover of rocks, opened a
very brisk fire against the advancing companies of
the Schirvansky Regiment. Two companies were
pushed forward to dislodge the Murides. These
latter, finding there was no chance of flight, threw
themselves upon our men, sword and dagger in
hand. After a fierce hand-to-hand fight of short
duration, but determined and sanguinary, the Mu-
rides were driven from their hill, and attacked the
guard we had posted near the enemy's cannon at
the foot of the ascent. Closely pursued, they were
driven to the banks of a small rivulet, where every
man of them was put to the bayonet.
" While our troops were advancing eagerly on all
sides of the Mid, Major-General De Kesseler, obe-
dient to orders from the Commander-in-Chief not
to neglect anything to take Schamyl alive, put a
check upon the ardour of our troops, who were ready
to storm the Aoul, and placed them so as to render
the escape of any one impossible.
"At this juncture the Commander-in-Chief came
up in person, accompanied by the Commander of
the troops of the Caspian coast, and ordered the
firing to cease, and sent a summons to the Murides
shut up in Ghounib to surrender—not to expose the
Aoill to all the horrors of an assault, as it contained
many women and children. After negotiations,
which lasted nearly two hours, Schamyl, findinc,
the Aoul surrounded by a thick chain of troops 6
ready to enter i▪ t, decided upon surrending at dis-
cretion. Accompanied by some devoted Murides,
he presented hi▪
mself to the Prince and submitted
his fate to the clemency of the Emperor.
" The Commander-in-Chief ordered him to be
taken to his head-quarters, where, on the morrow,
his two sons and all his family joined him. Thence
they were all sent on the 27th to Temir-Khan-
Schoura, whence Schamyl, and his eldest son, Kazi-
Mah oma, have been sent to St. Petersburg, accom-
panied by Colonel Trompovsky, of the Guards.
" At the capture of Ghounib four cannon, a ram-
part gun, and Schamyl's battle-axe fell into our
hands. Some hundred Murides wero made pri-
soners, and as many were slain.
" Our loss was 19 regulars and 2 'militiamen
killed; 7 officers, 114 regulars, and 7 militiamen
wounded; 2 officers and 29 men received contu
sions."

MR, BRIGHT, M.P., ON PARLIAMENTARY RE-
roP.M.—The following letter of this gentleman was recently
received by Mr. John Davidson, the author of a pamphlet,
entitled A New Reform Bill :—" Rochdale, Sept. 21, 1869.
Dear Sir,—l do not think such a bill as is described in your
pamphlet either practicable or just. The exclusions con-
templated would turn out most capricious in working. I
am in favour of an extension of the franchise, consistent
with our ancient practice, based upon occupancy and un-
fettered by considerations connected with education or tem-
perance. Fix the franchise at the point which will include
all ratepayers, or at a rental—at some point on which
the majority can agree—but don't confuse the question
with questions of morals. If you try to exclude all Lien
who are not perfectly wise and prudent, and to include only
the intelligent—your whole system will break down. If
you will trust the people in the bulk, without attemptino-
definitions and choice selections, you will get a good con''..
stituency, and without difficulty.—l am, your 4 respect..
fully, Jomi BRIGHT."

LORD TEYNHAM ON PARLIA-
MENTARY REFO_R.2II.

Lord Teynham, says the Newcastle Daily Chro-
nicle, has communicated the following letter to Mr.
R. B. Reed, the Secretary of the Northern Reform