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Leader (1850-1860), 11th February 1854, Edition 1 of 1, Page 127, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      nant at this unexpected infringement of their positive instructions . On toe 18 th they despatched the Sampson , steam-frigate to the naval chief with the following communication : — " The Ambassadors cannot hat express their astonishment at leaiwiog the sudden resolution of the admirals , particularly at the present moment , when a Turkish flotilla is on the point of setting out with stores and ammunition for the army of Anatolia . " The orders of the French and English Governments , which arrived here ten days balk by the Colon , were forrhal and

      precise as to the protection which the combined fleets ought to accord to the Turkish flag and territory ; and the two admirals are again requested to make themselves perfectly alive to the peremptory nature of those instructions which have -already been communicated to them . " It would seem that the admirals ar « of opinion that the measures , the execution of which is entrusted to them , may be as welt effected whilst the fleets are > at Beicos Bay as if they were at Sinope . In that matter the admirals can only consult their own opinion ., and the responsibility will remain ¦ wi th them .

      " The Ambassadors abstain from all intervention in what relays to matters of nautical interference . The wishes and intentions of their Governments having been duly notified to -the two admirals , it is lor them to conform to them , and to tfind means of taking them more clearly into consideration to ^ carry them into execution . " With the exception of two merchant vessels , ' they did not 8 * 0 a BttSHiaB sail while out They wwe .- six days beating tip from Sinope to th * mouth of the Bosphorua . The Vesuvius ,, Captain Powell * the Hiahflytr , Captain Moore , and iheSIdon , Captain Goldsmith * had joined the fleet . They were fire day a beating up to Beicos from Sinope . The jiigor , sent to intercept and order them back , missed , them . The Turkish governor at Sinope had been indefatigable in pro--curihg all kinds of stores-for the ships . The scene at Sinope

      was deplorable : —numbers of unbuned corpses on the shore , - and ' a heap of smoking ruins . Lord Stratford de Redcliffe is atSd to bare personally expressed te Admiral Dundas his disapprobation at the return of the fleet . Their return had octaswned-painfuirumoaro circulated by the Russian faction , such as " Dissensions between the Admirals . " The fleets were , to proceed to sea again on the 27 th or 28 th . On the 27 tb the steamers were getting up their steam . The screw ahip of the line Charlemagne , the steam-frigate Cotner and another French frigate , together with a British screw ship of the line and two steam frigates , sailed on the 25 th from the Bosphorus for Varna . Independently of a second Turkish convoy -which is to sail under the protection of the -fleets , a portion of the Turkish squadron was expected to enter the Black Sea on the 28 th . Meantime the Fury has

      cone to Sevastopol ,, on a similar mission to that of the JXetributton—that is , to demaod the release of some Englishmen who were employed ^ an engineers on board the Turkish mer--chant at earner Tidjari Midjaret , recently captured by the Russians . I also learn that the / toy is the bearer of a despatch to the Russian admiral in command at Sevastopol , ¦ relative to the discourteous , or rather semi-hostile , reception given to the Retribtriiari at that place a short time since . Altogether , the Fury has a very awkward mission , and her return is anxiously expected . The fact is confirmed that the officers embarked on board the Retribution had succeeded hi making a plan of Sebastopol . A draught of the plan had even been published and aold at Constantinople , and copies sent to France and England .

      Sebastopol is considered to be almost impregnable bj means of a fleet alone , without the co-operation of a land force . The guns amount altogether to 700—some of long range , and bearing on the open sea , others so disposed as to defend by their cross fire the immediate entry of the port . All these are in a perfect state , and the number of men to serve them is believed to bo considerable . The forts have the form of a tower , and almost all of them have three tiers of guns . The coast , however , within a few mile * © f Sebastopol , is easy of access , and , according to the reports of onr officers , its capture might be effected with about 25 , 000 men at the present moment . Later however , and »» hould the Russians be allowed to fortify these points , double that force vvould be Tequjred .

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      Military operations ih Asia arc suspended by the weather . General Guyon is doing wonders in restoring the army to discipline and efficiency . General Baraguay d'HiUiera was contemplating a tour of military inspection . A vaat conspiracy , -with the object of raising in insurrection the Greek population on the banks of the Danube , has been discovered . It is believed that many eminent persons at the Court of Athens are concerned in tlie scheme . M . Me tax or , the Greek Minister at Constantinople , has incurred suspicion . The arrest at Widdin of a Greek priest , named Athanasius , had led to the discovery of this consp iracy organised by a secret society in concert , with Russia . The arrest of that Muscovite emissary led to that of Biron < Elsner , a Russian officer . The Turkish police , directed by Aarif Pasha , discovered the accomplices m thia conspiracy , ¦ which extended to Bulgaria , Janina . Salomon , Smjyrna , and the principal island * in the- Archipelago . Important letters

      action , and not at all as the Vienna telegraph would have us believe , of a compromise with Russia . In the present temper of the Turkish population , flushed by victories , and assured of the active aid of France and England , any idea of compromise is simply impossible .

      bad beon sewed , and proved thut there are forty-four persons in , Constantinople seriously implicated , of wnom four are Russian officers , and one of tbem vtm formerly Russian Postmaster-General in the Levant . Such is the respect for order and authority professed by the Russian Government . Severe orders have been given to tthoot all apios , and tiie vigilance of the police was increasing daily . _ J * . telegraphic reports of tho changes in th « Turkish Ministry are conflicting , and require confirmation . According to ono tho Seraakier , or Minister of War , Mehomct Ali and the Capodao Pachn , or Minister of Marine , had resigned ! and been suoceedod by Riza Pacha and Achmed Paclm . But tho Capudau Pacha who ia said to have resigned is , in fact , no other than Kiaa Pacha , who is said to succeed somebody , perhaps himself . Whatever these changoa may be , it ia certain tU * t they are only in tho senau of a more united

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      On the Danube there have been no large or decided operations since the battle of Citate ; but there have been continual and severe skirmishes with the -Russian outposts , in which the Rnssians haw suffered very severely . Omer Pacha iras reported to be seriously ill . The fact is doubted , beyond , perhaps , an attack of acute rheumatism , to which the Pasha b subject , but the latest accounts report him perfectly-recovered . The rumour that he had crossed the Danube at OUenitza , and cut off the communications of General Gortschakoff ( whose centre is at Bucharest , his left at GalatZ j and his right wing at Krajova ) , is not confirmed . Bnt decisive operationa may be expected shortly . Omer Pacha has divided his army into three independent corps . The first corps—about 45 , 000 strong—forming the

      left wing of the army , is commanded by Ismail Pacha , whose head-quarters are at Florentin , and where he is watched by the Russian General Bellegarde ; bis flanks rest on Widdin and Orsova . The second corps—about 48 , 000 strongforms the centre of the army , has its head-quarters , in Sistova ^ aud stands under th © command of Mustapua Pacha , so well known for his ability as a commander . The third corps—the right wing of the army—with head-quartets in Karassu , at the wall of Trajan ; is commanded by the able Halil Pacha ; it is said to be now about 46 , 000 strong . Since the arrival of General Sobilder a retrograde movement of the Russian forces in Wallachia has been observed . Since the battle of Citate the Turks seem inclined to take up the offensive upon all fortified points of the Danube , whust-the

      Russians , probably awaiting fresh reinforcements , ham-taken up a rather defensive position . .. . . According to General Schildera' report the Russian army of occapation in the Danubian provinces is in a pitiable condition , the original corps being 35 , 000 men weaker than when it crossed the Pruth in July last . It appears that not only General Gortschakoff , hut General Daunesby , is in disgraca with the Emperor . -. The peasants in Wallachia are in such a state of misery that they have no other resource than death or insurrection against the Russians . The exactions of the Russian military authorities are incredible . They take from the inhabitants cattle , corn , and all means of existence . Th « peasants are consequently compelled to fly their homes , and the sowing of the land is completely neglected . Tlw greater

      number or the inhabitants of two villages are mentioned as haying absolutely refused any longer to comply with the requisitions of the Russians , and to have drawn en masse to the mountains . Princo Gortschakoff , on hearing of this unexpected act , sent troops to surround the villages , and announced that if on th « instant the remaining inhabitants did not themselves submit and answer for the return of thencompanions , fire and sword should be set to work . The peasants refusing to answer for the absent the villages ' were burned to the ground , and a great number of persons massacred . The mountains were being filled with guerilla corps composed of the young peasants . Two of these bodies

      consisted of not less than 1200 men . Unfortunately , they have very few guns and ammunition . Should the country rise at the moment that they are pressed b y Omer Pacha , their position would become exceedingly critical . It is also rumoured that the formation of a Roumclian legion by the side of the Polish . legion already in arms is not unlikely , and it is remarked that such a step would bo a fair answer given to the formation of the Greco-Sclavonian corps imagined by Prince Gortschakoff , but which idea , as yet , he has not been able to carry into execution . This Greco-Slave legion is intended in spring to form , the pivot of the * insurrections which the Emperor of Russia is preparing on the Turkish frontiers .

      A Wallachian General , two or three American officers , and several French and Swedish officers , have arrived at headquarters to take service in the Ottoman urmy . Before the entry of the fleets into the Black Sea the Russian cruisers were constantly in observation upon the coast of Varna . They have since entirely disappeared , and the Turks have complete possession of the Euxine . The Turkish firmans confirming the rights of Servia were published on the 4 th instant .

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      A new form of prayer , no doubt designed to assist the Russo-Greek conspiracy , has been translated in the Romanic language , and thousands of copies distributed among tho people of the Danubian Provinces . After a general supplication for all Orthodox believers , for the holy ana unerring Synod and the clergy , comes a special prayer for the most p ious Autocrat , the Grand Master ( Morelo JDomnu ) , and Emperor of All the Ruasus , Nicholas Pawlovitch , the Empress Alexandrine Fecdorofna , and their family , the Court , and the

      armyand may God protect tbem , an-d cast all their enemies and the malevolent at their feet . " After this follows a prayer recently composed by the Russian Synod , iu which there ia the following passage : — 41 pray to Theo , O God , to protect Thy holy orthodox Church , Thy servant Nicholas Pawlovitch , the most pious Autocrat , the Grand Master und Emperor of All tho liussias , from all evil , passion , and distress , to preserve him from all enemies visible and invisible , to grant him peace , health , nnd a long life , and to encompass him with Thy anncd angels . "

      Then comes another production of the holy Synod , in which mention is made or the army , and its brilliant deeda of arms , as also | ot those of looses against Pharaoh , and of David ugainst Goliath . ' nHiconcluaioa of the Te Deum is . - — " Give , O Lord , to the Emperor Nicholas , to the Empress Aloxandrina Feodoiofua , and to their offspring , happy days , a peaceful life , health , and safety , and grunt them the victory ovor ull their enemies . " An Austrian corps d " armde ia marching towards Servia . Tho following ia imotlicr account of tho battlt ) of Caitate . which , though uricf . id nevertheless of great intercut , and

      Soffice ^ y * 8 p 0 t * V * * (> rei « i " Oa rj £ £ - of ' fj'J glorious engsgmnmfc toofel place . The Russians had occupied QAto irSST tone bafci tahons of mfontry , artillery , and cavalry . TfoHhSB matched out of Kalafat with 12 battalion * of iu&atrv ^ ilff cannon , and 3 regiments of cavalry , in order to surr ^ nud fhj * Russian force occupying Csitate . At the village a fieri * " ed ^ gagement ensued : 1500 Russians were killed , and tSe ^ urks lost 1000 men between killed and wounded . Wh&tTthV attack upon the village was continuing , the ^ Tutis had left 5 battalions of infantry and 10 pieces of artillery at some distance to their rear , in reserves A strung Russian force , whicH the Turks estimate at 9 battalions ^ of infantry , 16 guns , and 2 . regiments of cavalry , suddenly showed { r *» lt » rw 1 Munmaiuuul an &f > aolr mvni « -T »^ Tnnkliik mn ^~ ii i imwi wmu-iukv

      __ — ¦ mm— ., ... . ^ % vp .... w ... ^ .. mm *^ w . « t . " ^ fflTTfi AW 0 V 4 W * The Turks did not lose courage , though theyvwr * thna being cut off from Kalafat j hut tarued and , faced the enemy , and immediately gave battle ; . They fougat most bravely » . ' and in half an Iiout so pounded the Russians with S ape- _ hot that they recreated hi the greatest disorder . The issians abandoned the villages they had occupied , and the Turks returned ; to KalafAt as victors . This is the pith of the » tory . " A letter from an Englisfe pfftcer meutions , as a proof of the number of Russian moskettt left on the field , that they were selling at Widdin at of . eachw « A jonrnajLhas just been crested forppUisjuiag tie official orders of the Russians , its title is the Waiti ^ icmM ( miteur A corps of 500 Dorobanzes ( WallacBlaiisj ) has jtUCpassed

      nearly enure over to tne lurKs . Aix XtM , remain toco 13 privates and 2 sergeants . ; ' " , ' . Letters from Adriauople , of the 22 nd , inform tis that the Greek bishop has ordered public prayers to ; - ' b& offered up-ftr the Soltan , his Ministers , and the Turkish generate . - From Switxerland we learn all the deputes ofJ T | eino to the National Council and Council of States , «* prewntas . sembt « d at Berne , have recently had « confexeno * irith th& Pjwrident of the Confederation to consider hop the question with Austria may be arranged . The result has no ^ trans , pired . The general opbion . at present at Berne is thattho question is in the way of arrangement , J '"' ' . ' ¦' The Council of States , after a three daya * tfei&fey havo decided not to entertain at present the question , of the ^ ' eosal

      deral University . They adopt , however ^ e- p ^ pp for the Polytechnic School , which will be established ^* t Zurich . The decision of the Council of States has : taken people by * surprise , more particulaiiv as the majority is a huge one--27 against to 15 for . The committee to wlucb ^ accords ing to custom , the measure was referred for % prefix minaxy report ^ had reported in its , favour . Tie Council ox States is compused of deputies nanoct by the cantonal Governrheots , two for each canton . ; in the National Council , on the other hand , the nienibexs are popularly elected , abd the number or ttemb ^ fior eaclt canton is proportionate to its populatiptif , Tht » s the National Cbuncil reflects , the opinion of the- msjoritv ; of the population ; the Council of States tlat of the majority of in ? the

      cantons . This explains- the greater ^ posifion latter body to a measnre regarded as one of caiAralisaU «( U > -ri ; : ItJutaibeeB decided that two niilitarj cajnp > a , of ^ rey ^ tr ahould be farmed in August next ; jatte iu , : ^ rencli ... Swit ;! ierw land , under the command of Colonel B 6 n « ejEW , deputv fpr Vaud , and the other in German Switzerlajad ^ under Colonel Zioeler , deputy for Zurich . The commenwment . of ih ^ worlcs on Swiss territory for the Geneva and % ^ ons faUwaj was lately celebrated by ajete , at which Gemeral ^ Dtiffour the Swiss commander-in-chief , and one of the directors of the company , presided ; and the members of the . G « neva Government all attended . A conference bad bean held at

      Borne of deputies from the different , cantons ,-with a viewto the establiahment of a code of commerce for the whole q | Switzerland . , Silvio PellicQ , tho prisoner of S p ielberg , died on . the 1 & % instant , in the sixty-first year of his age . Few are not familiar with the sad story of his Austrian p rison , from -which he was released in 1830 . Since then he has lived in retirement as librarian and secretary to a nobl « lady . He leaves a brother and a sister , who will , says the Armonia , of Turin , render the best possible homago to his memory , by publishing : his manuscript works , which art voluminous , and among which is one entitled , " My Life before and after my imprisonment . "

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      The Sardinian Government is actively preparing for the ; eventualities of war on the Austrian frontier . ' A Dutch squadron of frigates has arrived at Genoa . Great agitation , incessantly fanned by contradictory rumours , prevails throughout Italy . At Milan , Marshal Radetzky has threatened the authors of false reports with condign punishment . Thirty thousand Groats- are expected to reinforce the garrison at Milan . At Naples the Muratiflt partv U increasing daily . v The King of K&ples ( writes a correspondent of tho Times ' ) , who is body and soul devoted to Russia , ardently desires the triumph of the Czar , for on the success of Russia lies his hope of the restoration of his French cousins the Bourbons . The Grand Duke of Tuscany , and th « Dukes of Parma and Modena , tremble at the name of war , for they have neither moral nor material force to defend themselves . The Court of Rome i » divided an the great question of the day . The Pope and several of the ear * duials apprehend the aggrandisement of Russia ; because it would bo the triumph of tha Greek Church—of a Bc-bijunatic religion , which would aim at the overthrow of Catholicism , wbile Cardinal Antonelli , the Secretary of State , and all the members of tb « Pontifical Government , who are only intoreatcd in the political question , hold good for Jiussia .

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      ThB " young Princess of Asturias , the only surviving child of the Quoen of Spain , is dangerously ill . Her death would once more open the succession to the Duchess of Montpeusier . A democratic conapiracy has been discovered . General Joseph Concha haa been declared a rebel . H . e > has escaped ; from Barcelona .

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      February 11 , 1854 . ] THE LEADER . -jg £

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 11, 1854, page 127, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2025/page/7/