EUROPEAN INTELLIGENCE.

Lyttelton Times, Volume IV, Issue 214, 18 November 1854, Page 3

EUROPEAN INTELLIGENCE.

RUSSIA AND TURKEY. The following intelligence was published in the French Ifonileur of Sunday, July 16 : —" On the )lth'of July, the Turks attacked and routed the Russian rear-guard at Frateschti, on the road from Giurg«vo to Bucharest. They are in force upon the left hank, and have crossed the Danube at several points. The number of auxiliary troops arrived from Schumla at Giurgevo exceeds 20,000. Prince Gortschakoff, with the reinforcements which he lias summoned, has not more than 60,000 men. The Turks and the auxiliaries reach at least that number. Every thing announces an immediate action. According to letters from Schntnla of the 4th, Captain Butler, the heroic defender ofYelanii Tabia, a fort at Nilistria, has died of his wounds. The Presse states that, according to advices from Orsova of the loth, after five hours' fighting, Mehemet Pacha drove the Russians from the Dobrudsch across the river, and occupied Czernavodu. The whole of the left bank of the Danu.be between Kalafat and Oltenitza is fully occupied by the Turks. According to advices from Hermanstadt of the 16th, Prince Gortsehakoff was near Frateschti with 60,000 or 70,000 men. It is said that Lieutensrnt-General Aurep has shot himself. According to advices from Odessa, the operations of the fleet are directed against Anapa.'1 The following telegraphic despatches were received and published in Paris on Sunday. "Vienna, July 15.—The Turkish troops, assisted by 19,000 of the' Anglo-French troops, have obtained a fresh victory, inconsequence ..-f which the allied army has occupied Bucharest. Berlin, July 15.— The report is current here in the busy world, that a private telegraphic despatch, transmitted this very day from 'Vienna, announces a new victory gained over the Russians by the Turkish troops, with the co-opera-tion of the allied armies. In consequence of this success Omer Pacha had occupied Bucharest/ " Vienna, July 15.—News from Hermannstadt, dated the 14th July, announce that the rear-guard of the Russian army has been beaten between Giunre.vo and Frateschti. The Russians in that affair had 700 wounded. Omer Pacha, at the head of 75,000 men, was marching upon Bucharest." The Moniieur of Tuesday announces that the Russian ports of the Blaiik Sea,'and the Sea of Azoff will be blockaded at a date to be afterwards fixed. The allies were in full march to the Danube. On the Bth only Frenca troops had reached Rutschutk ; the English were at Embdar, a little place midway between Schnmlaand Rustchuk. Further advices from the East inform us that the British army is slowly advancing. The light division remains at Devna, and the first division is still at Aladyn, but Sir De Lacy Evans has pushed up his (the second) division to a position half way between the Guards and Sir George Brown's camp, and Sir Richard England has advanced his*(lhe third) division to a site half way between Aladyn and Varna. The line of the lakes, which stretch from Varna up to Devna for a distance ot nearly 20 miles, is occupied "Jny the "four divisions of the British avmy, at distances of about four miles apart, with their left resting on the crest of the hills which run at right angles to the lake, and their fronts extending along the ridges and plateaux of those hills, with the face towards Shumla. The French Hoops at Adrianople are marching towards Varna. The allies are occupied in removing certain sunken vessels from the month of the Danube. The Russian batteries at Sulina have been repaired and occupied by the English. The Russian steam flotilla, threatened on all sides, was wandering up and down the Danube in despair of safety. It must either be destroyed or fall into the hands of the allies. The navigation of -the river was completely reestablished, and the steamboat of the Austrian Lloyd's had arrived at Galatz. The Presse says, that on the 7th, the combined fleets were seen off Akermau, sailing east. It is said by the Fremden Walt that Admiral Bruat had forced the entrance- to Novorossisoh, south of Anapa. In Asia, Kerim Pacha had surprised 12,000 Russians in the mountains near Ardahan, and defeated them with the loss of six guns, and 400 prisoners. Advices from Constantinople of the 10th

inst. state that an important contest had taken pluce at. Ardaghan on the 2nd.

The Wanderer, of the 16th inst., "fives some information as to the sanguinary affair of the 7tli and Bth of July, at Guirgevo, which lasted, with an interruption only of two hours, from the morning of the 7th till daybreak on the Bth. The Russians were beaten at all points, and retired in the greatest disorder, to Frateschti, on the road to Bucharest. This was but a small party; others retreated northwards, toward* the Calugereni, and eastwards to Argis. From -7,000 to 8,000 Russians,.of the division Chruleff took up a position, on the evening of the 7th, on an extensive plain, on the slope of a hill a short distance from Bucharest. During the fight on the banks of the Danube, which continned till late in the evening, a division of the Ottoman forces landed about three miles above Giurgevo, and surrounded the above mentioned forces of 7,000 to 8,000 Russians. At the same time (about midnight),-6,000 Ottomans crossed over the left bank of the river, below Giurgevo. Thus the engagements went on simultaneously at three points—namely, on the shores of the Danube, and partly in the town ; below Giurgevo, with the aforesaid 6.000 Ottomans; and finally to the North, where the combat, with 7,000 Russians, was the bloodiest, and decided the matter. General Chrnleff lost his arm, but it is not precisely known where, whether at Giurgevo or at Oltenitza, but probably at the former place. A similar engagement has also happened at Oltenitza. Both places are in the hands of the Turk", offensive operations having been thus commenced by them. The number of Ottomans engaged in these affairs is uncertain, but supposed to have been about 25,000; The Russians numbered at. least 30,000. It is not known whether Omer Pacha led the night attack or not. According to the Fremden Blatt, Prince Gortschakoff aerived off Bucharest on the Bth of July, at the head of an army of 20,000 infantry, cavalry and artillery. These troops temporarily took up a position at Kollentina. On the same night, about 1 o'clock, they marched towards Dznrdzmvu. It is considered certain the Russians will not evacuate Wallachia, but will, if possible, re-occupy all their former positions. Some days since, 100 wounded Russians arrived at Bucharest: they were taken to the Philanthropic Hospital, from whence all the sick civilians were removed. The same authority,' in a communication dated from Hermannstadfc, 11th July, informs us of the concentration of the Ottoman army of the Balkan on Wallachian ground, near fFrateschti, in order that, by an attack on the right bank of the Argis, they may force the Russians from their strong position at Bucharest; while another detachment of ihe Ottomans advanced from Oltenitza in two columns, either to the Wallachian capital, or to interrupt the communication of the different corps of Rusaians, as circumstances may decide. Omer Pacha, it is said, would not expose himself to any very great danger by advancing on Bucharest on both sides, and by attacking the Russians at Frateschi, inasmuch as his army rests on the pivots of Rutschuk and Turtukai. Prince Gortschakoff, aware of the danger of his position, is said to have assumed a purely defensive attitude. The Fremden Bhitt further contains a communication from the Lower Danube, dated the lOth, by which it appears that Omer Pacha issued a proclamation from Oltenitza, on the 6th, addressed to the inhabitants of Wallachia, in which he calls on them to remain tranquil, promising an amnesty to all those who were compelled by circumstances to act in the interest of the Russians. " You will soon," says the proclamation, "be freed from your oppressors, and return to the rule of your rightful Sovereign, who has never ceased to care for your welfare, rights and freedom." In Bucharest preparations for the reception of the Ottomans are b"ing made. The Russians arc encamped in the neighbourhood, but there is no doubt that, in the event of an attack, they would retreat to Plojesti. The following despatch has been received at the Admiralty : Britannia, off Baijik, July 1, 1854. " Sirs, —I beg to acquaint you, for the information of tile Lords Commissioners of ihe Admiralty, that Captain Parker, of the Firebrand, j on the night of the 2G-27ih June, nearly surprised the Cossack guard at the entrance'of the Danube, but only succeeded in securing the Cossack officer in command, whom I have sent to General Lord Riiglan. On the 28th and

29tb, assisted by the Fury, he completely destroyed the .strong1 and well-built batteries at theSulina. The lighthouse, the private houses and the quarantine establishment were untouched; but the fear of damaging1 them by the use of powder and fire, rendered the work of destruction of the batteries very severe and heavy to the crews of the Firebrand and Fury. Lieutenant Jull, of the Royal Marine Artilery, was wounded in the head by a ball, but remains in command of his men, and the arrangements made by Captain Parker have again prevented any loss on our side. Captain Parker speaks highly of the conduct of Lieutenant Jones on these occasions, as well as on those when the cavalry posts were lately destroyed at the north of the Danube. I have, &c, (Signed) " J. W. D. Dondas, " Vice-Admiral." " The Secretary of the Admiralty." c The Russian official reports of the operations at Silistria and on the Danube hitherto only extended to the 12th illt., but the Invalide Russe has at length published the following locanic account of the raising of the siege of Silistria: " In consequence of the general nature of circumstances, the Field-marshal Prince of Warsaw, did not consider it necessary to continue the siege of Silistria. He, therefore, ordered Prince Gortschakoff, commanding the 3rd, 4th, and sth corps, to concentrate the troops under his orders in the Danubian Principalities. In obedience to these commands the siege was discontinued on the 26th of June, and the besieging army recrossed the Danube in perfect order and without the slightest loss. The Turks did not even dare to follow our rear-guard. Nothing worth mentioning occurred elsewhere." The Vienna correspondent of the Times writing on the Uthinst., gives the following summary of the reports respecting the movements of the Russian troops on the Austrian frontiers. —The Cronstadt Satellite tells us that 400 Cossacks have been pushed forward to Klein Skit, a place about two-thirds of a mile distant from the frontiers. At the entrance of the Tomasli pass, leading to Croisstadt, is thePredjal mountain, and on the 3rd, a Russian General, accompanied by live other officers, appeared close to the " cordon hut" on the top of it. The Austrian guard at once took to their arms, aud the Russian general began to cross-question the corporal as to the name of the Austrian general in command, how many Generals there were at Cronsuult, what troops*there were in the neighbourhood, what artillery, -Sec. The invariable reply being ' I don't know,' the Russian waxed wroth, and ' blew up' the Austrian. The latter, nothing daunted, reminded the General that he, as an Austrian soldier, was not bound to satisfy the curiosity of foreign officers. Alter sundry imprecations the General and his suite returned to ,the double-headed eagle, which is on the frontiers, and beckoned to two Cossacks who were in waiting. The General having said a few words to them, the Cossacks immediately cantered off into the Pravoa valley. The Russian officers also soon retired; but hardly had thep been gone an hour when 40 Cossacks, lances in res-t. came up to the cordon-hut at full speed. The guard turned out, and prepared for action, but the Cossacks suddenly halted, and, dispersing to the right and left, went along the frontier in small groups. The Czar learns from the kingdom of Poland that the reserves are now marching towards Lublin. The garrison at Warsaw is now only '20,000 strong. In liielce there are two grenadier battalions, and one of the line. The burgomasters iv the different districts have received orders to keep the roads in proper repair for the passage of heavy artillery. The Prussian frontiers are left almost without troops, while in Podalia tremendous masses are concentrated. The French Moniteur has published the following extract from a letter dated Cronstaut, in Transylvania, July 2: — '"War appears to have commenced, or to be about to commence between Austria and Ku<s:u. During the last three weeks fresh troop-; have arrived daily at Cronstadt. 'All the houses of the suburbs are filled with troops. They are hardly allowed sufficient time to repose before they are marched to the Wallaohian {You tier. The day before yesterday a regiment of grenadiers coming' from Gallioia wcro despatched towards liotsa. Among the tiwps wh<> first arrived here was a battalion of Poni^nifrs, composed of six companies, upon the war footing, comprising 200 men, with bridge matt-rials complete, and l(j Held-carriages. Each carriage dra\.n by four horses, has v ilat-boUomeu boat,

and all its appendages. A small corps of Russian infantry, with a detachment of Cossacks, was sent from the interior of Wallachia to the frontier of Transylvania to observe the movements of the Ausfrians. On the 29th of June, an Austrian patrol on guard at the frontiers, having met with a Russian patrol, an engagement took place, it is said, the result of which was, that the Austrian corporal was killed, and two of the soldiers severely wounded. More serious hostilities are expected in the neighbour' hood of Cronstadt. Military hospitals are being prepared there, and to-day 18 vehicles, built for th* .transport of the wounded, have been despatched to the frontier. Count Schafgotsche, General of a corps, has been here for the last few. days, with the Generals of Division Horvath and Chollitch. Several others are expected. The passes which lead into Wallachia, and are now occupied by Austrian troops, are Temesch, Ochans, Botsa, fthe Croutcha, Feultchva and Vereehtoroiyn. There are several other passes, but they are only practicable for infantry.

LATEST FKOM THE DANUBE. The Palrie says;—" The latest intelligence from the banks of tbe Danube announces that the Turkish troops were fortifying themselves at Giurgevo, so as to render that place an important strategical poiut. The Russians were continuing their concentration at Bucharest." It is said in Vienna that the great mass of the Turkish army is marching towards the j mouths of tiie Danube, and that Giurgevo is | held merely by a division. j Omer Pacha has sent a corps, under Helim : Pacha, up the Aluta. which will endeavour to turn the right flank of the Russo-Wallachian ! army. J A letter from Orsova, of the 13th, in the Presse of Vienna, says : —•" Mehemed Pacha occupied on the 4th Czernawoda, in the Do- i brudscha, after, a combat which lasted five hours j and which ended by obliging the Russians to j retire to the left bank of the Danube." We have received some details, in addition to the Summary of Constantinople news, to the 10th, giveu by the telegraphic despatch from Marseilles. The reply of the Emperor of Russia to the Austrian note reached Baron de Bruck on the Bth, and that gentleman at once communicated it to the Divan, and to the-Am-bassadors of the Allied Powers. The rumour was prevalent that this reply was so evasive that a rupture with the Cabinet was inevitable. In consequence of the communication made by M. de Bruch to Rescind Pacha, the Ottoman Cabinet met and held two Councils ou the 9th. The next morning an aide-de-camp from the Minister of War was despatched to Varna, and another to Schumla, with despatches for Marshal de St. Arnaud and Omer Pacha. The object of these despatches was, it is said, to inform those Generals of the resolutions come to by the Ministry, and to recommend them to advance. It is already known that the Generals had not waited for these recommendations, but had already decided on the plan of attack which has been executed on the line of the Danube. The Porte has already sent troops and money to the army in Asm. The last reinforcement consists of 4.000 men and 20 pieces of cannon. A letter from Trebizond, of the 4th, in the Journal de Constantinople, gives some account of a recent advantage gained in Asia by the Turks over the Russians .—" I have this day learned that Kerim Pacha, commander of a division of the Turkish army of Kars, has beaten a Russian corps of G,OOO men, detsched by GeneraljAtidronikoff/after the combat of June" 16, to proceed to Alch'azik. In passing through a valley, Kerim Pacha, though with fewer men. attacked the Russians with great vigour, and after defeating them and making 400 prisoners, obliged them to retreat, leaving six pieces of cannon in the bands of the Turks." THE BALTIC. The future proceedings of the fleet are kept a profound secret. The retrograde movement from Cronsmdt was most unexpected; but most probably was made with the view of arresting the progress of the epidemic which prevailed in most of the ship?, and which, up to the latest date, (he 7ih, although it lias, in many instance?, assumed a milder form, had not yet ceased its ravages. Some fatal cases on boaid the Majestic and Royal George have taken place within the last two days. The former ship ha?, it is stated, suffered from it to a greater extent than any oilier in the English fleet. As yet it has not ffxtt'.'xled itself to any of the tailing ships.

Dantzic, July 20 The Nicolai I. arrived here this morning (20) She left Baro Sound with Sir Charles Napier's and the French fleet on the 18th. The fleet went to the Aland islands. A letter from Kiel of the 15th, in a Berlin newspaper, says:—" Persons ordinarily well informed, state that the French expeditionary army of the Baltic will disembark provisionally in the Island of Seeland, and that Denmark will shortly abandon her neutrality." FRANCE. The cholera is raging fearfully at Marseilles, and so great is the terror with which it inspires the inhabitants, that they are quitting the city at the rate of 500 per day. The Prefect has adopted a measure which, to say the leastjof it, does not appear calculated to produce the effect expected from it. He has interdicted the migration of the inhabitants, excepting in cases where they can prove that they are called away by their legitimate avocations. Such an abuse of power is likely to increase the panic instead of diminishing it. It is said that MM. Durand and Black have failed in their efforts to negotiate a loan in London aud Paris in favour of Turkey. •

(From the Nelson Examiner.) The arrival of the Bonnie Doon, from HobartTown, has put us in possession of Tasmanian papers to the 23rd ultimo, and European intelligence to the 3rd of August. The following extracts are from the Tasmanian Colonist of the 23rd ultimo; — Latest European Intelligence. By the Calcutta, screw steamer, we have news to the evening of August the 3rd. The war was proceeding favourably for the Turks, and disastrously for Russip, although the French and the English have not struck a blow, j In the Baltic nothing decisive had occurred, ' but a strong force was being concentrated before Bomarsund, including 2 3 000 French troops, with a view to the capture of that fortress, and the occupation of the Aland Isles. It was reported in a, letter from Copenhagen of the 3lst of July, that the fortress had actually been captured, with a great loss on both sides; but the intelligence is 100 abrupt to be believed, and probably had no other foundation than the fact of the cannonading having been heard at a distance. Only a small portion of the English fleet was left to keep up the blockade of Cronstadt and Helsingfors, so that the Russian fleet may at last be tempted to come out of their stronghold. In the Black sea the British fleet had destroyed the batteries at the Sulina mouth of the Danube. The fleet was under orders to sail from Baltshik, iv order to commence operations against Sebastopol, the occupation of the Crimea having at length been determined upon. On land, the Turks continue their victorious career ; and the Russians were in full retreat. The Turks gained a great battle at Giurgevo, in which, according to Omer Pacha's despatch, the Russians lost five thousand in killed and wounded, and the Turks lost only five hundred. This appears to have been a finishing stroke, as the Russians fled across the Danube, retiring upon their Jirst line of operations. The allied army was in a state of inactivity, probably because the Turks had really left them nothing to do. A portion of the Anglo French troops is reported to have crossed the Danube at Turtukai, on the 35th July. A grand council of war, at which the allied generals and Omer Pacha were present, was held at Varna ; and Prince Napnleon afterwards met the Turkish general at Giurgevo. It seems likely that, after making arrangements for keeping the Russians in check, the remaining forces will he conveyed to the Crimea, in order to co-operate with the fleets in the attack on Sebastopol. While the war was proceeding abroad, the I British Parliament was rendering powerful aid |at home. A bill under the tftle of the " Rus- | sian Securities Bill" has been introduced into i the House of Commons, which aims at striking the Russian Government in its most vulnerable point. The Emperor is already in want of money ; and, as the war proceeds, and when his troops are compelled to retreat from the Principalities, \v}-ere they have been living at the expense of the inhabitants, the financial wants of the Russian Government will become every day more urgent. Now there are three commies only from which money can be bor-

rowed in sufficient amount, namely, England France, and Holland. For English capitalists to lend money directly to the Government of a country at war with our own has been declared high treason, and therefore there is little danger of any 6uch transaction taking place; but indirectly, under the present state of the law, the matter can be easily managed. The Russian Government applies to Messrs. Hope and Co., of Amsterdam, for a loan ; they write to their correspondents in England, to know how much can be disposed of there. Messrs. Hope and Co. regulate their contract with the Emperor accordingly. They advance the money to him, and receive securities in exchange; and then they get back the money advanced, with a profit, from their correspondents in England, to whom their securities are forwarded. By this i bill such a transaction is rendered a misdemeanour, punishable by imprisonment. Russian securities issued during the war are branded with illegality. If the bill passes, no English capitalist will hold them, for he will not be able to raise money upon them ; and thus one of the maiu resources of/ the Russian Government will be cut off. As the Morning Chronicle forcibly remarks:—"lt is easy to imagine, the perplexity and embarrassment to which the Czar would be reduced if, by the joint decision of all the great European powers, he were compelled, practically speaking, to issue his scrip with the endorsement, l not transferable, during the war, to any subject of the English, French, Austrian, or Prussian Crowns.'"

The English journals complain bitterly of the apparent inactivity which characterizes the movements of the allied forces, and the patience of the people has been severely exercised. The following brief statement of the events of the war, up to the end of July, is given by the Sun in support of these complaints: "The combined fleets under Dundas and Hamelin, Napier, and Deschenes, are, in strength and general capacity,altogether without a parallel in the history of naval warfare. While the military contingents landed by England at Sculatij and by France at Gallipoli, and afterwards hastened onward from the former place to Varna, and from the latter to Adrianople —although they have been surpassed in numbers repeated!}', have never been equalled in condition, vigour, and discipline. Nevertheless, while England and France united have thus sent out against the one barbarous enemy, Russia, such fleets and such armies to aid a gallant ally already flushed with repeated victories—weeks, months, seasons, flit by in rapid succession, and absolutely nothing has yet been accomplished. Nothing, that is to say, in any way calculated to bring the struggle to a definite eonclasion. A terrible abundance of shell and shot has been poured into Odessa. Her Majesty's ship Tiger has been lost. The Sulina mouth of the Danube has been cleared, and its deserted batteries newly fortified. The vacated strongholds along the Asiatic coast of the Black Sea have heen occupied. Steam frigates have moved inquisitively about the entrances to the harbours of Sebastopol. The vicinity of Sveaborg has been sounded. Cronstadt has been reconnoitered. There has been the roaring of a cannonade not only at Odessa, but latterly also at Bomarsnnd. But the pride of the Czar has not yet been laid low by a crushing victory won by the Allies, by sea or by land, in the Black Sea or in the Baltic, on the banks of the Danube or at the mouth of the Neva, hard by the capital of St. Petersburgh.