DESPATCH FROM ADMIRAL SIR EDMUND LYONS.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XII, Issue 827, 1 June 1855, Page 1 (Supplement)

DESPATCH FROM ADMIRAL SIR EDMUND LYONS.

j Admiralty, February 13th, 1855. — A despatch has been received from Rear- Admiral Sir Edmund Lyons, of which the following is an extract :—: — Agamemnon, off Sebastopol, i January 27th, 1855. Sir, — I have the honour to report, for the information of the Lor^s Commissioneri of the Admiralty, that, since my last general letter of the 23rd instant (No 60) the weather has been particularly fine. The health of the army has been much benefited by the change. A good deal of progress has been made in hutting the troops and distributing the clothing which has been so liberally sent out from England, so that the men express themselves as being comfortable. '2. The health of the fleet and of the naval brigade is excellent. The men are well supplied with fresh meat and vegetables, and also with oranges sent from Malta by Rear Admiral Stewart. 3. The fire from the batteries of the allies has increased during the last week, and that of the enemy has not slackened. New guns have been mounted in our batteries during the last four days. 4. On the 24th instant I passed the day at Balaclava to superintend the service going on there, and to make inquiries au<t examine into matters connected with th« duties of the port and transport services. I met Lord Raglan there by appointment, and we made some arrangements which will, I trust, have a beneficial effect. I have, &c, [Signed] E. C. Lyons. Rear-Admiral and Commander-injCbief. To the Secretary of the Admiralty. ' Vienna, Februrary 10. — We have news from Sebastopol of the 30th. The cold was less severe and it was thought that the general attack of the place would not be delayed. No new event of importance had taken place. The tramroad from Balaclava was commenced, and great expectations were entertained from the rapidity with which the work was conducted. ' Intelligence from Bucharest announces that Prince Stirbey had assembled the Divan to vote in extraordinary sum from the Wallachian exchequer to assist the Sultan in the prosecution of the war The allied consuls had urgd the adoption of this measure, which it was thought would meet with success. Accounts from Constantinople of the Ist of February state that the latest attitude of Persia had given some anxiety. France, and England are reported to have despatched an ultimatum to that power.

Vienna, February 14. — Austria, France, and llusdia, have declared their readiness to enter upon the negotiations; Lord Westmoreland is at present without instructions. It is. fcaid that Prussia takes' part in the new conferences. " "

Constantinople, Feb. l.~&eriei'al Canfobert has sent for the French division at Daoud Pacha, and it is said that vigorous operations are to commence. «

February s.—The. —The 9 fch division of the French army leaves to-morrow, under its commander, General Burnet, fur the Crimea.

A fire which had broken ont at the Arsenal, has been extinguished after causing some damage, i Khorsew Pacha, formerly Grand Vizier, has ! eKed at the age of 90 years. [ From the * Times' of February 15 :—: — We have received the following telegraphic despatch from our correspondent at Marseilless : J ■ '• Marseilles, Wednesday, February 14. — The , Thames which left Constantinople on the sth of February, has arrived. " Despatches for the Government left at eleven a. m. | " Under date of Kamiesch, Feb. 3, we learn that tbe Russians made sorties on the Ist and 2nd Feb., but were driven back with great loss by young French volunteers."

Berlin, February 13. — A despatch from St. Petersburgh, dated yesterday, announces that nothing particular had taken place before Sebastopol, except a sortie on the night of the Ist of Feb., in which the Russians took 3 officers and 7 men prisoners.

Bucharest, February 6.— Yesterday, a deiaoh-" ment of 500 Wallachian volunteers u«der the command of Colonel Wandui, left M*tiraeui-to join the Turkish- corps a$ Bra Ha. $ke enrolment of volunteers for the Ottoman service is making progress. The 'Kreuz Zeitung' of Berlin announces that Austria is resolved to renew the demand for the mobilisation of the Fedral army afc present ordered to be made ready for war, In that case she will further press for the election of a Federal Commander-in-chief. Prussia will oppose this measure, and will also endeavour to obtain from the Diet a vote forbiding the presence of foreign armed corps (a French corps d'armee) within the territory of the Bund. The King of Hanover is hasteuing on military pleparations : and letters from Vienna state that he has empowered Baron de Stockhausen to conclude a separate treaty with Austria. Brunswick and Nassau have also sent declarations on that point of a very satisfactory character for the Austrian Cabinet. Letters from the frontier of Poland state that the recent dislocation of troops in that kingdom is ascribed to a change of the plan of defence. It is believed the object of the Russian Commander is to make the right bank of the Vistula, between Lublin, Zaraose, Wicpriz, and the Vistula, and between Warsaw and Brzecs, the theatre of the war.

Thh United Status and Russia. — The British Press has been loud in its abuse of " America siding with Russip." As Republicans, we have been accused of sympathizing with despotism, and enjoying its success over the so-called liberal Powers of Europe. But is it so ? We have certainly expressed our conviction that Russia must prove victorious in the emd. We have also pointed out the advantages to be derived from maintaining peaceful relation* with that empire, but in all this we have done no more than give an opinion, and reciprocate in a measure the kindly feelings extended towards us by the Czar. From the supremacy of the Allies we have much to dread, for war to a commercial and progressive nation like ours may reasonably be dreaded ; while, on the other hand, from the supremacy of Russia we have much to expect. By the latter, the right hand of fellowship has been held out to us, and we see no reason to refuse it, though its Government be despotic, and its Emperoi the enemy of our own immediate rival. Russia seems, as it were, to have just sprung into life, and is, no doubt, advancing fast along the path of greatness. "We have now the opportunity of establishing with her a close commercial intercourse, which will be greatly beneficial to both countiies, and, as we hope, be the means of spreading for the first time a liberal influence among her people. With her despotism we do not sympathise, and with the cause of the present quarrel we have nothing to do ; but it is incompatible with our republicanism, and far less with our material interests, to destroy the friendly feelings at present existing between us. Let us illustrate this last assertion with a few facts. At the present moment the e*rnest desire of the Czar is to connect by telegraph and railroad all the important points of his vast dominions. Hence the facilities afforded to Mr. Shaffner, who lately visited St. Petersburg to settle preliminaries and otherwise farther the grand enterprise of " placing a girdle round the earth." It is intended to traverse the Russian empire from the capital t» Sitka, and the line throughout will run south of 60 degrees, with the exception of a small- portion, which diverges north, for the purpose of reaching Yatousk, on the river Lena. It has also been determined to build 2300 miles of railway, the principal road being from Moscow to Odessa. Iron is required for this, the native metal being too soft ; and to procure it (the trade with England being stopped) the Czar must necessarily turn to America. Again, he has seen the destruction caused among his troops by the screw ships of the allied fleet in the Crime*. Both at Eupatoria and the Alma the English vessels, as they lay along the coast, beyond the rangp •£ tht enemy s guns, did fearful damage with rock* and bombshell. The Emperor has already been taught a lesson from experience. To be even with his opponents he must have a steam navy. The Russian pine is not to be compared with Great Britain's oaken walls, and the Czar must turn to America for timber and for ships. In working out her destiny Russia will therefore assist America in realizing her own. Nicholas has already shown not only a willingness, but an eagerness to import American enterprises into his empire, and neither our interests nor those of the republican principles we uphold require us to draw back. We know that a wide field has been opened to physicians, engineers, mechanics, and manufacturers from the United States ; and who can foresee all tho mime-

rows benefits that "will be derived from such' a con" nexion, to the furtherance of liberalism in one country, and the progress of commerce in both ? Nor is this all. We noticed some time since that the Russian boundary in Asia had lately been extended to the River Amour, which empties itself into the North Pacific Ocean. This new accession of territory, as large as the whole of the New England States, -was at first neglected as unprofitable ; but it was subsequently found to be a splendid lea country, and now the Czar wishes to throwit open to American trade. Protected by the island of Sagalien from the ice which flows from the Sea of Okhotsk, the mouth of tbe Amour, navigable for 400 miles, is open during the whole year. To the north is the fur region of Kamtschatka, and the advantages of trade here are scarcely inferior to those recently acquired by the opening of Japan. Are we, then, to throw away such benefits as these for an empty shadow ? Surely not. Our admiration may be excited in favour of the heroes who toil and bleed and die in their conntry's cause on the frozen plains of the Crimea. As men, our sympathies may be especially roused for those whose Anglo-Saxon names sound familiar in our ears. God forbid that we should fail in doing every justice to the enduring courage of that race from which we ourselves have sprung ; but with the cause of the war we hava no concern ; and with the result, it is to our advantage that Russia should preserve the integrity of her empire, and drive back her opponents. — New York Serald.