LATE ENGLISH INTELLIGENCE.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XII, Issue 855, 7 September 1855, Page 3

LATE ENGLISH INTELLIGENCE.

We are indebted to the courtesy of Captain Brown of the Ship 'Merchantman' for a copy of the special edition of the 'Plymouth Journal' of the 28th May, and for a file of the 'Times' to the 26th. Although a few imperfect items of news to the 11th of June have reached us, via Melbourne, yet the intelligence received by the 'Merchantman' will not, on that account, be devoid of interest, as it supplies the long hiatus between the date of our last news and that which is said to have been received in Melbourne. Our last European news was published on the 14th inst., our dates then bein? the 13th May from England, and 10th fn»m Sebastopol. Taking the progress of the Siege of Sebastopol as the intelligence which excites the greatest interest, and commencing at the date of our last advices, we subjoin the letters of the 'Times Correspondent' of the 10th, 11th and 12th. Thursday, May 10. About o'clock this morning the camp in front was roused up by an extremely heavy fire of musketry and repented cheering along our Right Attack. The elevated ground and ridges in front of the Third and Fourth Divisions were soon crowded with groups of men from the tents in the rear. It was a -very dark night, for the moon had not yet risen, and the sky was overcast with clouds, but the incipient flashing of small arms which lighted up the front of the trenches, the yell of the Russians (which our soldiers have christened "the Inkermann screech"), the cheers of our men, and the volume of the fire indicated the position, and showed that a con. test of no ordinary severity was taken place. There ir» an earnestness and reality about the musketry on such occasions which has a language of its own that cannot be mistaken. The regularity and precision of feu dejoie, the platoon or file firing of our reviews, have little kin with the passionate, intense, and startling bursts of rifle and musket, and give but an imperfect notion of the deadly rattle and fitful roll of small arms in action, where every man is loading and firing as rapidly as he can, and where the formation of the line is altering every mement For a mile and a-half the darkness was broken by outbursts of ruddy flame and bright glittering sparks, ■which advanced, receded, died out altogether, broke out fiercely in patches in innumerable twinkles, flickered in long lines like the electric ftnsh along a chain, and formed for an instant craters of fire. By the time I had reached the front — about five minutes after the firing began— the fight was raging all along the right of our position, and as some extra men had been sent down to the batteries when the relief marched down it was thought that we might have made an attack on the Russian works close to our advanced trenches, but it was soon tolerably certain that the enemy had either made a sortie upon Gordon's new works, or a vigorous assault upon the men in front of the trenches. I cannot now ascertain the particulars of the affiir, even i if one could have the heart to disturb the poor fellows who may have come up from the trendies, and I can only describe what I saw. It seemed as if the fiercest and ! most determined struggle took place on the left of our Right Attack, but the ground is to very deceitful at night that it is impossible to determine localities with anything like precision. The wind was favourable for hearing, and the cheers of the men, their shouts, the voices of the officers, the Russian bugles and out own, were distinctly audible. The bugles of the Light Division and of the Second Division were sounding the 'turn out' on our right as we reached the high ground, and soon afterwards the alarm sounded through the French camp close to them. Hundreds of the soldiers had got up, and were drawn up, watching with the most intense interest the fight before them, as far as they could see it. The tent* of the Fourth Division were lighted up, and the old Inkermann men were all anxious and ready for the word to march, should their services be required. The musketry, having rolled incessantly for a quarter of an hour, began to cease at intervals along the line. Here and there it stopped for a moment altogether ; again it bursts forth. Then came a British cheer, which thrilled through every heart. 'Our fellows have driven them back ; bravo !' Then a Russian yell, a fresh burst of musketry, more cheering, a rolling 1 volley subsiding into spattering flashes and broken ; fire, % ringing hurrah trom the front : and then the | Russian bugles sounding 'the retreat,' and our own 1 bugles the 'cease firing,' and the attack, after half-an-hour's duration, was over. The enemy were beaten, ', and were retiring to their earthwork* ; and now the batteries opened to cover their retreat. The Redan, Round Tower, Garden Batteries, and Road Battery, aided probably by the ships, lighted up the air from the muzzles of their guns. The batteries at Careering-bay and at the north side of the harbour contributed their fire, and the sky was seamed by the red track of innumerable shells. You could see clearly at times the ground close around you from the flashes of the cannon. The 'round shot tore the air with a harsh roar, and ■hells burst almost in volleys along our lines. The Russians were avenging themselves as best they might for their repulre, and the extent of their mortification and anger might be inferred from the vigour and weight of thtir cannonade. The instant they began to tire, our ever active allies the French, on our right, opened trom their batteries over Inkermann and from the redoubts to draw off the Russian guns fr<*n our men ; and our own batteries also replied, and sent shot and shell in the direction of the retreating enemy. The effect of this combined fire was very formidable to look at. but was probably not nearly so "destructive as that of the musketry. From half-past 1 till 3 o'clock the cannonade continued, but the spectators had retired before 2 o'clock, and tried to sleep as well as they might in the midst of the thunders of the infernal turmoil. This conflict must have caused considerablo loss, and it is a time of painful suspense while one is in a state of uncertainty respecting the fate of friends and the result of such an encounter. Soon after 3 o'clock a.m. it began to blow and rain with great violence, and on getting up this morning I really imagined that one df our terrible winter days had interpolated itself into our Crimean May. The tents are damp with wet, the whole camp looks black and miserable, and one step out of doors takes you over the shoes in mud. 3 o' Clock p.m. The rain has ceased, and the soil is beginning to dry up already, but it still blows strongly. It is stated that the fight last night or this morning wns less serious than we imagined. The Russians came on us on the left of the right attack, close to the Woronaoff-rond, but the troops were ready for them, and drove them back^n spite of their very heavy, musketry. A part of the Light Division took them m flank, and, although the enemy kept up a heavy fire fro:n a distance, they did us but little injury. It does not appeal* to hare been a sortie, or even a premeditated attack ; but, whatever it was, the Russians were completely foiled.' They hud pushed uut a strong column q£ troops, and

proceeded, il is supposed, to execute homework* in the rear of the advance^ partii-* which were sent on towards our lines to ihield the woiks from observation. Our won 1 on the alert and g.ive tiie alarm, and as J the en^my di< w near they gave the alarm and rhe men were in readiness for them. The Russians crept npon their bellies, delivered a volley at the parapet, which did no harm, and then rnshed on, but they were received by a very heavy and well directed discharge of Minimi, which killed and wounded a considerable number of them. They then lay down again, loaded, and fired from the ground, but their officers in vain endeavoured to lead them up to our lines, from which oar troops kept up an incessant fire. A portion of the Light Division, moving towards the left, charged another party of Russians coming up close to the Woronzoff-road, and utterly routed them. The enemy, who lost at every volley, notwithstanding their caution, after uttering repeated cheers and yells, principally raised, one may imagine, by the officers, retreated down the hill, atyLit could be seen that they bore great numbers of dead and wounded along with them. It is supposed the Russians had 150'hos de co»ibat. The tremendous cannonade they opened was unattended with much effect, considering its weight and intensity, and was only so much waste of ammunition, but our fire on their retreating columns must have added considerably to their casualties. The total loss in the Light Division last night, I am glad to say, turns out to be only 14 hors de combat. Lieutenant Lawrence, of the 34th Regiment, and three men were wounded. The gallant 7th Regiment had five men wounded ; the 88th Regiment, three men ; the 90th Regiment, one man ; and the 23rd, one man wounded. The Russians have succeeded in getting five mortars to bear upon our right attack, which are likely to increase our casualties. We have never had so many mortars directed against this one spot at any time previous to the present. Friday, May 11. Last night, about 10 o'clock, there was another alarm alone our lines. It waa exceedingly dork, and the wind was high. The 9entries in front challenged and gave the alert, and the men who were in the advanced parallels began to fire with steadiness and rapidity at a body of Russians who were trying to get up to them in the darkness. The enemy replied, and for a time there was a desultory firing, the flashes from which were visible, but it was impossible to hear, owing to the violence of the wind. The fight took place in front of our right attack, and was over in about half-an hour or lets. The instant the enemy retired their batteries opened as before, and threw very heavy and repeated flights of shot and shell upon our" works. Tne 2d Division were the principal sufferers. The newly-arrived battalions of the Royals received their bapteme defcu, and had three men killed and four wounded, principally by shells — altogether we had nine men k lied and seven wounded. Most of the wounds are of very serious character, being inflicted by jagged pieces of bombs. Omar Pasha visited Lord Raglan yesterday, and rode out with the Field-Marshal subsequently toward-. Balaklava. It was Lieutenant Roehfort, of the 49th Regiment, who was wounded the other night, and not Corban, as I waa eroneou-dy informed. The lastnamed officer went home some time ago. Saturday Morning, May 12, 10 a.m. Last night, in the midst of an awful storm of rain and wind — so thick that no one could see a yard beyond him —a body of Russians came up on our left attack, but the sentries gave the alarm just in time; and Colon?l Macbeth, of the 68th Regiment, got his men into order and received the first fire of the enemy as they came up to the tiench with perfect steadiness. Some of the Russians leapt up on the parapet and jumped into the battery, where they at once met their fate. There wa*. a desperate struggle between the Russians and the men of the 68th outside the lines, in which the bayonet was freely used on both sides ; but the ene-ny were repulsed by our fellows, led by Colonel Macbeth, Lieutenant Hamilton, and a sergeant of the 68th. I regret to say that Captain Lloyd Edwards and six men of the 68th were killed, and 22 men of the same regiment were wounded. We took some wounded prisoners, It is ot course impossible, at this early hour, to ascertain the particulars of the attack, as the men have not come up from the works yet. Some of our men were wounded by stones flung by the Russians, whose guns would not go off, owing to the wet. The enemy lost heavily, and they were seen dragging off their dead during the night. It is now blowing hard, and it has rained all night. The camp is a mass of mud, and has resumed us old wintry aspect. We find next the following telegraphic message :—: — Sebastopol, May 15. — There were nightly sorties made bv the Russians against the English batteries facing the Redan, which are vigorously repulsed Eupatoria is tranquil. The Russian corps which was to have passed the Dneister for Odessa has returned to the line of the Pfuth, where General Luder* is stationed with 32,000. Crimea advices of the loth state that the Russian* attacked the English batteries opposite the Redan, but had been repulsed. On the next day, by telegraph, the following correspondence took place respecting the resignation of General Oanrobert : — General Canrobert to the Emperor. Crimea, May 16th, 10 a.m. — My shattered health no longer allowing me to continue in the chief command, my duty towards my Sovereign and my country compel* me to ask yon to transfer the command to General Pellissier, a skilful and experienced officer. I beseech the I Emperor to leave me a soldier's place as commander of a simple division. Tiie Minister op war to General Canrobkrt. | The Emperor accepts your resignation. He regrets that your health has suffered. He congratulates you upon the sentiment which makes you ask to remain with the army, where you shall have the command, not of a Division, but of the corps of General Pellissier. Hand over the chief command to the general. Respecting this occurrence, and the character of the new commander of the French forces, we shall furnish various extracts in our next. Ke J is an officer very highly spoken of, and it would j appear as if success had speedily followed his appointment. Under date the 19th we find the fol- 1 lowing : — Berlin, Friday.— A despatch from St. Petersburgh, dated Friday 25th, reports the arrival of the following despatch (from Gortschakoff, dated Sebastopol, 1 9th :•— 11 The enemy's fire is weak. Our losses are moderate. Both tides are occupied in repairing the old and new batteries." Under date three days afterwards an intimation of *iecided success appears : — Paris, Friday.— The • Patrie' ha* the following:— " We are assured that a great advantage ha< been gained by the French army before Sebastopol. A private despatch announce* between the night of the 22nd and 23ra of May, the French carried by assault the entrenched Russian camp, near the Quarantine Bastion, which was defended by the whole garrison of Sebastopol. The same despatch states that the expedition against Kettch had again sailed." ; In reference to this attack we read :—: — Paris, Saturday.— The ' Moniteur' publishes two despatches from General Pellissier, dated the 23rd and 24th instant. The first is as follows:— "The enemy had formed between the Central Bastion and the sea a large place d'arms, where they proposed assembling considerable forces to make important sorties against us. •• On the night between the 22nd and 23rd, we attacked the works, which were defended by nearly the whole of the garrison. The combat was fierce and lasted during nearly the whole of the night. We carried and occupied half of the work 14 1 hope to be able to announce to you to-morrow, that the remainder has been carried on the following In the other despatch General Pellissier says :— •• We last night very happily carried the remainder of the works we had attacked on the previous e/ening. The enemy, whose losses were enormous on the night before, ijid not make so stout a resistance; our losses, thoughTconsiderable, were much less. " The Allies to-day celebrated together the birthday of Her Majesty." And again, The accounts in the • Moniteur ' of yesterday are fully cpnfirmed by the advices by our own Government which speak in growing teems of the gallantry of our allies, and of the tremendous loss of the Russians in the conflicts of the nights of Tuesday and Wednesday last. The French maintained, the important position they won, which commands tb« military harbour, and is one of the most valuable points of attack upon the town and theiortt on the south-west defences towards the sea. The east of the Careening Bay is nearly in our possession to the water's edge. Troops were embarked both at Kamiesch »nd at Constantinople for an expedition on ft lsrge 9eale, for which every preparation had been made, but whether destined for Kertch, or Old Fort, or plsewhere, has very properly not been allowed to transpire. One day later, and another success is announced :—: — Sbbastopol, 24th, afternoon.— Mis* Nightingale/ has ) been e very ill, but is, now out of danger *

I A despatch to the following effect hai been receirtd in Pari. from General Pelissier :— " Sebaitopol, 24th, a very Hvoly combat directed against our important 1 position has lasted all night. Wi obtained complete succew. The enemy's loss wm enormous and our*-. 'sensible." ' * - ->• We learn under date Paris, May 27, which may lead us to fix the previous day as that on ' which the event occurred :—: — A despatch received from Paris announces that great operations have been coimnem-ed by the corps of lieneral Bouquet. In the direction of the Tchomaya, ekir-> mishing had begun, and a'i attack -was expected. The state of tLe loads had improved. A Jespatch in the ' Advertiser,' dated Paris, Sunday, says : A despatch had been received from General Pelissier of a most satisfactory character. The Russians have been attacked on the Tchernaya ; they hare been driven back into the-- mountains. The works captured from the ene * y during the last few days remain permanently in the hands of the allies. .. The loss of the Russians in the battle i» estimated at •5,000 to 6,000 killed and wounded. On the 27 th, or one day later, the following most important achievement is communicated: — Lord Panmure has favoured the Electric Telegraph Company with a copy of the following telegraphic despatch from Lord Raglan, dnted Crimea. May 27. " We are masters of the Sea of Azoff without a casualty. The troops landed at Kertch, on Her Majesty* birth-day. The enemy fled, blowing up their fortifications on both sides of the straits, and destroyed thf ir steamers. Some vessels of fifty guns have fallen iniothe hands of the Allies." At this p tint our direct intelligence eud-., hut it appears that a vessel from Scotland, via the - Cape, arrived at Port Phillip Heads on the I4tb August. She had pub into the Cape from stress of weather, an'd, while there the ' iery Croat.' steamer arrived at Table Bay with intelligencefrom England to the 11th of June. The following news was telegraphed to .Melbourne on tbst day, and, although at first questioned little doubt afterwards lemainedas to its authenticity. It is no more, we ire sure, than,- from the gradation of success which was being attained by the allied arms, our readers will have anticipated :—: — She reports that tRe Allies have got possession- of theWhite Tower, Stai Fort, and the Mamelon Battery, together with all the outworks on the Sooth side of Sebastopol. The loss of th& Allies during these operations was2000, and that of the Russians 6000 men. In writing of this piece of information, theMelbourne correspondent of the Sydney -Morning Herald .>ays as follows : — "The public her' were suddenly startled, and 1 am< astonished by the receipt c 4 very late intelligence fronn England, announcing what appears to be no less than* the fall of Sebdstopol. This I must say, is m»re than probable. At the previous date, the French had effected' a lodgement in the Flagstaff bastion, which may be considered the key of the whole place, a? by turning its guns on the Redan, the Mamelon. and the Malakotf, while the English attacked them in front at i distance, of 50 to 70 yards, it was impossible those works could be maintained,* and this yon would observe,, was the opinion, of the 'Times' in a le ding aiticleoi* the 9th May. You have no idea of the intense satisfaction that this intelligence has given, and universal and fervent are the prayers that it may prove true. I think it is certain, that on the arrival of the news of the taking of Sebastopol, we shall have an illumination, and with good reason,, as I iully believe it wiin>e decisive of the contest. It is evident that on this" issue will depend the policy of the German powers, who are anxious to side with the strongest. It will also strongly influence all the powers of A«>ia, and m fact, then Russia will stand, alone, with, all the world against her. This very cheering intelligence, coupled with the great preparations that are continuing to be made for the vigorous prosecution of the war, g'ves us every reason to hope for news of a more important, and decided character. The following is. a closely approxim tiVe esti* mate of the allied forces now iv the Crimea 120.000 Frenah, 300,000 English, 15,000 Sardinians, 25,000 Turks and 10,000 Egyptians— in all, 210,000 men. It is considered that 80,000 men will be abundantly sufficient to hold the trenches before Sebastopol, and the r anainingi 30,000, besides reinforcements, are likely to be employed during the summer to scour the Crimea. With regard to the preparations that are being made, we find the following under date> Marseilles, May 17 :— One hundred pieces of the battering train ordered to i be shipped for the Crimea are collected at the artillery | ground near the port of the Joliette. They consist of [ heavy cannon and huge martars. A telegraphic despatch has fnrther commanded that 25,000,000 ball cartridges be forth wi'h despatched to the army before Sebastopol, being 250 rounds for 100,000 men. The military authorities complain of .he difficulty of procuring a sufficient number of ships, although the dock is crowded with transports, chaitered by the Government. The following vessels are now loading for the Crimea: — The French war steam corvette Gorgone ; the British steamers Arabia, Scaman<k>r,*New York, of Glasgow. Caledonia, Normandy, and Great Northern, of Wisbeach; the American Great ' Republic, of 3,400 tons, the Qieen of Clippers, the Edgar Stringer, and from 40 to 50 sailing transports of various sizes, The troops, which for some months have been embarkedfor the East by hundreds in steamers, and by scores in sailing vessels, are now despatched by thousands. The Great Britain, which sailed for Kamiesch on Sunday last, took 1,500 men of varjous corps ; the Colombo took 1,015 ; the ships of the. line Jemdppcs, Inflexible, and Marengo. and the frigates Monte/suma and Vengeance, have sai ed within the last few days from Toulon with a reinforcement of some thousand men for the French army in the Crimea. The Arabia, New York, and Scamander will take each from 1200 to 1500 men. Intimately connected with the prosecution of the war is the subject of the VIENNA CONFERENCES. The negotiations had ceased without any satUfac- | tury result having been arrived at, but it would >ppear there was some probability of their resumption . In connexion with this subject, a lengthened' debate took place in the House of Lords, on the 25th of May, oo the following motion of Earl Grey • — " That an humble address he presented to her Majesty, " To thank her Majesty for having ordered the protocols of th« recent negotiations at Vienna to be laid before us ; " To inform her Majesty that this House deeply deplore* th» failure of the attempt to put an end by these negotiations to the calamities of the war in which the country is now engaged ; and, " To express our opinion that the proposals of Russia were such as to afford a fair prospect of concluding a peace by which all the original objects of the war might have obtained all the advantage* which can reasonably be demanded from Russia." The motion was ultimately withdrawn. We turn now to the operations of the Fleet in THE BALTIC. Little or nothing has yet been done in the Baltic, owing to the season having been an unusually protracted one. It is evident, however, from the, following extracts, that the fleet would not remain long inactive: — We ('Times') have received the following telegraphic despatch, dated Nargen, l-sth May:— "Twcntythree sail, eleven of them screws, have anchored off Nargen. The other ships in the Baltic are to assemble immediately. "The Imperieuse sailed to-day for England,, to repair damages sustained by running into the Tartar on the10th. "Active operations against the enemy are- in contemplation." A telegraphic despatch dated Hamburg, 17th instant, says : — "The whole of tho English fleet, with the exception of two vessels, has left Faro Sound, to penetrate lurthet into the gulf of Finland." Berlin, Thursday. — St. Petersburg advices of the 19th, st»te that all the fortified harbours in the Bay of Finland had been declared in a state of siege. Eleven prize*, taken by the English had arrived at Elainore on the 22nd. Bermx, Friday.— The * Vulture,* with mails, arrived last night at Dantzic. There were some large Russian, men-of-war lying at Sweabozg-; they were dismantled. The bulk of the English fleet were at Nargen t crew* were healthy. No new cases of small-pox had occurred oi> board the ' Duke of Wellington' and *• Arrogant." Official information has reached the- British Consul,. at Blsiiwre, that the Russian Government had given orders to rink all their men-of-waj; at Cxonstadt* «xoc{* eight sail af the line. ,