EUROPEAN INTELLIGENCE.

Lyttelton Times, Volume IV, Issue 222, 16 December 1854, Page 4

EUROPEAN INTELLIGENCE.

(From the Sydney Morning Herald.) ENGLAND. [ The cholerai-^jre are grieved to say, was making- frightful Ravages among- the population of the' United Kingdom; Oae of our correspondents, writing from London, September 9, sa y S: —» The deaths last week in London alone were 1600. Some streets are barricaded, and the black flag is hoisted to 'warn people not to pass through them. It is a lepetition of the plague, and almost as fatal." Visit of Prince Albert to the French Camp.—Priuce Albert was about to pay a visit to the French camp at Boulogne, where he will be received by the French Emperor, Louis Napoleon. A letter from Boulogne, dated yesterday evening, says:—" The Prince Ernest, steamer, from Foikstone, has this moment entered the harbour, with the horses and servants of his Royal Highness Prince Albert, and several officers with their horses. The port is thronged with French and Ens isli, while flags are gaily flying from erery louse." Arrival or the Guards.—Since our last publication an ext aordinary event has been ■witnessed at Boulogne—the arrival of English Guards, in full uniform, with their horses and trappings, to serve as orderlies to Prince Albert. On Friday afternoon, a Foikstone steamer, freighted expressly for the occasion, received under the superintendence of Captain Herrick, R.N., Admiralty Superintendent at Dover, 27 horses for Prince Albert, Lord Hardinge, the Duke of Newcastle, General Whetherell, &c With them were fire of the Royal Horse Guards and two of the blues, under the command of Corporal Sntton, so well known for his prowess in cutting in two, with one stroke of his sabre, a sheep, a leg of mutton, pig of lead, &c. On their arrival, about six o'clock, a large crowd was collected ; but .before the horses were landed and saddled, many thousands had assembled to witness the men and examine the horses. As the Guards stood on .the quay, waiting for the horses, they were of course objects of general attention. Among others led to the spot were three of the Cent-Gardes. . These' soldiers are picked men. Certainly they are fine looking men when standing by themselves; but there curiosity led them close to Corporal Sutton, to examine his dTess. Then, the difference between them became apparent, he. towered the neck and head above them, and his brawny shoulders and stalwart arm did honour to his country. We have been informed that the Guards sent over have been selected as the smallest and least weighty in the corps, in consideration of the horses. It was imagined that on field days and during the evolutions, r there would be much harassing work for the horses, and considering the very heavy weight of saddles, &c, which they carry, it was deemed prudent to select the slightest in the regiments'to conduct them. We must say that, as Englishmen, we felt proud on hearing the remarks made on the horses by the admirers of horse-flesh among the amateur French, and the thousands that followed the mounted troopers from the port to their stables, v/as a sufficient indication- of the admiration felt for the animals and their riders by our delighted neighbours. Who amongst them ever suspected three years back that they would hail witlr delight and follow with pleasure, ns friends down the port of Boulogne, apart of the English army in all the pride and circumstances of war! Still we have all lived to see it, and the mind that controls the destinies of France, perhaps of Europe also, may bring about other scenes as desirable, and as little expected, to which we may not now refer.—"Boulogne Times." THE WAR. The war was progressing with an earnest vigour which was quite cheering to the British people. Eomarsund was captured in the middle of August, the attack of the English and French ships having lasted from the 7th to the loth, when the last fort surrendered. We have no room, this morning, for Admiral Napier's despatches on this event; the result is briefly stated in the following passage of the correspondence to the " Melbourne Morning Herald/'* '• My last to you was dated the 25th ultimo. We had at iliat time just learnt the fall of Bomarsund, the fortress on the Aland Islands, built of granite and iron, and reported of course impregnable. Since that time the official despatches of the English and French commander

,'have been published, and though these documents do hot in any way add to the facts of the capture previously known, they express opinions as to the defensible qualities of those Russian fortresses well worthy of remembering. Our generals and admirals, after a trial of 32-------pounders on shore batteries against the granite walls of Bomarsund, have no hesitation in believing that their. 84-pounders, if near enough, are capable of levelling any works in the possession of the Russians. Not the least remarkable feature in the whole affair is our very trifling loss as compared with that of the enemy,who were shut up within their walls, whilst our marines and sailors were quite exposed. Yet we lost but three killed during the five days'.operations, with under a.score of wounded. The French loss was rather worse than our own... .. . The prisoners, numbering' 2300,. have been sent of in English and French ships, and the fortress itself levelled with the ground, in order to save the trouble of garrisoning it. Whilst the, Baltic remains open our ships are sufficient protection to the islands which are. declared independent, and when that sea is frozen over, , which it usually is in severe winters, a powerful j Russian force could at any time cross from the j Finnish coast and overwhelm any garrison that ', we could leave there. Now the Russians can not hope to re-establish themselves there without fortifications."It is now officially announced that the recently captured fortress of Bomarsund is to be abandoned by the allied troops, the fortifications not being ia a state to be held, and the climate in the winter of such severity as to render it improper to hazard the health of the men, in the Aland Islands. The fortifications will be blown up and the place abandoned. The following contains a statement of the guns, &c. captured, on the surrender of the place:— The guns taken from the enemy on this occasion, amounting to 112 mounted pieces, 3 mortars, 7 field-pieces, and 79 guns not mounted, will naturally be divided among the gallant allies who have shared pari passu in every step of this enterprise. The troops embarked were French soldiers, and the principal military command was held by General Baraguay d'Hilliers, who has won upon the field the glorious staff of Marshal of France ; but the ships which conveyed them to the scene of action were British men of war, and were-piloted through the intricate recesses of the Aland Isles by the skill of English officers. One tower was captured by ■ the gallantry of the French Chasseurs, whose deadly fire had already silenced the guns of the enemy through the embrasures ; the other tower was destroyed by the heavy fire of the'Ehglish battery from guns dragged into position by the -indomitable energy of the seamen of the Edinburgh "and Blenheim. Never were honours more fairly earned in concert, or more willingly shared : and the trophies winch must shortly, arrive in the French and English ports will be the more valued as memorials of the first combined achievement of those gallant nations which had in former times only measured their strength against each-other. Sevastopol was at length doomed, and the citzens of London and Paris were waiting in daily expectation of the allied armies being masters of the Crimea. The immense united armament for this destruction bad embarked at Varna. The latest intelligence is the following extracted from "Oredner'sTelegraphicExpress." —Vienna, Bth Sepr.—There are accounts from Jasey to-day tha,t the retreat of the Russians commenced on the Jst. Other reports from Odessa state that they are there in a state of the greatest anxiety on account of another bombardment, as ships of the combined fleets were cruising near the port a few days since. At Sebastopol they are preparing everything for an energetic defence. They are building forts at a distance of four miles from the town on the shore for its defence. Sixty thousand men besides the garrison are encamped near Sebastopol. Fire-ships are prepared in great number for the destruction of the combined' ships. Prince Menschilcoff is directing personally these preparations with the greatest zeal. It is said that the attack of Revel will take place simultaneously with that of Sebastopol. 82,000 men are concentrated in Great Wailachio under Omer Pacha. A part of the garrison of Silistria which numbers 32,000 men, will cross the Danube, and Achmet Pacha has received orders to build a bridge to Oltenitza. We have accounts from Varna which state that a strong division of the combined fleets are

already blockading the ports of Odessa and Sebastopol, ' Tlie bulk of the fleets will leave Varna the 4lh of September. The artillery of the forty two three-deckers is sufiicient to destroy the strongest walls of granite. The main object' of the attack will be to force the entrance of the port. They will try everything to burn the Russian fleet and destroy the town. The greatest enthusiasm prevails amongst the troops and marines. They are all prepared to die Other reports from Jassy state that the Russian forces will. evacuate Moldavia till the 18th of September, and that they will retire to the li ne of the Dneister. The defensive position of the Russians will be a very strong one. . Vienna, 9th September.—rThe forces by which Russia is attacked in Europe, Asia, and on the borders of the Black Sea, are the Turkish army of the Danube of 120,000 men the Anglo-French army of 80,000 men, th c*e * Anglo-Gullic-Turkish fleet, composed of 4o vessels of the line, and many ottierv men-of-war' wiih 3,000 guns and .60,000^'marines; the " Turkish army in Asia of lOOspOO^ men, all together 380,000 men; then, iii the. Baltic the combined-fleets, composed of 20 vessels of the line, and 40 other ships of different sizes, with 3500 guns and 50,000 sailors; the division of Baraquay d'Hilliers numbering 11,000, and 8,000 English marines. The total strength of the allied powers amounts to 425,000 men and nearly 8,000 guns. On the 29th of August the inhabitants ofljon-' stantiuople had an imposing view which they have not had for 659 years, to see more than 300 transport vessels pass the Bosphoms, laden with provisions. and stores for^the expedition, and towed by steamers. Vienna, September 10.—The Russians have entirely evacuated Ibraila and Galatz the Ist September. The commerce on the Danube is free. The Austrians entered Bucharest on the 6th in the morning, and were received wiih enthusiasm. A great battle appears to have been fought in Asia, near Kars, between the Russian and Turkish armies, to the disadvantage of the latter. The details will be found in the following letter from Trebizond, dated August 12,1854 : Trebizond, August 12. Iskender Bey, an Hungarian in the Turkish service, who fought so nobly at Soubatan, arrived here this day at noon, from Kars, in four days; bearer of intelligence of a bloody battle fought on Saturday, the sth instant, between Hadji Velikoi and Kourbok Derech. The details, as given by Iskender Bey, are as follows : On the 4th instant, the Turkish force, with the exception of five battalions, and 34 cannon left at Kars, marching through Velikoi, halted before the Russian outposts atKouroch Derech. The Turks counting that evening 30,000 strong divided into two divisions ; the first commanded by Kerim Pacha, and the secondjby Vely Pacha, with General G'uyon as"chief of the staff, and Z a riff Pacha as Commander-in-chief and'generalissimo. Hassan Pacha, commander-in-chief of the Arabistani Irregulars, commanded the reserve division in the field, and Pacha the reserve division at Kavs ; General Kmetz commanding the advanced guard. During the night of the 4th, the Russians advanced to their°outposts, took up a position, on the plains about 400 yards from the Turks, and exactly over the spot where their outposts stood the night before. They were commanded by General Bebutoff, and General Prince Dolgorouky; Baralnisky, chief staff officer. At five a.m. on the sth.'a general action commenced. At nine a.m.; the left Russian wing commenced giving way, but being reinforced soon recovered. At eleven, both sides got, so close that they charged with fixed bayonets, and -, at twelve the action cefased, as if by mutual '■ consent. The Turks, leaving 6000 dead on the field, retreated in a very orderly manner, except', a small part of Kerim* Pacha's division, which' went rather hastily ; the whole force got loKars early in- the afternoon, when the wounded were' immediately despatched to Erzeroum. They amounted to about 3000. The Russians left 0000 dead on the field, and carried away about [2500 wounded. One of their generals was killed, and a great many officers. ' Among the Turks killed was Hassan Pacha, of the reserve division. Among the wounded, Mustapha Pacha. Cochiminsky, an Hungarian colonel, was wounded in the neck, Iskender Bey had a horse shot under him, and cut his forehead in the fall. All the European, officers, from Gencral.Guyon downwards, l/eh* 1""4

with great coolness and bravery, and activity, fas did also Mr. — the correspondent of the Morning Chronicle). Daring the battle, the llnssiaiis had six guns dismounted, and the Turks ten. The Russians on the afternoon of the sth surrounded their guns with cavalry, and walked the whole 16 guns off to Couroch Derech; after which they retired to their former camp, leaving a small force at one hour's distance,and exactly opposite Hadji Velikoi, where the Turks left two regiments of cavalry, and some infantry under the command of General Kmctz. For once the bashi-bazouks behaved well, and only about 600 fled to their homes ; five desertcd'to the enemy before the action commenced, aud one after all was over. Several Russian deserters went over to the Turks both before and after the action. Both armies fought nobly and bravely; and though, in strict military language,' the Turks may be said to have lost the battle, still the Russians suffered greatly, and every bit as much as the Turks. The day after the battle, 'Iskerider Bey went to General Bebutoflf by order of the Muchir, and both sides agreed to fallow each other to advance and bury their dead.' The Turks and Cossacks consequently met alongside each other, and appeared quite friendly. Zariff Moustafa Pacha's courage jand presence of mind did much in. keeping, the army from giving way. The old man was in the heat of the fire everywhere. It is much to be regretted that the Turkish cavalry, from want of proper training, could not assist in the field. It did but little ; and here the .Russians had a great advantage, also in the quickness and precision of their manoeuvres, in which the Turks could in no way compete with them. The following is perhaps not an inaccurate statement of the contending forces in action on the sth instant:— Turks. —Twenty, thousand infantry, four regiments of cavalry (of little .use),.four thousand five hundred irregular (and bad) horsemen, one thousand artillery, and 'fifty-two guns. In reserve at Kafs—five of jiufantry, and twenty-four guns; ■ - Russians.- —Twenty-five battalions of infantry, two regiments of Don Cossacks, two regiments of Circassians, two regiments of dragoons, two regiments of irregulars, sixty field-pieces, and two thousand artillery. On the Bth the Turkish army at Kars was ready to take the field again in an hour's notice, if necessary.'*