MAIL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XIV, Issue 4748, 3 February 1877, Page 1 (Supplement)

MAIL NEWS.

ENGLISH OPINION OP RUSSIAN INTRIGUES. ; . The British Mail, a representative English ■weekly journal, says : " Russia has been rehearsing on the frontier of Turkey the game she hopes to play at no very distant day on the frontiers of India ; she has excited the border nations to rebel against their rulers, and has stood, behind them, ready to support them if victorious, or to desert them if defeated. For more tlir.n two generations Russian statesmen have had ever before them two bright visious—the possession of Constantinople and the possession of India. During the last six months the first of those vison has been much nearer realisation than the world supposes, frwas-'to prevent the late sultan resigning Bis country entirely to Russian influence that he was dethroned by his subjects, and it was to prevent a Russian coup Je main, by which botli fleet and city might have been seized, that the British fleet was sent to Besika Bay. It was not s ent there to encourage the .Porto to crush its Christian subjects. Next to Turkey we are the largest Mussulman power in the world. We have 75,000,000 of Mussulman subjects. In case of a religious war we must be irepared for another outbreak in India ; this time, be it remembered, with Russian officers and Russian gold in Afghanistan."

THE GERMAN NAVY. The German. Navy List for the current quarter gives the following as the number of vessels, complete or building, at the disposal of tie Imperial Admiralty : —Fighting ships : S ii'onclad frigates, S ironclad corvettes. Cruisers : 14 corvettes, 2 gnnboats of the .Albatross type, 7 of the ordinary lirst class typo. Coastguard ships : 2 ironclads, 5 armoured gnnboats, 11 torpedo vessels, 8 gunboats of the second class, 5 dispatch boats, 2 transport-vessels. Training-ships : 1 ship of the line, 1 sailing frigate, 4 corvettes, 3 sailing brigs. Vessels, for harbour service : 9 steamers, 3 turret-ships, f> pilot boats, and 10 coal tenders. — MitcleiTs Ker/ixter, October 20 THE TURKISH AND THE INDIAN SOLDIER. The writer of an article in the leading Bombay journal thus speaks of the merits of the Turkish and Indian soldier:—"The splendid valour displayed by the Turkish troops in their final victories over the RussoServian army will be the theme of much discussion all over India. For many years the Turk has been regarded as played out, effete, and used up, and the Turkish soldier has been generally suoposed to partake of the national degeneracy."" Yet he has now shown that under the most disadvantageous circumstances, badly clothed, fasting and neglected, he can fight •with an invincible courage and a dogged determination that swept away the Servian troops and their Russian, officers with the irresistible force of au avalanche. And this leads us to ask whether we do not habitually undervalue the fighting powers of our native armies in India. We have in our pay some of the best fighting men in the ■world. We can command ths wild fanaticism of the Mabommedaus, the liery courage of the Sikhs, the reckless daring of the Rajpoots and Yats, the stubborn endurance of the Mahrattas, and the splendid dash and elan of the plucky little Goorkhas. The discipline and drill of the native army is almost perfect. It is armed with the Snider rifle, and is carefully taught, the latest improvements in modern tactics. In the three Presidency armies there are, according to thelatestreturns, about 36,000 Mahommedans, loyal to Government and ready to follow their Officers anywhere. The conduct of our native levies in the China ■wars and in Abyssinia, to name two instances out of many, proved conclusively that the horror of crossing the once dreaded ' kala pani' has passed away, and that when the Sirkar calls upon him the Sepoy will cheerfully go wherever he may be told, and tight our enemies wherever he may meet them."

BRITISH OCCUPATION OF CONSTANTINOPLE. The Broad Arrow in a recent number devotes an article to the subject of " The Army for the East." After referring to the sensational paragraphs appearing in some London journals respecting an increase in the outturn of rifle cartridges at Woolwich, rendered necessary by the army in India being served with the Martini- Uenry rifle, the Broad Arrow thus proceeds :—"Very little notice has been accorded to the publication by a contemporary of the fact that a body of English engineer officers had arrived at Constantinople with the view of surveying its fortifications and reporting upon its capabilities of defence. There, however, appears to be very little doubt that some engineer officers have been sent to the Bast on this special mission, and if they are working quietly it may be assumed that they are not the less busy with the duty entrusted to them. It may be surmised that the Russian Government is quite aware of the presence of Knglish officers in the East, and Los been informed—for apparently it 19 not an official secret—of the reason for their visit. The fact has been pnblished by some of our contemporaries, and might be verified at any of the district head-quarters in the country, that twenty battalions of infantry have been recruited up to their war establishment, and are under orders to hold themselves in readiness to proceed abroad. In. other words, the Government has ready to hand an army of occupation which could be landed at Constantinople in ten days' time. That we are contemplating sending an army—a small one, in the first instance, it may be—to Turkey is a fact admitting of no doubt, and there is no reason that the proceeding should not be as well ndvertised at home as it has been for some weeks now abroad. The presence of English engineer officers at Constantinople is a matter which speaks for itself; nor can the sudden order that tu-enty regiments are to be prepared for special service be ignored. In point of fact, at no period in the history of the last fifty years have we made such extensive preparations in view of a contingency which is yet, happily, remote. It by .Qo means follows that an" occupation of Constantinople must entail a war with Russia ; but it may become our duty to hold that city in trust for the rest of Europe, and the honesty of our intentions will all the more readily be admitted if our necessary military preparatious are made in an open and straightforward manner. The sensational statements which have been circulated as to the steys which the authorities have taken in view of our going to war, are for the most part exaggerated or untrue; but, on the I other hand, there is no doubt of the fact tbat we do not intend to permit a Pvussian occupation of Constantinople, and that we have already a small army available to hand to enforce our views on the maintenance of the freedom of the Bosphorus "

THE MEXICAN DEVOLUTION. FLIGHT OK PRESIDENT LERDO.— THE KISfALB miE OK HUAMANTIA. Cray OK Mexico, November 27, lSTfi As you may have anticipated, the decisive blow has been struck, and Mexico has changed Governments. It has been known for some time that the two opposing forces were ' approaching each other, and there was a rumour late last week that a battle had been fou"ht on the lGtb. This proved true. The battle, which was fierce and bloody, occurred near the line of the Mexico and Vera Cruz railroad, within sight of the station of Huarnantia, the Government forces being commanded by Generals Allatorre, Topete, Villagrana, and Topeo, and the revolutionary forces by Generals Diaz and about 10 o'clock in the morning, continuing with fury on both sides until 3 o'clock in the afternoon, when General Gonzales, coming up to reinforce General Diaz, made an attack upon General Allatorre in the rear, and putting his force between two tires, the demoralisation was complete, and a surrender followed immediate!}'. Alktorre had the choice of "round, .Diaz occupying a very [unfavourable position, and at the approach of Gonzales his troops were beginning to lose ground, but the reinforcements came up most opportunely, giving General Diaz a complete victory. On Monday morning, the 20th, the news of the defeat was confirmed here in the capital by the arrival on the previous iii«ht oi General Allatorre with some of his officer* accompanied by the political and military Governors of l'uebla, that city having pronounced against Lerdo. The excitement that prevailed was intense. Allatorre, in concluding his report to the Government, assured them that further resistance would be utterly useless, resulting only in the spilling of more brave blood to no purpose. Congress went into a secret and stormy session, and the report spread like wild-lire that Lerdo would resign, upon which the populace began to rest with a good show of contentment, when it was suddenly contradicted, with the additional rumour that ho would that night escape from the city, accompanied by some of his ministers. This Uβ accomplished, going in his own coach and

four, escorted by 800 soldiers as guard, and taking with him silver to the amount of about 140,600 dollars. It is certain that tho night baforo he left, all the money in the treasury, raised by forced contributions, with 23,000 dollnrs taken from the Monte Pio (Government pawn-shop), was divided between Lerdo and somo members of his Cabinet and the forty-nine Utputala* who supported him.

On the Tuesday morning when the fact of the escape was made known, and the robbery of the treasury (for so the people considered it), the greatest excitement and confusion prevailed. On the following day, Thursday, the louO clangor of the cathedral bells announced the ni>proach of the victorious Din?;, and for the third time the people gathered by thousands to receive him. The principal streets—Sun Francisco and Plnteros—stretching from the Alumeda to the Plaza, were lined with thousands upon thousands of tho excited populace, through which the fresh hero of Mexico passed, amid deafening shouts, universal and continuous, of " Vivas! Vivas/ Virus J" Arriving at the Palace, the hero disappeared for a moment, bnt presently reappeared on a front, central balcony, from which he made an attempt to speak to the assembled multitude, who, with their enthusiastic huzzas, together with the ringing of the bells,' drowned every attempt nt utterance, reducing the effort to a mere pantomimic performance. Tho forces said to have been engaged on both • sides in this last great strugglo are so variously estimated as to make it impossible to arrive at the truth. Those of Diaz are said to have been from 6000 to 14,000—a pretty good marginwhile thoso of the Government could not have outnumbered them. The losses of the latter are acknowledged to have been far heavier than those of the former, which number some SOO in killed and wounded, with 150 prisoners, arms, artillery, &c. The loss of General Diaz amount to some-1100 or 1200 killed and wounded. Among the latrer General Gonzales—the valiant officer who, coming as he did at itho critical moment, turned tho fortunes of the tiay —and alsoTiburcioMontiel, Ex-Governor p£the Liberal District.—[Correspondent of American paper.] ■■-.■ : . ■ ....; BOXING MATCH.—CONVICTION FOK . MUIIDEK. : i VlßoixiA City, December G. —Bill Davis, proprietor of a gymnasium in this city, has accepted Mace's proposition to meet him in a glove fight for 1000 dollars and the gate money. Davis has been in training for the past three months with a view to the match. Harrington, the slayer of Sullivan, was convicted last night of murder in the first degree. The jury was out but little over an hour. AFRICAN EXPLORATIONS.. London, December s.—Colonel Gordon, the African explorer, has arrived at Cairo, after an absence of three years. The Antinorr, or Italian Exploring Expedition in Africa, has arrived at Liece. It was expected to set out for the Equatorial Lakes. - ' THE EUROPEAN VINTAGE.'' The reports from the principal wine-producing districts of Europe are that tho vintage :this year, both in quality and quantity, falls far below the common average. The loudest complaints come from France, Spain, and Portugal, but Italy and Germany have also suffered, and one-half the average production is represented as unfit for exportation. The main cause of failure in France is attributed to the ravages of the phyloxera, while in the Rhine districts' the unfavourable weather has operated to produce unfavourable results. MARINE DISASTERS ON THE LAKHS: Detroit, December 23.—Captain Hall, who has just prepared the marine statistics of IS7G, places the number of Lake disasters at G3G, and the value of. property lost at 1,100,000d01. WALKING MATCH. LMfDOX, December 30.—The three hundredmile walking match between O'Len'ry and Howse, resulted in the defeat of the American champion, who gave out after walking 209 miles. Howse walked 241 miles.