OTHER INTERESTING ITEMS.

Colonist, Volume XIX, Issue 2282, 11 September 1877, Page 3

OTHER INTERESTING ITEMS.

Si. fniBSBUBG, July 27.' The Official Mettenger publubti (ha following-'

dispatch:—" An old merchant ship, the Vesta, has had an engagement off Eustendjeh a [fortified, seaport town of Bulgaria, forty miles east of Rassova, at the termination of Trajan's Wall], lasting over five hours, with a Turkish monitor, whbh lied much damaged by Russian shells, ono of which burst in hor turret. The Vesta had her rudder injured, and went to Sebastopol for repairs.- Two officers and nine sailors were killed, and six officers (among them the commander) and seventeen sailors wero wounded. One oflicer lias died since." London, July 29. • The Times' correspondent afc Tirnova, at tho junction of the Jamboli, Philippopolis and Adrianople Railways, writes under date of July 10 as follows /. — " There -has bnen a. horrible massacre of Bulgarians by Bushi-Bazoulis at 3cm Sugbra. Not a singlo soul would have escaped, but for fche arrival of tho Turkish reasi'.;!-?. Thoßashi-Biizouks, Circassinus and irregular* treat, nil tho villages they pass the same way --burning, ravishing, and pillaging." London, July 31. Official papers laid before Parliament contain the following :—The English Consul at Slivno informs Minister Layard, under the date of Juk 14, that fche Russians stir up the Bulgarians and arm them ; that they tore out the eyes of Mussulmans whom they killed at Sistova, and filled tlie sockets with bread.. Minister Layard telegraphs Lord Derby, under date of July 24, that the Sultan has sent him a message entreating the Queen to use her influence with the Czar to stop the shocking cruelties perpetrated by the Rusiian troops. Men, women, and, children are outraged and murdered in a horrible manner. The Sultan can scarcely believe that the Czar wishes the war to become a war of extermination and a war of brigands. The Sultan's aide-de-camp gave Minister Layard an account of the revolting atrocities he witnessed, and which Mr Layard says are in great measure confirmed by advices from Consols, and other sources. Mr Layard transmits, July 18, several Consular reports'of outrages and massaores •by the Bulgarians, and says there is truth in them, although they may be exaggerated. The Wallachians and Bulgarians accompany the Russian army in bands, calling themselves avengers. G-en. Eemball telegraphs under date of July 26.:—"The massacre at Bayazid is confirmed, but the atrooities at Ardahan are quite untrue." An Athens despatch to The Times says letters describing tbe outrages at Kavorna are causing much indignation. The accounts, though exaggerated, are believed to be substantially true. A special despatch from Berlin to Tlie Times has the following :■—" In consequence of the dispatch of British troops to Malta a regular campaign has been opened by the entire Russian press against England. Some journals laugh at the insignificant force England can spare for an Eastern war, others fiercely deolare that odious England is fighting Russia once more, seeing that the Egyptian troops have been equipped with English money, while all agree in regarding English antagonism as a matter of indifference, and not to be dreaded by Russia." A despatch to The Times from Constantinople, via Syra, states that a panio prevails at Pera, probably due to the dismissal of the Sheik-ul-Islam, which is generally attributed to his refusal to hoist the sacred flag. It is generally believed that the SuHan will shortly leave for Broussa, unless Turkish success makes his position more secure. Itis feared he may never return if the Russians occupy Constantinople ; hence, those who wish the present Government to remain, strongly, urge that an English force should be sent with a fleet to Gallipoli. A despatch ta The TDaily News, from Plymouth, states that Her Majesty's steamships Flamingo and Condor, which go to the Danube to protect British interests and assert Great Britain's treaty right to maintain two gunboats on the Danube, will be accompanied to the Black Sea by the ironclads Shannon and Agincourt, to support them should their passage be opposed. Already tho advantages which the Russians have gained in their march toward Adrianople are becoming apparent, and it is clear tbat the repulses which some of their advancing forces have suffered do not check the forward movement as a whole. The arrival of Russian troops at Eirkkilissia, a village on the road from Shumla to Constantinople, is very significant. It indicates that Adrianople may not prove to be the.final destination of the attacking columns; The Bosrd of Trade learn from the Foreign Office that a telegram received from the. Consul at G-alatz states that four vessels containing about 260 cubic yards of stone have been sunk by the Russians in the Sulina branch of the Danube, a mile and a half.below the upper en/ranee. About 500 cubic yards of additional stones have been thrown on top of the&e vppsel.i, and the depth of water in the channel reduced to four feet. The Porte has issued a circular declaring that • 6003 inoffensive persons of both sexes have been massacred in various villages by the Russians and 'Bulgarians. It is reported from Constantinople.that Mehmet Ali, appointed to succeed Abdul. Eerim as O'oinman-der-in-Chief, is still young, being about 47, full of courage and energy. His elevation has drawn upon bim the envy of some who are already intriguing cgainsS him. Mahmoud Damad has assumed the functions of Minister of War. Abdul Eerim and Redif Pasha, it is said, are to be exiled to Baroussa. It was decided at a late meeting of the Cabinet, held under the Presidency of the Sultan, that in case the Russians shoulji take Adrianople and make for the capital, the standard of the Prophet should be unfurled, a resolution which has thrown everybody into consternation. Under official authority, I have just seen and spoken with the 17 Mussulman fugitives, the sur- •, vivors of those who on the 30th of June, while attempting to escape from Aplanova, were overtaken, and massacred by the Cossacks. Thirty-five were then left dead on the spot, and several were wounded, 17 of whom managed to reach here. A little girl, only two years old, received a blow on the headand'a Bhot in the lower part of the body; a woman had three stabs and a blow ; an old woman of 6ft received I two blows on the head and a thrust from a, lance ;, a girl of five years old had three stabs ; a young- mair~ ried woman received three blows on th.e headland! an old woman had several blows on the head.and! a atab. In addition to these victims, there, are.five injured women and three old men who, were wounded by long sword bayonets and firearms. • The people here are much exasperated at these atrocities. A little girl was shown me whose parents and brothers and Bisters had been murdered. At Batwan all Mussulmans, without distinction of age or sex, are said to have been massacred by tbe enemy's troope and the insurrectionary Bulgarians. Abdul Eerim and Redif Pashas are to be immediately brought before a Court-Martial. On July 23 a solemn Te Deum was celebrated ih St Isaac's Cathedral, at St. Petersburg, to mark the occupation of Eezanlik and the Shipka Pasß. Great financial distress is felt at Galatz, as the business of the town is completely destroyed by the closing of the Danube. Tbe Brakovana hospital at Bucharest [is' full of Russian wonnded. Abdul .Eerim Pasha was deposed from his high command, it is said not solely on account of his inertness, but as the result of a document addressed to the Sultan, according to which the Army of Shumla was said to have decreased 30 per cent., in consequence of sickness and desertion. A very hostile spirit is displayed by the Russian papers cowaids the British Government, and Colonel Wellesley is openly spoken of as a Turkish spy, while Sir A. Eemball is accused of being the military adyiser of the Turks in Asia. m Subscriptions are being sent by the Mabomedans in India to'aid the Sultan of Turkey in the war. It is stated that the- Russians have been experimenting at Odessa with a new engine throwing some dreadful liquid on the deck of hostile ships to remove the crew before the torpedo attack is made* An iron boat for the discharge of Whitehead torpedoes,is being built at Mr Baird's wharf in the Neva 115ft. long, 16ft. broad. The boat will be 7*ft.at the bow, ■ and 10ft. at the stern. The engines trill be powerful '■ enough for the boat to attain a velocity of 17 miles ' an hour. The name of the boat, which costs 100,000 ! roubles, will ba Very— Angelic Explosion. i