THE SERVIAN WAR-COMMENCEMENT OF HOSTILITIES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 2629, 28 August 1876, Page 3

THE SERVIAN WAR-COMMENCE-MENT OF HOSTILITIES.

Tho correspondent of the Melbourne Argus gives tho following account of the progress of tho Servian war:— • Tho Servian forces oroeaod the frontior on Sunday, July 2, at; throo points. Tho earao day they oarno into collision with tho Turkish troops, and thoro was sharp fighting, Every morning sinoo wo havo roooivod contradictory acoo tints, in whioh both sides olnim suooossos. Ono official deepatob. from Constantinople sent by tho Porto to ita roprosontativos abroad, doeoribos tho repulse oi! tho Servians with a loos of 500 dead at Urkub. From Bolgrado, on the contrary, wo hoar only of Servian sue008808—of batfcorios and provisions oapturod, and of a general if irrogular advance. Tho Montenegrins also are pushing forward into tho Herzegovina. Ono ominous inoidenfc is reported. Hithorto Turkey in all her troubles has boon ablo u> rely upon the Albanians, but now, wo a»o told, that tho Al« banians at Kusohi refused to advance against tho Montenegrins, and when fcho Govornor of Scutari sonfc troops to bring them to order, they oponly united with the invaders, who attaoked tho Turks, and defeated thorn, capturing 600 guns. But it ie too early yet to attompt ovon tho first ohaptor in tho history of the campaign, for its is impossible to dinentangle tho mass of confused and contradictory details whioh tho tolograms oontain. As to tho probabilities of the contest, it is idle to epeoulato. Sorvia is a little state

about one-fifth smaller than Scotland, and Sanely occupied by 1,862,000 inhabitants, ontenegro owes its freedom to its mountains, and perhaps no small part of «• /SI 00 ' Its population is estimated at 198,000, not more . than that of some of our seoond-rate towns, for example, than Brighton in summer. If the two countries can bring 100,000 men into the field, it is only by reckoning thoir militia and volunteers and every irregular force. The insurgents of the Herzegovina and of Bosnia, aeparatod as they are, can bring them but a small addition of numbers. Bulgaria is for the prosont held in oheok, but if the war is prolonged, thoy will be reinforced from other quarters, and the Christians from all the subjoofc _ provinces may rise to their aid. The Servians have roooived substantial help in money and men from Russia, for whatever the 8t Petersburg Cabinet may say, publio feeling in that oountry is greatly exoited, and sympathy with Servia almost universal. Of the three army oorps into whioh the Servian forcca aro divided, tho third, and most important, is under tho ohiof oommand of General Tsohernajeff, a Russian ofQoer, who was lately editor of the Muski Mir, and who has now taken up his sword in the interests of PanSolavism. Other Russian officers of high rank aro taking part in the oampaign. An Austrian, ox-General Stratimirovitoh, has been appointed second in oommand of the Servian army oorps at Alexowitz. It must be to tho advantage of Servia to move quickly, for her resources are limited, and her means of communication easily obstructed. In like manner Turkoy, though she has to draw up j her reserves from all parts of the empire— they are ooming from Egypt— muat desire to j overwhelm tho movement, if possible, before it gathers foroe. The regular foroes at the disposal of the Sultan are 80,000 infantry, 20,000 oavalry, 10,000 field artillery, 12,000 gendarmes (horse and foot), and 3000 enginoers, but it is not known how many of these troops oan be at once direoted against Servia. Tho Turkish army has suffered under the general disorganisation and corruption, and largo arrears of pay are still duo. The total ooliapso at Constantinople has not yet been atoned for. The greater vigour of tho new Government, and the miserable mismanagement in the Herzegovina, does not augur a bright suoeess in the present oampaign. It is a month to-day sinoo Mr Disraeli announced that Servia had yielded to the paoifio remonstranoos of the great powers. Prince Milan went so far as to propose to send a speoial letter to Constantinople acknowledging bis allegianoe to tho new Sultan, but the ourrent was running strongly all the time in the direction of war. The Prinoe has sinoo explained that ho would sooner suffer honourable defeat in tho field than lose his crown through the indignation of his subjoots. The popularfeeling has boon too strong for him at Belgrade, as it may presontly prove to be elsewhere, for other Governments. The ultimatum whioh heat length despatched to the Porte was a most extraordinary dooumont. It spoke of the damage done to Servia by the long insurrection, by the incapacity of the Turks to make reforms, and the want of confidence in their promises, nnd then urged in oonolusion that there was but one praotioal remedy for all, namely, that the Prinoe with his army should restoro order. In this way Servia would beoomo for tho Sultan an auxiliary sent by Providonoe to aid him to regenerate the East, At the end the Prinoe deolared that ho had determined to undertake the task, and he asked the Grand Vizier to give j orders to tho Turkish; authorities to aid the ! Servian army in accomplishing it. The! Montenegrin declaration of war does not j appear to havo oontainod any suoh exalted i offers of friendship, but it is alleged the I same grievances, ana ospooially complained of j the blookade of the southern frontier. This' speoies of blookade by the cordon of Turkish troops appears also to have greatly irritated the Servians, and is made much of by them in their preliminary manifestoes. Prince Milan left Bolgrade last week to join tho army, amid tho cheers of thepeople and tho salutes of tho batteries. He was accompanied part of tho way by all the mem* bcrs of the Ministry, and the metropolitan and all tho bishops wont with him to the frontier to pronounce a blessing on the troops. At the town where he parted with his Ministers, he addressed the orowd who thronged to welcome him :— "Brethren, the hour has struok ; lot us do our duty and trust in God, in the justice of our oause, and in our bravery. Our only alternative is— liberty or death."

THE WRECK OF THE STRATHMOBE.

Mr Patterson and nautical assessors, who held the inquiry into tho loss of the Strath* moro, havo oomo to tho conclusion that the vessel was wreoked through a mistake in the reckoning. Three things tho report specially roforred to, viz., the importance of re-swing-ing ships whioh havo taken iron on board aftor tho oompassos have been ad jus tod j sooondly, tho necessity of stowing wines and spirits in suoh a manner as to prevent the crow or passengers getting access to them | thirdly, a bettor and safer modo of storing gunpowdor. Stress was also laid upon the boats having been placed in suoh a position as to bo useless in an omorgenoy. It was but natural that tho report should wind up with a handsome tribute to the conductor Cap* tain Clifford, of the American whaler, Young Phoonix.

In tho House of Commons on June 22, Sir Churlos Addorloy stated, in reply to Admiral Egorton, that it had been resolved by the Board of Trade to prosont Captain Gifford with a piooo of plate (understood to be a cup) in recognition of his sorvioes. Tho publio fooling is, that considering the voyage was given up, thoro should be some more sub* stantial mark of recognition than that incorporated in tho oup. Lloyd's Committee have addressed a letter to tho Admiralty, asking that ono of Her Majesty's ships should be diepatohed to oruiso among tho islands soattorod about tho lower eclgo of tho Atlantio, but the request has not boon acceded to, the reason assigned being that thoao islands arc quite boyond tho limit of tho Australian oommand. They, however, havo givon orders that all of Her Majesty's ships proceeding to the Antipodes via the Capo of Good Hope, should, when possible, eight tho Crossets Islands sufficiently near to examine them. Alluding to several ships now missing, tho Admiralty authorities say it has como to their knowledge that ships, in making the passage from this country to Australia, appear to inour very groat risk by going far South, and making the run among icebergs and floating ioo, and if this is tho general practice, their lordships cannot fool surprised at several vessels Doing now missed. In reference to this praotico, it has boon obsoivod that although Captain Maury endorses the theory that tho parallels from 45deg to 49deg South are the best to make the easting in, suoh Tewelc often

make longer passages than those doing their easting on the parallel of 39deg. The fogs and mists to be met with below 45deg South are looked upon as another source of danger, and an extract has been published from the official log of a surgeon on board an emigrant ship, in whioh several deaths amongst children are attributed to the mists and fogs into whioh the ship ran between Australia and the' Cape. It is further suggested with respect to the desire of captains to sight the Crozes Group, with the objeot of testing their chronometers, that the sane end could be attained by passing the Island of St. Paul's in lat S9deg SOmin South.