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jTHE RUSSO-TURKISH WAR

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j THE RUSSO-TURKISH WAR THE PROCLAMATION TO THE BULGARIANS. The passage of the Danube by the Russians at Si.JII_- nitza has been followed immediately by the issue of a pro- clamation to the people of Bulgaria by the Emperor of Russia. The Czar promises the Christians that henceforth their lives, property, and honour will be safe under Bus- sian protection, while he-gives "a salutary wa,ruing to the Mussvilman inhabitants of the country. Their ".atro- cities cannot be forgotten, and though all are not to be held guilty for the crimes of a few, the real criminak are told that they will certainly not escape. St. Petersburg was decorated on Thtreday, June 28, when the news of the crossing of the Danube arriveii, and a thanksgiving service Waf held in the Cathedral. THE TURKISH PARLIAMENT. The Turkish Parliament was prorogued on Thursday, June 28. No Imperial message was read, but the Presi- dent of the Chambei of Deputies in his closing remarks said it was possible that the Chamber might be summoned to assemble for an extraordinary cession to deliberate upon a satisfactory subject. It is thought (the telegram adds) that by this expression the President meant to allude to the possible conclusion of peace. MORE TURKISH ATROCITIES. A terrible scene is officially described as having been witnessed at Iakhin when the Russian troops entered that town. A mother and two daughters were found dead. Tiey had been outraged by the Turks, and strips of skin were cut from the armpits down to the abdomen, with which their hands had been tied together. A regular proces verbal has been officially drawn up stating the above particulars.—Times. THE BOMBARDMENT OF RUSTCHUK. It Waf; reported at Vienna, according to the Times correspondent, at Bucharest, that tke Rus- sian commissariat have telegraphed to hurry up provisions and supplies for the army, repre- senting the country on the other side of the Daaube as entirely destitute of everything, and saying that there are fears of famine in Bulgaria. The Russian batteries at Giurgevo renewed the bombardment of Rustcbuk oil Thursday night, and the Turks at once energetically re- plied. The firing continued for eleven and a half hours. The Russian shots were principally directed against the town, in which considerable damage was again done. The number of the killed and wounded has not yet been ascer- tained. This time the English consulate was spared. Rumours are again current of the probability of direct negotiations between the Sultan and the Czar as soon as the Russians shall have obtained a decisive victory. THE PASSAGE OF THE DANUBE. According to a despatch from head-quarters, received at the Russian Embassy in Vienna, 120.000 Russians were to have crossed by noon on Friday. The Emperor is said to have joined his army at Sistova, where he experienced an enthusiastic reception from the Bulgarians. So far as we are at present aware up to Monday the passage of the river had been forced as yet only at three points, namely —at'Matchin, in the Dobrudscha; at Petroceni, near Sistova; and at Turnu-Margurelli, near Nikopoli, where the ninth army corps, after repeated repulses, succeeded in effecting a crossing on Saturday. Sistova i an open town, which could offer no effectual resistance to a land force, though the redoubts thrown up besids it on the river bank were probably sufficient to protect it again8t a coup de main from the opposite side of the stream. Nikopoli, which has been the scene of many hard-fought struggles in former wars, boasts a fortress in rather bad condition on one of the two hills overlooking the town, the other being defended merely by a guard-house. It was here that in the fourteenth century Bajazet won his great victory over the French and Austrians. In 1828 the town succumbed to the Russians, as it is now evi- dently destined to do again. The total number of Turkish troops in the Nikopoli Sistova district, including the reserves at Pleona, is believed not to exceed 20,000, to which the Russians can easily oppose now 100,000 or more, if required. Under such circumstances the issue caunot be doubtful, though it may be parried for a time by the arrival of Turkish reinforcements from the neigh- bouring districts. According to a telegram from Con- stantinople published in Sunday night's special edition of the Observer, a great battle was being waged near Sistowav on the opposite bank. Reinforcements were being forwarded in hot haste from Rustehuk. Shumla, and Nikopoli. Meanwhile, the Turks at Sistova were said to be still holding their ground, and inflicting great loss upon the Russians with their artillery. Accordii g t ) this despatch, the attack upon Nikopoli had been defeated. At Turtukai, the Turks have successfully re- pulsed two attempts to cross, but as the Russians at Oltenitza have received reinforcement a third effort is not unlikely to prove successful. The detailed account of the passage of the Danube, near Sistova-dscribed by an eye-witness— which appeared in the Daily News of Saturday, makes ample amends for the very meagre and fragmentary re- ports of this great operation contained in earlier tele- grams. The whole scene is brought vividly before us, and the true character and difficulties of the undertaking are made apparent even to the non-military reader. Although the Turkish force -which opposed the landing was evidently small—the entire garrison of Sistova and the neighbourhood does not exceed a brigade, of which a mere handful could be spared for the defence of the re- mote point selected for the Russian assault—they seem to have fought with great pluck. and determination, inflicting upon the assailants a loss of about 1,000 men in killed and wounded. On the Russian side the difficulties of the enterprise appear to have been not a little aggravated by thwidth of the river and the swampy character of the flat which the troops had to pass to reach the point' of embarkation. Once on the 1 urkish bank, the Russians seem to have made short work of the Turks, who gave way at the first onrush of their assailants; but there was, nevertheless, a rather sharp hand-to-hand conflict higher up the slopes, where the Turks rallied; and before the Russians reached the Bulgarian shore, the Turkish shells, it is stated, played great havoc in their ranks. The Turkish shells, we are told, kept falling in the water, whistling through the willows on the Roumanian shore, where the Russians were waiting embarkation, and bursting among the columns on the muddy flat behind. One shell from a mountain gun fell into a boat containing two guns, their gunners, and the commandant of the battery, and sunk the boat, with all on board; but, in other respects, the boats escaped very well, and it was only before embark- ing, and after landing on the opposite shore, that the Russians experienced any serious loss. A Turkish monitor, hemmed in by a cordon of torpedoes in a side channel to the side of the island of East Vardin, was a powerless witness of the engagement, and will have some difficulty, we imagine, in avoiding ultimate capture. As the Rus- sians had a complete pontoon train ready at Simnitza no- thing was wanting but the tete de pont secured by this battle to enable them to lay a bridge across into the heart of the enemy's territory, into which 100,000 men will shortly have passed. The comparatively small losses sustained in forcing the passage are attributed to the dis- persion of the troops in a great number of small boats holding only from fifteen to twenty men each, who ad: vanced en tirailleurs in scattered order, instead of in dense masses, as on former occasions. The Russians were less fortunate at Nikopolis, opposite Turnu Margurelli, on Thursday, when, after a vigorous bombardment, extend- ing over the previous day, they embarked their men on board some fifty lighters and attempted to ferry them across by means of steam launches. The Turks, however, were too strong and well prepared for the success of this enterprise, and the heavy and well directed fire from their batteries sank no less than ten of the lighters, besides disabling others and drowning most of the occupants. The carnage became terrible as the transports came within range of the Turkish guns, and the Russians were ultimately compelled to abandon the attempt, and take refuge under the lee of the island of Clamouza. According to Rus- sian advices, however, the attempt on Nikopolis was merely a faint to divert attention from the real objective point, which is five miles lower down, opposite Flamanda. The river there, is somewhat wide, but a convenient is- land masks the preparations on the Roumanian shore, and the Turkish bank is only defended by a few pieces of field artillery. Behind the island at Flamanda a flotilla has been collected capable of transporting at each journey 3,000 men. There is one immense lighter constructed to carry half that number but after the experience of the Russians at Petroceni, near Sistova, we should have thought they would prefer to distribute their men over a number of small boats, presenting little or no mark to the foeman. At Oltenitza, opposite Turtukai, the Russians lately adopted a rather ingenious stratagem in order to unmask secret batteries, and ascertain the amount of re- sistance they would have to encounter in crossing. After a fierce cannonade of the Turkish positions they launched a flotilla of eight boats, manned with dummy soldiers, which drew forth a harmless fire from a thousand rifles and cannon distributed along the Turkish shore. Fortunately for the Russians, their opponents had no armies of importance sufficiently near to attack them for a day or two after their landing, and by this time the in- vading force is, presumably, strong enough to hold its own against any body of troops which may assail them. It is believed that 60,000 Russians have now crossed near Sis- tova. It was not until Saturday that the Turks mustered in sufficient force to warrant them in taking the offensive. On that day we are told the Russian advance guard march- ing south from Sistova, reached Biela, which lies some twenty miles inland from the Danube, on the banks of the river Jintra, which empties itself into the main stream close to the scene of Tuesday's conflict. Here the Turks, collected from Rustehuk, Shumla, and other places, were in considerable force, and a terrible battle began. Both sides, it is said, fought with great valour and determina- tion, the Russians opening the attack. The Turkish artillery, however, appears to have been superior in strength and handled with more than customary skill, and fearful havoc was made in the ranks of the assailants. The Turkish infantry ultimately completed the work of the ar- tillery, and fell upon the invading columns with such im- petuosity that they were driven back to the Danube, leavinu the ground covered with their dead and dying. At the date of this telegram details of the engagement were wanting, but there can be little doubt that the Turks have scored a. success at Biela, though it may shortly be reversed by an advance of the Russian main body from Sistova. The want of bridge communication with the Roumanian bank, at this juncture, must have been sorely felt by the Russians, who could not advance from Sistova to the support of the corps before Biela without seriously imperilling their positions. As the bridge is reported to be now complete, and ample forces must by this time have crossed the stream, the battle is not unlikely to be renewed under more favourable conditions for the Russians. The Turkish official despatch from Sistova, giving an account of the Russians crossing the Danube, asserts that 4,000 of them were killed and that 24 of their guns were sunk in the river, the Turks losing 224 men. I THE WAR IN ASIA MINOR. S I» Asia Minor the Turks are still holding their own. not something ipr.ro. A Vienna telegram, indeed, describ the whole Russian line as in full retreat. Near Batou there has been further tightiug, which Iw, it*,ulte. according to Turkish advices, in complete repulse of tl | iwissians who have been obliged to evacuate the positioi tbey lately occupied on the S.uneba heights, to the norl and east of the town. The heights of Khouzouba. l is stated, have also been recaptured by tl lurks w&o have driven their assailants bat to their -entrenched positions at Djanguir. Tl jattle, at the date of tlie la«t advices, still continue! but Ichuruksu was already in the hands of the Turk; The last official despatch from Dervish Pacha brin-s tl news down to the 20th June, when the Russians, besid. removing their guns from the Sameba heights, had wit] drawn their left wing to the heights of Khouzouban. 0 the 20th a detached column of the Turkish right win" a 4 tacked the Russians <m the Khouzouban hills' and dro\ them back to their camp as already stated, whilst anotht them back to their camp as already stated, whilst anotht body occupied the frontier line at Tchoruksu, which mm not be confounded with the Tchuruksu further souti > The Turkish right and centre, under Mukhtar Pacha ai The Turkish right and centre, under Mukhtar Pacha ai still intact, but another great battle appears to be in minerit at Zewin, where the Russians are making a nc and vigorous effort to dislodge the Turkish centre. Th better to accomplish this, they have suspended operation for the moment against Kars, and have despatched reir torcements not only to Sara Kamysch, which is their bas of operations in the Sosrhanli district, but also to Bayazid On the Russian side it is stated that the suspense at Kar 18 rv"n^ ^-?r ^le necessity of awaiting guns of heavie calibre. Meanwhile the garrison and irregulars ar. v making frequent sorties, with a view to intercept the sup plIes of the besiegers. In the recent fighting before ZewlJ the Russians admit a loss of nearly 900 men hors de com bat; but the Turks estimate the Russian loss in that en gagement at about 3,000. In the Caucasus the Turk? claim to have won an impor tant victory on :Friday last, over 15,000 Russians who at tacked them at Schamdjar. Reinforcements having beei received on both sides a great battle ensued, lasting til midnight, when the Turks, assisted by two of their iron clads, succeeded in putting their assailants to flight, witl a loss of "2,000 killed and double that number wounded,' or 6,000 men in all, whilst the losses of the Turks wer in entrenched positions, scarcely exceeded 300. At Ardanutsch, however, a Russian column fron Ardahan, under General Komaroff, achieved a sue- cess on the 28th ult.. Thursday last, against a body o; 3.000 Turks encamped on the heights, commanding tht town, who were driven from their positions and°pur- su-ed as far as the village of Batz. with a loss of 10C killed, whilst on the Russian side there was only one mar killed. The Russians, according to telegrams from Erzeroum continue to give ground to tlie advancing Turks, Mouktai' Pasha's forces being within a few miles of Kars. THE CRETAN ASSEIBL Y. i The deputies of the Cretan Assembly have sent a tele- gram to the Sultan praying his Majesty to send to Creta a mijeed commission conversant with the Greek language, m order to examine in an amicable manner the demand^of the population in connection with the questions at issue between the Mussulmans and Christians. The signataries of the telegram refuse to send to Constantinople the deputies summoned by the Porte. The decision of the Ottoman Government on the request has not yet been, made known. The Cretans have addressed a demand to the (Ecumenical Patriarch asking for the maintenance in Crete of the Metropolitan-See. which has been transferred 1 to Roumelia at the instance of the Porte. A CONFLICT BETWEEN A TURKISH MONITOR AND RUSSIAN TORPEDO BOAT. ,( Much surprise has been expressed on all hands at the little assistance rendered to the Turks in the defence of the Danube by their numerous monitors and gunboats, but one at least of these crafts has honourably dis- tinguished itself in the conflict with four torpedo' boats which is graphically described by the correspondent of the Daily News at Turnu Margurelli. This monitor had been giving the Russians a good deal of trouble, and showed an amount of activity very unusual with the Turks, continually shelling the Russian batteries, and destroying the boats. The Russians accordingly deter- mined to destroy it. and despatched against it four tor- pedo boats. Hiding behind an island, the boats lay in wait, and when the vessel was steaming past suddenly- darted out from their hiding-place, and bore down on her in broad daylight. With wonderful quickness and skill the monitor was prepared for action, and made a success- ful defence against the four terrible enemies. Her com- mander began by thrusting out torpedoes on the end of long spars, thus threatening the boats with the danger of being blown into the air first, at the same time opening a terrible fire on them with small arms and mitrailleuses. He manoeuvred his boat, moreover, with a dexterity and address which, with the torpedoes projecting, made it impossible for the Russian boats to approach sufficiently near. After a lengthened contest, in the coursc of which the commander of the monitor—a European, it is believed was disabled-the monitor steamed away, and has not since been seen. Another monitor, which came upon the Russians at Petioceni, near Sistova, in the midst of their crossing on Thursday, behaved in a very different manner. The monitor had just been engaging a Russian battery when she came upon the busy scene. There was a general scare, and a sus- pension of all Russian activity, except such as was directed to self-preservation. Everybody felt that the monitor might do infinite harm but in fact she did none. She was in the same reach as the crossing place. There she stopped, and there she supinely waited for nearly two hours, neither moving nor firing a shot. The Russians made no attempt to dislodge her. so far as was apparent, but she inexplicably withdrew of her own accord, steam- ing away slowly down the river." After the withdrawal of the monitor the Emperor Alexander crossed the river to the Turkish bank. From Silistria it is reported that the Turkish gunboats are endeavouring to destroy the Russian communications at various points higher up the river, and are doing great damage and destroying many boats. Rustehuk is said to be hotly assailed. The Turks there are offering a stubborn resistance, but their numbers are said to be inadequate to contend successfully against < the masses of Russians who are launched against the place. THE WAR IN MONTENEGRO. From Montenegro we have intelligence of further fight- ing in the East, where Mehemet Ali, advancing from Golaschin, reports an important victory achieved on the 23rd ultimo, on the Moratscha river, over a body of 5,000 insurgents, who were routed, leaving 500 dead on the field of battle. It does not appear, however, that Mehemet Ali has yet been able to effect a junction with the other two Turkish generals who have taken Spuz and and Podgoritza as their new base of operations, or that the latter have yet succeeded in forcing their way to Cettinje. In expla- nation, apparently, of the wholesale burning of villages reported in a previous telegram, Mehemet Ali states in his despatch that the inhabitants of the Moratscha valley committed barbarous outrages last month upon some Turkish prisoners who had fallen into their hands. 4 ENGLAND AND RUSSIA. According to advices from Berlin, the announced return of Lord Odo Russel to his post is much commented upon there, being connected with the passage of Prince Bismarck through Berlin on his way from Kis:-5ing-en to Varzin and with the efforts attributed to this statesman to mediate between England and Russia, with the view of removing: everything that might disturb the relations between those two countries. From the circumstance that Lord Odo Russell, cutting short his leave of absence, is coming to the Prussian Capital to meet the German Chancellor, the in- ference is drawn that there is again some occasion for the mediation of the latter. As the crossing of the Danube by the Russians has brought nearer the contingency of a vigorous advance into the Balkans and the very heart of European Turkey, it is supposed the German Chancellor may think it advisable to use his good offices so as to pre- vent misunderstandings, and that it is on this account the British Ambassador has curtailed his leave of absence and return to Berlin to meet Prince Bismarck.—Times. THE CZAR ACROSS THE DANUBE The Daily Net rs correspondent at Sinmitza says ,me particulars respecting the visit of the Emperor to the trans-Danubian position may be interesting He found the 9th Division on the left, the Rifle Brigade in the centre, the 8th Division to the right, and the 35th Division m the reserve. He embraced General Dragimiroff hailed him as the head of the crossing, an honour shared by Volchme and young Skobeloff, and gave him the 3rd cla4 cross of St. George, the highest honour a division general can obtain. The Brigade Yolchine as the first t;) lined the Emperor's road into Sistova, and he addressed his valiant soldiers with a thankful greeting and warm praises of their valour. A Bulgarian priest received him at the entrance with a cross, and with bread and salt The Czar kissed the cross, and tasted the bread and salt. He thenjwent straight to the Bulgarian Church, the Bulgarian women and children of bistova strewing his path with flowers, and in the sacred edifice listened to a Te Deumt and took the Sacrament Much satisfaction is expressed by the commander of the crossing operations. (LieS Radetsky. Prince Mn>y and General Dragimiroff 5B of pure Russian birth. ™ ENGAGEMENTS AT BIELA. "i lelegrams from Schumla and Constantinople reiterate uie announcement of engagements fought ac Biel i Turks defeating the attempts of the Russians to force thp. bridge there over the Jantra. These reports further state that the Muscovites, being repulsed at this point, marched in a south-easterly direction upon Tirnova. The reports that the Russians had already reached and occupied'Tir- nova, are premature. Some Cossacks, scouring the country in all directions," have ventured near to and it is reported have even entered, Tirnova, which fact is the probable foundation of the rumoured Pusd™ *• 5 the town. The probable WndS^toTT he rumoured engagements at Biela. is that unsuccessful at tempts have been made by these Cossacks to cross tlie Jantra for reconnoitring purposes. Redif Pasha the Ottoman war minister, arriv'ed on Wednesday ai « £ entrenched encampment at Schumla, accompanied by the President of the Senate, Namyk Pasha. t? THE BRITISH FLEET. TJ5 ^-tjencv. winch is semi-official, states tlif- the British fleet has been sent to Besika Bav in view of the contingency of a disturbance breakinc out £ Con stantmople. v'on" The Porte has sent a circular letter to its representstii-w, at foreign courts indignantly denying a R .umaniin statement that the Turkish troops had orders to o-v-p quarter to Roumanians.

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