The Cardigan Observer and General Advertiser for the Counties of Cardigan Carmarthen and Pembroke

fAf J dbNDÓN CORRESPONDENCE. ;) fTIHE holidays this season—whion may be • j. regarded as extending over the week between Christmas Day and New Year's Day- -have, on the whole, been pretty enjoyable so far as weather goes. The temperature under wen 5 variations numerous enough to satisfy all tastes. The two hours' fall of snow that followed two 1days of frost imparted for -the time a seasonable aapeot to the streets but the white covering soon disappeared before the heavy rain which spa dily tptt it out of existence. The snow indeed came isnd vanished with the suddenness of a mysterious apparition, like Sir Waiter Scots s White Lady of A venal. Though the seawn of festivity and good fellow- ship is a time of reoreation to most people, it is not so to everybody. The quantity of shopping done at this period is something enormous, and hence those whose duty it is to serve customers find their occupation to be anything but. a sine- cure. Even after Christmas has come and gone maav shcp windows still present a festive ap- 7 pearanoe, and the at-racfcive articles they display to prove very tempting to the holiday-makers of both sexes whoara wanderirgaimlefslyabaut the streets. They have generally, when tbns occu- pied, some loose cash in their pocket?, and it flies off like steel filings in the presence of the load- atone magnet. However, it is better to spend their money in this way than to pas* it, in to the tills of the publicans, as a good many do at this season. On the streets about the average number of roysterers were to be seen, tk mgh teetotalers may be of opinion that the leniency sho-n by Mr. Flowers, when drank »ad disorderly perions were brought up at Bow-street, is not very well calculated to promote the sobriety of the community at the feativa season. One old delin- quent, whom he ht too easily off, appeared to be on such. a friendly footing with the magistrate that she thanked him heartily, and wished him a merry Christmas. 1. At the opening of a new year the politic! out- look is by no means auspicious. It is now becom- ing' clearer every day that there was good reason for calling Parliament togetber at an earlier date than nouil. A critical period is evidently ap- proaohing. and all the wisdom of Parliament will tIbe needed to prevent the country from entering on (Ta- dangerous course. The first step of a line of policy, which may lead either to beneficial or dis- astrous results, was taken when, immediately upon the fall of Plevna, our Ambassador at Constanti- nople waa instructed to impress upon the Porte the advisability of requesting the services o! the neutral Powers with a view to mediation. It was in oonsequenoe of the representations made by Mr. Layard that a Circular Note was des- patched by the Ottoman Government to the sig- natories of the Treaty of 1871. To this Ciroular Note the neutral Powers have not given any favour- able response, as it gave no indication of a basis on which a settlement of the questions at issue be- tween the belligerents might be effected, and accordingly the Sultan, seeing that the other Powers have declined to interfere, has asked the British Government to approach the Emperor of Russia with the view of bringing about negotia- tions for peace. With this request her Majesty's Government have agreed to comply, and indeed they could hardly do otherwise when the first overtures in the matter were made by Mr. Layard to the Porte. It is not difficult to perceive that Britain and Rtusia being thus once more brought face to face in the field of diplomacy, the refusal of the latter to acoept what the former might regard as reasonable conditions of peace might be regarded as a earns belli, placing this country side by side with Turkey in the future of the confliot. The circumstanced of the time being so critical, there is certainly satisfaction in knowing that arrange- ments have been made for the early meeting of Parliament. All the arguments that were adduced in favour of an autumn session in 1876 are equally available now, and there is no adequate ground for supposing that Parliament has merely been summoned earlier than uraal to give its con- sent to a pre-arranged warlike policy. At all events Parliament, in using its rights and privi- leges to control the action of the Government, must take its cue from the will and wishes of the nation at large. The divided state of opinion, among the work- ing classes of the metropolis, with reference to the question of peace or war, was illustrated in a somewhat ludicrous as well as disgraceful manner by the two opposition meetings of Mitt — RnwisnB and auti Turks which were held in Trafalgar equare on the afternoon of Satnrday hat. If the roughs who Indulged in free fights over the flags representing the Turkish and Russian nationalities would only 10 and take service under the banners of the \wo Powers, they might then have a i opportunity, iot only of breaking heads, bat of killing each ther outright. The proper place for fighting on \tehatf of Russia or Turkey is Dot Trafalgar- jquare, but the wild passes of the Balkans. Scot- land-yard, getting an inkling of the intended Partisan demonstrations, had made prepara- Jons to put down any disturbances that might have shown a tendency to become wrious; but the constables in attendance hardly fought it worth while to prevent the scrimmages hat went on among a par&l of roughs, or to in- terfere on behalf of the rival flags and flagstaffs hat came to grief. The anti-Turk faction, who rent dead against war, did not deem it necessary o oonvey the resolution they passed to any high Government official; but the anti-Russians oar- ied theirs to the residence of the Turkish Ambas- ador in Bryanston-square, and the deputation 'ho presented it succeeded in eliciting a speech 'om Musurua Pasha, who was rewarded for his ivility by a serenade. If the Trafalgar- jnare meetings are to be regarded as straws, lowing how the wind blows, all they have taught lis that it is blowing in different directions, and ill likely continue to do so until Europe is again -peace. there are rampant Russophilei and also ram- 9at Turcophiles. One of the latter, named tr. J. Stuart Day, writing to the daily papers, tade the extraordinary suggestion that "as e Post Office Department had announced a iduction from 4d. to 2d. on and after January it) 1878, of the letter registration fee, each irtioular elector should make it his business present, by registered letter, on New Years- 3( t¡,y the oompliments of the season to the Im- bcu mal Turkish Ambassador, and let a duplicate of toh missive ba addressed, also by registered tter, to the Right Honourable the Earl of Ielby." It is to be hoped, for the comfort of the ukiah Ambassador and Lord Derby on New Mr a Day, that only the gentleman who made is ridiculous proposal acted up to his own sug- stign. D. G.

FOREIGN AND COLONIAL. 1 A Berlin correspondent says^ Tfie^e is a report that the Pope is relenting and anxious to concert a mndus vivendi with the German Government, in Germany all Parties are agreed as to the advantage of effecting P. reconciliation, the Liberals being impo- tent to prevent the growth of disaffection among the lower classes, and the Ultramontanes looking with dismay upon the increasing number of vacant cures which cannot be filled, because of the bishops refusing to mention the names of their nominees in an official letter to the Government. The Minister of Agriculture and Education for South Australia has given notice that the Government offer a bonus of S5000 for tqerwt 500 tons of sugar grown and manufactured in the Northern Terri- tory" of the colony before the 30th of September, 1879. The "Northern Territory," which was lately incorporated with the colony of South Australia, com- I prises the central portion of the most northern dis- I tricts of the Continent, and embraces an area of about 120,000 square miles. Its chief town, Palmerston, is connected with Adelaide by the Ontral Australian I Telegraph, and the title of "Central Australia "would be more applicable to the colony than its present name, which was criginnlly adopted when it. only comprised one-third of its present area. Another bonus of J6500 is offered for the discovery of a new paying alluvial gold field in the "Northern Territory." Too condi- tions are that the discoverer's claim shall not be less than five miles from any alluvial gold-field at present being worked, and the bonus will not be paid until 5000oz. of gold have been obtained, within a radius of five miles from the claim first discovered. An English traveller in Spain describes the people of that country as "the posrest specimens of humantt-y he has ever seen." In a private letter from Madrid he writes: "When no living. Spaniard can remember his domestic politics as being anything but a scuffle of military and political adventurers, and no Spanish Old Parr even could recall a time when his country counted for anything in the politics of Europe, there is nothing wonderful about the contented imbecility of the present generation." After what he has seen in the Spanish, capital, the English traveller gloomily reflects that;fter all it may only take a few genera- tions, under the guidance of our political protestor*, to bring us down to that." It ii satisfactory to know that while our own harvest was not what was expected, the harvest in one at least of our colonies has been exceptionally good. The complete returns of the Canadian i harvest represent the yield of all kinds of grain as largely,in excess of the produce of any previous year. 30,000,000 bufrhele of wheat, 10,000,000 bushels of barley, and 48,000.000 bushels of other kinds of cereals are, as nearly as can be calculated, the results of the present year. The Austrian Diplomatic Agent, Prince Wrede, has made a declaration at Belgrade in the name of his. Government to the effect that Austria raises before- hand a decisive protest against any attempt of Servia to extend her action in a direction in which Austria's interests as a frontier Power would be affected, a re- sult which would be produced by any warlike or revolutionary proceedings in Bosnia or in Herzego- vina. In consequence of this communication, the Servian Government has given a formal assurance that the strictest instructions have been forwarded to the commandant of the Drina Corps to abstain from any offensive movement in the direction of Bosnia. The Mormons find there is an enemy in their midst. The Gentiles in Utah have sent a delegation to Wash- ington with the object of securing from Congress such legislation as will abridge the political power of Mor- monism in the territory. The objects aimed at are a secret ballot, the disenfranchisement of women, the disqualification of polygamists either to vote or to hold office, and an effective law against polygamy. The death ef Brigham Young was a great blow to Mor- monism, but it is Drobable that should the legislation now sought be granted the effect will have an even more serious effect upon the so-called religion." Mr. Archibald Michie, the Agent-General of Vic- toria, Australia, has received from the Obief Secretary of that colony a telegram dated the 21st ultimo, stat- ing that the Appropriation Bill, the Defences Bill (providing for forts and armaments as recommended by:.Sir William Jervois), the Exhibition Bit!, and other bills adopted by the Government and Assembly have been rejected by the Council, and that both Houses have adjourned over the Christmas holidays to meet early in February. The telegram further states that the Government and a large majority of the Assembly are in thorough accord in support of the rejected bills. There certainly is a party at the Vatic&n who wish to remove the Csnclave to Malta and to vote for Cardinal Manning as the best candidate for the Papacy; but the majority of the Cardinals, who are unwilling to leave Rome, will vote for an Italian Pope, and are determined that the confinement of the Pontiff and of his retinue to the Vatican shall not be continued after the end of the present Pontificate. The Emperor (says a Berlin correspondent) seems to have approved the substance of the propositions submitted by Prince Bismarck respecting the new commercial and financial policy. If details can be satisfactorily arranged, there will be an increase of indirect taxation, a heightening of the tariff, and an attempt to place the Prussian Finance and Railway Departments under the effective control of the Im- perial authorities. The latter measure, besides making the German Government paramount in matters financial, is intended to pave the way f. r adding to the Chancellor's authority in other depart- ments, and, accordingly, will be opposed by some minor Governments. The better to overcome their resistance by popular and Parliamentary support, some leaders of the National Liberal party will pro- bably be requested to join the German and Prussian Governments. An article has appeared in the semi-official Agence Russe in which it is represented that the mediation ssked by the Porte is contrary to international law, mediation being only possible when solicited by both belligerents, and becoming intervention when not asked for by both. It is further observed in the same article that by convoking1 Parliament earlier than usual, and by so dcing encouraging the Porte to resist, the English Cabinet will compel the Russians to march on Constantinople, thus causing the precise result it seeks to avert. — ——

THE SIOUXmDIANS. A general migration of the Sioux ^Indians from the United States to Canada is anticipated, the camp of Sitting Bull being continually reinforced by acces- Mana of Sioux from Montana and i Dakota. Sixty lodges of them went over in the middle of last month. It seemd that after the battle with General Custer ■ an the Little Big Horn River ih 1876 the camp divided, Sitting Bull going north, and Crazy Horse to the Platte and thence towards the Spotted rail agency. Crazy Horse's followers stayed there until the death of that chiff, before which event they allege that the Unite(I States Go- vernment attempted to disarm and dismount them. Many, however, concealed their arms, and others did not go quite into the agency, but remained in camps some distance away. The late arrivals in Sitting Bull's camp state that when Crazy Horse was dying he addressed them as follows: I have always wanted to go to the land of the White Mother, but my father persuaded me to stay here. I shtllbe dead in a few minutes, and will then go to the White Mother's country. I- want you all to follow me; you see the Americans want to kill us. There is no peace for you in this country—you can live no longer with the Grea* Father., If you want to live and raise up your families, you must go with me to the land of the White Mother and the home of our grandfathers." These dying words of Crazy Horso roused the wbole nation, and they resolved to trove north. Those who have already joined Sitting Bull in Canada are under the command of nine chiefs, and were forty eight days on the journey. Oil the 20th day a scout overtook them, and told them that unless they turned back they would be overhauled by the United States troops. They assured the scout that they would immediately return but when he was well out of sight they packed up and started north again as fast as they could travel.

Loss OF A CARGO OF CURRANTs.-Information has been received at Lloyd's that the well-known fruit trading steamer Oriana, belonging to the Loudon Steamship Company, loading fruit at Catacola, Greeje, had stranded on Catacola Point in leaving port in stormy weather, and would probably become a wreck She had about 100 tons of currants on board. The telegram states that all on board were saved. A later r telegram to tbo owners stated that the steamer had broken in two, and is a total wreck. Guards were placed by the ship to protect the salvage. The Oriana i registered 970 tons gross, 724 tons net, and had re- ceived the highest class at Lloyd's. She was built at Newcastle in 1867. BERLIN WOOLS and GERMAN NEEDLEWORK.— The above are imported direct by M. LEADER, 9, NEW TWN-YAKD, SHOTIEDITCH, LONDON, E.O., from whorr price lists are sent, on application, of every descrip tion of fancy wools, canvas. filoselle. &c. A FAMILY FEUD IN IRELAND.—At Oappa- white, county Tipperary, a few days ago, a family feud broke out at a funeral amongst persons all of the name of Ryan, and all more or less distinctly related to each other. War whoopa—or, in the language of the country, wheels "-were uttered and attacks were made by the people upon each other with stones in the fist. Finally, one of the Michael Ryans received a stab in the abdomen and died. An inquest has been held on the body of Michael, and a verdict of homi- cide returned against some person unknown. WEIGHT'S COAL TAB SOAP (SftpO Carftonis Deter gens), Antiseptic, Detergent ,Disinfectant. The most healthful, agreeable, and refreshing Toilet Soap in the world. By its daily use, freedom from infectious diseases is secured the complexion improved; pimples, blotches and roughness removed; and the elan made clear, smooth, and lustrons. In our hands it has proved most effective in skin diseases." —TheLancet. Itis theonly true antiseptic soap." -Briti,h Medical Journal. In Tablets, Sd. aod-a. each of all Chemists. w. V. WSWHT and Co., South wnrk-streot. London. THE MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.—The an- nouncement that both Houses of Parliament will meet on the 17th of January for .the despatch of busi- ness has excited, says the Guardian, much curiosity, and not a little misgiving, with regard to the nature of the business to be despatched. It is not likely that England will before that date have been committed to war with Russia, and will then be called on to meet the consequent expenses. Nevertheless, the appre- hension is widely entertained that Lord BeaeonBfield is using his influence with his colleagues, and perhaps with an illustrious personage who is ubove parties and Cabinets, in favour of the idea that the time is at hand, if it has not absolutely come, when defence of British interests must assume a distinctly wart ike form. But unless other European Powers see their way to mediation, no obvious good can result from the armed interference of England. If the Czar and the Sultan are disposed to continue at war with each other, the English Cabinet cannot force them to peace if they wish to make peace with each other, the English 0, biuet will be unable to pro- long the war; if Lord Beaconsfleld flatters him- self that he can achieve much by throwing, as far as he can, the weight of England into the Turkish scale, he may find his efforts powerless against the vis inertias of Europe and it should not be for- gotten that the vis inertia of nations, more especially of empires, can, like their armies, be speedily made active and mobilised. Tremendous evils might result from a determined attempt to appropriate, as prin- cipally, if not exclusively, English in their bearing, questions which, as Mr. Cross observed early in May, are not only of English, but of European interest. It is premature now, and we trust that it will be equally unseasonable on the 17th of January, to regard war as, for good or evil, inevitable. THE WEATHER FOR 1878, — SAXBY'S WEATHER TABLE AND ALMANACK, Price Sixpence, cloth' One Shilling, predicts with unfailing accuracy probable changes and weather disturbances, with simple rules, which will guide the reader how to fore. cast weather probabilities. Invaluable to all con- nected with outdoor or marine avseations. Of all booksellers, or of the publishers, LETTS, SON, AND Co., Limited, 33, KING WILLIAM- STREET, E.O. A MODEL SAVINGS BANK.—The 62od annual report of the Liverpool Savings Bank which has just been issued shows that at the close of the financial year £ 1,735,753 was due to 60,072 depositors Diiriijg the year 13,212 new accounts were opaned, 3896 old accounts reopened, and 12,511 accounts closed. Tha deposits, including transfers from other savings-banks, were £677,2:35, and £47,403 was added to depositors' accounts for interest. The withdrawals and transfers amounted to f 581,719. The bank possesses a surplus of L6333 over the amounts due to depositors, and in addition to a separate surplus fund of £ 10,000, its total funds being upwards of a million and three- quartere sterling. The business is a growing one, the amount due to depositors now being about £ 800,000 more than in 1866. As compared with last year 2472 more accounts were opened and 2261 more were closed, while £43,471 more was received and X23,452 paid away, and 27,027 more transactions were made. The amount due to depositors increased by ;fl42 918 in the year. Branches have been opened at the north i and east ends of the town, and these have -been much appreciated. COMPORT WITH ECONOMY secured by purllian. inlt one of the Russian Home-spun Dres? >g Q-Cwt s at 12s. 9d, or an Italian Flannel one at Us iln. Patterns post free of E. Avis, and Co., Ladias Out- fitters, 213, Uppee-street, Islington N. BRIBING A PHYSICIAN.—The Paria correspon- dent of the Times says that a man named Bernard, notorious for robbing luggage vans, was brought before the 11th Chamber charged with attempting to bribe the physician at the Bicetre Asylum. He has been repeatedly convicted of theft, but by simulating insanity has procured his. removal to asylums, and then succeeded in escaping. He sent the Bicetre doctor two English S5 notes to induce him to certify his insanity. He was brought up in a strait waist- coat, closely guarded, and talked in an incolaerent i Btrain of his property, ships, Ac., but the artifice failed, and he was sentenced to five years' imprison- ment. ment. COASTLINE. —The best cement for Broken Articles 6d. Is 2s. Postage 2d. Kay Bros., Stoekport. Sold everywhere. THE BON MARCHE PROPRIETOR IN PARIS. The Timet correspondent at Paris says that M. Boucicault, the proprietor and founder of the famous Magasms du Bon March6, died suddenlv on Tuesday night. M. Boucicault was one of the nota- bilities of modern Paris. Starting with a little linendraper's shop at a corner in the Rue du Bac, he succeeded little by little in creating the vast and most frequented establishment of the kind in the world. The Magasins du Bon Marche, which extend over an immense service, contain all the products of modern industry in the way of furniture and clothing, of objects for household use or of lux- ury. Without leaving them, one could, fit up a most elaborate establishment, even to the stables, for M. Boucicault allowed customers to make their choice from his numerous fine horses kept for his personal use or for that of the establishment. The Bon Marche bad its reading-room, art exhibition, free restaurant, hairdressing-rooms, concert-room, &c. The proprietor latterly employed more than 500 persons, and his premises WAre visited by more than 25,000 persons daily. His business had become immense, and to the last he re- mained the soul of this vast organisation. He is said to have left an enormous fortune; but what is better, he leaves the reputation of a man who never forgot his early struggle, and was ever a friend to the unfor- tunate. DYEING AT HOME.—Judson'S Dyes are most useful and effectual. Ribbons, silks, feathers, scarfs, lace, braid, veils, handkerchiefs, clouds, bernouses, Shetland skawls, or any small article of dress can easily be dyed in a few minuted without soiling the hands. Violet, magenta, crimson, mauve, purple, ponceau, claret, &c. Ask for Judson's Dyes. Sold by J chemists and stationers. Sixpence per bottle.

A CHRISTMAS AND NEW "FEAR POSTAL1 GRIEVANCE. A correspondent, signing himself M. P. writes ai follows in the Times: We have to face a new gredft "soeifdeviL" At a quarter-past four on thi^Ohristmas Day the postman is just delivering his morningvletters at the house I api temporarily staying a £ I^'Other words, the legItimate correspondenet) of the country has been delayed seven hours in order that cartloads of children's cards may he delivered. We are a curi- ous people. The habit Ctf sending wedding cards, based upon a sensible object, is being rabidly thrust aside; and vet the wholepopuMiOn-^ineni iwpmgri,and jet -WP chIldren-seems suddenly to have given itself up to the stationers and fancy shops and their endless variety of Qbristqaas, apd, Nevr Yeajf-'s, es-r-, People sit down with petain!hand, and envelop^ And postage-stamps before them, and bring up from the depths of their inner consciousness the names of people of whom they know., littlej and for.. whom they care legs, to address, in order to swell.put the total number they may deip>t^h/as .forroyig a grpund off boasting. On the otter hand, the number recpivediby the individual and be family are recounted, with a zest and pride marvellous for its childishness. We shall have a repetition of this disarrangement of the postal ssrvice on Nev Year's D,1T. Valentine's Day is a" flea-bite" to it. I dare say that fidme will say that this complaint is very cynical and very morose. Not doubting that in miny easca the 1+ sending of cards may serve a'T&ry useful purpose, and reproacht genuiae regard, I maintyiu that it has now become a bpge national plaything, which has definite evils and incon- venieuees in its trail. It is like the jBoat-race," and the "Harrow and Iton match,and will, I trust, dis- appear as suddenly as ".spelling bees" and most of the rinks. When Mary Ann the maid' can boast of as many Christmas cards as her mistress or the young ladies, it will soon go out of favour. Meanwhile, if as many Christmas cards as her mistress or the young ladies, it will soon go out of favour. Meanwhile, if the present fever continues, I commend it to this Chancellor of the Exchequer as affording a clue to a very productive tax. Is would beat, the Match lax. I at all events.

SUQzss CAUSES ImiTATioN. When purchasing ask Painly for and see that every cake is stamped Spot's Patent," or a spurious and highly dangerous lmitaion, same size and shape, may be served to you. ATTEMPTED ESCAPE.—An attempt to esoape from custody was made near Pontefract by a Prl8,^er named Joseph Wilmot, a pit sinker of Castbfor{j, wjj0 waa apprehended at Doncaster on a charge of having robbed a farmer at Hil- lam Selby of £ 60. A police-officer was convey- ing ;he prisoner by train to Pontefract, and when nearthe station the prisoner leapt from the window of tie carriage. A special train was sent down the lmeind the prisoner was recovered and brought back 1 to fmtefract, where he was attended by Dr. Sims, his injuries being chiefly on the bead. ■HEATING S COUGH LOZENGES contain no t Ophm, Morphia, nor any violent drug. It is the ( most effective remedy known to the Medical Pre- f feesbn in the cure of Cocans, ASTHMA, BRONCHITIS, I —-ofle Lozenge alone relieves. Sold by nil Chemis ( in xw, 18. 1jd and 2s. 9d. each, 1

TSlE WAR. TtJRJCrSH PRISONERS AT BUCHAREST. A correspondent, writing from Bucharest on the í27th ult., says Three thousand :six hundred Turkish prisoners arrived here "tbia afternoon, under the •■charge .of thíI Fifth and Sixth Dqrfobantz Regiments I have just a;en about 1500 of the prisoners comfortably housed in one of the largest barracks in the outskirts of Bucharest, and I can per- sonally testify to the extreme care which the • Rouafariians^ take of them. They are provided with tobacco and other similar luxuries, and the Roumanian troops who formed their escort have been placed in outhouses, while the Turkish prisoners hive been disposed of in the warm and comfortable rooms which the barracks contain. It is true that they have suffered very much on the road here I owmf to the .-want of clothes and to the extreme ^ey have endured during the last few da^s.- -There1 has certainly been no negligence on the part of the Roumanian authorities, who have I really believe, done their very best to provide for the comforts of the prisoners. The difficulty 0f deal- me- with several t housand men, with whom one cannot communicate verbally on account of the number of tongues which they speak, can only be realised bv those who have tried it. reaped Dy SUFFERINGS" OF TURKISH PRISONERS EN ROUrE. ^respondent of the Times at Bucharest says Details are slowly coming to light which give some idea of the hardship, 8uffered by the Turkish SSrSi2«r WaV° tb6 D*Dube durin* late storm. TLere are, of course, thousands of empty rear8'and constantly on the way to fhe rear, and yet many, not all, of the convoys of Kf b, ,„y „hid.7or tb. purpose of picking Up those who fell bv the waysIde, unable to proceed any further. These sufferers were, of course l«ft- u j ;r 'o death by the guards to freeze in Z m jf no means carrying them, and of Victims °Qly bee.n t0 "crease the number deliberate criml)8 8'nee, ot wag £ °ns was not due to nehs which sn f ^tt0 fchafc tboughtless- frequency-subjects the Russian sol- diers themselves to totally unnecessary suffering. I GET*.4? £ *5 ESrSS W .la No provision was f garian V1^ages for the proper suste captives, but when the Danube was niwwiflcrj 8I1d r suPDlies in abundance were Fimlfir! i f6 Roumanian villages, and from that time their lot was never so hard to bear. WANT OF FORETHOUGHT BY THE to, -7 RUSSIANS. Tkeei1/0rW8p<>ftdentof the Times at Bucharest convoys chartered bv „ V J weauhy contractors, who re- c lve lof. per day from the Government whether the carts are m motion Or standing BTu Th^e con tractors pay the proprietors a* certain 8Um Z month tor their services, with animals and carts and the proprietors find provisions and forage hf t u? th61r fe0r868- In conse,fuence S tnis short-sighted arrangement, when the recent storm swept over Bastern Europe, the owners of the carts found themselves without depdts of forage on the lines of communication, and 900 horses perished in the vicinity of Sistova alone, while the total loss in draught animals must be numbered by thousands. This precarious system of transport worked well enough while the earth was uncovered and pasturage was abundant by the side of the roads; but the Russians apparently entertained the ide9 that snow never would fall while they were in Bul- garia, or, if it did, that their transport animals would find it to be a nutritious article of food. The supply of sheepskin coats has been utterly inadequate. The other day tenders were invited to furnish 17,000 coats in a week, and no one, of course, could accept the contract. Again, although the snow has arrived a month behind its usual time, no sledges have been thought of; and finally, when the roads of Bulgaria^ were temporarily impassable by waggons, the Russian Intendance invited from an acquaintance of mine a contract for the delivery of 5000 sledges in five days, when the whole available resources of Rou- manian manufacturers could not turn out more than 1000 per week. There is very often a hidden purpose in delaying these contracts for supplies until the necessity is pressing. A sudden demand for a large quantity of something special to be delivered in an impossible time, finds one contractor in possession of the required article, and as there are no competi- tors and the need is urgent this mysteriously provi- dent individual nets his own price. TURKEY AND ENGLAND. The Pera correspondent of the limes says: The Turks still believe that England is prepared to go to war if she cannot obtain from Ellssia such terms as L SwS f ptTT T,hl8Jbehef much encouraged ,r?m about military and naval preparatiGns being there made and about the growing English i hostinty to Russia. Some of these telegrams are, perhaps, deliberate fabrications or exaggerations others are not absolutely in bad faith, but bear a philo- §a V suifc the market for which nntf Tm-k Parfcly because all telegrams of,an rpLS?lr- /ua risk being stopped or de- th« uVpat- "^V^r'ttation is at variance with that of nnrt rml* f "f new»papers, and, if it be incorrect, f i en Pa,se false hopes in the Turks detri- hwkl Peace' gravest responsibility s incurred by t.bose who send them- The Turks, however, have •j ..e fcxpeefcationa of peacfe or of English o interfere with their military preparations, W g Pu«hed forward with the greatest possi vigour, more men having been got to the front than recently seemed at all probable. Hence tbrf^ofiw." now less despondenttha.n SlOce the fa.ll or'Pievna.. THE SITUATION AT ERZEROUM. t A special correspondent at Erzeroum gives an a. count ot the situation there to the 4th December, the date at which his latest communication was sent off. ia an interview which he had had with Mukhtar Pasha that general denied the current report that he was about to quit the city. He had on the contrary determined never to abandon it while a man was lett to stand by the"guns. Owing to the precau- tions he had taken he had no fear of the plaice being carried by a coup de main on any one particular point, though a general assault was to be dreaded. Jn riding out of the citv he saw what these precautions were. On the rampa'rts (he says) sentries at fifty yards intervals: in the covered ways a similar line; and fifty yards from the crest of the glacis a first hne of sentinels in rifle pits not twenty yards apart. Another fifty yards farther out a similar line, the rifo? pits alternating with those of the first line. And this in broad daylight. Add to this that Muhir All, the chief of irregular horse, patrols incessantly the ground over which an enemy could advance: and it will be seen that a surprise is hardly possible." For the moment the Russians confined themselves to the limife of the Deve-Boyun Pass and the mouth of the Olti Valley, where it debouches on the Erzeroum plain, in the former position they were to all appearance permanently camped. Their tents were covered with thick felt, and each hat1 a stove well supplied with L J-*>ree battalions from Trebizond had just reached the Turks, and been distributed in the vil- lages between Illidge and the mouth of the Qltl Valley to watch with the irregular cavalry thoroad by which Erzeroum could be turned and to secure the Irebizond road. It ia gupposed that a serious assault from many points would be almost sure to succeed, but«otriwithout hard fighting. CHBJSTMAS SCENES IN WAR TIME- The limes say8 Here we have been, endeavouring to make others merry, even if we could not be merry ourselves. There are sad hearts and needy homes among us; but we are at least free from the curse of violence, cruelty, devastation, and conscription. What was passing about the same time in both Turkey and Russia may be too clearly discerned from the descriptions of correspondents. One of them described.. ride over the field of Elena the day after the battle, and narrated how he came across seven or eight bodies at the fringe of the field three hundred on a plateau and in a valley beyond a hun- dred and fifty near a rivulet, and several hundred more near a gully where the crowning victory of the day was won. Altogether he reckoned the number of Russian dead alone lying in that battle-field at about twelve hundred and besides these were the Turks who had fallen, most of whom bad been buried He proceeded to relate the terror and suffering en- dured by some of the wounded, and told a hideous story ot one atrocity he had himself witnessed on < the day of the battle—a Bashi-Bazouk cutting the I throat of a wounded Bulgarian. A correspondent with the army of Sofia similarly reports the mutila- J tion of the Russian dead and the slaughter of the 1 Russian wounded by troops under Mehemet Al/a t direct command, and in spite of his vehement pro. ] tests. But behind the field of battle in Turkey < this correspondent reports a mass of misery among 1 ihe non-combatant population at Sofia scarcely less ] keen, and not less piteous. Thousands of wretched Deop'le, driven from their homes and rendered desti- i ;ure by the ever-extending ravages of the war, were I Irifting helplessly within the walls of the town, 1 rod, though more than one benevolent agency is at ] work there, the distress overwhelms the existing means 1 >f relief. The Turkish women, in particular, rendered >y the very nature of their education exceptionally J helpless, seemed able to do nothing but sit down opelesgly to cry and starve. This, moreover, it must e remembered, is but a single illustration of what as now been going on for months. Over the whole 0 •tfn'garia and the greater part of Roumelia these scenes of bloodshed, rapine, and desolation are to be witnessed. OSMAN PASHA. A correspondent at Bucharest says Osman Pasha arrived here, and put up at the Hotel Broft. He was looking well, and was carried up to his rooms in an armchair. A little girl, the daughter of a Roumanian lady living in the hotel, met him upstairs, and gave him a bouquet of flowers. He lifted her up and kissed her. He is accompanied by a Russian officer and a Russian under-offieer, without arms, stands guard before his door. It is supposed he will remain here some days on account ef his wound, which, although not dangerous, is painful. The surgeons have had a good deal of difficulty with Osman's wound. He obstinately refused to have it dressed, it is said, for three or four days, and it was with great difficulty two Sisters of Oharity finally per- suaded him to submit to having it cleaned and dressed. It is rumoured that Osman is to he tried by court martial for the slaughter of the wounded around Plevna, but I cannot ascertain that thfra is the slightest ground for the report. There is, how- ever, a widely expressed belief that he ought to be tried and punished. If Marshal Baume had killed the German wounded and prisoners that fell into bia hands it would probably have gone hard with him when he surrendered. There "o'lId have been a drumhead court-martial and a very short shrii t. Indeed, the Americans hanged the Southern General Wirz, the director of the Liby prison, for less atrocious crimes tban Osman has been guilty of, but the Russians seem to have no such design, probably as much from policy as anything. The Turks, know- ing they will be well treated, as far as it lays in the power of the Russians, surrender readily where they I would otherwise fight to the last gasp. There were only three Russian prisoners found in Plevna, and I suspect they were deserters. THE WEATHER IN BULGARIA. The Times special correspondent at the head-quarters of the Grand Duke Vladimir, army of Rustchuk, has the following under date December 22nd: The day after the Emperor's departure it began to snow and has continued on and off up to this morning. AU operations have necessarily been suspended. The snow is lying more than two feet deep, and with the strong east wind of the last two days many of the underground huts which the soldiers u had dug for themselves have" been completely buried. Two men who, from., necessity or choice, slept in the open air the night before last were frozen to death. The transport service has been interrupted, and many oxen, I "111 told, have succumbed to the severity of the weather between here and the Danube. A courier coming from the head-quarters of the Cesarewitch was obliged to leave his horses and cart on the road and make the rest of his way on foot. This is real Russian weather, but it is very remark- able that although the Russians are accustomed to it at home they appear to have made no prepa- rations for it here. As far as regards means of conveyance there are no sledges to replace the small four-wheeled waggons. I have seen only one, and that -was made by the servant of a Cossadk colonel. One would have supposed the Russians of all people in the world to have had a number of sledges in reserve for the sudden appearance of winter, and the consequence of the over- sight is a great deal of trouble. The Intend- ance Department informs the cavalry here that it cannot at present send any more hay and corn across the Danube, and a whole Cossack regiment is about to set out for Roumania to feed its horses. At the same time the health of the soldiers, at least here, is excel lent, in spite of the weather and all prognostications to the contrary. For instance, in one regiment of Don Cossacks, consisting of about 900 men, there are only thirteen ill, and none of those are suffer- mg from anything dangerous. No better example than the Cossacks could be taken, is they do most of the hard work during such weather as this, and are the most exposed, I believe that the Russian troops will endure the winter as well aathey did the scorch- ing hot summer, and with as little, if not less, sickness. THE PORTE AND THE BRITISH CABINET. I bear on fair authority (says the Times correspon- dent at Pera) that the Sultan has declared that the Porte would be prepared, if necessary, to concede Russia's inevitable demand-the free passage of the Dardanelles—but for the opposition of Eng) tcd, whom as an old friend and powerfully ally the Porte id reluctant to offend. He considered England as the only Power likely to object to this, a view which is shared by some of the Sultan's ad- visers and members of the Cabinet. I cannot say what language the English Ambassador actually used, but I know he is believed here in circles usually wep informed to have held language calculated to encourage Turkey in resistance to Russia's demand, and to inspire the hope that it Turkey con- tinues the war rather than concede the free passage of the Dardanelles, England will sooner or later join her in resisting Russia. It is most important, therefore, that this belief should be either confirmed or dispelled by an explicit declaration oa the part of the English Government whether England is prepared to fight for Turkey, and, if so, in what case. The Porte is now waiting for an answer from England to its request for the good offices of the Powers. Upon that answer it will mainly depend whether Turkey will make such concessions as may procure peace or tate her stand on the Constitution and her promises of reform. Sfr Note conveying the request was obviously the echo of Lord Beaconsfield's last speech at the Mansion House. The best friends of Turkey now admit that it is hopeless for her to continue the war without an ally. Its continuation by her single-handed can only increase her already enormous sacrifices, and the ultimate concessions she will be compelled to make may involve possibly the overthrow of the Turkish Government in Constantinople and European Turkey. If on the approach of the Russians to the capita J, the Sultan retired to Broussa, it might possibly further involve the destruction of Constantinople itself and a mutual slaughter of the Turks and Christians. Hence philo-Turks and anti-Turks feel that grievous wrong would be done to Turkey and an injury to British interests if Turkey were en- couraged to continue the war by the hope of English assistance and that assistance should never be forth- coming. On the other hand, there are advisers who assure the Porte that even if the English Government now refuses the hoped-for assistance, it will, in the last extremity, be forced into war by the growing sentiment of hostility among the people of England against Russia. In order to stimulate this sentiment a mass of old telegrams, official and non-official, about Russian atrocities have recently been republished in English for circulation in a pamphlet, and, by a most unfor- tunate coincidence, the English Ambassador has just sent, or is about to send, to the English Foreign Office; a report on Russian atrocities made by Mr. Blunt. Such an act, at such a moment, will strengthen the general impression, even if erroneous, that the language or-attitude of the English Ambassador is calculated to. confirm the Porte in the belief that the popular, sentiment of hostility t) Russia will force the Government into war and to encourage the Porte in its reeistance to Russia. The Turkish journals them- selves make no mention of peace, but quote peace articles from other papers. WINTER IN BULGARIA. The Times correspondent at Bucharest writes: The t ilegraph lines are once more in working order between Bucharest and the outer world. Oa the 16th and 17th of December the rain fell steadily, but on the 18th the temperature became so low that the raip changed to an icy sleet, which covered the surface of everything it touched with a thickness of half an inch of "clear ice, the telegraph lines being covered until they assumed the size and appearance of small ropes. "On the 19th the sleet changed to snow, and a violent wind arose, which drove the snow in blind- ing clouds in every direction, filling up cuttings and railways, and stopping all locomotion on both kinds of communications. The overloaded telegraph wires, swayed by the wind, gave way in all directions, and we were isolated from the rest of the world. During the night the violence of the wind in- creased until it fairly shrieked and howled through the chimneys and ameng the gables of the houses like the wails from Dante's Inferno." The temperature gradually became lower, and on the morning of the 20th the storm was at its worst, Sledges made their appearance upon the streets, but it required no small amount of nerve to charter one. In the afternoon I drove out of town. On the chaussie near the barriers was a train of transport waggons, many of them overturned by the force of the wind-, which swept over the level plain, laden with stifling clouds of driving snow that cut the face like small arrows. I met a Roumanian coming in who had been out to his sheep-fold to see how his flock had withstood the storm. Twenty-five of them had been frozen to death. During the preceding night Beven persons were picked up in the streets of Bucharest and carried to the hospitals in a frozen condition. The pontoon bridge at Nikopol was broken; and the deputation from the Roumanian legislature, bearing the reply to the address cf Prince Charles, remains at Turnu Magurelle, being unable to cross the Danube. The Russian pontoon bridges at Simnitza and Petroshani remain uninjured by the storm. All the railways leading out of Bucharest are obstructed by the snow, and the efforts hitherto made to clear them have not yet succeeded. The wire between the Roumanian head-quarters in Bulgaria and Bucharest remained in working order i until the night of the 28th Dec., when it succumbed ] Up to last advicea„aH Was stagnant at thafront, t.h( ? storm having enforced, the stoppage of all military operations. The suffering among the Turkish pri- soners taken at Plevna and the Russia troops about the Etropol Balkans, as well as those on their way- tc join Gourko, must have been terrible. Many of th. Turks had no overcoats when captured, and there i no shelter obtainable for large masses of men any where m Bulgaria outside the earthern huts built bi I the soldiers for their own use. Alter, the siege o" P.evna was ended the fuel of the Turks was exhausted and the Russians were compelled to haul wortr from considerable distances for their camp fires ana for cooking purposes. On the Roumanian side cl the investing lines thov. dug up s.umps and root v for firewood. The large masses of ruen encampd around Plevna swept the fuel from the whole county I for imles abound. Bttween Plevna and Sistova thee is absolutely nothing in the shape of firewod sufficient to warm a battalion. Consequently tie detachments of prisoners on their way to the Daniue { must have been terribly affeted by the piercing wild and its frozen burden of blinding snow. No detailsof the effacts of the storm upon the Tnrkish prisoners aid Russian troops caught on the inarchbave been recei-ed here, but it is to be feared that hundreds must hIVe perished. Residents of Bucharest state that a stormof like severity was never known before to come onso unexptctedly, and the degree of cold was most m- u«ual it this season. The cold and driving amw produced a terrible effect; noon a transprt train which had halted near Cotroceni, a subirb of Bucharest, to await the cessation of the stom. I visittd the spot, and found waggons md horses entirely buried in the snow. Worfing parties were engaged in extricating the train. (ver forty horses perished, and twenty-nine dead aen have ;een found already. They had sought shiter in their waggons, and were frozen to death wihin half a mile ot the village or suburb of Cotroeni. From this incident some idea may be formed of the effects of the storm in Bulgaria. This trang)ort train bad camped on a level plain, and was burid by the driving snow being Diled up around the hirem and waggons. RUSSIAN ATROCITIES. The tales of Russian atrocities have unexpecMly1 exercised a very important influence on the situaion. They are, says the Times correspondent, as pre- ■>, posterpus and improbable as the worst yet circulated. | One story states that the Russians offered the grossest indignities to some Turkish women in ? mere wantonness of insult, compelling 200 wrmen to parade the camp with their persons .nde- cently exposed..Another is that the Russians com- pelled 2000 wounded prisoners to walk thxiugh the snow from Kara to Erzeroum. Such stories | may be treated as they deserve to be by Euiopean 1 critics. watching impartially from the distance, and j able to see that even were they true, they would j furnish no ground for England's going tc war j with Russia, and they may, therefor., be | prevented from producing on her foreign policy the effect which agitators for war here, j English as- well as Turkish, count on their producing. But their influence is incalculably mis- chievous on Turkish policy in Constat tinople, where J the ultimate authority rests with one man who brieves ) them when heard from the lips of trusted generals and counsellors; and such stories of insults offered by Giacurs to Moslem subjects naturally inflame him to resistance a outrancc. The same effect, too, is pro- j duced oh the Turkish population. | ■ 3

WAR ITEMS. • Mehemet Ali, having been summoned before a court-martial, presided over by Reouf Pasha, fully I succeeded in justifying himself. He accused Suleiman Pasha of being principally responsible for Turkish 1 disasters. Mehemet Ali is talked of to command a force for the defence of Constantinople. d The corps commanded by Generals Leschjanin d and Benitzki have taken possession of Leskovitsa l' and Kurshumha, where they found plenty of cattle, j provision stores, and ammunition, so that it will V í unnecessary to send supplies thither from Servia. Mr. Long worth, a clerk in the British Consulat6 Salonica, has been sent on a secret mission to Thesf and Macedonia for the purpose of inquiring into alleged outrages by Albanian Basbi-Bazouks, ascertaining the feelings of the inhabitants. j It is said that Count Andrassy, in his reply to-to 5 Circular of the Porte, has pointed out that the want of deference manifested towards Europe by the Turkish Government allows of little hope being enter- tained of bringing about negotiations for peaee. An address of devotion to the Czar, presented to his Majesty by the St. Petersburg nobility on the occasion of his return to the capital, has been published. It expresses the wish that God may bestow his blessing upon the Emperor to enable him gloriously to termi- nate the present war. The weather continues very cold, and the ther- mometer shows 18 degrees Reaumur. The Turkish prisoners are dying of cold, and it is impossible to afford them any aid. 1 The total number of Turkish prisoners taken 9 Plevna amounts to 44,000 men, exclusive of the j wounded and of those who have since died. 3600 prisoners remained in Plevna. I The Czar has held a review of the troops of the dis- j trict of St. Petersburg on the square, before the Imperial Winter Palace. The troops consisted of- twenty-six battalions of infantry, twenty-five squa rons of cavalry, and forty-two pieces of artillery, f His Majesty was in good health, and the parade being favoured bv fine weather, passed off most bril- liantly. Prince Reuss, the German Ambassador to Turkey, reports that a number of Russian prisoners, including j Colonel Klevesahl and several other officers, have j arrived at Constantinople. j On the 22nd ult. the Roumanians occupied Orzel Palanka without fighting. t On the eastern front a Russian division of Tschugujeff Uhlans captured on the 23rd ujt. near Sida. Turkish transport, killing twenty-six of the esccr,f taking eighteen prisoners. Ruesia is sounding the various Mediterranean States as to their willingness to demand the opening of the Dardanelles. According to a telegram in the New Freie Preue, the Turkish prisoners taken at PlavDa are being sent, despite the severe frost, barefooted and half naked, to the interior of Russia, and consequently many are dying on the way. Although the answers of the Powers to the Turkish Note had been verbally given sometime since, the official replies have only just been sent in, and, though containing refusals, are said to be couched in far more conciliatory terms than might have been ex- pected from the nature of the communications first made to the Porte on the subject, expressing in all cases regret at not being able to undertake the task of pacification. The German Governments are going to ask for ad- ditional supplies to hasten the construction of torpedo boats. No fewer than 1200 field guns have been ordered of Herr Krupp by the Russian Government. It is announced from Ragusa that on Christmas- day the Montenegrins defeated a Turkish corps in- trenched between Bojana and Dnlcigno, taking a number of prisoners, three flags, and a considerable quantity of provisions. On Wednesday the Nicopolis bridge was carried away by the ice. Unless the bridges at Sistova be re- moved immediate!y they will also ge. The bridge carried away by the ice is, of course, completely de- stroyed, as the pontoons, for the most part, are broken and sunk. No floating bridge, of course, can be made to resist floating ice. The Russia, commanded by Captain Baranoff, has arrived at Sebastopol with the Mercene, 1400 tons, sjrew steamer, captured off Penbrekli, with 876 Turkish soldiers on board. The capture was effected without bloodshed, the Mercene hauling down her flag at the third shot. The Russian onward movement seems to have been arrested by the fearful storm that began on December 18. It has settled into steady, cold Russian weather ten to fifteen degrees below freezing point. The Grand Duke's head-quarters are still at Bogot. There can be no doubt that General Loris Melikoff is earnestly pushing forward opt rations for the cap- ture of Erzeroum. The weather, which had embar- rassed his movements, has become less rigorous, and be is bringing up troops against the city in numbers sufficient to invest and perhaps assault the place. Thenews fre u Bucharest of the Cesarewitch's de- parture from the army and return te Russia is again contradicted, and, doubtless, rightly so, as nothing has been heard of his having arrived in St. Peters- burg, as he ought to have done by this time if the re- port of his return were true. Large depots of supplies have been collected Biela and Tirnova, and now that winter has set Mr with great severity, the Intendance Department is discussing the proprietv of establishing depots at Drenova, Gabrova, and Selvi.. It is expected that a body of Turks will be sent from Salonica against Servia, no danger being antici- pated from the rumour that influence is being exercised at Vienna to prevent a junction between the Servian and Montenegrin troops. From the Servian side the taking of Pirot or Sharskoi, after two days' hard fighting, is now' officially announced. Twenty-five guns, a number of prisoners, ammunition, large stores of provisions, and some hundred horses were the trophies. The Servians were received with enthusiasm by the Bulgarian population.

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