EUROPEAN INTELLIGENCE.

Lyttelton Times, Volume IV, Issue 192, 2 September 1854, Page 7

EUROPEAN INTELLIGENCE.

(From the " Adelaide Papers.") Admiral Napier's Declabatton of War. (From the private letter of an officer on board the Duke of Wellington)

"April 4. At noon 10-day the Old Duke looked as if she was dressed for a holiday: she was covered with flags, forming a general signal to the fleet, which had anything but a holiday signification—it was the commander-in-chief's declaration of war, and ran, word for word, as follows:—

' I/adS"! War ia-dcclorcvl,*"witli a bold and numerous enemy to meet. Should they offer us battle, you know what to do with them. Success depends on the precision and quickness of your fire. Also, lads! sharpen your cutlasses, and the day is your own.'

The Blenheim, Captain the Hon. F. T. Pelham, immediately answered, ' Ready and willing ;' the Neptune, Captain Smith, ' Ready' —and every ship manned her rigging and gave three such cheers as are seldom heard in these waters. Ourselves and all the ship's company were then called upon deck, and Commodore Seymour read the signal to us; and the men were beginning to follow the example of the other ships,|wuen the old admiral came forward, and, leaning over the poop rail, said ; —

'Now, my lads! You have just heard what the commodore has said to you, and all I have to say is, you must be cool and collected—don't throwyourshotaway. A shot fired in the air or in the water is of no use. Make every one of them tell; we have quite a different system now to what we had in the last war. I have no doubt some of you have been in action before, but it will be different to what you have been accustomed to; but Admiral Chads shewed you the other day that a shell bursting between decks is not so dangerous as you imagine, and if one comes on your deck, you must lie down, and it won't hurt you any more than the common splinters of an ordinary action. Should we meet the Russian fleet at sea, as I dare say we shall, you well know how to dispose of them. We will now man the rigging, and give three cheers for the Queen, God bless her !'>

The men rushed to the rigging, and gave three times three for the Queen, and one cheer more, and three for the Commander-in-Chief; this was followed by the rest of the fleet, and peal after peal came floating over the waters until the most distant sounded like the echo of the other. Hands were piped down, men under punishment were forgiven, and an extra glass of grog given each man at supper time. The flying squadron of paddle wheels, under Admiral Plumridge, left us immediately after for the edge of the ice. They are gone to watch the movements of the enemy, and to look after some ships laden with sulphur and lead, which are in a " fix" in the ice. They will be prizes worth taking if they turn up."

Tkieste, 27th April.—Latest intelligence from the seat of war. —The latest news from Constantinople, received yesterday by steamer, reaches till the 17th inst. The war steamer Himalaya had arrived with 2,000 English troops, part of whom had been lodged at a palace of the Sultan. Lord Redcliffe had caused the declaration of war of the allied Powers to be placarded at the corners of the streets. Two palaces are prepared for the reception of the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Napoleon. Part of the Greeks who are to be expelled from the Turkish States have obtained a delay. The Catholic Greeks are allowed to remain in Turkey. Volo is reported to have been plundered by 5,000 Egyptian soldiers. At Gallipoli the French steamer Napoleon had arrived with troops, and there are now 25,000 French, and 8,000 English, assembled. The squadrons were blockading Sebastopol, with a portion detached in search of two llussian line-of-battle ships missing from their an-

chorage. A division of the English army (reported to be General Brown's) was ordered to Varna to support Omar Pasha. The French troops were also moving from Gallipoli.

Additional Tboops foe the East. —There is still an impression abroad that we shall have to despatch more troops to Turkey as well as France. The latter power has made a fresh, levy of 80,000 troops, whilst in this countryrecruiting and drilling are going on with unabated activity. Besides these signs of a prolonged struggle, the Admiralty are equipping a numerous flotillaof steam-gun boats to serve in the Baltic against the Russian fleet of small boats, which are said to number as many as 800, but are only propelled by oars.

The Governor of Gallipoli, a quiet old Turk, is dead, fairly worried to death by the -French, auxiliaries. The exact and organizing intellect of the Gallic race has already made a revolution in the place. Before the troops had been there three days they had named the streets, numbered the houses, and established a police. The quiet routine of the good Bey's life was lirofcen through: he was incessantly assailed by Generals and Colonels, and was held responsible for all that was done or left undone within his jurisdiction. He took to his bed, and has not survived to see the changes which threaten his country.— Times Corresp.

Imperial Pakltajient.—The War Budget of the Chancellor of the Exchequer was laid before the House of Commons on the Bth May. In order to meet the cost of the " preparation for War," our readers are aware that theliic<>m<s Tax for the first half year had been already doubled. My. Gladstone now proposed to continue the increased Income Tax to the etui of the war: to augment the duty on st'hibs Is. per gallon in Scotland, and Bd. per rhUoii in Ireland; to defer the reduction of Duty on Sugar, which would otherwise come into iipeiiilion in July next; and to increase the Malt tax from to 2s. 9d. to 4s. The estimated increase to the revenue may be briefly shown as follows:— Income Tax, doubled for the 2nd half-year £3,150,0P0 Scotch and Irish Spirits . . 4 )'),' i Sugar 800.00 Malt 2 4jO 0 £b -> u>,( ( ( This being the amount which the (Jii mit of the Exchequer states to be mm n<|ui The increase in taxation, therefoie, v l.h!> posed for the present year will, with t k>i grant, already amount to £\ 0.157,000 The following are the estimate urn voted for the expenses of ihe w > \ £1,457,031 ; transport of troop's. £ - ( '' Army, £300,000 ; Ordnance, £742, ,>— i £5,595,863. An animated debate on the O\l» v. w Bill left ministers in a minoritj ot 1 v o the leading clauses. The reman \ have been almost entirely deioUti -t i< on the proceedings of our fleets i i t 1 Sea,, and on the dilatory nwu > < military authorities in the same qu i appears no doubt that in theComi i has been great supineness some\ same time the Turks have slunwi rity to assist, fortunately for oiii "• have wanted nothing on lauding - ; <