The War.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XII, Issue 712, 3 September 1859, Page 2

The War.

KUS9IAN CIRCTW/Att

The Russian government has.issued a circular to all its representatives at foreign .courts^ explaining the views of ilussia respecting the political situation of Europe, more especially as regards the attitude of Germany. This circular says :-^ " Our desire, like that of the majority of the Great Powers, is now,!© locaiise.the war, because jt arose out of local circumstances, and because it is the only means of accelerating the return of peace. The line followed by some States of the German Confederation tends, on the contrary, to generalise the ■ struggle by giving it a character and proportions, which go, beyond all human provision, and which, under any circumstances, would lead to increased, devastation and would cause torrents of blood to be shed. .

"We can the less understand this tendency, asl — .independently of the guarantees offered to Germany ■by the positive declarations of the French govern,'ment, accepted by the Great Powers, and the very force of circumstances —the German States thereby i deviate from the fundamental basis which unites them. ■ . ■

" The German Confederation is a combination purely and exclusively defensive. It >is on that condition that phe participated in the internal law of Europe, on the bases of treaties to which Russia's signature is affixed. "Now, no hostile act has been committed by France against the confederation, and there does ■not exist any obligatory treaty for the - latter to attack that power. "Should, consequently, ithe confederation take hostile measures towards France, on conjectural 'data, and against which it has obtained more than one guarantee, it would have falsified the object of its' institution, and disowned the spirit of treaties •upon which its existence rests. "We confidently entertain the hope that the wisdom of the federal governments will set aside : determinations which would turn to their/prejudice and would not contribute to strengthen their own ; position.

" If, which God forbid, it should happen other--wise, we shall at all events have fulfilled a duty of frank and sincere friendship. Whatever may he the issue of the present complications, the Emperor, our august master, perfectly free in his action, will only be inspired by the interests of his country and the dignity of his crown in the determination which his Majesty will be called upon to take.

. / " GOETSCHAKOFF. " St. Petersburg, 15th (27.) May, 1859.'! FOLLOWING- THE CAKP.

The following is an extract from a private letter of an adventurous gentleman, who set but 1 from England to follow the war in the footsteps of the allies. The letter is dated Turin, July 8:— " Having explored the field of Magenta, I tried to get a conveyance which .would take me to Milan. The King had just removed his head-quarters from Magenta to Lainate, a small village near Koh and not very distant from Milan. As you may easily imagine, the camp was all topsyturvy, as our lines were advancing, part on the left towards Lainate, and part on the right towards Corsico, all converging in the direction of the longed-for Lombard capital. After two hours of vain exertions I could not find even a small cart to carry me to Milan. I had made up my mind ,-to trust to my legs, when, an American, whom I had met at an inn at Magenta, expressed a, desire to be my companion. I i accepted the offer, and off we went. I do not know i why, but Yankees-are always getting into trouble. [We had scarcely made our way through a.double and endless row of commissariat waggons when we were suddenly stopped by a party of French gendarmes, who, a few hours before, had in. like manner stopped Lord de Burgh, whd, as an attache to our Legation at Turin, had been sent on a special mission to the camp. The'gendarmes asked who we we were, and where we were going.' The summons was quite justified by our civilian dress, and for my part I hastened to deliver the necessary pass, with which I had been furnished before leaving Turin. " Ties bien, ailez," was the answer of the gendarmes. The turn of my companion then came. I had thought he. would have shown a similar.document, but, instead of doing that, he-drew out from his breast pocket what he believed an unexceptionable passport, delivered by GeneralCass from the capital of Washington, and-duly countersigned by the American minister at Turin. " What is that p" asked the French gendarmes, " We know nothing of that" "vWhat," exclaimed the American,"not know the stars and stripes, the escutcheon of the Union ? " Some warm explanations followed, and I was obliged to interfere. I soon succeeded in showing my rather noisy companion the'true state of the question, and told him we had better -apply at the nearest head-quarters of the French. We did so, and 'were kindly received by a general of brigade,who told us that it was strictly forbidden to pass'the! lines. "No doubt," he added; "your pass will enable ycu to reach Milan, but not by this way; you must go to Novara and Arona, and once there you may go to Varese, Como, and to Milan." There .was nothing to say, and we returned 'to Magenta, and from there we proceeded to Novara and Vercelli. I was too tired :to follow the advice of the son -of Mars, so I took the first train and here I am at Turin. On my arrival here I found the town full of absurd news, and when-some of my friends were informed that I'had just come from the camp, I ■ soon became the lion of the Tromberta Hotel and Finio Cafe. I had no sooner succeeded in getting rid of my curious assailants than I went to the cathedral, where a Te Deum was to "be sung as a thanksgiving for the victory of Magenta, which has opened the gates of Milan to the galhuit-Kingof Sardinia. This evening Turin will be splendidly illuminated." . '

AUSTIMAN ACCOUNTS OF GAEIBALDI's OPEEATIONS,

(From the Vienna Corres. of the 'Times.')

The official report respecting 'Garibaldi is, that he, during the night of the 22nd May, advanced with about GOOO men from Burgomanero, and marched in two columns towards Lombardy. The onetook the road through Orta, Omegna, and.Pallanza, and the other went by way of Arona to the Lake Maggiore. At noon on the 23rd he was at Castelleto ; (on the west coast of the lake), and an hour later 'in Sesto-Calende and Angera. At three o'clock the indefatigable partisan chief was at Varese. As soon as the news of.this irruption reached Milan and the head-quarters of the army small parties were sent out to ob&erve the movements of the invaders. U^on the 26th of May only a few shots had been exchanged between the latter and the. Austrians, but on that day two battalions of the line, four companies of border troops and two squadrons.of hussars, with one battery attacked Garibaldi in an intrenched position near Varese. 1,, thus unsuecesful attack," sa y S the commander " we had 132 men .killed and wounded." Ihe attaclyecenay made on I^aveno (on the east coast of the Lake Maggiore) by one. of Garibaldi's bands completely failed.

mi ,?fL, B™AIID, 1 S ATT^CK ON LAVENO. The .following details of tlw attack of Garibaldi o'J-'liMwo are given by a continental paper:— Oraribaldi, hoping to Uike the place by surprise, "ttHcked it on the2od, but the Austrian*, who were 1500 strong, bad armed the forts with 88 guns lhe yolanteers,'Avho bad no oannon, attempted to take the forts by assault, hut were beaten hack with loss. .Alter a pause, new columns of attack were lormed and they weyeprincipally directed against the fort St. Mwhael,-which defends the approaches Qt the place by crossing its firo with that of an

earthwork placed on the light bank of the littleviver which flows by the sovith part of the town After si conflict, the fort was earned, but the volu n l teers could not hold it, because it was open on the sid» of the town and was commanded by the fi ro from the upper part of the town. The volunteers in consequence, had to retire, and some of them being discouraged fled into Switzerland, where i n the exaggerated »tyle.eommon to Italians, they're, lated the disaster which had befallen them. From what they say it would have been supposed that the corps of Garibaldi was completely cut up. But, f iir from that, he reorganised his men, marched on Yarese, and attacking the Austrians who had returned there, drove them from the town and pursued them some distance."

LETTER FROM GABIBALDI's CAMP. A letter in the' Daily News/from Como, dated; May 30, says.—" Dear Friend,~You write me that : great things are expected from the Cacciatori deK Alpi,and I hope you find already you are not deceived in your expectations. Our battles at Yarese. S. Fermo, and Como must be considered as some of the hest fails d'armhe of the campaign of 1859 We were attacked at Yarese on the .26th, when we not only repulsed the Austrians, but pursued them. On the 27th Garibaldi ordered us to march on. Como, and we met the enemy strongly fortified at S. Fermo. The impetuosity of our Cacciatori forced in harf an hour their entrenchments, and theAustrians abandoned all their positions in great haste and disorder. The Cacciatori pursued them very hotly, and in. less than five hours all tlieCosta di S. Fermo was entirely ours. It is naturallyone.of the strongest positions that can be imagined. We were not quite 3000 ; and the enemy 10,000;. with 200 horsemen and eight pieces of artillery. General Garibaldi was invariably in the places of greatest danger, always within musket-shot, with' our brave soldiers fighting and crying ' Viva Garibaldi!' "He thought constantly of their safety, and never of his own. Colonel Medici, and all the other colonels, were examples to the brave. All the etat major highly distinguished themselves.' Considering the difficulties, numbers, and circumstances, the taking-of-Como must be, in the history of our war of independence, one of the most brilliant and/ boldest actions. An elderly English gentleman was with us and fought like a lion throughout the action.. He is in the' companies of' Bersaglieriformed at Ivrea, and composed of the greatest part of Genoese.. On the other hand, a wealthy English family living at Como, in the house of Harchese Brivio, Milan, was constantly employed in giving all the information they could to Gen. D'Urban. On the 27th, it has been proved, tw,o' gentlemen of that family supplied the Austrian general with notices that prevented our splendid victory from producing all the advantages we should have derived from it but for such an espionage. The indignation of the people was such that the two gentlemen were arrested, and their being shot was .universally demanded. Count Visconti, the Eiedmontese commissioner, saved their -lives and they were expelled. If they live/it is due not to forgiveness for "their crime but to the desire of the government to be generous and friendly to -the British. "This Austrian Marechal DUrban is a ferocious soldier of the school of the famous Haynau. He shot, with his own hand and a revolver, a poor peasant, FeliceRomano, of Itebbio, near Como, 24 years old, without any provocation, ,and only because lie was told the unhappy man was a friend to the Italian cause. Antonio Galfetti, another peasant, 44 years old, was wounded by a coup -de sabre, and by the s"ame D'Urban. while he was at the doorofhishcoise with a child eight months old in ihis:armß. There would be no end if I were to tell all the enormities committed <by this monster D'Urban."

THE FKENCH SEIGE TLOTILX,*.. (From the Correspondent of' The Times.) Marseilles, June s.—On Eriday the steamers intended to tow the three floating batteries now in Toulon were told off, and further progress was madedn the formation of the fleet, destined mainly, it is stated, to force'an entrance-to the Po. They have now got their full complement; of guns on board, which .can be .all fought on a broadside. By^fche end of Jiiily, or early in August* the differentmaval yards will have completed 120 flatbottomed gun-boats, small model, having fitted each withi a five-horse power steam, engine and with one of the rifled four-pounders They are intended to act on the Ada, the Mincio, and the Adige. By-the same period will be completed 40 steam transports, capable of conveying 1000 men each, besides the crew and baggage. Considering how France can now transport her troops, that she has 20 paddle steam frigates which , she employs for <that purpose, one is curious to learn where it is contemplated to land 40,000 men at • once. ' - ' ' • ATJSTETAN ABMAMENTS. The * Wiener Zeitung' of the sth contains the -appointment of Lieiitenant-General Prince Alexander of Wurtemburg, Baron Reischach, Count Horvath, arid Count Thun, to be commanders of the four new corps d'armee which are being formed. Lieutenant-General yon Veigi has the command of the 11th corps, which entered Lombardyafew days ago. The four new corps are to consist of 65 battalions of the line, and several Jager battalions. Eight and' twenty squadrons of irregular border cavalry, seven of which are Serrassaners (known to the readers of history as "pandours"), are also to be raised. A corps d'armeehzs just gone direct from Hungary to the maritime coast. A brigade from Bohemia has passed through. Vienna on the way to Italy.