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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 236, 5 October 1877, Page 2

A correspondent of the Daily News, who is high in favor with the Russian military authorities, states that the reinforcements for the Russian army will require more time to reach the front thau was at first supposed, and consequently it will be impossible to conclude the war duriug the present year. Great battles will be fought, but only north of the Balkan mountains. The hope entertained by the Russians of beiug able to advance on Adriauople at once has been postponed, and the aiiu of the Russian generals now is to sweep Bulgaria Juorth of the Balkans clear of Turkish armies. The Balkan passes are to be held at all hazards a stroug position being takeu up for the purpose at Kesanlik. The necessity for thus \ restricting operations south of the Balkans arises from the serious aspect of affairs north of that range. The Russian armies there are unable to move, aud must wait for reinforcements. One hundred thousand men are now on the way to the scene of operations. In accordance with this, the blow which the Russians intended to give Osman Fasha's army cannot be struck, because troops are not available in sufficient numbers. The right flauk of the Russian army is sufficiently protected, but the means for renewed offensive operations are utterly inadequate.

It is understood that the New Zealand Government have received representations from the Governments of the other Austrialian Colonies to the effect that it is not desirable to continue the special war telegrams from the respective Agents-General, and that the New Zealand Government have concurred in this view. The number of companies now in existence has rendered the competition for fire insurance business very keen. This is more particularly the case in large towns like Dunediu whero paid canvassers are employed, a' very good story is going the rounds of insurance circles there to tho effect that the popular and zealous agent of one of our New Zealaud companies was discovered in the grey dawn of a cold winter morning sitting on a pile which had been placed in the ground the previous day, patiently awaiting the arrival of the workmen at 8 o'clock, so that he might be the first to get the particulars of the projected building, and interview the proprietor with the object booking " a line." Whether the early bird secured tbat worm deponent sayeth not. The will of tho late Admiral Rous, written by himself, has been sworn under £80,000. The executors are his old friends Mr George Payne and Viscouut Torrington. The bulk of the money is left to the daughters of his brother, the Earl of Stradbroke, to whom he has left the plate presented to him by the Jockey Club. The celebrated pictures Jim Crack and Eclipse go to the Jocky Club at Newmarket. A meeting of bookmakers and other professional racing men was held a few days after the Admiral's funeral, and a subscription list opened to purchase a couple of lifeboats, to be named " The Rous" and "The Admiral. The amount of each subscription was limited to £10 10s, and it has now closed with over £1000 to the credit of the fund. Auother list has since been started for members of the Jockey Club and personal friends of the deceased, the object in this case being to raise a sum of money suffioient to build and endow almshouses at Newmarket to reI lieve cases of distress and want in connection with the widows and families of jockeys, trainers, and others connected with the turf, and to provide pensions for jockeys, trainers, and racing officials who from old "age or illhealth may be unable to provide a living for themselves. .This last project iu oue the old Admiral had been much in favour of for some years past, so that it will be a graceful act to carry out his wishes. The Prince of Wales heads the subscription list with £100, and already over £3000 has been promised. A train of wounded soldiers recently arrived at Varna from Sistova. As far as Rustchuk they had been carried in bullock waggons, thence to Varna by rail; altogether they had been some five days en voyage poor fellows \ not a single word of complaint. The more severely wounded were carried in break-vans, and were thus enabled to lie full length, but others obliged to travel iu ordinary carriages, aud sit out the weary journey. A little wound causes intense paiu— there is no question of that; aud from the writhing of the men's faces a man with his thumb shot off at the first joint must suffer more than a man with a broken leg. A great many of them had received bayonet wounds right through the leg, slightly above the knee, aud their sufferings appeared to be excruciating but not a word of complaint; their plaintive eyes, nevertheless told tales of suffering and anxiety. Maimed in the very beginning, defeated, unable longer to fight against the enemy of the country they love, useless longer to maintain the family they have all their lives kept in home and shelter, utterly desolate and woe- i begone, yet still uncomplaining. Their uniforms, all covered with clotted blood, were j sticking to their skins, and some of the bandages were got off the wounds with the greatest difficulty, so long had they been there without any dressing. At the Varna station all the men were got out and placed under the shed of the station, out of the sun. A surgeon the dressed the wounded with the greatest gentleness. It was touching to see some of the more slightly wouuded tenderly assistiug their brethren who were more severely stricken. The next day they were all packed off to Constantinople, and there are some complaints about this, as plenty of hospital room is still to be found at Varna.