ENGLISH FEELING ABOUT THE WAR.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 254, 26 October 1877, Page 2

ENGLISH FEELING ABOUT THE WAR.

The London correspondent of the Auckland Star writes.— l seize the opportunity of amail dispatched by the s.s. Chimborazo, one of the wonderful line that does Melbourne in a little over 40 days, to send you a kind of interim letter on war matters. The change of feeling that has come over even some of the most rabid Tories— some of the most screeching of the war parties— since the passage of the Danube by the Russians, ia most remarkable. I was going to say that the country was unanimous in desiring a strict neutrality uuder any circumstances, but this would not be strictly true, since I suppose we must reckon the editor of the Daily Telegraph (Daily Liar would be a more apt name) as an integer, however insignificant, in the snmming of "the country." The Telegraph has never ceased, since the outbreak of hostilities, to clamour for war, and it is a question in a good many minds whether the proprietor is the happy possessor of vast quantities of whaat, or of a shot aud shell factory at Birmingham. Anything more revolting to humauity aud common sense than the nay in which this Gorgon of a pressman has tried to involve happv England in a quarrel on behalf of the" Turks no one can imagine. It ia a matter of extreme congratulation that the remainder of the daily press is of a different kidney Even the Standard, thoroughly Conservative, as you know, stands up strongly for neutrality and fair play for both sides. The Daily News is Russophile, aud the Times, the r al weatherglass of public opinion, is very fairly balauced; if anything, inclining in favour of Russia. I believe that at heart England would be thoroughly glad to see the Turks soundly thrashed, always provided that Russia was exhausted in tha operation. There is undoubtedly a sneaking and traditional dread of Russia lurking in the English mind, but the manly, outspoken manifestoes of the Czar, and the whole conduct of the war hitherto, has doue mnch to retnoye this penchant, which, between you and me and the bedpost, Mr Editor, smacks strongly of the insular old fogey and fche Pall Mall Clubs. Also, the Porte has done itself no service by the publication of the most palpable falsehold3, accusing the Russian troops of overy kind of brutality and crime* the event proving, as attested by Colonel Wellesley, Sir A. Kendall, Colonel Brackenbury, and a host of independent witnesses, that the Turkish forces were responsible for the whole of the so-called; "atrocities." The first real check experienced by the Russians, before the fortifications of Plevna, though a repulse, is one of the most splendid episodes of modern warfare. Since the storming of Badajos by the British iu tha war of the Peninsula, there has been nothing so rash, nothing so* bloody, nothing so grand as the way in which those Russian columns dashed up to the earthworks of Plevna, unable to see anything bufc the tops of the fezzes of their concealed foes, and in the teeth of such a hail of bullets, from the best of modern breechloaders, as has scarcely ever been witnessed. For three daya successive waves of these gallant fellows charged the Turkish defences, and some of them even gained the inner lines, but were compelled to retire for lack of reinforcements. Ten thousand hors de combat is au awful total, and afc the moment of writing I have every reason to believe that there is a continuation of more or less fighting in the same neighborhood. But you are not to imagiue that this will make any real difference jn the result of this modern Crusade. The Russians, from mere force of overwhelniing numbers, wiil meet with success next summer. England will !>q.ve nothing to do with the Turk. I{e must stand or fall on his own merits, and Russia has sense enough to perceive that the question of the future of the Dardanelles cauuot be decided by any single Power. From what the Earl of Beaconsfield said in the House of Lords on Thursday night, it is manifest thafc the understanding between the Powers is clear, and we shall go off to our grouse shooting with & thorough confidence that there is no fear of our being drawn into any unrighteous struggle against the sense and better feelings of the entire nation. As for the Russian success, it will be won at a frightful cost of life, siuce their manoeuvres and tactics are of the Napoleonic era, and are not suited for these days of breachloaders and extended lines. Enormous levies are pouring over the Danube, and the active aid of the Russian troups will be a vast assistance. Moreover, afc any moment Servia and Greece may have a wire-in, and Montenegro is a sharp thorn in the side of the Ottoman. However, we must not forget that Dieu dispose in these as in other matters, and there are agencies uofc of man's direct I making which may turn the tide irrevocably. I

Th e magnet has been recently used in Adelaide aa a valuable surgical instrument. The particulars of the case are thus given by the South Australian Advertiser: -A few weeks ago a young lady residing in one of the suburbs happened to thr iw herself down on a settee on which a needle had been carelessly left, when the needle penetrated her thigh and totally disappeared in the flesh. Medical assistance was at once secured, but on examination it was found that the needle could only be reached by means of a large incision. In the hope that it might eventually work its way out, as is frequently the case, doctor concluded that the better plan would be to leave the needle where it was. The pain in the thigh, however, became so severe that the young lady was confined to her bed, and various suggestions were hazarded with a view of extracting the needle. A member of the family suggested that the powej of a magnet should be brought to bear on the injured part, and a large one was accordingly purchased. Upon being applied the patient immediately felt the needle move slightly and in about four hours it approached the surface, raised and protruded itself through the skin, when it was instantly abstracted. The needle, which was a small sharp one used for darning stockings, had turned quite black, though it had not rusted or corroded in the least, and had been in the muscles of the thigh for a period of about three days.