THE SAN FRANCISCO MAIL.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5113, 13 August 1877, Page 3

THE SAN FRANCISCO MAIL.

' AnCKtAHn; Sunday, 5.20 p.m. The Australia did not call at She was only using one boiler when she came in. ■' WAR NEWS. The Roumanian Government before sending troops across the, Danube consulted Austria. The latter replied'that she. was indifferent, if Servian neutrality was respected. Two thpu-, sand men are working at the fortifications at Constantinople., In crossing the Danube the Russians made their; dispositions under cover of night.; Boats and troops • collected in the willows, and there were strong covering parties, of infantry, with field guns. The whole force crossed in boats, the Turks keeping up a sharp ' fire. When a sufficient number was collected on the 'other side, they charged the Turks, driving, thein' hack.; The Turkish loss in the engagement is estimated at one thousand, and that of the Russians at three hundred killed and four hundred wounded, ; ; f , The Tsar at Bucharest issued a proclamation .to the Bulgarians on crossing, expressive of his solicitude for the Christians, stating, that the mission of the army was to secure the sacred rights ef nationality, acquired by centuries of suffering and the blood of martyrs which has soaked the soil. Russia is called by the decrees o! Providence to conciliate and pacify all . races and denominations in Bulgaria, inhabited by a mixed population. Henceforth Russian arms will protect every Christian against all violence. The proclama-, tion promises equal protection to Mussulmans ; but impartial justice will be administered to known ..participators in . atrocities. . It , announces that as fast, as the Russians advance Turkish rule will be, replaced by regular organisation, in which native inhabitants will be summoned to take part, under the supreme direction of special authorities. Bulgarian legions will be formed to serve as a nucleus of a local armed force destined to maintain order and security. . Horrible sacking followed the capture of Sistova, which is attributed by the Russians to native Bulgarians, but was really perpetrated bythe Russians themselves. ' , ; In (the House, of Commons, Sir ■ Stafford Northcote denied that Layard had aske,d;permission for the conditional occupation of Con-, stantihople. Prince, Bismarck, in an interview with the British Ambassador, said theioocuparion of Constantinople would, be; for,the purpose for -which the war began. The British fleet would be strengthened to twenty-lour ships ‘and 8000 men,-and two torpedo boats would be sent to the Danube to protect Bri-, tish interests.; , • , ■ ; ; ! - On i sth July over 12,000 Russians crossed the Danube at Simnitza, with an immense train 'of, artillery, comprising some pieces of very heavy ordnance. The enthusiasm ;of the Russian troops is very great. The cavalry marches about twenty kilometres in advance of. the infantry, as the Turks have no proportionate amount jOf, cavalry to meet them. The Russians are .scouring;jthe : country flp to the foot of the Balkans,- and their force is making some demonstration at Biela, where they came upon the Turks in force' much sooner than they expected, and suffered severely. Several hundred wounded reached Bucharest from this engagement. . The .Turks devastated a large portion -of Bulgaria, for the purpose of preventing,; the!, Russians from; provisioning their army, ,- The harvest was carried .off, the fruit trees were Jelled; and the torch has been applied to the large grass plains. Everything that would be of any use to an invading army has been removed or destroyed, and the people have- been left ’ in utter destitution. The utmost consternation; prevails ' amongst ;the

unfortunate people, who see no prospeot'before thorn but famine and pestilence, added to the horrors of war. The ’ want of: a commissariat was 'seriously felt by the Kussians, whp proposed to construct a rail way froin'Sistova to. Tirnova, to convey provisions for the supply of the troops and-ihe istm-ving inhabitants.'. ,/| The Eussian army in the Dobrudspha foundtbati section had retreating and' were- detained ' by the necessity of creating supply depots. From Siatoya the Eussians advanced as far .as Monastir, about 25 miles south-west, of Eustchuk, A detachment marched upon Selva and Pleyna, and burned four villages between these points, Turkish accounts charge the Eussians with reckless devastations in Bulgaria, and- with murders and outrages against the’Mussulmans. The iEussians make similar charges against; the Turks with reference to Bulgarian Christians! Complete anarchy prevails beyond the lines lof the contending armies. Bulgarians, Circassians, and Tartars are murdering each other indiscriminately. . Ex-Colon?! Valentine Baker accompanies Eaouf Pasha to Adrianople. " Constantinople is under a reign ob terror. Great crowds of desperate lawless soldiery fill the public places., Circassians and Zebeks go about the. city robbing and murdering -with impunity. A body of Eussian cavalry with one battery surprised Tirnova, and captured the Turkish camp with ammunition - and baggage. The Turks retreated to Osman Bazar, where the van of the Eussian army crossed the Balkans. The fighting in Bulgaria had amounted to little jmore than an outpost affair. - The Turkish quadrilateral remains intact, and threatening to the 120,000 Etissians said :to be across the Danube at Sistova. General Zimmerman crossed at Ibrailand swept the Dobrudscha. His 30,000 were opposed by the garrisons at Silistria, Varna, and Kustendje,. numbering respectively 22,000, 20,000, and 10,000.., Eustchuk was actively bombarded up to June 28. Seven * hundred persons in the town,- including women and children, were killed. The Eussians attempted storming, and were repulsed. 1 Several Bulgarians have been arrested at Eustchuk on the charge of assisting the Kussians and fomenting insurrection, and accused also of distributing petroleum to fire the town. The Eussians were attacked simultaneously by Osman Pasha and Ahmed Eykoub Pasha at Monastic. The fight lasted all Thursday and Friday, the Turks getting the advantage. : Constantinope, July 16.

Ah official despatch announces that Eyoub Pasha attacked the Russians, under the Grand Duke Nicholas, north of Tirnova, and defeated them, svith a loss of 1200. The Turkish monitors destroyed a .bridge at Sistova. One monitor was subsequently sunk by torpedoes. ! ; The Porte officially • declares that the Russians have burned alive some of the inhabitants of Joins, near Tirnova, who had taken refuge in a mosque. ; • A Shumla despatch says -5000 waggonloads -of Turks—old men, women,; and children are on the road from Esojiuna and Osman Bazar to Shumla. Horrible massacres have been committed by the Russians and Bulgarians at Tirnova, Grahorra, and Ibjana. From ■all directions fugitives in large numbers are coming in, who state that in districts occupied, by Russians most terrible cruelties are perpetrated on the Mahometan population by Cossacks and Bulgarians, Mahometan children and old men being slaughtered, and women violated and carried off. Official despatches substantially corroborate these statements. The greatest panic exists among the Mahometan civil population, who are fleeing as fast as they can. - The Russians met no resistance in crossing the Balkans till they reaehed a village at the outlet of the pass, which they surprised.' An encounter occurred between Cossacks and a party :of Bashx-Bazouks and Circassians supported by Turkish infantry. Russian reinforcements. arriving, the Turks fled, leaving their standards and arms," The Turks claim a victory, with great slaughter, over the Russian force south of the Balkans, twelve miles from Jenisohgho, driving them back on-the Balkans. One correspondent telegraphs that after blockading the fortresses on the quadrilateral 100,000 men will be available for crossing the Balkans by th'e western line of invasion,, exclusive of General Zimmerman’s , army, in! the eastern section. V The Emir of Caboolreceived the Turkish envoy, and undertakes to furnish to petty chiefs! in Central Asia a force of men and a supply of arms and money, to harass the Russian forces wherever they can strike them, A Russian expedition in Cabool would at once open lip the Anglo-Indian and Russian difficulty,land, might-compel the interference of England. - A Constantinople correspondent says Hobart Pasha' had a long interview with the Sultan, who gave him permission to command the expedition to the Black Sea, with complete liberty of action. The Turks have withdrawn all troops from the Montenegrin frontier except the garrisons of thelports and blockhouses. Prince Nicholas is preparing to besiege Nio'sic again. The Turks made a brave resistance at Nicopolisj the Russians losing heavily in storming the heights over the town. One account says a garrison of 6000 ’ surrendered. All others state that the Turks evacuated before the .Russians entered, and made good their retreat. Ruiiau disasters in Asia ai'e confirmed. They were'attacked by the garrison of Batum and defeated with great slaughter. ; A] corresponnent at Tiflis says Mukhtar Pashais brilliant generalship must be" acknowledged. His troops fight like, demons. incarnate. ; •' . , •

'. All the tribes in the Caucasus are armed and in revolt against the Russians, and ' they have, taken all the important outposts. ' General Melikoff is entrenching himself; and other forcea._have. been hastily ' recalled from all the available joints of Barukdar, They will make a stand and wait for reinforcements’, in a strong position. : The Russian garrison, at Bayazid made ; a gallant resistance against 13,000 . Kurds who besieged the town and bombarded it, : After a brave. defence the garrison: was relieved' by General Targkassoff. He-found the garrison in.a fearful condition, almost starved to death, and suffering from loathsome diseases incidental to camp life. The Turkish, cannon had made sad havbc. with the original forces, and many dead bodies were lying unburied in a confused and horrible mass.; T'ho stench arising from the bodies was awful The dead and wounded numbered 500.’ The garrison , had lived on horseflesh for a long time, and* vermin tormented them. Bad water had a debilitating effect upon them, and the blazing sunshine aided to place them in a pitiful state of : ’ weakness. and inefficiency;; ■ The Russian victory was 'of short u duration, and frbsh arrivals of Turkish" troops ' caused .Targldassoff'to evacuate ; and iadoing So lie had a Isharp engagement. with, the .enemy, and lostiZOO'meh and a heavy;ambulance train. The Crescent once more.floats over Bayazid., A St. Petersburg despatch says that after tile reinforcement, of the army of the Caucasus, even if necessary'by troops' from the Central Asiatic'frontier*, a second invasion, of Armenia is meditated, commencing with the capture of Batum,_and the suppression of the Abkasian. rebellion. ,■ ■ ■ , '■::'

Advices from St. Petersburg state that a reserve of. Cossacks, consisting of twenty regiments and ten battalions,; in all 20,000 men,, is preparing to follow the 12,000 men who have already marched from Baratova for Armenia. ■Dervish Pasha telegraphs • from Batum, July 7 :—Two Turkish frigates bombarded and burned Chevekitil, and Janded, The force which defeated the garrison compelled them to abandon the town, the object of: the expedition thus being attained. ; The frigates re-embarked, the troops and returned to Batuin. . r , PrOm the scene of the insurrection in the. Caucasus it is reported that the Russians have' resumed the offensives GeneralAlkbosohoff marched on July 116th from Tokveli -to Skufache on the right bank of' the : Goligese. They drove the enemy from their, entrenched position, forced them behind ’ Molcoa, and occupied Goum, twenty miles north of .Sukum Kaloh. ■ ; Halifax. The counsel for Great Britian are ! preparing an answer to the American case filed.- 1 -;

- ' ' AMERICA, The war with the Idaho-- Indians is still raging,' and there, have' been, jnore_ina3sacrea, On the 10th July the Indian chief Joseph surprised, fi party,, of one] Chinamen, passing down l-h*. river Clearwater in boats, . and, slaughtered. all but pne. j General Howard, who is in command pf the State forces; encountered the Indians' the 12th July, driving them from a strong position, killing many, and' pursuing them in the idirection of, Comas. Brairio. Another skirmish took place the following day. Howard is accused of messing the campaign. . Serious Orange riots occurred .at Montreal on the 12th July. ■ One man .vvas , and threb wounded,...During .the procession a mob attacked the. lodgeroom with stones, and tbe. Orangemen replied with pistols. Several persons j were wounded. The ( conduct of the Maybr and .of the police is much condemned. Tlie (rioting continued for- several days, ;and the.military were called out. .The funeral of the tnurdered 'mep. occasioned great< excite-, ment, the cortege passing between the police and the soldiers. The wildest rumors were circulated in the city. ... -» - Fearful tornadoes have occurred in Ohio. ■

On July 2nd at, Wayerley (Indiana) a. .whole family was’ buriecl beneath the ruins of a house, and damage was sustained to the extent of fifty i thousand dollars. Many were killed in other towns. - There was a terrible whirlwind at Milwaukee. i All, but three three houses in the town were , demolished, and six persons were killed. The storm tore up large trees as if they- were reeds, and whirled them in the air. . . . Baltimoke, July 16. Forty firemen employed on ’ the railway struck work on account. of the decrease in wages, -and noxtday, with - four hundred friends they attacked the train, wliichColonelFoulkner and seventy-five soldiers were protecting.' The soldiers fired, killing; one man and wounding several others. By last, advices, the rioters are still unquelled, the presence of the military making them more exasperated. Great damage was caused in by floods, consequent upon the eruption of , Cotopaxi bn the 26th June. A : great noise was heard, and a tremendous cataract dashed down three , rivers, washing. away cattle, haciendas, and several persons, ■ United States troops, have been despatched across the Mexican border in consequence of raids. .... The New YorTc Herald reporter at Salt Lake describes the Mormon massacres as equalling that at Mountain Meadows. ■ A loan is to be raised in England to rebuild St. John’s.

ENGLISH AND FOREIGN. Charles Bradlaugh and Mrs. Besant have been condemned to six months' imprisonment, to pay a fine of £2OO each, and to enter into recognisances for good behavior for two years. Pending the argument of a technical point in the indictment they were released on the _ understanding that they were not;to continue publishing. . ' _ ' Three of the best known detectives in Scot-land-yard, Druscowth Mieklejohn, Fraggart, and Plimmer, have been charged with conspiracy to defeat the ends of justice in a- recent well-known case in which some betting men swindled a countess out of £IO,OOO. Fraggart was admitted to bail, and tie' rest were remanded . ' The 12th of July passed off quietly in London and the provinces. The Rotunda Theatre at Liverpool has been burut down. ' In the House of Commons the Foreign Secretary said no petition for a British protectorate had been received from Samoa, nor did the Government wish to undertake it;_ Mr. Disraeli has no intention to resign, On July 2 the House sat from 4 p.m. to 7 a.m next day. There were eighteen purely obstructive divisions and several attempts to count out. The introduction ’ of Colorado beetles into German harbors has led to a rigorous inspection. It is thought that. Count Andrassy makes his retention of office dependent on the,settlement iof the Austro-Hungarian compromise. An Alexandria despatch says a force, with 24 cannon and 14,000 Remington rifles, is leaving Adowa for the frontier, King Meulk, of Abyssinia, has expressed, his willingness to.resign in favor of Alamyo, son of the late King Theodore. , General Grant was cordially received in Belgium by the King. The latest accounts from the famine districts ;in,Madras,, are. worse, -There is'great mortality from disease, and the .situation in Mysore is -critical. In Bombay prospects are more cheering. ; _. m- , - , Dissensions -.'between Legitimists mud Bonapartists are becoming very .marked. A Marseilles paper, has been prosecuted for insulting articles on President MacMahon. The Bonapartists claim Government' support for 250,;candidates. . The. Mdnitqur, says the Conservative gain w,ill he large, Roiihar and other Bonapartists held a grand council at Chislehurst.’, The! French -ironclad .Heine Blanche- was rundown by another ironclad, the Heroine. No lives were lost, ■; , - , spain.!;'.; Vavauah is reported in very large-force,;and with troops has invaded the;Qinco yillas territory. A battle was fought, at the crossing,pin which’ over 000 Spaniards were, killed. Since then there, hasbeen another -heayy encounter. Three! men-of-war have beea ordered .to sea in , great haste. Yellow fever is raging! among 20,000 troops brought out last winter, and discontent is rampant. . .. /’