SAN FRANCISCO MAIL.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5186, 5 November 1877, Page 2

SAN FRANCISCO MAIL.

THE RHSSO-THRKISH WAR.. ARRIVAL OR THE ENGLISH MAIL AT AUCKLAND. (per pbess agency.) Auckland, Saturday. The Montenegrins have gained a series of important victories over the Turks, capturing several fortified towns and fortresses, and taking many prisoners. The Montenegrins control the Duga Pass and the whole of Mon. tenegro to Eortscha. 12,000 Turks are concentrated at Moshar. In the latest engagement a large force of Bashi-Bazouka was cut to pieces. Prince Milan is with' the Czar to confirm the conquests in Montenegro and Herzegovina when peace is made. There have been battles before Plevna. The Russians bombarded the position from daylight on the 11th till eleven at night. An assault was made on two redoubts, which were taken by General Skobeloff and General Rodioneff, who also succeeded in carrying the Gravitza redoubt in the centre of the Turkish line of defence fronting Plevna. General Rodioneff was wounded, and one general and several superior officers were killed. Six Russian battalions and one Roumanian took part in the assault. Two standards and five guns were captured. At daylight on the 12th a vigorous artillery fire opened. Osman Pasha directed the main attack against the double redoubts held by General Skobeloff, keeping the Russians en. gaged at ether points. Six assaults in force were directed against Skobeloff during the day, who asked in vain for reinforcements. He held the redoubts tor twenty-four hours, when the Turks reoccupied them. He lost three cannon. General Sevitsky refused to send support, thinking Skobeloff had enough men to hold the fort. General Keriloff sent on his own responsibility the remnant of a shattered regiment, after being repulsed at the lower redoubt near Plevna, and wholly unfit logo into battle. These arrived too late, and then a regiment was sent from head-quarters. The staff arrived after Skobeloff had retreated. He entrenched himself opposite the Turks holding the new ground. Skobeloff lost 2000 men in attacking and 3000 men in defending the redoubts, the possession of which, with Gravitza, would have enabled the Russians to assume the offensive immediately. An Immense number of officers under Skobeloff’a command were killed and wounded. Only one commander of the regiment is alive, and scarcely a head of the batallion is left.' Two officers of the staff were killed. A correspondent saw Skobeloff on the night _ of September 16. He was calm and collected, and said, “ I have done my best, and could do no more. My detachment is half destroyed ; my regiments do not exist ; I have no officers , left, and have lost three guns.” The correspondent asked, why did they refuse you reinforcements ? Who was to blame ? He replied, “ I blame nobody; it is the will of God.” Colonel Wellesley, the British Commissioner, visited SkobelofFs command and the Gravitza redoubt. • The latter he reports as crammed full of dead Russians and Roumanians, and so dismantled as to be nearly untenable. The Turks in their attack on Gravitza neither ran away nor asked quarter. The Russians entered thinking it was abandoned, but the garrison had only retired into the galleries and stood ac bay. The fighting in the redoubt was all with bayonets. The Turks tried to retake it immediately, and threw large numbers of men into the adjacent entrenchments, and poured an ineessant rifle fire at 200 yards into the Russians, who bombarded them from the redoubt. The Turks, armed with repeating rifles, had an enormous advantage over the Russians, equal to IS to 1 in rapidity of fire, while exposing only one life. The efforts to retake Gravitza were fruitless, and the Turks withdrew from the entrenchments. Osman Pasha paid little attention till the 12th to the bombardment of Plevna, which caught fire from the Russian batteries, and directed his whole efforts against Skobeloff on the left, whose attacking force threatened his rear. Up to 4 p.m. five Turkish assaults were repulsed, and the sixth they were unable to resist. Two days subsequently Osman Pasha attacked the Russians in great force on the line of communication to Sophia, defeating the enemy and opening the road. They also defeated the Roumanian force operating in the rear. Osman Pasha always attacks with superior numbers since the lesson before Plevna and prior to the fall of Lovat. The Russians commenced sapping the Turkish works after Skobeloff’s defeat. On Sept. 23rd Osman Pasha made a night attack on Gravitza redoubt, and was well sustained, but he was repulsed with a heavy loss. Meanwhile Hafiz Pasha, with twenty battalions of infantry and two battalions and a regiment of cavalry, aided by the garrison, revictualled Plevna. The Russians acknowledge that 10,000 infantry, supported by artillery, cut through the opposing cavalry, and entered Plevna. Of the allies posted before Plevna, on Sept. 24 there were estimated 25,000 killed and wounded. Osman Pasha refused the Russians leave to bury their dead before the trenches. On Sept. £5 all the troops at Orcham were ordered to the relief of Plevna. They are commanded by Chefket Pasha, the author of the Bulgarian massacres. Another immense convoy of provisions and munitions of war, escorted by a division, is on the point of starting from Argchani for Plevna. The Turkish losses before Plevna were as heavy as those of the Russians. 14,000 wounded remain in the town, the Turks being unable to remove them. The Roumanian division assaulted the

second Gravitza redoubt, but were repulsed with a severe loss, although they -fought bravely. .. , m , Servia demands an explanation from luricey of the concentration of troops on the frontier. Rain has rendered the roads nearly impasThere is great sickness among the Russian troops. The wounded from Plevna crowd the hospitals, and there are 21,000 sick soldiers at Odessa. The Governments of Austria and Germany demand, according to the terms of the Geneva Convention, the right of Russia to take material to build hospitals and huts for the wounded across Turkish territory. Ths Porte requires to be satisfied of the purposes for which the materials are to be used. German army surgeons have volunteered for the Russian service. • Germany declares its intention to call the Porte to account in mofe pointed terms for violations of the Geneva Convention, if the mutilation of Russian wounded continues. Respecting the operations at Schipka Pass, Sulieman Pasha did not cross the Balkans. He renewed the attack on the Russian works on the 17th September, and assaulted Fort St. Nicholas, the key to the position, which he claims to have captured and to have held for five hours with two brigades, but retired owinv to the arrival of Russian reinforcements and the difficulty of the position. General Radetsky denies that the Turks set foot in the fort An assault was made at 2 o’clock in the morning, suddenly, after four hours’ bombardment. The attack subsequently extended along' the whole line, and was repulsed after nine hours’ incessant fighting. Prince Mestchensky, aide-de-camp of the Czar, was killed. The Russians admit that nineteen officers and 400 men were wounded, and 100 killed. The bombardment was continued subsequently. Snow began to fall on the 24th of September, and continued to do so for several days. The Russians intend wintering at the Schipka Pass. Radetsky is supposed to have 25,000 and Sulieman 40,000 men. In Eastern Bulgaria Mehemet Ah s armies continue their vigorous advance. The Czarewitch is falling back upon a new position with a view to concentration and defence. Up to the 24th of September, owing to the failure to isolate Plevna, the Ozarewitch would not risk a battle, the Turks having a superior force at any point of attack in Bulgaria. Besides that Osman Pasha had fortified an almost impregnable position at Vartza, on ths Gabrova-road, upon which to retire if defeated at Plevna. Hence the caution of the Russian left. The reinforcements on arriving were sent to strengthen the Ozarewitch, the main body of whose army was concentrated between Tirstinek and Biela. The head - quarters of the 12th Corps is at Zabluna, on the Danube, where the ferry was established in lieu of Pyrgoa Bridge, which was abandoned on the advance of Eyoub Ahmed Pasha from Rustchuk, and where a nsw bridge is in course of construction. The Ozarewitch s position from Jantra to Banica, on the Lorn, is cutup into ravines and gorges, strengthened by formidable earthworks. The country is admirably adapted for defensive warfare. This line keeps communications with Tirnova and Sistova open. Such was the position of the Russian left on September 20, when Mehemet All attacked the Ozarewitch. The fight was renewed on the 21st, and after five assaults the Turks retreated. Mehemet All telegraphed a great victory, but the facta establish his defeat. It appears to have been a feint, turned into a general attack, which failed. The Russians held the earthworks to the close of the engagement. The loss both sides did not exceed 6000. A battle was fought at Zerga before Beila, when a division of Ahmed Eyoub’s corps was defeated simultaneously with Kudickler. Two battalions were detached by Mehemet to attack Yerbatza, and met a similar fate. The Turks failed at all points. On September 24 the Turks retreated to their former position on the Lorn. Great dissatisfaction exists in the Russian army concerning iucompetency at headquarters. General Skobeloff, one of the youngest generals, but who has seen more service than any other, was nominated to the second command at Plevna. General Todleben, of Crimean fame, is at Plevna, making a tour of inspection. Two Russian gunboats at the Kiua mouth of the Danube were attacked by a Turkish ironclad. One Russian ship was destroyed. The butcheries in Roumania by the Turkish authorities beggar description. Several thousand Bulgarians who were transported to Tripoli were sent to the edge of the great desert by the Turkish Government. On October 4th the Ozarewitch voluntarily resigned command of the left, and takes command of the Imperial Guards. His generalship when opposed to Mehemet Ah is commended. . \ c c General Todleben is appointed chief of the staff of Prince Charles, at Plevna, and directs the siege operations, which are methodically and untiringly prosecuted. The Roumanians have sapped close to the Gravitza redoubt. Mehemet Ali has been recalled. His grave offence to the Turks is because he surrounded himself with German and foreign officers. Prince Hassan, who is commanding the Egyptians, joined in a cabal against him, and refused to support his last attack on theCzarewitch; hut the difficulty of obtaining supplies caused the retreat. Preparations for the erection of huts for 150.000 men and hospitals for 15,000 are being made for the Russians wintering in Bulgaria, and 180 miles of railroad have been contracted for. , , The Danube will be kept free from ice by constant steamers like those of the Hudson Ferry. The Russian loss up to September 30, since the war commenced, is officially stated to be 52.000 killed and wounded. In Armenia the Russian inactivity caused a formidable rebellion in Daghestan, where 600 rebels were defeated on September 24, and the revolt was stamped out. The Russians attacked Mukhtar Pasha’s rear-guard on Ist October, near Alexandropol, with eight battalions of infantry, supported by cavalry and artillery. Mukhtar reports that he repulsed the Russians, after five hours’ fighting, with serious loss. Another attack by five infantry battalions, with three regiments of cavalry, on the right of the position, made for some time, was repulsed. The Russians claim to have carried the centre of Muhktar’s position, which was weakened in order to support the flanks. At the close of the day the Turks failed to make good the lost ground. There are conflicting statements regarding subsequent events. Three days’fighting occurred, and on October 4th Muhktar telegraphs that the Russians were defeated on all sides, with the loss of 6000 men, and that they retreated upon Karajah and were pursued by the Turks. A correspondent with the Grand Duke Nicholas’ army telegraphs on the 14th October; “At three o’clock in the afternoon today the Russians were surrounding Kizlilpe when, Muhktar seeing communication with Kars about to be out off, attacked the centre with twenty battalions. The Turks were received with a crushing artillery fire, and tiralleurs drove them back, pursuing them to Soabahan. When night stopped the pursuit the Turks were everywhere demoralised, and find.” On the 31st a great battle along the whole line was anticipated. On the 4th an effort was being made to cut off Mukhtar from his base. Over 2000 Russians are reported as missing. The truth seems to be that fighting, with varying results, was continued from the Ist to the 4th inclusive. The Grand Duke and the generals appear to be making a concerted movement to get between Mukhtar and Kars, which they have hitherto failed of accomplishing. The Russians admit retiring on the 4th, after the battle, from positions they occupied on the 2nd from want of water. The attack on the right so nearly succeeded that Mukhtar Pasha’s communication with Kars was at one time completely severed, but he retrieved his position. The Turks estimate the Russian attacking force at thirty-five battalions of infantry and nine regiments of cavalry.

LATEST PARTICULARS. . On the 10th of October, advices from Armenia, via London the Bth, from ffur is sources, confirm Mukhtar Pasha’s victory. Mukhtar Pasha estimates the Russian loss at 10,000 in three days’ fighting, and the loss on the side of • the Turks at 2500. This is doubtful. , . Bulgarian advices notice that at the close oi tbe investment of Plevna, the army of the Imperial Guards is massed to_ the rear of Osman Pasha, and the besieging army is sapping close to the works. Chefket Pasha is advancing from Orcbani to cover Osmans retreat, should this be inevitable; but the Russians calculate on shutting him up. Ibe Russian army, centre and left, are strongly reinforced. The Turkish Balkan army has been reduced so as to strengthen Ohefket Pasha at Orchani. Servia requires a guarantee Russia of independence and accession of territory at the close of the war. , Germany informs the Porte that the blockade of the Black Sea is insufficient, and therefore void. The Montenegrins were defeated in an attack upon Spuz and Podgoritza. A desire for accession of territory comes from Albania. ENGLISH. NEWS. General Grant has been feted in Scotland and England, and was received by ten thousand working men. delegates of various trades, in the north of England, at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Gigantic frau’s on the part of Midland Railway officials, extending over many years, have been discovered. The delinquents are in prison, and numerous other arrests are threatened. Harvest prospects have improved, and the prices of breadstuffs are declining in consequence of the excess of importations and the fact that the English harvest will give a full average yield. EUROPEAN AFFAIRS. Prince Bismarck and Count Andrassy held a four hours' conference at Salzburg. The result of the conference is that the Emperors of Germany and Austria regard a necessity for a common understanding between the three Imperial Courts for preserving the peace of Europe. There are uo treaty stipulations, but the three Emperors are completely agreed on a common course of action. In the Hungarian Diet on September 27, the Prime Minister, Tirza, stated that the policy of the Government was unchanged—to preserve peace if possible, and to protect the interests of Austro-Hungary at all hazards. Austria will not impede Turkey’s action towards Servia if the latter break the peace. It is denied that the three Emperors entered into any engagement on the Eastern or any other concrete question. Turkish intrigues are active in Hungary. The Pesth Custom House ou September 29 made a seizure of arms and ammunition intended to equip an expedition. The Porte has ordered the expulsion of Russian monks from Mount Athos, and the reinstatement of the Greek monks. The Dutch budget shows a deficit of £2,700,000 owing to the Acheen war. | The Porte has sent a note to the Khedive respecting the article in the Slave Trade Convention with England, granting the latter the right of search. The Porte contests the Khedive's authority to grant such privileges to foreign Powers, particularly in Ottoman waters. Political agitation continues in France. The President has issued a manifesto to France to sustain the administration. He estimates that the only way to avoid a conflict and preserve peace was to vote for the official candidates. Marshal MacMahon means to retain power and enforce his authority till 1880, when the Constitution may be peacefully revised. The French President’s manifesto is condemned throughout Europe, but the Ultramontanists are elated. The Prince Imperial visited Belgium, and the French police were instructed to watch his movements. It is believed there is a plot to precipitate the coup, when Napoleon the IVth will appear as the tranqniliser not the disturber of the public peace, and the Empire will he restored without any appeal to universal suffrage. The Imperialists are divided into the Chiselhurst faction and the Bouapartists led by Prince Jerome. Thiers left an address to the French people, condemning the administration and justifying opposition, and declaring that a Republic is the Government possible. Press prosecutions continue, but tbe Administration has failed to silence criticism on the Opposition. The newspapers are censured for publishing Thiers’ address. The new fortifications of Paris are nearly completed. Exhaustive reports on the works are published by the Russian War Department, The fortifications on the Italian frontier are rapidly being placed in a state of defence. An agreement exists that on certain eventualities in France both will resist Oltramontanist reaction. AMERICAN NEWS. In the United States several savings hanks have failed owing to fraudulent management. There is an agitation in favor of Government savings banks, and the questions of the currency and the resumption of specie payments are leading political topics. Cattle plague is prevalent in Ohio. The cyclone in Texas has caused considerable damage. The wind’s velocity was 52 miles per hour. The mining strikes in Pennsylvania terminated in favor of the men. Two of the finest steamers in the western waters were burnt at St. Louis wharves. ■ The Spanish stearcerSan Diego was burned at sea between New York and Liverpool. The crew were saved. Thirty houses were burned in Newport, New Jersey. Eleven people were killed and wounded. A railroad collision occurred at Chicago to the western express. Recent investigations at the United States Mint Custom House in San Francisco revealed gross frauds and mismanagement. A United States Grand Jury has indicted several prominent men for conspiring to defraud the nation by the issue of fraudulent navy pay certificates to a large amount. Accounts for the 4 J per cent, loan are closed. Two hundred million dollars were issued, of which one hundred and eighty-five millions are for refunding purposes. Iu a fight with cattle thieves in Kansas seven thieves were killed, and one was afterwards hung.' The National Association of Wool Manufacturers in Boston declare they cannot contend in the markets of the world with the cheap labor of Europe. Frank Leslie, the New York publisher, has failed. His business was extravagantly conducted. It is now carried on by a committee of creditors. The news from the British Columbia goldfields is encouraging. The steamer Magnolia foundered off Cape Hatteras on October 3 on her voyage from Savanah to New York. Hei crew and passengers were saved. Two men who were indicted at Pittsburgh for rioting were released on bail and escorted from gaol by 12,000 working men. The latter are organising throughout the States, and social war seems not improbable. There was a great storm on the Atlantic ou October 4. The steamer Massachusetts, which coat 500,000 dollars, was wrecked. The crew and passengers were saved. One hundred and twenty small craft sank at anchor iu Lewis roadstead, Delaware Bay. The crows were rescued from tho rigging. The next morning several large vessels foundered. Houses were blown down in Brooklyn, and merchandise was destroyed by floods. Nearly all the Republican office-holders in South Carolina have been indicted by tbe Republican Grand Jury for fraud, corruption, and malfeasance of office. Surprising revelations of political and moral turpitude are promised at the trial. Members of tho Lousiana Returning Board are charged with destroying and falsifying returns, in order to secure Hayes’ election to the Presidency. The accused de-

dare they acted under instructions from the Secretary. A band of 460 Mexicans crossed the border and took the town of El Paso in Texas. _ They bound the officials and established a reign of terror. The Mexican authorities paid no attention to the repeated demand for the extradition of the murderera indicted iu Texas, who escaped across the borders, but released them. Tbe matter was referred to the Federal Government, which is expected to act promptly. There is hourly danger of acollision between the Texan and the. Mexican troops, patrols of which line the Rio Giaade. General Miles beat the Nez Peroes, the rebel Indians,, but suffered severely. The chief Joseph surrendered, and the Nez Perces’ war is over. The Canadian Indians have sent the Sioux into the American territory. The Land and Loan Bank (savings deposit) has failed. President Duncan, an old Californian, and Benjamin Lee Warne, an ex lieutenant in the British navy, his son-in-law, the cashier, bolted. A wholesale system of fraud and forgery has been discovered. The loss falls on the depositors. Many of them are poor persons. A high dividend was paid from the start out of the deposits. Colonel Steinberger has arrived in New York, and says he has come to refute, before Congrees meets, slanders circulated against him, and to obtain recognition of bis official position as the representative of tbe United States. THE SINKING OF THE AVALANCHE. The Avalanche and Forest were both fullrigged ships, one being built of iron, and 1100 tons burden ; and the other of wood, and 1500 tons burden. From what has been gathered from one of the survivors, of whom there were only twelve, it appeared that the weather was unusually dark, and there was a drizzling rain, with heavy wind, and the sea running mountains high. Both ships were heading down Channel, but on opposite tacks, the Avalanche being on the port tack, and the Forest on the starboard. When about a dozen miles off Portland, almost without any warning, at a little after 9 p.m„ the Forest collided with the Avalanche, striking her between the main and mizzen masts. The force of the collision was so great that in less than five minutes tire passenger ship gave three plunges and sank, carrying the whole crew, save three, the mate and two able seamen. The night was so dark that it was almost impossible to discern tbe mass of human beings struggling in the water below; but the survivors say that they never shall forget the scene. The cries of men, women, and children for aid were heart-rending. Some had managed to scramble on deck as soon as the Avalanche was struck, but others went down with- her, and the sea was literally alive with human beings, whose cries for help were heard, without the crew of the Forest being able to render aid; for they had as much as they could do to look after their own safety, their vessel having suffered so severely from the effects of the collision as to be in a very leaky condition and the water gaining fast. At last in order to save their own lives the crew of the Forest abandoned her. Three boats were launched, in which the whole of the Forest’s crew and also three belonging to the Avalanche took their places. The weather .through the night was fearful the wind and sea being so rough that the occupants thought the boats would be swamped every minute. Unfortunately these fears were realised, only one boat’s crew was rescued. Five bodies and a boat were washed upon the beach. The dead were identified. Only twelve men remain out of the passengers and crew of the two ships, which numbered over 180 persons. From the narrative of the survivors, it appears that the Avalanche was slightly ahead, being on the pert tack, and ought, the rule of the road, to have given way directly she sighted the Forest. She held on her course without tacking. Either from the darkness of the night, or the neglect of the officer of the watch, the near approach of the Forest was not perceived, and it then became the duty of the Forest to keep clear, and the master, Captain Lockhart, asserts that, seeing the risk of the collision, he ordered the helm to be luffed. The order was carried out, but too late, for before his ship could be brought head on to wind, she ran with terrific violence right against the side of the Avalanche amidships, and as she rebounded ,struck her twice again in the stern, and almost instantaneously the Avalanche filled and sank. A few of the crew managed to scramble on board the Forest, and three were subsequently saved ; but so quickly did the Avalanche founder, that there was no time to launch the boats. All the passengers and crew, including the pilot, went down before they had time to make an effort to save themselves. The Forest capsized about an hour after being abandoned, and next day she was seen floating bottom upwards a few miles off Portland.