WAR NEWS BY MAIL.

Oamaru Mail, Volume II, Issue 539, 23 January 1878, Page 2

WAR NEWS BY MAIL.

* The correspondent of the London Daily : News at Plevna sends a terrible story of i the state of things prevailing in and around the captured town. Before the recent great storm Plevna was simply a charnel house ; modern warfare has no parallel for it. Famished dogs, of which there are always large numbers in Turkish tuwns, were feeding on the corpses of the dead and the bodies of the still living wounded. Savage hordes of the greedy brutes tore the putrid flesh off the dead, or crushed the bones between their t.eeth, and the cries and groans of tbe wounded, as they vainly struggled with the dogs, were heard for miles around, and made the soul siclc. Birds were picking at sljulls and hopping from body to body, with their b.eak« and plumage besmeared with human blood, and screaming with fiendish delight. The dogs fought among themselves, and birds struggled with birds for the possession of morsels of human flesh. Nine hundred horses perished in the vicinity of Sistova during the storm. The total loss of draught animals numbers thousands. Details are slowly coming in concerning the sufferings of Turkish pri- ; son era from Flevna pn the way to E-ou- . mania. The prisoners w#re unaccompanied by any vehicle for the purpose of i I picking up those who fell by the wayside, ■ and £hese were left by the guards tp <

freeze, as they had no means of carrying them, and a halt would have only in- i creased the number of victims. ,_ Rouma- I nian officers who came from Nicopolis to Plevna after the passage of these prisoners < say they droye against a number of dead i Bodies in .the. snow. No provision was i made by the Bulgarian villages for the i proper sustenance of captives. When the : Turks made their sortie they left thousands of sick and wounded starvingand ..unattended. These unfortunates remained in this state for three days, and hundreds died. Over a thousand corpses came from the hospitals daily. Undoubtedly many were not quite dead when buried. Those killed in battle were unburied on the 17th. The Turkish prisoners are encamped among them, and are also starving. The Agence Ensue, a St. Petersburg!) paper, says English encouragement of Turkey, and the convening of Parliament, early, "will compel Russia to hurry on to Constantinople, precipitating what it was intended to prevent. The Paris Le Temps, alluding to the report that active intercourse is going on between Paris and London, with a view to the establishment of an understanding on the Eastern Question, says it is perfectly certain that the French Government does not intend departing from its attitude of reserve to play an active part in Eastern affairs. There is great distress amongst the poor in Constantinople in consequence of the rise in the price of provisions. Difficulties are feared if bread rises higher. The Chicago Times correspondent at Bucharest telegraphs the following account of the capture of Plevna : —" Fuller information of the capitulation of Osman's army shows that it was Ghazie Osman who took the initiative of the action. Concealing his intention under cover of assaults on the Russian entrenchments to the north-west, in rear of Aporeto and Susarhu, he directed his main line of retreat straight to the west, and, up to a certain point, success crowned his efforts. The inner line of investment was broken through, the strong redoubt of Olaf Metropolje fell into the hands of the Turks, and it almost seemed as if a portion of the defenders of Plevna would bear down all opposition, but the Russian Grenadier Corps held their entrenchments with desperate valour, until strong reinforcements, hurrying up from all directions, encircled Osman. with a wall of fire. Even after this lie fought on, in probably that at least a portion of his command might escape, but every moment affairs grew worse, until there was nothing for it but unconditional surrender. When it is remembered that the garrison were almost starving, had been decimated by disease, and possessed but. scanty ammunition, this supreme effort to cut through the Russian lines is universally acknowledged as a fitting crown to the heroic resistance offered by Osman and his splendid soldiers for nearly five months against forces greatly superior in number, well supplied with food and ammunition, and constantly receiving fresh battalions. A comparatively small portion of his forces was directed against the Roumanian position at Qpanie, but made very little of it. Perhaps this movement was intended as a feint, and perhaps it was meant to keep baok the Roumanians from entering Plevna while the rest of the Turkish forces were seeking to pierce the Russian lines on the left bank of the Yid to the north-west of Plevna. With whatever intention the Turkish soldiers were sent against the Roumanians, they did very little, were quickly surrounded and overpowered, and surrendered at once. Not so, however, with the main force, which did not surrender until Osman himself commanded it. His troops went with a dash, and succeeded in actually entering the Russian entrenchments and taking soni" important posi- ; n'ons, driving two divisions of the'lmperial Guard back into the second line of trenches. That w;is something gained, and had no Russian reinforcements been , forthcoming, Osm;m might have accom- ■ 'iti-died -lis purpose, and made his way to ; Widdin. P>nt before him was a second line of entrenchments, which also he ! assailed, but all around Plevna there were now movements, and activity in the Rus- ' s'an camp. Fresh troops hurried up to the point of attaek. arid Osman Pasha • found himself assailed not onlv in front. : but also on both flanks. Meantime, the Roumanians had entered Plevna., and i were preparing with artillery to attack the i Ottoman troops in the rear, fcjome five or six hours' hard fighting decided the business. Osman was unaware at first pro- , bably that the troops sent against the Roumanians had been so easily defeated. : He turned to re-ent*r Plevna, but here was met by the opposing Roumanians. If. would have been madness to continue ; the struggle, and ho at once surren- ; dered." i The Porte's Circular, requesting the i mediation of Europe, said that the new > constitution guaranteed a better Govern - • ment than autonomous states, which could only produce disintegrations of the Empire. All the Powers declined to mediate on the improbable terms suggested. The Porte then withdrew the Circular, and i asked unconditionally for English mediation, which Russia declined. A Russian official despatch, of December 15, reports that Suleiman, with 60 battalions, attacked the Grand Duke Vladmir, along the whole line, directing his principal efforts against the centre, but was compelled to retire. Suleiman reporting the engagement says 3000 Russians were killed. The Sultan, in a speech from the throne, at the opening of Parliament, said Russia commenced the War, compelling Turkey to defend hopself frqm agression. All Mussulmans had shown a commendable desire to assist in the defence of the constitution, which guaranteed their perfect equality, and was the only safeguard of the country. The Lamad Russe compiles from official sources figures showing that Russia has already captured in the campaign 704 cannon, and taken 21 pashas, and 73,000 officers and men prisoners. The Western Union Telegraph says that the Russians had been warned of Osman's intended attempt, but concentrating his whole army at Yid, at seven in the morning, Osman crossed the Yid by two bridges, and attacked the Russian position with such force that he captured eight cannon, and in a few minutes almost annihilated the Sobiesky Grenadier regiment. The Turks then found themselves under the fire of a hundred cannon of the Russian second line, and were attacked by the Grenadiers, who were resolved to recapture their gun».

The Turks were driven back after a 15 minutes' bayonet fight, but continued to fire from the shelter of the banks of the Vid until 12.30, when the firing ceased on both sides, and a quarter of an hour afterwards Osman Pasha sent an envoy to treat for surrender. Osman was wounded in the leg, but not seriously. It is estimated that the seige of Plevna cost the Russians over 50,000 men.