RUSSO-TURKISH WAR.

Patea Mail, Volume III, Issue 238, 21 July 1877, Page 2

RUSSO-TURKISH WAR.

The own correspondent of the N. Z. Times, writing from San Francisco under date of 30th June, gives a summarised account of the war from the time of departure of the mail steamer for New Zealand, in May, to date of departure of the steamer which arrived in Auckland on Sunday last. The following extracts are taken therefrom : WARLIKE OPERATIONS, In regard to these, as has been indicated by the opening part of this letter, there is little to tell. Had there been anything to mention, it would have occupied the place of prominence. But on the Danube, as will have been seen, no serious movement has yet been made ; and in Asia so far, whilst there has been great slaughter on both sides, fortune has not decisively sat upon the helms of Turk or Slav as yet. The following are minor events, having as yet no coherent significance : IN EUROPE, Admiral Mustapha states that five Russian torpedo boats were destroyed in the attack on the Turkish ironclads at the Sulina mouth of the Danube. Travellers from Rustcbuck say that an impression has been gaining ground that the Russians will very shortly endeavour to cross the Danube at three different points, making Knstchuck the chief object of their attack. All the women have left the town, and the foreign consuls, with the exception of the English, will leave in a few days. . The Russian commandant of the South Coast has taken the precaution to defend Odessa against a coup de main, by the concentration at that point of three brigades of infantry, eight bodies of Cossacks, six squadrons of light cavalry, and two companies of field gendarmes. Otshalov, lying at the entrance to the Dnieper, is said to be the objective point of Hobart Pasha’s fleet. Great care has been bestowed of late upon this fortress, which, with the works at Kinburn, protects the entrance to the bay and mouth of the Dnieper, and couscqently of Nikoliev, the chief or only shipbuilding place of Russia in the South since the destruction of the dock at Sebastopol. The whole enciente of

place has been rebuilt, and detached outworks hare been erected. The place is armed by 220 guns, among them being sixty 24-pounders and forty-two mortars. The garrison consists of six thousand eight hundred men (infantry), and numerous artillery. The approach to the waters of Oltshalov has also been barred by torpedoes. For some days past Turkish vessels have been cruising there, seemingly also with troops on board.

The Circassians in Thessaly pillaged a Greek monastery and killed the monks.

The following was the position ofthe Turkish army in Asia, as published in telegrams on the 19th of June, the day before the mail steamer left. A despatch from Erzcroum of the 14th, says Mnkhtar Pasha is at Sevin, and received reinforcements of twenty-four battalions and two batteries. He is intending to send succour to Kars from along his whole line. The Turkish right wing, which is at Delabata, lias been ordered to march to Toprak Kaleh. Of the Turkish left wing six battalions arc between Pennek and Olti, and are concentrating at Olti. There is also a Turkish battalion of cavalry at Hassan Kaleh. The Russian left wing is at Karakalissa, with a column in the direction of Lake Van. Eleven Krupp guns of 15 centimetres calibre have arrived at’Erzeorum from Trebizond. The Mussulman population of Erzeroum are being called to arms. SIEGE OF KARS. Various telegrams from the Turkish side claim that the Turks by the superiority of the artillery fire prevented the Russians from erecting works to attack Kars. Intelligence received at Constantinople represents that the position of the Turkish army in Asia has improved, and that the Turks are preparing to assume the offensive. The Russians have suffered heavy ] o sses before Kars. Artillery engagerne ll * B between the besiegers and the garri sou continue. The principal feature last week was the partial •withdrawal of the Russian right wing from the south of the frontier lino, and the close investment of Kars and Batoum. Several Turkish officers have been shot for the loss of Ardahan. The Governor-General of Syria telegraphed that 1200 Bedouin horsemen and some Ottoman troops had a cofliet in the district of Hilda, in which the rebels were completely defeated. THE CIRCASSIAN RISING. The Turks have effectively paid off the Russians for their efforts to induce internal Ottoman disaffection and strife They brought Moslem influence to boar on Moslems serving the Czar, The Circassians in the Russian cavalry service in Asia, numbering six cavalry regiments, having refused to oppose their Mohommedan brethern, have been sent from the main column towards Bayazid. A special message from Vienna says the message from !Bt. Petersburg denying that the Circassian insurrection lias any influence on the campaign, should not bo accepted as representing the real situation. When the Circassian Chief Scbamyl, in 1854, with 10,000 followers, compelled the Russians to evacuate Bayazid and all their positions, and to retire to Tiflis, they also abandoned their expedition to Afghanistan. The present rebellion at least blocks their communication with Tiflis, and by hampering them in Asia conduces to their inactivity on the Danube.

The Wellington Argus says: —“It is stated that Superintendent Shearman, of the Police Force, has been appointed to visit all the gaols of the colony and report upon their condition, management, construction, &c. His report will be laid before Parliament.” The Wellington Argus says: return of cattle from foreign ports into the port of Wellington, and landed here during the six months ended 30th June, show that our stock has been augmented by 81 sheep of various kinds, 13 horses, and 1 short-horned cow. During the period named, 564 sheep of various kinds have been shipped from Wellington, and 4978 sheep from New Zealand ports have been landed in Wellington.” Strangers and country settlers coming to Carlyle, are very often at a loss to know which is the best and cheapest General Drapery and Clothing Establishment in the ' district. 11. A. Adams’ Cardigan House, offers special advantages that can be met with nowhere else in the district. He keeps the largest and best assorted stock of every description of drapery goods, imported direct—and from the best colonial houses ; which, being bought on the most advantageous terms, and having thorough knowledge of the business, enables him to offer goods of sterling quality at prices that cannot be improved on by any other bouse in New Zealand. Every article is marked in plain figures, from which there is no deviation ; so that inexperienced people are as well served as the best judges, the terms being net cash, without rebate or abatement of any kind. Note the address —li. A. Adams ; Cardigan House, nearly opposite Town Hall, Carlyle.— advt. Holloway's Ointment and Pills. —For the cure of burns, scalds, wounds, and ulcers, this justly celebrated Ointment stands unrivalled. Its balsamic virtues, immediately on application, lull the pain and smarting, protect exposed nerves from the air, endue the vessels with the vigour necessary to heal the sore, and confer on the blood a purity which permits it only to lay down healthy flesh in place of that which has become diseased. Holloway's Pills simultaneously taken, much assist the Ointment’s purifying and soothing power. Together these medicines act like a charm ; no invalid, after a fair trial, has found them fail to relieve Ins pain, or completely cure his disease. The' combined beneficial action of the Ointment and Pills, in all disorders, is too irresistible to be withstood.