NEWS BY THE MAIL.

Thames Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2880, 9 May 1878, Page 2

NEWS BY THE MAIL.

(fbom the home news.)

The Eastern Question.

PEACE BEJOICINGS IN BUSSIA.

March 3 was the anniversary of the Emperor Alexander's accession to the throne and of the declaration of the freedom of the serf. There; was a review of 31,000 troops at St. Petersburg, and Te Deum was sung amid immense enthusiasm. There were great rejoicings. An. immense crowd in front of the Palace shouted " Hurrah ! " with uncovered heads, sang " God save the Czar." The Emperor went to the theatre amid th« enthusiastic cheering of the people. St. Petersburg has rarelj seen such enthusiasm.

The Grand Duke Nicholas sent to the Emperor the following telegram, • dated San Stefano, March 3:—l do myself the honor of congratulating your Majesty upon the conclusion of peace. God has vouchsafed to us the happiness of accomplishing the holy work begiu^by your Majesty, a^d on the anniversary of the enfranchisement of the serfs your Majesty has, delivered the Christian from the Mussulman yoke." v On the news of the' conclusion of peace becoming known, the streets of St. Peters, burg were filled by immense and enthu. siaslic crowds, who flocked towards the Imperial Palace, where they gave repeated cheers for the Emperor. His Majesty shortly afterwards appeared oh the baf. cony in acknowledgment of the popular greeting, and the crowd then sang the Russian national anthem with uncovered heads. The semi-official Agence Russe publubes the following:—" We feel bound to warn the European public against the exaggerated reports current respecting the amount of the indemnity demanded by Russia from the Porte. The Russian Government, on the contrary, has resolved to take into account the financial position of i /Turkish Government and the interests of its European creditors." to the signature of the treaty of peace, General Ignatieff demanded that Ruisia and Turkey should defend before the projected European Conference all poiuts of the treaty of peace concluded between tbem. Sefvefc Pasha, however, refused to accede to this, and General Ig. natieffi telegraphed to St. Petersburg for instruction on the subject. It is not yet known how the question has been settled. Russia has agreed not to include Sr.lonica within the boundaries of Bulgaria. They, will, however, comprise Uourgas, Varna, and Kustendje. . The indemnity of £40;0C3,000 sterling originally demanded has been reduced to £12,000,030.

PEACE CONGBATOIATiOHS IN TPBKET.

March 3, being the anniversary of the Emperor of Russia's accession to the throne, a parade of the troops was to have been held at San Stefano in the afternoon, but as the negotiations with (he Turkish Plenipotentiaries had not been then finally concluded, the parade was postponed until after the signature of the preliminary treaty of peace. At alater hour General Ignatieff informed the Grand Duke Nicholas that the treaty had been signed, whereupon his Imperial Highness congratulated the troops upon the happy conclusion of peace, and. thanked them in the name of the Em*, peror for their brave and glorious services. The. Grand Duke also expressed to the officers his especial thanks, which they acknowledged by enthusiastic hurrahs. ■ A solemn religious service was subsequently celebrated, the field alter facing in the direction of the mosque of St. Sofia at Constantinople. The troops were deeply impressed by the ceremony. In the evening the army marched, past the Grand Duke, and the rejoicings closed with a dinner, at which enthusiastic toasts were proposed to the Emperor and the" glory and prosperity of Uussia. The Sultan sent the following telegram to the Emperor of Kussia from Constantinople on March 3:—" On the occasion of the anniversary of your Majesty's, accession to the throne, I offer my congratulations, with the desire of renewing our friendly relations." ■■ The. Emperor telegraphed in reply as follows:—"I thank your Majesty for your congratulations, which I received simultaneously with the news of the signature of peace. I perceive in this coincidence a presage of good and lasting, relations between us." The Governor of Sofia sent the following telegram to the Russian Minister of War on March 3.-—"The inhabitants of Sofia and its vicinity request me to convey to the Emperor, through the intermediary of the local Metropolitan, their congratulations upon the anniversary of His Majesty's accession to the throne, and to express the boundless love and eternal gratitude of the population of the coun? try towards their deliverer and liberator." The Russian Minister of War tele-V graphed in reply as follows:—"I have/'^ been charged by the Emperor to express,^'' - His Majesty's thanks for the congratula-',/, tions transmitted by you. Peace baring/, now been signed, it may be hopedthafr'/ tranquility and prosperity will be restored^ to the country." ... The Porte is stated to have crrotioned,// the stay of the Russian troops ai San..'.'' Stefario so long as the British fleet, remains in the Sea of Marmora. / Captain Manthorpe has been appointed- / second in command of the Turkish fleet/ - in Cretan waters. / It is expected that Russia will, in wf/ case, enter Constantinople, irrespective oP * the signature of a treaty of peace. The- ' Austrian and English Ambassadors have, received identical instructions how to act S if the Grand Duke Nicholas enters Con- . ■ staniinople. The Grand Duke Constantino will shortly proceed to Odessa to inspect the Hussian Black Sea fleet. The occasion will be observed with great splendour. .* DISTBEIS AT BCHUHLA. The Pera correspondent of the Daily . Telegraph says that terrible distress extsU at Sc'aumla, where some 250.0C3 fugitives are now collected. A formal note has been sent to the Porte by the English Embassy, representing that unless something is immediately done immense loss ,of life is, certain to take place in consequence of the appalling destitution that prevails. The utter exhaustion of the means hitherto at the disposal of the Ottoman Government quite precludes, it>is stated, the possibility.of its offering transport to the sufferers. The Russian and Bulgarian atrocities prevent the wretched Mussulmans from returning home, and even if the transport were ready, the Porte declares itself unable to decide ou a place to which

to send these people. Being used to t-lie climate of Bulgaria they ttould soon die if sent into Syria. RUSSIAN FEELING- AGAINST .ENQiAND. A correspondent, writing from the in- ■ terior of Russia, states that 'the news that the Russian army had entered Constantinople caused there intense enthusiasm, together with a hitter feeling of hostility against the English for sending their fleet to the Bosphorus. This latter feeling has since been so strongly displayed in some places that the English ; residents have been in constant fear of insults At Saratoff the telegram announcing the news reached the town during a public performance at the theatre. The nianager at once stopped the piece and reri the intelligence to the audience, which manifested unbounded enthusiasm. The national anthem was sung three times in succession; then, every individual connected with the theatre, being brought upon the stage, the hymn was sung sereral times more. It was fully understood by the audience at Saratoff, as well as by the people in other Russian towns, that the alleged entry of the army into Constantinople would in all, 3\ probability lead to war with England ; but this had no other effect than to make the measure all the more popular, a conflict with England being regarded with as much delight as the outbreak of hostilities was with Turkey this time last year. The bitter feeling against the Turk has entirely died out. The English alone are regarded with enmity and dislike. '

BTTSSIANq?BEATMENT OF PBJSONEEB. The truth of the following almost incredible story (published by the Hungarian newspaper, the 'Hon) is guaranteed by a member of the British consular service. The writer says :—" During the few days that I was at Fralesti numerous Turkish prisoners were continually brought in. They were only protected against the cold by a few rags, and it would have been better to shoot them outright then to let them perish daily by hunger as was then being done at Fratesti, where I saw from 500 to 600 bodies of starred Turks lying heaped one upon the other. On a visit te the hospital there I had an opportunity of convincing myself how horribly even the poor wounded Turks were treated. As I entered, about 1000 wounded prisoners raised themselves in their wet, cold beds, and. stretching out ■"tl°ir hands, asked of me bread in the name of Allah. Moved at the sight of so much misery I distributed lOOfr among, the sufferers, when the Russian guard overwhelmed me with curses and took ; the money from them. When they began j again to cry out for bread the hospital j guard struck several of them dead with the butt-end of his musket, whereupon the others were silent. The guard then j asked me for money, and as I refused to give him any he threatened to shoot me, saying that I was a Turk, and I was compelled to give him 50fr. Here at every step one sees the bodies of frozen and starved Turks lying about, a prey for the dogs." CONTINENTAL PEEBS OPINION. The St. Petersburg correspondent of the Cologne Gazette writes in reference to the disordered state of the Russian finances:—" If you ask any politician - here how we are to get back, our war expenditure, the answer is almost always ' from England.' ' England, however, is not conquered, but Turkey/ 'No matter,' it is said then, 'England must pay for Turkey. If England, as she always pretended, has so great an interest in the : preservation of Turkey, she must purchase from us such concessions as: appear to her worth the money. She will not let the pledges which Turkey has given for the security of her creditors pass to Russia, for the creditors of Turkey live For the most part in England.'" The writer adds, with tegard to the tone of the Russian press towards England :—" More may be presumed even against England than against other States, because she is least feared. If war against England were to break out it weuld decidedly be more popular among the people than any other war." A letter from St. Petersburg published in the Political Correspondence asserts that in the Bussian capital the conviction prevails that behind the British armanents is hidden an intention to occupy with a military force, and hold some point in the . waters of the Levant, possibly Mitylene. " In. this, ease," proceeds the letter, "it would become a most serious question for Russia, as her Black Sea coast would only be a few hours' sail from the British maritime force, and • Russia would naturally then be obliged to consider the safety of her coast." The Debats says:—•' This is acknowledged to be a very critical moment in the march of events, which may lead to peace or may involve England and Austria, if not in immediate and open hostilities, in complications which threaten the assembly of a Conference. It is a forced peace which Russia is imposing on the Sultan, some of the conditions of which we are told Kngland and Austria will never agree to countenance. The victorious Russians may by this time have obliged the Ottoman negotiators to sub- . n«fe to impossible demands; that is to say," demands which the Powers who signed the Treaty of Paris will never entertain. It is generally understoocHhat the French Foreign Office is not yet in possession of the articles of the' treaty Russia is forcing on the helpless Ottomans; but enough is known to induce Austria, like England, to prepare for eventualities." A despatch in the Debats says that " Cabinet Councils succeed each other very rapidly a Vienna. A convocation of the delegations is expected in order to take into consideration Austrian interests, and strengthen Count Andrassy in his policy by force if necessary. There is a question of a loan of 60,000,000 florins. These resolutions originate in the Vienna Cabinet, possessing at least the leading articles of peace which Russia is obliging the Turks to sign with an army at the gates of Constantinople. We were always told by Rusisan diplomatists that the Czar would respect Austrian interests. It was a vital necessity that Russia should maintain friendly relations with the only great military continental Power which could interfere with Russia's designs on the Ottoman Empire. Francis Joseph. had every faith in the friendship and honour of the Emperor Alexander. Prince Bismarck would keep up the Imperial alliance. What, then, has happened but ths extravagant peace conditions to suddenly alarm the Austro-Hungarian statesmen P Has Russia deceived Austria as well as Rou.mania ? The news fron Vienna certainly indicates a change in public opinion : it is desired that Austria should, if necessary, be prepared, like England, to resist where important Austrian interests are .threatened." ■ ■--■•-