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/ ■ LONDON CORRESPONDENCE.

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THE TERRIBLE RAILWAY DISASTER…

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THE WAR.

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THE WAR. INTERVIBW BETWEEN THE TURKISH DELE- GATES AND THE GRAND DUKE. Writing on Jan. 21st, a correspondent saya Server Pasha and Namyk Pasha bad a long interview to-day with the Grand Duke and M. Nelidoff, during which the question of peace was seriously discussed. When asked what, conditions they expected, Namyk replied that they came to treat as conquered people, and would throw themselves on the generosity of the con. queror. He then reminded the Grand Duke in a very adroit and agreeable way of Alexander the Great j and the Indian prince who, after being conquered, threw himself on Alexander's generosity, when the latter restored to him his kingdom, and concluded that the Grand Duke would not forget so noble an example. The Grand Duke expressed his deepest sympathy for a fallen foe, but could not, he feared, premise to be as generous as Alexander. THE BRITISH FLEET. The British fleet, under Admiral Hornbv, entered the Dardanelles on the 26th January and steamed up to Fort Sultanieh, about sixteen miles from the en- trance, passing two batteries aod exchanging salutes with the Turks. It then steamed back and is now at Besika. The explanation of the entry of the British fleet into the Dardanelles is that on the Porte persisting in its previous refusal to permit the fleet to enter except as an avowed ally, the English Gcvern- ment informed the Porte that the fleet would be obliged to enter without peliuission, in consequence of the Russian advance towards Gallipoli and Con- stantinople. The Porte then entered a formal pro- test, forwarding the same to the plenipotentiaries at the Russian head-quarters, but did not actually oppose the entry. The fleet steamed to Fort Sultanieh, and there found orders to turn back, in consequence of the news that the Porte had instructed the plenipotentia- ries to sign terms of peace. SUFFERINGS OF TURKISH A Bucharest correspondent, under date the 20th I' Jan. says: The rapid thaw has now lasted three days, and the state of the streets in Bucharest is so bad that traffic is almost suspended. It rained all last night, and to-day the Danube must be totally impassable. The suffering amongst the Turkish prisoners is greatly increasing, and it is stated that the day before yester- day over 100 died at Simnitza alone. Typhus fever is spreading. Many of the Russian doctors and sisters of charity have fallen victims to this terrible disease and it is with the greatest pleasure that we all welcome the signs of peace, which are looming in the distance, so that the combined efforts of both Russians and Roumanians may now be employed to lessen the terrible suffering which the war has brought about. THE WRECK OF THE TURKISH ARMIES. A correspondent, dating from Kesanlik, Jan. 20th, says: Of the Turkish armies in Europe there only now remains that of the Quadrilateral, and whatever forces there may be in Adrianople, which cannot be many. New levies badly armed will be panic stricken, and will hardly defend Adrianople at all. There is now between the Russians and Constantinople only the wreck of Suleiman's army and whatever forces there may be in Adrianople, for I do not believe there are any troops at all in Constanti- nople. This result, the destruction of three Turkish armies, the occupation of the whole country from Sofia to Adrianople, and from the Balkans to Rhodope, has been accomplished in a campaign of fifteen days. It has been as rapid as a transformation scene in a pantomime, and its results are disastrous beyond anything that can be imagined to the Ottoman Em- pire. The heroes of the campaign are Generals Gourko, Radetzky, and Skobeleff, who have car- ried out operations that for difficulty of execution, rapidity of movement, and quickness of combination, have hardly ever been equalled. The Russians are on the flood-tide of success. Long-delayed victory has come at last, and I doubt whether there is any Turkish force between them and Constantinople sufficient to arrest them should they choose to celebrate a religious service in St. Sofia. DISTRIBUTION OF RUSSIAN FORCES. | The special correspondent of the Daily Newt at Kesanlik says: The Russian forces now over the Balkans are distributed as follows: General Gourko- Three Divisons of the Guard, the Thirty-first and Fifth Divisions 01 the Ninth Corps, at and about Phi- lippopolis, except the second brigade of the First Division of the Guard, which is at Sofia. These, with two brigades of sharpshooters, make eighty battalions. General Raoetzky's corps on the march somewhere between Philippopolis and Adrianople, to which the Fifteenth Division had been added. Thirty-six battalions of the Third Division, under Ksrtzoff, on the march towards Adrianople. Twelve battalions of the Twenty-fourth Bivision at Slivno. Twelve battalions of Skobeleff s two divisions, with two brigades of sharp shooters, thirty-two battalions. Two divisions of grena- diers now crossing at Sbipka, twenty-four battalions— in all 220 battalions. I have no means of ascertain- ing the number of men in the battalions, but think 600 will not be an over estimate, which will give 132,000 bayonets this side of the Balkans by the time this appears in print. In addition to this there is the cavalry and artillery, about the numbers of which I have nd informa- tion. The cavalry has been considerably re duced by the death of the horses, and a great deal of the artillery is not yet over the Balkans. General Skobeleff is scantily supplied with artillery. Of Gourko's 400 guns he has only 100 with him, pert having been left at Orkhanie, and part left behin'i in his rapid pursuit. The artillery was found to be a very great check on rapid movement, and more trouble than it was worth. WARLIKE ATTITUDE OF GREECE. A despatch from Athens, under date 26th Jan. says: The news of the conclusion of peace caused great consternation here, and the Chamber of Depu- ties has suspended its sitting. A vast crowd of at least 10,000 persons went in disorderly procession to the residences of MM. Deligeorgis, Tricoupis, Zaimis, Ooumoundouros, and Delyanni, where they broke the windows and committed other damage. Pistol shots were fired at the hotel of the Minister President, M. Ooumoundouros. The rioters then proceeded to the King's palace, where his Majesty harangued the people, admitting that the present position of affairs was a painfnl one for the nation. The King added that no one loved his country more than he, but it was indispensable to remain calm. The mob then continued its way to the houses of the other Ministers, but were eventually dispersed by the troops. It is expected that a similar demonstration will take place to-morrow, and the troops have been consigned to their barracks, with strict orders to repress with energy any manifestation that may occur. C POSITION OF CONSTANTINOPLE. The Daily Newt Constantinople correspondent says The condition of the country for 100 miles round Con- stantinople is very serious. Outrages are being com- mitted everywhere by the Circassians, who are robbing and murdering everybody. So far as I learn, the Turks are not committing these outrages, but are being plundered and driven from their homes together with their Christian neighbours. At Bourgas great numbers of fugitives have come from the villages, mostly Greek and Bulgarian, but with Turks among them, driven in by the Circassians. The English despatch boat Torch brought upwards of 300 here. Captain Hammond chartered an English vessel, the Alexandria, on behalf of the English Government, but on his own responsibility, to convey the re- fugees to Constantinople, preferring to incur the risk of payment himself rather than leave the poor wretches to starve on the beach. From Rodosto, on the Sea of Marmora, come similar reports of outrages by the Circassians. The country all around is given up to plunder. The Greeks and Bulgarians are suffering most, but the Turks also in consequence of the Circassians and the advance of the Russians. Constantinople is full of refugees. The number is estimated at from 50,000 to 70,000. The suffering among the women and children is terrible. The greater portion are Moslems. Of these the men are armed, and iu the absence of troops the condition of the capital is very critical. I have reason to believe that the Government in its own interest will do the utmost to prevent an outbreak but hunger and fanaticism are dangerous stimulants. The Government is distributing the refugees about the city under the supervision of the Civic Guard but the work is very difficult. Should the armistice not be agreed to, and a siege of Constantinople be determined on, measures ought to be taken by the united Powers for the preservation of the very large Christian and foreign population. Probably the Porte itself would not object to the presence of a certain number of ships of each Power in the Bosphorus to prevent attacks by the law- less population, out of the control of the Government The debates in Parliament on the reply to the Queen's Speech have succeeded in convincing the Turks of England's neutrality. ADRIANOPLE. ElisSe R6clus, the distinguished French geographer thus describes Adrianople. Having referred to the monotony of the arid triangular plain which lies i between the Maritza and the Sea of Marmora, he con- tinues: The city of Adrianople, the Edirneh of the! Turks, which is situated almost at the northern ex- tremity of this unlovely plain, produces the effect of enchantment by the verdure of its gardens, con- trasting vividly with the vast treeless expanse' that lies beyond. No city is more charming or more diversified by gardens and groves. With the exception of the centre of the town, in the quarters around the citadel, Adrianople resembles an agglomeration of several distinct villages. The several — "?•— "*T ~T groups of houses are" separated from one another by" orchards, gardens, and alleys of cypresses and poplars,' above which, here and there, tower the minarets of 150 mosques. The waters of the aqueducts, the numerous Stream^, ai*$thie three large risers which here meet—the Maritza, tjae Tundja, and the Arda— all help to beautify the, suburbs and gardens of this scattered city. But Adrianople is not only a charming city it is also the most important centre of population in .t¡h,e.. interior- of European -Turkey. The confluence W^ -thre<K rivers, tlW '-convergence of the roads which descend the valley of the Maritza from the direction oT Sofia with those which come from beyond the Balkans, and those .Which <*oqoe: up from the iEgeananl f'the St a* of^Marmora—this com- bination of circumstances made it a site which must infallibly be occupied by a city of importance. As a fact here stood Orestias, the capital of the barbarous kings of ancient Thraee, and here the Romans built their Hadrianopolis. 'The Turks fixed "the seat of their Empire here before Constantinople fell into their hands; and there 'is yet standing, although unfortu^ nately in a very 'bad state of preservation, the beautiful palace in the Persian style which the Saltans Rf kui!t for their residence in the fourteenth century. But the Osmanli are in a minority in their ancient capital as well as in Stamboul. The Greeks are equal totheminpoint of numbers, and surpass them in activity. The Bulgarians, who are here on the frpatier Of their ethnological domain, are represented by a conaiderdMe community. There is also, aa in all the cities of the East, a harlequin crowd of men of all races, from the itinerant gipsy minstrel to the pedlar from Persia. The Jews, also; are proportionally more numerous afc Adrianople than in other Tdrkish cities. But by one of the most remarkable psycho- logical contrasts, the Jews of Adrianople differ (so at least it is said) from their co-religionists all over the world by their want of finesse and their commercial simplicity. According to a local proverb, "there must be ten Jews to make head against one Greek;" and it is believed th t, o e Irol n mi also a ore than a Ftch I than a match for the poor' Israelites in business matters. This certainly is a curious and exceptional phenomenon in the history of the Jewish race. ODESSA. Writing on the 12th inst. a correspondent at Odessa says: "Amerchant vessel which lately left Constantinople with a cargo, for Odessa, has safely arrived at Sebastopol. That makes the second in- stance of the Turkish blockade in the Black Sea having been successfully run within the last few days. Other vessels are expected to attempt a similar evasion. One of- them, a Greek merchantman, was seen the day before yesterday near Sebastopol by a Turkish ironclad, and ordered to turn back." Writing on the 15th inst., the same corre- spondent adds: The two Turkish monitors which bombarded Eupatoria last Friday, afterwards passed Sebastopol, the Imperial residences in the Crimea, and the watering-place Yalta, without making any demon- stration. At Theodosia, however, they threw more than 100 shells into the town. and with. considerable effect. They then crossed over to Anapa-and bom- barded that place. This spasmodic action on the part of the Turkish fleet is bolieved here to be in conse- quence of accusations made at Constantinople to the effect that the Turkish war-ships have done infinitely less then the improvised cruisers of the Russians." ARMISTICE PROSPECTS. The Journal de St. Petersbourg publishes an article which says "Immediately on receipt efthe first tele- gram intimating the Porte's desire to enter into nego. tiations we warned the public against exaggerated optimist expectations of peace, because the sincerity of the Porte's desire for peace did not ap pear to us to be sufficiently proved. Th< despatches published in the British Blue-boot confirms our view. The Porte's initiative was prompted by Lord Derby, not in order to offer the belligerents ground on which they might np. proach each other, bet to enable England from thE outset to interfere "in the negotiations. It is right thai this unprecedented diplomatic manoeuvre should bf brought to the notice of all friends of peace.' The article then points out that an armistict can only be concluded after an agreement has been arrived at upon the peace preliminaries, and continues 11 Now, the British Cabinet declares that it would only recognise a peace in the conclusions oi which Europe participated. It follows from this that even in face of the Porte's signature the peace preliminaries would be worthless, the Porte's assent not being binding because Europe might annul it. This situation is still further aggravated by the declaration of the British Government that it would await Russia's conditions before demand- ing a credit. Thus, if the present attempt fails, the attitude of England would again render an armistice and peace impossible, and plunge the East into fatal complications. We are, however, far from entertaining the idea that the British Cabinet desire; this, although to every sincere and impartial obeervel the cogency of our argument) will be manifest, Europe must judge, and it is necessary that in the public conscience and before the tribunal of history should bear their proper share of responsi- SIR ARNOLD KEMBALL. A Constantinople correspondent of the Times says: u Kemball, moving about the outer edge ol that huge circle of Oriental gossip, which has its centre in Constantinople, has naturally been the here 01 almoet as many legends as if he had lived in the daye of the Round Table. He has been killed, wounded, taken prisoner has won, and I am bound in candour to add, has lost, various battles of more or less im- portance; has been badly treated by the Turks, has been singled out by the Turks for marked distinction, and has even performed the proverbially difficult feat of being in two-not to say tbree-places at once. About the only point on which all the accounts agree is that he is a first-rate officer and amodel English gentle- Qian with a cool courage and iron physique which exactly fit him for the discharge of the difficult duties and hard work which his situation imposes upon him. The last legend afloat about him, even in well-informed quarters, is that he is the victim of interferente, so arbitrary and unreasoning,on thepartof his superiors, that hecannot choose his own sphere of action, but is ordered about to places at which he cannot get either food, beds, or even that still more precious commodity, news. I am assured, on the best authority, that this legend is absolutely without foundation. Sir Arnold Kemball received his instructions when be first entered on his duties in Asia, understood them thoroughly, and since then has been, and is, left to act and move about entirely at his own discretion. He has always acted so wisely and so well that no necessity has arisen for giving him any further telegraphic or written direc- tions for his guidance. It has been considered that Sir Arnold Kemball being on the spot u himself the best judge of where he ought to be at a given moment, and hia conduct has always met with approval from his immediate chief, the Ambassador at Constanti- nople, as well as from the authorities at home. TURKISH WOUNDED AT BUCHAREST. A correspondent writes: Letters just received from an English gentleman at Bucharest, Mr. Sheldon, manager of the Bucharest street tramways, states that a large body of wounded Turkish prisoners of war have just been brought to that city. They were in such a miserable condition that most of them were un- able even to lift a spoonful of soup to their lips. Mrs. Sheldon and other ladies had to feed them like chil- dren. The Russian authorities have very humanely ordered a large number of their own invalided troops in the hospital at Bucharest to be removed into less comfortable quarters in order that these emaciated Turks, their enemies, may be better cared for. From accounts received from Tatar Bazardjik, it is feared that the new schools and playgrounds, established by means of the contributions of English children, chiefly young members of the Society of Friends, have been destroyed by the Turkish troops in their retreat from the Balkans. THE ICE-BOUND DANUBE. The special correspondent of the Times at Sistova has the following under date Jan. 20th: I crossed the Danube yesterday afternoon on the ice, and as this link in the Russian line of communications is now of Tital importance, I shall give a somewhat detailed description of the present state Of the river and the means of crossing it. The Simnitza shore of the Danube is a steep bluff, fifty feet in heIght. Passing down by an excavated roadway, the traveller comes to an arm of the river running close under the bluff, about fifty yards in width and crossed by a trestle- bridge. Then comes an island half a mile in breadth, which brings us to a second arm of the river, mea- suring about 600 feet wide. The pontoon bridge which crossed this branch of the Danube was never wholly carried away; the flooring remains in its former position, and, being frozen firmly in the ice, affords a very solid means of crossing to the second island, which is not more than 100 yards in breadth. On the southern side of this island we come to the main northern channel of the Danube, which is 60U yards wide. Two-thirds of the raft-bridge over this channel, measuring from the northern end, still re- main intact; the other third has broken away from its fastenings at the southern end and lies Im- bedded in the ice, running out into the river at an angle of thirty degrees with the °f ^he bridge. Leaving the bridge at the point where it bends off into the river, as above described, we take to the ice ana cross the intervening 200 yards of the northern channel to another island, measuring about 300 yards in width. After traversing this island we reach the southern channel of the Danube, which washes the shore of Bulgaria. The pontoon- bridge across this arm of the river has been entirely removed, and the 500 yaids intervening THE RUSSIAN ALLIES. Great is the uneasiness in Roumania, Servia, Mon- tenegro, and Greece at the course of the negotiations and the prospects of an armistice which threatens to overtake them a) I much too soon. Not'one of these allies can boast of a single line of written agreement with Russia containing any stipulations or promise about the ultimate reward of their co-operation, and there is a race among them to secure the most before a suspension of arms puts a stop to their aperatio's. There seems, indeed, to have been among them at first a sort of inclination to rebel and to regard the conclusion of an armistice before they had taken all they aimed at as not binding on them. They soon, however, came to understand that this would not be tolerated, so each of them is trying to use the remaining time as best they can. As for the Greeks, they are quite in arrear of all the others, and are now anxious to give some sign of life before an armistice intervenes to nullify their ambition. The first step, BS might have been expected, was the crossing of the volunteer bands into Thessaly though how soon these marauders will be followed by the regular forces does not seem to be decided as yet, but according to accounts from Athens the contingency cannot be far off. Thus from all sides efforts are being made to secure the spoil before it is too late. AT SIMNITZA. The special correspondent of the Times at Simnitza has the following, dated January 19tb I came here by the new line of railway from Fratesti, though the Government officials have not as yet taken over the line. Officers, soldiers, and baggage filled the train in fact, we were detained at Fratesti for four hours waiting for men. The train travelled at the rate of five miles an hour, and after long delays at each station we arrived here at ten o'clock, having been ten hours on the way. There does Dufc ,?Ppe?r tany re?son why the Government should not at once take over the line. The severe snowstorm of yesterday cleared away by midnight. Two wounded officers came across the river in the evening with great difficulty. They stated that the supplies were nearly exhausted at Tirnova and that every department on the other side was s rained to the utmost, provision having to be made for the sick and wounded and for so many Turkish prisoners besides. All the captives and the wounded from Shipka. are to pass by this _v ero. are thousands of carts waiting here in ri;0nr./|I'eS but lying in all directions, r !nd There is no idea of sanitar^ nf'-r8' k ar>d dying soldiers, hucksters, swarms of Roumanian and Bulgarian cattle-drivers, w P'&8> dogs, live and dead cattle ■.? *°at must be the result in this small co n° pr°v^°n for carrying off the super- l °*'for the wants of this enormous popu- i 4f 18 fa ere so it must be in every other mint' °\gh no': *° extent. The Govern- atwla a, keing able to transport the contractors' ftinnUfJ.'088 t f'Ver according to the coaditions tha enaf ne j 'ged to reimburse the contractors iu- deten«on of their carts and people of roubles dailym°UQ'8 t0 some hundreds of thousands C OF DULOIGNO BY THE MONTE- On JJ NEGRINS. thn J e 19th, the Montenegrins attacked tViAm of/ i heights above Dulcigno, carrying • a £ and bloody fight, notwithstand ZLT n fim? from the Turkish ironclad in the tnt °e *k°le battalion of Turkish regulars Prisoners. The same evening the town ^™Ted',and the garrison of the citadel, in- i ver?l hundred Bashi-Bazouks, being driven „ refuge on board the fleet. The Turkish j Ve*7 Jarge, but the figures have not yet been The Montenegrins lost above 180 killed • L-fo n, Bulcigno is a considerable place, the 8f ?hich t0 remain* Montenegrin troops are mov«g towards Scutari.

-n , WAR ITEMS.

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REVIEW OF THE CORN TRADE.

THE BRITISH FLEET.

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