5 MAY 1855, Page 7

furrigu alA Colnuid.

FRANCB.—A daring but unsuccessful attempt was made last Saturday afternoon to assassinate the Emperor of the French. The Emperor an Empress are accustomed to take out-door exercise in the Bois de Bou- logne; proceeding thither, the Empress in an open carriage, the Emperor on horseback, through the Champs Elysees. On Saturday last, the Em- press had passed along the route a little after five o'clock, and was fol- lowed by the Emperor, riding at a leisurely_ pace ; his aides-dc-camp Count Edgar Ney and Lieutenant-Colonel Valabreques riding a short way behind. When he arrived opposite the pleasure-gardens of the Cha- teau de Fleurs, a man stepped out of the footpath, and, leaning against a lamp-post to steady his aim, fired a pistol at the Emperor. Colonel Ney spurred his horse upon the assassin ; who, moving to one side and get- ting nearer to the Emperor, fired a second shot, at a distance of from ten to five paces. Both happily failed, although it is asserted that the second ball touched the Emperor's hat. Two men, dressed like operatives but said to be police-agents, seized the assassin; and the gendarme Aleasandri, who always follows the Emperor in a carriage, together with M. Hire- voy, a commissary of police, jumped out of their vehicle, and assisted in the arrest. As the assassin resisted, they used him roughly, and Ales- sandri wounded him with a dagger cane. The Emperor, who had be- haved with great coolness, called out " pargnes le—ne is tuez pas, le miserable " ; and, bowing to the people, who cheered, rode quietly on- ward towards the Bois de Boulogne. He had sent on a messenger to apprize the Empress of his safety ; and, meeting her a few yards beyond the Are de Triomphe, rode by the side of her carriage back to the Tui- leries, amid the congratulations of thousands, who quickly swarmed along the route. The Empress, it is stated, sobbed and wept convul- sively.

Meanwhile, the assassin had been carried to the guardhouse outside the I3arriere de l'Etolle. His name it appears, is Liverani. He was

born at Faenza, in the States of the name, and some time kept a shoe- maker's shop in Rome. Ruined by the siege, he is said to have declared that he then formed the project of assassinating Louis Napoleon. Ac- cording to one account, he denied that he had any accomplices; but at the same time he asserted that numbers had sworn an oath to do that which he alone had had the courage to attempt. Besides the pistol that he fired, two others and a dagger were found updn him. "The assassin," according to an account in the Morning Post, "is a Mtn of about twenty-five years of age, somewhat under the middle stature. His hair is dark brown, and he wears a beard and moustaohios. lie is rather fair, with high cheek-bones, and the expression of his face has nothing in it to indicate the murderer. He was dressed in snuff-coloured trousers, dark brown coat, (under this coat he wore another of light blue—meaning, no doubt, to strip off the brown in the confusion, and attempt escape) ; he bad now shoes. He wore an ordinary black hat, in which my informant observed the words 'Crystal Palace' printed in English."

In the course of the evening he was transferred to the Prefecture of Police, and examined before M. Billault ; but nothing seems to have been extracted from him beyond what we have just narrated. As soon as the event was known, the portals of the Tuileries were besieged with carriages, conveying the Imperial Family, the Ministers, the Diplomatists, and other distinguished persons, who offered their con, gratulation& In the evening the Emperor and Empress went to the Opera Comique, and were warmly received. On Sunday, the Senate waited on the Emperor with their congratu- lations. His reply was impressive- " I thank the Senate for the sentiments it has just expressed to me. I fear nothing from the attempts of assassins ; there are existences which are the instruments of the decrees of Providence. As long as I shall not have fulfilled my mission, I run no danger." In the afternoon, the Emperor again rode and the Empress drove to the Bois do Boulogne, as if nothing unusual had occurred.

The Emperor expressed a desire that no official addresses should be presented to him ; but, says the Afoniteur, he could not "behold with- out being deeply moved the spontaneous manifestation of the sentiments of the nation." The English residents held a meeting at the British Embassy,—the Earl of Denbigh presiding,—and unanimously adopted an address to the Emperor.

Tu CIIIMEA.—The intelligence from the camp comes down to the 30th April by the new telegraph. At that date the bombardment had been suspended for a time; but statements, professing to be "authentic," announce that it would be resumed in a few days. The news by the ordinary channels includes an account of the siege operations down to the 21st April. Our narrative last week reached no further than the 13th, and from that date we resume it. The sortie of the Russians from the Flagstaff battery, on the 13th, was repelled by our allies after a desperate struggle, in the course of which the Russians made two fierce charges, and were each time driven back. It was towards the close of this conflict that General Bizot received a wound, from which he afterwards died. On the following day, the fire of the batteries on either side was hot, but the enemy did not give more than "one gun to two of the Allies." By this time the Flagstaff battery was severely damaged ; its second tier of guns was silenced, and only the flanking batteries of that tier, with the upper tier, fired away with any vigour. In three places under this work, the French had driven three mines ; one for 1000 pounds of powder in the centre, and one on either flank for 600 pounds each. These mines, it was expected, would be exploded during the 15th. A number of spectators, including Lord Raglan and the principal French and English officers, bad assem- bled on a commanding height to see the work of destruction. But from some defect the mines were not exploded, and the sightseers were dis- appointed. At nine next morning, one of the smaller mines was fired, but with only partial success. " It was badly placed, and most of the charge escaped by the entrance to the mine.' The enemy instantly opened a furious cannonade; to which the French replied. At four o'clock on the morning of the 17th, the two remaining mines were suc- cessfully sprung ; the tremendous explosion alarmed the camp; and the enemy, as if expecting an immediate assault, fired volleys from all his batteries, and drew forth a corresponding cannonade. When daylight came, there stood the Flagstaff battery, a gap in its centre, eighty feet long ; but the mines on the right and left had failed, and the battery still played, though with greatly diminished force. Of course the earth thrown down would form cover for a fresh advance on the part of the French; and during the night of the 15th they made an attempt to lodge them- selves there, but found the fire too hot. On the 16th they renewed the attempt, but were discovered before they could complete the work. Their next effort was made on the 17th, and this time they succeeded. As soon as it was dark, a body of picked men crept into the breastwork and repaired damages, protected by the fire of mortars and a covering-party. About two hours later, 250 men, carrying gabions partly filled, dashed forth and placed them; made good their hold upon the work during the night ; and during the next and succeeding days, until the 19th, kept up a constant fire upon the battery : but they are said to have been surprised and dislodged by the enemy on the night of the 19th.

A. despatch from General Canrobert, dated April 17, enables us to com- ete the account of the French advances. Under General Pelissier, the French troops carried the ambuscades in front of the Central Bastion, and razed them, "notwithstanding the solidity of their construction" ; while under General Breton, they seized those near the Cemetery on the extreme left.

"Protected by this vigorously-conducted double operation, the engineers were enabled to complete their levels and push on their works with activity. A new parallel was formed; we propose to turn it to great advantage, in

this nocturnal affair, which was very brisk, and which does the greatest honour to our troops, we had 40 men killed, of whom 4 were officers, and

117 wounded To the right, on the side of the Malakhoff Tower, the superiority of our artillery has also been maintained ; but without succeed- ing in silencing that of the besieged, except, however, in the two works of counter-approach of Careening Battery, which have not fired a gun for the last, two days. In this part of our attack, as in the other, we advance slowly, perfecting our existing trenches, and leaving nothing to chance."

The constant and effective fire of the Allies, it appears, did not con- tinue beyond the 16th. On the 17th, after consultation with General Canrobert, Lord Raglan ordered the batteries not to fire more than thirty rounds per gun per diem, instead of 147. This order, we are told, gave "general dissatisfaction." It is imputed to the representations of the French Generals, who are said to prefer the slow and certain mode of sapping to that of storming, especially when, as there was good reason to .believe, the enemy's guns were not dismounted but only withdrawn during the day. On the 20th, the rumour ran through the camp that the fire would be restricted to ten rounds per gun per diem ; and, as we know from the telegraph, the fire was subsequently suspended altogether.

But the progress of the siege in the interval, whatever it may have been since, was not suspended. On the 17th, the English began to push zigzags in advance of Gordon's battery from the right and left • and on the 18th they had been carried on the right to within sixty yards of the Malakoff, and on the left to within a hundred yards of the Redan. The great difficulty lay in throwing up the trench connecting the two ap- proaches. The enemy found out what the Allies were at, and sank a line of rifle-pits so as to enfilade the paralleL Our men persevered, galled by the fire ; but when the Russians brought out a 12-pounder and fired grape, the men were forced to run for shelter; whence they pep- pered away at the Russians and their gun, until the latter withdrew. In the morning the gun was again advanced, and the working party was compelled to retire. Nor was this all : the Russians sank new pits, in such a poition as actually prevented the completion of the British paral- lel. Therefore it became necessary to take both pits. This was accom- PIMA though with considerable loss, on the night of the 19th and 20th.

On the 19th, Colonel Egerton, at the head of 250 men from the light': Division, dashed from the breastwork, surprised the enemy, and drove-

him out at a run. A scattering volley, however, was fired by the flying' party, and one shot killed Lieutenant Lempriere of the Seventy-seventh.. Colonel Egerton carried him to shelter ; and, returning to the troops busily engaged in making good their ilodgment, found that a column of, 1000 Russians was marching down upon them from the Malakoff. The British shook their advance by a close volley ; they hesitated; then closed, and were hurled back by the bayonet after an obstinate combat; and the British remained in possession of the pits. Unfortunately, Colo- nel Egerton, the gallant leader of the party, was killed by a bullet ; and with him 21 men, besides 5 officers and 30 men wounded. On the same night, the working-party secured the pits against an assault from the enemy, and completed the parallel. On the night of the 20th, tho British seized the second line of pits without a blow ; but a force returned later, and were driven off.

The fleet had begun to take an active part in the siege. On the night of the 14th, the Valorous first and then the Gladiator ran in towards the forts, and, after firing shot and shell into the batteries, retired. Only one shot from the batteries struck the Valorous. For the rest of the night the easemates were lighted up. On the night of the 17th, the gun-boat. Wrangler followed this example. A thick fog overspread the sea. Pre- ceded by a boat with muffled oars, sounding as it advanced, the Wran- gler steamed slowly in, and approached, it is stated, " within four fa-, thoms of the forts." From a little after eleven until past one, she kept up a fire of shot, shell, and rockets, from her Lancaster guns; and retired, having "suffered no further injury than the cutting of one of her stays."-, On the night of the 18th, the Furious and Tribune went in and fired 68-pounder shots into the forts and the town ; but the night was fine, and they could not remain long. On the 20th, the Dauntless ran in, but was forced to return at the second broadside, because one of her guns burst and set her on fire. The fire was speedily extinguished, but four men and a boy were wounded. These attacks keep the garrison on the alert.

Another peculiarity in the accounts which have reached us is a recon- naissance in force, executed as far as Tchorgoun. The Tenth Hussars; the whole of which had arrived on the 17th, took a conspicuous part. This operation is thus described by the correspondent of the Morning Herald.

On the 19th, "Lord Raglan, General Canrobert, and Omar Pasha, accom- panied by their respective staffs, made a strong reconnoissance of the position. of the enemy near Balaklava. The force consisted of two French batteries of artillery, four squadrons of French cavalry, and a battalion of Zouaves,. one English troop of Horse Artillery, and the whole of the English cavalry, (with the Tenth Hussars, about 1000 strong,) seven battalions of Turkish infantry, two squadrons of Turkish cavalry, and one Turkish rocket battery; making a total force of 2000 cavalry, 10,000 infantry, and 18 guns. The whole force proceeded at about ten in the morning from the right of our position in the direction of Kamera. Here were stationed a few Cossack pickets; who beat a precipitate retreat as the Allies advanced. Nothing war found in the village beyond the ruins of some huts and three or foar small stables, which the Cossacks had converted into picket-houses for themselves. These were pulled down and their materials scattered about. The' church, the only edifice left untouched, in the centre of the village, was not interfered with—in fact, it could hardly be reduced to a worse state of Slothy than the enemy have themselves made. After passing Kamera, the troops, preceded by the cavalry and artillery, advanced in the direction of the lulls- on the Woronzow road overlooking the Tsehernaya, in the direction of Tehourgoum. On these hills between 160 and 200 Cossacks were collected.: They fell hack as we advanced, carefully keeping out of range, and retiring: on the road to Tchourgoum. On the hills from which they had started a. number of mud huts had been erected, capable of accommodating nearly a. thousand men. These, with some enclosures containing forage, were set fire to. Half the infantry, with two French field-batteries, remained on these hills; while the cavalry, Horse Artillery, and the remainder of the in- fantry, with the Rocket Battery, moved down the road towards Tehourge The road seemed in an admirable state, and gave no traces of havinfte used to convey supplies, which it must have done bad a large force

the neighbourhood. On the hills over Tehourgoura the pickets, whio increased to some 300 or 400 infantry and cavalry, made a stand, .01 watched our movements. Our cavalry advanced to the village, which seeCed- deserted and almost in ruins. There appeared no traces of inhabitants, or, indeed, of its having been recently occupied at all except by soldiers. A. number of dogs were.about it, which bayed and snarled as our men drew. near ; but these were the only tokens of life or animation. Beyond the hills,. and on all the available coverings on the other side of the Tschernaya, ap- peered earth-works and heavy batteries. On two of the nearest heights six guns in one and eight in the other could be easily counted. In a kind of basin formed behind the hills a Russian camp was no doubt assembled, as Cossacks came and went in that direction repeatedly. There was, however,. no means of ascertaining either the number or strength of the enemy with- out bringing on an engagement, and perhaps a severe one. Behind the works of the heights, which were fortified, were Russian troops; and in the wood leading towards Mackenzie's Farm commanding redoubts seemed to have been thrown up in different places. When the Turks came in sight of the enemy, their eagerness and impatience to engage them became extreme; but, as a matter of course, it was not gratified beyond allowing then to throw a few rockets among the Cossacks collected on the hills. This they did with wonderful alacrity, and with an accuracy and precision of aim which gained loud praise from all the officers on the ground. At the first one or two rockets, the Cossacks parted and scampered in all directions; amidst shouts of laughter from the Allies; and before half-a-dozen had been fired not a Russian was to be seen. As the Allies fell back, a body of about 3000 infantry emerged from behind the hills; occupying the heights as we abandoned them, and carefully watching each movement we made, but also as carefully watching any step which might bring them into collision with us. In this manner the Allies quietly retired towards Balaklava ; having ascertained, beyond all doubt, that no force about which we need be at all apprehensive remained in the vicinity. An attempt was made to en- trap the Russian Infantry by leaving a small force on the bills on the Wo- ronzow road, while a strong body remained at hand on the slopes beneath ; but the Muscoves were not to be so caught, and quietly waited until all were withdrawn and half across the plain. It is understood that one of the lied Generals was strongly in favour of a force remaining to occupy the WIZ and Woronzow road ; but his advice was overruled by that of his colleagues." On the 21st, the Turkish cavalry, alone, pushed forward as far as Tchorgoun, and skirmished with the Cossacks.

The Gazette of Tuesday contained a despatch from Lord Raglan to Lord Panmure, dated April the 17th; which corroborates and illustrates the general correspondence. "The fire of both the French and English armies has been continued Diem

Seliastogiol since I addressed your Lordship on the 14th instant ; and though superior to that of the enemy, it has not produced that permanent effect which might have been anticipated from its constancy, power, and accuracy. The guns of the Russians have been turned upon some of our advanced works in vast numbers; and in one particular instance the injury sustained by a battery was so great, that the unremitting exertions of Captains Henry and Walcot, and the gallantry and determination of the artillerymen under their orders, alone enabled them to keep up the fire and to maintain themselves in it. In another battery, yesterday, a shell burst close to the magazine ; which in consequence exploded, killing, I am much concerned to say, one man, wounding two most severely, and seven in a less degree. Both the batteries I have mentioned have been repaired and restored to their original condition.

"The French blew up several small mines in front of the Bastion du Mat after sunset on Sunday evening, with a view to establish a parallel on the spot. This operation greatly alarmed the enemy ; who at once commenced a heavy fire of cannon and musketry in every direction from that part of the town, which they kept up for a considerable time. It occasioned no harm on our left attack, upon which a part of it was directed, and I hope did little injury to our allies. "Several 'Several hundreds of the Russian cavalry and a small body of Cossacks appeared on the low range of heights in front of Balaklava this morning, and remained about an hour, when they retired, the greater portion by the bridge of Tractea. The object of this movement was probably a reconnais- sanee. '

- The casualties from the 13th to the 15th April, inclusive, present a total of 2 officers and 16 men killed, and 4 officers and 79 men wounded. Lord Raglan laments the loss of the two "young and promising officers killed—Lieutenant Preston of the Eighty-eighth, and Lieutenant Mitchell of the Artillery." The four wounded officers are— Royal Engineers—Lieutenant G. Graham, slightly ; Captain and Assist- ant-Engineer H. Green, II.E.I.C. Service, severely. Royal Artillery- Assistant-Surgeon R. W. CockeriU, slightly. Thirty-third Foot—Captain E. W. Donovan, severely.

Two of these are thus mentioned by the Commander-in-chief- "I regret to add, that two others have been severely wounded—Captain Green, of the East India Company's service, who has been employed through- out the siege as an assistant-engineer, with great credit to himself and every advantage to the service; and Captain Donovan of the Thirty-third, who has most zealously served from the commencement of the campaign." The British cavalry have been placed under the command of Colonel Parlby of the Tenth Hussars ; Lord George Paget commands the Light Brigade.

A report has been current this week that the Russians have received a large accession of numbers; and that at least 100,000 men are within and near Sebastopol.

GERMANY. —No news upon which absolute reliance can be placed has reached us from Vienna. It is understood, however, that the Con- ferences have not been entirely broken up, but suspended. Austria still thinks it her duty to seek out a means of arriving at peace ; and the Russian diplomatists seem far from likely to quit the Austrian capital. It is even doubtful whether General Hess will go to Gallicia, as it was reported he would last week. On the other hand, it is confidently affirmed that "Austria signed a military convention" with the Allies on the 25th April; and it seems certain that the Austrian army is in pro- cess of concentration. The first army corps, stationed at Vienna has been melded to march towards Olmiitz and Cracow, and be replaced by the third army corps, which is lying in Styria. The sixth army corps, now in Northern Italy, is to move up to Styria, and to go into canton- ments near the Southern Railroad ; so that the obstinacy recently dis- played by the Russians has been replied to by a demonstration made by an additional hundred thousand men. These orders are said to have been given by the Emperor himself.

The French Legation at Vienna had a service of thanksgiving for th&e.scape of the Emperor Napoleon, celebrated on the 2d, followed by a re Deum. Although no invitations were issued, the Grand Chambellan, Count de Lanckorouski, Count Buol, and all the members of the Austrian Cabinet, General Hess, who is on the eve of departure for the army, Marshal Nugent, Baron de Prokesch, &c., proceeded to the church ; ELIBO the members of the Diplomatic Corps.

" A despatch from Berlin, dated Thursday, states that "the session of the Prussian Chambers was closed today by a speech from Baron Man- teuffel. After enumerating the various legislative enactments passed this session, the Ministerial speech promises that the credits granted will be Used as economically as consistent with duty in the presence of an army prepared for war, during the actual unsettled state of affairs, so as to vin- dicate the independence and position of Prussia as a great power."

_ BELGIUM.—The Belgian:Government asks of the Chambers a vote of 9,400,000 francs to be expended on the fortress of Antwerp and new works for the defence of the Scheldt. The works of the intrenehed camp are to be extended, new batteries are to be raised to command the river, and forts Philippe, Lille, and Sainte Marie are to be strengthened. The expose des motifs accompanying the bill for authorizing this expenditure declares that the execution of the works is prompted by considerations connected with the defence of Belgian nationality and the preservation of the country's independence.

ITALY.—It appears that the resignation of the Piedmentese Ministry arose from an offer made in the Senate by the Bishop of Casale, on the part of the Episcopate, to make up a sum of 900,000 francs required for the payment of the poorer clergy, on the necessity for providing which the financial clauses of the Convent Suppression Bill were based. Count Ca. your, unprepared for such a proposition, tendered his resignation. The King accepted the tender, and reserved to himself the reply to the offer of the Bishops. General James Durando was instructed to form a Ministry ; but as no satisfactory arrangement could be come to between the King and the Bishops, the Cavour Ministry return to office.

THE BALTIC.—According to a telegraphic message from Kiel, dated Thursday, "all the ships of the British fleet under Admiral Saunders Dundas got under weigh, and quitted this harbour," that morning. Du- ring the stay of the fleet at Kiel, the Admiral paid a visit to the King of

- The tenour of recent letters from Sweden leads to the belief that the Swedish Government will continue to maintain an armed neutrality. No preparations of any kind have been made that would indicate participa- tion in the war.

INDIA AND CHINA.—The usual letters from India arrived in London on Sunday, by the overland mail. They add little to the intelligence al- . ready imparted by telegraph to the public. The interview between Mr. J. Lawrence, Chief Commissioner of the Punjaub, and Gholam Hyder Khan, son of Dust Mahomed, and the reports from Persia, constitute the principal points of interest. Mr. Lawrence arrived at Peshawar on the llth of March. As the Cabul Envoy did not appear, it was supposed that the Khyberies had attacked him and arrested his progress : but this proved an incorrect surmise ; on the 17th he crossed the frontier, saluted by seventeen guns ; and on the 24th he had an interview with Mr. Law- rence. The Sirdar is described as "an immense man with a black beard"; he was attended by a large retinue, some of whom wore English head- gear and portions of uniforms, and rode on dragoon-saddles. The most important portion of the interview, the result, was not known at the de- parture of the mail. The Peshawar frontier was in a disturbed state.

The Fourteenth Light Dragoons, mustering 700 sabres, were on their way to the coast, bound to the Crimea.

The report of a rupture with Persia is regarded in sonic quarters as authentic. But on the face of the intelligence it would seem to have been derived from the gossip of the people of the steamer Ajdaha, which conveyed the British Minister from Suez to Bushire.

The Chinese rebels have been driven out of Shanghai, and defeated before Canton, by land and water.