NEWS OF THE WEEK.
ALL the late accounts from the theatre of the war go to prove, that, although at the time disbelieved by many, the Russian account of the defeat of the Grand Vizier was substantially true. It is impossible, without conceding that he suffered much more serious injury than was at first supposed, to account for the extreme helplessness that the Turks have exhibited ever since. Geismar has marched against Nicopoli ; not, however, to the neglect of Rudshuk, as was conjectured,—for not only is that town besieged, but, according to report, it has fallen into the hands of the enemy; and even Shumla is represented to he in dawn, Mea'nwhile the Russians have concentrated their forces at Bazarjik, and meditate, if they have not already effected, the passage of the Balkan for the purpose of laying siege to Bourgas. Diebitsch, whose march on Pravadi sufficiently proves him to be equally able and active, is the leader of the invading forces ; and will be joined by fifteen thousand troops that have been landed at Siseboli by the vessels of Admiral Greig. We have now, for the first time, a Russian bulletin containing an official narrative of the reduction of Silistria ; the absence of which had given occasion for some vague surmises of treachery within the walls. It is a despatch from Diebitsch, dated in the camp before Shumla, on the 8th of last month :— " On the 18th (30th) of June, at half-past two in the morning, a mine was sprung which had been opened near the curtain of the flank works, and the explosion of which produced a breach within the body of the fortress. On the following morning two more mines were prepared, which were carried under the same curtain and under the right flank of the bastion on the right of the polygon, against which the attack was directed. Nine saps, which joined under the head of the glacis, served, for the covered way to a solid crown-work, and a battery of thirteen cannon completed the breaches which had been opened by the mines. Finally, two mines formed in the very ditch of the fortress, and the experience which the enemy had had of the unwearied zeal and firmness of the besiegers, shook the obstinacy of the Pachas who commanded in Silistria, and at ten in the morning they sent a flag of truce to Lieutenant-General Krassovski. While Majors-General Prince Gortschakov and Berg were explaining to the Turkish commissioners the conditions under which a capitulation could alone be granted, our works in the breaches, effected by the mines, were vigorously prosecuted under the protection of a heavy fire of musquetry and grape-shot. When the commissioners, who came with the flag of truce, saw that our works were established on part of the bastion situated to the left of the attacked polygon, and that the breaches were cleared, they abandoned their extravagant demands, and urged, with the greatest impatience, that the capitulation should be concluded without loss of time, on the basis which, before my operations against the Grand Vizier, I had prescribed. Lieutenant-General Krassovski granted only some unimportant articles, in addition to that basis, and to them I have given my full consent. So great was the impatience of the commissioners to complete the capitulation, that, notwithstanding the darkness of the night, they compelled the Pacha, Sert-Mahmoud, an old man of seventy, to leave the fortress at ten o'clock, and repair to our camp to surrender himself as a prisoner of war, and as hostage for the fulfilment of the Stipulated conditions. On the 19th of June (July I), at seven in the evening, five battalions, with eight pieces of light artillery, under the command of Major-General Frolov, marched in parade order with flying colours, through two breaches into the fortress, and took possession of the bastiOns, the gates, and the whole town. At the moment when Lieutenant-General Krassovski sent off his report, dated June 23 (July 5), the number of the prisoners transferred to us here was 7,000. About 1,000 still remained in the town with the Pacha, for the purpose of delivering up various descriptions of government property, and for other reasons. There are 1,000 wounded, and as far as can be ascertained, the loss of the enemy in killed during the whole siege exceeds 5,000 men. There have been delivered up to us 238 cannon for land service, and 31 belonging to the flotilla. Thus have our troops suceeeded, notwithstanding the obstinate resistance of the besieged, in overCorning a numerous garrison, driven to despair. During the whole of the siege, we have lost only 1,200 men in killed and wounded ; and more than one-half of the latter are in a state which promises a speedy convalescence." The Sultan continues to support his lofty bearing, and declares that no consideration will induce him to listen to the interference of the Allies; a demeanour which is specially calculated to serve the purPoses of the invaders. The conduct of Capp d'Istria—who wages, in protected Greece, fiercer hostilities than those even which the Allies interposed to put down—is directed to the same end. The President of Greece evidently considers himself bound to forward the views of his old master by every means in his power; and none is so effectual at the present moment as disputing with France and England about the terms on which a general peace is to be arranged. In the midst of all these warlike indications, it is asserted that the King of Prussia and the Emperor of Russia have sent a special Ambassador to Constantinople, a Baron Muffling, in order to treat with the Sultan. France and England are believed to act completely together in this matter. The Times recommends, as the boundary of Greece, a line drawn from the Gulf of Negropent to the Gulf of Arta. This would leave in the possession of the Hellenists the whole of the continent to the south of latitude 39°; which is as much as ancient Greece at any time comprehended. We are happy to find our opinion of the absurdity of confining the Greeks to the Peloponnesus justified by the Leading Journal. A report reached town yesterday, that the Emperor Nicholas was sick at a little village in Bessarabia. There is, however, as little proof that he is in Bessarabia, as there is that he is sick.
