furtigu aut futuuigL

FRANCE. —M. de Peraigny paid a flying visit to Paris this week. His arrival there gave rise to rumours, strongly requiring confirmation, to the effect that the most influential portion of the English Cabinet continues to be more warlike than that of France; that in Paris there is a "Peace party," with leanings towards an Austrian alliance; that this party fa- vours what it calls a " Continental " rather than an " Ultra-Insular " policy, and that the English Cabinet does its utmost to counteract the influence of this party. But it seems more likely, as is reported, that M. de Persigny simply seized the first opportunity to visit Paris on his own affairs.

The Morning Post correspondent in Paris reports that the aceouchement of the Empress may be expected about the middle of March. Another rumour is that "a camp of 40,000 men will be formed this winter at Cherbourg."

GERMANY.—Speculation on peace, and the movements of diplomatists', characterize the German news. In his way to St. Petersburg, Count Valentine Esterhazy halted at Berlin, and had a private conversation with the King. Since this incident became known, quite a chorus of re- ports has sprung up, stating that Prussia will support the peace condi- tions, of which the Austrian Minister was the bearer. In addition to this, some stress is laid on the departure of M. Seebach, the Saxon Mi- nister at Paris, from Dresden, on Monday, for St. Petersburg, "on a mission connected with the peace negotiations." It is remarkable that the day before he set out, the Dresden Journal, an official print, stated, "that Russia has declared her willingness to concede the neutrality of the Black Sea, under certain conditions compatible with the interests of Europe." The Austrian Gazette cannot conceive what modifications are here referred to. M. Seebach is a son-in-law of Count Nesselrode.

The Vienna correspondence of the Tinges contains these passages, a portion of which appeared in part of our last week's impression- " About a fortnight since, you were told that the whole of the Austrian army, including that in the Principalities,' was to be placed on a peace footing ; but information just received convinces me that my statement was incorrect. Instead of being reduced, the army in the Danubian Principali- ties, which is already above 80,000 strong, is about to be strengthened. At present there are 360 guns on the line of operations, which extends from Panceova through Wallachia up to the Northern extremity of Moldavia ; and it has now been resolved to send 120 more guns and eight infantry and four cavalry regiments to reinforce the army in the Danubian Principalities : twenty-two companies of various descriptions are also to be sent to Wal- lachia and Moldavia. Contracts for the delivery of large quantities of pro- visions for the men and fodder fur the homes have also been made for the middle and end of March and the beginning of April. None of the men on furlough have leave of absence beyond the 20th of February It has been asked why Austria left her Galician frontiers almost unprotected, and concentrated such an enormous force in the Danubian Principalities ? The question has been put to a person who is acquainted with every move made

by this Government, and the following reply was received—' The Emperor's Central Military Chancellery is well served byits agents, and it is therefore aware that hardly any troops are now in the kingdom of Poland. Very powerful forces are, however, being concentrated on the Pruth and in the Southern part of Podolia, and Austria is not inclined to be taken by sur- prise.,

A large number of persons were present on Sunday at a Te-Deum, sung by order of the Russian Legation at Berlin, to celebrate the fall of Kars. M. de Manteuffel, President of the Council of Ministers, was not present at this ceremony. Duke George of Mecklenburg is expected to- morrow from St. Petersburg. After the departure of the Allied fleets from the Baltic, the Russians commenced carrying on a very active coast- ing trade.. -

Rossu.—An act of amnesty, not very comprehensive' however, was published in the Warsaw Courier on the 16th December. The first article refers to the Poles who resigned their functions when the Revolution of 1831 broke out, or were dismissed by the Revolutionary Government. The Imperial decree increases their salaries. In virtue of the second ar- ticle, the military, who, since the revolution, have given no cause to sus- pect their loyalty, are likewise entitled to a higher pension. The third paragraph provides that all the individuals who have been implicated in political affairs may be again appointed to public offices, if their conduct was blameless during five years from the date of their dismissal. Ac- cording to the fourth paragraph, the clergymen compromised in political affairs who have been removed to the interior of Russia may return to Poland. The fifth paragraph relates to persons who have been trans- ported to Siberia for political causes, some of whom are permitted to re- turn to Poland, and others obtain a mitigation of their penalties. It is stated that rumours of peace assumed in the first weeks of Decem- ber a greater consistency at St. Petersburg; and that "nothing else was spoken of in the political circles there." It is also said that the Rostow- zoffs, and °doffs urge the Emperor to resistance to the last; and Con- stantine is reported to have said—" Qu'il ne voulait rien avoir de eons- mun aveo un Romanoff assez pen soncieux de Phonneur de son nom et•de la dignite de sa couronne pour songer it condure la paix avec lea Pula-

eances Oecidentales."

On the morning of the 16th, a Te-Deum was celebrated in the Court Chapel and in all the churches of St. Petersburg, to celebrate the fall of Kars. In the afternoon, the flags taken from the enemy were paraded through the principal streets, attended by an immense concourse of people.

Ttraxim.—The public is now in possession of the official documents relating to the fall of Kars forwarded by General Mouravieff to St. Pe- tersburg. According to these papers, the Russian General enforced the blockade more strictly than ever after the action of the 29th September. One effort was made to relieve the place. Vely Pasha, coming from Trebizond, attempted to advance on Kars, but, as a Russian flanking de- tachment constantly threatened his rear, he was compelled to retire. On the 24th November, Major Teesdale arrived from the fortress with a letter from General Williams requesting an interview for the following day. On the 25th, having received permission, General Williams went thither, and drew up and signed conditions of surrender which received the sanction of Mouravieff; but it was not until the 27th that the condi- tions were finally arranged with the full authority of the Turkish Mu- slur, or commander-in-chief at Kars. On the 28th the garrison surren- dered. It was stipulated that they should leave the fortress with drums beating and colours flying and all the honours of war ; that they should leave behind, intact, all guns, stores, treasure, and ammunition ; that "in testimony of the valorous resistance displayed by the garrison of Kars, the officers of all grades should retain their swords"; that "the private property of the members of the army of all grades should be re- spected. that the Redifs, Bashi-Bazouks, and Lazes, should return home, undertaking not to serve again during the war ; that the same_pri- vilege should be granted to the non-combatants ; and that General Wil- liams should have the right of naming a certain number of persons, not the military subjects of either of the belligerent powers, who, on under- taking not to serve again during the war, should have permission to re- turn home. [This is understood to apply to the Hungarian and Polish officers.] It is stated that when the garrison defiled before General Mouravieff, that officer dispensed with the presence of the English. When the troops had deified, they partook of a breakfast prepared by the enemy. The Nord says that General Williams was in peril during the negotiation—on one side from those who desired to hold out, and on the other from those who thought that the place should have been surren- dered long ago. "During the three days of negotiation, his only place of safety was the Russian camp : he did not dare even to return to the fortress for the night, but slept in a house situated at the extremity of the suburbs outside the walls."

In his address to his own troops, General Mouravieff says that the "whole army of Anatolia, 30,000 strong, has vanished like a shadow " ; and that the fortress contained 130 cannon, many colours, and a large stock of arms. "The Russian standard floats on the walls of Kars. It proclaims the 'victory of the Cross of the Saviour."

A letter from Trebizond, dated the 29th November, relates what, if true, is an interesting incident in the last days of the siege : it is not mentioned in the Russian papers. The statement is, that unwilling to give up all hope of relief, General Williams replied to a summons to surrender, on the 14th November, by requesting permission to send an

officer to Erzeroum, and a respite of ten days. Both requests were granted. Captain Thompson was the officer selected. He rode to Erzeroum, with- out seeing a single Turkish soldier; but he found the Russians as far advanced as Hassan-Kaleh. As there was no hope of succour, he rode back to the fortress, and, arriving there on the 22d, was of course in- cluded in the capitulation.

Correspondence from Erzeroum, of a date anterior to the fall of Kars, presents a terrible picture of the state of the garrison.

"For more than a week the women and children had been dying of hun- ger, and had gone in their agony to the door of General Williams to implore him for food, and to lay their bodies on his threshold. The soldiers were dying at the rate of one hundred a day ; the hospitals were crammed with sick, the streets with corpses—all from hunger." One letter states that 1000 men died from sheer hunger between the 8th and the 15th November.

There are better accounts from Erzeroum respecting the condition of that town. Troops were arriving ; stores were coming in; and the English officers there—Major Stewart, Major Peel, and Captain Cameron

—mere very actively employed. General Kmety and General Colman arrived at Erzeroum on the 27th November, three days from Kars. They escaped by. the aid of five Kurds, who had pledged their word for the safety of their officers. Respecting the future movements of the Russians, and the value of the capture of Kars to them, the Military Gazette of Vienna has the following observations.

" According to letters from Warsaw, a hostile movement on the part of the Russian army is expected to take place against Erzeroum. Whether such a movement be possible or advantageous at present, is not by any means clear. The Allies are masters of the Black Sea, and may at any time throw a body of troops upon any part of the coast they please. Sup- posing Mouravieff to assume the offensive with the whole army of the Cau- casus, which numbers about 90,000 or 95,000 men—supposing even he took Erzeroum, and established himself there with provisions for several months —could he continue his march to Karahissar, threatened as he would be from Trebizond ? and were he to stop at Erzeroum, might not his retreat be out oifi as the Allies can at a moment's notice land an army at Batoum After all, the taking of Kars was only a question of honour for the Russians; it could only have a military importance if there were a fleet to protect the operations by land. All the Russians can now do is to prevent Omar Pasha from pushing forward; but the taking of Kars threatens no danger to Erzeroum."

Direct details from the Times correspondent who accompanies the army of Omar Pasha have been received to the 19th November. The army left Sugdidi on the 15th; marched the same day to Chaita, and on the 16th to Chopi, favoured by delicious weather. The road lay through a lovely country ; richly wooded, well watered, fertile, and in a good state of cultivation. On the 17th, a short march brought the army into the macadamized road that leads from Rudout-Kaleh to Rotolo and Tillie. Omar Pasha had diverged from the straight road to Kutais, considerably to the South, after leaving Sugdidi, in order to keep as near the coast as possible, and to open up communication with Redout-Kaleh. The march was continued on the 18th, along a " magnificent road." Here and there were redoubts and abattis abandoned by the enemy ; who had not fired a shot since the battle of the Ingour. On the 19th, the troops halted at Zievie : they were to march next day, and were to be at Kutais on the 23d.

The latest reports respecting Omar Pasha are of doubtful origin and character. They are, that he has retreated to Souchum-Kaleh, and that the garrison of Kutais has fallen back on Gori,—reporta that represent the Turkish and Russian forces as running away from each other I General Mouravief; it is said, has directed a column on Akhtfitaihk.

Psis.—The following telegraphic message respecting our relations with Persia was published yesterday.

" Trkste, Dec. 26.—Accounts from Trebisond, of the 11th, state that the British Ambassador at Teheran had broken off all relations with the Persian Government, in consequence of some personal offenoe. It was thought that the affair would be terminated by a reparation on the part of the latter."

THE CB.IHEA.—Little general intelligence has been received from the Crimea, and still less that is new. Very bad weather had been ex- perienced in the Black Sea, and twelve merchantmen had been wrecked off the Sulina mouth of the Danube.

The Moniteur of Thursday contained a full report from Marshal Pd- lissier of the late skirmish in the valley of Baidar. Acting, it is posed, on on information obtained from the Tartars, the enemy conceived the idea of carrying off one or more of the French outposts. With this view, a Russian column, composed of 2500 foot and 500 horse, moved from the valley of the Upper Belbek into the Balder valley, and, sur- prising an outpost of twelve men, fell, before daybreak on the 7th, upon the grand guard of the French stationed at Bap. They were steadily resisted by the French under Chef de Bataillon Itichebourg : they re- served their fire until the enemy were near, and imposed upon them by their steadiness. Turning to their left, the enemy attempted to penetrate between Baga and Savatka ; but met with no better success. In the

mean time, their right wing had moved upon Ourkusta, the left post of the French ; but, finding two companies of chasseure it pied posted on a hillock on their right flank, they hesitated, and before they had time to

resume their advance, Chef de Bataillon Maurice sounded the charge along the whole line, and the enemy fell back, pursued to the ridges by

the French. The attempt of the enemy failed on every point ; and they left behind 122 killed and wounded, and 28 prisoners. The loss of the French was two killed, eleven wounded, and sixteen taken prisoners.

A letter from Sebastopol, dated the 7th December, describes the exten- sive works which the enemy has thrown up on the North side. "The summit of the Plateau Constantine is now covered by a fortification to which it would be difficult to give a technical name ; it is a pile of batteries and counter-batteries, of cavaliers and redoubts united together, to Fort Constantine, by numerous covered ways. In the rear of Fort Con- stantine is a small bay, in which there are several large storehouses. There are two batteries at the bottom of this bay, and the Russians are now engaged in constructinga third. After Fort Constantine comes Fort Cathe- rine, constructed, like it, of granite, with a double row of caoemates and embrasures. It has been strengthened by fresh earthworks, and the upper part—that is to say the terrace—is filled with guns en barbette and heavy mortars. This fort is in the form of an oblong square, with the corner oppo- site the port rounded off, while the other corner on the same side is flanked by a large crenelated tower. The part towards the land is defended by two strong towers, large ditches, and a horn-work, situated on a small tongue of laud which runs out towards the port. Two earthworks, baring each fifteen guns, have been thrown up on the right and left of the fort. A little above this fort, on an intermediate plateau, is another strong battery, and on the summit of the plateau is a large construction which serves as a sort of advanced work tothe citadel. Between this fortification and those mentioned at the commencement of my letter, there is a redoubt mounted with guns of very heavy calibre. After Fort Catherine there is another point on which the Russians have cut out in the earth and rock a series of fortifications on a most gigantic scale, the whole point being, in fact, metamorphosed into a cita- del. There appear to be here several rows of batteries, then barracks for the troops, and then more batteries. In the rear of this point may be seen some small clusters of houses or stores, and some small vessels lying on the shore. The beach is defended by a strong. battery, which extends all round the bay, as far as Fort Severnaya ; which is of itself an assemblage of batteries placed one over the other, and defended on the land-side by a large ditch. To the right of Severnaya are some sunken steamers, and then another village or collection of barracks and storehouses, protected by two batteries. All these are commanded by the citadel ; which has been so much increased that all that formerly existed is now concealed behind the immense work recently executed." The Russians still possess some fishing-smacks and smaller boats, which, it is said, they frequently use to reconnoitre in the night the works of the Allies.

The British Commander-in-chief reports, that four men of the Eight- eenth Regiment were wounded, on the 3d December, by a shell, when on duty in the dockyard of Sebastopol

The Land Transport Corps.—" The Commander of the Forces directs that, until further orders, no portion of the Railway or Land Transport Corps shall be employed in the transportation of huts, except for the purpose of covering their own horses. Generals of Divisions will therefore see the ne- cessity of those men now under canvass remaining so; and they will there- fore cause all the men so situated to have their tents doubled : and by a re- quisition upon the Quartermaster-General, and employment of fatigue-par- ties from their divisions, boarding, &c., can be had from Balaklava, for floor- ing the tents. By these means, and by drawing provisions daily from the reserve stores upon the plateau, it is hoped that the Land Transport Corps will recover itself by rest. Those huts requiring completion must be com- pleted by fatigue-parties proceeding to Balaklava, and furnished by the divi- sions in which the unfurnished huts are situate."-1ifensoreadum of the Chief of the Staff, Dec. 9.

Sasart.—Three Carlist chiefs have been taken and shot at Manresa.

Ural= STATES.—The Atlantic arrived at Liverpool on Sunday, with advices from New York to the 12th, but without the President's message. After forty-five votings, none of the candidate, for the chair had received the requisite majority, and the House of Representatives remained un- organised.

The Boston International Journal publishes a long article with the view of exculpating Mr. Crampton from the charge of having violated, or having intended to violate, the laws of the United States in the matter

• of enlistment. It also quotes a despatch from Mr. Crampton to the British Consuls at New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, Norfolk, and New Orleans. It appears from this document that Mr. Crampton took the opinion of an eminent American lawyer, and forwarded a copy of that opinion to the Consuls for their guidance. The text of the despatch states, that "however desirous her Majesty's Government may be to obtain recruits, they are still more anxious that the laws of the United States may be scrupulously observed." The cautious and legal course necessary to be adopted is clearly laid down ; and it amounted simply to this, that persons desirous of enlisting were to be told, as simple matter of information, that facilities would be afforded them "when they crossed the line into British territory." "Should the strict observance of these points be neglected, and the parties thereby involve themselves in difficulty, they are hereby distinctly apprised that they must expect no sort of aid or assistance from the British Govern- ment; this Government would be compelled, by the clearest dictates of international duty, to disavow their proceedings ; and would, moreover, be absolved front all engagements contingent upon the success of the parties in obtaining by legal means soldiers for her Britannic Majesty's army."

AUSTRALIA. —Advices from Sydney to the 15th September have been received this week. Two acts, one granting duties of customs, the other altering the duty on Colonial spirits, had passed the Legislative Council. Under the former, goods imported for the supply of the Queen's service are exempt from duty, including wine for officers of the army. The bonded warehousing system for imported goods is introduced. The draw- backs on refined sugar made in the colony range between 6s. 8d. and 5s. Any person who, before the act passed, contracted for the delivery of goods free of duty at any time after the act passed, may raise the contract- price by the amount of the additional duty. By the second act, a duty of Sc. 64 per gallon is levied upon all spirits distilled from sugar which has paid customs-duties, and is. when such spirits are made from materials not subjected to the customs-duty. The object of this act is to check smuggling on the border, by "equalizing" the duties ; and this is done by raising the New South Wales duties to the high level of the Victoria duties : it is expected to encourage illicit distillation. The acts were to come into operation on the Ilth and 12th.