THE WAR IN Si RIA.
Nearly all the novits on the ecust of S, rie are in possession of the Allies, and the Es.: II iii army lias been tO lee defeated. 'flu' first in- telligence of these suceesses was els en by the following telegraphic despatches, published ia the .1feeit, Parisiin of Sunday last- " Toulon, 31:4 th.tob,r. ?n. 17th October.
" The Consul-General I, lit .11.nishr• for 1;.?yegli All;iirs.—The events in Syria have become more grave ie.. Mehemet Ali. Ile.v rout lets been occupied by.- the A nglosTurks, it Itt %% ere fortii■ it igSey de. The Emir Itsehir had sur- renderid, Ile has abandoned the cause of Mehemet Ali. The insurrection is making progress in the mountains. Ibrahim Pasha is about to concentrate hie forces." " Toulon, 31st October, half-past 7p. ?a. Malta, 27th October.
" The Consul of France to the President of the Council.—The British war- steamer Cyclops arrived here this morning from Seyde, whence she departed on the 21st. She has on board the Emir Bechir, with fifteen members of his family and one hundred and fifteen persons of his suite, on their way to Eng- land. The captain of the Cyclops has confirmed the rising of nearly the whole of the inhabitants of the mountains."
Since the publication of these despatches, further accounts have been received of the investment of St. Jean &Acre, with the details of the success of the Allied troops, which led to the submission of the Emir Bechir, and of the taking of Sidon. The following statements of the progress of the Allies are compiled from the 211alla Times and other sources.
Beyrout was evacuated by the Egyptians on the night of the 10th October, in consequence of a disposition manifested by Admirals Stop- ford and Bandiera to land troops. In order that nobody should be left, the sick were beaten out with sticks by their countrymen. About 2,000 in all, who remained outside the walls, reatered the next morn- ing, and surrendered themselves prisoners. General Smith has fixed his head-quarters at Beyrout. By the taking of Beyrout, about twenty pieces of artillery, with ammunition and provisions, have fallen into the possession of the Allied Powers.
Ibrahim Pasha had abandoned his position of Djibail, and advanced with 4,000 men upon Bet-el Dyn ; being compelled to make this move in consequence of the defection of his troops, and the great dangers with which he was threatened. Soliman Pasha still remained en- camped near Beyrout, Nvith a force of 3,000 men. One of the .grea causes of the retrograde march of Ibrahim Pasha, was the defeat of the corps under Osman Pasha which protected his left wing. In the morn- ing of the 4th, the Mountaineers, commanded by the Sheik Francis, in conjunction with one of the sons of the Emir Bechir, made an attack upon Osman Pasha ; who for a time met it with firmness, but in the end his men turned their backs and fled, carrying him away in the disorder thus occasioned. It is believed that he has received two gun- shot wounds. He was thus compelled to desert his camp at Malkata, leaving a great portion of his provisions and ammunition. Of the whole of his troops, no more than 1,000 larat effected their escape ; and with these he has taken the direction of Bullied:. This has been the finest feat of arms since the insurrection of Syria. Eight hundred prisoners had been brought into the camp of Dschunieh. On the 10th, an engagement took place betweon the Allied troops and those of Ibrahim and Soliman Pasha ; in which the latter were completely defeated, and took to the mountains with two hundred cavalry and only two officers. The battle afforded an excellent oppor- tunity to show the bravery and fidelity of the Turks. Ibrahim had taken up a very strong position near Beyrout, with three thousand men four thousand Turks were sent against him, under the command of Selim Pasha, assisted by General Jockmus, Commodore Napier, and Colonel Hodges. The attack was so impetuous, that in a few minutes Ibrahim was completely routed; one thousand Egyptians were made prisoners, the rest were killed and wounded, or took to flight. With respect to the general war, the Egyptian army is calculated to have lost twenty thousand in killed, woundvd, prisoners, and deserters.
The Austrian Observer of the 2sLli October says—" All the North of the Lebanon, with the exception of Tripoli, is freed from the Egyptian troops. Emir Bechir, on the 5th, concluded a convention with the Seraskier Izzet Pasha and Admiral Stopford, whereby, on condition that his lift and all his property should be saved and secured, he en- gaged to serve his Sovereign•the Sultan with fidelity. On the 8th, he was to send his two s, us us hostages until he could himself join the Allies ; from which, at the Moment, he was preveuted by the near neigh- bourhood of Ibrahim Pasha. These terms being settled, the Emir was promised that he should retain the government of the Mountains us long as he continued to he true and faithful to Abdul Meschid."
On the 11th, the Emir &chir arrived at Sidon ; and on information being given to Admiral Stopford, he on the 12th Seat two Steamers to receive hint ; in which he embarked, and thus him finally carried his promise into execution. 'I'lie Emir el h usim has been named successor- to the Emir Bechir ; and was, 'a Lit a large body of Mountaineers, in pursuit of Ibrahim Pasha, who has little or no chance of escape.
The camp at Djuni Bay is broken up. The only vessels now re- . maining there are Vice-Admiral Walker's and two Turkish frigates ; one of which, with eight hundred prisoners on board, is to be sent im- mediately to Constantinople.
Commodore 'Napier, in the Powerful, with the steamers Gorgon and Cyclops, have quitted Djuni Bay, to attack Tripoli.
Reports of deserters from the fortress of Acre announce the impos- sibility of its being able to hold out, in consequence of the continual desertions, and of its present enfeebled state. Captain Berkeley, of the Thunderer, commands at Sidon ; which is so well fortified as to defy the attacks of fifteen thousand men. The Archduke Frederick is also there.
The correspondent of the Morniny Climacie in Syria, writing on the 24th September, before l'arnr Beehlr s submission to the Sultan, gives the following account of the poaition then occupied by that chief; which shows the importance of his defection from the cause of Me- hemet A li-- " The main resource of Melotnet All in Syria is the copertilion of the Emir &chin This mountain-despot pos.,,,es 3 sort of fimihil int:I:oily over the
whole district from some miles to the Iher-il-F-animar to the
herders of the of Aleppo. Ile c,notinin is a ron-hIca',h: flnee, whom long habits of blind obedience }MVO rendered in all if 1.1, 61111■CVVICIlt to his will. lii, adherence to the cau,e of Mehemet All is (!early ; and it is only because the principleA upon wIirii the Sultan di ed, re, Ill; determination of governing Syria for the future will not allow him to ouild,1 Mehemet Ali, by inventirig loot s ith still greater privilege of oppression—fin- this reason alone the Ernir hleihir is not US black a traitor to Alehernet Mehema is to the Sultan. I base been assur,d that the stipulated tribute of the Emir liechir to the Pasha last year was four purses, while he exacted thirty-three from the district committed to hi, rapacity. I fere id 011C fact—a thon,tind of the 1,31111: character might be cited—sufficient to to count at once for the deep dkcontent of the people and the treumiable at of the Emir to the iuterests of fist Pasha. This ay stern of farming the tributes of the different Satidjakm has been long the fruitful source of disaffection in Syria. It exists in Egypt in more minute and more oppressive ramifications. * * • Either the defeat or the defection of this chief will drive Ibrahim, with the remains of his array, to the Eastern districts of Syria,' from Sayduyah (to the North of Damascus) by Hassyab-Homs to Hhamah, a district lying between the armed mountable OR the North and the desert on the South."
We take also front the same source as the foregoing an account of the gallant assault and capture of Sidon-
" After the reconnoissance of the 20th September, it was determined to send a force to attempt the reduction of the town. Accordingly, on the evening of the 24th, the Thunderer, 84, Captain Berkeley, with the Wasp brig, an Amt. trian frigate, and a Turkish corvette, got under weigh from Djouni for Sidon. On the evening of the 25th, the Gorgon steam-frigate took on board from four to six hundred marines, while the Cyclops steam-frigate received about 1,500 Turkish troops, under the command of a Prussian officer, Colonel Laiii. Early on the morning of the 26th, the steamers got under weigh, and in a few hours joined the other ships, about three miles to the northward of Sidon. The force was here increased by the very seasonable arrival of the steamer Stromboli, having on board from three to four hundred marines from England, (having touched at Gibraltar and Malta,) and of the Hydra, from Tyre. The steamers having towed the other ships into position, they all anchored, forming a crescent, which completely conunanded the town from one extremity to the other. The Stromboli anchored to the extreme south, next to her the Wasp, the Austrian frigate, and the Turkish corvette. In the centre, commanding with her broadside the fort and causeway communicating with the barrack, lay the Thunderer, baring the Cyclops and Gorgon steamers to the southward. The latter hoisted the broad blue pennant ; Commodore Napier being on board. About half-past eight o'clock, a flag of truce was sent on shore, and the town summoned. In the mean time, some of the inhabitants took advantage of the offer of the French steamer Castor, (which has been recently giving us some curious illus. trations of French neutrality,) and went on board. In about two hours the ships opened tire ; and it was only after they had been thundering away for an hour or so that we could form some estimate of the strength of the place. Shot and shell fell upon it as thick as hailstones, without either making any very visible impression upon the walls, or enabling us to catch a glimpse of the red fez of a single soldier. At about one o'clock, however, a breach was made in the seit-wall of the fort ; while at nearly the same time one of the terrific broadsides of the Thunderer swept in the whole side of the outer barrack- square. Between the smoke of the guns and the dust of tumbling walls, it was impossible to see whether soldiers were retreating from the barrack or not. At all events, a signal was made to land the Turkish troops ; and Captain Austin, of the Cyclops, was directed to attempt the breach. The launches, pinnaces, and boats of 'the different ships, with about 1,400 of the Turks, immediately put off under the protection of a continuous fire. When the boats reached the shore, the ships necessarily ceased firing ; and before a single soldier could set his foot on land, a heavy fire of musketry was opened upon them from the barracks and buildings in the neighbourhood. The tire was returned front the guns of the launches ; while all the boats pulled steadily in upon the shore, although the shot passed through some of them, severely injuring sense of the soldiers and the crews. It is due to the Turks to say, that although two of them were shot dead in the boats, not a man of the whole body flinched from the landing. Had I not seen (although at a safe distance) the cool courage of the English blue-jackets, I could not have believed that a union of personal bravery and perfect discipline could have brought men to perform such duties with stuck steadiness and determination. While they were engaged in their perilous task of landing the troops, Commodore Napier, in one of the Gorgon's boats, had got under the breach. When my attention was first called to this point, he was nearly ue to his aria-pits in water, making a scaling-ladder of the shoulders of his boat's crew. He succeeded M mounting; but had scarcely time to look in, before a discharge of musketry from an opposite building obliged him to abandon the attetnet. The troops from the boats, however, through a small aperture, were entering one by one from the opposite side ; the guns from the launches and the sailors still keeping up a protecting fire. A. scaling-ladder was also thrown up the breach, by which a considerable num- ber of the troops effected an entrance at that point. Within half an hour the fort was in the possession of the Submit's troops. Colonel Lail, and Lieu- tenant Wemyss of the Cyclop's marines, immediately turned one of the guns of the fort upon the opposite building, and by thus checking the tire of musketry, considerable facilitated the landing of the remainder of the troops. While the Turkish soldiers were thus occupied in taking possession of the fort, the ships continued their fire upon the barracks, aud upon the fortress which commands the whole town. The fort, thus occupied, may be said to be the centre, as nearly as possible, of the attack ; send while it was making, the marines were landed at both extremes from the Gorgon on thc right, and from the Stromboli and the Austrian frigate on the left. Those from the Gorgon immediately formed on the beach ; and having sent skirmishers into the wood by which it is bordered, marched upon the barrack, Commodore Napier accompanying them. It was arranged that the attack upon the barrack and the neigbouring buildings occu- pied by the Egyptians should be made simultaneously by the marines from the riglit and the troops from the fort. This fort is connected with the barrack by a narrow causeway or bridge. which was lolly exposed to the tire of the enemy. It was a trying service for any body of men to attempt to cross it. Otte of the mates of the Cyclops, Mr. Cuintning, volunteered to lead the Turks ; and he fully succeeded in Umpiring them with a portion of his own intrepid spirit. They undauntedly followed their young and dashing leader, some of them over the bodies of their fallen comrades. The whole force, directed by Captain Austin, Colonel Little, and Walker Bey, moved quickly after them. They were immediately accompanied by the routines, led by Captain Morisson ; and alter a brief, but severe struggle, the barrack was evacuated, the main body of the Egyptians retreating up a narrow arched street. Front a large honse op- posite to the barrack the tiring was still continued. The leader of the Egyp- tian force, Hassan Bey, hustled a sortie front this bowie; and having three dif- ferent times fired upon the marines, he himitelf fell, having received three in tisket-halls throne! the body. No truant could have served in cause with more desperate fidelity. From one of the prisoners it was subsequently, ascertained, that this leader had cot down one of his own followers, who, at the last me- inent, attempted to boIst a white Ibig. Seeing the soldiers and marines in pos- session of the fort, the barrack, and the principal street, the Eiptians at this point offered no further resistance ; eighteen hundred of them ut once bud down their arms. They. were immediately marched across the causeway into the fort.
" In the MCC11 t1111C, the at upon the extreme left was made by the ala• tines of' the Stromboli it of t iistrien frigate. The landing here was More uhulhieuuht and more ,ev,rely contested than on the right. About two hundred and eighty marines, English and Auslrims, were embarked in the boats of the different Air, awl atter 1/ very heavy cannonading had apparently cleared the way for Ilium, pulled in to the shore. This part of the ottani: was UlldCr Lieutenant Russell of iii, siromboli ; who was accompanied by Mr. Chamber- layne, Mr. Warren, and'Alr. Hunt, and about twelity of his ship's crew. The marines were led hy Captain Wbylock mud Lieutenant Hocking. There was some little ilillicully in lauding, owing to the sort*. During the time the men were leaving the luoats, they were exposed to is heavy lire of musketry, by ivincla 150/111, of them were severely wounded. As RU011 as they formed, they rushed up a steep sandy declivity leading to the breach through which they were to enter the town. Poor Hocking, while cheering on the marines, a few yards in ad- vance of them, received a !aortal wound. The men continued, vying with each other to reach the walls first. An Austrian marine had the unfortunate glory and was shot dead in the breach, which was immediately carried. The object of this division was to gain the fortress, which commands the whole town from an eminence almost in the centre. The attacking party fought their way gal- hotly through the streets, firing up into the houses upon tileir assailants ; and in less than ins lour their flag was floating from the fortress. The rigging of the ships was immediately manned, and three inspiriting cheers announced the complete success of the attack. 'The whole loss in killed and wounded 1 have not been able very accurately to ascertain. I believe that Lieutenant Hocking is the only English officer who fell. Six or eight marines and blue-jackets are, 1 believe, all our loss in killed. A considerable number, however, have been woilnded, sonic of them very severely The Turks suffered in about the same proportion. It is said that about 300 Egyptians were killed : 2,470, including some sick, have been taken and sent to Djouni."
As the town was taken by assault, it was impossible altogether to restrain the victorious soldiers, and many excesses were committed by the Turks.
The Benbow made an unsuccessful attack upon Tortosa, a place of some strength and importance north of Tripoli, on the 29th September. The boats grounded, and before the men could reach the shore their ammunition and muskets were wetted: they were fired upon by the Albanians in the garrison. Five were killed and twelve wounded.