TITF. WEEK ABROAD.
AMERICA.—The news from America this week has been more exciting than at any time since the affair of the Trent. The cam- paign for the Union has at length attained results which give some colour to its pretensions to be considered the greatest cam- paign of modern times." To take events in their chronological order, on the 8th of April, after twenty-one days' bombardment, the famous "Island No. 10" surrendered, all the Confederate forces on the island, 100 siege pieces, several field batteries, the 16-gun floating battery "Pelican Dock," several transports and an immense quantity of materiel falling into the hands of the Federals, while the Confederates on the Tennessee shore appear to have saved themselves only by precipitate flight, abandoning those on the island to their fate. These enormous results too were accomplished by the Federals without the loss of a single man, and appear to have been the simple result of a stroke of engineering generalship which reflects equal credit upon both its planner and executant. Island No. 10., as our readers are aware, is situated near the Tennessee shore of a bight of the Mississippi, occasioned by its rounding a swamp or peninsula on. the Missouri side, resembling our own Isle of Dogs. In this situation, and supported by heavy batteries on the Tennessee shore, "No. 10" constituted an all but insuperable obstacle to the navigation of the river. Two Federal gunboats, it is true, the Carandolet and the Pittsburg, ran the blockade under a heavy fire on the Sunday previ- ous to the surrender, but the victory was in reality brought about by the construction, by Colonel Bisnell and a regiment of engineers, of a navigable canal through the swamps from Philips Landing, at the apex. of the promontory above the island to New Madrid, or, in fact, right across the base of the triangle. The result of this was, that Commodore Foote, in command of the Federal gunboats above the island was enabled to forward a small flotilla to General Pope at New Madrid, and the fate of the island was sealed. After a few days' sharp skirmishing between the gunboats and the batteries, a landing on the Tennessee shore was effected on Monday the 7th by a large force of Federals, and the 6,000 Confederates on the island, finding their retreat cut off, immediately surrendered at discretion. The
other great event, of which intelligence arrived by the last mail, is the "Battle of Corinth" or "Pittsburg" as it is variously termed. General Grant, who was awaiting with about 40,000 troops the arrival of General Buell before he attacked the Confederates at Pittsburg, Mississippi, was suddenly assailed on Sunday the 6th, by 60,000 Confederates, under Generals Beauregard and Johnston. The en- gagement extended over a front of nearly four miles in extent. The left wing of the Federals, under General Prentiss bore the brunt of the attack, and appears to have been utterly borne down by its vehe- mence, retreating into the Tennessee river, and abandoning 36 guns. General Sherman, who commanded the centre, was also driven back on the Tennessee, while General McClenaand, who held the extreme right of the Federal position, barely held his ground after an obstinate day's fighting. At night, although the fire of the guuboats in the river had been brought to bear upon the Confederates, and General Grant had arrived in person with reinforcements, the advan- tage appears to have decidedly remained with the enemy, and their rejoicings for a victory were, up to this point, justified by the .events of the day. On Monday morning, however, General Buell at length arrived with reinforcements, which raised the total Federal strength to upwards of 80,000. The tide then fairly turned, and the second day's fight was one long victory for the Federals, who pur- sued the slowly retreating Confederates nearly as far as Corinth. General Beauregard was wounded, and General Johnston killed on the side of the Confederates ; their total loss, however, does not seem to have been at all accurately ascertained. The lowest estimate of that of the Federals places it at about 7,000, of which 2,000 are prisoners. The grand army of the Potomac, in the mean time, has been brought to a standstill by the formidable and apparently unsuspected line of intrenchments stretching between the James and York Rivers—a check to its advance so sudden as to be regarded by the Confederates in the light of a repulse. The Merrimac having been strengthened with a new prow, has re- appeared off Norfolk, accompanied by the Yorktown ana Jamestown steamers, both said to have been iron-plated, and four tugs, but nothing beyond a mere exchange of shots with the Monitor had occurred:
The Connecticut election has resulted in an overwhelming triumph for the Republican Union "ticket." Governor Buckingham was re- elected by a majority of 8000 against one of 2000 in 1861. The Senate, of twenty-one members, is unanimously Republican Union, and the House at least three to one in favour of that party.
FRANCE.--The topic of the week in Paris is the acquittal of M. Mires. M. Mires, it will be remembered, was arrested on charges of peculation, kept in the prison of Maras, and finally condemned to five years' imprisonment. He appealed to a superior court, which con- firmed the sentence. An informality enabled him to appeal again to the Court of Cassation, which quashed the proceedings, and directed that he should be retried at Douai. In the court there, the Procareur- General, among other charges, mentioned that Mires had purchased some land in Marseilles for 24,000,000 fr. To work his purchase he created a company, which bought his land at a price which left him 600,000 fr. Not content with this he secretly deducted 200,000/. more. M. Mires at this sprang up, declared that he gave the money away, and "would tell the names of the parties to whom he gave it." The judge told him quietly not to interrupt, and the Procureur passed on to another topic. The court almost immediately acquitted the prisoner on the ground that his proceedings, although irregular, did not amount to swindling, inasmuch as Mires was not bound to re- store the shares deposited with him, bat only the same number of shares. M. Mires has arrived in Paris, and will shortly be again in business, and the shares of the companies with which he is con- nected have gone up. Parisians appear to believe that his ac- quittal is owing to interference prompted by dread of his revela- tions, and that the modus operandi was something in this wise. The court could not refuse his demand for a full report on his accounts, as a preliminary to his defence, and the Procnreur teIeg,raphed the fact to head-quarters. The Government considered it inexpedient that such report should be made, and the court, therefore, gave an acquittal on the technical ground. The French Government is making an effort to replant the moun- tains which have been cleared of wood. Plants and seeds will be distributed to all who apply for them, and .premiums will be given to all who plant at their own expense. The object is to renew the supply of wood, but the denudation of a country creates a much more serious evil. It decreases the supply of moisture, and in some situa- tions arrests it altogether. It has done so in part of the Punjab, on the Babylonian plain, and in parts of the ancient. Numiclia.
ITALY.—We have received an authentic account of the recent seizures effected within the Papal territory by the French troops. One of the most important was made at Paliano, a place ex- Tressly reserved to the Papal troops, but recently visited by a French officer, with a sufficient force : "Having received information to the purport that in the town of Paliano a large store of ammunition was deposited, a search was made, which brought to light no less than one hundred and ten thousand cartridges, which have been seized by the French, how, the story told by this amount of clandestine ammunition under the eyes and bayonets of the Papal garrison, in a small hamlet, where every house is exposed to perpetual inspection, is not to be misun- derstood. We now have the fact established which we only sus- pected before, that the Pope directly contributes supplies from Ins own nurse to provide the. robbers with names for their work of blood. This is not, however, all that has come to light within the last few days. It is known that a promise, whether authentic or not, has been circulated amongst the Rftetionists, that should they succeed in gaining possession of a single position of any strength—such as Sora, for instance—the King would put himself at their head. In connection with this assurance must be put the very active preparations known to be going on for recruiting the ranks of the bands in the mountains. These recruits were, however, directed towards their meeting-places in a manner so as to avoid giving. the French patrols any pretext for stopping them, and thus great doubt existed as to the number and constitution of these bodies. Quite re- cently, however, the French stationed at Cavi were lucky enough to fall in with a troop of about 150 armed men, marching to rejoin their fellows in the mountains in an overtly military manner, such as gave them every right to stop them. The result was that upwards of thirty were taken, while the rest dispersed and fled up the country. More important, however, than the capture of these fellows, who will be immediately let adrift again, by the friendly attention of the Papal authorities, are the papers which were also taken on this occa- sion. We are informed that they comprise a correspondence which shows the condition of the Reactionary forces both as to number and other resources. The upshot we believe to be that the plight of the movement is even more wretched than was generally believed, and that it is essentially supported and rendered possible only through the assistance afforded by the secure shelter found on the Pope's territory. It appears that there are some few foreign officers en- gaged under Chiavone, almost all Germans, and wretchedly paid. That King Francis is aware of their being engaged in his service is said to be fully established." At the same time it is clear that the strength of the reactionary force has been exaggerated, the whole not exceeding four hundred and fifty men, who seem numerous only because they excite the peasantry to pillage. General Groyon has now, it is said, occupied almost all the haunts of Chiavone, except the three inviolable copvents of Trisulti, Scifelli, and Casa- marl.
Amin:Lt.—All attempts to induce the Pope to modify the Con- cordat will, it is said, be laid aside, and the matter left to the Reichs- rath, which was adjourned on the 15th April. It is whispered that the Emperor is half inclined to come to terms with his Hungarian subjects. He is alarmed at the signs of a revolutionary movement prepared in European Turkey, with which the Roumans, Slays, and Croats within his own dominions will actively sympathise, even if the Magyars do not place themselves at its head. The Austrian belief is, that European Turkey is honeycombed with con- spiracies, for which Greece, if King Otho is dismissed, will act as a centre and point d'apptil. There is more truth in this view than is yet suspected in England.
GREECE.—The telegrams announce that the royal troops have entered Nauplia, and that the insurgents have surrendered upon a pledge that all not included in the amnesty shall be allowed to quit the country. The statement is at variance with the whole drift of events, and is probably a simple invention.
RussrA.—It is asserted that the Emperor, yielding to the advice of his brother Constantine, intends on the 25th of August next to inaugurate large Constitutional changes. The Council of State will be enlarged, one-half its members being made representative, the finances will be placed under its control, and the press will be declared free, under a strict law of repression. The reasons for these changes, as well as their practicability, will be found carefully explained in ano- ther column.
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