THE TABLET
A W eekly Newspaper and Review
D u m V O B IS G R A T U L A M U R , A N IM O S E T IA M ADD IM U S U T IN IN CCEPTIS V E S T R IS CO N S T AN T E R M A N E A T IS .
From the Brief of His Holiness to T he T a b l e t , June 4, 1870,
Voi. 50. No. 1945. L ondon, July 21, 1877.
P r ic e sd . B y P o s t
[ R e g i s t e r e d a t t h e G e n e r a l P o s t O f f i c e a s a N e w s p a p e r
Page
C h r o n i c l e o f t h e W e e k :—
Passage of theBalkans.— Battle of Ferditcha.— Advance of the main Army.— Capture of Nikopoli.— Russian Atrocities in Bulgaria.— Position of the Opposing Forces.
-T h e Situation at Constantinople. - The War in Asia.
Austria, Italy, and Russia.— An Astrological Prediction.— Death of Yakub Khan.— The Fren ch Government between its Supporters. — Mr. Tooth and Archbishop Tait.— The Anglicans on the Ridsdale Judgment. —The Night Home for Girls . . 65
C O N T
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L e a d e r s :
The Russian Barbarities in Bul
garia . . # •• , • •• 69 Mendicant Italian Children . . 69 The French Crisis..............................70 National and University Educa
tion in I r e l a n d ....................... 7X Bishop von Ketteler . . . . 72 R e v i e w s :
The Creeds of the Greek and
Latin Churches.. . . •• 73 Gregory Bar-Hebraeus . . . . 74 The “ Month ” for July . . .. 74 S h o r t N o t i c e :
The Illustrated Monitor . . . . 75 C h u r c h M u s i c .....................................75 C o r r e s p o n d e n c e :
One o f Lord Bacon’s “ Idols of the Theatre.” . . . . ..76
E N T S .
C o r r e s p o n d e n c e (continued) :
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The Clifden Case . . . . . . 76 The Council of Trent and Angli
can Orders ......................... 76 The Royal Family and Alfred the G r e a t ......................... _ . . 77 Autograph Letters of St. Vincent de Paul .. . . _ •. . . 77 Ubi Roma ibi Ecclesia.” . . 77 Faith of our Fathers— X . . . . 78
P a r l i a m e n t a r y S u m m a r y . . 78
R o m e :— Letter from our own Cor
respondent . . . . . . 81 The late Cardinal de Angelis . . 82
D i o c e s a n N e w s :— Westminster.. . . . . ..83
D io c e s a n (continued);
Southwark ..
Liverpool
Northampton
Salford
Page
. . 83
. . 83
■ ■ 83
. . 84
I r e l a n d
Orphanage of St. Vincent de
Paul, Coik ..
. . 84
F o r e ig n N ew s :—
Germany . . . . . . Canada . . 86 M e m o r a n d a :—
Educational).. Literary ......................... . . 87 G e n e r a l N ew s . . 87
CHRONICLE OF THE WEEK.
PASSAGE OF THE BALKANS.
X F T E R the interval o f inaction requisite Z A for the establishment of a depot o f supplies on the right bank o f the D a nube, the Russians have began to furnish
'the telegraphic agencies with more sensational news. O n Friday, the 13th, an advanced guard o f the invading army got across the Balkans. Taking, instead o f the direct road southwards to the Schipka Pass, the south-easterly road from T irn ova to the pass called Dem ir K apu , or the Iron Gate ; the force, which consisted ■ of fifteen, or according to another account, o f eighteen battalions, with cavalry, turned off, short o f the main pass, by a mule track leading across the mountains, and succeeded in reaching the southern slopes o f the Balkans without having to fire a shot, the friendly Bulgarians having, no doubt, guided the Russians by a path which they knew to be undefended. I t seems incredible that the Turks should not have taken precautions against such a coup de main when it is observed that o f the tw o roads which diverge from the southern opening o f the Iron ■ Gate the south-easterly leads directly to jam boli, which is not far off, and is the terminus o f the railway to Adrianople. Notwithstanding this fact there were at H ankoi, the town o r village to the south o f the range, which was taken by G eneral Gourko the day after he crossed the Balkans, only 300 Nizams, who were surprised and fled eastwards to Konaro, the Russian loss, according to their own statement, being only one man killed and five wounded. T h e passage o f the mountains was effected at eleven o ’c lo ck on F riday night.
BATTLE OF FERDITCHA.
But the Turks, although they had allowed themselves to be surprised, had no idea o f giving up their second line o f defence. On
Sunday the Russians, advancing by the south-westerly road from H ankoi, which leads to Y en i Saghra, had reached a p lace called Ferditcha, about twelve miles from the lastnamed town, they met a Turkish force under Lim an Bey, which, in spite o f its very great inferiority in numbers, attacked the Russians with desperate valour, and after an obstinate and b loody engagement, in which the weakness o f the Turkish infantry was compensated by their possession o f field artillery, the enemy were driven back with great loss into the Balkans. Later in the day the Russians returned, bringing with themlargereinforcements ofinfantry and cavalry. Still the Ottoman artillery mowed them down, till the R u s sians had brought up troops enough to attack the guns also in flank, prepared, apparently, to sacrifice any quantity o f men and bear down the Turkish resistance by their force o f numbers. But the Ottoman infantry formed into irregular squares and prepared to fight to the death, and, according
New S e r i e s , V o l . XVIII. No. 454.
to the telegram o f the D a i ly lelegraph's special correspondent at Y en i Saghra, who gives the most detailed account o f the battle, “ the carnage on “ both sides became fearful, the inferior force perform“ ing prodigies o f valour and their assailants fiercely sacri“ ficing men in a manner that forboded a dearly bought “ victory.” But, just at the moment when defeat was apparently certain for the Ottomans, and the Russians were about delivering their final assault, firing was heard on the left, a movement was observed among the enemy, and “ long “ lines o f friendly fezzes ” were seen advancing in the distance. I t was R eou f Pasha com ing up with reinforcements, and he turned the fortune o f the day. T h e Russian right had to face round to meet him and the brave handful o f infantry, which had disputed the ground so long, were able to wheel out o f square, and furiously attacked the enemy in front, while R eouf Pasha fell on his flank. “ Nothing can “ have been finer,” says this correspondent, “ than the way “ in which R e o u f Pasha delivered his assault.” T h e result was that the Russian infantry, taken between two attacks, were borne down at the point o f the bayonet, and were “ finally routed with great carnage, leaving the ground “ covered with the dead.” Moreover the Ottoman com mander followed up his victory, for he cleared the pass and guarded it against a fresh attack, while an attem pt o f 300 Cossacks to get round to the Turkish rear and cut the rails and telegraph wires to Y en i Saghra was frustrated by the Bashi Bazouks. This engagement was not only a most brilliant feat o f arms on the part o f the Turks, but was, for the moment, o f great importance in its results. I f the Russian detachm ent which had got through the Balkan range, had been allowed to work its way westwards up the valley o f the Tundja the Schipka pass would have been turned, and its southern outlet seized so as to facilitate the immediate passage o f the main army by that defile.
But the check administered to General advance of G o u ^ o b y the p lucky resistance o f the Turks a r m y . w a s or>ly momentary, for while R e o u f Pasha was fighting this detachm ent in front, the main body o f the Russian army was pouring into the Shipkapass. General Gourko, moreover, has brought down fresh troops by the H ankoi pass, and recommenced his advance towards Kazanlik. O n Tuesday, as we learn from a telegram via Adrianople, heavy fighting was going on at the Schipka pass, where the Russians had partly succeeded in obtaining a footing. A n d although the Turks were sending troops rapidly to the front, it is nearly certain, when the comparative resources o f the combatants are taken into consideration, that the line o f the Balkans has already been virtually forced.
While the Russians were experiencing their capture of first check at the line o f the Balkans they were successful in a very important enterprise o f