refused to except of this ruinous boon, and insisted on the preservation of what had been already so solemnly and beneficially established. They founded their demand on the thirteenth article of the Act of the Confederation,which, as they thought, required, that a formal and actual representation of the people, like that in England and France, should be introduced into all the German states, and which had been already carried into effect, in this sense, in Bavaria, Wurtemberg, Baden, Hesse, and Weimar. It was just because the old constitution, though otherwise good, and one with which the people had been happy under their dukes, was not founded on popular representation, that it had been changed during the duke's minority. The duke would neither satisfy his subjects, nor apologize to the king of Hanover. He maintained that neither his guardian, nor any other power, was entitled to alter or interfere with the constitution of his states, and that he had said and printed of the king of Hanover nothing which his majesty did not deserve. The Courts of Vienna and Berlin interposed their mediation, to prevent the necessity of the Diet pronouncing a formal and public sentence; but the duke would listen to no mediation or remonstrance; and the Diet gave forth a decree, deciding every part of the cause against him. Having set forth the errors of the duke-that he had obstinately refused to listen to reason, or to the wise and benevolent admonitions of friendly courts, and that his whole conduct had made it imperative upon the Federation, if it would not overlook one of the most important purposes

of its constitution, to put an end, promptly and decisively, to these aberrations, the Germanic body decided as follows:* His serene highness the duke of Brunswick is in fault, and is bound, within a term of four weeks, publicly to withdraw the patent of the 10th May, 1827, and to make an appropriate written apology for his conduct, by the medium of a special envoy. Secondly, in consideration of the peculiar circumstances of the challenge of the Hanoverian Cabinet minister, count Munster, by the Brunswick officer, M. Praun, his serene highness the duke of Brunswick will subject the said M. Praun to the necessary examination, and will cause him to be punished according to the laws of his state. Thirdly, the proposition for the delivery of the privy councillor Schmidt Phiseldek, resting upon the treaty of the 16th of November, 1535, and that of the 8th of January, 1798, is wholly inadmissible. Fourthly, and Fifthly, the complaints of Brunswick against Hanover, on account of the prolongation of the minority in the time of the supposed majority of his serene highness, upon the part of his majesty the king, as regent of the duchy during the minority, and on account of the introduction of the new regulations of the 25th of April, 1820, into the duchy of Brunswick, by his royal Hanoverian majesty's government, as regent during the minority, are both alike inadmissible, there being no legal ground for the interference of the Federation. Sixthly, as his majesty the king of Hanover, in the state paper of the royal

• See Chronicle, p. 127.

Cabinet minister, count Munster, has but exercised the lawful right of self-defence, the demand for a disapproval of that paper, and for recalling the offensive passages supposed to be contained in it, cannot be complied with. Seventhly, as little attention is to be paid to the proposition made upon the part of Brunswick, touching the security of his serene highness the duke; and touching the supposed illegal passage of royal Hanoverian troops through the ducal jurisdiction of Thedinghausen. Eighthly, as this misunderstanding has been the occasion of several opprobrious publications, the members of the Federation have unanimously resolv

ed to prohibit, in their respective states, the printing or circulation of all such unofficial controversial writings, without any reference to the number of pages; and also to take care that in the public journals nothing shall be admitted calculated to excite or to recall a quarrel now disposed of according to the laws of the Germanic Federation.

Such was the finding of the Diet; but the duke paid no respect to its authority. He did not withdraw his offensive notification; he sent no special envoy to apologize to his Hanoverian Majesty, he took no steps to prosecute and punish M. Praun.

THE HE campaign of last year, between the Russians and the Turks, had been honourable both to the conduct and the valour of the Ottomans. They had made good a resistance which Europe had not expected from them; Russia had been compelled to close the campaign, after suffering most grievous losses, by hurrying back her armies to the north bank of the Danube, retaining possession of no place of importance on the Turkish side, except Varna and Pravadi. She opened the campaign of the present year with greater caution; intending, before she should venture her troops deep into the interior, to reduce the strong fortress of Silistria, on the right bank of the Danube, which had defeated and disgraced her arms in the previous campaign. To the bad success, too, of that campaign was probably to be ascribed the change which took place in the command of the invading army. Count Wittgenstein, who had gathered no laurels by his operations, was graciously allowed by the emperor to retire from his burthensome post; and general count Diebitsch was placed at the head of the Russian troops. Every exertion had been made, during the winter, to repair the losses of last year, and to secure

victory, so far as it could be secured by numbers and equipment.

The first operations of the campaign were performed by the fleet, and took place on the coast of the Euxine. In the end of March, a detachment of the Russian fleet, under admiral Kumany, having taken on board a large body of troops, made a descent on Sizeboli, a Turkish sea-port, situated at the eastern extremity of the gulph of Bourgas, the possession of which increased the means of keeping up with any army, which might march into the interior, those communications on which the safety of such an army would necessarily depend. The place was neither strongly fortified nor garrisoned; the descent was unexpected; and the enterprise succeeded. The Russians made themselves masters of the town, and proceeded to strengthen it by additional works, before the Turks from Bourgas could march to its assistance. Hussein Pacha, however, having collected in the neighbourhood of the latter place about 5000 infantry, and 1500 cavalry, attempted to re-take it. On the 9th of April, he attacked an intrenched hill in the immediate vicinity. The assault was acknowledged by the Russians themselves to be dreadful. Though the guns of their batteries were pouring cannister

shot among the assailants, and were supported by a heavy fire of musketry and grenades, some of the Turks climbed the breastwork and entered the trenches. Their main body had made their way to the gate of the trench, when the Russians, who had formed within the place, sallied at different points, and the Turks, attacked on every side, besides being exposed to the fire of the works, were compelled to give way, and fall back upon Bourgas. Alarmed at this new establishment of the enemy on the shores of the Black Sea, the Sultan ordered his fleet, consisting of twenty-one sail, to proceed into that sea from the Bosphorus, with the intention, it may be presumed, of fighting the Russian squadron. It entered the Black Sea on the 20th of May, the Sultan himself accompanying it as far as the last port in the Bosphorus. Shortly afterwards it fell in with four Russian frigates and a brig. A brief action ensued, which ended in one of the frigates being taken, the other three, and the brig, making their escape. The Turks, instead of assuming courage from this first success, put about so soon as they learned that the Russian fleet had sailed to meet them, and returned with their prize in great triumph to Constantinople, only a few days after they had quitted it. In the mean time, the divisions, composing the principal Russian army, had broken up from their cantonments in the middle of April, and, crossing the Danube at different points, were collected in their camp at Czernowody, in the beginning of May. Preparations were immediately made for undertaking the siege of Silis

tria; general Diebitsch, although in so infirm a state of health that he required to be borne about in a litter, having hastened forward his head quarters to direct the operations in person. On the 13th of May, he advanced towards Silistria, at the head of twentyone battalions, sixteen squadrons of cavalry, and some regiments of Cossacks. The advance was slow and difficult, owing to the badness of the ways along which the troops were compelled to march, as the great road was under water, in consequence of an inundation of the Danube. By the 17th he had arrived within five versts from Silistria, without encountering any opposition; but, next day, his first division fell in with the enemy, posted along a ridge of rising ground, and in some intrenchments which the Russians had thrown up during the siege of the preceding year. An attack by a regiment of Cossacks upon a mass of Turkish cavalry posted upon the heights, was the signal for a general battle. The Russian infantry charged; the enemy was broken, and, in less than a quarter of an hour, driven from all the works which he occupied on that point. The left column, under general Krassoffsky, met with greater resistance. The general, having given his troops an hour's rest, led them against two strong redoubts, which, though very advantageously situated, were soon taken; and the Turks, driven back at every point, sought refuge within the walls of the fortress. The result of these operations was, that Silistria was completely invested. The works were immediately begun; and, by May 26, the first parallel was completed.