Democratic Sentinel, Volume 9, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 May 1885 — RUSSIA’S CURT REPLY. [ARTICLE]

RUSSIA’S CURT REPLY.

De Giers Refuses to Talk Farther About the Penjdeh Incident—Duplicity of Turkey. [Cable dispatch from London.} The Russian rep.y to the communication sent to M. de Giers through Sir Edward Thornton yesterday, after the receipt of Sir Peter Lumßdeu’s supplementary report, on the battle of March 30, has just been received. M. de Giers replies curtly that Russia declines to enter upon any further discussion of the Penjdeh incident It is reported at St. Petersburg that the general staff are in favor of allowing Gen. Komaroff to act at his own discretion, not even M. de Giers to interfere. A letter from Baku confirms the first account of the battle of Penjdeh, and states that the Afghan force consisted of 4,000 men. The writer, who had been w)th Sir Peter Lumsden. but wbso left him before the battle was fought, states’-the Russians throughout the winter had been trying to excite and irritate the Afghans, and that only Sir Peter Lumsden’s influence prevented bloodshed long ago. Col. Alikhanoff advanced to Ak-Tapa at about the end of November, before the boundary commission had arrived, and a battle with the Afghans was narrowly avoided then. News has also been received that in the battle at Penjdeh the Afghan General was throughout in the fore front of the fighting and was twice wounded. It is reported that Col. Alikhanoff offered a reward of 100 tomas (about $300) for the head of either of the British officers with the Afghan force.

A dispatch from Constantinople puts a new light on the diplomatic mission to England of Hassan Fehmi Pasha, the special Turkish Envoy, and Hobart Pasha, Marshal of the Turkish Empire. In order to avoid the censorship of press dispatches at Constantinople this message was sent by mail to Athens and transmitted thence by telegraph to London. It says that the sole mission of Fehmi Pasha, who has been here constantly sine# January last, was to fool the British Government into a belief that Turkey was disposed to be on friendly terms with England and to seek and follow her advice in all international complications. Hobart Pasha, whose farmer reputation as a gallant Admiral of the British navy nftde him an admirable tool for this purpose, was sent with Fehmi Pasha to strengthen the blind. Hobart Pasha was intrusted only with the delivery of certain presents to the Queen and Prince of Wales, accompanied by the customary assurances of distinguished consideration, etc., which may mean a great deal or nothing. All the fine work of diplomatio intrigue was to be done and has been done from first to last by Fehmi Pasha.