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Leader (1850-1860), 17th February 1855, Edition 2 of 2, Page 4, THE NEW SECRETABY AT THE WARPFFICE. A co...

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      Notes Of The Siege. Despatches From Head...

      ^ the gift of his grandfather . Every possible search was made for it . . # . ' . "A Russian officer who accompanied one of these floss of trace after that battle , said— ' Yes , gentlemen , you won a brillLuit victory at the Alma , and for it you may thank your manner of attack , which we did not understand . Ova soldiers are somewhat slow to learn ; hut only give them time , and you will see that the game will he a little more difficult to play . ' In fact it was remarked that at Inkerman the Russians attempted to attack en tirailleurs . "

      _. Ft The Leape B, [Saturday, , Jl™O ' •...

      _ . THE LEAPE B , [ Saturday , , JL ™ O ' ¦ ; ¦ ; ., i'i i r - * ' ' _ ; ———_^— _

      Scraps From The Camp. It Is Said That Lo...

      SCRAPS FROM THE CAMP . It is said that Lord Raglan had another escape when he visited the trenches of the left attack on the 26 th . With his usual contempt of danger , the Field Marshal rode out from the trench upon the open ground in-front . Two Russians at once came forward , one took a steady aim at him ; hut , ere he could fire , a sharpshooter of ours shot him , and the other was hit an instant afterwards . The story goes that Lord Raglan asked the soldier his name , and said he would remember him . There is another statement , of an entirely opposite character , to which I shall not allude .

      The sentries on both sides shout and yell to each other , and the other day a Russian called out , as the French were / retiring for the day , Nous nous reverrons , mes anus—Francais , Anglais , Russes , nous sommes tous amis . " I fear the , cannonade going on before Sebastopol , the echpes of which reach the remote glades distinctly , must have furnished a strange commentary on the assurance , and must have rather tested the sincerity of the declaration . The Commissariat supplies are sufficient in most respects ; and three of the generals here sent in statements as to the manner in which the men under his charge have been supplied , which must be very gratifying to the Commissariat officers . -

      General Canrobert is becoming leas popular among his soldiers than he was . General Bosquet , who commanded the French movement at Inkerman , is rising in favour , as he is known to be in favour of the bayonet . T . The weather is beautiful ; in fact , it is almost too warn for lie time of year , and makes our men , who will insist onwearing all : their warm clothing- at once , unpleasaatly hot and oppressed . .-..- . . ~ * : '¦! regret to say -that our gallant allies suffered severely in the sortie which took place on them this morning and

      fi night , ( January 28 . ) About 300 men and several cers were put hors de combat , and the loss is the more melancholy , . . inasmuch as a considerable amount of it was occasioAed by an unfortunate mistake ,- which led one French , regiment to fire upon another hi the obscurity , of the night . The firing all last night was incessant , and the French were , so anxious aa to the nature of the Russian movements , in our front , that ere daybreak General Rose rode to our camp to inquire if anything unusual had taken place . We are still expecting an attack . ' ..

      - To-day a spy walked through eome of our trenches , counted the guns , and made whatever observations he pleased besides , in addition to information acquired from tha men with jwbom he conversed . He was closely shaven , ancfwore a blue" frockcoat . buttoned up " tb ~ the chin , and he stopped for some time to look at Mr . Murdock , of the Sanspareil , Jbouching" the guiis , or putting new vents into them . Some said he was like a Frenchman , others that he " , looked like a doctor , " no one suspected that he , was a Russian tjU he suddenly bolted away down the front of . the battery towards the Russian pickets , under a sharp fire of ; musketry , through which he had the singular good luck to escape unscathed .

      , , Incidents. Public Meeting, Ax Derby....

      , , INCIDENTS . Public Meeting , ax Derby . —A very crowded meeting , attended principally by working men , has been held in the town hall , " to take into consideration the present deplorable and wretched condition of our army in the Crimea , to canvass the cause thereof , and to determine such means as to the meeting may seem good to avert the dangers besetting us . " Resolutions expressive of the necessity of some re-modelling of the military system , and of vigorous measures in conducting the war were carried unanimously .

      Putting the Troops in Sacks . —A " retired German officer" says : " During one of the campaigns , in Germany the attention of the Emperor Napoleon was attracted by the circumstance that in one of bis regiments the number of the sick was at all times remarkably less than in any other regiment , although all were enduring exactly the same hardships and exposed alike to the inclemencies of the season . The Emperor was so much struckTby this circumstance that ho considered it worth while to make inquiry into the cause of it . The

      commander of the regiment stated to the Emperor that he . considered the favourable state of hoalth of his men must ber attributed to a measure which he invariably adopted ( the experience of ' many winter campaigns having convinced him of its utility ) , And which simply consisted in prbvldhig each soldier with a strong linen sack , made to ¦ draw ' at one end , which he had to carry with him , ¦ uj ^ er , and winter , buckled on his knapsack , and of wn ^ 'jra made use when encamped In tho open air , XJnS ^ 4 > ^^ ^ ^® ^ er P * ° f k * b ° dy , having first ¦ i rS & i - WV ^& » ^ ' ? The officer professes to have ^ " ^ TOra ^ SfW unvarying auccoaa .

      How t < x Feed the Troops . —A firm of the highest respectability in the provisioning trade , are prepared to bind themselves in the heaviest penalties which the jealousy of the Government can impose , to supply to the British army in its present position , or anywhere within two hundred miles of the coast , food consisting of three meals * a day , to be cooked and delivered at the head quarters of each battalion at 3 s . 3 d . per head . The breakfast is to consist of tea , coffee , or cocoa , according to choice , and of fresh-baked bread ; the dinner of bread , meat , and potatoes , with a quart of malt liquor , and the ordinary allowance of rum . They undertake to give fresh meat twice a week , and vegetables , besides potatoes . To this is to be added a substantial evening meaL For threepence more they will find and keep up a constant supply of tents . Up to the present time the army has cost 1 ? a man each day .

      . The Railway Corps . —By advices recently received from Constantinople , the Prince of Wales steamer , with Mr . Kellock and the staff of the Balaklava railway engineers , and the steamers Baron von Humboldt , Wildfire , and Black Prince , with railway plant and the corps of navvies , had all arrived , and passed on to the . Crimea ; as also the Anne Maclean , laden with Lord Blantyre ' s stores of provisions , clothing , and comfort , for the troops before Sebastopol .

      The Baltic Fleet. We Are Enabled To Anno...

      THE BALTIC FLEET . We are enabled to announce that the following chief appointments have been made to the Baltic fleet : — Rear-Admiral the Hon . Richard Saunders Dundas , C . B ., Second Naval Lord of the Admiralty , to be Commander-in-Chief . Rear-Admiral Michael Seymour ( captain of the fleet last year ) -to be second in command to Rear-Admiral Dundas . Rear-admiral Baynes , C . B ., just promoted to his flag rank , to be third in command . Captain the Hon . F . T . Pelham , it is said , will be captain of the fleet . Admiral Berkeley , C . B > , at the earnest desire of the Cabinet , continues as Chief Naval Lord at the Admiralty . ,

      The new commander-in-chief is in the 54 th year of his age . As captain of the Powerful , 84 , he commanded a squadron in the Mediterranean under Sir William Parker , previously to which he commanded the Melville , 72 , in China .- —Standard . '

      Lord Baglan In The Camp. The Earl Of Mou...

      LORD BAGLAN IN THE CAMP . The Earl of Mount Edgcumbe has addressed a letter to the editor of the Plymouth Mail in defence of Lord Raglan . The noble lord says :- — " Having been informed that the remark I had presumed to make with respect to Lord Raglan , in my published address to the House of Lords , has induced several of the Royal Marines , just returned invalided from the Crimea , and quartered in the barracks in this town , to make statements confirmatory of the view I took of the imputation cast against Lord Raglan , I made further inquiries , and learning that they had gone on furlough , I requested a sergeant named King , to whom thesermen ; -had -given information , to -call ~ upon _ me , knowing that he bore , not only in the regiment , but generally . in this locality , the very highest reputation for intelligence and integrity . He wrote down , at my request , the following statement : — "' Several men , who have been questioned relative to Lord Raglan ' s presence in the camp in the Crimea , have stated that they have seen his lordship very frequently at Balaklava during their service there . One of them stated he was present on one occasion when his lordship addressed the Royal Marines , who were near him at the time , pointing out to them the importance of the position they held as the key of their resources , and expressing the confidence he had in them to defend to the last the trust reposed in them . One of the men most particularly stated that he was in camp at Balaklava eleven weeks , about four miles distant from the camp at Sebastopol , and that during that time Lord Raglan visited the force at that place almost every other day : in fact , that he had seen his Lordship scores of times . '

      " Sergeant King added that Adjutant Domvule had received similar information ; and that gentleman was land enough to call upon me , and dictated what follows , giving me full permission to publish it : — "' I questioned a private of the Royal Marines , named Stentiford , relative to the condition of the troops at the Crimea , and as to whether he had ever seen Lord Raglan ? In reply to the lost part of the question , he said , " Oh , yes ; scores of times . On one occasion , when Lord Raglan had ridden down to the Royal Marine camp above Balaklava , he there spoke of the importance of the position entrusted to their care . His lordship frequently came there . " This statement was corroborated by several among the other men present who had lately returned from the . Crimea , and by Corporal Norman , of the Royal Marines . Stentiford added ho had been very comfortable whilst at the Crimea , and said he wished to return thither . ' " Mr . Domville added that he knew an officer on service at the Crimea , in writing home , had remarked thatit ' was quite time Lord Raglan should be restrained , or his bodily health would suffer , for he was frequently seen In every port of the camp . "

      The New Secretaby At The Warpffice. A Co...

      THE NEW SECRETABY AT THE WARPFFICE . A coKBESPONDENx of the Times referring to a rumour that the new Secretaryship to be appointed will be given to Mr . Frederick Peel , and not to Mr Layard , as reported , thus characterises those gentlemen , ana their fitness for the office : — " Mr . Peel is a . most respectable young man , industrious , methodical , punctual ; his correspondence offends no rule of Lindley Murray ; nothing can exceed the regularity of his nicely-docketed , and neatly-tied documents : but he is the very incarnation of official routine ; he adores forms , he is always either fiercely or

      contemptuously indignant at the suggestion that any Minister has misconducted himself , or that any official rule is capable of improvement . In the House of Commons he has been chiefly distinguished for the alacrity with which , at the shortest notice , he is prepared to defend everything that ever has been done by the Colonial Office . In committees he always takes upon himself the offiee of advocate-general of officialism , "right or wrong , " and severely cross-examines any witness who ventures to suggest that the Colonial Office or the Emigration Commissioners have not always been guided by perfect wisdom . When he accepts a reform , he accepts it with the worst possible grace , and never fails to snub the reformer if he can .

      " Mr . Layard owes nothing to family nor to fortune . At a very early age , by force of character and courage alone , he subdued and conciliated wild eastern tribes , and made them the ministers of his wilL He proved himself a man of action ; he made himself a chief and a judge among barbarian Arabs long before his name became familiar aa the explorer and expounder of the ruins of Nimroud . That is the stamp of man we need for the real aerious work of war . If it be true that the reform

      of the War-Office is to be placed in the hands of the man of routine , the legislator in virtue of his name , instead of the man of action , the man of experience , the man who knows the East , its provinces , tribes , and languages better than Mr . Peel knows Scotland-r-why , we have only jumped out of the frying-pan into the fire , and might just as well have retained the amiable Duke of Newcastle and the formal My . Roberts , for no one . seriously believes that a chronic invalid like Lord Panmure can do more than advise , and assent to the work of his

      secretary . ~ " Until we get the services of men who understand the difference between work well done and returns neatly docketed , we never shall reform the War Office . Mr . Peel represents the ' great voucher interest , ' raw coffee , and starvation in sight of stores . "

      Sdr De Lacy Evans And The War • Departme...

      SDR DE LACY EVANS AND THE WAR DEPARTMENT . Thb leading members of the Mary lebone vestry have presented an address of sympathy and congratulation to Sir De Lacy Evans , who in his reply differed with popular opinion in respect to the Duke of Newcastle . After returning thanks for the address , he referred to the present war , and said , J ; hat tibiere ^ was ^ no doubt of the earnest and united desire of " the " people of WesternT Europe to see this great and important contest carried out properly and energetically . He did riot desire to touch upon political questions , but he must say he had lamented to see a man as Prime Minister , who , although he bore a most unexceptionable character in other respects , was wholly and entirely unqualified to perform the duties of that office so as to insure a proper and energetic conduct of the war . It was , therefore , with no small amount of gratification that he found a change of Government had taken place . He was not one of those who thought that any very great advantage would be obtained by tho removal of the War Minister . He thought among his class there were to be found very few better men than the poor Duke of Newcastle , who had , in his opinion , been somewhat victimised . They had , however , now at the head of the Government one whose energy was well known , and one to whom he thought it would be tho duty of Parliament and the public to give their most cordial support . He hoped , and he had no doubt from the feelings which had been so strongly indicated , that tho people of England and France would see that no unsatisfactory peace was patched up , which might in a few years again lead to a still more severe contest .

      The Earl Of Cardigan At Northampton. Imm...

      THE EARL OF CARDIGAN AT NORTHAMPTON . Immediately after the demonstration at tho Mansion House , Lord Cardigan viBited Northampton , where he received the most cordinl welcome . On Thursday , the usual address of sympathy and congratulation was presented by the Corporation . His reply being almost similar to tnac given on the former occasion , it will be quite unnecessary to give it at length here . Alluding to a passage in the address in which ho was congratulated upon his' return to England , Lord Cardigan said : " No doubt it Is most agreeable to mix with ono ' a rolatives and friends in tho country , and with one ' s neighbours in , the county , but at the Bam © time , whatever

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 17, 1855, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_17021855/page/4/