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    364 THE LEADER, [Saturday,

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    ? T He Wa R. The Bombardment Has Recomme...

    pits , from which , indeed , there has been no further attempt to dislodge them . Two new guns have been placed on the Mamelon , which , however , it is said , is to be stormed by the English , while the Zouaves , assisted by other French soldiers , are to attack the Afalakhoflf . The French are now very hard worked in the trenches . They serve there three nights out of the seven , and take twenty-four hours at a time . In the meanwhile , the Russians still pour in reinforcements ; and the correspondent of the Morning Herald says that a rumour of fresh forces about the

    neighbourhood of Tehorgoum is strictly true . The Times correspondent says : — " It is known that Sir John Burgoyne has gone to Vienna , and it is conjectured that his visit is in some way or other connected with the instruction and enlightenment of Lord John Russell in reference to the condition of Sebastopol and the prospects of our army in the Crimea . Sir John Burgoyne ' s opinions respecting our chances of success will , it is said , induce him to represent our position to Lord John Russell in very gloomy colours . " _ _ . _ _ . is

    The Sanitarium , under the care of Dr . Jephson , doing great good to the sick and wounded men , and presents the appearance of a little village , with bits of garden in front of the huts . Nevertheless , fever is making progress among the troops , the 79 th Highlanders having 150 cases on the 3 rd of April . The weather continues fine and hot , though with frosty nights ; and the men are in good spirits . "With respect to the effective strength of our army , the Morning Post correspondent still places it at his favourite 30 , 000 , or thereabouts ; but the Times affirms the total number to be no more than 22 , 600 , and adds , " Of these , about 6000 would only be available in extremis , and the ordinary strength of the whole army in bayonets would not exceed 15 , 000 men . " Tiiis latter number , it must be observed , does not include cavalry or artillery .

    Sir John M'Neill , in the course of his inquiries into the commissariat shortcomings , has demanded certain returns from the commissariat officers of each division , respecting the deficiencies in the supply of food during last December . From these it appears that some regiments or divisions fared worse than others . In the Light Division , the men on several days had only quarter , half , and three-quarter rations of meat . Rice was not issued at all for some weeks towards the close of the year . On the 6 th of

    December , the menof-the Fourth Division had no meat at all . From the 2 nd to the 12 th they had only twothirds , or half rations . On the 16 th they had no rum . These deficiencies arose from the want of transports , the badness of the roads , and the desertion of several of the transport drivers . Some of the divisions , however , were excellently served ; and , in all , the deficiencies , as regards the most important articles , were only occasional , though no doubt grievous to bear .

    The long delay in the opening of our fire has been attributed to the negotiations—to the futile hope that the councils of the plenipotentiaries would lead to peace . "TEat ' 'B 6 ^ e * , Tr 6 wev % r 7 "h ^ s ~' pass"ed' |~ a ; iSd"our batteries are thundering away at Sebastopol . How long they will continue—whether they will again be brought to a premature pause , or what may be the result of their persistence—can , of course , only be revealed by the process of time .

    MILITARY MOVEMENTS . We quote the ensuing particulars from the correspondent of the . Times : — " The Russians have actually thrown up two new redoubts—one opposite the left , ' another on the flank , of the right attack—since my last letter was despatched ; and the works which they have constructed on Mount Sapoune , ' to the right of the Mamelon , have been strengthened and partly armed , notwithstanding the enemy have had to work under a galling fire of shells . Their rifle pita are now regularly connected and intrenched , and in one of them they have mounted a heavy gun in advance of the Bound Tower . In fact ,

    they have made a parallel towards our works , and they are now gradually approaching the French right attack towards Inkerman Our approaches almost lead us to the advanced Russian works . On Sunday ( April 1 st ) the English engineers throw up a trench within 550 yards of the Gordon Battery . The sentries posted along its front entered into that kind of rough joking with the Russians which is popularly called ' chaffing , ' and the pickets were not more than sixty yards from , each other . Although the Russians had a lino of double sentries in front of this work , numbering at least 200 men , they did not attempt to disturb our operations .

    "To-day ( April 2 nd ) the greatest activity was displayed in Balaklava . The quays swarmed with labourers engaged in piling up shot and shell and loading the railway carriages with ammunition , of which immonso quantities were sent up to the front . Tho first human cargo—one of sicknoss and suffering—was sent down to Balaklava to-day . Four waggons , filled with sick and wounded soldiers , ran from head-quarters to the town in leas than half au hour . The men wore propped up on their knapsacks , and seemed very comfortable . What a change from tho ghastly processions

    one met with some weeks ago , formed of dead or dying men , hanging from half-starved horses , or dangling about on French mule-litters . "

    FIRE AT BALAK 1-AVA . There was another alarm of fire in Balaklava last night ( April 1 st . ) About 11 o ' clock , the engineers ' storehouse at the entrance to the town was found to be on fire . The alarm bells rang in all the ships in harbour . The crews hastened on shore ; the Guards , who were on duty , hastened down to the spot , and were speedily followed by a fatigue party of the 71 st Regiment ; but the seamen and people on shore had already begun to pull down the shed . Boats from the Vesuvius , with powder to blow up the building , under Lieutenant Skeadand from

    Sullivan , from the Caradoc , under Mr . , several merchant vessels , at once put off and landed their crews . Admiral Boxer , Major Mackenzie ^ & c , repaired to the place without delay . The men worked with a will , and the fire was extinguished within the building in the space of half an hour , after destroying or damaging a considerable quantity of stores . It was observable that this fire broke out to windward , and that , had it spread , the whole town might have been burnt , and the shipping could scarcely have escaped . How it originated no one knows ; but three fires in so short a time are , to say the least , " suspicious . " — Idem .

    A WILD BULL IN BALAK 1 ATA . A wild bull from the plains of Asia Minor was landed alive by mistake , and instantly took charge of the town . The soldiers were interested in the hunt , which was a thing exactly suited to their taste ; and , as the bull formed part of their rations , they chased him with peculiar zest and keenness . But the bull was cool and wary , and three or four -who ventured too near were capsized heavily and severely bruised . Fortunately the animal had no horns , or the consequences would have been " most serious . As it was , his head did mischief enough , and kept everyone at a respectful distance , whilst ' the refractory brute promenaded among the huts at leisure . Everywhere he went , the soldiers from the tops of walls and huts showered down stones enough to

    kill and bury him , had only half been as well aimed as they were well meant ; but none succeeded in bringing him down . Occasionally , when hit harder than usual , he turned , stood at bay for a moment , and then charged his assailants , who , of course , scattered in all directions . In the midst of these abortive efforts to slay him , some very imprudent individual called out to fire ; and instantly , without the least reference to the people about , half a dozen shots were directed against the unfortunate animal . One sergeant , within six feet of the bull , missed his aim , but shot a private of the 71 st through the knee instead . After this mishap , the indiscriminate volleys were discontinued ; and the bull , taking to the hills , was at last killed by a rifle shot from an officer of the Guards . — Morning Herald Correspondent .

    PREPARATIONS FOR THE BOMBARDMENT . On the 1 st of April , two more 10-inch mortars were sent to the front , with about SO or 60 tons of powder , 300 rounds of filled shell , and 200 rounds of empty 10-inch . The greater part of the officers and crew of the Leander , " 50 , came on 8 hore r and ~ joined _ tkeJSaval Brigade near head-quarters . These men will be distributed at the heavy guns in the different new works . Their appearance as they landed was uncommonly smart and neat ; each man dressed in blue , with bis cutlass and revolver at his side , and in the centre one of the quartermasters with tho " Union . " To add still further to the imposing nature of the procession , two sailors—one with

    a fife and the other with a fiddle—marched at its head , enlivening the waj r with " Jack ' s alive , " " Cheer , boys , cheer , " & c . ; and , accompanied by such tunes , and joking and laughing with themselves and all they met , the blue jackets rolled off in high glee to share in tho bloody doings of tho trenches . Orders were received at Balaklava to prepare ships for the reception of the wounded ; and to the general hospital , tho same intimation to have beds ready was also given . Tho St . Hilda , Orient , and Sir George Pollock transports will be fitted up with all dispatch , each for tho reception of between 200 and 300 wounded , and . the general hospital , with tho wooden huts which have been built for the purpose , will accommodate about 200 more . —Idem .

    STRENGTH OJT THE RUSSIANS . The Crimean correspondent of tho Daily News takes a very comforting view of the strength of tho Russian forces . He writes : — " In spito of all that is said about the largo numbor of Russians hidden behind the hills , I do not believe that they are in sufficient force , either to attack us or to defend their positions against any attempt of ours to take them . My opinion is founded on tho losses which tho Russian army has suffered in tho course of tho

    winter , which losses havo not been mado up by the arrival of fresh troops from the interior . Duducting tho troops detached against Omar Pacha from tho 80 , 000 efficient troopa which may havo existed at Bakstchi-Sorai and Simphoropol , and in tho lines of Balaklava—deducting also the daily wear and tear of Sobastopol , for disease ia at work there , and tho Russian sorties are mado nt a loss of an average of 500 por week—I do not believe that wo havo above 20 , 000 men before us in Bal ' aldava plain . This opinion is confirmed by the ready manner in which tho Rusaiana have fallen back ou those rare

    occasions when we or the French made a sortie into the plain . They were not in force to contest the ground There is a rumour , too , and has been for some time past of large reinforcements that were expected by our ene ! mies having failed them , owing to a military revolt ai NicolajefF . If this be really the case—and the confir . motion of the report has , I understand , come to very higi quarters—then the Russians must be ' cramped for men . " Military letters from Vienna give an account of the Russian army in the Crimea very different from the above .

    THE AUSTRIANS IN THE PRINCIPALITIES . A letter from Pera , of the 2 nd , in the Pays , says :- ^ " I have already mentioned to you the little sympathy which , the inhabitants of the Principalities entertain for the Austrians , and the dislike of the Austrians to them . The ill-feeling between the two has led to a sad affair , followed by a rising at Krajowa . An Austrian officer perceived a "VVallachian lady at a window ; struck by her beauty , he entered the house and acted rudely towards her . The husband hastened to defend his wife , and a quarrel ensued , in which the husband was killed

    by the officer . When this became known , all the population took up arms . The Austrian authorities , when called on to do justice , would not consent to punish the officer , on which the Wallachians determined to do jus tice themselves . A veritable battle took place , and more than 300 Austrians perished . The Turkish authorities had to interfere to establish order . Since then Krajowa has resembled a besieged town . The shops are closed . The Wallachians occupy the interior of the town , and the Austrians are encamped outside . A deputation has been sent to Constantinople to complain to the Sultan of the foreign occupation . How this affair will end is not yet known here ; but it has caused a great sensation . "

    A letter in the Independence Beige speaks of the above affair ; but states that it was not Austrian soldiers , properly so called , who thus acted against the inhabitants , but some Croatians in the pay of Austria . BRISK DOINGS ON THE 5 TU OF APKIL . Towards evening , our mortar battery in the right attack fired two salvoes of shells—three 13-inchers at a time . The first three ^ pitched into different parts of the works of the Round Tower— one right into the centre of the shattered stonework itself . Beams of timber , trunks of bodies , legs and arms of human beings , were seen to fly up in the air , and after a time a blaze of fire ran along a portion of the work , which appeared to spring

    from , one of the enemy ' s mines . The second salvo must have been very destructive also . On the whole , the result was so satisfactory to the feelings of a sailor in the battery , that he then and there expressed his decided determination to Captain Grant to reward him for his conduct with the entire use and possession of his whole " go of grog" for that day . In the evening , a very serious affair took place in front of our right attack , the particulars of which I am as yet scarcely acquainted with . There was very heavy firing from half-past ten to half-past eleven o ' clock , which was heralded by some brisk volleys , and we hear that our worMng parties in the advanced trench happened to meet a working party HtheTl ^ slaTrs ~~ an'd" '"' thatr"a TegulaT' -hand-to--hand---figlitwith pickaxes , spades , ' bills , hatchets , and musket in which the

    stocks , took place between the two parties , Russians had the best at one time , and we gained the ground at another time , till at last the Island courage did its work , and our men drove the enemy up towards our own lines . The fight was renewed in front of the trenches . The covering parties came out on both sides to the aid of their comrades , and at last the Russians were repulsed after a severe struggle . We had three officers wounded —one , Lieutenant Jones , of tho 7 th ( better known as " Inkerman Jones , " from having received a wound on the 5 th of November ) , the other two , officers of the 34 th Regiment . Our loss in killed and wounded is stated to bo 37 . Tho Russians were said to have left 41 bodies and that of one officer behind them in one of our parallels ; bnt the report requires confirmation . — Times Correspondent ,

    TnE BOMBARDMENT—LATEST ACCOUNTS . A despatch from Vienna says , that up to the 12 t ! i tho operations commenced on the 9 th against Sevastopol continued without decisive result , Another account from the same source says , on tho contrary , that , " During the night of tho 13 th , the left attach . of tho Allies obtained considerable advantages over the Russians . They were twice dislodged from a strongly fortified position , which remained in uw hands of tho French . The possession of tins position enabled the allies to fortify the summit of the

    mountain glens [ ravines ?] , which id of great importance . Tho Moniteur of Friday contains tlio following : — " Under date of tho 14 th of April , General Cnurobert writes from boforo Sobnstopol that tho superiority ol w artillery of tho allied armies ia more and more con" Our troops on tho preceding nteht , having twfcc driven tho Kussiuns from tlioir utrong positions on tm . left , romuinod mustera of them ; they nro much nearer iu tho town . " DESPATCH ITKOM LORD JtAOLAN . "Before Sobaatopol ,, March 01 , 1855 . " Mr Lord , — -Since I wroto to your Lordship on u »

    364 The Leader, [Saturday,

    364 THE LEADER , [ Saturday ,

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), April 21, 1855, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_21041855/page/4/