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Leader (1850-1860), 10th March 1855, Edition 1 of 2, Page 224, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      were told a cargo of charcoal . The state of the clothing was not bad at the time , but before he left it was getting very indifferent—there was-no warm clothing served out . In regard to food , there was a constant pressure upon the troops arising from the want of means of transport . The two departments on which due-provision depended were the commissariat and the quartermaster-general ' s . He had many conflicts in respect to the commissariat ; some of the gentlemen in that department Avere very inefficient—they might do very well as clerks of the Treasury . They were always employed in writing letters to the Treasury ; and as soon as he found out this he made strong representations . This created

      controversy . One man , he believed , lost his senses . The effective persons who replaced these individuals provided his division with food . His division suffered much ; but lost only one-fourth in comparison with others . The deaths were chiefly from diarrhoea . He attributed the better fate of his division to the fact of its having had a better commissariat attached to it . There were no wooden huts . They had not arrived when he left Balaklava . He left soon after the battle of Inkerman . There was no medical depot attached to the division . The condition of the horses was then not very bad . The horses of the artillery were better from their having regular rations " not only of barley , but of forage of hay or

      straw very often . His impression was that there was an inadequacy in the commissariat . As to the airbulance corp 3 of pensioners , he was told they were liable to excess in their potations . The examination of Sir De Lacy Evans was continued on Tuesday . He stated that very little preparation appeared to have been made for the sick : he believed the war was commenced under the impression that there would be no wounds at all . The ambulance carts were not without their utility ; but they were too heavy . He could not say exactly when he first saw them in the Crimea . The French mode of conveying the wounded , by mules alone , did well enough in a rough , hilly country ; but in

      serious cases he should imagine that mode was not a good one . As to the men remaining for a long period without change of clothing , that was the case with officers as well as men ; he had himself only one coat . The tents were ^ very indifferent , and some of them , he believed , had 'been used in the Peninsular war . The hospital tents were the best that could be got . They were large ; and if tents were necessarily used for hospitals , they were very fair ; they had the advantage of good ventilation . The bedding was very insufficient and unsatisfactory . Unfortunately , thete tents were often inconveniently crowded , but he did not think the men were always absolutely on the bare ground . He thought the French iente d ' abri

      carried by the men was useful for summer weather and on rapid marches , but not for winter . He had not examined them , and could not say whether they would be advisable for the English army . There were no quays at the water-edge for landing , nor anything ' of "the ^ kind . —They were occasionally encumbered , but he observed nothing extraordinary . He had heard that men sent down for clothing had been detained the whole day in consequence of the confusion in the town . He had not heard of any depots being erected in the camps , in case the communication with Balaklava had been cut off . Had the road been in the hands of the enemy , the inconvenience to the troops would have been lamentable ,

      but not irremediable . He firmly believed the war was commenced under the delusion that matters would be settled without any explosion of gunpowder , and that there was no necessity for any magazines at all . Though the Commissariat was under the control of the Commander , yet it was closely connected also with the Treasury , and the officers must have had the impression that laying out the money required was extravagance . That was his conviction . Arrangements were not made to enable them to take the field at once . He thought the Government was still waiting for notes and protocols from Vienna , and no great exertions were made to put the army in a condition to move . The Russians were carrying on the siege of Silistria , and still the army was not in readiness to move . With respect to the age of Mr . Filder , the head of the

      Commissariat , Sir Do Lacy said that ho had been in the Peninsula , and could not , therefore , bo very young . The sanitary state of the camp it was the business of the staff to look after ; and it was the duty of the Commander-in-Chief to make them perform their business . He saw no occasion for the appointment of o sanitary officer . He thought ifc would bo inconvenient . Ab far as his own stuff wont , ho denied the charge of nepotism . The fatigue of tho men was injurious . From the first tho work cut out for them was entirely beyond their numerical strength . . Tho overwork during tho nights was decidedly tlio inaiii cause of the suffering of the army . In the Crimea there was not . tho advantage of shelter in villages as in tho campaigns of Spain , and tho troops had not materials for building any . Ho had novor scon any English Holdiers in French clothing . Ho recollected the French making them a present of 20 , 000 rations

      of bread . There ought to have been no difficulty m conveying stores from the port to the camps . The clothing of the soldiers might have been materially improved , considering all that science has done during the last forty years ; but no lightwaterprpof coats or sheets had been distributed- The mining toots were bad , and the soil of the trenches was Mr . Dundas , M . P ., was recalled , and continued his evidence of the previous day , confining his testito the state of the sick on board the Timor .

      mony No preparation had been made for the reception of the 299 sick" soldiers on board . They were laid on the bare deck with one or two blankets for a covering . The air between decks was very offensive . There were only three medical men , and of these two became ill . At Scutari it was seven days before all the men could be landed ; but with proper hospital accommodation they might have been landed in one day . He believed each medical man had to attend on ninety sick . _ .. half

      The Committee adjourned shortly after -past three . , __ , , At the meeting of the Committee on Wednesday , and again on Thursday , General Bentinck , commander of the Brigade of Guards , was examined . His evidence was to much the same effect as that of Sir De Lacy Evans : he spoke of the injurious effect upon the men ' s health of the hard work in the trenches ; of the want of winter clothing and of medicine ; of the wretched nature of the tools with which the pioneers had to work 0 hough the same

      tools had been tried and found wanting at Chobham ); and of the deficiency in the means of transport . The other witnesses examined on the two days were—Mr . Stephen Owen , the only surviving officer of the transport ship Resolute , one of the vessels wrecked near the port of Balaklava in the storm of the 14 th of November ; Captain Wrottesley , of the Royal Engineers ; Dr . Vaux , surgeon of the Harbinger steamer ; and Mr . Layard , M . P . ; all of whom spoke to various instances of mismanagement . The Committee adjourned to Friday .

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      THE RE-ELECTIONS . Lord John Russell was re-elected for the City of London on Saturday . Mr . H . J . Preseott having proposed , and Mr . J . Dillon seconded , the nomination , Mr . J . Stoner expressed a hope that the citizens of London would put an end to the political career of Lord John Russell , on account of his Puseyitical tendencies . He concluded by proposing Sir Charles Napier ; but the nomination was not seconded . The following resolution was then put , and unanimously carried i—>

      -¦' " That at a period like the present , when , by gross mismanagement on the part of the executive Government , the high position of this country in the scale of nations has been in danger of being compromised , the citizens of London in common hall , having elected as their representative in Parliament the noble lord whorhas accepted office as one of her Majesty ' s principal Secretaries of State , desire to place upon record the fact that they have discharged this duty in the earnest hope and trust that the Government of which the noble lord is bo

      important a member , will immediately and firmly grapple with and effectually remove the causes qf that disastrous mismanagement which has been displayed in the conduct of the present war , and which , whether it has arisen from adherence to routine in the departments , from the incapacity of the men presidirig over and employed in them , or from the overwhelming influence of political patronage , must , if left unremedied , involve the honour , the safety , and tho free institutions of this country in extreme peril . "

      Mr . P . A . Taylor , Avho declared that " the four points" are disgraceful and traitorous , and that England desires a movement in favour of the depressed nationalities , moved : — . " That in tho opinion of this meeting no treaty with Russia will be satisfactory that does not enforce some material territorial clause . " Tho Sheriff having declined to put the resolution , Mr . Taylor submitted it himself , when a large number of hands wore held up in its favour . The proceedings terminated with a vote of thanks to the Sheriffs . » 1

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      On tho same day Sir Charles Wood was re-elected for Halifax . In a brief speech , Sir Charles expressed his thanks for the honour which the electors had done him , nnd explained thut although the billa for the reform of Indian affairs which he had passed while in his recent office , had given him a great desire to remain in that department , nnd watch over their execution , ho had felt it his duty to accept tho post of First Lord of tho Admiralty under tho present Government , at the desire of his colleagues . Referring to tho death of the Emperor of Kussia , ho said : — " God forbid that we should rejoice at any man being suddenly called a-wny from this world . Hut , if ever calamities arc to be attributed to tho will of one man , tho

      present war , with all its fatal consequences , is to be attributed to the overweening ambition of the Emperor of Russia . It was necessary for the rest of Europe to resist the ambitious spirit of aggrandisement which threat-, ened the liberties and independence of his nei ghbours and would , if successful , have put him in a position to exercise a predominant , influence over the affairs of Europe . It was necessary to resist ; and , until that resistance be made successful , at whatever hazard , it is imperative upon us to carry on the war . ( Cheers . ") But we should be -wanting in our duty to the country , if we neglecte d to avail ourselves of the first opportunity of making aa honourable and safe peace . I cannot but hope that the event which has happened may tend to produce that result . "

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      Mr . Vernon Smith was on Monday re-elected for Northampton , having met with only a feeble resistance from a Mr . J . J . Loekharr , a Liberal , who did not go to the poll . In answer to that gentleman ' s assertion that Mr . "V . Smith had voted against inquiry into the conduct of the war , the latter observed : — " I have been for inquiry , I am for inquiry , and those who assert the contrary say what is absolutely , totally , and unconditionally false . ( Cheers . ) The first act of the committee has been to propose to make themselves a secret committee , but the House of Commons , at the instigation of my noble friend Lord Seymour , has refused to grant their request , and has insisted upon your knowing everything that passes in the committee-room .

      And everything that passes in that room you must and you shall know , as well as everything that passes before the commission ; you have a right to be heard , and if you return me I will claim that right on your behalf . ( Cheers . ) Now with regard to this war . With the origin of the war I had nothing to do . When it commenced I was not in office , and as our Parliament and our Government are constituted , it is most difficult to ascertain anything upon the subject of our foreign relations . If you ask a question on the subject before war is declared , you are immediately told to be silent or you may bring on the war ; if you say anything after it , is declared , you are again met with ' Husby hush , for we may still maintain peace ; ' and , after _ any evil event has happened , you are told that you will only add to the calamity by making a noise about it . "

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      On the Monday , Sir George Cornwall Lewis was re-elected for Radnor , without opposition . In his speech to the electors , he expressed a hope—drawn from a parallel passage of Russian history after the sudden death of Paul in 1801—that the decease of the Emperor Nicholas would lead to peace .

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      On Tuesday , Mr . Horsman was returned for Stroud . Speaking of the neglect from which our armies had suffered , he said : — " Everything appeared to have been sent out for tlie army , but it was sent at the wrong time , or to the wrong place , or got into the wrong hands . We sent out an enormous quantity of ammunition , for instance ^ but the batteries were often without shot ; immense quantities of provisions were despatched , but the army was frequently on half-rations ; large supplies of clothing were sent out , but the soldiers were in rags ; the cavalry was splendidly mounted , but the horses were dying of cold . They sent

      out nurses to the hospitals , but they wrote home piteously for lint , and , although abundance of lint was sent out , they had been told that some of the poor wounded soldiers had their amputated limbs dressed with hay . ( Sensation . ) If they went on with their inquiry , they would find the whole of the system the same—they wero the slaves of routine ( loud cheers)—they were under bondage to red tape—they wanted a younger , a fresher , and a heartier system , with more life and activity in it ; and , above all , they wanted a system adopted by which merit , and merit only , should be the first qualification for public employment . "

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      THE DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE AND THE SOLDIERS' WIVES AND FAMILIES . The first anniversary meeting of the Central Asso . elation in aid of soldiers' wives and families was held at Willis ' s Rooms , on Wednesday , under the presidency of the Duko of Cambridge . His Royal Highness , after some remarks in defence of tlie regimental officers , gave some particulars of tho progress of tho Association : — "This association was formed about a yenr ago . Tho liberality of tho public has been very groat towardsi it , and 1 urn gratified to think that no loss than IO 1 , OW ! . has been subscribed . ( Cheers . ) 84 , 000 / . has been already expended . I am happy to say that G 4 . 000 / . in "till m hand . That in a largo mini , but tho outgoings are very considerable , amounting now to at least 1000 A per weeK . The funds , theroforo , would very soon como to an cml it the association wore not liberally supported by the public . I have tho plcasuro of informing you that in addition to tho number of soldiers' wives who have been rehovoU t > y tho association , situations lmvo been obtained for no fewer than 300—a proof that , while tho association is

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      224 THE LEADER . [ Saturday ,

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), March 10, 1855, page 224, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2081/page/8/