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    mmmmm mtmmmmmmmm —^ fr—¦—a—*—mm «— I —»—»¦—tion , and the advanced defences lying to its right . Our readers may know that the defences of the town of Sebastopol are separated from the defences of its suburb by a deep ravine , terminating on the inner harbour . The ITlagsfcaff Battery stands on the edge of the ravine in a conspicuous position , and was a very powerful work . From its right extends a sort of bastioned curtain , the principal bastion being that known as the

    Central Tower . These face the south , but from the Central Bastion it curves inward , and looks south-west , jutting forward again as it connects itself with the Quarantine Tort . Running parallel with this west face , and divided from it by a shallow ravine , is an elevation about a thousand yards in length , which , by its position , looks into the left flank of the French trenches , and , in possession of the enemy , would bar an advance . In carrying out the siege operations General

    Pelissieb , by a well-combined and resolute blow , first carried , on the 1 st and 2 nd of May , the works set up in front of the Central Bastion , and made himself secure therein . To counteract this , the enemy seized the high ground above described , and began to construct cover . The energetic Frenchman instantly resolved to drive them out .

    Assembling a considerable force , he hurled his columns upon the Russian lines ; they were met by equal numbers , almost equal obstinacy , quite equal hardihood ; but the impetuous and well-sustained assault of our allies prevailed ; after two nights' conflict the whole of the contested ground fell into the hands of the French , with a loss to the Russians of from four to six thousand men

    killed and wounded . Thus , then , from the 9 th of April , when the batteries opened , to the 24 th of May , the siege itself has made notable progress . On both sides , but on that of the French especially , a stronger grasp is laid upon the enemy's positions ; more formidable preparations are in progress ; and the next move cannot fail to give the Allies still more incontestable advantages .

    In the meantime , the force in the Crimea received constant and large augmentations—Sardinians , British cavalry from India , British infantry from the Mediterranean , the Imperial Guard from Maslak—raising the force in the Crimea , including the Turks , to above 200 , 000 men , of avIioiu nearly 8000 were cavalry . Here , then , were the grand desiderata for which the Allied commanders had so often sighed ; here were numbers ; and thus they were able "to continue tlio siege and resume the initiative in tho field .

    2 . ^ Expedition Kcrtcli . —At tho easternmost extremity of tho Crimea there ia a small peninsula , somo five and sixty miles long , twelve broad at tho neck—tho belt of land between Ai'abafc and Kafl ' aand somewhere about thirty milos broad at its greatest breadth . This , next to Perekop , is tho most important point in tho Crimea ; for hero stands tho port of Kertch on tho coast in tho straits of that name , and a little

    further to the cast , Yoni-Iviileh , a station on the straits that lead immediately into tho Sea of Azof . Through Kcrtch cornea all tho commerce of tho mouths of tho Don , Taganrog , Marionopol , and Berdiansk , and from tho magazines at thotio places the Russian army in tho Crimea derived largo supplies . On . tho other side of tho straita is tho delta of tho Kuban , and it ; wiw across these straits that the Rust-nans at

    Sobastopol communicated Avitli Anapa , Soujak-Kaleh , and the Caucasus . It wsib tho lust haunt of tho Russian mariiio , tho last restingplace of Russian commerce in tho Black Sea . At tho northern eido of tho neck of the peninsula stands Arabat , a citation that terminates tho ridgo of sand connecting tho

    ^ ^ a HBHBaDB ^^ H ^ B ^^ BEVVMaBwaHM ^^ iHH ^ i ^ H ^ i ^ Hi ^ MHai Crimea with the province of Kherson , and forming that road by means of which many supplies have also been conveyed to Sebastopol . An expedition against Kertch has long been expected , because the gain that would result from its occupation was selfevident . An expedition was planned , and sailed on the 4 th of May , but to everybody ' s amazement it returned , ordered back by General Caneobeet when within sight of the desired shores . But when Pejlissier assumed the command a second expedition was organised . It consisted of French , English , and Turkish troops ; it sailed on the 23 rd of May , and on the 24 th landed to the

    south ot the town . The most complete success attended the operation . The Russians , blowing up their works , destroying their shipping , burning their stores , fled . Kertch fell on the 24 th ; Yeni-Kaleh on the 25 th ; on the same evening the flags of the Allies floated in the Sea of Azof ; on the 26 th and 27 th their steamers shelled Arabat , blowing up the magazine , destroyed above one hundred ships in their cruises , and took one hundred guns ; so there was an end to the last rag of Russian naval domination in those seas , one small steamer alone remaining . As a military movement it is calculated to produce great effects . It not only separates the Crimea from Russia ; it not only places Anapa and Soujak-Kaleh in comparative isolation ; but it reduces the Russian army in Sebastopol to one resource for supplies—the Perekop road ; and it achieves a moral as well as a physical triumph over the enemy . Moreover , it will excite the Circassians to renewed activity ; and it gives Sir George Brown a base from which he may operate either inland or upon the Russian fortresses in Abasia . 3 . The Tchernaya . Another promising movement—the occupation of the line of the

    Tchernaya—was effected simultaneously with Sir George Brown ' s seizure of Yeni-Kaleh . On the 25 th General Bosquet marched from Balaklava , the Cossack pickets fell back from Kamara ; no resistance worth recording was made by the stronger body in position at Tehorgoum , and , retreating to the hills , the Russians left the Allies snugly seated on the rio-ht bank of the Black River .

    AVhat will the next move be ? To the north of that part of the Tchernaya occupied by the Allies , the ground gradually rises , terminating in a wall of rock , broken in one or two places by sheep-tracks that lead to the villages beyond . Behind this ridgo a large portion of tho Russian army is in

    cantonments , the heads of the columns pointing to the sheep-tracks which surmount the din ' s . But tho rocky crest abruptly ends immediately opposite Balaklava . The main road from tho valley below to Simpheropol , crossing tho Tchernaya at Traktir , gradually creeps up the hill under the shadow of the heights on its left that bend down to tho ruins of Inkerman , and , winding round the rugged shoulder of tho dill ' s , sweeps northward to Bakschi-Serai . Of course tho Russians havo not neglected to placo batteries at the summit of the defile ; and should tho Allies advance , up this steep they must take their perilous way . JN o \ v that there are men enough to perform tho necessary operations , tho Allies will , no doubt , carry out the Kcrtch

    experiment on a larger scale , by adopting Home means of occupying commanding positions between Simpheropol and SehaHtopol , thua cutting oil' tho last external renource of the garrison . This might bo done either by ( storming tho ridgo above tho Tehernnya ; landing at the mouth of tho Kateha , ami advancing inland in conjunction with a niovemont of tho Turka at Eupatoria ; or marching suddenly upon Simphoropol from

    Aloushta . Thus the Russians would be forced to fight a battle , or surrender their communications without a blow . To sum up : Since the bombardment began , we- have advanced closer and closer to . the earth-, works of Sebastopol , and greatly circumscribed the garrison ; we have resumed the initiative , cut off entirely the most important

    source of supply , threatened the Abasian forts , and , leaving our entrenchments , we have driven the enemy from the Tchernaya . These are results which , three months ago , no one foresaw , and few believed possible ; while still fewer had faith in the successful opening of the campaign . "War is a surprising art , and nothing becomes the distant spectator like modesty .

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    HEALTH OF THE CAMP IN THE CRIMEA . Our private letters from the seat of war mention that the cholera had broken out in the camp and in Balaklava about the middle of May , but that the Sanitary Commission and the medical staff were preparing to meet it ; and were in confident hope of

    subduing its ravages by timely precautions . It is impossible to prevent a certain excess of disease amidst so vast an army , living in tents and huts , subject to all the evil influences of exposure to intolerable heat and to night air , rains and dew , to sudden and violent activity , to prolonged inaction and suspense in the trenches . " Disease is the true slaughterer of armies , " says a letter now before us : —

    " No sanitary nor other commissioners can save men so worked and so exposed . Cannon , mortars , rifles , and sabres are terrible enough , but all these combined do not kill more than one-sixth of those who fall . " The water-supply was begining to create some anxiety . The engineer of the sanitary commission had completed and sent to IiOrd Raglan a report on the water-supply of the district . It was believed that there would be abundance of good spring water for the allied army in the driest season , if proper means were used to open out , store , and distribute it . There is an enormous waste of water , "ton times more than is used , " and a

    scarcity is reasonably dreaded . The correspondent of tho Times has done good service by insisting on this danger . The Sanitary Commission , at the date of our letters , was hard at work , advising , recommending , and directing as to sites for camps , as to drainage and ventilation , and as to tho water-supply . The medical officers were prompt in giving all assistance ; most of tho commanding officors of regiments were equally zealous ; there were , however , " obstinates and obstructives . " Their names will no doubt bo made known at tho proper time , and their disgrace , it is to bo hoped , will be proportioned to the responsibilities they havo trifled with or misused .

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    THE RIGHT END TO BEGIN AT . The work of Administrative Reform belongs properly to Government , and a Govornmont which cannot perform it—sufliciont tuno being allowed—oug ht to bo cashiered . But Electoral Reform belongs entirely to tho people : and it is the first of all reforms . Send up a good House of Commons and a cood Ministry and everything elso will follow Of course wo want a Parliamentary Reform J . 'ill ; but that cannot como this

    session , nor in all probability before tho next dissolution . Meantime much may bo dono without it . Tho rotten counties will onco moro and for tho last time yield thoir cortam crop of squires . But tho boroughs , which already wmd up all tho good mon wo havo , may send up a good many moro .

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    June 2 , 1855 . 1 THE LEADEE . 515

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), June 2, 1855, page 515, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2093/page/11/