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Leader (1850-1860), 4th August 1855, Edition 1 of 2, Page 736, Untitled Article

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      worth -white to continue the experiments .. Subse-Sent experiments , however , had been made , which S ^ nned ^ lie first impression . The projectile of SfrTBrashley Britains was under consideration ; and the Sport on that of Captain Disney had not yet been received . " XBE INDIAN SALT TAX . Mr . VkKWOn Smith , in answer to Sir John ^ Pakikcxon , said that the Report of t ^ Commissioners appointed to inquire into the mode At collecting the salt duty in India had not yet been to p ceived .

      FOREIGNENUSTUBKT . / In answer to Mr ^ Milker Gibson , Ik > iu PalmbrstoN said , that although hi swmesjates it was against the-lay for other powers t < Tmake enlistments withinthe ' territory of the state itself , yet there was no law to prevent foreigners being enlisted out of their own country . Accordingly an arrangement with this view- had been made at Halifax , m British America ; but it had been since abandoned , as questions with respect to its legality had been raised in the United States . * , The ATTOKNBr-GENEKAi . moved the second reading of The Chabitabljb Trusts Biix , deferring the discussion until the next stage , which waa objected to by Mr . Knight and other members , but ultimately agreed to . _

      The IiImitud TjIabilitt Bxu . was read a third time and passed , after considerable opposition by 3 fr ; Akchtbaud Hastie , Mr . Cardwkli , and Mr . Gktk . The bill for continuing for another year the act having reference to Crime and Outrage in Ireland , was read a second time , in spite of the vigorous opposition of Mr . Bowyeb , Mr . Kennedy , Mr . De Vekb , Mr . Cogan , and Mr . Brady .

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      Ik the utter absence of any news of importance from the Crimea , conjecture has been busy ; and a tele , graphic despatch from Kamiesch of July 29 th , to the effect that that port , as well as Balaklava , was crowded with vessels lately come from France and JBngland , and that a grand expedition was being prepared , is in perfect harmony with the general impression that the present calm is merely equivalent to that ominous hush which precedes a thunderstorm . The rumoured naval attack upon Sebastopol ,

      which we mentioned in our Postscript last week , is , indeed , doubtful ; but the activity now visible at head quarters , with respect both to the army and the navy , will surely not die out without at least some weighty attempt , and probably some signal success The works of the Allies are now within sixty metres of the MalakhofF ; Egyptian reinforcements are about to sail for the Crimea ; the health of the army haa greatly improved ; and our next assault is looked forward to with the utmost confidence .

      A French letter from Kamiesch Bay states that the Allied armies are in daily anticipation of some great and decisive blow being struck , though its precise nature is as yet wholly unknown . Large reinforcements , both of French and English , continue to arrive ; and the works are pushed forward with the utmost vigour- The writer of another letter sayb , under date of July 14 ;—" I think it very problematical whether we shall winter within Sebastopol . The cutting off the supplies from the Sea of Azof must distress the enemy much , but his supplies by vfay of Perekop are still open . I do not believe that a large army can be supplied by that long : xoute in the winter . "

      -In connexion" with this subject of wintering before Sebastopol , the Constitutionnei has ah article , the object of which seems to be the preparing of the public mind for the mobilisation of the Allied armies —in point of fact , for the raising of the siege . Kamiesch , being now strongly fortified , is said to " hold Sebastopol by the throat , " and to be " the sentinel—the keeper—of the Russian citadel- * " Who does not see , ' * says the writer , " that the presence of a few French and English ships at Kamiesch would suffice to nullify the entire offensive power of Sebaatopol ? " ' Having a formidable' basis of operations , «* the army' has perfect freedom of movement , " &c . This may be all very true ; but the Constitutionnei is

      not the Mmxteur . In the meanwhile we know that immense preparations have been already proceeded with for housing the array through another winter , without their undergoing the dreadful sufferings which nearly annihilated them at the close of the last and commencement of the present year . The resignation of General Simpson has received a semi-denial from the semi-official Post . He has not resignedj there is no intention of recalling him ; DUt _ " jt in proper to state that his health is not of the strongest , and that therefore it u > M excite but little surprise if he find himself unable , to cope for a protracted period with the vast labours and incessant anxieties of the chief command . " There has been some talk , also , of Pelisaier being recalled , unless he

      speedily retrieve the disaster ( of the 18 th of June j and , to matjeh all these rumours , a report is current that the health of General Osten Sacken has become so much impaired that he has applied for permission to resign . In losing him , the Busaian army will lose a sort of Jkfacbeth—that is to say , the bearer of a charmed life ; for an admiring chronicler relates that this pious hero has been in the front of a hundred battles during the last half century , and has never received a scratch I We read in a daily contemporary : —

      "The Vienna Military Gazette states that the Commanders of the Allied Armies in the Crimea have forwarded to the Porte a professional opinion respecting the fittest measures to be taken consequent upon the Russian offensive movement . upon Kara . They propose , according to this authority , in the first place , to concentrate a force of at least 88 , 000 men in Batonm and Churoksu , with the object of operating offensively from those points against the Russians , in case Mustapha Pacha should be compelled to retire by General AndronikofFs force opposed to him at Kalessi . It is computed that the Por | e will require six ; weeks to organise this force and transport it to Batoum . Meanwhile , contrary to the Marseilles accounts , Kara is invested , and the communications with Trebizond and Erzeroum . are cut off . "

      A later account says that the communication between Kara and Erzeroum has been completely reestablished ; but by the disbanding of the Bashibazouks the army of Kars is reduced to 15 , 000 men , and it wants cavalry . Accounts from Constantinople state that Omar Pacha , who has lately returned from a visit to Constantinople , would have accepted the command of the army in Asia , but the Porte wishes him to return to the Crimea . Omar has received the highest honours . It is said there never was a question of his retirement . The Allies have agreed to allow merchant ships to enter Kertcb , and to take com on board , on condition of landing a third of their cargoes at certain points indicated . The Russians are erecting' works called " Cavaliers" behind the Malakhoff .

      A despatch from Erzeroum of the 10 th of July , speaks of Schamyl being expected to descend from the mountains and march on Tiflis . Another account says that he has actually made the descent . Whether this is to be received as a contradiction of the report of his death , or whether he has died since , remains in the dark . General Todleben is also said to be not dead , but " convalescent . " The , most startling and painful news of the week in connexion with the war is the intelligence ( which , however , as yet wants confirmation ) of the murder , by Bashi-bazouks , of our countryman , General Beatson . The story , however , rests merely on conjecture .

      DESPATCH FROM GENERAL SIMPSON . General Simpson , writing to Lord Panmure , on July 21 , says : — " My Lord , —I have great pleasure to inform your lordship that the health of the army has greatly improved ; cholera has nearly disappeared , and , although more sickness has appeared among- the officers , it is not of that character to cause uneasiness . . " With reference to the exterior army , the Russians hold their strong position on the Mackenzie Heights ,

      extending by Aitodor to Albat , with advanced posts by Chouli , Ogenbash , and the strong range of heights overhanging Urkusta and the valley of Baidar . It is reported they have also a force of artillery and infantry at Alupka . The French have pushed forward the whole of their cavalry into the valley of Baidar , resting upon the Sardinians , upon the left bank of the Souhai River , and communicating with the French upon the Tchernaya , while the high ridge protecting Balaklava is guarded by the Turkish army .

      " I purpose sending four squadrons of light cavalry into the valley of Baidar to-morrow , to protect and afford convoys to the Commissariat , for the purpose of bringing in forage and supplies for the use of the army . " '

      ST . 8 WITHIN XK TUB CBIMKA . High winds have prevailed during the past twentyfour hours , and dusky clonds fly along the sky , while the air has become damp and chilly even at noonday . This is the Feast of fit . Swithin ( July 15 th ) , and the day has been duly marked by -violent rain and loud peals of thunder , -while the Russian position over the valley of the Tchernaya has been hidden by a dark-blue robe of rain-cloud , and the smoke of the guns of Sebastopol scents scarcely to emerge from the watery mint which overhangs the town . Tents in the sodden camp

      flap their canvas dismally , tho huts are dank and dripping , and before tho doors little pools of water collect on the earth , which is trodden into a deep slimy mud . The temperature this evening out of doors is that of an English November , and as the wind whistles among the tents one may fancy the trees aro being stripped of the last of their withered leaves , and tho frosts of winter already upon us . But this will last but a few days , and then tho heats of August will parch tho ground once more , -wells and tanks will again yield but a scanty supply , and summer will last until far into tho month of September . —THmes Correspondent .

      : - roTODBnss nr bbbabtopoi * .-. .-- .. That there are foundries in Sebastopol there can be little doubt ; some of the shot thrown at us is perfectly smooth and new , and seems just turned out ; besides which , it is impossible to believe that a great naval arsenal can be without the means of manufacturing its own munitions . Powder-mills probably also exist ; but in both these cases the question occurs as to where the material for the manufacture is to come from ; , A small supply of iron may be obtained by recasting our shot

      and trie pieces of shell ; but probably a great part of the former goes into the harbour , and the supply is too small and precarious for it to be believed that a Government like the Russian would depend on it . It seems more probable that an organised system of transport feeds Sebastopol with munition as well as corn , and that during the summer every endeavour has been and wUl be made to supply the garrison with sufficient resources to stand during the winter , when the roads of the Crimea will be less capable of bearing the transport of heavy articles . —Idem .

      LAZINESS OP THE TURKS . It is a singular thing that the Turks do not take any share ¦ in actual siege operations , and are now amusing themselves with the playful work of foraging , or actually sitting in indolence for hours together , following the shadows of their tents as they move from west to east , smoking stolidly , or grinning at the antics of some mountebank comrade . Omar Pacha moves here and there without object , merely that bis army may seem to be employed ; but its actual services are of little importance . It is said that an agreement was made between the Allied Generals and the Porte that the Turks were to take no part uf the siege . But why not ? And can such an arrangement be binding when the public good demands a different course ?— "Idem .

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      WAR MISCELLANEA . Tite Price op defending Sebastopoi ,. —M . Leontiewski , a Russian prisoner in the hands of the English , says that very young men who have taken part in the nine months' defence of Sebastopol , have in that space of time become so old , through continued exertion and care , that the Emperor has permitted them to reckon every month so passed as a year of service . The kind treatment which he has experienced at the hands of his captors is warmly acknowledged by M . Leontiewski . The Russian Hospitais . —Terrible accounts have been received at Berlin of the state of the Russian military hospitals , -which are so crowded that it has been found necessary to turn away l arge numbers of sick and -wounded . There is also a great want of surgeons and dressers .

      A Russian Priest has been rewarded with the military order of St . George for rallying the troops when attacked during last March , in front of the Kamtachatka Lunette . Raising a crucifix , he exclaimed , " Lord , save thy people ! Give our Orthodox Monarch the victory over his enemies ! " And , encouraged by these words , the troops , who had been wavering , again rushed forward , and took the first and second lines of the trenches . Exchange ov FuenSS Prisoners . —We read in the Moniteur of Sunday : — "A despatch from the Crimea , dated July 27 , 11 p . m ., announces to tho Minister of War that the Phle ' ' thon had arrived at Kamiosch , bringing- French prisoners , exchanged at Odessa against Russian prisoners , which this steamer had taken on board at Constantinople . The exchange -of prisoners of war is to be continued . The French officers speak in high terms of the manner in which they were treated by the Russians . "

      Admiral Naciumoff . —In announcing the death of this Crimean officer , the Invalide Jitisse speaks of him as " the hero of Sinopc , " and as " the honour and glory of the Russian fleet and array . " The following particular of his death are then , given : — " Tho Admiral would never consent , like other officers , to put on the cloak of tho common soldier , and he always went to the fortification . s in uniform with his largo epaulettes . At eight o ' clock in the evening of the 11 th , ho arrived in tho Korniloff Bastion , and disregarding the remonstrances of those

      who surrounded him , proceeded to reconnoitre the works of tho enemy . After a while , a cannon-ball struck n sand-bag by his side , and the officers of his staff ag-aiu entreated him to retire . But ho did not stir , and said in a low voice , ' They fire well ! ' Some minutes after , a rifle-ball hit him in the temple ; he fell senseless , and so remained until he died , some hours subsequently . " The Admiral had resided some years in England , where he was sent by the late Czar , in order to study the system pursued in our dockyards . Ho sprang from tho middlo classes .

      Tine Austrian Troops , says a letter from Cracow of the 21 st ult ., have been collected in two niasucu , one of which is stationed in Bohemia and Moravia , and the other in Styria . Tho former of those divisionn is thought to indicate by its position that Austria and Ruuaia are not yet quite nt caso with ono another : tho luttur i * for reinforcing tho army of Italy . As for the apparent menacing of Russia , may not this bo u "feint" for the purpose of deceiving tho Allied ? itUHHIAN ClIAItOKS AOA 1 NHT EnOMHH 8 AU . OR 8 . Tho Invalide liusae , of July 21 , contains a long artiolo professing to bo a truo history of various unjustifiable uctft

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      T H E W A R .

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      P || | || | ||| || ^^ yf : ;' pv-V . ; ¦ •;"" : fX ; ' ; V ¦ ¦ ¦; ; - ; y ;; - % r- ; :. y ; ; , / -.- ;• ' 18 * 6 - ¦ ¦ ¦ " " PLl ^ aili llK 1 , [ No . 280 i ¦ BAxmsMfJbk '

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 4, 1855, page 736, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2101/page/4/