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ittA TJlH^i IiUAI> f B OKi ^^XMfcD^s; 4E...
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THE WAR. TtlE BOMBAKDMEKT TTAS BEEN SUSP...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Transcript
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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The Sebastopol Committee. Monday. Captai...
SftToffieew ^ the ^ diirittUi ^ aceejrted'bifl ^ s . - IfVther litBkrifrtmtk *<* it & l **** rnotrceqiial ^> tfife' * ainple , it > we * j ^ itetaft ; aga ^ tHattfr ^ pictatly happenadi -It ^ as-possible t 2 £ tU « rt > ultemig ht < b 6 changed . on i « trtmsitstdtheTjlacer of aapmatt ^ tor ttSthe place of shipment It ! was ' pos ^ siblep tott , 'that thb ; pesstras employed < by witness to'carry theteamples * o : > Dep * fdirdj for * comparison with the ' bulky migh t > change fthe samples on the way ; bnt one gJteafc ohe « fc against tbafr was ; that ithe same individuals who received the samples at the Admiralty received the bulfe at J & eptfdTfL He did-not-know , ani instance in whidh a sample had beenrpbanged ^ and an inferior article * substituted > in bulk . The witites 9 « nevertheless > said that the Admiralty had-hadi great experience of theTOguery of thtoe ^ who supply stores—particularly with respect' to pra 8 CT » rod » meaiteand mustard !; to-suchanextent ^ indeed ^ : that Uid Admiralty had established a-manufactory of
mustard for themselves . ^ Sir ! Hew Rossy Iaeutenant ^ General of the Ordnance department , and mow acting in the-xoom of LordRaglan , said he did think die service suffered' from the absenee of ; the Master-General ; and Sit Thomas Hastings , Comptroller of stores at ? theOrdnance ,. gave somebusiness de & ils-ivrita zespeot to ; array clothiag-TEHIKSIJAY . The examination of Sir Thomas Hastings was continae & - Ho" said theremas' a- difficulty about enforcing a <" trt > ntraCt with Eynaston and : Go . for warm' clothing , and he > told the Board ' ofOdnanee that , as it had been « ntered : into by ft minute of one board-, it ought not to 4 » e quashed or rescinded hy Mr . Mosnsell , the clerk of t & e'Ordnance . He did not inquire into the cause of th & v asiit . would-create an-unpleasant feelings ; but the contract must ' - have been stopped by Mr . Monsell or by Sir'Hew Boss , or the two might have done it jointly . Some of thearequisitions for warm clothing were verbal ; butt the witness- objected <»¦ this * and expressed an opinion 'thafc the public business could not be safely
transacted in thafc way , and- that they should be ^ rectorded and authenticated . Smc » the * change in the Board oMtolnance , the business was carried on both verbally and in writing , and a large portion of the business was ca & ied' on -in' this way—things in the nrotltine of the offi « ygoing ' on . in-the usual way , though he thought it wa » nttf > a fpropwr way of doing business * It was < subseefuentljy decided that the' contract above mentioned shttuld-bei continued ;; but he doubte & 'whether any record wtte kept of it , the whole proceeding being irregular . When the samples were approved of , they were sent from the Ordnance to the Tower , sealed with the seal of thetBoard-of Ordnance ; , but the seal lay about at the Ordnane ^ and-. anybody * could get it . He did not see ,
however ) -, to whose interest it would be to ohange any ; of .-the samples . Upon the Chairman asking , him * how he accounted for the fact of socks- ; the 8 isM- £ » p children being , sent out for the soldiers , he said th « cw < i 8 f-a great deal of hurry and pressure . He did not ^ tbitik the story probable ; but it was-possible . It . was " possible" also that the shoes sent-out were toosmall ) BeJerrkig-to the tents , he disaoredited the aesertvea > thafciaoine- of < them werfe -old '; but ,, if- such was the t c » se , v * hB » r « ijponsibilityTe 8 ted . witb th « storekeeper . The colon « fe-of'regi * nent *« upp lied a certain ? proportion of : the bootsiandi snoe & 'for the army ,. and tbJb Ordnance ^ the rest ¦ ta ^ e-certain-extent ; and he believed the-complaints that hadObaenimade of the . boots and shoes-in-the Crimoa-refertod ^ to + fchose'supplied by the . colonels , and-not to those furnished- by the Ordnance ; which undorwent a rigid exasaioation'befdrethey were -senfcout . The Ordnance ,
Tindor > the great ; pressure upon them at . the tiina ,-procujpsd- the assistance' of the firm of Messrs . Howell audr Hay , ter in- packing the stores , and-those gentlevr oenv on / undertaking that duty , did'sa on thei undorStamUng that they should , not be aWe to institute thaO ri | $ id ^ inspection intfo the- articles > they packed wiiioh' was icustomary with the Ordnance' ; but they made < a / rgoneral inspection , whioh-wtte satisfactory * on th * -whotfc . With reapeot to the supply'of tools > by tfcw -. Ordnance ! , the witness * said that the- story told . to tl »« committee by Sergeant Dawson that the head * of the-iipickaiees > ihj > the Crimea oamo off . at » every blow stracki-with them , , was * impossible ^ btoauso ithb helve-of evtffjn \ piokaflte- supplied . by ¦ the Ordnance was > so confitaiotedtthat every blow only the more firmly fixed ; it irito ^ ihe head of the axe .. He could not * beltovr ^ lhafr : the mass of the tools supplied vwas ' so -. bad as-had boau described .
Mr . Grant was then recalled , and said -that the seal wttii' which ! the samples were stamped was kept locked u £ , an & "dul' not K « about loose in the office , ; and he believed" it to be utterly impossible * that tho samples could" " have been tampered with . In answer to a question . put by . Sir John Pakington , ho stated that ho had not received a . letter from any oilifcial person in tho Ctinffto-in wfcicb if was suggested , thttt tho roasting . and grjh'dtpg , tliie 'unroasted coffee would bo . capital amusom ' oat c the solcHora ; but ho thought Oonunissary-GeneraTFilder once made a remark of that , land to him taC'tlte course ' of a' conversation ho had had with that geitflefman ,, '** # »»»*?* ' ¦ ¦ -w , *• ranUTlV StTilbomaaHaatinga nroi ^ goln . oacAmiuod , and . gave
testimony with respect ., to severalmattew of ^ OrdBanoe detait One oCthe-chief pointsrMi < hM evidence had teferJenee to'the misconduct of'twti offlcers . at . W 9 olwich- ; but he < deolinbd ^ to giwtfaeir ) names , The Master-General of the Ordnancl , he said , had-full powar ^ to dismiss officers who misconduct themselves ; . butan > tlro oase the . matter was taken in hand by the War Mmister v though that wasia < very unusual thing . Sir Thomas , aUudm » . to his disapproval of ordering rifles . at Lifgej / aid thafcit . would cripple the Birmingham trade , and added * that , mi , case of an invasion taking place , without a supply from . Birmingham they could not arm the population . It there should ever be an invasion , as Birmingham was located in < the centre of the kingdom , it would furnish listened
arms in any quantity . The Duke of Newcastle most attentively to all he said on this subject . He should regret exceedingly that it should appear that-he had opposed the obtaining of that number of muskets , but he wished to explain that it was his impression that such a step would quite destroy the gun trade of Birmingham . They had not received a single musket from Belgium . By teaching the manufacturers there how to make a new species of arms they could be sold to other countries , and might be turned against ourselves a * any time . 152 , 000 muskets were ordered at Birming hamj of whieh 83 , 991 had been delivered . He had not heard of any compMints ^ made 'by the contractors as to delay occasioned'in obtaining patterns for the arms required .
Itta Tjlh^I Iiuai> F B Oki ^^Xmfcd^S; 4e...
ittA TJlH ^ i IiUAI > B OKi ^^ XMfcD ^ s ; 4 EM & - ¦ ¦ — =
The War. Ttle Bombakdmekt Ttas Been Susp...
THE WAR . TtlE BOMBAKDMEKT TTAS BEEN SUSPENDED . That is , emphatioally , the war news of tiiis week . After , all our enormous expenditure of shot and shell . —af ter the incessant " pounding" of a fortnight iir duration * - —this marvellous fortress seems to be as impregnable" as ever ; the different batteries rise again every morning , AntaBus-like , with fresh strength from their temporary abasement ; and the Allies stand breathless , and wondering what they shall do-next . Tlie suspension ( which took place on the 28 th of April ) is said to be merely temporary , and owing to a desire not to exhaust our ammunition before the arrival of reinforcements which are expected shortly . A des ' roitch from Vienna , dated May 2 nd , says , that authen tic informatio n has reached that city that the bombardment was to be resumed in a few days ; but of course this is merely in the clouds . In' the meanwhile , we know too well that our pains have been thrown away ; that the town is not reduced ; and that , as Sir Charles Wood told us in the House ,. on . Tuesday , on the authority of a telegraphic despatch from Balaklava , the Russian force stationed between the Belbec and Mackenzie ' s Farm
htts- been strengthened by two divisions . Thus , our -telegraph has as yet brought us nothing but cold comfort . The engagement -between the French and Russians on the night of the 13 th ult . off which-we gave ian account last week , was the result of a sortie of jttte 'latter upon the former , or rather of two succesisfve sorties , one immediately following tho repulse ofthe-ofchorv The second also wa » dpiven back by
our gallant allies with groat slaughter . Those attacks were matte from the 'Flagstaff Battery ; and , as if to revenge themselves , the French , a few days later , took up a position in front of that battery , frdtti . Whicli , however , they have since been driven . The English are engaged in pushing , forward-another advanced parallel ; in doing which , they wer-o so greatly pestered by the Bussian rifle-pits that tho Work was for a time stopped . Two of those pits were therefore attacked and carried on tho night of-the 19 th , though not without considerable loss of life-to us as -well as to tho enemy . These ambusoades were under the Mamelon , in front of the MCttlakoflT Tower . The Russians have abandoned tho batteries of Careening Bay .
Our men complain greatly of the slightness of their earthworks , through whicli tho Russian shot and shell burst , and scatter death broadcast . They are also again sadly overworked ; but they are in good spirits after all their disappointments , and their health on tho whole is improving . Captain Christie , late of the transport service , has arrived at Kamiosch , whore ho was to bo tried by court-martial , ' chiefly for thfe loss of tho Prince .
The Russians uro straining . cvery nerve to defend the town to the left ; , and our only hope seems to bo in" a complete investment , and a struggle with tho army in the field . On this subject , the Herald correspondent Bayb : "Up to two months past , to invest iho north of Sevastopol would have been oa « y .
3 Sow ,, sucli . a step Avilbinyolye ( battles . to . whloh Mxdm md > 'Inkiadman' wire > sMtfttifishesyvaB . vwe- know tii a * beyondv the JEehbrnayate very height is foWanedi ani that , the -wild mountain road which , leads front Tnhaurgoum- to Mackenzie's Farm , bi 4 at & a- withreooubts \ a « e & er < y ^ ravine ; " IKet , if Weido-nott . hwest it seeitts-. w e-ha . v © nothing ^ elseifor it than toxlepaofc ThesF 4 agetaff ; Ba * fery , the Redan , , the MalakoflV . an * other works , were thDown up by the iRuesiansHsince 1 last sunimeri—some ,. even , since the battle bf < A 3 tna . yeV though these batteries . have been half ruined bxr our firo ,. and temporarily silenced , they seers . still as : impregnable . afr evert KtrSSMN" MOVEMENTS .
The Russian army in the field seems to be dwindling away , or to be doomed to inactivity . We hear of men marching away to our right flank and rear , and of others descending from Mackenzie ' s Farm towards Baiflar and Tchorgoum ; but they are swallowed up , as it were ,, when they enter the ravines behind us . The army of the Tchernaya is visibly decreased . The men are probablydraughted off to the north side of the town ; for the encampment of the enemy at Hollandia has been sensibly augmented , and the force at the rear of the Round Tower has also been strengthened . The lines of the Russian
huts on the . . heights over Inkerman along the Tclier--naya remain unchanged ; but I do not see so many men in them . They have a iespectable force of cavalry picketed outside Inkerman , and numerous batteries of artillery ; and their men are employed incessantly in throwing up great earthworks to the east and northeast of the place . These works are all beyond the range of the batteries on' our right , and can only be intended to resist any attempt on our part to march round to the north side , or to turn the left flank of the enemy . — Times Correspondent .
SHARP PRACTICE . Some time ago I was watching three French Chasseurs " potting away" at a , Russian who was sitting with his legs dangling over the sides of a precipice , and now and then returning their fire . The French knew the man quite wellj . and admitted that he was so good . a shot they did not care to expose themselves too freely . All their balls fell short of the man ; and , after he had received three or four rounds from each , he raised hi 6 rifle , down went the Chasseurs and somebody else , " ping " flew the ball through the air , and , " plop"" it came against the rock behind which the foremost Chasseur was crouching . The Frenchman picked up the piece
of lead quite flattened out and broken , and showed it to his comrades ; and then they resumed their practice , the result of which I did not wait further to ascertain . Many of the Russian riflemen are excellent shots ; but the majority of them are not equal to our own or to the Freuch Chasseurs . An amateur in one of th & batteries , anxious to see what kind of shooting the enemy would make , held bis " wideawake" just above the parapet ; in a moment , two bullets went through it , and one of them . took a fancy to the gentleman ' s fore-finger and to a bit of another finger , and carried them away with . it , so that tho unfortunate experimentalist will bo able to speak with authority on the question of Russian sharpshooting . —Idem *
EXPLODING THE MINES . —STATE OF SEBAHTOPOU . It was stated that the French would explode their mines ( fougades , I believe ) this evening ( Stmda y > A p " 15 th ) at four o ' clock ; then th « 'time was deferred till six o'clock , and'finally to an indefinite period of the evening , and the groupa of spectators , tired of waiting on'the hills , retired to their tents . The Field-Marshal and his staff were among the number . At half-past eight o clock however , three pillars of ml . flamo hurtled through tho air with an appalling crash from under the battery ^ tho Flagstaff Bastion , blowing up tho parapets and platforms of tho outer work and laying it m n uns , fho loded it
fourth and principal mine was not exp , as jas found to be close to the gallery of a Russian nunc , and so far tho cxplosionfailed , and the French were unable to make such a lodgment aa was anticipated ; but they ruahedin and . established themselves m tho course of ^ tlio night in a portion of the outer work . The J » n 3 > believing the explosion was a signal for a general assault , ran to their guns , , and for an hour their but tones vomited forth prodigious volumes of lire and « inok » against our linea from one extremity to the other , im force and-fury of-their cannonade was » - » dl Ii u « | ro bU ; i notwithstanding the length and strength of ^ " ^ caused but littlo damage to the works or to thui
A Polish deserter ho * como in , who reports that jo miased a golden opportunity last Monday ; It « W > ° that tho Russians wore apprised of the landing aiid rc » of tho TurkB , and received information which led thorn t beliovo wo wore-about to attack Liprmidi » army . -. / available man was » ent out of Sevastopol oii Suii my last , and when we opened fire on Monday •^^ J had only 8000 men in tho place . This «<¦ »»' thob silence and for their Hurpriflo . For two djys Jtog were working might and main to get thou men from Liprandi ' s army to the town again , " « " » y hwe . now 28 , 000 men inside . Tho d « ter »» J . «» P i » a perfect hell . " Tltora aro 800 X' ™ ^ , h wpuiuleain tho hospital , ; no . E « tfi » Bh . lUo lwapw *
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), May 5, 1855, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_05051855/page/6/
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