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Febbitaky 17,1855.] JHiB o g3BijP|i ^ ^1...
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SURVEY OF THE WAR. The Allied Armies hav...
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THE ROOT OF THE EVIL. M. Gtjizot, addres...
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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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Febbitaky 17,1855.] Jhib O G3bijp|I ^ ^1...
Febbitaky 17 , 1855 . ] JHiB o g 3 BijP | i ^ ^ 157
Survey Of The War. The Allied Armies Hav...
SURVEY OF THE WAR . The Allied Armies have now been five months in the Crimea , and upwards of four months before Sevastopol . The sanguine hopes entertained by the British people at the brilliant opening of the campaign in September—the successful landing , the battle of the Alma , the flank march and seizure of Balaklavahave been disappointed , and the wild exultation of a moment has been turned into anxiety , nay , almost despondency . England has in those four months lost much of her
prestige aB a military power , not by any failure i * * bravery of her troops , but by the complete catastrophe of the whole of her war establishment . It is now universally felt that the war was undertaken with the inadequate means bequeathed by a long peace ; it fs now clear to all that the power and resources of the European foe were underrated at the outset , not only by the ruling authorities of England , but the ruling'authorities of France . The army sent to the Crimea was thought to be adequate to storm
Sebastopol by a coup de mam ; it failed m achieving that ; it has been proved inadequate , it is still inadequate , to form a complete investment of the place . Military authorities tell us that the works on the northern side of the harbour should first have been , reduced , and that was the original plan of the Allies . "Why was not that plan followed ? Because the force at the disposal of the commander was not adequate to its execution . Btence , the primary plan-was abandoned ; the iallied army turned the head of SebastbpoV / ind left its
communications with Russia open to the enemy ; and the army sat down , before a portion of the place , still with a force inadequate to perform the work of tfiej 8 iege , even of thair portion ^ and at the same tiiaae to cover its own positions . The attack in October yr & B a total failure ; the enemy grew stronger every day ; on the 25 th of October he seized the main road from Balaklava—the British base- —to the British camp on the heights ; on the 5 th of November he attempted to storm the key of the
British position by throwing 40 , 000 or 60 , 000 men upon ' our undefended flank at Inkerman ; thenjjame ^ the Jiurricane of the 14 th of November ; and the suspension of the bombardment , until it became obvious that the Allies would be compelled to winter in that exposed corner of the Crimea . The terrible incidents of the last three months ; the horrible sufferings of our troops ; the heartrending spectacle of an army of heroes perishing within six miles of a dep 6 t filled to
overflowing with stores of all Kinds ; the utter break-down of the whole army administration—transport , commissariat , and medical —arefacts , alas ! with which the public are only too familiar . They have been strong enough to break up one of the strongest administrations of our day ; to awaken the people to a true sense of the momentous character of the war in which we are engaged ; and we trust ' strong enough to compel a radical reform of that Bystem
of which they'are the ghastly results . But if we know the British people , these recent and tragic failures will rather rouse than numb their spiritj and they will force whatever Goverment may be in power to obey the national command to carry on the war in future with adequate moans and adequate instruments . If we may trust recent accounts , there is already a Blight improvement in the military position of affairs . During the months of Buffering much has been done , it would seem , to enable the commanders to renew their of
operation ^ ; with what chance success remains to be seen . "Whatever may be the amount of the British army on the scene of action , whether 12 , 000 or 25 , 000 , it is clear
that the French army has been largely reinforced , and now musters something like 70 , 000 men . The French works of attack cover miles of ground , and have been pushed within less than 100 yards of that salient head of the Russian defences known as the Flagstaff battery . The lines have been newly mounted with heavier guns , including manymortars , and the determination of the French to push their approaches has caused the enemy to redouble the force and frequency of his sorties , so that the troops in the trenches are kept constantly on the alert , and much loss is incurred on either side . It
is remarked that the Russians fight with more pertinacity , and meet bayonet with bayonet . The Russian line of defence against the French , with the exception of the Flagstaff battery , seems almost as perfect as when the siege began ; and behind the Flagstaff a new battery of great power has been constructed and armed ; while , extending to its right down to the sea , runs aline of works as yet untouched . Nevertheless , it is believed that the French batteries will utterly destroy these defences when next they open fire . Crossing the deep ravine on the French
right , we find the British attack advanced much nearer than , formerly to the redan line to which itisopposed . Here again the activity of the enemy and his vast resources have enabled him to construct work within work , covering a camp separated from the town by the Careening Bay , but in communication with it by means of a bridge and boats . Yet even against this formidable defence , we are told , our works have been newly armed , and fresh batteries , calculated to command the shipping
as well as the earthworks , have been constructed ; while the rear is now entirely defended by a long line of entrenchments and redoubts , stretching from Balaklava to the head of the . Tchernaya . Relief has been given to the exhausted-British armv-by _ placing French troops on our extreme right . The general position of the Allies may be stated thus : they occupy a corner of the Crimea bounded on all sides , except the east , by the sea . and the waters of the
harbour ; but deeply into this corner cuts the triangle of the Russian defences of Sebastopol ™ Onthe-other handj-the -Russians axe masters of the rest of the country with one exception—Eupatoria . They have withdrawn nearly their whole force from the valley of Balaklava , and appear to be cantoned in divisions from the strong entrenched camp on the north side of Sebastopol to Simpheropol . It is believed that the positions on the Alma and the Belbek have
been occupied by infantry , while the greater part of the cavalry are in winter quarters . There ia , therefore , unlimited access to Sebastopol on the north side ; and accordingly , convoys of stores and provisions constantly make their way into the place . But the allied forces at Eupatoria , on the flank of the Russian communications , growing stronger , numerically , every day , promise to become an inconvenient element in the Russian calculations . Should it be deemed essential , after all , to defeat the
enemy in the field , and complete the investment of Sebastopol , the forces at Eupatoria may be expected to play an important port in the campaign ; The main body of the Allies , therefore , is between the Russian army in the field and the Russian army in Sebastopol ; ' while the Russian array in the field is in its turn menaced by the troops at Eupatoria , who are themselves watched by a cavalry and infantry force of what strength wo know not . All these and many other considerations will exercise a controlling influence over the campaign of 1855 . The present allied force inlthe Crimea is far below
the number that will be required for a successful war , unless operations beyond the Crimea should disable the Czar from sending reinforcements to that peninsula . At present the war has not actually extended beyond the Crimea ; 'but should it break out on the Pruth , in Transylvania , or in Gallicia , should the powerful Austrian army on . the frontier be reinforced by a French contingent ; should the Scandinavian Powers follow the example of Sardinia ; should the three Allies resolve to restore Poland—a contingency which , however remote , Prussia evidentl y fears—it is clear that the allied armies in the Crimea would be
relieved from some of the weight which now oppresses them , and disconcerts their operations . In the event of a failure in any of these contingencies , France , England , and Turkey will be forced to double the number of their troops in the Crimea , accept the battle on that ground , send capable commanders , take care that ^ the stomach , that real base of operations , be well supplied , and adopt the most vigorous measures , by land and sea , to prevent the
further ingress of Russian troops , and to destroy , take , or rout those that are now there . A survey of the war leads only ^ to this conclusion , that in spite of hardships , the winter , and the enemy , the Allies have been able to maintain themselves in the territory of the Czar ; but , except for the purpose ol throwing shot and shell into Sebastopol , they have not yet placed themselves in sueii a position , relatively to the enemy , as will enable them to commence that series of operations which alone caslead to victory .
The Root Of The Evil. M. Gtjizot, Addres...
THE ROOT OF THE EVIL . M . Gtjizot , addressing the Academy . __ of Moral and Political Sciences on a recent occasion , observed with marked emphasis , that " in France under the present regime the suppression of thought was severe , but the servility almost exceeded the suppression . " In a certain sense we cannot but apply these gloomy words to our own free and enlightened nation . All the world of respectability in Great Britain , after due digestion of its matutinal Times , is awaking to the melancholy conviction that we are the victims of a
governmental system of aristocratic incompetence . Granted ; but who is to blape ? Certainly not the governing class who do not achieve power , it is true ; who are born to power , it is equally true ; but on whom , let it be confessed , power is thrust b y the very classes who are now crying out with all the
rage of impotence . Many years ago that Sir Edwaud Bulweb IiYttobt , whose " commanding abilities" are secured by the approaching Tory Government , obserlsd that the true safeguard of our aristoempey lay in the profound adoration of the people . The City , we are told , is coming round to the Times . We have seen letters from very
respectable tradesmen copying with nervous intensity the opinion of the Times that , " it is really time the people ( i . e . the middle classes ) should take it into their own hands . ' Meantime , while this portentous determination ia pending , the people (* " . e . the middle classes ) are devoutly studying the latest edition of the Peerage , that second Bible ol all Great Britons , who " never , never will be
slaves " If such a phenomenon as a Ministry without a single peer can be conceived , how shall Avo conceive the dismay ot the Ureat-Britisli people ( i . e . the middle classeaVon apprehending such a phenomenon . After me the deluge ! Why the deluge would be a domestic water-butt in comparison to such a catastrophe as a Ministry of Coirimbnera . Let the aristocracy take heart . No plain Smith in the United Kingdom contemplates
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 17, 1855, page 13, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_17021855/page/13/
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