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594j THE LEADER. [SatordaYj
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WAR MISCELLANEA. The Peksestt Condition ...
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LETTERS FROM THE BALTIC!. (Extract from ...
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SIR CIIARJLES NAPIEK AND SIR JAMES GRAHA...
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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 War. Disaster And Temporary Reverse ...
"On the following day a frigate approached , and fired oar the place ineffectually for two hours . " Tbe Dantzic correspondent of the Times says : — '" The Lightning * has arrived with the mails . " *& ietitenant Geneste , Dt . Easton , and Mr . Sullivan are prisoners , bnt wounded . "
594j The Leader. [Satordayj
594 j THE LEADER . [ SatordaYj
War Miscellanea. The Peksestt Condition ...
WAR MISCELLANEA . The Peksestt Condition of Sebastopol . — TTie Times Berlin ^ correspondent writes as follows : — " The official reportsof the state of Sebastopol received in St . Petersburg at the beginning of this month no longer exhibit the same satisfactory picture of things as previous to the last bombardment . The south side of the town has suffered very considerably ; a number of houses are piles of ruins ; of others only the external walls are distinguishable ; and the theatre , which is endeared to the Russians by so many recollections , has ceased to exist . The northern portion of the town has by no means suffered so much , but jet there is hardly a house there the walls or roof of which , have not been perforated bv grenade , shell , ball , or rocket , or the window-panes and frames of which have not been destroyed by fragments of exploding shells . "
The Correspondence between the Govenrnmejnt asd Admiral Duijdas , the late Commander of the Black Sea Pleet , to which reference was made in the recentwar debate , has been published . It shows that the Admiralty impressed upon Admiral Dundas , in the course of Last October , the necessity of blockading the Bay of Kherson and the river Dniester , of obtaining an entrance into the Sea of Azof , of attacking all parts of the coast from the mouths of the Danube to tie Isthmus of Perekop , and of
bombarding Odessa . To these directions , the Admiral replied by stating that he had for some time desired to obtain possession of the Sea of Azof , by means of seizing Kertch , but that he could not obtain troops enough for the purpose ; and that he designed to attack Odessa , but that General Canrobert and Lord Raglan conceived that sneh an expedition at that time -would be disadvantageous rather than useful . Under date of December 8 th , the Admiralty again express their desire that Odessa should bombarded .
Miss Nightingale . —Mr . C . H . Bracebridge has sent borne from Scutari , under date of the 7 tb , a brief narraof Miss Nightingale ' s labours at Balaklava , and her return to Scutari in Lord Ward ' s yacht . At the date tnentioned , she -was extremely weak , but "had no remains of fever and no danger was apprehended . " She trusts to be soon able to return to Balaklava . Miss Nightingale was visited while sick by Lord Raglan at the huts , and again on board the yacht . The honse of the chaplain is placed at her disposal , and she has been Offered the use of the British Palace at Pera by Lord and T ^ ady Stratford de Redcliffe .
The Sappers' Church in the Crimea . —This edifice is constructed in a very singular manner , being composed ip'holly of siege apparatus . The articles employed in the construction are scaling-ladders , gabions , fascines , timber ready cut and shaped for gun-platforms , a few planks , and some pieces of rope . Two scaling ladders locked into each other at the top , so as to give and derive mutual support , form at certain intervals the columns which separate the aisles from the body of the church , and bear the roof . As these articles arc not rendered unfit for their original and more legitimate use , they may be said to be laid up in store , ready at a momenVs notice to bo brought into active instead of passive service .
' Russia still Cka . vxno von Peace . —The effect of our recent . successes is becoming evident eren in the Russian capital . It would appear , from an article in a recent number of tho Journal of St . Petersburg—an article wjiicb , though put forward as an ansAver tg the "lastpjxblished circular of Count Walewski , is very paciiic in its tone—that Russia still leaves a door open for honourable reconciliation . It must he borne in mind that tliia journal is the recognised mouthpiece of the Russian < jrovernment . A letter from St . Petersburg , of the 5 th , in the News of Hamburg , says : — "Tho Synod of St . Petersburg has presented an address to the Emperor , earnestly praying him to show himself more disposed towards conferences of peace , in so far as tho political interests of tho state would permit . It is not known how the Emperor has received this address . " # ¦
Winter Station at Gothland . —Negotiations hove been opened with tho Swedish Government for ceding tho island of Gothland to England and France , in order to form a winter station for tho fleets , which would then bo ablo to anchor in tho safe and commodious harbour of 1 'Wo Sound , and not bo obliged to return homo at tho end of tho campaign .- — Daily News . Tub Foukion Legion .- —At Altona , a royal proclamation has boon published , forbidding enlistments for tho Foreign Legion . Tho penalty for disobedience ia eight years' imr > risonmcnt and hard labour .
Tjie Baltjo Fj-iskt . — Tlio Berlin Correspondent of tho , Times , writing on Juno 21 at , saya : —" Tho detachment of tho fleet under Roar-Admiral Bayno . s , constating of live liners , two frigates , and ten gunboats , left Kiol harbour early on Wednesday , tho 20 th of Juno , for Cronstadt . " Diarrhoea , wo regret to Hay , in still prevalent in the fleet . A Monumknt at Scutart . —Wo understand that it
is the intention of the Government to apply to Parliament for a vote of public money , which is to be applied in erecting a monument in commemoration of pur soldiers who have died at Scutari . A design for the monument has already been prepared by the Baron Marochetti . This tribute of respect to the memory of so many brave men , the victims of disease and neglect , will , we are sure , be willingly rendered by the nation . It was suggested some time ago by Miss Nightingale , and her Majesty is said to feel a lively interest in its realisation —Times .
The Struggle at the Quarries ani > ihe MajdUiLON . —The levies correspondent , in detailing the inci dents of the memorable 7 th of June , makes the following singularly vivid comparisons : — " The attempt to retake the pits was desperately pushed , the Russians pouring in a most terrific discharge of musketry , which caused us no small loss , and , as it came up the gorge , contending with the fresh wind , sounded in the distance like u-aler gulped simultaneously from a thousand bottles . . . . A new crop © f battle grew up over all the intervening hollow between the Round Tower and the Mamelon :
and the ripple of musket-shots plashed and leaped all over the broad hill-side . . . . The tow « r itself , or rather the inglorious stump of what was the Round Tower , took and gave she > t and shell and musketry with the i » ost savage ardonr and rapidity . The tire of its musketry was like one shelf of flame , rolling backwards and forwards Tvith a dancing movement , and , dwarfed as it was fey tbe distance , and seen by us in profile , eould scarcely be compared to anything small or large , except the notes of a piano flashed mto fire tfir & ughout some rapid tune . "
Sai > Doings at Keiitch . —A letter from Kertch in the Times gives -sonae humiliating details of the excesses committed by the Turkish troops , and , in a few instances , by the French and English in the late occupation of that town . Some horrible atrocities were ¦ committed upon -women and children by the soldiers of the SultaH , aided occasionally by the more evil-disposed among their allies ; and it was not until the French put several of the miscreants to death that order was restored . The Russians , upon our entering the town , offered bread and salt hi token of submission ; but the
cruelty and lust of the more ruffianly part of the army were not to be appeased . A great many very interesting antiquities were utterly destroyed in wanton malice ; and we are ashamed to add that some English merchant seamen were concerned in . the devastation . The writer from whom we derive the foregoing facts says that Kertch has been all but sacked ,, and that to the apathy or neglect of Sir George Brown is to be attributed these disgraceful excesses . In the face of such facts , we are the leas able to impugn the barbarity of the Russians .
Letters From The Baltic!. (Extract From ...
LETTERS FROM THE BALTIC ! . ( Extract from Private Correspondence . ^ II . M . S . , off Cronetadt , June 11 . . . . The blockade of ' 55 will annoy the inhabitants of St . Petersburg far more than that of ' 54 , as this year all the coasting as well as Bea-going traffic has been stopped . The line-of-battle ships , moored in a single line about two miles westof tbeTolbouken lighthouse , sweep the gulf from shore to shore , and hermetically seal the entrance to the Neva . Astern of each line-ofbattle ehip ia lier steam-gunboat . Closer in to Cronstadt are the frigates and sloops , which however are seldom at anchor , as nearly every day two or tliree of them weigh and cliaeo email sloops which endeavour to break the blockade ; others hover about the gulf , picking up every craft which leaves either shore . About thirty of these small coasters have been taken , most of them lttdezi with wood , two or three of them with cut stone for the new batteries at Cronstadt , and one with tallow for the same place— -probably a delicious meal for the garrison . The firewood came in handy for tho fleet ; the prizes were sunk , as not being of sufficient value to send home .
Apropos to firewood , I am glad to tell you Admiral Dundas has partially adopted the hint I gave the Admiralty last March in the columns of your excellent paper . Orders have been issued ior every ship to out wood on Nargen whenever an opportunity occurs , but tho admiral has not thought proper to direct any allowance to be made for such extra work . A shillinga ton would be little enough for tho wear and tear of clothing to which tho men of our corps ( Hoyal Mwrines ) * are subjected by this new duty . ¦? A barbarous murder has been committed at Hango
Head . The Cossaelc , 21 gune , having Homo masters of merchant vessels , prisoners of war , on board , was olF the Point on tho 5 th inst . Captain Funehawo , not wishing to detnin tho prisoners , who w ro in bad health , landed them with a flag of truce . Tho officers' elcwarda , who were assured by the prisoners that tho country people would gladly sell them provisions , accompanied tho prisoners . On Lieutenant Genes to landing with seven of Win crew , tho surgeon and . a Minster ' s asstatnnt , he was met by an officer who euid in Kngltoh , "Wo don ' t want any of your d—d flags of tnico . " A flro from n parly iuambush
dropped immediately all the English and their rw ' soners , some say ten in number . Five men had h left hi the boat , but a second volley finished these nil but one , who , insensibleand desperately wounded n naged shortly afterwards to paddle off from the sLot The next morning he was picked up by the Cossaet Comment on this dark deed is unnecessary . The vo of Europe will condemn it . I trust our admiral will avenge it . The humanity system of war-inaking must now end . Captain Fanshawe is blamed , by many for want of caution , and for testing the good faith of the barbarians with a flag of truce . He has erred ia com mon with otlters , and must feel more acutely , but not more justly tlian Lord John Russell at Vienna that English honour and confidence are no match for Muscovite cunning .
What are we to do ? No one can answer . Three English line-of-battle ships watch Sweaborg , where the Russians have five ready for sea . Ten English and three French liners are here , where we can make out eleven line-of-battle ships , six frigates , and six steamers , ready for sea ,. with about nineteen dismantled liners . At Bevel we have one line-of-battle ship ; the Russians several gunboats . The latter have also some other steam-gunboats iu Cronstadt two of which came out last Saturday , when the Russians exploded one of Jacobi ' s infernal machines under tiie Merlin , but with no success . * Two other caissons were equally effective ; and so the gunboats having maintained a spirited fire at the short range of five miles , returned to report their victory to the governor . I have estimated the amount of the ltus . sian naval force as nearly as a spy-glass will allow
me to do , but I cannot mlorm you as to the seaworthiness of the vessels , or the composition of tbe crews . The majority of the ships , I am inclined to think , cannot go to sea , while their crews may , for the most part , be distinguishing themselves at Odessa or Sebastopol . Our want of information is our weak point . Break through routine for once and send a naval officer with 10 , 000 / . secret service money to Stockholm , tell our ministers and consuls to mind their own business , we may then hope for a more correct accouut of the Russian fleets and -armies in ' 56 , perhaps in ' 55 , and we shall be stronger than five Jine-of-battle ships more can make us . At present we know not the number , nor even the descri ption of troops , in Northern llussia . Yours , & c , P .
Sir Ciiarjles Napiek And Sir James Graha...
SIR CIIARJLES NAPIEK AND SIR JAMES GRAHAM . The subjoined singular and interesting correspondence was read at a meeting of the Sheffield Committee for investigating Foreign Affairs , held at the -Council Hall of the town . The occasion was a motion requesting Mr . Koebuck to move the appointmentof a Committee to inquire into the Baltic expedition of last year . Mr . Ironside , the originator of the motion , stated that , in consequence of hearing that the whole of the correspondence between Sir Charles Napier and 8 ir James Graham was in the hands of Mr . Grant of the Morn ing Advertiser , he wrote to that gentleman , and received the following reply : ~ " London , June 11 , 1855 . Dear Sir , — 1 hud in ray possession for six weeks tlu > whole correspondence—the originals—which passed between Sir Jaini's Graham and Sir Charles Napier , from the starting of the- Baltic expedition , last year , to its return ; but- I returned it to Sir Charles Napier a montli ago . I got tho documents—• which I need not say are of infinite importance —<> " tin : -understanding that I should not give them out of my hands . I hmi , however , no prohibition as to showing ¦ them to friends , and had you chanced to call on muwhil « they -wore in my po . isvs . sion , 1 should lmvu had much pleasure in showing them to you . 1 have no hesitation in Baying that , if 1 have any idea of what evidence is , these letters would suffice , with other fact . s of undoubted accuracy , to convict . Sir . Tunics Graham of treason . — - Yours , Ja . mk !\ Grant . " On receipt of this , Mr . Ironside wrote to ^ Sir Charles Napier , asking permission to sec the letters .
lie received the subjoined answer : — " Merchistun llorndoan , June 17 , lfcS 5 i > . . Sir , --Mi-Grant has told you tho truth . 1 did jhu > I . give tUotil ! letters to him to publish , because 1 might have boon jiocused of giving my plaua of attack to this enemy ) uUl -when it in decided not to uttuok the parts 1 pointed out , and when there ia no duugur of publication , 1 shall go w Lord rabiwrtitun , and ask him if he will give tho }>« P uri 1 to tho llouao ; and if ho refuses , 1 wlmll then publish tuui " —whutevor in the consequence to inyHull . 1 hn \ u * Other accounts of tho explosion Htnto ihut I ho hlov -was i \ h if tho vessel had eomo against it mnilu'ii rod * ,
onuHing it to quiver a good < l < ml , and ]>; jrlly l 0 u " round : all , however , agree that no material diuna ^' wn < lono . tfovornl articles of considerable tvoight avok jerkud out of their places , and sonio crockery was brol : e" , but tho result wuu of tho moat triilinfj Jund . — ' - JLaadar .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), June 23, 1855, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_23061855/page/6/
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