On this page
-
Text (5)
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
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.
-
-
Transcript
-
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.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Article
SCRAPS FROM THE CAMP . A man of the 9 th Regiment -was stabbed in three places about the head last night , and afterwards strangled with his comforter : supposed to be done by Turks , as he was found close to their tents . Our meu-of-war ' s men have now huge flowing beards and moustaches , great coats made of cowhide , and trousers of buffalo skin ; resembling , in fact , great bears , ^ vith nothing to remind you of our blue-jackets but _ their bold , rollicking , defiant spirit , which four long months in the trenches have not be able to subdue . I am not sure whether I told you before that the Russian major who was taken prisoner at Inkerman , and convicted of murdering our wounded men , died the other day af Scutari , apparently conscience-stricken . His own brother officers petitioned to be removed from his society , as they would not associate with him , and he pined away and died without any apparent disease .
Untitled Article
MR . ROBERT LOWE AT KIDDERMINSTER . On Tuesday , Mr . Lowe addressed his constituents , on the occasion of his refusing to join Lord Palmerston's Government , in his late capacity as Secretary to the Board of Control . Referring to that office , he said that under the able Presidency of Sir Charles Wood , very much good had been done ; more abuses had been swept away than -under- any . _ former admiiiistration . ^_ Thei bill of 1853 had thrown open the Indian Service to the public , instead of being as before , controlled by patronage . He had not quitted service from dissatisfaction with Lord Palmerston ' s Government , which he was anxiou 3 to support , but merely because he had accomplished his aim , and seen enough of official life to qualify himself
for higher office . The votes he had given were probably not always satisfactory to his constituents—they were certainly ' not always so to himself ; but a member of a Government was bound to support it , and he would not have taken office had he not had great confidence in every member of the Government . Mr . Lowe had expected from the presence of Lord John Russell in that Government , that he would not have been asked to vote , or abstain from voting , on questions interesting to Dissenters—such as church-rates , and admission to the Universities . But those subjects were not dealt with as ho could have -wished , so he usually settled the matter by not voting at all . Mr . Lowe then , went to the great subject of the day . " I , for one , cordially approve the
war with Russia . ( Cheers ) . She had boon represented to us as a weak Power , and I fear we have found her a strong one . But , whether weak or strong , I think the war just , wise , and expedient . If she be a weak Power , it is intolerable that she should set up pretensions in order to break faith , violate treaties ,, attack her weaker neighbours , and disturb by her wanton and inordinate ambition , ' the peace of Europe . If this is intolerable in a weak Power , how much more dangerous and necessary to be prevented must it be in a stronger Power—one not onlV able to conceive vast schemes of aggrandisement , the
but to carry them out by aid of innumerable legions , resources of inexhaustible arsenals , an dlall the machinery which barbarism knows how to put in motion in its conflict with civilisation , ? ' I , tfold that wo ard wise in moeting this danger in time— it would not bo wise to wait till Russia had ' acquired as her own the Turkish empire , tHleheliad spread her" arms' round tne' Black Sea , and obtained the command of the ; . Dardanelles and Bosphorus , by which that soh . la entered . It -would ' not be wise to wait ; till , having enclosed AUsitia'In thjs iron not , she dismembered her province * by province at * she took
Untitled Article
" You must understand that ' non-commissioned officers and men' include all the staff and servants ; also that the horses returned as ' fit for duty' are those which are still able to crawl up to the front with biscuit and beef . Of the number returned in our regiment , we might perhaps find five horses that could gallop half a mile , and which arereally fit for service ; the remainder are all sickly and dying . The whole Light Cavalry Brigade together now scarcely musters as many horses as our regiment alone brought to the Crimea . "
ONE ENGLISHMAN TO SIX RUSSIANS . Captain Crosse , of the 88 th Regiment , thus describes his easy victory over six of the enemy . The occurrence took place at Inkerman : — "I fired the first chamber of my revolver ( one of Dean ' s ) to save Hourigan ' s life , and did not see him again during that . day . When I was attacked by the six Russians , I saved my own life as follows , viz .: —I shot four , and was then bayonetted by the fifth , who fell , bringing me on my knees , and while there I had to defend myself with my sword against the sixth . I got
on my feet , and walked as well as I could to the rear , and at about ten yards' distance met my colour-sergeant , Pat Cooney , and told him to take command of the company , and get me a man to assist me , as I was wounded . Private John Gascoigne came ; I afterwards called two more , Privates Samuel Price and Pat Connolly , to defend us , as the Russians were close to us . Privates Price and Gascoigne supported me till I got a stretcher , I think , from the 49 th Regiment , and they and two men of that corps carried me to the hosp ital of the Light Division . "
Untitled Article
Officer * . JNon-coWmW . Uont : ^ Oracorn A Man . . ¦ 4 th Light Dragoons Is 5 , t lifl 63 10 26 8 th Hussars ........... 16 1 180 04 40 . 13 11 th Hussars ; . 12 8 141 60 ' 26 28 13 th Lfe Dragoons ... 12 .. . 0 106 . Oft £ 0 26 17 thXancor » i . , » ,, „ . — . J . 48 , 57 3 J 2 IB - Tbtal .. ' .,..... ' :.:... 61 " H' ¦ in ¦ ft&T' 142 102
Untitled Article
Ttfrt T IE X E A P B 3 ft . [ Saotbi > at . _
Untitled Article
hand side-of the path , about three-quarters of ^ a mile outside Balaklava , for the expelled sutlers ; and , from the din and clamour , one might imagine he was coming to some well-frequented English fair . A swarm of men , in all sorts of grotesque uniforms , French , English , and Turks , throng the narrow lanes between the huts and tents , and carry on bargains in all the languages of Babel with Greek , Italian , Algerine , Spaniard , Maltese , Armenian , Jew , and Egyptian , for all sorts of merchandise ; Here I beheld my runaway servant— -a vagabond Italian—selling-small loaves of bread for 2 s . each , which he had purchased from a French baker in Balaklava for Is . 6 d-, and thus realised 6 d . out of it for a short walk . The guardhouse had had no effect on him , and , as the
authorities do not interfere in such cases , I was left to solace myself with the poor revenge of seeing him break his shins over a tent stick as he ran away to escape my horsewhip . Here you may see all the scoundrels of the Levant who can get across the Black Sea making little fortunes by the sale , at the most enormous pr ices , of the vilest articles of consumption , which necessity alone forces us to use ; and here you may see a few honest traders sitting moodily in ther stalls , and mourning over their fast-departing probity . There is not one Englishman , so far as I know , amoiig these sutlers of the British army , though the greatest vein of nuggets that ever charmed multitudes to a desert -was as dross and dirt to the wealth to be realised in this festering crowd . ! ' ' '
Camel-drivers , arabajees , wild-eyed , strange-looking savages from out-of-the-way corners of Asia Minor , dressed apparently in the spoils of the chorus of ' Nabucco , ' or ' Semiramide , ' stalk curiously through the soldiery , much perplexed by the conflicting emotions of fear of the Provost Marshal and love of plunder . There are about 150 huts aid tents clustered together on this hill-side . Close beside it is-the hew battery ; then more huts and tents , occupied by the cavalry . On the other side of the cleft in the mountain ridge through which the town is approached are the huts and tents of the Highlanders , Turks , French , Marines , and Rifles , guarding the lines towards Kamara , and rising one above the other till they cover the tremendous crag which frowns down at the sea 1200 feet . ' . \ ' . ! i [ I
below . Then there is an . odd-looking acre or two of ground , with aiow wall round it , which looks as if all the moles in the world livedbeneath it , and were labouring night and day— -so covered is it with mounds of earth , through which peer rags and bones . This is-the Turkish burying-ground , arid full well frequented is it 7 Little hearses-may he seen flocking to it down the hillsides all day , and returning with the empty li tters gravely back again . They ; have also turned one or two vineyards into graveyards ^ and they have also selected a quiet nook up among the hills for the same purpase . Our own more decent graveyard is situated outside the town , in low ground , close to the sea . The huts and tents of the 14 th , and long rows of wooden sheds for the ¦
mules , and the tents of the sailors guarding stores , and the huts of the landing wharf , are all crowded along the steep and at the edge of the bay on the other side of the town , so that the place altogether would give one the idea that he was looking at some great migratory populationrjusrsettled-for-a ;~ weekv or had-fallen across one of the mushroom canvass cities of Australia . Of course , those who are nighest get first served to the huts , and are best able to put them up . If Birnam wood were formed of white deal boards , Macbeth would see his worst suspicions realised could he but witness the
moving forest of timber marching up to the front . He would behold literally miles of men , and of mules and ponies , all struggling along through the mud with boards , boards—nothing but boards . In calm weather they get on well enough , but a puff of wind puts an end to all progress ,-and a strong gust lays men and horses in the mire . However , they are slowly working up towards the camp , but it cannot be conceived by a person not on the spot how hard it it is to take up even one hut , and what a great quantity of timber has to be moved ere the building is complete . "
THE ) "CRIMEAN ARBiy FUND . " The subscribers will be glad to hear that much good has resulted from their benevolence . The Aforhing Post correspondent says : — " The gentlemen entrusted with the distribution of the Crimean Army Fund are doing us a great service . They have supplied nearly every regiment with tea—a beverage much needed amongst our poor fellows who ore sick , and even by those who are well . It is a change from the coarse coffee , which , the men roast and break tip with' a stone ; and another tiling , it i& easier made , which is a great blessing , since a soldier ' s time for these little things is very little . They have also sent tobacco and pipes , another luxury to the 8 < noker . " , , , . ; . The 7 Y ««* correspondent enys : — ¦
" Some of the Crimean Army Fund stores have been opfehed , and are in th « course of distribution . They will bo distributed officially , and by the rnatrumintafity of Ifcd QaartonriasteriGeneral ' s department , in each division , UwtJ individual officers may gotatdres for their respective tt ^ mettttf'by providing carriage for them . It has been d ^ aW teyMthe ' mahagers that ' it is better to sell than WgM ^ tm ^ ana-accordingly all articles which are not ^ tWffly | gllfa ^ th ** tod 1 wfrt'be sold at sijch a price as ' . U . ii u . . , « : „ •¦ .. ¦ u- 'K'ip ) n . . i , : . ,.. ¦ . ..
'¦ . THE CLASP FOB BAIiAKXAVA . We give ( from the Times ) an account of the state of feeling on the subject of an honourable recognition for Balaklava . It should be observed , that at the . time the following was written it was unknown in the camp that a clasp had been promised : — " The English cavalry are not at all appeased by anything that has been urged to quiet them . They are indignant at the refusal of any distinction whatever for Balaklava , and the survivors say they would rather have a bit of string and a stick to fasten to their coats , if it We only to show they had been in the charge of the 25 th of October , than the gaudiest and richest riband and clasps for Alma or Inkerman , where they feel they were comparatively inactive . If a clasp cannot be given because the 25 th of October was not a victory , let the men who remain to us out of those two immortal charges receive some mark by which their countrymen may know them ; two bronze swords , crossed , fastened to a narrow riband , or some simple , quiet decoration of that kind , would satisfy the most ambitious of them , "
CHRISTMAS PRESENTS , &C . " Our parcels and boxes and Christmas presents are turning up very slowly in the chaos of Balaklava . For the last week the Foyle , laden with packages from England , has been lying in harbour , and I am very well acquainted with one person , who has received a . polite note from . Messrs . Hayter and Howell , apprising him that they shipped for him in the said Foyle a case marked ' so and so , ' who has sent on board day after day for it , who has gone to the Parcels-office for it , and who is still without it , and cannot hear anything of it . You may multiply that person and that case by a hundred , if you like , and apply the calculation to most ships out here . The .. . presents sent by the Prince to the Guards are in the St . Jean d'Acre , but have not yet been delivered . Poor fellows ! Those who live will have ample comforts if they divide the share of their departed comrades among them . Lord Rokeby is said to have been affected to tears when the three regiments of Guards paraded , on his taking the command . His lordship has communicated a most gratifying letter from the Queen to the officers , in which her Majesty expresses her admiration of the conduct of ' her beloved Guards . '" THE FRENCH ANI > ENGLISH—THEIR CONDITION , &C . The correspondent of the Morning Post asserts that there is no great difference in the relative condition of the allied armie ? . His letter , dated Feb . 3 , also describes the exceedingly variable weather : — '" The- commencement of . my letter to you thi 3 time must open on the weather . I must say that we are plunged into extremes , without the slightest warning . Yesterday , the weather was very mild ; to-day , we have experienced the coldest weather in the Crimea . Snow fell last night , and again this afternoon . A biting wind blows from the north ; it makes us shrink up in our cold tents , for there are hardly huts enough up to shelter the sick . I have been informed to-day that , although the French system is so much better than ours—that al-~ though " ihey are saidTaTlfiiWinore ~ comforts ~ than ~ Tye '—" they have at this moment 20 , 000 sick , which is nearly equal to ours . Now , this I get from the best authority —no contradicting this . And now , how is it that they do so much better than we , with all their good things for a campaign , since it appears that they save no more than we ? They have not a bit of hay for their horses , but iu this respect we are the same . The fact is , when the expedition landed in the Crimea we were numerically a trifle stronger in number than they were . We took our proper proportion of duty , the French the same , and things went on in this way without change for a long time . In the mean time the French had received very large reinforcements — we received none ; hence they gained in strength—we lost ; and yet we continued to do the same duty . The consequence was , that our men were reduced by hard labour and constant duty , which , in the end , brought on sickness and disease , and it was not until wo had fallen down to this degxee that any help was sent us—and that not until the bad weather had set in . And the reinforcements were never sufficient , after deducting sickness , to fill up our former strength ; and from this state of things we have never -yet recovered . "
TIIE LIGHT CAVALRY BRIGADE . An officer of this brigade thus writes to a friend in Londons— . " You ask me for particulars respecting the Light Cavalry Brigade . I now send you , the return of each regiment , as they mustered , men and horses , yesterday , Jan . 81 .
-
-
Citation
-
Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 24, 1855, page 176, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2079/page/8/
-