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Stratford , the ambassador , Suggesting that he should allow a Maltese interpreter to go to Sebastopol , to see what was going on there , and what their fleet was like ; but he received no answer from the ambassador . He then sent Captain Drummond to the ambassador , who stated that there was a doubt or difficulty abou * giving the Maltese man a passport . In short , his inquiries concerning the fleet in Sebastopol were not attended with any success . The witness attributed this to backwardness on the part of the authorities , who , however ,
did not impede him , but were excessively slow in getting and giving particulars . Indeed , -they were hindered by the vigilance of the Russian Government . Admiral Dundas then gave other instances of his in effectual efforts to obtain information . Before the war broke out , he and the French Admiral were entirely under the orders of their Governments . The witness said he could > not have moved his fleet without the authority of the ambassador , and , the French Admiral being his superior , he was obliged to consult him also ; hut the orders of the ambassador would have overridden
those of his ( witness ' s ) naval coadjutor if there had been a difference of opinion . This was the state of things before the war commenced ; afterwards , " it was another matter . " Admiral Dundas also stated that the blockade did not take place for a long time . On the Chairman asking if the enemy ' s ships did not come out of Sebastopol , the Admiral replied— " Very often two or three of them did ; " but he added , that he never heard of a Russian steamer coming so far up as the Bosphorus . He ( Admiral Dundas ) on the 10 th of May addressed a letter to Lord Raglan , expressing his opinion that Sebastopol was a second Gibraltar , and that 120 , 000 Russians were in the Crimea , of whom 30 , 000 were in Sebastopol ; and that there were fourteen or sixteen sail of the line in the harbour . The letter concluded with a hope that his lordship had better information than he ( Admiral Dundas ) respecting Russian operations and to the details of
resources . ( Laughter ) . —Proceeding warlike operations , the witness stated that the means of transport at his disposal were sufficient for conveying the British army , but not for all the baggage-animals , many of which—he believed 2000 or 8000—were left behind at Varna . At that time he had no means of obtaining additional transports . Speaking of the coaling of the fleet , Mr . Roebuck asked— " Could you not have had a steam-tug in the Bosphorus for coaling the steamers ?" Admiral Dundas answered that "if you had had a dozen steam-tugs in the Bosphorus you could not have done it . " Upon which Mr . Roebuck asked the witness "if he expected Providence to provide the coals ? " To this Admiral Dundas responded— " It was Providence that prevented their being supplied . " And then there was laughter , and the witness went on to state that the duty of supplying coals devolved upon Admiral Boxer .
Mr . Roebuck . — " Did you receive orders from the Admiralty respecting the blockade of the Euxine ? " —I did ; but , if you ask me one word about the blockade of the Euxine , I must speak of the French . ( A laugh . ) Mr . Roebuck . — " Then you will blockade me . " { Laughter . ") Mr . Drummond asked the witness whether Captain Christie , " not having enough of the devil in him , had not been in the habit of using foul language ? " This question was met with cries of " No , no , " from several of the committee . Admiral Dundas said , " I am afraid 3 > mi mean another man ; " but Mr . Drummond persisted . The room was then cleared ; and in about half an hour the committee separated without readmitting the public . FRIDAY .
Lord Hardinge was examined , and commenced his testimony by giving an account of the duties of the Master-General of tho Ordnance , which ho said consist of having charge of the artillery and engineering departments . When he ( Lord Hardinge ) came into office in 1852 , ho proposed to Lord Derby that the artillery should be augmented , because ho thought that in its then state the country was not snfe . This was done ; and the artillery is now 80 efficient as to be the admiration of the French . Although it was true that the last regiments of infantry had left tho country without Minie" rifles , they would ho provided with them on arriving at Balaklava . In 1828 , when tho late Duko of Wellington was at the hend of tho Ordnance , and ho ( Lord Hardingo ) was clerk , it was considered in a high returned to it
state of perfection . In 1852 , when he , he found the desire to reduce expenditure had been carried so far that tho clerks and other * were overworked . This , hiHtead of having produced unity and simplicity , had cam . od confusion . Speaking of tl > o reserves that had boon sent out , Lord Hardingo said that , notwithstanding the deaths at Varna and at Halaklava , up to tho end of December , tho force ho had provided was equal to tho forcu that firnt went out , and , including tho artillery , rather stronger ; but at length ho could do no other than bcihI out young recruits , who , hitttoatl of being composed of bitne and muscle , were only grille . Witli respect to the state of tho hospital * , Lord Ilitrdinge naicl that ho was uot aware whether Lord Raglan , \ vhono duty it was to have instituted an inquiry into a false report made by Dr . Hall , had done so . Dr . Mapleton , private phynician to Lord Uaglan , was next examined , and gave testimony -condemnatory of tho sanitary atato of tho army up to tho time ho left .
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The war news of the week is again warlike . Yesterday evening , London was thrown into excitement by a telegraphic despatch , dated the day before ,, and which we publish in a subsequent column , giving an account of two successive and desperate sorties by the Russians on our advanced works , ending in the usual fate of such attacks—entire defeat , with bitter loss to the aggressors . No doubt the loss on our side was considerable too ; but of tliis , as yet , we have no information . In our Latest Edition of last week we published a despatch from Lord Raglan , intimating that , on the night of the 1 st of May , a sharp engagement took place in front and left attack , when the whole of the Russian rifle-pits were taken , together with eight light mortars , and two hundred prisoners . A despatch from St . Petersburg , dated the 7 th inst ., and received at Berlin on the 8 th , sajs : —
" On the night between the 1 st and 2 nd , the enemy , having concentrated 10 , 000 men , took possession of the lodgments in front of Bastion No . 5 , and captured nine small cohorn mortars . On the 2 nd , the enemy opened a heavy cannonade on Bastions Nos . 4 and 5 , and on the adjoining lines . The damage which they did was repaired during the night . We fired with success five mines against the enemy ' s approaches . " The first of the attacks here mentioned would seem to refer to operations by the French , who , after
a fierce engagement , took possession of some very important works of counter approach , and , according to General Canrobert , eight—not nine—small hand mortars . In these works they have maintained themselves , notwithstanding an energetic sortie made by the Russians on the evening of the 2 nd . The French are now fortifying themselves in their new position , which , says the Patrie , forms a sort of plateau , and is only about thirty or forty metres distant from the enemy .
On Ma } ' 5 th , the enemy assaulted the advanced trench of our right attack , but were repulsed promptly ; our loss , according to the telegraphic despatch , being only three killed , and twenty wounded . The Russians still continue to make advanced works and new defences ; and they have completely restored the Malakoff , the Mamelon , and the Redan . It appears , however , that the Flagstaff Battery—where the French exploded their mines , and before which they are now established—is irreparably injured . On the other hand , the Allies steadily persevere in their approaches . the bom
We do not hear of any resumption of - bardment , for which , indeed , it seems that cannon of greater weight is necessary . On the night of the 27 th , however , the artillery was for a time brought into play with great energy , and on the 28 th there was a sharp fire of musketry . Two batteries have been established in the fourth parallel . The weather is again fine and mild , with occasional heavy rains ; but the advent of summer brings with it fears of cholera and fever . Two cases of the former have already occurred ; the latter is never wholly absent from the camp ; and the nwful and deadly odours that reek up from the vast accumulation of dead bodies are making themselves too plainly perceptible , and suggesting horrible fears of what the heats of June and July may bring forth . ¦
Omar Pacha has returned to Kupatoria with ten battalions , his position being menaced , according to reports , by a large body of Russians , who are said to be preparing for an attack . With respect , however , to the Russian forces , it may be remarked that the reconnaissance made by Omar on the 19 th ult . would seem to indicate that , as many people Imvc already suspected , the Czar ' s army is not over large . A writer in the Times remarks that it is now questioned by competent authorities whether the Russians have ever had ld 6 , 000 men at once in the Crimea . Still , it will not do to be too confident . We have suffered enough from that already .
Accounts from Cracow state that the Russians are making tho most vigorous military efforts - along the whole line of defence from Finland to Lublin in l ' olund . Tho people , however , must be worn out at hist ; and then we shall have an insurrection similar in object to that'in tho Ukraine , and more successful , because more general and overwhelming . TUB 1 UCCONNOISSANC 15 ON Till !! 19 tII OF AIMUI ,. We gave last weok from tho Morning Herald an account of thin aiVair . The following additional
detailsbringing vividly before our eyes tho desolations of war —are from tho picturesque and vital pen of the Times Correspondent : — " Rectangular patches of long , rank , rich grans , waving high above tho more natural green meadow , marked tho mounds where tho slain of tho 20 th of October are ropo . sing for ever , and where tho snorting horso refiiHos to eat tho unwholesome shoot * . Ah the force moved on , evidences of that fatal and glorious day became thick and painful . Tho skeleton of an English Dragoon , Biiid to be uno of tho Royals , lay still extended on tho plain , with tattered
bits of red cloth hanging to the bones of his arms . AI the buttons had been cut off the jacket . The man musi have fallen early in th « day , when the heavy cavalry were close up to Canrobert ' s hill and came under the fire of the Russian artillery . There was also a Russian skeleton close at hand in ghastly companionship . The small bullet-skull , round as a cannon-ball , had been picked bare , all save the scalp , which was still covered with grisly red locks . Further on , amid fragments of shell and round shot , the body of another Russian seemed starting out of the grave , which scarcely covered
his lower extremities . The half-decayed skeletons of artillery and cavalry horses covered with rotting trappings , harness , and saddles , lay as they fell in the agonies of death , or had crumbled away into a debris of bone and skin , and leather straps , cloth , and buckles . From the numerous graves , the uncovered bones of the tenants had started up through the soil , as if to appeal against the haste with which they had been buried . With the clash of drums and the shrill strains of the fife , with the champing of bits and the ringing of steel , man and horse swept over the remnants of their fellows in all the pride of life . "
TAKING- THE RIFLE PITS . About eight o ' clock ( on the 19 th of April ) the party of the 77 th , under Lieut .-Colonel Egerton , supported by a wing of the 33 rd , under Lieut .-Colonel Mundy , moved down the traverses towards the rifle pits . The night was dark and windy ; but the Russian sentries perceived the approach of our men , and a brisk fire was at once opened on them by the enemy , to which the troops scarcely replied , for , firing a terrible volley , they rushed upon the enemy with the bayonet , and , after a short but desperate struggle , drove them out of the two pits and
up the slope behind them ; Once in the pits , the engineers , officers , and the sappers and miners set to work to strengthen the defences , and threw up a gabionnade in front , and with great coolness and courage proceeded to connect the trench of the nearest of the rifle pits with our advanced sap . The enemy opened an exceedingly heavy fire of round , grape , and shell upon them , and the Russian sharpshooters from the parapets of the batteries and from the broken ground behind the abattis kept up a very severe fusillade ; but the wojjfcjbig party continued at their work in defiance of the storm of shot
which tore over them . In such a contest as this it could not but be expected that our loss would be considerable . Captain Owen , R . E ., well known in England as an officer of high scientific attainments , and who has devoted himself to the more arduous duties of his profession with great zeal and ability since he came out here , was severely wounded . Lieutenant Baynes , a very active and brave young officer , was also struck down by a bullet , and is now in some danger , though his attendants think his life is safe . Captain Lempriere , of the 77 th , a very young officer , who has served throughout the campaign with his regiment , and who has never left it from the time they landed in Bulgaria , was killed . A boy in years and in stature , he behaved like a veteran soldier . Lieutenant Knight , of the same regiment , also distinguished himself in the attack , and escaped unhurt . He was the first to leap into the rifle
pits , and his example encouraged his men at the time they were staggering under the tremendous fire directed against them . Our men remained in possession of the larger of the pits under the trying circumstances I have mentioned , without any decided attempt being made to turn them out . Tho general of the day of the right attack telegraphed to head-quarters that our troops had gained the pits ; and he received directions in reply from Major-General Jones to keep them at all hazards . At two o ' clock in the morning , a strong column of Russians , certainly double tho strength of our men , advanced against the pits , and the combat was renewed . The English troops fought with " the immovable solidity" for which , in tho opinion of our allies , they are celebrated . Tho enemy charged them with the bayonet , but they were met by courage more cool and by arms more nervous than their own ; and by the bayonet they
wore thrust back again and again , anil at its point they were driven up to their batteries once more . It was whilo setting an example of conspicuous bravery to his men that Colonel Kgorton fell mortally wounded . — Times Correspondent . THE VALUE QV THK UH ' 'I , E PITH . The capture of these ambuscades has been found of great value , not only on account of the removal of an impediment to the progress of our -sap in this direction , and of tho annoyance caused by tho lire of tno Kussian riflemen ngniiiflt our artillerymen , but al « o on account of the opportunity it . has atlonled our men of interrupting ainbuscaclo
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T H E W A R .
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-W / Mat 12 , 1855 . ] THE LEAD E fr . . 437
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Leader (1850-1860), May 12, 1855, page 437, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2090/page/5/
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