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Leader (1850-1860), 18th August 1855, Edition 1 of 2, Page 783, Untitled Article

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      off in energy . Our force in the East is inadequate ; and it might be enlarged by drafting off ten thousand from the forty thousand European troops we maintain in India . The English battalions at the Cape , also , might be replaced by native Indian troops , and by soldiers from the other colonies ; a splendid corps might be created from the Irish police ; and a Polish Legion ^ formed of Russian Poles , would form the nucleus of a most important force . —Lord Falhibston reiterated his determination to push the war with vigour , and remarked that , if Sir De Lacy had taken the first year instead of the latter period of the Peninsular war , he would have found that our efforts now are greater than they were then , or indeed at any other time .

      The discussion dropped , and the members were shortly afterwards summoned to the House of Lords , to hear the Queen ' s message with respect to

      THE PROROGATION . The Royal Assent having been given by commission to several bills , The Lord Chancexxoii proceeded to read her Majesty's speech as follows : — " My Lords and Gentlemen , " "We are commanded by her Majesty to release you from further attendance in parliament , and at the same time to express the warm acknowledgments of her Majesty for the zeal and . assiduity with which you have applied yourselves to the discharge of your public duties during a long and laborious session .

      " Her Majesty has seen with great satisfaction , that while you have occupied yourselves in providing means for the vigorous prosecution of the wax , you have given your attention to many measures of great public utility . Her Majesty is convinced that you will share her satisfaction at finding that the progress of events has tended to cement more firmly that union which has so happily been established between her Government and that of her ally the Emperor of the French ; and her Majesty trusts that an alliance founded on a sense of [ . the general interests of Europe , and consolidated by 'good faith , will long survive the events which have given rise to it , and will contribute to the permanent well-being and prosperity of the two great nations whom it has linked in the bonds of honourable friendship .

      " The accession of the King of Sardinia to the treaty between her Majesty , the Emperor of the French , and the Sultan has given additional importance and strength to that alliance , and the efficient force which his Sardinian Majesty has sent to the seat of war to co-operate with the Allied armies , will not fail to maintain the high reputation by which the army of Sardinia has ever been distinguished . " Her Majesty has commanded us to thank you for having enabled her to avail herself , as far as has been found to be required , of those patriotic offers of extended service which she has received from the militia of the United Kingdom , anil for ' tho means of reinforcing her brave army in the Crimea by an enlistment of volunteers from abroad '

      . " Her Majesty acknowledges with satisfaction the measure which you have adopted for giving effect to the convention by which , in conjunction with her ally the Emperor of the French , she has made arrangements for assisting the Sultan to provide the means which are necessary to enable him to maintain in efficiency the Turkish ariny , which has so gallantly withstood the assaults of its enemies . " Her Majesty , in giving her assent to the bill which you presented to her for the local management of tho metropolis , trusts that tho arrangements provided by

      that measure will lead to many improvements conducive to the convenience and health of this great city . Tho abolition of the duty on newspapers will tend to diuuse useful information among tho poorer classes of her Majesty ' s subjects . The principle of limited liability which you have judiciously applied to joint-stock associations will afford additional facilities for tho employment of capital , and the improvements which yon have made in the laws which regulate friendly societies will encourage habits of industry and thrift among the labouring classes of the community .

      "Her Majesty truntH that tho measures to which slu . has given her assent for improving the constitutions of New Bouth Wales , Victoria , and Tasmania , and for bestowing on tho important and nourishing colonies of Australia extended powers of self-government , ¦ will assist tho development of their great natural resources , and will promote tho contentment and happiness of their inhabitants . " Her Majesty commands us to nay that she has boon deeply gratiiiod by tho / . eal for tho success of her Majesty ' s arms , and l > 3 tho nynipathy for her soldiers and sailors , man i fen ted throughout hoi Indian mid colonial empire ; and hor Majesty acknowledges with great natiafuctioit the generous contribuiioim which hor subjects in India , and tho Legitdaturott and inhabitants of tho colonies , havo sent for tho relief of the auilurors by the casualties of war .

      " Gentlemen of the Ifottso of Commons , " Her Majesty commands us to convey to you her cordial thanks for tho readiness and zoal with which you

      have provided the necessary supplies for carrying-on the war in which her Majesty is engaged ; " Her Majesty laments the burdens and sacrifices which it has become necessary to impose upon her faithful people , but she acknowledges the wisdom-with which you have alleviated the weight of those burdens by- the mixed arrangements which you have made for providing those supplies . " My Lords and Gentlemen , " Her Majesty has commanded us to say , that she has seen with , sincere regret that the endeavours wbieh ,. in conjunction with her ally the Emperor of the French , she made at the recent conferences at "Vienna to bring the war to a conclusion on conditions consistent with , the

      honour of the Allies and with the future security of Europe , have proved ineffectual . But , those endeavours having failed , no other course is left to her Majesty but to prosecute the war with all possible vigour ; and her Majesty , relying upon the support of her Parliament , upon the manly spirit and patriotism of her people , upon the never failing courage of her army and her navy , whose patience under suffering and whose power of endurance her Majesty has witnessed with admiration , upon the steadfast fidelity of her allies , and above all upon the justice of her cause , humbly puts her trust in the Almighty Disposer of Events for such an issue of the great contest in which she is engaged as may secure to Europe the blessings of a firm and lasting peace .

      "On your return to your several counties you will have duties to perform little less important than those which belong to your attendance in Parliament . Her Majesty trusts that your powerful influence will be exerted for the welfare and happiness of her people , the promotion of which is the object of her Majesty ' s constant care , and the anxious desire of her heart . " The Commission for proroguing Parliament was then read , and the Lord ChaxcelUob added" My Lords and Gentlemen , " By virtue of her Majesty ' s Commission , under the great seal , to us and other Lords directed , and now read , We do , in her Majesty ' s name , and in obedience to her commands , prorogue this Parliament to Tuesday , the 23 rd day of October next , to be then here holden ; and this Parliament is accordingly prorogued to Tuesday , the 23 rd day of October next . "

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      Sweabobg has been bombarded with triumphant success ; and the long pause in the pperations of the war has been terminated by the first successful blow of any magnitude and completeness . On the morning of the 9 th inst ., the mortar and gunboats of the Allied squadron opened fire on the place , and did not cease until the morning of August 11 th . "Heavy explosions and very destructive fires , " says the despatch of Admiral Dundas , " were produced in a very few hours . Nearly all the principal buildings on Vargoe , and many more on Swartoe , including those of the dockyard and arsenal , are burnt . Few casualties have occurred , and no lives lost , in the Allied fleet . " This account is confirmed by that of Admiral Penaud , who writes : —

      " The bombardment of Swcaborg by the Allied Squadrons has been attended with complete success . An immense conflagration , which lasted for forty-five hours , has destroyed nearly all the storehouses and magazines of the arsenal , which is a complete ruin . Various powder magazines and stores of projectiles blew up . The enemy has received a terrible blow , and suffers an enormous loss . Our loss is insignificant in men , and nothing whatever in material . The crews arc in a state of enthusiasm . "

      Sweaborg , it is perhaps needless to inform our readers , is one of the first of those granite and irou warders which guard the chief marine avenue into the heart of Russia—the Gulf of Finland . It is one of the outposts , or exterior gates , of the capital ; and is accounted only second to Cronstadt in strength . Situated on an island , with Helsiugfors on the mainland close at its back , it ln \ s been relied on by the C / . ar as a moans of keeping his enemies at a safe distance from the vulnerable purt of his empire ; and many have been the prophecies , even from the lips of Englishmen , as to the hopelessness of doing anything against it . Yet , with the first vigorous effort , it has been , if not uttrrly ruined , yet mrecrably shattered . The Russians have received a great blow ; and the Allies now look with greater confidence towards Sebastopol .

      Before that gigantic fortress , reddened by so much Knglish and French blood , the might of the confederated Armies is still gathering up for some awful and concentrated blow . The French engineers nro now close to the cast fort and tho Knrabolnniu fortifications . The English lines are also advanced close up to the hostile walls ; and tho relative position of the two enemies ia equivalent to that of the Cornish " hug " in wrestling . Tho death-grapple grows tighter ; the Allies havo a manifest superiority ; and even the Austrian organs arc beginning to prophesy

      favourably as to tire result of the next assault . On this head , the Vienna Military Gazette remarks ?—"It would of course be possible- to bold the second line , even when the Allies had taken the Malakhoff Tower ; Imt General Osten-Saeken . well knows the danger which at this moment threatens the Marine suburb and the Admiralty buildings , and has given orders preparatory to the eventual evacuation of thfe part of the town , and a retreat to Fort Nicholas . 6 c neral Chruleff directs the defence of the Karabelnaia , and has his head-quarters in Fort Paul . It is inferred from his latest measures that , while prepared for the worst , he is resolved to defend his ground to- the utmost . "

      The Gazette iz of opinion that the position , of lite garrison on the left line of defence , from Bastion 1 to Bastion 5 ( from the west of Careening Bay to the Flagstaff , inclusive ) will not long be tenable . We read in the Daily News . •—" The Independance of Brussels and some of the Bexlia papers state , as news from St . Petersburg , that orders have been given for the construction of a floating bridge , to extend from Fort Michael , on the south , to Fort Nicholas , on the north side of the roadstead of Sebastopol , so as to assure the retreat of-the garrison in . case of need . There is some error of detail in this announcement , Fort Nicholas being on the south side of the roads ; but the character and object of the new construction is important . "

      A private letter from Vienna states that the bombardment of Bastions 3 to 5 continues with slight interruption from , day to night . The Russians , who return it continually , are nevertheless unable to destroy the works of the 6 th parallel , and it is even said , adds the writer , that it has become completely impossible for them to ascertain its position . Speaking of the period from July the 22 nd to the 26 th , General GortschakofF writes that the enemy has kept up a fire " alternately vertical " and sweeping , " and that immense quantities of rockets and various kinds of projectiles have been hurled into the city . On the 8 th and 9 th of August , he says that " the

      enemy ' s cannonade is feeble . " The Pre&se d'Orient states that fifty-six batteries have been prepared for the general attack on the left at a distance of from fifty to one hundred and twenty metres from the enemy . The Times correspondent believes that another attack will very shortly be made on the Malakhoff ; and some persons have spoken of the 15 th of August—the anniversary of the birth of Napoleon the First—as the day . But had that day been so signalised , we should have learnt the fact before now . So , at present , all is expectation in the direction of the Crimea ; but expectation tinged with hope , and , alas ! with sorrow too , at the thought of the carnage that is coming .

      The Russians , however , are making every effort to defend themselves to the last ; and a great deal of wondering has been excited among the Allies by a very mysterious work of counter approach executed by the besieged , and which is described as taking the form of a deep , covered trench cut in the glacis , at right angles to the great ditch around the Malakhoff works , and extended in a direction towards the nearest point of the French approach . This trench was excavated on the night of the 28 th of July . From Anapa there is nothing of importance . The Russian garrison which had abandoned that city , and which at a later period had to retrace its steps , has passed the Kuban . The Circassians are encamped about Anapa ; but they are not engaged in any movements of consequence .

      Kars still holds out ; and letters from Erzeroum announce that Mehemet Pacha , Governor-General of Erzeroum , had succeeded in collecting 4800 men , infantry and cavalry , of the militia , that he had advanced at the head of these troops in the direction of Kars , and effected his junction with "Vely Pacha , General of Division , who was occupying a strong position . It is said that the Russians do not mean to attack Kars , as they entertain hopes of starving out the garrison ; but another account states that the city is to be besieged in regular form . In a communication from tho seat of war in Asia , we find the relative positions of the Russians and Turks thus described : —

      " A Russian division is fortifying itself at Solanhi-Dagh , in the defile Unkiar Dusi . During the past week , a force of 2000 regular Turkish horsemen advanced from Kopri Kioi towards this mountain ; arriving very hito , they did not ace the enemy , and arranged for passing tho night upon the heights , but at daybreak they were surprised to tind tho Cossacks before thoin . The Turks , however , did not loso courage ; thoy bravely defended themselves , and succeeded in escaping from this manvati pas , leaving but live or six dead , and sonio wounded ana prisoners . Tho liusaians also havo maintained themselves in tho district of BnyiwM , in a ' «««? *» J » ° ^ g . 10 , 000 men , dl « trib . « tod at Utch-Klws ,., EJju £ » » « £ Topra-Knloh . Tho Turkish nrmynt Kapri Kio . ™™ asoa every day ; tho irregulars coming in from all ports . Schnmyl still remains in tho '"^ " ^ X ' inSr of no probability of an expedition into tliG interior Of tho Crimea .

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      THE WA R

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      AtrausT 18 , 1855 * J THE LEADEE . 783

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 18, 1855, page 783, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2102/page/3/