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WAR MISCELLANEA «wv/^iiAijiwi
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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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A RAIN-STORM IN THB CRIMEA . Soon after five o ' clock this morning ( July 31 ) a most violent storm of wind and rain commenced , and continues as I write . It will cause , I fear , much discomfort , if not actual damage , in the camp , over which it rages ¦ with a combined fury and duration which I do not remember to have seen surpassed . The considerable portion of the camp of which I command a view from my hut is converted into a lake , the rain descending faster than it can sink into the earth . Over the surface of this lake the rain is drifted in clouds by the driving wind , forming a 'Sort of watery curtain , through which the soaked tents look dreary and dismal enough . Such as it is , however , their imperfect sheltes ^ has been sought , and one sees but here and there a drenched figure struggling through the blast . In the pens , the mules and
horses mournfully hang their heads , enduring with melancholy philosophy the inevitable and unwelcome douche ., while in sundry nooks and corners , to the leeward of tents and under the eaves of huts , the camp fowls have taken refuge , with drooping plumes , and that look of profound discomfort peculiar to poultry under difficulties . Down the numerous slopes of the camp the ¦ water has made itself channels , which will not , however , I fear , prevent its finding its way into many of the semisnbterranean huts , to the great disturbance of their domestic economy . Even the furious war of the elements does not wholly suspend the strife of man , and from time to time , above the roar of the wind and the plash of the rain , the boom of a gun reaches us . As I write , however , the tempest passes over , the clouds fly seaward , the rain ceases , and already the camp resumes its stir .
The immediate effect of these plashing showers is not particularly agreeable , although I believe it to be highly beneficial . They convert the clayey soil of the camp and its vicinity into a sticky mud , which clings tenaciously to the feet of man and beast , and renders locomotion slow and difficult . The clay hardens rapidly and requires strong picking to extract it from the horse ' s hoof . Considering the quality of the soil it seems unaccountable that our authorities do so little in the way of road-making . One would imagine that they anticipate continual summer , or departure before winter arrives . While the French have made excellent roads , in our camp one sees mere tracks . As for the much-vaunted Balaklava railway it will be useless within a short time after the bid season sets in . It is a very convenient summer construction , but the ground on which it rests will be converted into mud by the winter ' s wet . —Times Correspondent .
RUSSIAN LOSSES AND REEfFORCEMESTTS . I heard a few days ago from a French officer of artillery , that Pelissier , being asked when offensive siege operations would be again resumed , said , " Well , I ¦ don ' t know ; the Russians are losing every day three or four hundred men by sickness . If we wait a week , they will have lost a brigade , if # we wait a month , they will have Io 3 t a corps d ' arme ' " But , if the Russians lose many men by sickness , they seem to be careful to replace them . Numbers of stories are afloat about tho formidable forces which have come and are still coming down this way , and apprehensions of an attack on the Tchernaya line are daily gaining more ground . In the meantime , not even the rifost powerful telescopes are able to discover anything of the approach of this formidable force . —Times occasional Correspondent .
DESPATCH FROM GENERAL SIMTSON . Before Sebastopol , July 31 . My Lord , —I beg to enclose the list of casualties to the 29 th inst ., which , I regret to say , arc very heavy . The proximity of our -works to those of the enemy , together with the lightness of tho nights and rocky nature of the ground , making it impossible to obtain rapid cover , materially contributes to such a result ; notwithstanding which disadvantages our engineers continue steadily , though slowly , to advance in the direction of the Groat Redan . . An agreeable change has taken place the last few days in the temperature of tho weather ; heavy showers of rain have occasionally fallen .
Several reconnoissances have been made from tho valley of Baidar towards Ozenbash , Aitodar , and through the Phoros Pass towards Aloupka , the enemy nowhero appearing in any . force ; but tho narrowness of tho mountain roads , with the exception of tho WoronzoflT , makes it unnecessary for them to alter their concentrated position on the heights of Mackenzie and plateau of tho Belbck .
Tho health of the troops continues very satisfactory . I have , &c , James Simpson , Lieutenant-Gencral Commanding . Lord Panmuro , &c . Casualties . —1 sergeant , 11 rank and fllo killed ; 5 officers , 2 sergeants , 106 rank and file wounded . Naval Brigade : 12 wounded , 2 contused .
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ACCIDENT AT CRKMOUNK GARDENS . SEBASToroL seems fated to be the cause of surtering ai ¦ wounds to our brave Guards , not merely in the actu conflict raging in the far oft" Chersonese , but in the sha citadel and assault created for the amusement of a i-rov at home . For some time past , "Mr . Simpson , th-e in nagor of Cremorne Gardens , has exhibited n model Sebastopol , which has every night been beleaguered 1 imaginary French and Kiif ^ Hsh soldier . - ) , amidst dazzlii displays of red flame and fireworks . On Monday nigl Mr . Simpson represented the capture of the IVlnimli and JJifie-pits ; and , an this was to be done for t ! benefit of tho Wellington College , the patronage of ll Queen and Prince Albert , and of the highot lnilitui authorities , was accorded , and a body of live huiuln men , belonging chiefly to the Grenadier Giumls , w
permitted to attend . A portion of the operation * had be conducted upon wooden stages ; and , toward * tl close of the exhibition , the gallery on which the Guur < Htood pave way , and about sixty men , with liayone fixed , fell from ' u height of twenty f . et . The rest of tl men remained with extraordinary coolness on the otln part of the platform , without raising any try of alari Twenty men were moro or less hurt , some having r ceived bayonet wound s nnd the limbs of five lieii fractured . Both the lt > £ . s of one man were broken , whi another soldier sustained serious internal injuries . 1 ' wounded were immediately stretched out in the cinu : and tho mimic fight received ft hiuI clement uf tint Beneath tho tawdry imitation citadel , us beneath t stern reality , Kntfltah Noldiers lay with fractured lim nnd bayonet wounds .
Mr . SimpHon has written to the Times to say that t accident was * caused by the soldiers , in tho excitement the mock struggle , rushing on to a platform ¦\ v hc > Te it w not intended they should # o . We believe that every ordinarily thinking mind : ii Honuitivu heart will agree with the HtricturcH of the Tim upon tlic wretched tanto exhibited in mich spectacles . that which on Monday night had ho lamentable a n ( , antro |) bc . While- our countrymen are yet . sacrilicii their lives in tho bloody verities of that struggle nhi < will form one- of the iiiout ghastly episodes of this en tury , it lino not a little of tin ; appearance of heartless levii
( though it may be nothing worse than thought l < rt . Nix > when tho comfortable , homo ntoying public draw . eveninjLj ' rt amusement from n paltry imitation of event tho uoiitemplntion of wliieh should never be approach * except in a spirit of tho deepest roveronce , sorrow , "i compassion . Thin tendency to draw a flippanl . plcasm from " aflairfl of death "—to pic-nic , an it wore , i" •' midwt of a Goltfothit—to < l / m < llc and pet a popular horn ' and to wport a Dauby xumblancu of patriotism in tin 1 . I ' m of solemn memories—i « not a creditable fontimi of <" iMiylish diameter ; and it aviih only the ohnrltnldo <» tJ l ! l of last Monday ' s uitlubrntlou that redeemed it I ' voi being utterly disgraceful .
War Miscellanea «Wv/^Iiaijiwi
WAR MISCELLANEA . A Russian Vessel undku the Austrian Flag . — The Nina arrived at Ipswich on tho 14 th ot May last from the Black Sea , under Austrian colours , and , on tho 4 th of June , was detained by tho officers of Customs on suspicion of being Ruaaiun property . Ilor cargo had vvetx previously discharged . In . tho course of last week ,
a claim for restitution -was made in the Admiralty Court by Martino Gherdacovick , of Castrena in Austria , who deposed that he was the sole owner ; but it was clear from the correspondence brought in that there are some Russians who still have an interest in her . Dr . Lushington , therefore , condemned the vessel . He observed : — 11 It was the first Austrian vessel which had come before the court . He would always be ready to give that flag as indulgent a consideration as the law of nations would allow ; but , at the same time , he trusted that the Aus- ' trian Government would take care not to permit their flag to be prostituted for the purpose of protecting tho property of an enemy from , the just rights of the belligerent . "
Peace Negotiations . —We read in a letter from Vienna , dated the 7 th inst . : — " It is believed here that Count Buol received yesterday a declaration on the part of England and France that they do not wish , by new negotiations for peace , to interfere with or forestal the more decisive events of tho war . " The same writer says : —1 " The arrival of General Letang at Vienna is considered as being connected with arrangements relative to the opening of lines of march for the Allied armies in the Principalities . It is rumoured here that one of the exiled French generals is expected at Frohsdorf . " Recruiting for the Foreign Legion in Switzerland . —Colonel Dixoa is at Berne , endeavouring to recruit for the Foreign Legion ; but no journal dare publish the conditions of enlistment , in consequence of the
prohibition of enrolment . The Duke of Newcastle has arrived at Balaklava , and has been up to the front . Odessa . —A telegraphic despatch , dated July 28 th , says : — - " The garrison of Odessa , now the head-quarters of General Lilders , was yesterday reviewed . It consists of 16 , 000 infantry , two regiments of light cavalry , and a few batteries of artillery . " The White Sea . —The French and English squadrons having appeared before Archangel , various foreign vessels have by their orders withdrawn . Effect of the Blockade . — The trade of St .
Petersburg is in a state of the utmost distress owing the blockade . Necessaries are at a most exorbitant price ; labour is suspended in the manufactories ; and the nobility are obliged to give fetes and costly theatrical exhibitions , in order to keep up some slight degree of activity amongst the commercial classes . These accounts , however , are denied by some of tho continental papers . The Late Captain Lyons . —The Queen has sent an autograph letter to Sir Edmund Lyons , to express her svmpathy with him on the loss of his son .
The Ska of Azof . —Sir Edmund Lyons transmits to the Admiralty reports by Commanders Osborn and Crauford , giving detailed accounts of the destruction of Russian Government property at Berutch Spit , Berdiansk , White House Spit , Glofira ( near GheLik ) , and tho Crooked Spit in the Gulf of Azof . There are no particulars of unusual interest . Captain Osborn adds that " the total amount of provisions , com , fisheries , forage , and boats destroyed has been something
enormous . " Austria ' s " If . "—The Vienna Gazette , an exclusively official publication , asserts , in contradiction to a doubt expressed by Sir George Grey , in his speech on Mr . Laing's motion , that if England had accepted the Austrian proposals , Austria would instantly have signed a military convention with tho Western Powers . The Gazette has " every reason to believe" that this fact had been telegraphed to their respective Governments by the representatives of France and England .
The Turks are fortifying the Danube . I he mouths of the Sulina arc intercepted by brigands , and commerce ! culls for protection . Difficulties have nridun in the Principalities between the Turks and the- Austrian * . The luttcr pretend that they ought to have notice given them of any movement among the Turkish troops . Sweaborg . —Advices from Konig » bcrg state that when tho attack on Swcaborg began , tho Grand Duke Constantino , who was immediately informed by telegraph of the event , demanded leave to go out and attack tho reduced fleet before Cronstudt ; but the Kmperor refused .
Loss ov AN English Screw Guniioat . —Lieutenant-General Khoumoutofl writes to hiw Government that , on the evening of July 2 Hrd , an English gunboat ran aground on a point of land in the Sea of Azof . A fusillade was immediately opened against tho vessel , " in order to prevent its crew from pushing it . off . " This was answered by a cannonudo a ^ ainit the Cossacks , and a steamer came to tho assistance of tho boat ; but in vain . The crew then escaped ; and tho Cossacks burnt tho gunboat to the water ' s edge , and took away tho Union Jack nnd two 21-poundur brawa ciiuuoiih . Such is tho Kusaiun account .
An Akbival and a Djcpartuius . —General Simpson , writing on August 4 th , givea an account of the sortie . of tho Russians on tho night of tho 2 nd instant , of which tho details are already known . Tho goncrul also mentions tho arrival from cuptivity of Captain Montagu , of the Royal Engineers ( who speakh with gratitude of the kindness with which ho has been treated , and of the departure , from tho Crimea of Sir Kichmd England ,, owing to ill health .
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784 THE LEABBB . [ No . , 282 ,, Saturday ,
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SIR JAMES BROOKE . A blue-book of unusually large dimensions , contain ] the reports of the two Commissioners appointed to quire into certain charges against the Rajah Brooke , 1 been published . The question of the incompatibility Sir James ' s position as Rajah of Sarawak with his di as an English subject , is set at rest by his consenting abandon , if need be , his exercise of independent so * reignty . With respect to the doubt as to whether James is entitled to hold territory , and trade in its p duce , at the same time that he fills the office of Brit Consul , part of his dutie 9 as which consists in fosteri the trade of other British subjects , Mr , Devereux , < of the Commissioners , does not consider the two pc tions at all incompatible ; while Mr . Prinsep ( for the (
cisions of tho two Commissioners , owing to differences opinion , are given separately ) calls attention to the fa that Sir James has admitted the anomalous character his position , and has abstained from exercising i functions of consul . In connexion with the celebrai piracy question , Sir James would seem to be justified a large mass of evidence , showing that the Dyaks h exercised great oppression and cruelties , and that , sii their chastisement in 1819 , the coast h ;\ s been compa tively secure , and commerce greatly extended . I Prinsep , however , thinks that Sir James ' s relations wards the native tribe 9 are not what they should and that it is " neither necessary nor prudent that should be intrusted with any discretion to dcterm which of these tribes arc piratical , " or be armed w any power to call for naval aid against them .
" Some difference , " says the summary in the Tin ' * appears to exist between the two Commissioners wi respect to the attacks on the piratical tribes by Capta Keppel and Farquhar . Mr . Prinsep thinks that tli were prompted rather by a consideration of the injur sustained by the settlers at Sarawak than by any inj ries or complaints of such sustained by English subjec and he deplores the great sacrifice of life entailed Captain Farquhar ' s operations in concert with ' sava allies . ' The charge of ' wrongful and causeless . ' tack' and massacre , ' however , has wholly failed proof , and been negatived by evidence to the contrai Mr . Devcfeux so far differs from his colleague as to d believe that there was excessive loss of life , or th
atrocities , in the ordinary sense of the term , were cor mitted in 1849 in the expedition against the Sereb aud Sakarrau Dyaks . "
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 18, 1855, page 784, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2102/page/4/
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