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    THE CAMPAIGN IN THE CRIMEA . It is just a year and a day since the Allied armies , under Lord Ragxan and Marshal St . Aenaud , landed at Old Fort , a few miles north of the Alma . It is , therefore , a few days short of the anniversary of the battle on that river , and a few weeks short of the anniversary of the commencement of the siege of Sebastopol . That siege has been begun and terminated within a twelvemonth ; and , dramatically , the event of the 8 th forms a last scene to the second act of the war ; the

    first winding up with the raising of the siege of Silistria and the withdrawal of the Russian armies behind the Pruth . H . ow full of incident , how varied in fortunes , personal and military , are the twelve months that have elapsed since the first soldier of the Allied army landed in Kalamita Bay ! On the 20 th September , 1854 , Prince Menschikoff faced Lord Raglan and Marshal St . Arnatjd on the Alma — the former is in obscurity , the two latter aro in their graves . All the British divisional commanders who wont" out at the commencement

    of the war aro either dead or in retirement . The whole staff has undergone an almost entire change . In tho French army there have been three Coinmanders-in-Chiof ; in tho Russian and British armies two ; whilo a totally new body of troops — tho gallant Sardinians—have joined tho Allies . Within tho year there have been three pitched battles ;

    spite of the assaults of-a lsrge army . A line of forts on the eastern coast of the Blaek Sea has been abandoned by the enemy . ; and « j » inland sea , hitherto a Russian l ^ e , swept clear of Russian shipping , and scaY ? aged ; ajl round by the incessant attacks of a steam flotilla . To crown all , a town , surrounded hy -an intrenched camp , covered on the sea face by strong forts , garrisoned by a large -army , and not invested , has , after the most painful labour , great loss of life , vast expense , and a display of immortal perseverance on one side , unflinching constancy on the other , and undaunted bravery on both , yielded to overwhelmingly destructive efforts , and remained the prize of the invaders . When Prince Menschikofi 1 entrenched himself behind the Alma , he did so in the hope that he should delay the advance of the Allies until his reinforcements came up . He was rapidly undeceived . The Allies came up before them , and in three hours wrested his position from him before his reinforcements had passed Perekop . The aim of the former was to carry Sebastopol by a coup de main . Finding that Mensohikoff fled before them ; that the north side was unassailable , because means were wanting , and a secure base of operations , the Allies moved upon Balaklava and appeared before the south side , as Prince Menschikoff , who had been to Baktchi-Serai , returned to the north . It was decided not to risk an assault , but to lay siege to the place in form . The first object of the invasion , the seizure of the city by a coup de main , therefore , had failed , and for the second , the siege of Sebastopol , the Allies had neither the means , the men , nor the time . In a brief space they were in fearful danger . Successively opposed by the garrison , their right flank and right rear were seriously menaced by the external army . Lipbandi carried the low hills in the Balaklava valley ; but Dannenbeeg , acting under Menschikoff , although employing enormous forces , failed in the more important enterprise of breaking through the right flank of the Allies at Inkerman , and was repulsed with awful loss . This wonderful battle opened the eyes of the Allied Governments , and they found it needful to make great exertions to sustain the weakened armies during the winter . Precariously fed , and overworked , the Allied armies lost thousands by sickness ; but still the losses were repaired , the siege works even were continued , and there were nearly thirty thousand British soldiers to welcome the spring . In the meantime Omar Pacha had occupied and fortified Eupatoria , had beaten back superior numbers with his Turks ; and had supplied several regiments to reinforce the army before Sebastopol . As soon as the fine weather fairly returned tho siege operations were actively renewed ; but tho bombardment in April did little beyond demonstrating tho superiority of our fire . The enemy had possessed himself of two strong outworks on his eastern lino of defence , and had constructed rino-pits even in advance of them . But one by one tho Allies carried tho rifle-pits ; stormed the Mamelon and tho works on Mount Sapouno ; and drove tho Russians within their grand lino . In order to distress tho gai'rison , an oxpodition Boizod Kcrtch and Yeni-Kuleli , i ^ d a flotilla swept tho Soa of Azof , winch led to tho full of Anapa and tho retreat of tho gameon over tho Kouban . On tho l 7 thofJuno tho Allies again bombarded Sobaatopol , and ontno 18 th attempted to carry tho ™ . % !^ I works by storm ; but a * f '"^ Jf " 3 mistook tho signal , foil on ^ f ^^ tho assault , instead of being a . f """"^ ^ rush , was a succesaion « ' ^^ ° Tho Russians cut up and repelled xn detail . J-UO

    one lino cavalry combat , ono immortal cavalry charge , shaking an army in position ; innumerable sorties and battles in tho trenches and outworks of Sebastopol ; and two grand assaults , the ono repulsed , the other victorious . A Russian fleet has disappeared , either consumed by fire , or covered by the waves of the Black Sea . Three provincial towns have been taken and retained—ono in

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    fonaiaiioii to a committee of proprietors , except 4 hrouga himself . -It has been thought 'cute to drivea sharp bargain , to take any advantage which offered itself , ' to foist a losing branch upon some other company , if possible to persuade a rival enterprise out of a parliamentary opposition ; to impose an " understanding " upon the representative of a rival company witfiout a technical bond , and then to repudiate : and such conduct is , it appears , practically the rule in railway socisty-! Nor is it railway society alone . If we accuse the magnates of the railway world , they only turn round and say that they are no worse than the grandees of the political world . Take our own highest officers . Lately we had Sir James Gbaham presiding over the birth of the Silloth Railway , and avowing on that august occasion that he had been , " of all things , the maintainer of peace , " even , of course , at the time when he was Minister , and affecting to commence the war . If we take his own avowal literally , he must have been giving advice in the Cabinet Council to begin the war which he pretended to encourage ; he continued in the Council to frustrate the advice given to her Majesty ; he suddenly left the Council , with the expectation that his abrupt departure would break it down ; and so , whether tending advice to the Queen , withdrawing his advice , equally seeking to take the Crown by surprise , to obstruct that which he pretended to aid , and to make the Sovereign , Government , and the people yield to his individual crotchet of peace at all price . But Sir James Gbaham is the Knight of JSTetherby , one of the cleverest of our public men , and extremely respected . There is not one of the Cabinet Council who would exclude him from a grand party . The moral atheism , without which these incentives to political suicide could not exist , is the worst product of a discredited utilitarianism , and is the lowest decline of morals amongst us . "We have sunk so low , that at this point we must rise . The science of the political sharper has been exhausted , and upon a practical experience we find that it does not " pay . " In railways it is a losing game ; companies try to outwit each other ; but they have to pay for their mutual cheatings in Parliamentary expenses , and in " preference" shares , while dividends sink to 4 s . 6 d ., or nil . Sharp practice never pays in the long run . If it is so in railways , it is so in politics . Graham and Deeby , Russell and Disraeli , have outwitted each other so often , that at last the public ends by thinking each inferior to the rest . Low as the Derbt levelmaybe , Rttssell is lower ; and Gbaham vaunts his peace manoeuvres amidst a silence that condemns himself . If swindling proves a less profitable course than upright honesty in domestic politics , the rule holds not less good abroad . Half of our difficulties result from the fact that we have lost the clue to get through the perplexities of life , public or privato , which is afforded by " principle . " "W o do not know whether to choose between fidelity to Turkey , or compromise with Austria . Our Governments tolerated Prussia , because they had learned to compromise every species of dignity and honour . If chivalry had supplied tho standard for our own statesmen , no moan Manteuffel would have been ablo to secure immuuity for Prussia , in tho double-dealing course of an alliance with the West and subserving Russia . A pottifogging philosophy may make us respect the pirates who share in the booty of international peculation , but the fact is , that we have to pay so many millions in our war expenditure because we have lot Prussia pamper the absurd expectations of * te Czab . The same test would have settled

    society , our statesmanship , our great companies , and even our knightly " orders , " moral vitality would be restored to us , and we should recover from that disease of adulteration which infects noble lords and state councils as much as it does commercial companies , or " food , drinks , and drugs . "

    be magnanimous and glorious , and we find ourselves entangled with mean men like Mantettffel , with crowned tipplers like Frederick William , and with idiots like Febdinand , because statesmen have thought themselves free to do what " no gentleman" would think of doing , and what would compel the herald , if he knew it , to place the stain of disgrace upon the escocheon of a knight . The " spirit of chivalry" may revive in the field where its qualities are roughly awakened ; and if it can thence be introduced into our

    solutely intolerable ; and yet we have tolerated him , and lie « till wields a sceptre for the advantage of Russia . He should be expelled front every protection of knightly brotherhood , and y « t he is included in the actual " system . " The people , who instinctively test their own actions and those of rulers by very simple principles , are mystified , and are incapable of following our policy ; and they are likely to aid the enemy because we leave them without trust for any leaders that we can offer . W ^ e intend to

    all Italian difficulty long ago . If we look to the simple measure of chivalry , we should find that we must give assistance to that scion of the house of Savoy who has placed his trust in his people , lends bis armies to the cause of justice , and dares to defy states exceeding his own aa the giant exceeds the pigmy . The same test would have taught " us that a . Prince like him of Naples , wiio violates his word , imprisons the helpless , and serves our enemy while pretenduig to be our ally , is on every principle of Christian knighthood abr

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 15, 1855, page 887, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2106/page/11/