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g§§r tien ijmwt>a&* effif rjjgfri mm^D^
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THE 1 F&IjL, OF SEBASTOlPOIi. This sbuth...
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NOBLESSE OBLIGE. A PXiANTAOENETis accuse...
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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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.
G§§R Tien Ijmwt>A&* Effif Rjjgfri Mm^D^
g §§ r tien ijmwt > a &* effif rjjgfri mm ^ D ^
The 1 F&Ijl, Of Sebastolpoii. This Sbuth...
THE F & IjL , OF SEBASTOlPOIi . This sbutherii half of Sevastopol lias been reduced wtfchttttt an investment of the north nearierthanEupatoria on one side and Xeni-Eiaieh on Me other . It has been reduced by bombardment followed by an assaiilt ; and its possession is the fruit of nearly a year ' s exertions on the part of the Allies , including besides the siege , three pitched baittles , and a winter campaign . The event completes one section of thewar in the Crimea ; and forms
a natural climax to a series of operations having for their object the capture of the city . The relative positions of the enemy and the Allies on the morning after the battle of the Tchernaya is the point where we must take up our survey in order to comprehend the issue of the siege . On the 17 th of August the Russian troops had again retired , bearing with them the moral discouragement of defeat , back to the heights on either side
Mackenzie ' s Earm . As was conjectured at the time , the enemy ' s movement on the Tchernaya was dictated by a desire to frustrate the progress of the siege , which he foresaw was approaching a termination likely to be fatal for him . He faileid , suffering great losses ; while the Allies succeeded , suffering a comparatively small loss , and finding more than compensation for it in the renewed prestige whicn the victory imparted to their arms . Prince Gobtschakoff made
the most of the next fortnight . Aware that he had slight hopes of bringing his army safely through the next bombardment , and at the same time anxious to establish a rapid communication with the north , either as a road of retreat or a road whereby he might renew or reinforce the garrison , he built a strong raft bridge across the harbour , threw up earthworks along the cliffs to protect it , and drew his army together in compacted iines
between the sea and the heights of Mackenzie . In the camp of the Allies it was believed that a spirit of mutiny had appeared in the garrison of Sebastopol , and that the army outside was suffering alike from thirst and discouragement . The sap of the French had been pushed into the ditch of the Malakhoff a but the most advanced lines of the English were still one hundred and fifty yards from the salient of the Redan . " Under these
circumstances , and no danger really menacing the line of the Tchernaya , the Allied Generals resolved to renew the bombardment on the terrible scale which had been prepared with so much labour . Accordingly , at daybreak on the 5 th of September , the mortar batteries of the besiegers opened a vertical , and the heavy guns in position a horizontal fire against the town and the whole line of defences from the
Careening to the Quarantine Bay . In addition to this formidable array , twelve mortar boats , six English and six Preach , anchored in Streletska Bay , threw shells into the forts on ] the south side , which form a portion of the sea defences . The effect of this close , incessant , all-pervading hail of bonabs was soon manifest . JFirst one and then a second
lineof-battle-ship caught firo , and burning swiftly , illumined the whole town and camp . Those batteries which had fired vigorously were silenced . Flames broke forth in the town ; magazines exploded ; death was everywhere among the gallant defenders of the place . At length , about noon on Saturday , the fourth day of the bombardment , the Allies stormed the eastern face , attacking at tliree points . The French stormed and held tlip Malakhoff ; stormed , carried , but failed to hold the little Kedan ; while the English , rusliimg upon the great Redan , could only carry the salient , but could not hold it , even when the Malakhoff was in the hands of tho French . In like
mariner General xra Sai < i . es twice vainly assailed' i > he centra ! bastic ^ on the west fade . The reason for these four defeats-was , that Iboth the Redans were entirely open to the rear ; and exposed to the full fire of the artillery in the second line of defence ; whereas , the Malakhoff , consisting of batteries rising one above another , offered that protection which enabled our allies to hold it when won , and defy the foe . The consequences , said General Pemssteb , will be immense . They were so . Buring the night , Prince Gobtsohakofimade the best of his way over the bridge , leaving the town in possession of the flames , mined for destruc
and the stone forts ready - tion . All that night , and the greater part of the next day ; a huge conflagration consumed the town and suburb , broken by recurring explosions of great magnitude . From the north the Russian army , from the south the Allies , looked on the magnificent spectacle . All the Russian fleet had been either sunk or burned ; the bridge had been broken in the rear of the retreating army ; and three small steamers alone remained afloat . On Tuesday the Allies entered the town , and found not blood-stained ruins alone , but vast quantities of valuable material , which the enemy had not been able either to destroy or carry away .
On " Wednesday the three steamers were burnt , and thus perished the Russian fleet in the Black Sea . -. The retreat of the large garrison of Sebastopol to the north side is a fitting termination to one of the most obstinate contests on record ; and redounds to the credit of the generals who planned and executed it . The Russian army bad lost the south side and gained a concentrated position on the north . The Allies gained the south side , and thereby liberated the great bulk of their army for ulterior operations . Their line extended
from Kamiesch to the pass of Phoros , with the line of the Tchernaya and the heights of Inkerman as their advanced posts , and full command of the sea on all sides . The Russians had three courses before them : to retreat at once , to attack the line of the Tchernaya , or to stand on the defensive . But as the Allied army enjoyed a freedom it has not possessed since the 14 th of September , 1854—as it commanded the sea , and could therefore move at pleasure—it is surmised that the danger thereby hanging over the Russian line of communications and
retreat would compel them almost at the first demonstration , if not before , to make the best of their way out of the Crimea . Moreover , they are said to be pressed for provisions , and are known to be suffering from want of water ; and it would not be surprising if the north , like the south , were blown up , and the enemy were to retire within reach of succour . But
the Allies are well provided with cavalry and cannon , and anxious for the combat , and it is not likely that any rear-guard of Russian horsemen could stand the rush of the cavalry of three warlike nations like England , France , and Sardinia . Thus under any probable circumstances the Russian army is in a position more precarious than at any moment since the war began .
Noblesse Oblige. A Pxiantaoenetis Accuse...
NOBLESSE OBLIGE . A PXiANTAOENETis accused of being tho chief man . engagod in consummating the evasion of a promise ! It is " only a railway affuir , " and so far no one will bo surprisod if two companies quarrel , and one company accuses the other oi trying to outwit it . The story is very brief . Some years back a now lino was projected to connect the Potteries with the highway from London to tho north-west , and according to the tale , the promotors of this line received tho assistance of tho London
and Birmingham Company , upon the condition that they should adopt as a part of their own project a branch line originally ^ designed by the London and Birmingham ^—the Churnet line . The equivalent was to be the Manchester traffic connected "with the London and Birmingham Railway . Subsequently , the London and Birmingham was amalgamated with the Grand Junction as " The London and North-Western ; " new views of self-interest induced the amalgamated companies to t > refer the Rugby route for the
Manchester traffic ; and it was easy for the directors of the joint companies to declare Mr . Gltn ' s promise on behalf of the London and Birmingham unauthorised . It was a promise , however , which had induced the proprietors of the Potteries line , subsequentl y the Northr Staffordshire , to undertake liabilities that they had not originally contemplated , to waive a Parliamentary guarantee for the Manchester traffic , to abandon a course which might have frustrated the amalgamation of the two companies , and , in short , to undertake
sacrifice guarantees , as well as to liabilities , on the faith of Mr . Glxn ' s word The amalgamated companies enjoy the advantages obtained for them by Mr . Giltn , but repudiate the equivalents which he had promised . Lawyers have decided against them upon formal arbitration ; but they persevere in repudiating , and it would seem very doubtful whether the law would technically ratify the understanding . Perhaps mere railway directors , who do not pretend to any very chivalrous standard of morals , may rely upon their technical rights , and may throw the claimants upon the letter of the bond
but it so happens that the Chairman of the London and North-Western Company is the Marquis of Chandos , a Plantagenet , and , notwithstanding the course now taken by the directors over whom he presides , he consents to affix his signature to the instruments of evasion . Noblesse oblige . A Plantagenefc lends himself to these lawyer-like traps , and " honour amongst railway directors" ifc appears , attains no higher standard for having induced a Plantagenet to accept the post of Chairman : railway directorship is not elevated to the Plantagenet standard , but the Plantagenet descends to the level of the line .
The level of the line is low enough . The dispute between the London and North-Western , and the North Staffordshire is not the only railway scandal of the day , The shareholders of the Eastern Counties have appointed a committeeto inquire into the management of their line . The four-and-sixpenny dividend proposed by the directors is disallowed until the shareholders ascertain whether to
pay themselves that dividend would not in fact bo robbing themselves . It was a principle announced on that line by the groat Hudson , that the capital account must bear what tho working account cannot sustain ; and that dodge has been the means by which railway companies have been led into unlimited liabilities and expenditure . It enabled their officers to deal with hundreds of thousands , if not millions of money , but it results in a four-and-sixpenny dividend , ns
in tho Eastern Counties , or in a dividend of nil , as in the North Staffordshire . It is not only that every difficulty haa been referred to tho capital account , as in tho Eastorn Counties , but one of tho charges which has called for tho appointment of tho committoe is such a vitiation of stores , thut some expenses are practically unaccounted for , while adulteration supplios " groaao which is no better than chalk . " And mutiny
against honest accounting has become bo systematic , that Mr . Gooon , the engineer of the company , ordered his ofllcors not to give in-
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 15, 1855, page 10, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_15091855/page/10/
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