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of T H E Ii E A D E B,. [No. 321, Saturd...
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OUR COMMISSARIAT IN THE CRIMEA. The foll...
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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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W Thinance Appears For The Day To Be The...
has had a magniEcent tribute of the same character in a letter from Manin , the President of the Venetian Republic . So that the cause of Sardinia has now been distinctly avowed by trie Ministers of King Y » cto » EMi * WBi ^ afl # ^ ocepted by the repres WllliWi ! ;**> " P ** ^ —M provinces in Italy , as thecausetgTItaly . — After all Sir Beh » a * iin HaUB * resistance «* we ascetics , and Lord Palmbbst ^ gallant supJWR of his honourable friend , thtf Fremier has gmto way under the coflfcWned p ^ WMrft of cart * ^ antebbdrt , and Calvin , aided By John KnoX—the Scotch members having threatened their opposi-Hall does
tion if he did not yield . Sir Benjamin not conceal his disgust . People ask why he does not resign ; but it is evident he is not bound to do so , since he is still supported by his Premier . For Lord Paxmbhston avows that his opinion is unchangeable . If anybody should resign , therefore , it should be Lord Palmebston . In excuse , he asserts that the working classes have been indifferent ; as if they were bound to keep on making demonstrations at the very time when he appeared so clearly to understand their wishes , and to carry them out . Each side took the course proper to it . Those who had not what they wanted , and wished the bands removed ,
petitioned ; those who had what they wanted , and wished the bands to play , went in great multitudes to listen . Since the removal , admirable reasons have been shown , by clergymen and working men , as well as by the journals , for the continuance of the performances . They drew the working classes from the public-house ; they supp lied afternoon occupation which the working man could enjoy in company with his wife , his sister , and his children , which the working youth could enjoy in company with his honest sweetheart ; and working clergymen of great parishes bear testimony to the excellent operation of such pursuits . The bands are discontinued ; but the question does not end here .
Paumeb ' s trial has begun , has occupied three days , and is not yet ended . The evidence brought forward at the inquest , before a reluctant coroner , has now been rendered much more complete . It is not only a question whether Palmee poisoned John Cooke—a question to be decided upon an immense mass of circumstantial evidence—but it £ 3 a question whether juries shall comtinue to decide upon circumstantial evidence or not . Few cases have brought out such a mass of circii instances , all tending to one verdict , while few have more distinctlv exhibited the inherent weakness of that kind of " evidence . Pisallow circumstantial
evidence , and you will almost prevent conviction for very serious crimes , which the culprit always attempts to perpetrate in secrecy . Direct evidence he can usually prevent ; circumstantial evidence seldom . Juries feel that circumstantial evidence is sufficient warrant for keeping a man in prison , or for subjecting him to chastisement , but perhaps not so sufficient a warrant for sending him to everlasting perdition . We believe such a man to be guilty , and
believing him guilty , we might feel justified in imprisoning him with a punishment of perpetual toil ; but in the most perfect of human compositions there may be mistake . The blameless Eliza Fknning was hanged upon circumstantial evidence . That unjust fate is so shocking , that human reflection naturally hesitates to consign a fellow-creaturo to a sentence from which he cannot be redeemed . The pleadings in Palmer ' s trial are virtually a great discussion upon that question as well as on the guilt or innocence of the man .
Of T H E Ii E A D E B,. [No. 321, Saturd...
of T H E Ii E A D E B ,. [ No . 321 , Saturday , 458 . - ——^— II .
Our Commissariat In The Crimea. The Foll...
OUR COMMISSARIAT IN THE CRIMEA . The following letter possesses , wo think , the interest attaching to any authentic personal impressions , and suggests , even now the war is over , many points vitally affecting our military administration : — Mr DKAn , Balaklava , April 19 , 185 C . As in the Inquiry -which public opinion requires to bo made into the operations of our army , the commissariat department will donbtloaa occupy a good deal of
attention , I forward you thoao notes to guide you through tfoft maze . Furnished with three day » ' provisions , our troops landed in the Crimea ; und although many of the I mprovident consumed their rations quickly , and uomo Btate that what was shut up close till the third day was tmm unfit for uee , yot few grounds of complaint exist ^ $ ^ ia » t tho oonuniwiuriafc until after the celebrated flauk inarch . During . the march aonxu araboa had boon tuHzvi irnh provisions , and provisions and arabas were njjpprtfeaed ta tho divisions , these arabaa being almost the tyfty m / m » « f tnuupwt which thoy then pommmA ,
During ffee ^ arck- tfca commissariat depot was course movable . l £ ttiis £ « * a ve been expected that when we had made Jbuakla ^ a the base of our operations , all difficulties .-if supply were obviated within thirty hours ' sail of CflBtfantinople , and the ocean all our own . But than , f * + x * only , did tftaifcorrors of wm & qjn , the meaW * of trtM » port soo » ceased to exist inland , and whaiwer artf »« d by seaiwas ttot long in charg *«* the commissariat dfepot , untffi tatigtm parties from ills front presetted recjwbitions foF ^ iantitfal which Jit wotffcftpossiblei » svyffy : Often il & littlff which they dUV « eceiv & was tomwwen for their « tt < eeB % df . limbs to beSB ^ and the spectacle was too common to " be terrible—the lifeless bodv beside its burden . But it is needless to revive the
recollection of these horrors ; they are recorded and can be attested . The Turks were rationed from our commissariat ; they do not eat pork , and as we had nothing else eatable , they subsisted on rice , biscuitj and the infernal branlike mixture called coffee . Sir Colin ' s solicitude for the welfare of the poor Turks won their gratitude , but rather surprised Rustum Pacha , whose peculating habits Sir Colin scented and threatened to punish . The position of a commissariat officer , however desirable now , was neither pleasant nor profitable then . Nowhere in the Crimea are graves more plentiful than around Balaklava , and death divested of the excitement of battle was rendered doubly horrible by the attendant agonies under which so many sank . The business of the
commissariat in Balaklava consists in receiving from transport-ships stores shipped by government agents at home , or purchased and shipped by commissariat agents from countries contiguous to the seat of war , and in issuing from the depot these stores on the requisitions of commissariat officers attached to divisions or brigades of the army . There also exists an office in Balaklava from which an assistant-commissary-general rations the regiments stationed in the vicinity , the hospitals , and the Government employes . The commissariat staff consists of a commissary-general , deputy commissary-generals , assistant commissary-generals , commissariat clerks , temporary commissariat clerks , storekeepers , assistant storekeepers , and commissariat issuers . The labour at the depot has been performed principally by Turkish hamals at 2 s . a day , and onbashi ( overlookers ) at 2 s . 6 d .
Doubtless you have seen a p lau of Balaklava , but the wildest imagination would fail to fill up the narrow street that skirts the harbour as it appears ( or rather has appeared ) at mid-day . The shock-headed Crim Tartar with his buffalo araba , the long string of packmules with their wild-looking Asiatic muleteer , the stately dromedary stalking with solemn pace , land transport carts , and artillery waggons , with the ferociouslooking old prevot sergeant marshalling the throng . At times fatigue parties of from one to two hundred men , with requisitions for firewood , might be seen filing of t with one stick a piece ; hamals toiling slowly along under frightful loads , or with loud shouts crowning the railway trucks ( great emulation existing as to which truck shall be loaded first ) , stores being forwarded by railway to a temporarv depot formed at the " Col . "
In the midst of all the bustle how preserve the balance ? Seeing that ample means were at the disposal of the powers that be , that the usual facilities for verifying amounts existed , how will you receive the intelligence of the tremendous deficiencies that will be disclosed ? In one department alone ( fuel ) the deficiency in wood is stated at twenty-five millions of pounds weight . Don ' t laugh ; if this is a Crimean " shave" you will find it a close one , and however comically stupid the cause may be , widows and orphans weep the result . In other departments the deficiency is proportionately large ; in barley , for example , it will amount to several hundreds of tons When we speak of deficiencies , understand it is meant quantities totally unaccounted for ,
waste and damaged stores being ullowed for at the discretion of a board of officers summoned to condemn damaged stores or assess lots by waste . I forward you , enclosed , copies of the various forms of requisition , the No . 1 being from tho divisional officer , generally an assistant commissariat-general or commissariat clerk . There is frequently a blank left both for tho quantity and description of stores , the person in charge of the train of mules , carts , or waggons being empowered to fill the blank with whatever ho may get , to avoid returning empty . On arriving at tho stores of the division it is then issued to brigades , or regiments , on requisition No . 2 . Detached troops or batteries of artillery in tho same manner . The quartermaster in presumed responsible for tho conservation and distribution ( rationing ) of the regimental stores , but the duty
devolves entirely upon quartermaster-flergeants of regiments , who receive ration returns from tho orderly corporals for companies . 1 have no hesitation in asserting that the mode of rationing and checking ( iraounts i . s perfect , so fur as it lies within tho control of the military , and no deficiencies can occur iu tho quartorinasteriHcrgount ' s department . Whon supplies are uhort , tho quantity to which tho ration will extend Li calculated and impartially distributed . The amount issued to regirneuttt , troopH , or batteries from divisional Htoroa can alao bo checked with tho amount received by divisional stores from tho depot , and for which recoiptu aro retained at tho depot ; tho deficiency must consequently oxiat between tho amount received at tho dopfit and tho amount for which they hold receipts n » having isuued there . Either they did not receive tho umount of stores at tho depOt , which have been paid for , forwarded to
tHem , «¦* -admitted by their returns to have been re-Ceivedi bytl «« v , or they have issued more on the requi-• i ttafcs tum the amounts for which they were drawn Tftey « aa « ot « " choose their horn . " They have erred in both paitfBalaH * and to an extent that will frighten John Ball- ffcom his propriety . For twelve months cargoes wre received without check of any kind to verier tht »« mounts stated in the bill of lading or consignment jiapun . And when late in last autumn , or rather ( in tha commencement of last winter , the cargoes were gMfghed or tallied out , not one ship in twenty produced the amount stated in her papers . One ship , named the W , charged with three- hundred tons , loaded bv
contractors with firewood from Anatolia , wei ghed out at Kazatcli , produced one hundred and fifty tons ; and at Balaklava , with a heavy deck load , produced ( the second time ) two hundred and thirty . She is one of a great number carrying wood for the same contractors . Another ship , named the M , loaded with barlev , weighed out at Balaklava , proved eighty tons deficient the M G , thirty-five hundred weight of biscuit ; and so on you might continue accumulating such specimens of our mercantile morality . Rum flows not in bumpers , but " out " of puncheons ; and beef , too , too solid ( for chewing ) , melts , thaws , and dissolves itself into adieu .
Let ' s take the other horn—over-issuing . I have been told a hundred times , " You ' re mighty particular ; when Mr . was here we took double the quantity . ' ' For all bulky stores , issued without weighing , we have raised the average charge ( per cart , waggon , or packmule , or sack , as the case may be ) considerably the last six months ; and yet I will give you an instance within last month ' s experience . A sergeant , named H , comes down for stores for the third division , frequently seventy or eighty pack-horses or mules with him , and a blank requisition ( N " o . 1 ) , signed by the commissariat officer : each pack was formerly charged 1801 b 5 . weight for a load , but latterly we have charged 200 lbs . This sergeant , when requested by me to sign for 2001 bs . of wood for each mule , refused , cited the deputy
commissary-general ' s order , and finally declined finishing the transaction with me : " my superiors would teach me my duty . " Not to be outdone in obstinacy , I caught the mule nearest me , took it to some scales where they were weighing barley , unpacked the load , and weighed it in his presence : it weighed 3431 bs . I told him to find and bring me the smallest in his convoy . He took his time , and selected the smallest load ; it weighed 2091 bs . Still he . would not sign for more than 1801 bs .: and , having reported the transaction to my superiors , I left him to settle it with them , which he did , amicably . My superiors are mostly Irish policemen , who have left their countrv for their country ' s good , but for England ' s
heavy loss and her soldiers' sorrow . Men of athletic mould , they were better fitted to guard the stores with their brawny arms , or aid in their transmission on their powerful heads , than to receive in bulk and issue in detail , however simple such an operation may appear . Their acquirements , so far as languages are concerned , are limited to strong English . Although we h .-ive been in constant communication with tho other armies-, and when lime-juice and coal was lent to the Sardinians , and firewood to the French , the medium of communication ( myself ) came out as general labourer , and was known by some of these " Irish jintlemeu" as the " navvy . "
Great quantities of barley were lent to the French ; I am pretty certain the amount was two million anil a half pounds weight , an ignorant poor devil of a Maltese acting as interpreter ; but he mode no pretension to any knowledge of French beyond the generality of his countrymen , who pick up a few familiar words from tho sailors of all countries . As to the corps raised by Sir Joseph Paxton , to assist tho operations of the Commissariat , on their arrival in the Crimea , the butchers ( eighty ) were immediately divided amongst the di / l ' orent cuttle
divisions of tho army ; and , under their hands , tho turned out much more palatable meat . To each division , also , a few labourers were assigned , to assi » t in the stores . Two gangs of twenty-five men each have been occupied discharging ships , as also have tho grcntor number of the mechanics , for whom , after their own camp was built , little else could bo found for them to do-Considerable jealousy has been exhibited towards this corps , und I see that attacks hnvo been made on them » l home . You "know that my experience of mechanics '" been earned in the bast establishments of Huroiio ; '" id
bettor selected body of men never exiated ; and had they been properly officered , the result would have won credit for tho men , most of whom belong to n clans , whom in time of peace and prosperous trade , government wouW seek in vain to enliat . But to this corps , and tlioir < om " panion body , tho Army Work . s Corps , hangs a Ink ' , wlik ' 1 hope to tell . . " Wo are noAV clearing all tho bulky utorcs ( fonifio ami fuel ) out of Balaklava , to leave tho wharves at . tho 1 in-1 /" . if ? l ? i . _ . ii . ' a . ' . . . i » . l ... *> ls-i > tiiill \ V I ) Jll ' of tho authorities for embarkation AV li "
ponal military . is necessary for coiiHiimption will bo iHuucd at , teniponny depotH . Buef and barley are piled in great quant it" " <>» tho graveyard at tho end of tho harbour ; and Imy , barley , coal , und wood are forwarded in heavy tnuns to tho " Col " by railway . Shot and hIicII , hhovcln , v ! " •«•> barrowfi , pickH , and hummcra aro being cinbailieil nip' < l y And nnridttt treincnduoun bustle , glorious weather , m" < hosts of visitors ( JLtuuki ) , wo have arrived at the w ginning of the end .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), May 17, 1856, page 2, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_17051856/page/2/
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