On this page
-
Text (3)
-
784 <oa
-
WAR MISCELLANEA. A Russian Vessel under ...
-
ACCIDENT AT CKEMORNE GARDENS. Sebastopol...
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.
-
-
Transcript
-
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.
784 <Oa
784 < oa
THE LEADER . [ No . 282 , Saturday ,
-=== A BAIN-STORM IN THB CRIMEA . Soon after five o ' clock this morning ( July 31 ) a most viole nt storm of w ind and rain commenced , and continu ^ I write . It will cause , I fear , much discomfort , £ not ^ ctua l damage , in the camp , over which it rages witii acombinVdfiny 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 shelter 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 fowjs 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 semisubterranean 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 . 1 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 bad 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 . —Time * Correspondent . RUSSIAN LOSSES ANX > REINFORCEMENTS . 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 lost a corps d ' armee . " But , if the Russians lose many men by sickness , they seem to be careful to replace them . Numbers of stories are afloat about the 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 most powerful telescopes are able to discover anything of the approach of this formidable force . —Times occasional Correspondent . DESPATCH FROM GENERAL , SIMPSON . Before Sebastopol , July 31 . My Lord , —I beg to enclose the list of casualties to the 29 th inst ., which , I regret to say , are very heavy . The proximity of our works to those of the enemy , together with the lightness of the 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 Great Redan . An agreeable change has taken place the lost few days in the temperature of the weather ; heavy showers of rain have occasionally fallen . Several reconnoissances have been made from the valley of Baidar towards Ozenbash , Aitodar , and through the Fhoros Pass towards Aloupka , the cnomy nowhere appearing in any force ; but the narrowness of tbo mountain roads , with the exception of the Woronzoff , makes it unnecessary for them to alter their concentrated position on the heights of Mackenzie and plateau of the Belbek . The health of the troops continues very satisfactory . I have , & c , James Simpson , Lieutenant-General Commanding . Lord Panmaro , & c . Casualties . —1 sergeant , 11 rank and file killed ; 5 officers , 2 sergeants , 106 rank and file wounded . Naval Brigade : 12 wounded , 2 contused .
War Miscellanea. A Russian Vessel Under ...
WAR MISCELLANEA . A Russian Vessel under the Austrian Flag . — The Nina arrived at Ipswich on the 14 th of May last from the Black Sea ,, under Austrian colours , and , on the 4 th of Juno , was detained by tbo officers of Customs on suspicion of being Russian property . Iler cargo had been previously discharged . In the course of loot 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 . Lushineton , therefore , condemned the vessel . He observed : — 14 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 Austrian Government would take care not to permit their flag to be prostituted for the purpose of protecting the property of an enemy from the just rights of the bellige-Peace Negotiations . —We read in a letter from Vienna , dated the 7 th inst .: — " It is believed here that Count B uol 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 the war . " The same wnter 8 aya « The arrival of General Letang at Vienna ^ is considered as being connected with arrangements relative to the opening of lines of march for the Alhed armies in the Principalities . It is rumoured here that one of the exiled French generals is expected at Frohs-Recruiting for the Foreign Legion in Swttzbhlahd .-Colonel Dixon 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 Dukb of Newcastle has arrived at Balaklava , and has been up to the front . Odessa . —A telegraphic despatch , dated July 28 th , aayg . « The garrison of Odessa , now the head-quarters of General Lttders , 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 to the blockade . Necessaries are at a most exorbitant price ; labour is suspended in the manufactories ; and the nobility are obliged to givejetes and costly theatrical exhibitions , in order to keep up some slight degree of activity amongst the commercial classes . These accounts , however , ore denied by some of the continental papers . The Late Captain Lyons . —The Queen has sent an autograph letter to Sir Edmund Lyons , to express her sympathy with him on the loss of his son . The Sea 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 Gheiak ) , and the Crooked Spit in the Gulf of Azof . There are no particulars of unusual interest . Captain Osbom adds that " the total amount of provisions , corn , 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 the 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 . The mouths of the Sulina are intercepted by brigands , and commerce calls for protection . Difficulties have arisen in the Principalities between the Turks and the Austrians . The latter pretend that they ought to hnve notice given them of any movement among the Turkish troops . Sweaboro . —Advices from Konigsberg state that when the attack on Sweaborg began , the Grand Duke Constantine , who was immediately informed by telegraph of the event , demanded leave to go out and attack the reduced fleet before Cronatadt ; but the Emperor refused . Loss of an English Screw Gunboat . —Lioutonant-General Khoumoutoff writes to his Government that , on the evening of July 23 rd , an English gunboat ran aground on a point of land in the Sea of Azof . A fusillade was immediately opened against the vessel , "in order to prevent itt * crew from pushing it off . This wi > answered by a cannonade against the Cosaacks , and a steamer came to the assistance , of the bout ; but in vain . The crow then escaped ; and the Cossacks burnt the gunboat to the water ' s edge , and took away the Union Jack and two 24-poundor brass cunnona . Such is the Russian account . An Arrival and a Departure . —General Simpson , writing on August 4 th , gives an account of the sortlo of the Russians on the night of the 2 nd instant , of which the details are already known . The general also mentions the arrival from captivity of Cnptuin Montagu , of the Royal Engineers ( who speaks with gratitude of the kindness with which he lias been treated , and of the departure from the Crimea of Sir Richard England , owing to ill health .
SIR JAMES BROOKE . A bluk-book of unusually large dimensions , containing the reports of the two Commissioners appointed to inquire into certain charges against the Rajah Brooke , has been published . The question of the incompatibility of Sir James ' s position as Rajah of Sarawak with his duty as an English subject , is set at rest by his consenting to abandon , if need be , his exercise of independent sovereignty . With respect to the doubt as to whether Sir James is entitled to hold territory , and trade in its produce , at the same time that he fills the office of British Consul , part of his duties as which consists in fostering the trade of other British subjects , Mr . Devereux , one of the Commissioners , does not consider the two positions at all incompatible ; while Mr . Prinsep ( for the decisions of the two Commissioners , owing to differences of opinion , are given separately ) calls attention to the facts that Sir James has admitted the anomalous character of his position , and has abstained from exercising the functions of consul . In connexion with the celebrated piracy questian , Sir James would seem to be justified by a large mass of evidence , showing that the Dyaks had exercised great oppression and cruelties , and that , since their chastisement in 1849 , the coast hus been comparatively secure , and commerce greatly extended . Mr . Prinsep , however , thinks that Sir James's relations towards the native tribes are not what they should be , and that it is " neither necessary nor prudent that he should be intrusted with any discretion to determine which of these tribes are piratical , " or be armed with any power to call for naval aid against them . " Some difference , " says the summary in the Times , " appears to exist between the two Commissioners with respect to the attacks on the piratical tribes by Captains Keppel and Farquhar . Mr . Prinsep thinks that they were prompted rather by a consideration of the injuries sustained by the settlers at Sarawak than by any injuries or complaints of such sustained by English subjects , and he deplores the great sacrifice of life entailed by Captain Farquliar's operations in concert with * savage allies . ' The charge of ' wrongful and causeless attack and massacre , ' however , has wholly failed of proof , and been negatived by evidence to the contrary . Mr . Devereux so far differs from his colleague as to disbelieve that there was excessive loss of life , or that atrocities , in the ordinary sense of the term , were committed in 1849 in the expedition against the Serebas and Sakorran Dyaks .
Accident At Ckemorne Gardens. Sebastopol...
ACCIDENT AT CKEMORNE GARDENS . Sebastopol seems fated to be the cause of suffering and wounds to our brave Guards , not inertly in the actual conflict raging in the far off Chersonese , but in the sham citadel and assault created for the amusement of a crowd at home . For some time past , Mr . Simpson , the manager of Cremorae Gardens , has exhibited a model of Sebastopol , which has every night been beleaguered by imaginary French and Eng lish soldier * , amidst dazzling displays of red flame and fireworks . On Monday night , Mr . Simpson represented the capture of the Mamclon and Rifle-pits ; and , as this was to be done for the benefit of the Wellington College , the patronage of the Queen and Prince Albert , and of the highest military authorities , was accorded , and a body of five hundred men , belonging chiefly to the Grenadier Guards , was permitted to attend . A portion of the operation ,- ) had to be conducted upon wooden stages ; and , towards the close of the exhibition , the gallery on which the Guards stood gave way , and about sixty men , with bayonets fixed , foil from " a height of twenty f et . The rest of the men remained with extraordinary coolness on the other part of the platform , without raising any cry of alarm . Twenty men were more or less hurt , some having received bayonet wound * , and the limbs of live being fractured . Both the legs of one man were broken , while another soldier sustained serious internal injuries . I he wounded were immediately stretched out in the circus ; and the mimic fight received a Had element of truth . Beneath the tawdry imitation citadel , us bencuth the stern reality , English « oldicrs lay with fractured limbs and bayonet wounds . Mr . Simpson haa writton to the Times to say that tne accident was caused by the soldiers , in the excitement of the mock struggle , rushing on to a plntform where it was not intended they should go . We believe that every ordinarily thinking mind aiul sensitive heart will agree with the strictures of the Tbiu-i upon the wretched taste exhibited in such spectacles as that -which on Monday night had ao lamentable a j-atastrophe . While our countrymen nre yet sacrificing their lives in the bloody verities of that struggle winch will form one of the most ghostly episodes of l »«« ««" - tury , it has not a little of the appearance of hearllivia levity ( though it may be nothing worse than thoug htlessness ) whon the comfortable , homo staying public < lruw an evening ' s amusement from a paltry imitation of events the contemplation of which should \ ww . t bo npproii . lie . except in a spirit of the deupest niverum-e , sorrow , and compassion . Thin tendency to draw a flippant p leasure from " fiffitirflof death" — to pic-nie , as it vivrv , ' <¦ tlu > midst of a Golgotha— to dandle and pi-t u popular Horror , ami to nport a flaaliy Boinblunco of patriotism in tno « n < . u of solemn memories— in not a creditable IVaturo ol ou Knglitfn character ; und it wan only the charitable . ol . jcci of last Monday ' b celebration that redeemed > t "u »» being utterly disgraceful .
-
-
Citation
-
Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 18, 1855, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_18081855/page/4/
-