The Press. — London, England, 1854-12-09 00:00:00

IFF - P" II -.~-------s THE WEEK. THE knowledge of renewed negotiations at Vienna, and of ono more treaty having been signed, has led sonic sanguine persons to speak of " peace." The word has been eagerly caught up, and raised a vision of all the blessings associated with the term. We think of the delightful pictures on the shield of ACHILLES, of playful lambs grazing at the cannon s mouth, of swords beat into reaping-hooks, of the sad remnant of our gallant army returning home with fife and drum to receive the welcome and rewards their brilliant valour and invincible fortitude so justly deserve. The announcement that a treaty had been actually signed on Saturday by Count Buot, Lord W EST M O RELAND, and Baron BORQUENAY, at once produced a favourable impression on the Bourse of Paris and our Stock Exchange. It was supposed either that Russia really desired peace, and wished Austria to resume her part as mediator in earnest, or that this chief of the German States had at last determined to cordially co-operate with the Western Powers. But how, if neither of these suppositions should prove correct—how, if the treaty should turn out little more than a formal supplement to the former treaty, laying down the four points as bases of pacification ? Looking abroad, the most sanguine eye can detect only preparations for waging the war on a vaster scale than hitherto. Russia is putting forth all her strength to maintain the contest ; and France and England, too late aroused to a compre hension of the arduous work set before them, are sending out immense reinforcements to the Crimea, with a hope of guarding against a repe tition of such irreparable disasters as have occurred. While the con test before Sebastopol is raging, peace can be but a dream, and, when the struggle there has ended, may be further removed than ever. The text of the treaty will, it is supposed, be published in a few days. We are most anxious to learn whether it contains any stipulation for Austria to join the allies in arms. It is noticed as significant that in all mention of this treaty the words " offensive and defensive " are never used. The French Government has received a despatch from General CANROBERT, giving news from the camp before Sebastopol to the 28th ult. To that date operations on both sides had been well nigh suspended. The allies had thrown up extensive works to secure their position ; and the enemy had been equally active in protecting the town by repeated intrenchmeuts. The weather seemed disposed to improve, and if so, the works would be carried on with renewed ac tivity. The main force of the enemy in the field had withdrawn to Baktchi Serai, leaving only a powerful force of cavalry to observe the movements of the allies. We may conclude that the camp is now perfectly sale from assault, and the communications with Balaklava thoroughly secured. The gang of " navvies "—about 500 in number — selected to depart for the Crimea, and form a railroad between the camp and port, will therefore, we may assume, be able to prosecute their labours with little chance of interruption. The work must tend to wonderfully facilitate the transport of guns, ammunition, and stores of all kinds, from Balaklava to the camp. It is difficult to form an estimate of the reinforcements which have already landed since the battle of Inkermann ; but the force now collected must altogether be much stronger, we imagine, than has yet been employed for the prosecution of the siege. More troops, both French and English, were arriving day by day; and it is stated — though the assertion seems scarcely credible—that 40,000 Turks are to be sent to swell the numbers under the command of the allied chiefs. To judiciously handle or employ the vast multitude of troops which will speedily be congregated within the narrow limits of the allied lines, will be a task requiring the greatest skill and discretion. There is danger resulting from an army being too large as well as from being too small. If an assault on the town indeed be contem plated numbers must prove of great advantage, as the position can be adequately defended on every side while the assault is being made, and powerful reserves can be in readiness to push an advantage, repair losses, or cover a retreat. But, if active operations are to be delayed until the spring, the numbers of the besiegers may prove of the greatest disadvantage to them. With every precaution that can now be taken our troops must suffer severely from exposure, and the liability to disease will be greater in proportion as the camp is more crowded. We wait, therefore, arrivals from the Crimea with great anxiety to gain some knowledge of the course the allied commanders purpose to pursue. If it is merely intended to hold the camp through the winter, it would plainly be the best policy, on all accounts, to collect a powerful army in the neighbourhood of Con stantinople, and have it in complete readiness to land in the Crimea, as soon as the season allowed field operations to be undertaken. Sebastopol might then with a sufficient force be completely invested, and cut off from all supplies and from communication with the Russian army in the field. Observed by an adequate force of the allies, its fall, with the surrender of its garrison, would be inevitable within a limited date. The accounts of the state of our forces are of a nature to excite )t from attacks of the foe, indeed, enemy—disease, induced by exposure, correspondence has been received from ber 20. The trustworthy correspondent fearful hurricane of November 14, of our troops died from cold and many horses pei ished. The camp spondent of the Dublin Evening Mail ' oth November, many instances of the the r i gor feziou4 misgiving, not but from the ravagis'efs.a direr en coldtbait Itilikaustion. Private cor theilaintytate,date of Novembez of ithiV,Pirdet, after noticing the wrAVI, ikezt dar:—",Several It y . esterday and m " isTa of u 111.13 corresi relaftl.6th and 16 d' t". 7 - k: , THE PRESS. SATURDAY, fatal effects of exposure :—" Three Zouaves, who went under a wall for " shelter from the piercing gale, when their tents had been destroyed " fell asleep, and were all found dead in the mornin g . I walked tt; " Balaklava, but there saw nothing un usual for that stran g e p lace, " except, perhaps, an unusual num ber of burials going on. The " wounded and sick were coming in in ambulances, and the hospital " and ships were again too much crowded, and the medical officers " overworked. On my return I observed the increasing number of " dead horses in the neighbourhood, and also more vultures than of " late." Again:—" About a mile from this, near the French camp, we `• found collected, and brought there in carts, about fifty carcasses of " bullocks that had died from hard weather, fatigue, and insufficient " food." As the cold grew intense fuel became more scarce :—" Fuel " for firing is daily becoming scarcer and scarcer, and where it is to " obtained for winter use is a problem requiring solution." The hospitals exhibit a far more deplorable spectacle. One of the nurses writes from Scutari, under date of November 11 :—" With such a num " ber of wounded coming in from Sebastopol, it does appear absolutely " impossible to meet the wants of those who aro dying of dysentery " and exhaustion: out of four wards committed to my care, eleven " men have died in the night simply from exhaustion." In the pre sence of these appalling facts, Mr. SIDNEY HERBERT can think of no better means to relieve the distress of our gallant defenders than to invite Oxonians to send him their old boating jacke;s and dressing gowns for transport to the Crimea. Whence the necessity for this begging? Is there no clothing to be purchased in manufacturing England that these reiterated appeals are made to the charity of the public for rags and old garments? As we touched on this theme before, let us say briefly that we do not discourage that noble mani festation of benevolence which seeks to mitigate by every kind of indi vidual sympathy and exertion the privation of our soldiers, whether contending on the bleak heights of Balaklava, with the piercing gales of the Euxine, or stretched on wretched pallets in the hospital at Scutari. But what we insist ou is this,—that Government should provide necessaries for our troops, whether in camp or hospital ; and that it should be left to private benevolence to supply those comforts and luxuries which it is beyond the province of Government to care for. It is the first and most urgent duty of Ministers to supply our heroes with actual requirements, not stintingly, but in liberal abun dance ; and it is with feelings of agony that we learn how, until the latest moment, the sending out of warm clothing was deferred. By all means let yachts take out agreeable refreshments. Let a peer, like the Duke of MARLBOROUGH, send his hundred head of venison, if be please. Such aids will no doubt be most acceptable ; but necessaries of every description should have been provided by the Ministry long before the actual want of them was experienced. The success of M es srs. GUNTER in preserving the venison has given currency to au in different joke. No wonder, it is said, that the Duke of NEWCASTLE and his friends are friendly to the potting of venison as they are actually going to pot themselves ! As fresh details arrive of the wrecks in the Euxine on the fatal 14th, the extent of the disasters becomes more conspicuous. By far the greater part of the supplies of winter clothing sent out, were car ried in the ill-fated Prince, and have been totally lost. Every one is now asking,—why did no winter clothing reach the Crimea until the middle of November ? Why was a cargo so essential, not only to the comfort and health, but to the very life of our troops, all trusted to one ship? Were not the storms of the Euxine well known? Care was taken to insure the vessel in case of loss, but no care was taken to send out duplicate supplies. The delay in respect to providing shelter for the troops has been still more culpable. The main supply of wooden houses intended for them can hardly arrive before January, and it is frightful to reflect what mortality there may be from exposure before January arrives ? Has any conjecture yet been formed as to the probable amount of the Patriotic Fund ? It will, when completed, we trust and believe, form the noblest testimony of public spirit ever yet manifested in the world. There is a soul of goodness in things evil. The shortcomings of the Government have evoked a display of national spirit veritably sublime. The Times, when the fund was first established, thought a hundred thousand pounds might be realised. We may now proudly anticipate that it will reach something like half a million. Evidently with advancing civilisation, and the freer interchange of thought, the sympathies of the country take a wider range. By every fireside in the land tears are shed for the bereavement of widows and orphans, as the names of the slain are read, and anecdotes of their heroism told. Never has the heart of the nation been more profoundly stirred ; and still, as we think of the forces fast gathering in numbers on the mhos pitable downs where their tents are pitched, whether soon to be hurled, mass after mass , aga inst the Russian batteries which guard the town, or condemned to wait im p risoned in their lines through the long e and drear winter, till the word is given f nex t? or action, our interest in thir fate inycreases, and we anxiously exclaim—What As the public feeling deepens on the incapacity of the Govern ment to conduct the war the Coalition hacks endeavour to weaken the force of the criticism and censure they anticipate by abuse of the leading members of the Opposition. Mere contempt has hitherto closed our lips as to the cavils of a portion of the London press upon that great Dublin meeting which in a manner so unmistakable, recog nised in Mr. DISRAELI the meet expounder of the feelings which prevail in the country as to the management or mis-management of the war. Lest, however, our silence should be misinterpreted, we will very briefly say that the gentry of Ireland and the citizens of Dublin did themselves high honour by their judgment, and that we feel convinced the result will justify both them and the lovers of constitutional Go" vernment throughout the United Kingdom• v