The Press. — London, England, 1854-11-04 00:00:00

i r - .•-••istt.'" NNW 1036 THE WAR. SIEGE OF SEBASTOPOL. No official or even newspaper correspondence has arrived during the past week from the Crimea. All postal communication seems to be mysteriously cut off; and even iu Paris there are no letters or Go vernment advices from the seat of war. Under these circumstances, we are compelled to make shift with the telegraphic despatches which arrive in rapid suc cession daily, and even hourly, from different quar ters, but continue, as heretofore, to furnish reports always brief, often exceedingly unsatisfactory, and not seldom utterly irreconcilable with one another. These despatches reach us through two channels, which it is very necessary to keep distinct. One set travels from Constantinople, by way chiefly of Bucharest, and transmits intelligence from friendly or authentic sources ; the other comes from Berlin or Vienna, and merely repeats such tidings as the Czar may think it expedient to publish in St. Petersburg, or which Prince Menschikoff may please to tele graph from the Crimea. From this latter source, however, we still derive news of several days' later date than are attainable through other routes, al though forced to accept the statements so conveyed with considerable reserve. The authentic despatches that have arrived convey the following summary of each day's progress : (From Constantinople, vid Marseilles.) BII.LKLLVA, OCT. 17.—We opened fire this morning with 71 English and 40 French guns against 130 Russian. At 8.40 a French magazine exploded. At 10.45 the fire was renewed. At 12.45 the French ships engaged the sea forts, with the Agamemnon, the Retribution, ana the Britannia. At 1.25 another French magazine blew up. At 1.40 a tremendous explosion took place in Sebastopol. At 2.55 the magazine of the Russian redoubt blew up. The Russians, however, returned to their guns. At 5.30 the ships fired on Fort Constantine at short range. The fire was kept up until six o'clock, and did great damage to the Russians. OCT. 18.—The Russians have remounted their guns, which are much heavier than ours. Our loss yesterday amounted to 96. The Retribution and London (query Agamemnon 1) both caught fire, and have had their mainmasts carried away. The redoubt and the round tower keep up a brisk fire. We get our munitions up with difficulty. (Vid Bucharest.) OCT. 24.—0 n the afternoon of the 17th October the land batteries opened fire upon Sebastopol. The allied fleets at the same time attacked the flirts at the entrance of' the harbour. The English fleet at tacked the forts on the left side of the entrance to tha harbour, and the French those on the right. The English fire blew up the left outer fortification ; the French silenced the Quarantine Fort. The Aga memnon is reported to have suffered most. The Retribution had a mast carried away by a shot. A shell burst on board the French admiral's ship, La Ville de Paris, killing one aide-de-camp and wound ing another. The loss iu both fleets is reported to be 90 killed and 200 wounded. It was expected that Sebastopol would fall about the 25th October. (Vitt Vienna.) OCT. 30.—Advices from Varna, of the 23rd October, state that the English made a breach at Sebastopol on the 21st. The French had not yet completed theirs. The Russians say that the French succors fully stormed the churchyard on the 19th. Nov. I.—News has been received from Sebastopol, of the 23u1, that the cannonade bad continued inces santly for seven days. The fire of the Russians was said to be slackening, but the French works were not strong enough, and had been much injured. The British are said to be within three hundred yards of the Russian works. A deserter says that the loss of the Russians has been very great. Nachimoff is said to be killed. A fire broke out in the town on the morning of the 23rd, and was burning when the steamer left. Nov. 2.—The Trent brings news from Balaklava to 25th October. She reports that the upper batte ries of Fort Constantine were demolished. The allies had sunk two Russian line-of battle ships in the southern harbour. Frequent conflicts occurred between the enemy and the English covering the troops at Inkerman. Some guns were directed against the gates of the city. The number of dead was so great as to infect the town. Brno (evening).—Official despatches, dated the 25th of October, for the English, Frenc h, and Aus trian Governments, which have been received here, show that the siege of Sebastopol is progressing favourably. They mention frequent rencontres, but say nothing of Liprandi's alleged victory. The Paris .3fOniteUr on Monday published the THE PRESS. following announcement:—" We learn from Varna that the French steamer which left the Crimea on the 21st confirms the news of the destruction of two of the outer forts of Sebastopol. Moreover, the batteries had made a breach. The allied armies were only waiting for a second breach to be made to give the assault. Yesterday (Friday) the Moniteur contained a despatch from General Canrobert, dated before Sebastopol, 23rd of October, and stating that the siege works continued in due course, without any remarkable event worth reporting. The general and the army had perfect confidence in the result. Another telegraphic message received in Paris ran as follows :—" We have news from Sebasto pol to the 24th of October. The bombardment of four forts is vigorously continued. The besieged reply with energy. Different vessels of the allied fleets have been damaged. The Russians have re ceived reinforcements to the number of 30,000 men. General Bosquet observes the reinforcements." From the Russian hide a perfect shower of despatches has arrived, giving a widely different aspect of the progress of events, and reporting some serious advantages obtained by the besieged over the allies. Detailed reports of the operations on the 17th and 18th ult., as transmitted to the Emperor from Prince Menschikoff, were published in the St. Petersburg Journal. The first report of the 17th says that — At nightfall on the first day of the bombardment the English had only two guns able to return the Russian fire, while the Russians had a few dismounted. At noon on the same day fourteen vessels of the allied fleet attacked Sebastopol by sea, directing their fire against Fort Con stantine, and battery No. 10. The shortness of the time and the smoke rendered it impossible for Prince Menschi koff to furnish complete details of the loss on either side ; but the Russian cause had sustained a severe loss in the death of Admiral Korniloff, whose leg had been carried off by a round shot, and who died on the spot. The second report, dated the 18th ult., states that, though the allied fire was astonishing by its power and noise, it had not done so much harm as might have been expected. The Alexander battery, and battery• No. 10, had not suffered much, but the Constantine battery had been greatly injured On the land side none of the Russian batteries had suffered except No. 3, in which nearly all the pieces (thirty-three in all) had been dismounted. The Russian loss was estimated at 500 killed and wounded, among the latter Admiral Nachimoff, very slightly. During the night of the 18th the Russians were busily employed in repairing the damage done to their defences. On the 18th the English fire was less active than on the day be fore, and the French had hardly fired at all. Prince Menschikoff attributes this to a diversion made without the walls by General Semiakine, who appeared in the enemy's rear, and thus diverted their attention from Sebas topoL The vessels which had taken part in the bombard ment on the 17th, and which Prince Menschikoff believed to be all French, had gone away in the direction of Cape Chersonese. The smoke on the 17th, and a thick fog on the 18th, had rendered it impossible for Prince Menschikoff to state the enemy's loss, but he says it would seem that one ship•of--the-line had been seriously damaged, and two steamers set on fire by red-hot shot. Later intelligence was forwarded by the Prince in telegraphic advices. On the 23rd ult. he re ports that the siege continued uninterruptedly, but the fortifications had suffered but little. The attack on the sea side had not been renewed. The Russians had made a successful sortie, and a Freneh battery of eleven guns and eight mortars had been destroyed. Lord Clanricarde's son, Lord Dunkellin, had been taken prisoner. Next day (24th), the prince repeats the announce • ment that the bombardment continued vigorously, but the besieged responded with energy. Several ships of the allied fleets had been much damaged. On this day, also, the arrival of General Liprandi, bringing a reinforcement to the Russians of 30,000 men, is reported to the Emperor. On the 25th another despatch is sent off, stating that General Liprandi had attacked on that. day a de tached camp of the English, and also that he cap tured four redoubts which defended the camp. The despatch further stated that at the same time the Russian cavalry attacked the light cavalry of the English and inflicted on them much loss. On the following day the prince transmits a con firmation of this intelligence, adding that the Eng lish lost 600 horses and eleven guns, and the French had a second battery rased. Various versions of the same statement were also received through Warsaw and other route!. Some of them stated that more than half of the English cavalry had been destroyed, and that Lord Cardigan had escaped with great diffi culty. Different localities were assigned for the catastrophe. In some accounts it is said to have happened in the valley of the Inkennan on the Tschernaya, in others near Balaklava, and in a third series at Eupatoria. The latest dates which have arrived are of the 27th, when Prince Menschikoff telegraphed a brief intimation that "nothing important had occurred in Sebastopol" on that day. Prince Menschikoff, in his official report, states the Russian loss at the battle of the Alma to have been 4,500 killed and wounded. SATURDAY, f infantry Accounts assembled from a Odessa r et p p o r e ! r t e h k a o t the Russian lh o t corps of October, and immediately after Pon the 5 commenced its march with sixty pieces of artillery for Simferopol by the Steppes, and would there join the forces of Prince Menschikoff. The total force in the Crime 2 w 4 ; o ll l b s e .; as follows :—Garrison of Sebastopol, including the crews of the fleet, 34,000; corps of Prince Mens chikoff, 20,000; corps of General Liprandi total, 94, 000. bad 84,000. T Constantinople, w Yarns,eather has an c d om th m e en c c ri e . d me in a, t m he or ß e la d c i k t. Sea, which render communications henceforth with ficult. We read in the Pattie :—" It is positively stated that Admiral Bruat, having renewed the attempt to establish a marine battery on the ground of which he had taken a plan at the time he made his late re connaissance in Quarantine Bay, Sebastopol. has at. tained that important result. A work mounted with I'aixhan guns, loaded from the French vessels, play a with advantage on the Quarantine battery." A letter from Constantinople of the 20th ult. , in the Wanderer of Vienna, says :—" Wound ed men are arriving here continually, proving that some sharp fighting must have been going on at the advance posts before Sebastopol." Adv.ces from the seat of war in Asia state that the Russians occupy Toprach Kale, and threaten Kars. We learn from Malta that the chief dragoman (a Greek) to Lord Raglan had been apprehended, charged with betraying secrets to the Russians. Last week we published letters from the British camp before Sebastopol up to the 13th of October. None later have since come to hand, but the follow ing official despatch from General Canrobert, written on that day, has been published in the Moniteur:— Head-quarters, before Sebastopol, 13th. Monsieur le Ministre—As I have already informed you, by the telegraphic despatch of this day, we opened the trenches in the night of the 9th. We had reason to expect that this work, the preparation of which could not be en tirely concealed from the enemy, would be warmly Ms. puted. Such was not the case. Favoured by a very violent gale of wind from the north-east, the opening of the trench was made on the first night to the extent of 1,000 metres without our workmen being at all disturbed. We, besides, contented ourselves with uniting to this work the extended parallel to our right, which is hereafter to connect our works with those of the English army. We concentrate all our efforts to theconstructionof a It.rge hastionned front, which is to serve as a support to our left, and where, in order to profit by the marked advan tages of the position, we have placed fifty-six pieces of cannon divided into five batteries. Paring the whole of the 10th and the following night the fire of the enemy ass very sharp. At first it was badly directly directed, but afterwards became more precise, but our workmen were already covered, and our communications were not in direct sight of the fortress. The works went on during the 11th and 12th without any incident worth mentionivg• Our losses were only thirty men killed and wounded. Elio weak sorties were attempted by the garrison w ithout any welldetermined object, but they were repulsed. The worts of sapping as well as the construction of the batteries fre quently met with serious difficulties from the nature of tie ground, which on many points is very rocky. 1 nevertlie testa hope that by the 15th our batteries will be mounted, and that we shall be able to open our fire immediately after. The navy have materially contributed to their al. mament with their heavy guns, which Lord Raglan ard myself thought it advisable to oppose to those which the enemy had all round the rtress. Last evenidirect iong anothn of er battery of ten guns was commenced, under the officers of the engineers, behind the Quarantine Fort, and very near the shore. Although these guns will fire tit a long range, I hope that the y will usefully play on the batteries which the enemy ha ve in front of the Quarantincomplete Prince. M en schikoff, with his army, remains in repose. He is awaiting reinforcements. Describing the progress and impedirn intrenching works, the Times correspondent writes, on the 13th ult. :—" The Russians have a very tall rots of the mast, with a scout on the top, whom our sharp shooters call the Green Ape. From that height the eye can look down into the trenches, and the spots can thus be pointed out for firing at. Fortunately, it is very difficult to make a shell fall and burst in a trench when well defended. Not more than twenty have been killed in this way, and most of the them mrestay h av e exposed themselves imprudently. For , day, get on th e works, which ad vance slowly by very fast by night. The aim is more uncertain in the dark, and the pickaxe can then be better pli . The Russians have, however, contrived artificial aims ; during the day they stick up small pennons and fire over them, so that the balls are sent nearly in the right directi on. On our side, night is in our f avou r. Our boats, with m uffled oars, take soundings in all the channels. THE SIEGE MATERIAL t t eTeh nll Coortsf steibtiatstitoonpritoi,/,pionbalicschoesunatinfgolflordetsheeri dr such ti el o ay o to of : feae ormou s labour necessari l y attendant an operation ri~9e em on an pioTyhede fboyllothweinalgliiessthbeefowrstie gshetbasoftotph,ltic total gmo unts avordu to 4,521,234. kilogrammes , eq ual to 10,04'2,750 w.s pa l s . This enormo us matiriel is divided as folio •