The Press. — London, England, 1854-12-23 00:00:00

1218 of the roadstead, where there is a considerable number of Government storehouses, and a range of buildings which appears like a barrack. The batteries command the approach by this road, and protect the left flank of the Russian position. Respecting the condition of the besieged, we find the following details in the Chronicle correspon dence : Whatever may have been our losses, we have at least the stern satisfaction of knowing that those of the enemy are greater. Three deserters came in on the 29th, and after making due allowance for exaggeration, there yet re mains enough for a fearful amount of want and misery. The living are said to be no longer able to bury the dead, and the troops to be utterly worn out by their ceaseless labours, and dispirited by their s ill-success whenever we have met them in the field. Flour is said to be almost all consumed, though there was no want of cattle. The state of the country now must utterly prevent any further rein forcements being thrown into the town; those there already, and their army of occupation, must be daily weakened by hunger, sickness, and disease. On the other hand, our fleets command the sea; we can obtain continued supplies of provisions and men. The place must eventually fall, and we have every reason fur antici pating our flag will wave over its battlements ere the first dawn of the new year, when once the new guns and mor tars can be got into position ; but the weather has been so unfavourable that we cannot expect this to be done in less than three weeks. BALAKLAVA HARBOUR AND THE FLEET. A. letter dated on the 2nd inst. states : We cannot boast much of the order in which ships are moored in the harbour of Balaklava. Every one seems to shift for herself, and they certainly ride it out very well ; but every yard of room, especially with such a winter as we anticipate, is precious, and a little economy of space would admit many more vessels. The Avon, with 330 sick and wounded, leaves to-morrow, the 3rd, for Constantinople, at which place or at Malta she will have to repair the damage sustained in the late gale. Among her passengers is expected to be Lord Cardigan, returning on account of his health. The Jura proceeds the same day to Corfu for troops. The main body of the sailing fleet have probably left the exposed anchorage of the Katscha before this for Beicos. Only the Rodney and Vengeance are to remain in the little bay to the eastward of Chersonese, and they are to be used as store depots, save in case of unlooked-for necessity. It is said that the men "under authority" have changed their minds once more about Eupatoria, and will endeavour to hold it for the present. Commander 13orlase is to succeed Captain Brock in the government. WEATHER IN THE CRIMEA. The correspondent of the Daily News has trans mitted the following weather-table kept at Balaklava during three weeks before the mail of the 2nd inst. was despatched On the 10th November it rained all the night preceding, and all the morning up to mid-day. The afternoon was sunny, and in the evening it blew very hard. The 11th. The gale subsided in the course of the night. The morning was foggy, the day sunny, with frequent showers of rain. At this date the roads were almost im• practicable. The 12th. Dry, windy night. Bright, squally morning. The 13th. A windy day, with frequent showers of rain. The rain ceased at sunset. On the 14th, it blew a hurricane from 5.30 to 10.30 a.m., the sun shining brightly all the time. Fall of sleet and hail at 1 p.m. At that hour it still blew hard. Dark as night at 2.30, and thunderstorm at 3 p.m. Storm of sleet, hail and snow, from 3to 4 p.m. Four inches snow on the heights. It blew a gale from 7to 9 p.m, and the wind was moderately high all night. 15th Sunny morning. A delightful breeze. weather all day. 16th. Squally all last night. Bright morning, and sunny day. Wind hardly to be felt at Balaklava, but disagreeably high in the camps. 17th. Warm, genial weather. Summer sun, and spring breeze. INth. A beautiful day. Wind high on the heights. Mild night. 19th. After the mild night intensely cold at 4 a.m., and a gusty, squally, raw morning up to 10 a.m. The day was again mild, but with a high wind and fast drifting clouds. The night squally. 20th. Slight rain in the morning. Torrents of rain at 9 a.m., and all day long. Rain lessened at night. 21st. Dry mild morning. 22nd. Dry morning, but cloudy. The sun broke through at 11 a.m. Rain at sunset and heavy rains all night. 23rd. High wind ; rainy, muddy, mild morning ; rain all day and all night. 24th. Rain, but clearing off; very mild weather; wind hardly felt at Balaklava, but strong on the heights. 26th. An English May-day, but the mud terrible. 27th A dry, mild, cloudy day. 28th. Heavy rains. 29th. Rain and wind; air mild. 130th. Dry, bright, mild ; followed by heavy rains on the Ist December. The writer adds : We have the most confused statements of the probable state of the weather in this month and in January. Some of the natives talk of heavy falls of snow, but if such there ever have been, they must be the exception, not the rule, for in snow countries every house has its sleigh, while in the small portion of the Crimea which the army has hitherto been har d ly any sleighs were to be found. Nor are the roofs of the houses strong or steep enough for a snow oonntry. Others assert that the rains will cease about the middle of this month, and dry weather, slightly frosty, act Fine THE PRESS. in, and continue to about the end of January, when the storms, fogs, and rains of the Crimean winter will really com• mence ; and others again will have it that the rains and gales will continue up to the advent of spring—that is to say, to the end of March. it is to be hoped that the latter prediction is a false one, for the roads, which commenced becoming impracticable on the 11th ult., are now almost wholly so; and nothing but the imperative necessities of the army can conquer the enormous difficulties the com missariat have to surmount in the conveyance of stores up to camp. As it is the mortality among the overworked and underfed draught cattle is becoming more alarming as day follows day, each day adding to the quagmire character of the roads, and lessening the number of the beasts of labour. And as each animal dies, its share of the work falls upon the survivors. Arabes, too, get broken. Still, I cannot hear that measures have been taken to get up a fresh supply of draught cattle and waggons from Constantinople, Varna, and Eupatoria. Some of the divisions were a week ago placed on half rations, simply because it was impossi ble to get the provisions up to camp. Half-a-pound of meat and biscuit, and no rice, is certainly not enough to sustain our soldiers under the extraordinary fatigues they have to bear ; and if this state of things continues much longer, the result, as affecting the health and efficiency of the troops, cannot fail to be most lamentable. REINFORCEMENTS AND SUPPLIES. The steam transport Imperatrice was ordered round from Liverpool to Portsmouth on Wednesday, to embark 1,150 rank and file for the Crimea. The Europa, and another large steamer, just launched from Messrs. Mare's yard, Bow-creek, are ordered to be fitted with all despatch for the conveyance of troops. The officers of the commissariat department are enlist ing in Ireland, through the agency of the constabulary, a corps of drivers to be employed with the army under Lord Raglan, to consist of 350 men, who are to receive a daily pay of 2s. 6d., free rations, and clothing. The candidates must not be under 18, nor over 30 years of age. Upwards of eighty eligible men have already offered their services. Commissary-General Hewetaon is specially employed on this service. Five hundred men of every infantry regiment of the Imperial Guard are to proceed forthwith to the Crimea. The artillery has already received its marching orders. It is also reported that a portion of the regiment of Guides, commanded by Colonel Fleury, will join the army in the East. The Ist and 2nd Regiments of Carabineers, in garrison at Versailles, are to form part of the army at Lyons. General Rostolan reviewed, on the 15th, at Marseilles, the troops waiting to be embarked for the Crimea. Among them were two batteries of artillery and a detachment of Engineers. The steam navigation companies of the Rhone have signed a contract with the Government, by which they undertake to convey, in ten days, to the Crimea, 100, 000 tons of utensils, camp apparatus, and huts for the army. A letter from Bucharest states that among the Turkish troops embarking at Varna for the Crimea are 7,000 men of the garrison of Silistra. The Lady Alice Lambton and Great Northern steamers are being loaded at Blackwall with large quantities of material for the railway at Balaklava. They Bail this day (Saturday ). By command of the Admiralty, thirty-nine bales of warm clothing have been sent down to Portsmouth for convey ance to the Crimea, to be gratuitously distributed among the seamen and marines serving ashore with the army. On Tuesday the Anne Maclean sailed from Greenock with a complete cargo of comforts and necessaries, the gift of Lord Blantyre, for gratuitous distribution to the Crimean army. She also took out a number of books, the special gill of Lady Blantyre. Five hundred stoves have been ordered in ronstanti nople for the army of the Crimea, and the moat energetic measures have been adopted to supply the losses occa sioned by the storm of the 14th. One hundred thousand planks, for winter huts for the army before Sebastopol, are being prepared in Constanti nople. The Sumroo, 1,000 tons, arrived in the Southampton Docks on Tuesday, to take on board wooden houses for the French troops in the Crimea. The Swiftsure, and several other ships of large tonnage, have been engaged to follow as soon as possible. When ready they will be towed across the Bay of Biscay, and to their destination, by French war-steamers, which are to come to Southamp ton for the purpose. Several French officers have arrived at Southampton, specially deputed by the French Minister of War to superintend the embarkation and despatch of these houses, which are being manufactured at Gloucester. The quantity ordered will provide accommodation for 15,000 men. RUSSIAN PREPARATIONS FOR THE NEXT CAMPAIGN. In a letter from St. Petersburg of the Nth inst. we read : It ought not to be supposed in England that because Russia remained entirely passive this summer in the Baltic, and allowed her sh'ps to be cooped up at Cronstadt and Sweaborg, that she intends to follow a similar course in the ensuing campaign in the Baltic. It may with truth be asserted that the declaration of war took Russia by sur prise, and that, with all the gigantic resources she pos sesses, neither the army nor the fortresses were at all prepared for active warfare. The same may be said with regard to the navy, and to a much greater extent, both in the Baltic and the Black Sea. But the extensive preparations now making in the im perial arsenals for putting the Baltic fleet in a condition not only to carry on a defensive war, but even to assume the offensive, are of such vast magnitude that they ought not to be overlooked in England or thought lightly of. The most important of these measures is the immediate forma tion of no less than twenty.ga morn wawa:nes of sailors SATURDAY, or ships' crews to replace those that may be swept off by British and French cannon-balls next summer. According to the Russian system, the Baltic fleet is divided into three divisions, the head-quarters of the first and second being at Cronstadt, and of the third at Sweaborg. The new companies or crews are to be formed of those sailors now on furlough and those whose time of service expires on the 13th January next. The old line-of-battle ship Andreas, 84, is to be converted into a block-ship in lieu of the iirsis, 74, which will be fitted for active service. The new screw three-decker building here is to be called the Emperor Alexander, and is to be ready for service by the end of March next. The impracticable old ship I...Mgeiten, 84, is to do duty only as a harbour-ship, and will be replaced by the Natromennie, 74, and receive the Nth equipage or crew. The old line of-battle ship Empress Alexander, 84, the frigate Proserpina, 44, and the - brig Kasansky, 20, are to be broken up as being perfectly unserviceable. The steam squadron which left Sweaborg fora cruise on the withdrawal of the British fleet, consisted of the ii:oralsehatka, 16, 54U-horse power, carrying the flag of Vice-Admiral Tiri now ; the Smiloi, 12,400-horse power ; the Olaf,' 4.50- home power; Grossasehi, 6, 450-horse power ; the Chrabroi, U, 300- horse power ; the Grentiasehoi, 0, 400-horse power; the Its rik, 6, 3(X)-horse power, the Otwasehnoi, 0, 400-horse power; and the Bogatyr, 6,300-horse power—all paddle-wheel steam ers. Since then another squadron has left the port of Sweaborg and been out on a cruise, consisting of the line of-battle ships l'roeher, 84, with the flag of Vice-Admiral Rumjanzow • the Pultawa, $4; the Brienne, 7t ; and the Vladimir, 84—towed respectively by the steam-frigates UNA Gremiasehoi, Burik, and Smilei. At the completion of their cruise they proceeded to Cronstadt, where they re main for the winter. There are, therefore, four linewf battle ships and four steam-frigates less now at Sweaborg than there were in the summer. Accounts from Berne state that a letter hail been received by the master armourer of Zurich, from M. de Colette, the Secretary of the Government at St. Petersburg, inviting workmen and armourers from Switzerland to join the Itussian regiments. All ex penses to their destination would be paid, with a salary of about 401. per annum, and they would be placed at the head of the workmen in the regiment. RETURN OF THE BALTIC FLEET. The Duke of Wellington, bearing the flag of Sir C. Napier, arrived at Portsmouth on S inday evening, and anchored at Spithead. The commander-in-chief landed on Monday, and shortly afterwards proceeded to London. With a few exceptions the whole num ber of the ships composing the late Baltic squadron have arrived in the harbours to which they are respectively assigned. The services of those mount ing 90 guns and upwards are, however, immediately required to convey reinforcements to the army in the Crimea, and every exertion is being used by the authorities to get them ready for the emergency. FOREIGN ENLISTMENT BILL. The following is a copy of this bill, as amended in committee by the House of Lords. The sth clause was struck out at a subsequent stage by the Peers. The full title of the measure runs thus —" An Act to Permit Foreigners to be Enlisted, and to serve as Officers and Soldiers in her Majesty's Forces" : Whereas it is expedient that her Majesty, during the continuance of the war, should be enabled to enlist and employ foreigners in her army : be it therefore enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords spiritual and temporal, and Common in thispreseat Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows :- 1. It shall be lawful for her Majesty to cause to be en listed as soldiers into her service persons not being natural born subjects or entitled to the privileges of natural-born subjects of her Majesty, who may voluntarily enter them selves for such service, and to grant commisaktis or letters of service to auy such persons to serve as officers, the persons so enlisted and commissioned to be formed into separate regiments, battalions, and corps ; and such enlist• ment, commission, and the service thereunder, `shall be as lawful as if such persons were natural born subjects of her Majesty. 2. Provided always that the men serving under this act shall not be employed in the United Kingdom except for the purpose of being trained, arrayed, and formed into regiments, battalions. or corps for foreign service, and ex cept such bodies of reserve as may be kept in the United Kingdom for training and arraying recruits, and for sup plying vacancies in such regiments, battalions, or eon's ; and that there shall not be within the United Kingdom more, iu the whole, than 10,000 men serving under this act at any one time. Every person enlisted as a soldier under the authority of this act shall be attested in such a manner as her Majesty shall direct, and not otherwise; and all officers, non-com missioned officers, drummers, and private soldiers enlisting or commissioned under this act shall take such oath for their fidelity during their continuance in her Maj est y 's service as her Majesty shall direct, and no other. 4. Subject to the provisions herein contained, all officers, non-commissioned officers, dnimmers, or private soldiers serving under the provisions of this act, shall be subject to all the provisions contained in any act for the time beingin force " for punishing mutiny and desertion, and for the better payment of the army and their quarters," and the Articles of War made in pursuance thereof, in the same manner to all intents and purposes as any of her Majesty s regular forces are subject to the same. b. It shall be lawful for her Majesty, if she see fit. to make any supplemental Articles of War to be applicable specially to persons who may be enlisted or commissioned under this esti and thereby to vary or control any Ardslo