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

1060 _ t counter : the assistant surgeons are now educated gentlemen, who have passed the requisite examina tions of the college, and seek a recognition of this change by a more respectful attention to their merits and acquirements. But the Board of Admiralty are astonished at this presumption, have paid no heed to it, and consequently " there are not half a dozen assistant -surgeons in the fleet" watching Sebastopol. The day after the action, continues the report, all wounded and sick were transported on board the Vulcan, en route for Therapia ; there they remained for more than another day without care or assistance from anybody. Several of the men are said to have actually had no food for more than twenty-four hours. TWENTY-FOUR IRON CYLINDERS, of the same size as the two laid down to raise the wreck of the Royal George at Portsmouth, and each capable of con taining a charge of I,ooolbs. of powder, have been manufactured at Newcastle-on-Tyne, for the purpose of blowing up the SUNKEN Stars at the mouth of the harbour of Sebastopol. They are hermetically sealed, having strong iron handles, so as to be easily lifted; in one end is a small aperture for the wire of the electrical battery, strongly protected by an iron covering, attached by nuts and screws; and their Strength may be estimated by the fact that each cylinder weighs upwards of two tons and a half. Experiments of simultaneously exploding submarine magazines of gunpowder have been successfully performed by Messrs. Armstong, of Newcastle, who have prepared the magazines attached to the cylin ders. Letters from Malta notice a submarine battery, with shells in connection, which has been tested successfully in the Great Harbour. THE Crvlr. SERVICE SCHEME.—The scheme put forward by the Government for the reconstruction of the civil service of the Crownhaving been strongly opposed, and warmly denounced in quarters where it was anticipated it would receive a hearty welcome, was, as our readers are aware, withdrawn for the session, but it has not as yet been condemned to the fate of most of the projects which emanated from the Coalition. In order to ascertain how far it is susceptible of emendation, and to what extent its proposals are favourably regarded, the scheme has been submitted for the opinion of the working head of each public department, nor will any future steps he taken in the matter, independent of the informa tion and the views which will be supplied from this source. SUCCESSION TO THE TFIRONE.—The career of the Emperor Napoleon 111. is justly deemed one of the most wonderful recorded in history, yet it was once not impossible that a destiny as splendid and not less extraordinary might have been reserved for his con. sin, Prince Napoleon. That young prince might, if certain contingencies not in themselves violently im probable had eventuated in a particular manner, have become heir to the English throne—nay, it is possible even now. By the act of settlement, 11 and 1!2 Wm. o. 3, the heirs of the Princess Sophia, being Protestants, are entitled to the Crown in succession. At the time of the death of the Princess Charlotte, in 1817, all the descendants of Frederick Prince of Wales, father of George 111., in the male line, were more than forty years of age and either childless or unmarried ; there was, therefore, nothing very un likely in the supposition that they might all die with out leaving issue. In that case it would have been necessary to resort to the female line for an heir to the throne. Augusta Duchess of Brunswick, who died in 1813, was the elder daughter of Frederick Prince of Wales. First in descent from her are her grandsons, Charles, the exiled Duke of Brunswick, and his brother William, both of whom are now of mature age and unmarried. In case of their death without issue, the next descendants of Augusta Duchess of Brunswick, are Frederick and Paul of Wurteraburg, also her grandsons ; and, after them, F re d er ica Catherine of Wurtemburg, who married Prince Jerome Bonaparte, and by him had issue Jerome Napoleon, who is now serving with the army of the East. Thus, if the sons and daughters of George 111. had died without issue, an event at one time far from unlikely, the Dukes of Brunswick would have been next in succession. If they also die without issue, a contingency most probable, then amongst the princes and princesses of Wurtemburg must we have looked for our sovereign, and Prince Napoleon is one of them. Of course it is necessary that the sovereign of England should profess Pro t3stantism. It was not long since that a powerful contemporary devoted a leading article to various vain and fanciful imaginations as to what might have occurred if the Emperor of Russia had been captured the other day at Cronstadt. Commend we to him this text—what would be the state of Europe if, whilst Louis Napoleon reigns over France, Jerome sits on the throne of England? . THE PRESS. THE WAR. THE latest intelligence from the Crimea is of the 3rd inst., derived, as heretofore, from Russian souroes, and received vii Vienna. It comprises a brief telegraphic announcement from Prince Mons chikoff, to the effect that the siege operations of the allies continued without visible result. The fire on the English side had become weaker, and the damage done to the Russian works was so incon siderable as to admit of being immediately re paired. Despatches transmitted by the Prince on previous days had borne a similar tenor. AU purported to report that " nothing of importance had occurred." Nevertheless, it was acknowledged that the siege works were gradually becoming more formid able, and approaching nearer to the fortifications of Sebastopol. A third parallel had been completed, and the besiegers had thus established themselves within 400 metres of the place. The batteries apper taining to this third entrenchment were not quite completed when the last accounts were despatched, but the guns were rapidly being brought up, and their fire was expected to open very shortly. As a counter check to this approximation, the Russians are stated to be constructing another line of defences behind their former works. They have plenty of guns and ammunition, but there appears symptoms of a scarcity in trained artillerymen. The practice on their side is said to have grown less rapid and effective, and it was believed in the camp that their most skilful gunners had been killed or put hors tie combat, and that the batteries were served by infantry soldiers. According to the Oest. Correspondeaz the loss of the Russians up to the 28th ult. had been 5,000, while the allies had lost 1,500. The casualties among the besiegers from the enemy's fire are stated in the official reports to have been compara tively slight, but no accounts are yet received of the loss sustained during the attack by General Liprandi on the 25th, and the subsequent sortie of the gar rison on the following day. The diminution of the allied force through sickness, however, continues to be very severe. The Chronicle correspondent at Balaklava states that on the 23rd only 15,0tX) English remained fit for service out of the 26,000 which hail arrived before Sebastopol. This estimate, however, the writer of a leading article in the same paper considers much exaggerated, arguing that if our loss had been anything like so heavy, the authorities at home would have exhibited tokens of alarm, and hurried forward the reinforcements to a much gre ater extent than they have done. The French loss, of the land force, is thus returned by General Canrobert, from October Ist to 22nd :—Killed : officers, 4 ; soldiers, 54. Wounded : officers, 14 ; soldiers, 454. The British loss is stated elsewhere from the official returns as far as they have been received. But, in addition to the report of killed and wounded, the list of deaths from disease is a long and sad one. Among the officers whose loss is to be lamented from this cause is Colonel Alexander, of the En gineers, who died from a sudden stroke of apoplexy. In his profession he was gallant, skilful, and inde fatigable ; and his death is regretted as at once depriving the service of an admirable engineer officer, and his comrades of a much. valued friend. Some accounts from the camp represent the ex istence of serious anxieties on the score of the sup plies of ammunition. The writer of a letter from Balaklava states that two vessels, one laden with powder, the other with shot, had arrived on the '2lst., adding that " had it not been for this supply we should have been destitute of ammunition for the larger guns by to-morrow night, even at the present rate of firing—One discharge every seven minutes. Many of the Russian round.shot have been collected and returned." No authenticated , details of the cavalry attack on the 25th have yet arrived, but the following brief account was published in the Moniteur on the autho rity of a letter from Constantinople On the 25th the Russians, to the number of 20,000, attacked our rear, which was defended by the Turks, and took possession of the redoubt occupied by them. The English commenced the attack, after sending word to General Canrobert, who sent the 2nd division and a squadron of Chasseurs to their aid. Our cavalry with the English cavalry made a brilliant charge, in which for nearly five minutes a hand-to-hand fight with cold steel took place. The positions were retaken. The English lost 124 men belonging to the Queen's squadron, who had recently arrived. In all their losses amount to 400 men. Ours are not so great, but we have to deplore the death of two officers. A Russian version of the same encounter is con tained in the Journal de St. Petersburgh of the 2nd inst., in the shape of a report from Prince Menschi• koff. After describing the capture of four redoubts and eleven guns from the Turks by General Li prandi's force, it proceeds to say:— SATURDAY, The English cavalry, commanded by Lord Cardigan, now came up and charged with extraordinary impetuosity the Hussar Brigade of the lith Cavalry Division; but taken in flank by four squadrons of the combined regiments of Lancers of the reserve, and thrown back on the cross fire of the guns of the L!th and 16th Infantry Divisions, which fired grape, the enemy suffered considerable loss. At the same moment that it attacked our Hussars the English cavalry also charged at full gallop the heavy guns of the Don Battery, Nu. 3, where some artillerymen were sabred. Our loss in infantry does not exceed 300 killed and wounded. The lose of the cavalry and artillery is not yet known, even by approximation. The loss of the enemy is not known, but we have taken about sixty English prisoners, among whom are one en ' perior officer and two subalterns. Of the four redoubts taken from the enemy, two will he immediately destroyed and two more strongly fortified, in order to enable us to hold this important position, from which we can act on the village of hatlekoi, through which the road passes which leads from Balaklava to the enemy's camp. Letters from Odessa, in the Lloyd of Vienna, give intelligence from the Crimea up to the 29th ult. Many fugitives of the better classes had arrived at Odessa from Sebastopol. Ten thousand Egyptians, chiefly cavalry, were expected in the Crimea, and Prince Meuschikotf had therefore applied for a re inforcement of cavalry. Advices from the Crimea, via Warsaw, up to the 27th October, state that General Liprandi had re• tired to the head-quarters at Baktchi Serai. The entire Russian reinforcements are reported to be 70,000 men. The rumours about attacks on Eupatoria and the loss of one of the Leander's guns prove to be false. There are, indeed, Cossacks in the neighbourhood, but they never attempt to do anything serious. Eupatoria has become the chief place for fresh sup plies. The people are flocking in for protection from the Russian troops, and bring in not only their cattle and sheep, but also their families. Daily the transports go up and bring down provisions, which are a great boon for army as well as navy, as in the neighbourhood of Sebastopol nothing can be got. If the fleet should reman during the high winds, it. is talked of as a place of anchorage. The St. Petersburg papers of the 3rd report a victory gained by General Nicolai over Schamyl, near Crosuaja, on the Circassian frontier. According to the last advices, viii. Constantinople, the Turkish army in Asia had gone into winter quarters at Kars, and the Russians in Tiflis. BOMBARDMENT OF SEBASTOPOL. THE LAND ATTACK. We resume our chronicle of the siege operations from the official despatches, which have at length come to hand, and the correspondence of our daily contemporaries. It is curious, however, that the first despatch of Lord Raglan, announcing the open-' ing of the bombardment upon Sebastopol, has dis appeared in transitu. The report is that it was sent home by Lieutenant Henderson, who, on arriving in London, missed the important mission. The War office narrative of the interesting proceedings on Oc tober 17th and 1 8 th is acc ordin g l y wanting. Fol lowing up the history of the siege, Lord Raglan transmitted the following letter to the Duke of Newcastle : Before Sebastopol, Oct. 23. IBM. The operation of the siege have been carr n the ied on mremittingly since I addressed your grace o 18th instant. On chat afternoon, the French batteries not having been able to reopen, the enemy directed their guns almost exclusively on the British entrenchments , and maintained a very heavy fire upon them till the day closed, with less damag e, I am happy to say, to the works, and with fewer casualities than might have been anticipated. On the following morning, shortly after daylight, General Canrobert not only resumed his tire from the batteries which had been injured, but materially added to the weight of his attack by the tire of battenes which he had caused to be constructed the prevand heious day ; and these have continued ever since ; has had it in his power to p ush his approaches for- o re the ward, and, like the Eng lish, materially to inj defences of the place ; but these are as yet tar from being subdued, neither is a serious diminution of their fire perceivable. Our fire has also been constant and effective ; but the enemy having at their disposal large bodies of men, and the resource of the fleet and arsenal at th e ir command, have b ee n enabled by unceasing exertion to repair their redoubts to a certain extent and to replace many of the guns that have en des troyed, in a very short sp ace of time, and to be resume their fire from works which we had succeeded in silencing. This facility of repairing and re-arming the de - f ences naturally renders the progress of t he assai ants slower than could be wished 4 and I have it not \