The Press. — London, England, 1855-03-31 00:00:00

MARCH 31,1855. PACIFIC CIRCULAR OF RUSSIA. A mamas, issued by Count Nesselrode to the di plomatist ministers of Russia abroad, gives a distinct intimation of the pacific policy the Emperor Alexander wishes to pursue. For the interests of peace it was fortunate that the late Czar had accepted the basis of negotiation proposed, as his successor can now profess respect for his father's wishes, and can repre• sent that the concessions he is willing to offer are those which the late Emperor had in fact already yielded. Thus a profession of pacific policy seems now an act of filial duty. After the publication of this circular there can be no doubt of the sincerity of Russia in desiring peace. With a kind of barba rous sagacity, she has always known when to retreat as well as when to advance, and has never suffered a sentiment of honour or pride to interfere with her material interests. The contrast between the tone of this circular and the despatches signed by Count Nesselrode a twelvemonth back is a conclusive proof of the change in the disposition of the Russian Cabinet : week. SL Petersburg, Feb. 28 (March 10). My despatch of the 18th of February (March 2) an nonnced to you the accession of his Majesty Alexander 11. I had the' honour at the same time to send you the impe rial manifesto issued on the first day of the Government of our august sovereign. That document expresses the profound conviction with which his Majesty recognises the importance of the duties he is called upon to fulfil. Divine Providence imposes those duties upon him in the midst of a great trial. In ascending the throne of his ancestors the Emperor finds Russia engaged in a struggle unparalleled in the annals of history at the commencement of a new reign. Our august sovereign accepts that trial, confiding in God, inspired with tne sentiment of security in the un shaken fidelity of his people, with a religious veneration for the memory of his well-beloved father. With filial piety ho welcomes (accueille) in his succession two obliga tions, which are equally sacred to him. The first exacts from his Majesty the development of all the power which it has pleased God to place in nis hands for the defence of the integrity and of the honour of Russia; the second im poses upon his Majesty the duty of consecrating with per severance his care for the accomplishment of the work of peace, the bases of which were sanctioned by the Emperor Nicholas. Faithful to the idea which manifested itself in the last dispositions of his august father, the Emperor has renewed the powers and confirmed the instructions with which the Russian plenipotentiaries were provided since the month of December, at the period when the negotia tious at Vienna were to be opened. In this mariner the intentions of the Emperor Nicholas will be conscientiously fulfilled. Their object was : To restore to Russia and to Europe the blessings of peace; to consolidate the freedom of worship and the wel fare of the Christian populations of the East without dis tinction of ntcs; to place the immunities of the principa lities under a collective guarantee ; to assure the free navigation of the Danube, to the advantage of the commerce of all nations ; to put an end to the rivalries of the great powers in the East, so as to prevent the return of new complications ; finally, to come to an understanding with them on the revision of the treaty by which they recog nised the principle of the closing of the Dardanelles and of the Bosphorus, and thereby to arrive at an honorable arrangement for all parties. - _ A pacification founded upon these bases, in putting an end to the calamities of war, would invoke the blessing of all nations upon the new Government. - Nevertheless, Russia feels deeply, and Europe must avow that the hope of a conclusion of peace will remain fruitless if the conditions of the arrangement to be con cluded should exceed the just limit which the sentiment of the dignity of the Crown traces irrevocably in the reso lutions of our august sovereign. The Emperor will tran quilly await the manifestation of the views which guide the policy of the Cabinets called upon to solve, in concert with Russia, this question, which is of a general interest for all Christendom. Our august sovereign will join the deliberation in a sincere spirit of concord. Such is the thought which I am charged by his Majesty to express to you in his name. The general instructions with which you are provided trace out to you the line you are to con tinue to follow, relative to the direct relations you have to entertain with the Government to which you are accredited. The Emperor, iu confirming you to-day in the post you obtained from the goodwill of his august father, confidently counts upon your fidelity and zeal. It is his desire that by your conduct and by your language you should render tes timony, on every occasion, to the loyalty with which Russia fulfils the obligations which rest upon the faith of treaties, to her constant desire to live in good harmony with all the powers her allies or friends, finally to the respect she en• tertains for the inviolability of the rights of all States, and her firm resolution to maintain and cause to be respected the rights which Divine Providence has intrusted to the Emperor, by making him the guardian and protector of the national honour of his country. You are requested to make known the present to the Court at which you had the honour of representing the Emperor Nicholas of glo rious and much-cherished memory. NESSZLEOLE. THE TOMB OF THE LATE EXPEIIOR NICHOLAS faces that of Peter the Great. Mentioning this fact, the Journal de St. Petersbourg exclaims " Symbolical situation, awakening a world of thoughts ! On one side the tomb of him who dispelled the darkness of ancient Russia; on the other the tomb of the great sovereign who raised it to the apogee of glory and prosperity." THE PRESS. SEBASTOPOL INQUIRY COMMITTEE. THE subjoined extracts convey the more important details collected by the committee doling the past Examination of Di. ANDREW SMITH resumed:— When the two Departments of War and Colonies were separated no communication was made to witness on the subject. The moment the army arrived at Constantinople he approved of the establishment of a hospital at Scutari . Had not recommended a general hospital. All our hospi tals up to the time of the army lu-riving at Varna, our hospitals abroad and in the colonies, were regimental hos pitals. He recommended Mr. Ward as purveyor, in the first inatauce, and, upon Mr. Ward being found inefficient, he recommended Mr. Wreford to the Minister of War. Mr. Wreford, who was sixty-four years of age, was the youngest man they had in the purveyor's department. If them were no medical comforts or insufficieut supplies at Scutari in November and December, he could not tell how that could be when they were duly acknowledged to have been received. As to the question if the authorities made applications for these things, why did not the medical officers supply them? Ho begged to ask, were the au thorities ever applied to? The persons were to blame who, possessing these thing*, said they did not possess them. It was a gentleman attached to his deparuneut in the War-office who purchased the comforts sent out. If the articles were bad, the person purchasing them was to blame to a certain extent. As to the port wine, it was ap proved of by the board. One or two bottles, perhaps, were sent in as samples ; and if any parties put in a quantity of wine which was bad, there was no means of ascertaining the fact. With regard to bedding and stores of that kind, they were supplied by the Ordnance, but be had no officer present to see that they were supplied. When he supplied the medical stores and comforts he had no officer to see them put on board ship, as that would be " going beyond his last." His opinion on the good state of the hospitals at Scutari was founded on the letter of Mr. Heed and a dis penser of medicines there, but that opinion was only as to the sufficiency of medicines. It was on the authority of those letters that he gave a positive contradiction to the statements in the newspapers that there was a want of me dicines. He was still of that opinion. There was also a sufficient supply of linen. if the hospital linen could not be washed by contract, there was a power given to the pur veyor to employ persons to do so, and keep the hospital clean. If it was not done, the purveyor was to blame. He had power to hire under the regulations any number of persons to do what was required for the cleanliness of the hospital. If the regulations had been properly attended to, he thought that every power was given to the purveyor to do whatever was required. Mr. Wreford, in a letter, dated Feb. 24, to the witness, declared that the necessity of a washing-establishment had never been made apparent to him, and iu illustration of that assertiou appended a table showing the quantities of pieces washed in Novem ber, December, and January. The pieces washed in No vember were 4,832; in December, 14,844; in January, 23,402. By Lord SETWOUR.—No mention was made in the re ports forwarded to him as to the cooking, the state of the utensils, or whether the provisions for the patients were examined. They did not refer to the kitchen or the cook ing. He was constantly trying to get young assistant surgeons to go out. The pay was 10s. a day, 40/. for outfit, 3s. a day salary, making in all, with pay and allowances, 11. a day. (iot from 120 to 200 of these young men. Had had reports of their conduct out there. They were satis factory. Mr. LANARD read a letter received by a medical gentle man in London from another medical gentleman now serving in the Crimea, dated the Ist of January, stating that there were hen in the Crimea no medical stores, no warm clothing, no medical comforts, or any proper means of conveying the dysentric sick, for when they reached the seaside they were laid down on the sand and were left, in danger of being overwhelmed by the advancing tide. What had he to say to such a state of things as that described ? Dr. Smith said such a statement did not agree with the reports that he had received. He promoted several medical officers from merit alone. Colonel LINDSLY said witness had stated that a large quantity of medical stores had been ordered for the army in the East ; did be know if they had all been sent ? Dr. Smith said he believed that they had been sent, as firmly as be believed in his own existence. He knew that he had ordered them, and he also believed that many of them had been received at Balaklava. He had the state ment of a gentleman who was on board the ship that the articles were sent ; and he had received acknowledgment of some of them having arrived at Scutari. Dr. MENZIES examined : Held the situation of deputy-inspector-general of hospitals. Had served since 1827. Went out to the Crimea in April last as staff surgeon cf the first class. Was at Scutari and Constantinople the whole time. The general hospital was established in June, when Dr. Barrow was inspector-gene ral. Dr. Barrow left a considerable time before the army arrived. Witness had the superintendence of both hospi tals from September. Was satisfied with the general hospital to a certain extent ; it was very defective in many cases. In his reports of the number of beds and accom• modation, he reported to the commandant ; sent those re ports also to Dr. Hall, and one to Dr. A. Smith. Previous to the battle of Alma had twenty-one medical officers. Considered that one medical man was sufficient, on an average, for fifty or eighty patients, in slight cases. After the battles of Alma and Inkermaun, could not say what number of medical men they had, but he received assistance day by day, and should say after those battles they were pretty well off. and medical officers were arriving from Eng , lend. The chief difficulty was immediately after the battle of Alma. The witness read his statement of facts, from which it appeared that when first appointed to the hospital 80 there were MO cases, with only seven medical men to attend them—namely, three staff surgeons of the second elan, with four assistants. Having represented these facts to Dr. Hall, he gave him authority to take as many medical officers u could be spared from the third division. The division was on its way to Gallipoli, so that only one officer could be spared. Considered the difficulties be had to encounter were theconsequence of the then purveyor being totally unfit for his office, and his being assisted by very young and inexperienced clerks under him. These circum stances had been noticed by pers.ms in office before him. The case of Mr. Ward, the purveyor, was submitted to a medical board, and he was found to be incapable of per forming his duties, but he was not relieved till the time of his death, in December last. He complained, among other things, of the delay from the want of transport ; that he had reported to the commandant the want of fixed establish ments. There was not sufficient bedding, from the neg lect of the purveyor. There was a want of regularity as to the dietary, from the want of orderlies. The statement contained a further detail of difficulties and embarrasments in respect to the management generally of the hospitals, dro. All the points alluded to would be fouud iu the reports to Dr. Hall from time to time. They hail not es many beds as they required. He reported the want of beds to 1)r. Hall, and those reports had to go to him in the Crimea, and afterwards had to be returned to England before those wants could be remedied. Under the iiistrue dons the purveyor was bound to attend to the cleanliness of the hospital, and he ordered him to keep the hospital clean ; but still the place was in a very filthy state. The cleansing and a good deal more might have been done, if the purveyor had been active iu the discharge of his duties. Mr. Ward and Mr. Wreford, the purveyors, both had apartments in the hospital at Scutari. When Mr. Wreforti came, he could not say the defects were put in a satisfactory state,as they were too extensive to be remedied. After Wreford came it was his duty to attend to the cleans ing of the hospital. The CHAIRMAN.—Was not the barrack hospital a com plete disgrace to the British nation ? Dr. Menzies said he believed that the account of the filthy state of the hospital had been very much overdrawn. The CHAIKMAN.—Was it nut a fact that the wards near the beds of the men were covered with offensive matter? Dr. Menzies had never seen it. Lord SaTMOUR.—And yet., when it was tested that there was a deficiency of things for the comforts of the men, you wrote, in answer to a letter from Dr. Smith, that you bad everything that was wanted, and that the stores were in a very satisfactory state. Dr. Menzies had au impression that they had an adequate supply of medicines, as he was informed there were plenty of both by the officers in charge of the medical and pur veyor's departments. In answer to an application from Lord de Iledcliffe, he bed stated that nothing was required for the comfort and sustenance of the patientr. As in- spector of the hospitals he visited the general hospital every second day. Visited the barrack hospital once or twice a week. Perhape the men bad not sufficient for their comfort and sustenance. Was given to understand that they had all stores in hand, and that many were ex pected from England and Varna. By Mr. LATARD.—Men, whilst in hospital, had the greater part of their pay stopped. They got supplies, he presumed, to the amount of the pay stopped. They got what the medical officers considered to be necessary— sometimes more, sometimes less. By Lord Suirmoue.—Was not aware of a patient dying fur want of proper comforts. Men possibly might have died for want of the oorumou necessaries of life without his knowledge. No man could lie in the hospital without his knowledge. Men might be carried away on board ship in a dying state. The CHAIRMAN.—When the transports arrived with the Rick and wounded from the Crimea, what mode had you for having the sick removed to the hospital, or who were the authorities under whose control they were removed? Dr. Menzies.—The commandant arranged about the landing, and when the sick and wounded arrived be had a medical man sent down to the shore to see them conveyed to the hospital. That was the invariable rule, but I have been there repeatedly, and I think, as far as circumstances would allow, that ditty was properly performed ; but there was a deficiency of stretchers. The CHAIRMAN.—WouId there have been any difficulty in Constantinople in buying stretchers! Dr. Menzies.—l think the materials for making them I could have been obtained there. The CHAIRMAN.-16 that the most positive answer you can give—that the materials for making them could have been obtained there? Dr. Menzies.—The wood was there out of which they could have been constructed. Mr.Livsan.—ls it not done by two pieces of wood, with a piece of canvas nailed between them ? Dr. ]Henries assented. Mr. M UCWEI.I. said : He was one of the commissioners sent out by the Go vernment to inquire into the state of the hospitals at Scu tari. He was offered the secretaryship, but objected, and was then made a commissioner together with Dr. Spence and Dr. Cnmming. He left London on the 23rd of October, having previously bad an interview with the Duke of Newcastle on the nature of the duties which he had to discharge. The duke informed bim that the Oce !ferment desired to have a must searching inquiry. When the commisssionere reached Constantinople, which was on the 4th of November, Dr. Spence was ordered on some special business to the Crimea. His absence com pletely paralysed the commission . Ou the 19th of Novem ber the news of Dr. Spence's death arrived, when he and Dr. Cumming consulted as to the course it would be advisable to adopt. They offered the vacant commissioner. ship to Mr. 8. O. Osborne, who declin d it, and Dr. Lang, a sas s surgeon , was appointed. Th e commissioners am. to work the neat morning after Dr. Lang's appointment. I