The Press. — London, England, 1855-01-27 00:00:00

THE WEEK. Tug resignation of Lord Jour; RUSSELL, announced on Thursday af ternoon, was not understood till the debate of last night. The general impression was that " JOHNNY had upset the coach," but it now rather appears that he has been jockeyed himself, and has fallen a victim to the superior craft of his venerable friend the Premier. It is not imagined, however, that the Government can possibly go on long without him. Its fall may be delayed, but cannot be averted. The other members of the Coalition see their fate, yet are reluctant to resign themselves to it. They cling to office with desperate tenacity, as if every hour interposed between them and their inevitable doom was a boon gained. With pinioned hands and the nightcap drawn over their eyes, they still cry—a minute more if you please, my good friend, I have some last words to say. So the signal for withdrawing the bolt is delayed, and we leave them with handkerchief iu hand still standing on the platform. We back the clock against their irresolution. The last accounts from the Crimea are the most deplorable yet received. Making every allowance we may for difficulty, it yet seems incredible that an army of 20,000 or 30,000 men should have every ne cessary and comfort within six or seven miles of the ir camp, yet be unable to get them to the spot. There are tons upon tons of huts, of clothing, of provisions, at Balaklava, but no means of transport. The few remaining animals were fast dying in the frost, and our Com mander was at last forced to solicit the assistance of the French to carry necessaries to the camp, while our poor fellows were clad in French great coats which were generously distributed to them from the French stores. The destitution of the men is not the ugliest part of the business ; we have seen letters from officers high in command speaking of the disorganisation which prevails in their regiments ; and the mention of that word is sufficient to raise a frightful vision of the worst disasters that can possibly befall an army. A severe frost set in on the 4th of January, and it is to be feared that some men and many horses perished in the cold of that night. Condemned to pass a winter under canvas—a circumstance unknown by experience to the oldest soldier in the Crimea—the strength of the men was broken down by cold and wet, and, alarming as the reports of illness and mortality previously were, the doleful tidings reach us, mail after mail, that sickness was on the increase. We can but chronicle facts as they reach us. What is to be done no one can tell. Inquiry, with its tardy progress, would come too late to remedy the evil. One thing is clear, that all our routine pen-and-ink habits of administration, so far as the army is concerned, must be revolutionised,. and that plenary powers must be given into, able and vigorous hands. The reports of Prince MENSCHIKOFF from the Crimea, via St. Petersburg, reach to the 17th inst. At that date he wrote the siege operations did not advance, while sorties from Sebastopol were made on the nights of the 13th and 15th. According to these reports the allies lost " a considerable number in killed." The Russians were believed to have received strong reinforcements, and, from the debilitated condition of the English, again hoped to drive our force into the sea. Every hour is of vital importance, yet since the last short session terminated, on the 23rd December, and the Government has had the . powers it demanded, what has been done? The Militia Act by which the Mediterranean garrisons were to be replaced has not yet been put in force. Too late—too late—too late still characterises every act of the Ministry, and their inexplicable dilatoriness, whether occasioned by their internal squabbles, or governmental imbecility, matters little, seals the death-warrant of the survivors of Alma, Ba laklava, and Inkermann. LEGION Congress " It is now announced confidently that the " Peace Congress " is to meet at Vienna on the 6th of February ; what to do no one pre- tends to say. The farce of negotiating on the basis of the Four Points is to be kept up ; meanwhile, France, under the rule of her sagacious Emperor, is preparing to put forth all her vast military strength, Austria is endeavouring to persuade Germany to arm, and Sweden is . 1 mustering her forces for the conflict. Thanks to the gold which .' i England continues to pour into Russia in exchange for Russian pro- duce, there are to be further immense issues of paper money from the St. Petersburg Treasury, and thus the Czar is enabled to augment his forces. Civilities continue to pass between Austria and France. The union of the two countries is evidently becoming real and solid. OUR FOREIGN LEGION. • , • .. The bill has been passed a montjl and a day, Tho' the Opposition thundered nay, And the Member for Manchester did say F Some truths in a rather unfriendly way , • " 1 " 1 ", (Which wasn't at all an amiable trait In the drab-coloured advocate of la Paix). ...... And Gladstone funked him and threw away The notes he'd begun, and avoided the fray— As well he might, for in that meUe Very few Jesuits, priest or lay, Not even Ignatius Loyola, Could have hoped Bright's torrent of wrath to stay, But, like hunted stags, would have kept at bay. And poor Digby Seymour, who spoke for pay, Said something that sounded so like the bras 1 4 1111111111111111111.._ _ IMmimiseffiNMlME THE PRESS. SATURDAY. Of the beasts who eat thistles instead of hay, That the Sunderland voters swore that they Would give my gentleman his conge. And (capital sequel to the play !) This noisy Irishman, loud and gay, Can no longer vote either No or Aye ; But to dull Newcastle, without delay, Must be off on his unsought holiday — And very devoutly the Commons pray He may bide in that borough in vecula. But I said, or at least I meant to say, That the bill liad been passed a month and a day. Yet who are the foreigners stout and bravo Who rush our country's honour to save ? For you know—that is, if a Whig, you do, Or a Peelite (the rather worse thing of the two) — That we ourselves of English blood, Tho' tradition tells us we have withstood The foe and the tyrant, are grown so tame We have only the manhood to watch the game ; The players must be of foreign mould, And England do nothing but find the gold. Well, whom have we got, again I say, To do our fighting and pocket our pay ? I'll tell you, good folks, as well as I may. Here are the letters ce cher Lord A. Received from his agents across the sea, In Switzerland, Belgium, and Italy. " Switzerland, mountain home of the free, — Such is her title in poetry, Though in prose that region of liberty Sells her best blood impartially To every minion of tyranny. I've seen them in belle Napoli Republican guardians of Royalty ; As satraps, too, of the Holy See, We may style them its guardie ignobi2i, Faith and honour all fiddle-de-dee Compared to Pope Pius's L.S.D. You would think, my Lord, such fellows as these Would have hopped to our standard as brisk as fleas, Or as mites in an overkept Stilton cheese. But the' at our pay they can hardly sneeze, Sorra a Switzer will cross the seas. Not sea sickness alone they fear, Though the voyage, no doubt, would make them queer; But they like their bread, and their meat, and beer ; And though they might get them over here, They say that once in the wild Crimea-r They would be no better off than we are. And one of their leaders, a grim old wight Of the school of Sir Dugald Dalgetty, Knight, Told me—" Mein himmel! we're ready to fight For a good paymaster from morn to night, Nor trouble our heads about wrong or right ; But we cannot consent to go pied nue And be starved to death while your Duke of New Castle is trying how many or few Bundles of lint divided in two It would take to reach from Richmond to Kew. Your soldiers may bear it, and, entre nous, 'Tis strange what those fellows of yours go through ; But they can afford to be staunch and true, For they have a Queen and a country too Who'll see them righted; but such a crew As we should appear in your soldiers' view, Donmer and blitzen. ! what should we do ? Die like dogs. No patriot glow Could warm our hearts in the storm and snow, Or nerve us to stand against the foe Without reinforcements from England ; so I'll wish you good morning, the thing's no go, We can do without honour, but must have do ! Then away he stalked on his martial boots, And with him all hopes of our Swiss recruits. " From Belgium, however, good news ! brave news I've got six fellows in cap and blouze. The police describe them as mauvais gueux, And picked them out of the lowest stews, And said " Les void, now pick and choose ; Every one at a barricade, In Paris or Berlin, has lent his aid, And only fled when the helm and blade Of the soldiers were seen, then Who's afraid ?' They cried to their comrades, and, undismayed By the curses of those they had there betrayed, Away they retreated to drive their trade In some other capital. Don't be afraid At their fierce moustachios and savage glare Of their restless eyes—a beard and a stare Is a sort of uniform these men wear. Women and children may well beware These ruffians' glances; a man may dare The worst they can do. You have them there, Six prime fellows to rob and swear, Or sack a wino-cellar. No matter where You send these fellows ; I'm free to dealers