The Press. — London, England, 1856-04-12 00:00:00

of horses, prevented their constructing those stables in January which were not completed until February. Load Lucan then proceeded to point out that the statement of the commissioners " that the cavalry were only employed in occasionally bringing down sick or taking up provisions " was utterly at variance with the truth, as the cavalry at that date, by printed returns, were daily finding 500 horses for commissariat duty, in addition to their own forage, and usual duties. The comparison by the commissioners between the care bestowed on the cavalry and the baggage horses of the Sappers and Miners, Lord Lucan declared to be preposterou:, as the cavalry were at first encamped upon a bleak and distant plateau, and then in the val ley of kadikoi, but at all times without tools or a particle of material for construction, while the baggage animals belonging to the engineers and artificers were stationed at Balaklava, where they could avail themselves from their own stores of all necessary tools and materials to raise a temporary shelter. At the conclusion of his address Lord Lucan pro ceeded to examine Colonel Gordon, in command of the Engineers before Sebastopo!, whose evidence was merely to the effect that an engineer officer had been sent to assist in the erection of stables, but that he did not know whether that officer had attended or not. On Tuesday the examination of witnesses by the Earl of Lucan proceeded. Colonel Darby Griffiths, of the Scots Greys, was the first witness called. Colonel Griffiths stated in evidence that on Nov. 16, '5l, in an interview with Lord Lucan, his lordship threatened to put him under arrest for suggesting that something should be done fur the care of the horses. He believed that Colonel Hodge, Lord W. Paulet, Lord Bingham, and Colonel Walker were present at the interview, but he had not spoken to them since on the subject. In answer to further ques tions, Colonel Griffiths admitted he had never made any written reports about covering for the horses. In his op nion canvas coverings might have been erectea with ease, as abundance of spare canvas lay unused on hoard the transport ships. He did not cover his own private horses with canvas. He con sidered, also, that a small drain of a few inches in depth, so as not to interfere with their being called out of a night if required, might have been readily formed round where the horses were picketed, i f o order to keep the ground dry under them, but he did not order any drains io be made. General Sir Richard Aires was next called, and admitted having had repeated interviews with Lord Lucan upon the suoject of hutting the cavalry early in November, '54. On Nov. 11, '54, he received a letter from Lord Lucan stating that they were getting on as quickly as possible in the erection of stablery, but that the services of an engineer officer would be desirable. Application was made to Colonel Gordon, who, in consequence of the vast siege works then carried on, could not promise to place an engineer officer at ..he entire disposal of Lord Lucan, but pro mised that one should give such occasional assistance as was in his power. In further reply to questions, Sir Richard Airey said he was of opinion that every exertion was made by Lord Lucan in promoting the shelter of the horses; that, as to Colonel Griffiths' statement about the non employment of canvas and spars, an officer in his position had no means of forming his opinion beyond camp rumours, for the fact in this case was that application had been made in October by Sir Richard Airey, from a suggestion made by Lord Lucan, to the agent of transports to secure all the spare spars and sails, and by the 4th of December, after much trouble, owing to the ships being continually on the move, the spare sails, spars, tarpauling, and everything t h at could help to make a covering, was landed, collected, and applied to sta bling ; but the want of covering for the artillery, bat, and transport horses in Balaklava was so great that the whole material was absorbed on the spot the moment it was landed. General Airey further stated that complaints for want of forage for all the animals in the army daily, and for a long period, reached bead-quarters. The rule was to send at once to the commissary-general, and the answer from him was always the same, that he had been disappointed in his supplies of hay, but had plenty of' barley. At the conclusion of General Airey's evidence Lord Lucan, in reply to General Peel, said that it was im possible to attempt to construct stabling or canvas covering on the open plateau; at the same time, none of the timber arrived until they had moved to Kadikoi. On Wednesday the Earl of Lucan, in reply to the question of the board to what causes he attributed the great mortality among the horses during the time the cavalry was under his command, attributed the loss to the insufficiency of food and the irregu- larity with which it was supplied. The noble earl then at great length entered upon all the points of the case, and, although he could support his state ment by no reference to documentary evidences be yond seventy two general and divisional orders to the cavalry from Sept. 18th onwards, upon the poor con- THE PRESS, &don of the horses, and frequent letters to the quartermaster-general, complaining of the insuffi ciency of forage supplies, yet the facts were fresh upon his mind. After leavitrz Varna the horses never got their full rations, 272 were lost on the passage to Old Fort; and so reduced and so utterly out of condition were the horses at that date, that he was compelled to issue immediate (Sept. 18th, camp Steneskoi) orders to impress upon men and officers the necessity of the utmost care, the avoidance of all unnecessary exertion, and the propriety of making parades and inspections as brief as pos-ible, so as to preserve the horses at least in such condition as may enable them to perform those duties which might await them. In conclusion, Lord Lucan repeated his state ment that it was to the miserable supplies of forage he attributed the mortality among the horses. The animals were landed out of condition, were ill fed for weeks, and when the cold weather set in had no stamina lett to wilistand the expisure they were compelled to suffer before stabling could be erected. At the conclusion of his lordship's statement, Colonel Tulloch was then called, and proceeded to read a long written statement containing a general reply to Lord Lucan's assertions. The gallant colonel denied that the commissioners had any desire to impugn particular blame to Lord Lucan. They ha 1 to consider facts, and were not actuated by personal motives. Colonel Tulloch then referred to that portion of Lord Lucan's evidence relating to the mortality among the horses, the number of men engaged in hutting, and the general statements connected with the hutting of the army, support ing the view taken by the commissioners in their report, and re asserting that the cavalry might have been saved hal drains three feet deep been dug, with an embankment of two feet of earth thrown up in front. Independently of these means, there were vast supplies of spare sails and spars on board the fleet, as well as on board the transport vessels, which the admiral on the station could readily have sup plied if application had been made; and, finally, Colonel Tulloch contended that sufficient ingenuity had not been s!iown in the measures for the care and preservation of the horses. Major Thompson, of the sth Dragoon Guards, was then called, and gave evidence to the effect that had he been supplied with carpenters, canvas, and good working tools, he could have speedily covered in his horses, drained his stables, and preserved their lives. The sth Dragoon Guards bad draining-trenches dug round their stabling ground, but the picks and spades supplied by the Government were abominably bad. At tour a.m. the examination of this witness was suspended, and the court adjourned till Friday. On Friday morning Colonel Douglas, of the 11th Hussars, examined by Colonel Tulloch, said that his horses after the battle of Inkermann were in a very reduced state, and very much exposed to the weather whilst standing at their pickets. Temporary shelter might have been obtained for them by digging trenches; and it would have been of advantage it' men could have been procured from the shipping to have assisted the cavalry in providing shelter. In December the available number of men under his command was 108, and every one of them was set to work to make the best provision he could for himself and horse, when it was known where they were to winter. That was known about the middle of De cember. Thera was a limited supply of trenching tools, not nearly enough for the wants of the regiment. A portion of the witnesses' evidence given before the commissioners in the Crimea was then read, at the desire of Colonel Tulloch, but elicited nothing of importance. In answer to several questions from the Judge- Advocate-General, the witness stated that Lord Lucan frequently visited the camp. Colonel Doherty of the sth Dragoons, in the main confirmed the evidence of Colonel Douglas. He should have made an application for canvas and assistance if he had thought it obtainable. He was unable to state at the date of his examination in March how many horses had died at that time. He had forty-one horses left, nine only of which ware fit for duty. In November he had 141 horses, twenty of which died; in December 111 horses, thirty three of which died ; and in January sixty-five horses, six teen of which died. Witness declined to answer the question whether the paragraph expressing want of promptitude or ingenuity in devising for the horses the same means of temporary shelter such as saved the baggage-horses of the Sappers and Miners at Balaklava expressed his views on that subject. The court rose at four o'clock. glonti Alarket anb Citg FRIDAY EvExiNo. THE Bank of England return for the week ending the sth inst., shows the following changes compared with that for the week }:receding : Increase in Circulation .... Nereus in Public Deposits 1t2e3,403 SATUItbAY, Decrease in Other Deposits Decrease in Government Securities Decrease in Other Securities Decrease in Bullion Increase in Rest .... ... Decrease in Reserve Circulation, including Bank Post Bills Bullion iu Both Departments It was reported yesterday that the present return would prove to be unfavorable ; but we think few persons anticipated such results as are shown in the main items of the above comparison. As a whtde, with regard to the resources of the Bank, whether in relatioa to its stock of bullion or its reserve of coin and notes, this return is worse than any that has been published since the memorable crisis of Octo ber, 1847. Indeed, it is no better than some that immediately preceded that anxious period. The bullion is now but a mere fraction above 10,000,000(., and the reserve but a fraction in excess of 5,000,0001. It is fortunate, indeed, that trade is sound; it is for tunate that we are retaining the gold that has re cently arrived ; it is fortunate that the exchanges are favorable ; and, more than all, it is fortunate that peace is made. Had these conditions been re versed, but to a slight degree, it is hardly possible to see how another crisis could have been averted with all its perils and catastrophes. There is, happily, reason to believe that the bullion has now fallen to the lowest point possible under present circum stances, and that next week's return will show the commencement of a progressive improvement ; but it must be remembered that the demand for specie from India is intense, and that we are not yet quite certain that the Bank of France has discontinued its irregular operations for obtaining supplies of gold. These are important considerations at the present moment. The decrease in the Public Deposits is very large ; and as it has occurred during the week previous to the payment of the April dividends to the public, it can only be accounted for on the pre sumption that the war expenditure is not yet ma terially reduced. By an arrangement with the Bank, the banking establishments in the metropolis receive the dividends payable to them a few days in antici pation of the public ; and, therefore, a portion of the decrease may be explained. The decrease in Private Securities is counterbalanced by that in the Private Deposits. The diminution of bullion is said to have been caused by the exports to India; but this is not sufficient to account for so great a sweep as the hulk of the demand from that quarter is for silver. With, out going into further explanations, we can wily repeat that the present return is most unsatisfactory in all essential respects. The Money Market has been characterised by an animated demand during the greater part of the week, relieved by occasional intervals of ease. Owing to the increasing activity of the home and export trade, and to additional production in the staple manufactures of the North, the commercial demand has been in excess of that in any week for the last twelve months, and the discount houses have conse quently found profitable employment for their funds. No abatement in rates is reported, but particular cases are known in which the quality of the paper offering has induced transactions slightly below the general minimum. The Bank has done an active discount business during the week. Judging from the impetus which the return of peace is gradually communicating to the principal branches of indastry, and from the constant arrival of foreign and coloeigl orders in nearly every description of article made in this country, it is not probable that the commercial demand will speedily fall off. The high rates re quired are certainly the subject of serious complaint, because they naturally diminish profits, but the trade of the country has by a severe process gradually ac • commodated itself to this state of things, until, on the whole, there is less complaint than formerly of the dearness of money. At the same time the slightest reduction would be most g l a dly accepted, and it would immediately remove a great portio s of the languor which now obstructs the operations of secondary establishments. Yesterday the sum of 1,350,000/. was pa id into the Bank of England on account of the fourth instalment of fifteen per cent. of the Five Million Loan and the instalment of twenty per cent. upon the funding of the outstanding Exchequer Bills. This payment was effected with out producing any particular pressure; but the preparations for it in the early part of the week led to a considerable demand for temporary advances both upon the Bank and in the Stock Exchange. On the Stock Exchange, being combined with the prepa rations for the Consol settlement of the April Ac count, these preparations induced a rise in the rates to seven per cent., which was the maximum. Subse quently, they declined; and the average of the week may be taken to have been rather less than six and a halt. On the Stock Exchange to-day the demand was renewed in anticipation of the railway settlement which commences to-morrow; but rates remained unaltered.