The Press. — London, England, 1855-07-07 00:00:00

634 that the principle on which he had founded his measure was the only one on which the question could be settled. He then went into some defence of his statements, which had been accused of exaggeration. Lord J. RUSSELL followed, saying that he had not found fault with the right hon. gentleman's state ments, but with his conclusions. He thought that the spirit which animated the education of this country more useful to it than the fettered education of the Continent, and instanced Russia, where Southey's ballad of " The Old Woman of Berkeley " had been prohibited, lest ti.e children should be frightened at it. He thought that the President of the Committee of Council should be a Privy Coun cillor, representing in that house the views of the Government on the subject of education. The Government were anxiously considering the matter, and would be prepared with a scheme for establish• ing a Govein , i ent iiepartment of education. Mr. M. GIBSON, on behalf of the third bill, said that if any system supported by rates was adopted it must be a secular one. He hoped that his measure would hereafter receive a dispassionate SCOTCH EDUCATION BILL. As some counterpoise to the withdrawal of three education bills together on Monday, the last clause of this bill passed that night through committee, after several protests, that it was costly, and, pro fessing to be a bill for the education of the Scotch people, was only intended for the education of the Presbyterians. TICKETS OF LEAVE. Lord Sr. LEONARDS, on Monday, brought before the Lords the mischief which had arisen from the employment of these tickets, contending that the system had altogether failed. He found special fault with the Government for having released several convicts in December and January last, when the nights were long and employment difficult to obtain. The system could only be made a good one by employing the men on public works. Earl GRANVILLE denied that the experiment bad failed. We were too apt to lay hole of exceptional cases, and to forget the others, of which little was heard. Out of one hundred released convicts eighty or ninety per cent. werA gaining an honest and industrious livelihood. This he stated on the authority of Colonel Jebb, one of the prison in epee tors. The LORD CHANCELLOR observed that by far the greater number of the men released were sentenced to transportation for seven rears, and very few, indeed for more than ten, and would, therefore, have been turned loose upon society either way, without the checks established by tickets of leave. A noble lord had suggested that these men should be permitted to enlist in the army, against which the Duke of CAMBRIDGE protested, as calcu lated to lower the standard of military honour. AFTER sixteen years' service Mr. Justice Maule has retired from the Bench of the Common Pleas, on account of his failing health. The Lord Chan cellor has nominated as his successor Mr. J. S. Willes, of the Home Circuit. This gentleman was called to the bar in June, 1840, and is thus of fifteen years' st ►n ling. is only a stuff gown, is about forty-two years old, and is very little known out of the profession. The Freeman's Journal, re ferring to the appointment, says :—" Mr. Willes, Q.C., who has the reputation of being one of the ablest and soundest lawyers at the English bar, is son of the late Dr. Willes, of Cork, and was educated in Trinity College, Dublin. He will be the second Irishman who, within the last few years, has been elevated to the English bench, the other being Mr. Baron Martin, son•in-law of Chief Baron Pollock." CONSIDERkELE ANNOYANCE has been caused among many firms in Mincing lane and its neighbourhood by the refusal of the Post-office authorities to grant merchants and brokers license to use the stamp upon their " circulars," upon payment of the fee of ss. de manded by the recent regulations. This most useful class of commercial publications has been allowed postal privileges for years past, and the withdrawal of them would be attended with great inconvenience, especially in the case of circulars addressed to foreign parts and to the colonies. A memorial on the subject was addressed to the Postmaster-General, signed by a large number of first-class firms, and an official promise has been given that the obnoxious restrictions are to be abolished. AT a court of proprietors of the South Sea Com pany, held on Wednesday, a dividend of 14 per cent. for the half-year was declared. The amount of the half-year's balance in hand was stated to be 28,1061. Os. 4d. The distribution of the assets of the corporation commenced on Thursday, the proprietors receiving 1151. for every 1001. of stork. The re mainder of the assets will be distributed within six months. THE PRESS. THE WAR. Since the operations of the 18th, described in full detail in the despatches given below, nothing of im portance is announced to have occured in the Crimea. The latest advices which have been published either in London or Paris are conveyed by the following telegraphic message from General Simpson : Crimea, July 4, 1855, 6.34) p.m. Nothing of importance has occurred since my last. The French works on the right are going on well. The health of General Eyre is re-established. General Pelissier had announced on the previous day (July 3), in a despatch published in the Moni teur, The last duties have just been paid to Lord Raglan by the two armies with all the pomp which circumstances per mitted. Our works progress satisfactorily. The health of the troops has improved. With regard to the failure of the attack on the Malakoff Tower, General Pelissier expresses himself thus in a letter to a friend:—" Je suis parfaitement de I'avis de Lord Raglan—nous avons mule pour mieux sauter." Prince Gortschakoff writes from the Crimea on June 27, that from the 19th to the evening of the 27th nothing important had taken place. The ftre of the allies against Sebastopol, he says, is weak. " The enemy is making new approaches towards us, but we are preparing to defend our positions vigorously." The Frenulenblatt of Vienna states from the Criniea that Prince Gortschakoff has sent for 24,000 men more, and that he has reinforced General Liprandi's corps with another division. The Russian official account of the assault on the Malakoff Tower and the Great Redan has been pub lished. The opening bombardment of the allied forces on the 17th ult. is described to have been most murderous, and as never before equalled in the history of man. The Russian troops were well pro tected, but the loss they sustained is admitted to have been considerable. On the morning of the 18th the attack was renewed by a cannonade, the fierceness of which passed all belief. Though four hundred pieces of cannon poured forth their iron hail from the Russian works, and made fearful gaps among the allied forces, the latter are acknowledged to have " marched onward, rushing furiously up to the breast works, where they were met hand to hand by the brave Russian garrison. For seven long hours a struggle with the bayonet continued without inter ruption ; all other weapons were laid aside, and artil lery on both sides were as if struck dumb by the horrible tragedy before them. At length the enemy was driven back, and forced to take refuge in his trenches, with the loss of six hundred prisoners." The Russian loss is estimated at about three thousand, and that of the allies at double that number. Acc'bunts from the Crimea, of the 29t1? of June, received in Vienna, state that the allies had received fresh reinforcements. The Journal de Constantinople announces that Keite'a had been completely dismantled. The Circas mans had destroyed the remaining fortifications of Anapa and followed the Russians in their retreat. An attack on Eupatoria was expected at the date of last letters from Constantinople. Thirty thousand Russian infantry had joined the large cavalry force before that place. Large reinforcements for the Crimea are now leaving France, preceded by a considerable number of officers of high rank, to take the places of those who have fallen in the recent engagements. THE ASSAULT OF THE 18TH JUNE. The following official despatches, describing the unsuccessful attacks on the Malakoff and Redan on the 18th ult., have been received from the lato com mander in-chief:— Before Sebastopol, June 19. informed your lordship, on the 16th, that new batteries; had been completed, and that in consequence the allies would be enabled to resume the offensive against Sebas topol with the utmost vigour. . . . Accordingly on the 171:11, at daylight, a very heavy fire was opened from all the batteries in the English and French trenches, and maintained throughout the day, and the effect produced appeared so satisfactory that it was determined that the French should attack the Malakoff works the next morning, and that the English should assail the Redan as soon after as I might consider desirable. It was at first proposed that the artillery fire should be resumed on the morning of the 18th, and should be kept up for about two hours, for the purpose of destroying any works the enemy might have thrown up in the night, and of opening passages through the abattis that covered the Redan ; but on the evening of the 17th it was intimated to me by General Pelissier that he had determined, upon further consideration, that the attack by his troops should take place at three the following morning. The French, therefore, commenced their operations as day broke, and, as their several columns came within range of the enemy's fire, they encountered the moat serious op. position, both from musketry and the guns in the works, which had been silenced the previous evening; and obsery SATURDAY ) ing this, I was induced at once to order our oolumns to move out of the trenches upon the Redan. It had been arranged that detachments from the light, second, and fourth divisions, which I placed for the occa sion under the command of Lieutenant-General Sir G. Brown, should be formed into three columns ; that the right one should attack the left face of the Redan between the flanking batteries ; that the centre should advance upon the salient angle ; and that the left should move upon the re-entering angle formed by the right face and flank of the work ; the first and last preceding the centre column. The flank columns at once obeyed the signal to advance, preceded by covering parties of the rifle brigade, and by sailors carrying ladders and soldiers carrying woolbags ; but they bad no sooner shown themselves beyond the trenches than they were assailed by a most murderous fire of grape and musketry. Those in advance were either killed or wounded, and the remainder found it impossible to proceed. I never before witnessed such a continued and heavy fire of grape combined with musketry from the enemy's works, which appeared to be fully manned ; and the long list of killed and wounded in the light and fourth divisions, and the seamen of the naval brigade, under Captain Peel, who was unfortunately wounded, though not severely, will show that a very large proportion of those that went forward fell. Major-General Sir John Campbell, who led the left attack, and Colonel Shadforth, of the 57th, who commanded the storming party under his direction, were both killed, as was also Colonel Yea, of the Royal Fusi liers, who led the right column. I cannot say too much in praise of these officers. Major-General Sir J. Campbell had commanded the fourth division from the period of the battle of lnkermann till the arrival very recently of Lieut.-General Bentinck. He had devoted himself to his duty without any intermission, and had acquired the confidence and respect of all; I most deeply lament his loss. Colonel Shadforth had maintained the efficiency of his regiment by constant attention to all the details of his command; and Colonel Yea was not only distinguished for his gallantry, but had exercised his control of the Royal Fusiliers in such a manner as to win the affections of the soldiers under his orders, and to secure to them every com tot t and accommodation which his personal exertion* could procure for them. I shall not be able to send your lordship correct lists of the killed and wounded by this opportunity, but I will for ward them by telegraph as soon as they are made out. I have not any definite information upon the movements of the French columns, and the atmosphere became so obscured by the smoke from the guns and musketry, that it was not possible by personal observation to ascertain their progress, though 1 was particularly well situated for the purpose ; but I understand that their left column, under General d'Autemarre, passed the advanced works of the enemy and threatened the gorge of the Malakoff Tower ; and that the two other columns, under Generals Mayran and Brunet, who both, I regret to say, were killed, met with obstacles equal to those we enzountered, and were obliged in consequence to abandon the attack. The superiority of our fire on the day we opened led both General Pelissier and myself, ant. the officers of the artillery and engineers of the two services, and the armies in general, to conclude that the Russian artillery fire was in a great measure subdued, and that the operation we projected could he undertaken with every prospect of suc cess. The result has shown that the resources of the enemy were not exhausted, and that they had still the power, either from their ships or from their batteries, to bring an overwhelming fire upon their assailants. Whilst the direct attack upon the Redan was proceeding, Lieutenant-General Sir R. England was directed to send one of the brigades of the third division, under the com• mand of Major-General Barnard, down the Woronzow ra vine, with a view to give support to the attacking columns on his right; and the other brigade, under Major-General Eyre, still further to the left, to threaten the works at the head of the Dockyard Creek. . . I have not yet received their reports, and shall not be able to send them to your lordship to-day ; but General Eyre was very seriously engaged, and he himself wounded, though I am happy to say not severely, and he possessed himself of a churchyard which the enemy had hitherto carefully watched, and some houses within the place ; but, as the town front was not attacked, it became necessary to withdraw his brigade at night. I shall make a - special re - port upon this by the next mail, and I shall avail myself of the same opportunity to name to you the officers who have been particularly n entioned to me. I am concerned to have to inform you that Lieutenant. Colonel Tylden of the Royal Engineers, whose bervices I have hold the greatest pleasure in bringing so frequently to your lordship's notice, is very severely wounded. The account I received of him this morning is upon the whole satisfactory, and I entertain strong hopes that his valuable life will be preserved. I feel greatly indebted to Sir G. Brown for the manner in which he conducted the duties I intrusted to him ; and my warmest acknowledgments are due to Major-General Harry Jones, not only for his valuable assistance on the present occasion, but for the able, zealous, and energetic manner in which he has conducted the siege operations since he assumed the command of the Royal Engineers. He received a wound from a grape shot in the forehead yesterday, which I trust will not prove serious. I brought up the first division from the vicinity of Bo laklava as a reserve, and I shall retain them on these heights. The Sardinian troops, under General La Mormons, and the Turkish troops, under Omer Poch'', crossed the Tscher nays on the 17th instant, and occupy positions in front of Tchorgoun. They have not come in contact with any large body of the enemy. PS.—I inclose lists of casualties in the naval brigade to the 18th instant inclusive. I regret to say these are heavy.