The Press. — London, England, 1855-05-05 00:00:00

A Polish deserter has come in, who reports that we missed a golden opportunity last Monday. It appears that the Russians were apprised of the landing aml march of the Turks, and received information which led them to believe we were about to attack Liprandi's army. Every available man was sent out of Sebastopol on Sunday last, and %hen we opened fire on Monday morning they had only 8,000 men in the place. This accounts for their silence and for their surprise. For two days they were working might and wain to got their men back from Liprandi's army to the town again, and they have now 28,p,Nt men inside. The deserter says " the place is a per fect hell." There are 300 French sick and wounded in the hospital; •o English. The hospital is exposed to tire. All the Poles who have deserted arc sent to Varna to join Zinuoiski's Polish Legion. - - - The siege diary is thus continued by the Herald correspondent : APRIL 18.—Last night the Mangler, screw gun-boat, made a div rsion at the sea-face of Sebastopol. The day had been very foggy, but towards night the mist grew in tensely thick. Admiral Lyons ordered the Wrangler to steam in slowly, preceded by boats with muffled oars to sound. With this assistance she was enabled to approach within four fathoms from the forts. The wind blow strong off shore, so that there was but little danger of going too near. A little after eleven she cast loose her Lancaster ' guns, and from that time till past one filed shot, shell, and rockets incessantly. Almost immediately atter the first two guns, the sea forts replied with a volley, but the fog was so thick that it was impossible to make out, even by the Hashes of her gnus, where she lay, and the wind being strong off shore prevented her position being ascertained by sound. Thus every one of the enemy's shot passed wide, the very nearest being those which poured over both hull and rigging. At one o'clock, after having thrown above a huM.-ed 10-inch shell and rockets into the place, she retired, sustaining from first to last no further injury than the cutting of one of the stays. What mischief she did we can only guess, though it must have been something considerable. During to-day the firing from the trenches has been much more slack, both French and English being limited to thirty rounds per gun per day. This makes a most con siderable difference in our fire, as the day before yesterday the left attack fired 147 rounds a gun, and the other bat teries very nearly the same amount. The right attack has suffered very considerably. Even the occasional volleys from the Mainelm, Reilan, and Ma lakoff have so mach injured its earthworks that shot and shell come clear through some parts, with apparently un diminished force. Our advanced trench of eight guns and four mortars has also been sadly mauled. The trench ad joining it, passing the middle ravine, has been cut almost entirely to pieces. It.wa.s never a protection against round shot—now it is scarcely efficient against musketry. Occa sionally our officers complain of the slightness with which our works are thrown up, and the comparative indifference which the engineers testify towards giving our troops an adequate protection against the enemy's tire. The Russian defences appear to have suffered still more than our own. All the batteries of the enemy appear to have suffered more or less in their earthworks, though not in their guns. The Russians withdraw these during the day, and bring them forward each night, in ease of a general assault being attempted. This inaumuvre answers but too well. Only a few, some fifty or sixty, which are well screened, now return our fire, and these are so admirably placed that, though they can hardly reply one shot to our ten, they still continue to effect some mischief. Owing to the much-increased trench duty, our troops are again sadly overworked. To-night is the third time that the :ifsth have been on duty without one night's rest. They muster about 280 effective men, though in the Adju tant-General's list they figure as SOU strong. The 9Dth, which according to thte latter authority is DUO strong, only musters seventy three serviceable men. Amu. 19.—The firing was slack last night, in conse quence of the supply of bombs being still further restricted by Lord Raglan's orders. No attempt was made to dis lodge the French from the Flagstaff Battery, which augurs ill, and looks as if the enemy were making preparations for a sweeping attack on their position. Last night the Furious and Tribune steam-frigates steamed into Sebastopol, and aroused its slumbering in. habitants with their heavy broadsides. The sea forts this time instantly replied, but without doing any mischief to the vessels, but as the night was clear and tine they were unable to remain long. Such perpetual alarms from the fleet must harass the garrison beyond measure—to say nothing of the damage whioh thirty or forty Fitt-pounder shot and rockets pouring into the batteries must naturally effect. APRIL 20.—The English had sharp fighting in the trenches last night, and succeeded in capturing the first of the rife•pits. An attetnpt was being made to continue the parallel, but the Russian sharpshooters' fire was so galling, that it was impossible to persevere without an unwar rantable loss of life. Orders were then sent down for 260 of the covering party on the right attack (composed en. tirely of regiments front the Light Division 1 to advance and capture the pit. The men accordingly moved down quietly to where the advanced work terminated, close to the first trench. Colonel Graham Egerton, field officer in charge of the trenches, led the parry. At a given signal our gallant fellows dashed from the breastwork, and, with a smothered cheer, ran straight upon the trench. The enemy appeared completely surprised, and fired a scattered volley. One of these shots unfortunately killed Captain Audley Lempriere, of the 77th, as he was in the act of cheering on the men. The instant the volley was tired the Russians sprang out of the trench, without any ftirther attempt at resistance, and began flying in all directions. Some were shot as they ran, bet the inijorityescaped. The trench was immediately occupied by such of our troops as it would contain (about fifty), while the others THE PRESS. -- - endeavoured to reverse the sand-bags, so as to cover the men from the Russian side in case of an attempt to retake it. While engaged in this manner, a column of Russians, about 1,000 strong, was observed advancing from the shelter of the Malakoff, and hardly had Colonel Egerton time to dispose his men in such a manner as best to con tend against the overpowering force, when the enemy rushed up and tried to close with the trench. They were ri.ceived with a heavy volley, before which those who sur vived it recoiled in terror, and stood for a moment as if uncertain or irresolute how to act. They were not, how ever, left long to deliberate, for as fast as our men could load they tired into their hesitating assailants, who, as if to save themselves, again tried to close. This time their attack was mole determined, and an obstinate fight took place. Those that closed with our troops were met with the bayonet and hurled back again, while some that had sprung into the pit were killed on the instant. t (done' Egerton was in the midst of the contest, cheering and animating the soldiers, when he was struck with a bullet, which killed him in the course of a few minutes, though not before the enemy were again driven back. After the second repulse, the Russians contented themselves with skirmishing behind atones and hillocks at a safer distance, and, after collecting their wounded. retired to their works without an attempt to renew the struggle. Our troops re mained in possession of the trench unmolested for a short time after the enemy had retired. The batteries then opened, and knowing doubtless the precise range, we suffered severely from some of the shells, and the round shot also injured the new work, but not to any serious extent. Atter the cannonade had continued about half an hour a few skirmishers again approached the trench, no doubt in the expectation of finding it evacuated ; but, on discovering that we still maintained our posts, they beat a precipitate retreat, and the men were no further interfered with for the rest of the night. The total loss to the English in this affair was sixteen men killed and twenty-nine wounded. The enemy's loss was between forty and fifty killed, and about twice as many wounded; only three of their killed were left upon the ground. While this struggle was going forward on the right a strong and sudden attack was made upon the lodgment which the French had effected in the Flagstaff Battery on the extreme left. Our allies appear to have been slightly taken by surprise, as, after a brief resistance, they were compelled to abandon their lodgment, and fall back upon the first breastwork, which they threw up immediately after the mine was sprung. They have thus, for the pre sent at least, lost eighty feet of most important ground, but they speak contideutly of being able to regain it to-night, and of this 1 believe there is little doubt. The fire during to day has been very slack on both sides. APRIL 21.—Another attack was made last night upon the second rifle-pit. At the first symptom of our advance the Russians fled with precipitation, and abandoned their post to our men, who instantly occupied it. Later in the night a considerable number of the enemy's skirmishers came down, and between them and our men in the pits some hot volleys were exchanged. A desultory skirmishing fight was maintained in this manner for three or four hours, when the Russians, having sustained considerable loss, again withdrew. In this affair our casualties were heavy, but by no means equal to the loss of the night before. As yet I have heard of no officer being either killed or wounded. One of the pits is to be filled up as useless, the other I am informed will be used to continue part of our ad vanced trench. The firing to-day has been unusually slack. Half our works are completely silent, owing to dismounted guns and injured embrasures. The enemy rarely fire a shot, and, indeed, appear to treat cannonade with perfect con tempt. To-day is the first day of a further reduction of our fire. Each gun is now limited to ten rounds per diem ; the mortars to one shell per hour, day and night. There is no concealing the fact—our final bombardment has been a complete failure. New batteries are to be opened closer to the enemy; but our engineer and artil finery officers seem qnite to have lost all faith in the effects of any cannonade, while the enemy pursue such Fabian tactics, and withdraw by day all but a few shattered guns. Last night orders were sent down to measure the steamers in Balaklava, to ascertain the stowage for troops. It is rumoured that an expedition to Yalta is intended, so as to take the Russian defences round Tchourgoum in the rear. This appears to be more than probable, as taking them from the front is said to be out of the question. Something like this must be undertaken to free us from the chain of earthworks by which all our movements at Balaklava are hampered. We have kept our lines, but nothing more, as we dare not move a quarter of a mile beyond them. THE CRIMEAN ARMY FUND. The following letter from an artilleryman engaged in the right attack before Sebastopol has been pub lished under a guarantee of its authenticity. The artilleryman writes : We had some of what is called the Crimean Army Fund served out to us the other day, and such a serve out you never saw—it deserves to be published in the newspapers. Our company is composed of 110 men and 7 officers, and, for the company, we got 20 gallons of porter, 30 lbs. of butter, 30 lbs. of cheese, 30 lbs. of sugar, 30 lbs. of tea, 30 lbs. of candles, 14 bottles of brandy, 1 ease of preserved vegetables, end 3 tins of preserved game. Now, out of this, the officers took the lion's share : they took the brandy, the vegetables, the game, the half of the porter. half of the butter, the same of the cheese, the tea, and sugar, but none of the candles, among seven of them ; and the re mainder was dis idea amongst the 110 of us : also 5)) lbs. of bacon. of which they took the half, so I leave you to guess at their meanness. SATURDAY, THE BALTIC FLEET. (From a Correspondent.) Kizr., April 30. THE English fleet at this place were to have sailed en route to the Gulf of Finland to-morrow, but in consequence of a despatch received by Admiral Dundas this morning from Stockholm, stat.ng that the ice is unusually strong for the season of the year, their departure has been postponed fora few days. The Driver started this morning for the edge of the ice to bring back reliable information of the state of things. As tar as can be learnt here, the Gulf of Finland, geographically speaking, is entirely blocked up, and it would be worse than useless to send the main body of the fleet into those dangerous seas when the advanced squadron is sufficient to blockade, which is the only thing that can be accom plished until the weather materially changes. You must not imagine in England that the fleet here are idling their time, for much can be and is done during their stay in the shape of exercise, and other matters important to the organisation of ships destined, we trust, to make the Russians feel that our operations can be, when carried on with the spirit and determination of Englishmen, more detrimental to them than they have hitherto imagined. Daily, hours are spent in wholesome drill. The admiral has just returned from Copenhagen, where I hear he had a most satisfactory audience with the King, his Majesty having apparently yielded to the pressure from without regarding his manner towards the English ; for it is a well-established fact that in all these northern countries the people sympathise with us, and wish us success. Whereas the Court party, afraid of the consequences, and having been all their lives cowed by Russia, fear to show themselves to have a leaning towards our policy ; hence the origin of a good deal of bad feeling. As an example, 1 may mention that eight of out marines were told off to go on shore for the purpose of burying a comrade, when the authorities sent off to say that as armed men could not land in accordance with the law of nations, they must leave their muskets behind them. The gun-boat squadron in charge of the Magicienne and Geyser have lett Elsinore tut Faro Sound iu the Island of Uothlaud, where I can but think they will have difficulty in getting on account of the ice. 'he Centaur and Basilisk are gone to the flying squadron. Bulldog is going off Lubec to prevent any unfair trade between that port and Memel. Several vessels, we hear have escaped into Port Baltic, where they will be cut out as soon as our ships can get at them ; but they will have landed their cargoes. Others we hear are jammed in the ice, poor creatures, with our ships hovering about like hawks. Two or three prizes have been taken, but by whom we hardly know yet. The fleet are re ady for sea at a moment's warning. A signal has just been made, "As fleet will sad this week, letters should be sent as last year, through Dailltzic." We should never have been told this last year. All well on board the fleet. Duke of Wellington arrived on Thursday last. Admiral and all his staff are again on board. Crowds of people visit her daily, and as the weather is hue the fleet makes quite a holiday for the good people here. The fleet, under the command of Admiral Dundas, weighed anchor from Kiel harbour on Thursday morning, and proceeded eastward. Admiral Dundas visited Copenhagen and break fasted with the King of Denmark on the 27th ult. He returned on the following day to Kiel, and hoisted his flag on board the Duke of Wellington. Orders have been issued for the line-of-battle ships St. George, 120; Neptune, 120; Powerful, 84; and Calcutta, 84, now lying at Spithead, to be held ready to embark a division of the French troops from the encampment at Boulogne to co-operate with the allied fleet in the Baltic. The Foreign Legion, being embodied and trained at Heligoland, will also furnish about 10,000 men for this service. Rear-Admiral Penaud, the French commanderin. chief of the Baltic squadron, wits a portion or his fleet, arrived in the Duwns ou Thursday from Cher bourg. The French admiral has his flag on the screw-ship Tourr ille. LORD JOHN RUSSELL arrived at his residence, in Chesham-place, at halt' past two o'clock a.m. n Mon day from Dover. His lordship paid a visit to Lord Palmerston, at his residence in Piccadilly, in the lore noon, and afterwards attended a Cabinet Council, held at the Foreign-office. In the evening the noble Secretary for the Colonies gave his " explanatiins " in the House of Commons respecting the progress and result of the Vienna Conference. PRINCE GoarscamtoNT has renewed the tenancy of his hotel at Vienna for another siz months.