The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-06-19 00:00:00

MASSACRE OF A BOAT'S CREW BY THE
RUSSIANS.

Captain DuNcoxß asked Sir C. Wood whether it was true
that the Russians had fired upon and destroyed a boat's crew
of one of Her Majesty's ships which approached the coast of

Hango to deliver up some Russian prisoners.
Sir C. WOOD regretted that the report was only too true.

He had, to-day, received despatches from Admiral Dundas,
the substance of which he would state, giving an account of
the transaction. Some time before, Her Majesty's ship Cos-
sack took and destroyed some Russian vessels near Hango,
and some persons made prisoners—the captain of one of the
vessels, his son, and a sailor. Admiral Dundas, anxious not to
use any unnecessary severity towards the tradeof the country,
so long as the supplies for the Russian forces were interrupted,
directed the Cossack to return to Hango, in order to put
ashore the persons so captured, who had also requested to be
put ashore at that place. Four other Russians, who had also
been taken prisoners, also requested to be landed there. The
Cossack thereupon went to Hango, and anchoring some little
distance from the place, sent the ship's cutter with seven
Russian prisoners, and the ordinary boat's crew, The boat
approached the shore under a flag of truce, which she dis-
played for half an hour before she reached the jetty. The
officers and the prisoners landed, with their baggage, upon the
jetty—with the exception of the officers, every man remained
in the boat—a body of Russian soldiers, between 300 and 400,
all armed, came down to the jetty. The English offieer waved
his flag of truce, and explained why the prisoners were put
ashore. The Finnish captain then took the flag of truce from
the Lieutenant, and tried to explain both in Finnish and
in English the purport of the visit. The officer in command
of the Russians spoke not only Finnish, but English also; and
he said he did not care for the flag of truce, and that he would
show the party how the Russians could fight. Some hundred
of the Russian soldiers immediately fired upon the British
officers, and the Finnish prisoners upon the jetty,
and killed every one of them. They then fired into
the boat, and killed every man but one. They then
rushed into the boat, threw some bodies overboard, dragged
one wounded man out and killed him; but they left five
bodies for dead in the boat. The boat not returning, later
in the day, the eig was sent out in search, and it was ascer-
tained from a distance that the disaster had occurred. There
was left on board the boat a black man, who was wounded
with two bullets through the arm, and one through his
shoulder : he tried to cut the fastenings of the boat, and to
scull the cutter to the ship. In the meantime the Cossack
was standing, in order to ascertain what had become of the
cutter ; and a boat being sent out picked up this man, who
was the only survivor. On his evidence, of course, the whole
of the story which he had just detailed must rest, as he was
the only person left alive after the transaction.

This statement made a profound impression upon the house.
Soon afterwards,

Mr. HEADLAM asked whether any British officer had
availed himself of a flag of truce to take soundings at Kertch
or elsewhere.

Sir C. WOOD replied that, so far as any reports had been re-
ceived at the Admiralty, such a statement was utterly untrue.
The papers relative to the outrage at Hangoe were then laid
upon the table, and ordered to be printed.