The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-01-01 00:00:00

T ITE WAR.

For some time, in many parts of the camp, we have had to
send to great distances to water our horses, and to greater for
drinking water for ourselves. The Highland Brigade will
henceforth be spared this difficulty. The Artillery (a detach-
ment) adjoin the Highland camp. The other day, a man of
that corps, using a pickaxe, struck a stone, which splitting,
allowed a jet of water to spring heavenward, and with such
force that the astonished gunner received at once a very su-
perior style of shower bath. Bemoving the broken stone, an
excellent supply of beautiful mountain water was discovered,
rushing out from and over a well, and in quantity sufficient to
supply the whole division. It appears that Liprandi, before
quitting this ground, cunningly blocked up the well and flow-
ing stream, not only at the source, but for some distance, and
more cunningly led the water underground by an artificial
channel into a neighbouring marsh ; so that, but for the acci-
dent of the pickaxe above-mentioned, our troops would have
had all the winter to have sent far for water. They have it,
now, close at hand; and, in fact, it is now believed that other
sources of water have been also concealed, inasmuch as near
Balaklava heights one fountain only was at first found when
the departure of the rearguard, the Cossacks, allowed us to
take up the enemy's ground. These Russians are ever full of
"dodges." lam to pitch my tent to-morrow close to this new
watering place at Kamara. From my new position, which I
visited yesterday, I can with a good glass even see the Rus-
sians fix bayonets. We can't get up to them, and they are
far too wise to come down to us just yet. They will fail to
capture our Christmas" puddings.
RUSSIAN ATTACK AT UIIKUSTA.

In reference to this affair, which has been technically de-
scribed by Marshal Pelissier, the Times' correspondent, writing
from the camp before Sebastopol, on the 11th of Dec., says :
The monotony of life in this huge military colony has been
broken slightly by the appearance of the Russians on the
heights of Urkusta, and by some demonstrations of an inten-
tion on their part to try the strength, of the French positions
on the Baidar Valley. It would be of great consequence to
them, and of some detriment to us, if they succeeded in re-
stricting the ground covered by our outposts, which now
affords fuel to the army and food for cattle, and it is not at all
impossible that, whenever the state of the country admits of
the movement of materiel, theattempt of Sunday last will be
repeated on a larger scale. As the French have retired in the
presence of winter, the enemy have thrown forward their ad-
vanced posts at Koluluz and Markul to the north-east, and
from Aitodor and Ozembash to the north of Baidar. Sunday
morning was dark and drizzly, and the previous night had
been wet and stormy. The Russians, with their usual feline
aptitude for surprises, crept round the little village of Baga in
the dark, and just at the dawn rushed in upon the small party
,of French which occupied it. For a time the surprise was
complete; but our gallant allies soon got together, and at the
point of the bayonet, after a smart fusillade, drove out the
enemy, who had many horsemen with them. In the pursuit
of the Cossacks, our allies managed to capture some 40 horses,
for the former gentry fled by a road which in old times was
good enough for a run, but they were astonished to find them-
selves stopped by a deep scarp at a pretty spot where a wall of
rock closed the road at the right-hand side, and a precipice
formed the left-hand boundary, so they had nothing for it but
to dismount and scramble across, leaving the horses, accoutre-
ments, and all to their fate. In the affair the French
had one officer mortally wounded, seven men killed, and 13
wounded, and the Russians are said to have left 70 dead on
the ground, and 20 men prisoners in the hands of the French.
These are the numbers reported by rumour, but an exact
statement will no doubt appear in the official despatches.
The same writer, under the same date and locality, says, in
respect to

THE LAND TRANSPORT CORPS AND THE

ROADS :
The enemy fire upon the town most pertinaciously and futilely,
for they do not in the smallest degree hinder the execution of
the works in which we are engaged, nor do they prevent the
accomplishment of the duties of the garrison. Their fire is
especially directed upon the docks, and it is not to be wondered
at if some few casualties have been caused by it.-All attempts
to reply to their works appear to have been abandoned by the
Allies. Although the heavy rains and storms which prevailed.
last week have ceased since Sunday, the country is in a very
heavy state; and as the French roads have failed, and have
become in a very bad condition, an immense increase of traffic
is thrown upon our roads, as the French cut in upon them
whenever and wherever they can, while the duty of repairs
falls exclusively on our army. This is scarcely fair, especially
when the French do not permit our land transport to use
their road to Kamiesch. It is no exaggeration to say that
the traffic of French and Sardinians on the roads from Balak-

lava to Kadekoi, is as heavy as our own. V Under present cir-
cumstances, Colonel Wetherall, the director-general of Land
Transport Corps, has felt himself obliged to lighten the
burdens on the corps as speedily and as much as possible, and
in compliance with his recommendations orders have been
given to suspend the carriage of hutting materials to the front,
so that many thousands of men will have to pass the winter
under canvas, unless the huts be sent up before the bad weather
sets in with severity. In fact, mules and carts were fast
disappearing. I have been told that of the former not
less than one thousand two hundred have perished, or have
been destroyed since the rains began, and I should be
afraid to repeat the number given to me as that of carts, &c.,
broken down. The English pack saddles are described as
being of most inferior construction and materials, and the
carts and waggons are simply disgraceful to the contractors.
Colonel Wetherall has called a board to inquire into the con-
dition of carts, waggons, harness, pack saddles, and horses and
mules, with a view to condemning such as may be unfit for
use, and to supply others, so as to be in an efficient state next
spring, when the campaign opens. Not only is the carriage
of hutting suspended, but officers are obliged to carry up the
forage for their bat animals and horses from the divisional
and other depbts ; and those who have gone home on urgent
private affairs, and have left horses for the public service, on

the condition of the issue of rations of forage to them, are in-
formed by a general order that such issue will be suspended
after the Ist !ofJanuary. The railway will be handed over to
the commissariat on Monday next, and meantime the accu-
mulations of stores at the depots are fast disappearing. Gen.
Windham proposes large alterations in the whole transport

service, and next year it is not improbable that the corps will
consist of nearly 20,000 men, and 20,000 mules and horses.
The recruiting officers might advantageously exert themselves
to procure a better class of men than those recently sent out.

The conduct of those just arrived in the Ripon ha; been very
discreditable on the voyage from England. On Monday there
was a high mass performed on board the French flag-ship for
the soul of Admiral Bruat, at which many English officers
attended. The decease of the admiral has been learned by our
navy with sincere regret. -
PROPOSED FUTURE OPERATIONS.
Some officers of high rank stated in my presence the other
day (says the correspondent of the Morning Herald), that
the best plan to beat Russia would be to burn and blow up
all on the south side, fall back upon and hold Balaklava and
Kamiesch ; embark the spare troops for NicolaielY, the
Danube, and Asia Minor ; move down against the north
side from Eupatoria ; keep the fleet, especially the gun-boats,
moving (some few blockading Sebastopol) ; and then, said
they, Russia must give in, for we shall stop all her supplies,
prevent a concentration of her troops, and, if she will fight
in the Crimes, meet her in the open field (instead of behind
earthworks), when, as at the Alma and Inkerman, we can
beat her, hand over hand. Be this as it may, we all out
here want to see parliament meet, if but to prevent ministers
from patching up a sudden and unsatisfactory peace.

THE RUSSIAN FORTIFICATIONS ON• THE
NORTH SIDE.

A letter dated the 7th December, from before Sebastopol,
and published in the French papers, gives the following
account of the fortifications which the Russians are now
executing on the northern side of the harbour :
I cannot say what advantage the Russians expect to derive
from all the works which they are constructing on the north
side of Sebastopol, but they are certainly most actively
engaged on them, and their is not a hillock, a creek, or any
position, however insignificent it may be, that is not secured
by a battery, a fort, or a redoubt. I will endeavour to give
you some details of these works, beginning at Fort Con-
stantine' at the entrance of the port. The summit of the
Plateau Constantine is now covered by a fortification to which
it wouldsbe difficult to give a technical name : it is a pile of
batteries and counter-batteries, of cavaliers and redoubts
united together, and to Fort Constantine, by numerous
covered ways. In the rear of Fort Constantine is a small bay,
in which there are several large storehouses. There are two
batteries at the bottom of this bay, and the Russians are now
engaged in constructing a third. After Fort Constantine
comes Fort Catherine, constructed, like it, of granite, with a
double row of casemates and embrasures. It has been
strengthened by fresh earthworks, and the upper part, that
is, to say, the terrace, is filled with guns en barbette and heavy
mortars. This fort is in the form of an oblong square,
with the corner opposite the port rounded off, whilst
the other corner on the same side is flanked by a large
crenelated tower. The part towards the land is defended by
two strong towers, large ditches, and a horn-work situated on
a small tongue of land which runs out towards the port. Two
earth-works, having each fifteen guns, have been thrown up
on the right and left of the fort. A little above this fort, on
an intermediate planteau, is another strong battery, and on
the summit of the plateau is a large construction, which
serves as a sort of advanced work to the citadel. Between
this fortification and those mentioned at the commencement of
my letter, there is a redoubt mounted with guns of very heavy
calibre. After Fort Catherine, there is another point on which.
the Russians have cut out in the earth and rock a series of
fortifications on a most gigantic scale; the whole point being,
in fact, metamorphosed into a eitadal. There appeared to be
here several rows of batteries, then barracks for the troops,
and then more batteries. In the rear of this point may be
seen some small clusters of houses or stores, and some small
vessels lying on the shore. The beach is defended by a strong
battery, which extends all round the bay, as far as Fort
vernaia, which is of itself an assemblage of batteries placed

THE communications from the British camp in the Crimea
continue to be meagre in facts and almost barren in incident.
In the absence of warlike operations, speculation as to the
future course of events, and criticisms upon past adventures,
form the chief topics for discussion among the correspondents
of the daily journals, and thus incidentally afford proof that
matters go on favourably with the troops.
The correspondent of the Morning Herald, writing from
the heights of Balaklava, on the 11th December, says :
I must honestly confess that I have little news as to the
incidents of the camp to report to-day. Men might have
faced the elements during this week, but horses could not;
that is, day after day. And during the bad weather it was,
of course, impossible for troops to do anything. Even the
" riled" Russians somewhat stayed their fire from the north
side. Thus I have nothing important to record. I left Se-
bastopol a few days since, intending to return, but the rain
has not only detained me here, but kept my servant weather-
bound in that roofless city. Confined to hut or tent, I only
learn that Captain Shervington (46th), the provost-marshal
at Balaklava, has ordered all canteen-keepers to bury their
broken bottles, and not, as they have done, to leave them on
the sward, whereby many valuable horses have been seriously
tut and injured; that officers " absent on urgent private af-
fairs" are to have the forage for their horses stopped; and, in
short,l scarcely remember anyrnore news, except that a famous
stream of water has been discovered at Kamara. The last is
important and deserves notice. He continues in reference to this
DISCOVERY OF WATER :