The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-10-30 00:00:00

THE OCCUPATION OF THE ALLIES :-

The siege guns have nearly all been removed from both our
and the Erench lines, as well as the platforms, gabions, and
trenches, in order to facilitate the communications. What
with these works and road-making, the soldiers are kept busy
enough ; but, I am sorry to say, the old idea that labour is the
best preservative from temptation seems not to be confirmed
by experience in this instance, for wherever you pass you see
individuals pacing about in heavy marching order over a
limited space of ground and during a limited space of time, or
going about in a circle lifting up stones and putting them
down again at a certain distance, as a punishment for drunken-
ness. But, in spite of this, the road-making is progressing
favourably. On the Tchernaya, line drilling is the order of the
day, and target shooting. Yesterday, two French divisions
were going through some manoeuvres on a larger scale in the
Balaklava Valley and in the Cavalry Valley, so named from the
light cavalry charge last year. In the presence of four differ-
ent armies it is rather interesting to observe the difference in
the style of movement between them. You have all the gra-
dations between the minutely regular movements of English
troops, the less stiff but still very regular manoeuvres of the
Piedmontese, the loose order in which the French troops per-
form their evolutions, and the rather more loose movements of
the Turks. Not less striking is the difference between the
dead silence of an English line, where not a sound is heard ex-
cept the word of command and the regular step of the soldier,
the comparative silence in a Piedmontese body of men, the
amusing observations and commentaries in a French column,
and the noise in a Turkish battalion. The habit of practising
with the new Mini& ought to be rather more general than
it is. With the exception of the Highlanders, I saw no
English troops doing it, and yet there are many new
soldiers, and the use of the new rifle requires, from its pre-
cision, rather more practice in firing than old Brown Bess.'
It is the precision, of which the new weapons admit, which
constitutes theit best quality, rather than their long range,
which is not so applicable on a battle field as it may be thought
at target shooting. It seems the Highlanders will winter on
the spot where they are. The materials for their huts have
arrived, and they have set to work. The Turkish artillery,
which has hitherto occupied the spot where these huts are to
be erected, have been removed a little further, and the digging
has now begun. The two battalions of the Ist Royals, who
are destined to form part of the second brigade of the High-
land division, have come up likewise, and are encamped a little
below Kamara. The Sardinians are likewise still busy hutting
themselves, and every day you see tents disappear and huts
arise; they are all underground, with only the gable roof
showing. Similar ones are now in construction for the cavalry
and artillery horses. They will afford excellent shelter, only
the labour is rather great. Besides these underground huts,
the ruins of the houses of Kamara are being repaired, and
made again fit to receive stores. Another Turkish regiment
has left in the Great Britain for Asia. Part of the English
medical staff went likewise in her to Souchum Kaleh, whence
they must find their way to Sinope. I went the other day
over the French position beyond Baidar. The road leading up
from Ourktista is nearly finished. You can overlook from the
heights the banks of the Upper Belbek. The Russians have
abandoned a kind of intrenched camp which they had con-
structed on this side of it, but they send occasionally cavalry
over, and while I was there I could see plainly about four
squadrons in a field near the river side, and some suspicious-
looking objects, which seemed very much like guns, although
it was impossible to make them out clearly with my glass.
The French nearly every day make reconnaissances in the
direction of Aitodor and towards the river, but without meet-
ing with any considerable force of the enemy. Yesterday three
regiments of light cavalry were sent down to Baidar, so that
the Russian cavalry will probably not long remain on this side
of the Belbek. The French keep excellent order in the vil-
lages they occupy—no soldier is allowed to go into a house, to
the great satisfaction of the people, who, like all Oriental
people, are very particular about their domestic privacy. The
Light Cavalry Brigade, although under orders for embarkation,
have not yet done so, but a battery of Horse Artillery, Captain
Thomas's, went on board yesterday at Balaklava.

In reference to the same topics, and the rumoured retreat
of the Russians, the correspondent of the Daily News, writing
from the camp before Sebastopol, on the 12th instant, says :
There is very little progress to communicate from this part
of the seat of war. The cavalry for the brigade of Light
Cavalry, which was under orders to proceed to Eupatoria,
have been detained by adverse weather. During the night
between the 9th and 10th instant, a heavy gale sprung up
from the south-west, and continued all the following day.
The temperature was high, and the wind had all the character
of a sirocco. On the 11th the gale subsided and was succeeded
by rain. To-day the weather has been bright and fine. It
does not appear that the delay in the departure of the cavalry
was Connected with the postponement of the movement against
the Mackenzie heights, for already there is a very considerable
force of this arm of the service under General d'Allonville at
Eupatoria, and it was even a matter of doubt whether that
general would require the aid of the British reinforcements.
In case of General d'Allonville deciding that the Light Cavalry
Brigade were not required at Eupatoria, it is said that the
regiments composing it are not to return to the Crimea, but
to go at once to their winter quarters on the Bosphorus.