The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-08-14 00:00:00

OFFER TO DESTROY THE RUSSIAN SHIPS.

There is a story that a sailor has volunteered to start from
Careening Bay, on the first favourable opportunity, and, single-
handed, to destroy each ship successively. He asserts that he
is in possession of a secret method by which he can move along
beneath the surface of the water, and breathe as easily as if he
were in a diving apparatus supplied with air by a pump, and
that he can carry with him an explosive machine of sufficient
power to drive a hole through the bottom of the largest ship.
The sailor gave a proof, on the night of the 19th instant, that,
at any rate, he was clever enough to approach a ship unde-
tected, notwithstanding a very careful guard being established
to mark his coming. As a proof of still further ability, he an-
nounced to the officers of Her Majesty's ship London that he
would come in the course of that night and chalk up the name
of the ship on her side, just above the water-mark, do what
they might to prevent him. The challenge was accepted,
double sentries were posted, and some volunteers among the
officers kept a look •out, but no one was observed to come near,
and all on board were convinced that no one had come near
the vessel. Daylight, however, showed the letters conspicu-
ously chalked on the ship's side, as the sailor said they would
be. It has been suggested that the means by which this feat
was accomplished was an atmospheric boat, capable of being
guided when sunk beneath the surface of the water, and sup-
plied with a reserve of air enough to last a given time for the
support of its adventuroug owDer, It is stated that he could
not have swam alongside without being observed.
AMY 24.—A heavy fire was kept up from the batteries
nearly the whole night. Another burning hot day. Notwith-
standing the excessive heat, and the exposure to which the
troops are necessarily submitted during their twenty-four
hours' turn of duty in the trenches, there has not been any
increase in the number of cases of cholera. This subject had
been considered prospectively with some anxiety, and it is a
matter for thankfulness that this scourge has been averted
from us. It was about the beginning of the month of July
last year when the disease broke out with so much virulence
among the troops in Bulgaria. Dysenteric disease and fever
seem to be the only prevailing diseases of a serious character
at present among the camps in front. The former malady
attacks new-comers especially—persons who have not become
inured to live under canvas and to camp dieting.

The correspondent of the Morning Advertiser,
writing on the 24th of July, says :-

It is clear—and every partial or general resuming of the
bombardment renders the fact more apparent—that his (the
enemy's) defences are still in good order, and that if they are
not to be taken one after the other they can only be so at a
great loss of life. There are no grounds for supposing that
the Malakhoff and the Redan will be gained at a much less
sacrifice than that which attended the disastrous attack of the
18th ultimo ; and then come the Quarantine Fort, the Rus-
sian fleet, and the forts and batteries on the northern side, to
say nothing of any engagement which may take place in the
open field. There are no signs, however, of anything like
real discouragement on the part of the Allies, and Sebastopol
is a doomed town. Our forage parties have been of late very,
successful in their, what may be called, razzias, and have al-
ready sent to the camp large quantities of new hay. Omar
Pasha and the French—and the latter still hold a position
beyond Baidar—have been often out of late reconnoitring.
Much prudence is necessary, for the Russians are in strong
force on the ridge of hills opposite the plain of Balaklava.
We are all greatly shocked here at five terrible murders com-
mitted by some Turkish soldiers. A little more than half-way
between the English head-quarters and the market-place of
Kadikoi there is an humble stone building, with two little out-
houses and the remnants of a small garden. In that house
resided a Russo-Greek family, in all four men and two women,
who were allowed to dwell there by the English authorities,
and who, as well as the other poor native inhabitants of this
portion of the Crimea, received their daily rations from the
English or French commissariat. The details of the tragedy
are frightful ; suffice it to state, that the four men and one of the
women, aged about 25, were brutally murdered on Saturday
last, their bodies presenting the most horrible gashes. The
other woman who was left for dead, is now in one of the hos-
pitals in Balaclava, and she states that they were suddenly
attacked by three or four Turkish soldiers, while others re-
mained without ; and that after the murders, the assassins
took away all the money they could find—her portion being
about four pounds. She says she can recognise, she thinks,
one or two of the party. The utmost vigilance is employed to
find out the assassins. This sad event has created a profound
sensation throughout the allied camps. Three Russian pri-
soners were brought in yesterday afternoon to the head quar-
ters of General Simpson. The English police at Kadikoi are
still in search of a Russian spy, dressed as a French officer.
A slight variation in the uniform first created suspicion,
There are sad complaints in the British army regarding the
delay in payments, the sums lately sent out being altogether
insufficient. It is hard to think that men who are fighting
the battles of England, and who, in other ways, are exposing
their lives in this pestiferous climate, should be suffering
privations through irregular payments of their hard-earned
money.

Under date of the 25th, the correspondent of the
Daily News says :---

There was a heavy fire all night from the batteries, and
about midnight the enemy made a sortie against the ambus-
cades and advanced trenches of the French on the Malakhoff-
hill. The moon had been shining brightly, and about five
minutes after it had set, and there was general obscurity, the
Russians sallied out. The French were on the alert, and must
have perceived the enemy advancing, for the first notice in
the English attack of the sortie was the French' bugles
sounding the alarm. They were immediately followed by the
usual sharp cry of the Russians as they rushed forward to
attack, mixed with the sound of their bugles and shouts of
officers. A very heavy fire of musketry followed, and all the
batteries opened with terrific effect. The Russian steamers
were very active in throwing shells over into the French
works. It is said that theeneawarnrsetnc battery near Careening
with the seamers, reserving it
Bay did not open her fir
into effect against the enemy's
for a simultaneous operationgother works on the
flight 'of shells from our right
left, which is to be carried
fleet in a few days. The
. works, and the
attack, in the direction of ,'the Malakhoff
ground in their rear, was unceasing. As many as
eight or nine shells from this attack might be counted
in the air at one time. Some of the 13-inch mor-
tars in our new advanced battery were also fired in the
direction of the low ground between the Redan and the
Malakhoff hills, along which it mightbe presumed troops would
advance towards our own works, but the enemy exhibited no

intention of making an attack on our trenches. After a
period of fifteen or twenty minutes the musketry ceased. The
enemy had not gained any advantage. The French sap,
which is now fast approaching the ditch of the Malakhoff, was
not injured. Our allies have also some rifle pits close to the
edge of the ditch, the fire from which-causes great annoyance
to'the enemy, and they are so completely under the parapets
of the works above, that the largerguns cannot be sufficiently
depressed to reach them. The enemy, it is supposed, sought
particularly the destruction of these ambuscades, but the
alertness of the French prevented them from achieving this
object. While the contest was going on before the Malakhoffi
there appeared to be an attack further on the right, near the
advanced French works in front of the enemy's lines on the
west side of Careening Bay ; but the ,distance, and the fire
on all sides, rendered observation in this direction very im-
perfect.

Writing on the 26th, lie gtattes:—
The cavalry division has been kept under arms all day; the
-several regiments being held ready to turn out at a moment's
notice. It is said that an attack was looked forin the direction
of the Tchernaya. A deserter from the enemy had reported
that the Russians were making preparations to move against
'the allied force in the plain of Balaklava, and that they had
provided themselves with a large number of pontoon bridges
'for effecting the passage of the Tchernaya river. A body of
Sardinian, and French light troops werethrown out to makea
reconnaissance, but returned without observing any appear-
ances indicating such an intention on the part of the enemy.
They exchanged a few shots with some Russian outposts.—
Some new mortars of large calibre have arrived for us, which
possess, it is stated, the superior advantage of being worked
with greater facility than the mortars on the old plan. They
are moved on a kind of traversing platform. It is said that
our artillery are expecting daily the arrival of a large supply
.of powerful mortars.—The fire from the batteries on both
sides was very incessant during the whole night. The Rus-
,sians not only threw a vast amount of shells into various
parts of the works, but kept up a constant discharge of grape
and " bouquets" against the advanced trenches. These
bouquets consist of a number of small shells or grenades ; they
are thrown from a mortar, about ten or twelve at one dis-
charge ; they burst close together, and their fragments are
scattered in all directions. A constant fire of this kind is
going on against the French works on the Malakhoff Hill,
and in addition the sharpshooters maintain an unceasing
fusillade. The loss of our allies, from casualties of all kinds,
is said now to be equal in numbers to a regiment per month,
or nearly one hundred men per diem. The proportion of our
own casualties has greatly increased of late, though the ma-
jority have providentially not been of a very grave character.
From the great weight of our shells, and the superior power
.and comparative proximity of our guns, the loss in the ranks
-of the enemy must also be very great. A constant fire has
been kept up all day in the batteries.