The Press.
London, England, 1855-05-12 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

one mile long, to accommodate the third and fourth divi-
sions and left siege-train. The railway daily takes up
about 112 tons supply of provisions, consisting of biscuit,
salt meat, groceries, corn, hay, and fuel, to the front. To
the 23rd ult. it had taken up as nearly as can be 1,000 tons
of shell and shot, 300 tons of small arms, 3,000 tons of
commissariat stores (fuel and forage), besides upwards of
one thousand tons of miscellaneous, viz., guns, platforms,

huts, Quartermaster-tieneral's stores, The railway
was commenced on the Bth of February by the navvies ; it
conveyed commissariat stores to Katlikoi on the 2.3 rd, and
on the 2Uth of March it conveyed shot and shell to the
summit at head-quarters, four and a half miles from Bala-
klava; which, with the Diamond•wharf branch and the

double line from halaklava to lisdikoi, makes upwards of
seven miles of rail laid down iu less than seven weeks.

SEBASTOPOL INQUIRY COMMITTEE.

THE evidence collected by the committee during the
current week has related principally to the conduct
of the Ordnance Department, Sir 'Thomas Hastings,
Mr. Monsell, and Mr. Sidney Herbert, being the
chief witnesses. The first-mentioned gentleman
said, in the course of his examination :
He could give the committee many instances in which
the authority of the Board of Ordnance had been used by a
single member of the board. Last year witness, during
ter months, was the only member of the board transacting
business at the Ordnance, and this was during the heavy
pressure of business in that department. Sir H. Ross
was also there, but he was almost entirely occupied with
the military department. Some of the papers of the board
during this time bad only one signature when they related
to ordinary matters of detail, but not when they involved a
principle.

Having given two instances to prove his assertion,
Sir T. Hastings continued:—
Had there been a Master• General to superintend the
business of the Ordnance, these things would not have
happened, as under the old system, and before the change,
every question of this kind was referred to him fur ap-
proval. . . .

The CHAIRMAN.—You said there were other instances ?
Sir T. Hsstiugs.—Yes, there was a case iu which a
severe reprimand was ordered in the case of insubordina-
tion on the part of a particular officer, but where the
reprimand was not carried out.
The CHAIRMAN.—Was that done by Mr. Monsell ?
Sir T. Hastings.—Yes.

The CHAutmAri.—You had better state the case.

Sir T. Hastings here hesitated and said.—The committee
would feel for the unpleasantness of his position. The case
was this. A gentleman of considerable ability was appointed
to an °dice in the Ordnance, but became of an insubordinate

turn of mind, and Sir Hew Hose wrote a severe reprimand
to this officer, and witness put his initials to it. Mr. Mon-
sell subsequently wrote a letter to the Board of Ordnance,
calling ou them to rescind the reprimand, sad telling the
board that if they did not he should place the papers in the
hands of the Secretary-at• War. Sir Hew Ross sent for
witness ou the occasion, and they considered that the board
had done quite right, and witness said that nothing should
induce him to rescind his decision un the subject, and the
decision was not rescinded.

Mr. ELLICE.—Then the result of your evidence is that
it would be as difficult to carry on the administration of the
Board of Ordnance successtully without a Master-General
and a complete board as it would be to carry on the ad-
ministration of the navy without a First Lord of the Admi-
ralty _ . _

Sir T. Hastings.—l think so.
Mr. MONSELL, on being afterwards called, read
and put in the official correspondence which had
taken place in the case mentioned by Sir Thomas
Hastings, and which served strongly to indicate the
conflicting action and the antagonism of the mem-
bers of the Board of Ordnance in reference to it.
He afterwards stated in reply to questions :
Since the consolidation of the NVar Department the
position of the Board of Ordnance was a most anomalous
one. The Secretary of State for War was now charged
with the responsibility of the civil duties of the Ordnance ;
and if the Master• General of the Ordnance were now in
England, he would have to obey the instructions of the
Secretary for War. With regard to the Ordnance Depart-
ment, they had been endeavouring to work out a new idea
with an old organisation before that organisation was
changed. The Ordnance was not in a state to meet urgent
demands when the war broke out, as regarded stores,
fuses, ite. Money was not asked for from Parliament,
and therefore Parliament were not to blame ; but whether
Government were for the deficient state of the Ordnance
was another matter. The Board of Ordnance worked very
well until the disagreement between himself and Sir T.
Hastings. Pending the proposed alterations in the Ord.
nance, that department was in a sort of moribund condi-
tion. And this state of things, he thought, interfered with
the public service. Witness had tendered his resignation
to the Duke of Newcastle on one occasion ; but the duke
thought it was desirable he should remain. There were
only three officers at the Ordnance Board in November,
and the office was reduced at one time to only one
person—himself; and he came up three or four times in
the week.

By Mr. ELLICE.—He concurred mostfully in the opinion
expressed by the Dnke of Newcastle, as to the unsatisfac-
tory state of the Ordnance • and thought it was wrong
to leave the post of Master-eneral of the Ordnance vacant
just at the time when the war broke out, as it threw the
whole department into a state of disorganisation. Although
in April, a most important period, there was only one
officer at the board—himself—he did not think the public
service suffered ; that is to say, said Mr. Memel! " we did
do 41 OS wail required."

The Cl/annuli—Not " we," you mean, but " I.'
(Laughter.)

Mr. Monsell—l refer to the administration of the civil
department, not the military, which was carried out most
creditably. He did not think that the public service suffered
by the disagreements that took place at the board, or tram
the absence of its officers, but it imposed a large additional
amount of work on those that were in the department.
The Ordnance Department set to work to provide stores, ii c.'
before the war broke out, and in anticipation of it.

To General PxxL—The Ordnance stores for the Baltic
fleet were completed with wonderful rapidity, and that was
chiefly owing to the admirable way in winch the Royal
Carriage Department at Woolwich executed their share of
the equipment.

Mr. SIDNEY HERBERT, on being examined, gave a
multitude of explanations regarding the hospitals
and medical service, stores, ttc. in the course of
his evidence be
:
His department in reference to the Horse Guards was
purely limuicial. lie was in the habit of consulting Lord
Hardinge. A consultation took place with him ou the ex-
pedition to the East, and he drew the schemes for the
organisation of the army on which the Duke of Newcastle
acted. The system was not so bad as the want of expe-
rienced men. At the commencement of the operations,
after a long peace, persons were frightened at the amount
of responsibility cast upon them; and Dr. Andrew Smith,
in his evidence, had stated that it took him live months
before he could make himself believe that he had the
power to spend money. The system was better in time of
peace, but it was not expensive enough for a time of war.
He thought the system was nut so bad as the inexperience
of persona to work it.
By General PEEL.—He had altered the mode of supplying
the clothing to the troops. if the clothing was sell sup-
plied by the colonels, it arose from the fact that the con-
tracts were entered into for the infantry for a year ahead ;
if for the cavalry, the contract was for two years, or even
two years and a half ahead ; and till these contracts were
run out the old system would prevail. lie did not believe
that the colonels of regiments made au undue profit at the
expense of the men. There would be a great saving from
the use of sewing-machines in making up the clothes.
Had estimates of the prices at which the clothing could be
made, and was satisfied that at the price now paid the
troops could be supplied with a much better article than
had hitherto been supplied to them.