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

THE CRIMEAN ARMY FUND.

The following letter from an artilleryman engaged
in the right attack before Sebastopol has been pub-
lished under a guarantee of its authenticity. The
artilleryman writes :
We had some of what is called the Crimean Army Fund
served out to us the other day, and such a serve out you
never saw—it deserves to be published in the newspapers.
Our company is composed of 110 men and 7 officers, and,
for the company, we got 20 gallons of porter, 30 lbs. of
butter, 30 lbs. of cheese, 30 lbs. of sugar, 30 lbs. of tea, 30
lbs. of candles, 14 bottles of brandy, 1 ease of preserved
vegetables, end 3 tins of preserved game. Now, out of this,
the officers took the lion's share : they took the brandy, the
vegetables, the game, the half of the porter. half of the
butter, the same of the cheese, the tea, and sugar, but
none of the candles, among seven of them ; and the re-
mainder was dis idea amongst the 110 of us : also 5)) lbs.
of bacon. of which they took the half, so I leave you to
guess at their meanness.

SATURDAY,

THE BALTIC FLEET.
(From a Correspondent.)
Kizr., April 30.
THE English fleet at this place were to have sailed
en route to the Gulf of Finland to-morrow, but in
consequence of a despatch received by Admiral
Dundas this morning from Stockholm, stat.ng that
the ice is unusually strong for the season of the
year, their departure has been postponed fora few
days. The Driver started this morning for the edge
of the ice to bring back reliable information of the
state of things. As tar as can be learnt here, the
Gulf of Finland, geographically speaking, is entirely
blocked up, and it would be worse than useless to
send the main body of the fleet into those dangerous
seas when the advanced squadron is sufficient to
blockade, which is the only thing that can be accom-
plished until the weather materially changes. You
must not imagine in England that the fleet here are
idling their time, for much can be and is done
during their stay in the shape of exercise, and other
matters important to the organisation of ships
destined, we trust, to make the Russians feel that
our operations can be, when carried on with the spirit
and determination of Englishmen, more detrimental
to them than they have hitherto imagined. Daily,
hours are spent in wholesome drill. The admiral has
just returned from Copenhagen, where I hear he
had a most satisfactory audience with the King, his
Majesty having apparently yielded to the pressure
from without regarding his manner towards the
English ; for it is a well-established fact that in all
these northern countries the people sympathise with
us, and wish us success. Whereas the Court party,
afraid of the consequences, and having been all their
lives cowed by Russia, fear to show themselves to
have a leaning towards our policy ; hence the origin
of a good deal of bad feeling. As an example, 1 may
mention that eight of out marines were told off to
go on shore for the purpose of burying a comrade,
when the authorities sent off to say that as armed
men could not land in accordance with the law of
nations, they must leave their muskets behind them.
The gun-boat squadron in charge of the Magicienne
and Geyser have lett Elsinore tut Faro Sound iu the
Island of Uothlaud, where I can but think they will
have difficulty in getting on account of the ice. 'he
Centaur and Basilisk are gone to the flying squadron.
Bulldog is going off Lubec to prevent any unfair
trade between that port and Memel. Several vessels,
we hear have escaped into Port Baltic, where they will
be cut out as soon as our ships can get at them ; but
they will have landed their cargoes. Others we hear
are jammed in the ice, poor creatures, with our ships
hovering about like hawks. Two or three prizes
have been taken, but by whom we hardly know yet.
The fleet are ready for sea at a moment's warning.
A signal has just been made, "As fleet will sad this
week, letters should be sent as last year, through
Dailltzic." We should never have been told this
last year.
All well on board the fleet. Duke of Wellington
arrived on Thursday last. Admiral and all his staff
are again on board. Crowds of people visit her
daily, and as the weather is hue the fleet makes quite
a holiday for the good people here.

The fleet, under the command of Admiral Dundas,
weighed anchor from Kiel harbour on Thursday
morning, and proceeded eastward.
Admiral Dundas visited Copenhagen and break-
fasted with the King of Denmark on the 27th ult.
He returned on the following day to Kiel, and hoisted
his flag on board the Duke of Wellington.
Orders have been issued for the line-of-battle ships
St. George, 120; Neptune, 120; Powerful, 84; and
Calcutta, 84, now lying at Spithead, to be held ready
to embark a division of the French troops from the
encampment at Boulogne to co-operate with the
allied fleet in the Baltic. The Foreign Legion, being
embodied and trained at Heligoland, will also furnish
about 10,000 men for this service.
Rear-Admiral Penaud, the French commanderin.
chief of the Baltic squadron, wits a portion or his
fleet, arrived in the Duwns ou Thursday from Cher-
bourg. The French admiral has his flag on the
screw-ship Tourr ille.

LORD JOHN RUSSELL arrived at his residence, in
Chesham-place, at halt' past two o'clock a.m. n Mon-
day from Dover. His lordship paid a visit to Lord
Palmerston, at his residence in Piccadilly, in the lore-
noon, and afterwards attended a Cabinet Council,
held at the Foreign-office. In the evening the noble
Secretary for the Colonies gave his " explanatiins "
in the House of Commons respecting the progress
and result of the Vienna Conference.
PRINCE GoarscamtoNT has renewed the tenancy of
his hotel at Vienna for another siz months.

Mir 5, 1855.

SEBASTOPOL INQUIRY COMMITTEE.

Sra Joari BURGOYNE, under whose design and super-
intendence the siege-works of the " British attack "
before Sebastopol were carried out, has Leen exam-
ined this week. In the oourse of his evidence
he said :

To him were confided the formation of all the approaches
to Sebastopol and the trenches to be dug by the army. In
carrying out his strategical operations he could not get any-
thing like the quantity of work done that could be wished.
The generals of divisions complained of the excessive work
the men had to perform, and constant applications he
made for working parties were refused because the army
was not strong enough. The extent of work undertaken
was greater than the force at command could accomplish
with rapidity. The communication by road near lialaklava
was good before the commencement of operations, although
it was a mere track across the country, but when the hard
weather set in the road became muddy and difficult to use
for transport. It was in expectation when they arrived be-
fore Sebastopol that they should soon be in possession of it,
and he was in hopes they would, and that they would have
taken it at once : but directly he saw the fortincation he al-
tered his opinion, though he still thought they should take
it before the bad weather set in in November; but after
the cessation of the first tire, he had occasion again to
chauge his view. It would have required a very large force
to have made the road, which was seven or eight miles long
of bad soil, and muddy. There was a great deal of lime-
stone to be hail, which would have contributed to make it.
He &raid not say how long it would have taken a thousand
men to make the road, but speaking offhand he should
think it would have taken them two or three months, and
it would have required a greater quantity of tools and carts
than they then had, and they had not the particular de-
scription of tools required for that kind of work. It would
have been far better to make the road, but they could not
take the men from the trenches, and had not the trenches
been made the Russians might have advanced ; and under
these circumstances he was of opinion that it was to the
advantage of the army to continue making the trenches
and not the road, notwithstanding all the horrors and in-
conveniences that arose from not making the road, though
he did not think that these horrors were so much depen-
dent on the mad as was imagined. If the commitment
asserted that they could not supply the troops with food
and the horses with fodder, in consequence of there not
being a proper road, he could not say it was an exaggera-
tion, and no doubt the supply would have been better; but
he did not think there was that deficiency in that respect
that was generally supposed. The greater part of the army
was never deficient at all, and that portion that was defi-
cient was only occasionally on half rations, and not at all
in a state of general starvation. A good road would have
been a great advantage for supplies and cattle, but many
more of the animals might have been saved if due care had
been exercised by those who had charge of them. He con-
sidered this want of care to be a great national defect.
The materials for the huts arrived after the road was in a
very bad state. He heard no complaints about the tools
that were employed beyond those that were in the news-
papers. Some of them might have been bad, and there
might be some ground of complaint in some instances.
The army all wished for new tools, but the storekeepers,
studying economy, distributed both old and new. The ex-
tent of siege operations undertaken on the arrival of the
army before Sebastopol was about three miles. The
number of men required daily to carry on the works in the
trenches, and to act as covering parties, was two thousand.
The number of the covering party was about one thousand,
but it was subsequently reduced. As far as he knew, the
army landed in the Crimea without any knowledge of the
Russian force, but it was always evident that sooner or
later the Russians could receive great reinforcements. It
was thought necessary to take advantage of the impression
made at Alma to commence siege operations as soon as
possible, with every available means, and under these cir-
cumstances it was not desirable to employ the working
parties in the construction of the road. It was not within
the scope of his duties to make a representation to the
authorities, either here or in the Crimea, to the effect
that they were furnished with too small an amount of men
to carry on the duties of the siege. He never made any
specific representation, but was constantly applying for
men to reinforce the working parties ; but the adjutant-
general told him he could not afford them, not having suffi-
cient strength at command. He did mention to Lord
Raglan that he had to carry on the siege-works without
an adequate working-force. Had been in the Peninsula,
and had undertaken more than one siege there, but the
position of things was different to that in the Crimea.
Did not think that any division or clashing was the con-
sequence of the anomalous position lie held in the '
army. He went out in the character of an adviser,
but they could not have objected to what he pro-
posed. To a certain extent lie was in command, and '
the siege operations were entirely under his control.
Though he and Commissary Filder were at Lord Raglan's
head-quarters on the Bth November, they did not know then
that the army would have to winter in the Crimea; and
there was no consultation as to the propriety of mak ng the
road. If Lord Raglan found the force insufficient fur
making the road, he could have sent home fur men. Navi-
gators would have been useful, and it would have been a
better measure if early in November 1,500 navvies had
been sent out to make the road, than the subsequent con-
struction of the railway. Soon after he gut before Sebas-
topol he found the horses of the commissariat overworked,
and in bad condition. Lord Raglan could have instituted
an inquiry to ascertain how bt at to provide fur all these
beasts of burden, and the cominunder-in-chief had power
to institute an organisation. but whether he had the means
was another matter. The Duke of Welliogton frequently
did this in the Peninsular war, and it was afterwards done,
under dire necessity, in the Crimea, but it would have
been better done at first, though difficulties existed which

THE PRESS.

did not now. He never made any remonstrance to Lord
Raglan as to the absence of the raad. The road was one
of the greatest difficulties the army sustained, and caused
great delay and privation. The 'rurks were employed, but
failed ; the labourers iu the surrounding country would have
been as bad as the Turks. All this was the fault of our
military institutions, which, in his opinion, in the field
were notiriously insufficient. After the failure of the first
fire before Sebastopol, Lord Raglan consulted him as to
the next step to be taken, and he (Sir J. Burgoyne) was
not of opinion that heavier ordnance would be required,
as it was very heavy as it was.
By Colonel LINDSAY.—The deficiency that existed was
not in the calibre of the guns so much as their quantity.
The reason they did not expect to winter in Sebastopol
was the expecnition that the increased ammunition would
have been successfully instrumental to its capture. When
he formed the opinion they would have to stay the wiener,
he communicated it to Lord Raglan. The weak state of
the army, and the state of the weather and roads, prevented
the batteries from opening tire, and compelled them to stay
the winter.

By Lord SZYMOUII.-It had been his °pi:lion some time
that the whole of our military institutions were insufficient,
and that they undertook the war in the Crimea under those
circumstances. He considered the artillery efficient, but
the engineers wanted more sappers. Tue commissariat he
considered insufficient. Our military institutions were not
on a sufficiently large scale, but the army was more fully
provided with sappers than it had ever been. He considered
the infantry and general staff perfect. The principle of
selection was wade good by placing it in the hands of the
commander-in-chief. He was not satisfied with the organisa-
tion of our cavalry force. It might be much lighter than
it is. He thought, from several months' experience of it,
that the commissariat was inefficiently organised. It ought
to be more military. He included the land transport in
his opinion of the commissariat.
Sir J. Burgoyne afterwards said :

If a number of officers had represented that the tools
served out to the army were very deficient and bad, and if
the Duke of Cambridge, General Evans, General lientinck,
Captain Shakespeare, Captain Wrottealey, and Sergeant
Dawson (whose evidence was read to him) had given this
testimony, he could not say it was without f..undation.
There might have been some particular tools that were so,
bat it could not have been the case with the whole of the
tools, and he thought it must have been of some acci-
dental or exceptional circumstance of which they spoke.
The great mass of the tools was provided by the Ordnance,
and under a system of contract. That system was to take
the lowest tender, provided it was made by a respectable
manufacturer. Many of the tools used in the Crimea came
from Malta, where they had been stored for many years.
He was not acquainted with the rule as to the periodical
inspection of ordnance stores, or as to the replacing such
as became detoriated in store.
To the CliAlallAN.—lf any of the tools sent from Malta
were bad, he thought the blame would lie with the store-
keeper there.
To Sir J. PAKINOTON.—He was so far consulted as to the
army going to the Crimea that he was out in the country
beforehand and made a report. He was not consulted as to
the chances of success of an attack on Sebastopol before
the attack was made, and he gave no official opinion on
that subject. He would rather not give au opinion as to
the sufficiency of the allied tomes fur undertakiug the ex-
pedition to the Crimea.
To Sir J. PAKTNOTON.—He thought that a light descrip-
tion of Cavalry, such as he had recently seen recommended
in the newspapers, would be of great service in the field.
To Mr. Laustnosn.—Balaklava is a poor village, with
no good buildings in it. The house there on which Lord
Raglan had his name inscribed was chiefly used by officers
falling sick.
Mr. Disonstoisn.—You know the house, of course, in
which Lord IlAglan had his quarters?
Sir John Burgoyne.—Yes, I lived in it..
Mr. DRUMMOND.—What sort of a palace was it? (A
laugh.)
Sir J. Burgoyne.—lt was a good building, with a good
roof. Lord Raglan had only one room in it. The rest
were occupied with the staff. Colonel Steele, the military
secretary, slept in his office.

IN A PAMPHLET published at Berlin, and pretending
to semi ifficial origin, it is said that after the battle
of the Alma and the march of Prince Menschikoff to
Baktehi Semi' the whole garrison of Sebastopol ccn-
sisted of just four battalions and the body of seamen ;
at that time also none of the present outworks existed
with the exception of the wall of the town.
LETTERS from St. Petersburg announce that, for
some weeks past, no English subject has been allowed
to leave Russia. The military governors, when ap-
plied to, replied that, under existing circumstances,
they could not grant any passport^. Some English
workmen, having refused to continue their employ-
ment, were threatened to be sent to Siberia.
THREE iS some expectation of a vacancy occurring
in the representation of the City of London, by
reason of one of its members (Baron ltothscliiltl)
having recently contracted with Government for a
loan. In that case it is said to be probab:e that the
Lord Mayor, Sir Francis Moon, Bart., would become
a candidate for the suffrages of the electors.

THE RIGHT How. T. B. MACAULAY has been elected
a member of the Royal Academy of Amsterdam, in
the class of literature, languages, history, and belles-
lettres. Together with the member for Edinburgh,
Jacob Grimm, the grammarian; Ranks, the hist()
riau ; Lepsius, the archaeologist; and other learned
men of European reputation, were elected.