The Press.
London, England, 1855-11-03 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

It is no wonder that such things should ex-
ceedingly stimulate the indignation, and
people recollecting them are not in any mood
to appreciate any dexterous fallacies used on
behalf of a company which considered " tam "
to the extent of 130,0001. as its "vecum."
These, and many other reasons, may
be enough to teach the whispering tribe of
Cr'ennnon and Quirk that acts of fraud are
worse in proportion to their gigantic extent;
and We cannot help saying that the most dan-
g►erous of all mental habits is that which sports
with the casuistry of crime, after the fashion
of soigne apologists for things done at " 217,
Strand."

THE " one or two splenetic and puzzle-brained po-
liticians" who, according to the leading journal every
now and then ask the question, " What are we fight-
ing for?" were promised some sort of satisfaction by
the commencement of an article in that paper of

yesterday. Now, as we of Tut: PRESS are among the
"one or two," and are willing to be instructed,
we began to read with diligent attention. Of
course nothing was to be expected from the first
half column or so, for a writer who has to
submit his ideas to exact superficial measure-
ment of length and breadth—a column for• every
subject, just so much and no more—is very apt
to fall into the practice of word-spinning. Still,
we expected to find some kind of answer to the ques-
tion, " What ar•e we fighting for," as the whole
article was expressly on that subject. Nothing more
satisfactory could we find, however, than that the
war is for "liberty and independence." But for what
liberty, and whose independence? Nctt a Word of
reply. The oracle is exhausted with its momentary
inspiration. We are referred, however, to the speech
of Mr. Cor.IJER, at Plymouth, where the whole sub-
ject is treated in a style fit for prince or peasant, the
cottage and the palace, and so forth. Immediately
we conceive a respect for Mr. COLLIER we never felt
before, and turned to his speech, but without adding
much to our knowledge. All Mr. COLLIER is able to tell
us we are fighting for is, " to erect a rampart against
" a power aspiring to universal dominion, and exact
" material guarantees for the future repose of the
" world." But of what quality is the rampart to be,
and of what nature the guarantees? Is the peasant
to divine by intuition ? And is the future repose of
the world assured, when this rampart of some kind
is erected, and these material guarantees are in pos-
session? Mr. COLLIER should have spoken plain
sense, or have held his peace. We are puzzled
still. The "rampart and material guarantees" of
Mr. COLLIER remain as obscure as they were, not-
withstanding the explanation given by his com•
mentator that they moan liberty and independence.

AT the meeting of the DORKING Agricultural
Society, held on Friday week, Mr. EVELYN, in
acknowledging the toast of "The County Mem-
bers," adverted to the current topic of the day,
the war. Having introduced the subject by an allu•
sicm to the attacks—which ke condemned—of the
press upon the officers of the army, Mr. Evelyn
proceeded to state a few of the statistics relative to
the number of men consumed in the English army
and the great cost of the war :
Refering to the statistics he held in his Mini, he found
that the number of troops sent out at the first stage of the
war had been 58.000, and it was not quite easy to ascertain
the numbers which had been sent out since, but he had
reason to think that 1" per month had been drafted out
since January. This would give them a total of about
70,000 men who had been sent to the East. He saw by a
paper that there were 37,000 men remaining, and deduct
36,000 men not accounted for, either from being perm.
nently invalided, or dying in battle, or having returned
home. or being prisoners of war, and what men were
these ? The tower of England—men whose places could
hardly be supplied—for the troops that had supplied their
place were very young men, and not such good soldiers at
present as they would become in future years, when their
bodily strength was such as to enable them to bear up
with the hardships of a campaign.
As to the cost of the war, Mr. Evelyn, in a few
concise sentences, put the exact cost before his
audience :

Taking into consideration the total cost of that war,
combined with the expenses of the Civil establishment, he
found it to be forty-nine millions in two years, but they
would be forming too low an estimate of their expenses if
they took an average from the expenses of the last two
years, for the first was less expensive than fhe second ; in
the first their expenses were not more than ten millions,
but in the second they were nearly forty millions, and
therefore if they went on as they had done in the past year
the expenses would average about thirty-eight millions
per annum. Besides the taxes they had paid, they had
increased the National Debt sixteen million's and the
Unfunded Debt fonrteen millions, thus adding thirty mil-
k.= to the permanent debt of the country. Why had he

Situlirwr,

adverted to these facts? For the simple reason that in
the papers these facts had not been put before the public
as they ought to have been.
Briefly glancing at the proceedings of the last
session, and at the failure of the negotiations at
Vienna, which be asserted were broken off against
the opinion of Austria and France, Mr. Evelyn
stated his opinion as to the objects of the war, and
frankly averred that he should not wish to 'gee
France and England the only two great powers in
Europe

There were two parties in the country—one who thought
that the war ought to be carried on until they had utterly
destroyed the puwer of Russia, 'he other that the proper
object should be the security of Turkey, and that it was
not the wish of England to push the foe to extremities, or
to injure her materially. Now, he thought that if they ob.
Mined fair guarantees, which this country required, they
should have accomplished their object; and when they
talked of the balance of power, he thought, if they over-
threw Russia as a nation, that the balance of power would
be destroyed. He would not like to see England and
Prance the two greatest nations m the world, but that
there should be some counterbalancing power. No one
more than himself rejoiced at their alliance with the latter
country, and he hoped that alliance would by permanent.
(Hear.) He hoped that the Government would he csplipit
with regard to the conduct of the war, and They and each
of the members of the house should endeavour to idlorm
their constituents of the true state of the ease, and make
them acquainted with their opinion on the same.

The following General Order appears in last
night's Gazette :
Horse Guards, Nor. 1.
The Field• Marshal Com'manding•in•Chief has received
the Queen's most gracious commands that Brevet• Colonel
William Fenwick Williams, C. 8., of the Ruyal Artillery, be
promoted to the rank of Ma}jor•General in the Army for
his distinguished conduct in the defence of Kars, and of
the position in front of the town, when attacked on the
29th September last by a large Russian army, which on
that occasion sustained a signal defeat by the Turkish
troops.

Brigadier-General W. F. Williams, ivho has played
so distinguished a part in the defence of Kars, has
been nominated a K.C.E.; and Lieutenant-Colonel
Lake, Major Teesdale, and Captain Thompson, of
the Indian army, who were under his orders on the
occasion of the recent victory, will, we believe, re-
ceive a step of army rank in recognition of their
gallant services.
An additional clasp is to be given for the reduc-
tion of Sebastopol to both officers and men engaged.
The precise terms will be made public in a few days.
Mr. Easton, surgeon in the navy, who was taken
prisoner at Mingo, has arrived in Edinburgh on his
exchange.
The Admiralty have, agreeably to the desires of
the inhabitants of Cork, promised that part of the
Baltic fleet shall winter at Cove.

Lord Hardinge, according to Club report, is about
to resign the Horse Guards. The Duke of Cam-
bridge and Lord Seaton are mentioned as his lord-
ship's probable successor.
Lieutenant-Colonel Ginsberg, of Zurich, has been
appointed to the command of a battalion of the
Anglo-Swiss Legion. The first regiment of that Legion
is ordered to the Crimea.directly.

The following arrangements have been issued from
the War-office for the conveyance of private parcels
to the army serving in the East :—Parcels are re•
oeived in London by Messrs. Hayter and Howell, of
Mark-lane, and by the Admiralty transport agents at
Deptford, Portsmouth, Plymouth, and Cork, where
regular entries are made in the cargo-books, and
whence invoices will be sent to the Commissariat
officers at Balaklava and other stations. Single
parcels are taken np'to half a ton, and forwarded free
of expense.
Colonel Read, President of the Committee, has
succeeded to the command of the Anglo-Italian
Legion, by the resignation of Brigadier-General
Percy, -Who is about to return to his regiment in the
Crimea. Several ohanges have already been made
in the dispositions for enlisting.
Reinforcements to the amount of 1,013 men and
twenty-nine officers, embarked on board the Orineco
on Monday for the Crimea.
Artillorymen have been engaged during the week
at Woolwich in proving a quantity of ammunition
returned from the Crimea under a protest of torn-
plaint, as constantly missing fire. It was discovered
that this was occasioned by the caps laving become
damp. It is in contemplation to adopt the use .of
waterproof caps, which have undergone a trial for
that purpose at the Royal Arsenal.
The War Department are making every effort to
develop fully the powers of the rocket, and, with a
view to achieve this great object, have engaged the
valuable services of a gentleman eminently skilled
in the science and construction of war lockets.
Some rotary rockets of enormous dimensions, with-
out sticks or tails, are now being prepared at Wool-
wich, and a trial is very shortly to be made with a
monster projectile, consisting of seven of these
rockets banded together and fired in a group. This
fearfully destructive mass will weigh little short of
half a ton; and will carry seven immense shells.

NOVEMBER 3, 1855.

TILE WAR.

CAPTURE OF KINBURN.
THE arrival of the long-anticipated despatches of
Sir Edward Lyons relating the capture of Kinburn
at length places the full details of that operation
before us. The arrangements of the allied Admirals
appear to have been made with a view to every pos-
sible contingency. INothing was neglected, every-
thing was provided for, and, as a result, the most
complete success crowned the attempt. For an ac-
quaintance with the movements of the fleet since the
capture of the fort we are entirely indebted to the
Russian telegraph, which has daily chronicled, and
apparently with minute accuracy, every movement in
the allied fleet or forces. After the capture of the 18th,
nothing further was attempted on that or the suc-
ceeding day. On the morning of the 20th, a squadron
consisting of 6 steamers, 15 gun-boats, and 5 mortar-
vessels, in order to ascertain the soundings, ascended
the Bug for some distance, until they reached Point
Volosschkaia, where a field battery opened fire upon
them. After sustaining and replying to the fire for
some time, the necessary soundings having been
taken, the squadron returned to its anchorage at the
mouth of the river. On the 21st a squadron of gun-
boats and steamers again ascended the river, and
partially engaged the batteries ; and in the later
despatches, of the 22nd and 23rd, from Nicolaieff, it
will be seen that, although no movement up to that
date had taken place, the boats of the fleet were
busily engaged sounding and buoying the passage of
the Dnieper. Whether any future operations will
be attempted does not yet appear to be decided.
The land force is strongly intrenching itself at Kin-
burn, and from the smallness of the force (15,000
men), it is scarcely probable that any serious opera-
tions against Nicolaieff are really contemplated.

RUSSIAN DESPATCHES.
In its impression of Oct. 23rd, the Journal de St.
Petersbourg publishes the following :

Nicolaieff, Oct. 22, quarter to one.

No change has taken place in the enemy's position.
The main body of the fleet remains at anchor near the
Kinburn Spit, and its detachment of light vessels in the
roadstead of Otchakoff, and at the mouth of the Bug;
the total of these forces amounts to ninety-three vessels.
To-day, in the forenoon, a few ships of these detach-
ments reascended the Bug and the Dnieper, but only a
short way, and soon returned to their moorings. The
vesse's that reascended the Bug did not even come so
high up as the spot where they exchanged, yesterday, some
cannon-shots with our artillery.
The enemy's land troops are stationed between the
suburb and fortress of Kinburn.

Nicolaieff, Oct. 23, R p.m.

The position of the enemy's squadron off Kinburn has
not been changed. Their steamers and floating•batteries
are in the 'Otchakoff roads, in the embouchure of the Bug,
opposite the village of Pat unno, and in the embouchure of
the Dnieper, between Stanislav and Rybaltchiz.
At the mouth of the Dnieper the enemy is actively
engaged in taking soundings along the southern bank of
the river.
The number of troops landed on the spit of Kinburn
has not been increased.
According to the statement of three English sailors,
who, having ventured on shore, were made prisoners by
the Cossacks of one of our detachments, a part of the
invading army of the enemy is still on board the vessels of
the fleet; it amounts, including the troops disembarked,
to about 15,004) men.
Aide-de-Camp General Prince Gortschakoff an-
nounces, under date of Oct. 20, that the enemy bad
again come down from the mountains that separate
the valley of Baidar from that of the Belbeck, and
that he had halted.
He has reinforced himself evidently at Eupatoria,
but has not yet undertaken anything from that
point. •
Despatches have also been received from the Sea
of Azoff, containing full particulars from Captain
Osborn of the late expedition to Taman and Fana-
goria, which was carried out with the most perfect
success; and a fiwther despatch from Major• General
nacres to the Commander-in• Chief calls attention to
the great and distinguished services of the engineer
and attillery officers during the eleven months'
siege, and six bombardments of Sebastopol.

OFFICIAL DESPATCHES.
DESPATCH FROM GENERAL SIMPSON.

Lord Fanmure received the following despatch
from General Sir James Simpson, G.C.8., on
Thursday :

Sebastopol, October 20.
I am happy to be able to congratulate your
lordship on the successful termination of the
expedition to 'auburn. I transmit a copy of the