The Press.
London, England, 1855-06-23 00:00:00

During the night repeated attacks, six in all, were made
upon our men iu the quarries, who defended their new
acquisition with the utmost courage and pertinacity, and
at a great sacrifice of life, against superior numbers, con-
tinually replenished.

June 8.

June 9, Twelve o'clock.

At this last moment I bear it stated that the Russians
are carrying shot and shell off to the other side of the har-
bour—that may mean that they are getting ready for a
bolt, a la bonne heure—may it prove true.
Last night passed quietly—that is to say, so far as
attacks on either side were concerned—but the shelling was

micessively heavy during the whole time.
Russian prisoners and deserters represent their lose in
these battles as enormous. 25,000 men are spoken of as
their loss since the reopening of the bombardment; 15,000
alone during the attack the other day.
There is a truce to-day for the burying of the dead on
both sides.

The following official despatches had been pr
viously received from Lord Raglan :
Before Sebastopol, June 5, 1855.
I have great satisfaction in informing your lordship that
I received intelligence the night before last of the evacua-
tion of Soujak Kale by the Russians on the 28th ult.
It appears that previously to their retirement from the
place the troops destroyed the principal buildings and the
armament, which consisted of about sixty heavy guns and
six mortars, and it is concluded that they have joined the
garrison of Anapa, from whence many of the inhabitants
have removed.
Sir Edmund Lyons has been so good as to send me the
detached report of the naval operations in the Sea of Azoff,
which will reach England either before or at the same
time as this despatch. They reflect the highest credit on
Captain Lyons of the Miranda, and the officers and men
serving under his orders, and are remarkable for the intel-
ligence, gallantry, and judgment with which they have
been conducted ; and it is a matter of much grain ation,
which will be peculiarly felt by her Majesty, that whilst
great injury has been inflicted on the enemy in the loss of
resources of every description, the most brilliant and
wawonted success has been achieved in an incredibly short
tame with only one casualty, and that not of a serious
assure.
_ . _

These gallant exploits of the navy have spread joy in
our camps, and afforded vast satisfaction to every indi-
vidual in the army.
A body of French troops, under the command of General
Morris and General Canrobert, and a column of the Sar-
dinian corps, under General de la Marmora, made a recon-
naissance on Balder, on the morning of the 3rd.
The former proceeded along the Woronzow road, and
pushed their cavalry several miles beyond Binder ; the
latter operated on the left, through a mountainous district,
and advanced into Bidder, after a fatiguing march.
Only a small number of Cossacks showed themselves.
Nothing has occurred in front of the town.
1 inclose the return of casualties to the 3rd instant
inclusive. _

June 5.

I am deeply concerned to have to inform your lordship
that. Rear• Admiral Boxer died on board the Jason last
night, outside the harbour of Balaklava, after a very short
illness.

He was removed to that ship in the hope that the pure
sea air might prove beneficial to him ; but this expectation
was not fulfilled. His malady made rapid progress, and
early in the afternoon of yesterday it was intimated to me
that his life was despaired of.
His nephew died of cholera last week, and this melan-
choly event so deeply affected him that his health at once
gave way, and he sunk under the same disease.
It is well known that this officer devoted his whole life
to the public service. Since he undertook the appoint-
ment of Admiral Superintendent of the harbour of Bala-
klava be has applied himself incessantly to the discharge
of his arduous duties, exposing himself in all weathers ;
and he has rendered a most essential service to the army
Jr/ improving the landing-places and establishing wharfs
gate west side of the port, whereby the disembarkation
,Wltbores and troops has been greatly accelerated, and
Leternmunications with the shore have been rendered much
easier.

June 5.

have the honour to inclose a letter from the Inspector.
General of Hospitals forwarding the weekly state of the
sick of the army.
The cholera has sensibly diminished in the camps before
Sebastopol, but it has attacked the Guards and the 31st
Regiment, near lialaklava, and some of the new batteries,
as well as the followers of the army in that town. It is
hoped that the disease will pass from them as it has from
the stations where it first appeared.
I am grieved to have to say that it has fallen heavily on
the Sardinian Contingent, and that General de la Marmots
is in great anxiety about it. lam rendering him all the
assistance in my power. Whilst writing to your lordship
an officer has brought me a letter from him, announcing
that his brother, General de la Marmora, who commands
his second division, has been very severely attacked. He
has been accomodated with a quarter at Kadikoi, and every
attention shall be paid him. RAGLAN.

THE ARMY WORKS CORPS.
Under this title a body of men are now organised for
immediate service at the seat of war, where they relieve
the troops from a long series of severe and most
harassing duties. The corps is 1,000 strong at present,
brut will probably be increased if found to answer the ob-
jects for which it has been formed. There are MOO
" navvies " organised into gangs of twenty-five. seventy
carpenters and smiths, and silty-five artificers. including
in that term shoemakers, tailors, harnessmakera, barbers,
aid other special crafts. The staff consists of a chief
othcer,hir. Doyne, who is a civil engineer of high promise ;

THE PRESS.

a superintendent of works, Mr. Pope, who has participated
in some of the most remarkable undertakings that have
been executed in this country; six assistant-superinten-
dents, all tried men; a superintendent of stores and com-
missariat supplies, a secretary, paymaster, chaplain, two
surgeons, and a dresser; au assistant-storekeeper, five
clerks, eleven foremen, and two gangers. The corps
strictly preserves its civil character, having no uniform,
being engaged during the continuance of the war as for
any ordinary job, entitled to neither pension nor honours,
and not expected or bound to take any share whatever in
the fighting. The men, however, have not hesitated to
engage to work under fire, they consent to place them-
selves under the provisions of the Mutiny Act, and while
they are under the supreme and absolute direction of Mr.
Doyne, he takes his orders from Sir Harry Jones and
Lord Raglan. None of the suhordinate authorities of the
army, except the head of the Royal Engineers, will be en-
titled to exercise control over the corps, and in his case it
must be done through the chief. The duties which they
will have to discharge may, perhaps, best be described
under the rather vague term of making themselves
"generally useful ; " as among the objects of the corps are
the formation of siege or field works, the construction of
bridges, the making and repairing roads, building huts,
erecting and striking tents, draining and cleansing the
sites of encampments, sinking wells, digging grave-pits,
mending damaged materials of all kinds, and, in fact, doing
a multitude of " odd jobs," the inability to attend to which
is one of the chief causes why in military operations in the
field there is such a waste of things indispensable to the
efficiency and success of troops.
Respecting the equipment of the new corps, there is a
good deal which is worthy of special notice. The means
of shelter and of cooking, the clothing and land transport
provided, are all excellent, and the greatest care, inventive
skill, and forethought have been exercised in making them
as perfect as possible. It was justly considered a matter
of primary importance to obtain tents of such improved
construction, and so fitted internally, as to afford substan-
tial guarantees for the health of the men. Accordingly,
for each gang of twenty-five a tent of the bell shape, but
three or four times larger than that used by the Ordnance,
has been supplied. The top is furnished with an umbrella
ventilator of metal, which can be raised or lowered at plea-
sure, and will secure a good and wholesome atmosphere at
all times to the inmates. The tent pole is of metal
tubing, in pieces, and so arranged as to form the chimney
to the cooking-stove if desired, or otherwise to assist in
the ventilation. Round the interior aie ranged in a circle
twenty-five very lightly-framed bedsteads of angle iron,
which lift the men off the damp ground, fold up in the
simplest manner, and are so clntrived that the sacking at
one end, by giving it a slight elevation, forms a comfort-
able pillow. They each weigh only 191 b., yet they have
ample strength to bear the burly, stalwart fellows who are
to sleep on them. It will give some idea of the spacious
character of the tents when we state that, with the bed-
steads in their places, a clear space of eighteen feet
diameter is left unoccupied in the centre.
The cooking-stove sent out with each gang is so arranged
as to burn any kind of fuel and boil or steam for a mess of
thirty at least. Every navvy takes out with him in a bag a
well-selected kit, adapted both for warm weather and cold,
and not too bulky, nor containing a single superfi nous articl e.
With respect to the land transport arrangements of the
corps, they present several important improvements upon
ordinary military practice. Light one-horse carts are made,
weighing only ficwt. 41b., with the shafts, by a clever de-
, vice, converted into strong yet excellent springs, and the
whole so well balanced as to render the draught as easy as
possible for the animal. These carts seem admirably
adapted for the purpose which they are intended to serve,
and might advantageously be used as a pattern for the
general land transport service of the army. They would
make at a pinch very fair ambulances, and, contrasted with
the lumbering springless waggons of the French equipage
mililaire, their superiority is in every way conspicuous.
Every gang will have a cart, which, when loaded with tent,
bedsteads, stove, and all appurtenances, will not weigh
more than 141 cwt.—a very moderate load to draw.
Such are the leading features in the equipment of the
new corps, which is immediately to take its departure for
the East in ships provided with every suitable arrangement
for the comfort of the men by W. S. Lindsay and Co. The
care and skill with which the corps has been organised, and
the many improvements introduced in its equipment, are
entirely due to Sir Joseph Paxton, who was the first to call
attention to the valuable aid which might thus be rendered
to the army, and who was intrnsted by Lord Panmure with
the task which he has ably and gratuitously executed.

Lord Panmure went down to Sydenham on Wednesday
morning to satisfy himself by a personal inspection that
the organisation and equipment of the c rps were complete.
In the wounds of the Crystal Palace he examined every
detail of the arrangements, and had the staff presented to
him by Sir Joseph Paxton, and addressed suceessively to
them and to such of the navvies as were present on the
oceasion a few words of encouragement and advice. Ilia
lordship expressed great confidence in the success of the
undertaking, which he had closely at heart, and in which
he considered his reputation as Minister of War to be
involved.

MAJOR NAsmrrit, the gallant colleague of the brave
and lamented Butler in the defence of Silistria, has
been appointed to the office of Assistant-Adjutant
General of the Kilkenny military distric:, until suffi-
ciently restored to health to return to the seat of war.

THE Irish claim General Pelissier as the son of a
countryman. It is said that his father was a Limerick
gentleman, a Mr. Palisser, who was obliged to fly
from Ireland during the troubles of 1798.
REAR-ADMIRAL CHARLES H. FREMANTLE has been
selected by the Admiralty to succeed Rear-Admiral
Boxer at Balaklava.

SATURDAY,

REPORT OF THE SEBASTOPOL INQUIRY
COMMIT fE E.

THIS document, after a prolonged discussion and
frequent deliberations among the members of the
committee, was finally agreed to on Monday last.
Upon that same evening the paper was laid on the
table of the house, and, upon the motion of Mr.
Disraeli, read very audibly by the Clerk at the table,
so as to give the members, who were very numerously
in attendance, the earliest possible information of its
contents. The report thus presented is exceedingly
voluminous, the committee having analysed the
enormous mass of evidence collected during their
many sittings, recapitulating the points of chief force
and importance, and presenting the conclusions at
which they arrived upon a variety of administrative
and executive departments, both of the civil and
military services. Our limits prevent us from giving
more than a bare skeleton of the results arrived at
in this report. The committee begin by setting
forth the ditticulties of the task and the distribution
of the topics presented for investigation :
The complicated nature of this inquiry, the variety of
subjects investigated, the number of witnesses examined,
and the frequent inconsistency and contrariety of the
evidence, render it no easy task tc present a clear, definite,
and just exposition of the matters submitted to your com-
mittee.

The difficulty of this task has been enhanced by the
impossibility of summoning some persons as witnesses
who might have furnished important information. From
the same cause some persons are left under imputations,
in regard to which your committee regret that they can
pronounce no conclusive opinion. The fulness of the
investigation has, moreover. been restricted by considera-
tions of State policy, so that in the outset of this report
your committee must admit that they have been compelled
to end an inquiry which they have been unable satisfac-
torily to complete.
Having offered this preliminary explanation, your com-
mittee will endeavour to state, as shortly as the subject
will allow, the opinions which they have formed in regard
to the following heads of this inquiry, viz.:-
1. The condition of our army before Sebastopol.
2. The conduct of the departments, both at home and
abroad, whose duty it has been to minister to the wants of
that army.

On the first head very brief observations are
Trade, the subject being treated in ample detail when
the departmental performances and failures came
under consideration. As a general conclusion it is
remarked :

An army encamped in a hostile country, at a distance
of 3,000 miles from England, and engaged during a severe
winter in besieging a fortress which, from want of numbers,
it could not invest, was necessarily plated in a situation
where unremitting fatigue and hardship had to be endured.
Your committee are, however, of opinion that this amount
of unavoidable suffering has been aggravated by causes
hereafter enumerated, and which are mainly to be attri-
buted to dilatory and insufficient arrangements for the
supply of this army with necessaries indispensable to its
healthy and effective condition. In arriving at this opinion
they have made allowance for the unexpected severity of
the storm on the 16th of November, and they have not
been unmindful of the difficulties which a long period of
peace must inevitably produce at the commencement of a
campaign.

Passing on to review the " conduct of the depart-
ments," the committee state :

Of the GOVERNMENT AT HOME :
The responsibility of the expedition to the Crimea rests
upon the Home Government To Lord Raglan
was left a discretion only "in case of some insuperable
impediment."
The Cabinet appear to have been confident of success.
Lord Aberdeen states it to have been their impression that
Sebastopol would fall almost immediately by a coup de
main. The Duke of Newcastle says, that h_ expected the
army, after capturing Sebastopol, would winter there, or
else, after destroying the fortress, would return to winter
on the shores of the Bosphorus. Sir James Graham has
the strongest opinion that the order for the expedition
was given at the right time, and was executed at the right
time.

The general direction of the war was in the hands of the
Duke of Newcastle, who in the spring of Isti-1 held the
office of Secretary for War and Colonies. In July these
departments were divided, and the duke, being relieved
from colonial duties, undertook the immediate conduct of
the war.

When this important change was effected it does not ap-
pear that any order in council, minute, or other docu-
ment, was prepared defining the special ditties of the War
Department. In making the separation between the
Secretaryships of War and the Colonies, together with the
transference of the Commissariat from the Treasury
to the Secretary for War, the Cabinet considered that they
had adopted measures initiatory to other changes which
would necessarily follow. The members of the Cabinet
did not, however, hold any consultations upan the changes
to be made, or the best mode of effecting them; they sepa-
rated, as usual, at the close of the parliamentary session
in August, and as they were not summoned to a meeting
they did not reassemble in council until the second week
of Octol er. At a later period of the year Lord John Russell
expressed his dissatisfaction with the state of the War I te-
partment, and suggested Lord Palmerston as the fittest
person for the office of Secretary of War. He adduced
some CIL9f9 where he said there had been a want of rigour
in the exercise of authority, although the Cabinet, he added,

JUNE 23, 1855.

" had done much in its recent meetings to repair omis-
sions." Your committee notice with regret, that the
Cabinet did nut meet in August or September, when these
omissions might have been sooner remedied. Lord John
Russell also observes, that " the House of Commons would
expect, after six or seven months' deliberation, a final ar-
rangement of th War Department." Your committee can
find no trace of these deliberations ; and any evils that may
have resulted from delay in such arrangements are, there
fore, properly laid to the charge of the Cabinet.
At the date of the expedition to the East no reserve
was provided at home adequate to the undertaking. Mr.
Sidney Herbert states in his memorandum of the '27th of
November, " the army in the East has been created by
discounting the future. Every regiment at home, or within
reach, and not forming part of that army, has been robbed
to complete it. The depots of battalions under Lord
Raglan have been similarly treated."
The men sent out to reinforce the army were recruits
who had not yet become fit for foreign service, and the
depots at home were too weak to feed the companies
abroad.

In December the power of reinforcing the army with
efficient soldiers was so reduced that the Government
thought it necessary to introduce a Foreign Enlistment
Bill for the purpose of raising a foreign legion.
Your committee must express their regret that the
formation of a large reserve at home, and also in the prox-
imity of the seat of war, was not considered at a much
earlier period, and that the Government, well knowing the
limited numbers of the British army, the nature of the
climate in the East, as well as the power we were about
to encounter, did not at the commencement of the war take
means to augment the ranks of the army beyond the ordi•
nary recruiting, and also that earlier steps were not taken
to render the militia available both fur the purpose of obtain-
ing supplies of men, and also, in case of necessity, for the
relief of regiments of the line stationed in garrisons in the
Mediterranean—measures which they found themselves

compelled to adopt at a later period.
Of the SECRETARY FOR WAR:
On accepting the Secretaryship for War, the Duke of
Newcastle found himself in this disadvantageous position
—he had no separate office for his departments—he had
no document prescribing his new duties, no precedents for
his guidance, and his under-secretaries were new to the
work. _ _ .

The duke was imperfectly acquainted with the best mode
of exercising his authority over the subordinate depart.
ments, and these departments were not officially informed
of their relative position, or of their new duties towards the
Minister for War. His interference was sought for in
matters of detail, wherein his time should not have been
occupied, and he was left unacquainted with transactions of
which he should have received official cognisance. Feeling
his large responsibilities, he took upon himself to remedy
innumerable deficiencies which were brought to his notice,
ai.d, in the meantime, matters of paramount necessity were

postponed.
The evidence, moreover, shows that the duke was long
left in ignorance, or was misinformed respecting the pro-
gress of affairs in the East. He was not, mil a late
period, made acquainted with the state of the hospitals at
Scutari, and the horrible mode in which the sick and
wounded were conveyed from Balaklava to the Bosphorus.
Lord Aberdeen has signiiteantly observed that the Govern-
ment were left in ignorance longer than they ought to have
been of the real state of matters in the East. The
Ministers, he says, were informed of the condition of the
army from the public papers and private sources long
before they heard it officially, and not hearing it officially
they discredited the rumours around them. Thus,
while the whole country was dismayed by reports, and was
eagerly looking for some gleam of official intelligence, the
Cabinet, according to the statement of Ministers, was in
darkness.
Harassed by these rumours, and perplexed by the in•
dissreet silence of those who should have enlightened him,
the duke sent a commission to inquire into the state of the
hospitals at Scutari and in the Crimea. The commission
was issued in October; it did not report until April. A
form of proceeding suited to redress grievances at home, or
to become a basis for legislative measures, was ill adapted
to relieve the pressing wants of 5,000 men suffering under
mismanagement and neglect.

Of the SECRETARY-AT-WAR:—
The authority of a Secretary of State, when exerted,
must necessarily override the control of a Secretary-at.
War. Mr. Sidney Herbert, as Secretary-at-War, had no
power to originate anything ; but from praiseworthy
motives, and with a view to relieve the Duke of Newcastle,
he undertook to do a duty which was not the business of
his office.

Of the ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT :
In April, 1854, Lord Raglan, the Master-General of the
Ordnance, was appointed to the command of the forces in
the East; and shortly afterwards Sir Hew Ross was named
Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance—an office which had
been for many years abolished, but which was now revived.
Lord Aberdeen, in making this appointment, had to
some extent in view the abolition of the office of Master-
General. This subject had not, however, been considered
by the Cabinet, and in the meantime the Ministers believed
that the Lieutenant-General would have all the authority of
Master-General. The Lieutenant-General does not possess
this power. He is only a hoard officer.
During the summer and autumn of 1854, a board officer,
the Surveyor• General, was also employed abroad ; so that
during a period when the pressure of business was heavier,
and when the expenditure of this department was larger
than in any previous year, two officers were wanting whose
functions the most economical Administrations had been
unable to dispense with in times of peace. The evils
arising from the absence of the Master-General are abun-
dantly exhibited in the evidence, while it would seem

THE PRESS.

from the language of Sir Hew Ross that he was imper-
fectly acquainted with the constitution of the board of
which he was a member.
From the evidence it will be seen that a conflict of
authority arose between the members of this board. At a
time when urgent business required their attention they
were engaged in disputes, in preparing statements, and in
making appeals to the Secretary of State for War. In
noticing the unseemly conduct of this board, and the differ-
ences which were brought prominently forward in the
evidence, your committee observe with regret that the
public service has suffered from the want of judgment and
temper on the part of officers who were intrusted during a
critical period with important public duties.
Your committee must express their dissatisfaction with
the administration of the contract system under this
department, and they consider that no change will be
offective wbich does not lead to a revisal and amendment
of this branch of the office.
The committee then proceed to advert in succes-
sion to the transport services at home, in the Bos-
phorus, the Black Sea, and the Mediterranean ; the
commissariat service at home and in the East; the
land transport, the road, the depots, the commis-
sariat supplies ; forage; the medical service ; the
hospitals at Scutari; on all of which topics state-
ments and comments are given at great length, but
presenting no facts or judgments with which the
public are not already familiar.
The report then concludes :
Your committee have now adverted to the chief points
' contained in the replies to above 21,000 questions ; and in
noticing these various subjects they have divided them
under distinct heads, in order fairly to apportion the re-

aponsibility.
Your committee report that the suffering of the army
resulted mainly from the circumstances under which the
expedition to the Crimea was undertaken and executed.
The Administration which ordered that expedition had no
adequate information as to the amount of the forces in the
Crimea. They were not acquainted with the strength of
the fortresses to be attacked, or with the resources of the
country to be invaded. They hoped and expected the ex-
pedition to be immediately successful, and as they did not
foresee the probability of a protracted struggle they made
no provision for a winter campaign.
The patience and fortitude of this army demand the
admiration and gratitude of the nation on whose behalf they
have fought, bled, and suffered. Their heroic valour, and
equally heroic patience under sufferings and privations,
have given them claims upon their country which will
doubtless be gratefully acknowledged.
Your committee will now close their report with a hope
that every British army may in future display the valour
which this noble army has displayed, and that none may
hereafter he exposed to such sufferings as are recorded in
these pages.

THE Queen visited the military hospitals at Chat-
ham on Tuesday. When inspecting the invalids at
Fort Pitt, her Majesty was conducted by Dr. George
Dartnell, P.M.O. to No. 6 Wardlwhere afew extreme
cases prevented their appearing with their comrades
in the gardens of that establishment. In this ward
were two men, one with a white cap of very light
texture on his head, the other lame and his face
bandaged, who particularly attracted her Majesty's
attention. After their cases had been described by
Drs. Dartnell and Perry, her Majesty kindly inquired
where they felt their pain, expressing the hope that
they would soon be better, and concluding the inter-
view by taking both their cards away, doubtless to be
remembered in due time. The wounded man with
a light cap is Thomas Walker, 95th Regiment, a
very young man, who at the battle of Inkermann was
valiantly making his way against the foe, when a
shell, bursting over his head, took a considerable por-
tion of the top of the skull away, laying the brain
quite exposed. He became unconscious, and in this
state wandered about for four or five hours, being se-
parated from the main body, and was making his way
to the very front of the enemy, when two Zonaves
kindly took him in charge to his camp, where he was
received into hospital. This young man had three
pieces of his skull removed at Scutari, one piece on
board the Sydney, and last Saturday underwent
another operation, when two more large pieces of the
skull were skilfully displaced by Dr. Perry, under the
inspection of Dr. Dartnell, the principal medical
officer of the fort. Walker has displayed a great
amount of moral courage, and is most grateful to the
chaplain, Mr. Stimson, for conversing and condoling
with him : he will occasionally say, " It was a nasty
rap—was it not, sir?"

ONE among the many interesting objects in the
British Camp before Sebastopol is the Sappers'
Church, Right Attack, where the Rev. Mr. Taylor
officiates. Its structure affords an excellent example
of the adaptation of local circumstances to a parti-
cular object. It is built wholly of siege apparatus,
but these are neither injured nor rendered unfit for
their ultimate purpose; on the contrary, the mate•
rials are so arranged that they are only in store, as
it were, ready for use as soon as required. The
articles employed in the construction have been
scaling-ladders, gabions, fascines, timber ready cut
and shaped for gun-platforms, a few planks, and
some pieces of rope.

THE BALTIC FLEET.
(From our own Correspondent.)

JUNE 7.—The mail that should have been here on
the 4th has only just arrived, having been detained
by fogs, which are very prevalent at this time of the
year in this part of the world : they sometimes last
two and three days. We hear from Faro that the
first lieutenant of the Duke of Wellington, Lieutenant
Hannant, who was in command of the Princess Alice,
has died of smallpox at the hospital there. Poor
fellow ! he was a great favorite in the fleet, and is
universally and deeply regretted. Two more of the
Mike's men have also died, making five in all.
Arrogant has arrived here; the crew much improved
in health, although it cannot be said yet that she is
clear entirely of the smallpox. Colossus and Hogue
have sailed to-day for Bero Sound, to watch the
movements of the Russian fleet in Sweaborg, Baro
Sound being a most convenient anchorage for that
purpose. It is about twelve miles as the crow flies
from Helsingfors Harbour; and from the top of a
lighthouse which is placed on a small island within
a quarter of a mile of the anchorage they can see
every movement of the enemy's squadron. The
Magicienne has just gone on a reconnoitring cruise
again towards Biorko and Viborg, where she will
have a famous chance of making some prize money.
Grand dinners are going on between the English
and French admirals. The officers also are amusing
themselves, and exchanging civilities with our allies ;
so that the entente cordiale, so desirable in these
days, is very apparent amongst us.
JuNr: B.—News has just arrived by the Lightning,
who is the bearer of despatches from the blockading
squadron, of the most painful and harrowing nature,
which makes my blood ran cold to narrate. It ap-
pears that the captain of the Cossack, who was
cruising off Hango Head, overconfident in the idea
that the troops were withdrawn from that neighbour-
hood—having himself some days previous to the

occurrence I am about to relate landed and taken a
walk—sent a boat on shore to land some wretched
fishermen who had been taken in wood vessels.
Fearing nothing, the lieutenant in charge of the
boat (Geneste, se"ond of Cossack) took with him but
few arms, and allowed the surgeon and the captain's,
gun room, and midshipmen's stewards to accompany
him to purchase provisions. It appears that on the
boat leaving the ship she palled in for the small
village of Hango. On arriving at a small jetty they
showed a flag of truce, and proceeded to land, the
lieutenant carrying the flag in his hand on a staff,
when some five or six hundred troops appeared sud-
denly from amongst the houses, and the officer in
command, advancing, called out, in good English,
" I know nothing about your flag of truce," and
turning to the men he ordered them to fire. Poor
Geneste and all those already on shore at once fell,
pierced by a hundred bullets. The ruffians then
rushed en to the boat, and deliberately shot every
man in her. They then stripped the bodies, and let
the boat float away. A black man (the only survivor),
who formed one of the crew, and who was shot in
three places, thus describes this melancholy and
disgraceful affair. He accounts for his being saved
by stating that the Russians, supposing him dead,
left him in the host, and that a light breeze off the
shore drifted her to seaward. The ship, which it
appears was at anchor out of sight, and knew nothing
of what was going on, stood in the next morning, and
picked her up riddled through and through with
musket-balls. I cannot describe the indignation
that is felt by all here at this atrocious infringement
of the usages of war—this villano us murder of un-
armed men, including their own countrymen. So
barbarous a proceeding I should say has no parallel
in modern days. I shall refrain from giving an
opinion as to the discretion shown by the captain of
the Cossack in leaving his boat thus to the mercy of
a treacherous enemy, as a court-martial or inquiry
will certainly be held, and it would be unjust to pre•
judge so serious an affair. The Pylades is sent to
relieve Cossack, and in a few days the opinion of
fourteen captains will be recorded, and the publio
will be able to judge for themselves. You will see
by this, and by what I am now going to relate, that
times are getting much more stirring. Yesterday
the Merlin and Firefly—the former with the French
admiral and staff on board, besides several captains
and officers from the different ships—went to the
northward of Cronstadt, to have a look at the fortifi-
cations, &-c. As they were passing over the same
ground that they had surveyed on previous occasions,