The Press.
London, England, 1855-11-10 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

taken the command of Kherson. The reserve division
which was hitherto at Kherson has been transferred to

Perekop.
The correspondent of the Daily News, alluding to
the apparent delay of the admirals in attempting
a coup de main upon Nicolaieffi states that great
dissatisfaction prevails in the fleet; and at the same
times does not mention any of those certain difficul-
ties of booms and batteries which will have to be

encountered :
Since leaving Sebastopol I have had not a few opportu-
nities of mingling with the officers of the fleet, and from
hardly lan individual of them have I heard any but such
expressions of dissatisfaction, almost bordering on disgust,
when animadverting on the marvellous hesitancy and
waste of time with which the expedition has as yet been
conducted. So again in this minor gun-boat affair. We
have steamed some twenty-five miles, wasted four days,
and literally done nothing whatever. So far as anything
can be learned, there is as yet only one other (eleven•gun)
battery, about five miles higher up the river than that
which fired upon us ; whilst there is at the same time an
average depth of more than twenty feet of water right up
to the southern face of the town of Nicolaieff, off which
our gun-boats and steam•sloops could safely lie, and shell
the dockyard and other public buildings beyond, without
being in any degree exposed to the fire of a heavy fort on
the next bend of the river.
- - -

Our small force is closely watched on all sides by
Cossacks, who appear to be pretty numerous, and
any attempt at landing is unsafe
The Cossacks are everywhere, and it is impossible to
land, although there are great temptations offered to the
sportsman by the enormous flocks of wild swans, geese,
ducks, teal, and widgeon, which frequent the reedy borders
of the sea ; and to the less fastidious and more substan-
tial tastes of those who, tired of salt meat, and with larders
exhausted, sigh after the lowing line, fat bullocks, and
poultry of the enemy. It is not safe to approach the shore
—the telegraphs communicate every motion of the fleet,
and no boat could go near the shore without its being
known, and an ambush laid for the crew. The other day
some of the crew of Lord Arthur Gordon took a boat, and
landed some miles down the Spit, encouraged by the suc-
cessful result of a previous day's forage. They were at-
tacked by a body of Cossacks, who seized three of them
and dragged them off into captivity, fastened to their
horses' tails and saddlebows.—Times cor., Oct. 23.
A reconnaissance had taken place on the 23rgand
the troops had advanced a short distance towards
Kherson, but beyond burning a few farms nothing of
any consequence had resulted. Two splendid rafts
of timbers had been found in the marshes of the
mouth of the Dnieper :
A huge raft of wood, 450 feet long and about 100 feet
wide, and six feet deep, lay floating off one of the mouths,
and the Spitfire was busily engaged in getting off a similar
raft, which had been grounded among the reeds. The first
raft, which is the larger of the two, consists, like the
latter, of splendid pieces of white oak, of great length and
thickness, intended for the dockyard of Nicolaieff. Jt is
strongly clamped, screwed, and secured by ropes in every
part, and a well-built and substantial house is erected on
it for the use of the navigatots. The second raft is similar
in all respects to the first in the quality and size of the
timber, but there is no house upon it. It is calculated
the value of the timber is at least 20,0001. They were, no
doubt, intended for the Imperial navy, and would have
been safe in Nicolaieff in a few days had we not forced the
Otchakoff passage. The Spiteful took one raft in tow,
and the Spitfire, after much hard work and tugging at the
second, signalled, about nine o'clock, " The raft is afloat."
No one superintended the operation on the part of the Czar
save two solitary Cossacks, who craned over the rushes to
look at it.—Titnes cor., Oct. 24.
On the 22nd, Sir Edmund Lyons came round from
Kinburn, and with the French admiral proceeded to
inspect the coast towards Kherson. At Stanislaff
they found evidence of the manner in which the
Russians can throw up a battery on short notice:—
At 2.30 the admirals returned from their cruise and
stood in towards Stanislaff, which the French admiral is
anxious to burn, particularly on account of the posts on
the beach. As they approached, it was clear the enemy
thought two British admirals did not fly their flags together
for nothing. A strong body of infantry was drawn up on
the heights among the houses, which were, no doubt, filled
with riflemen, and a very considerable force of field artil•
lery was collected in the rear in case the admirals and post
captains determined to land and take Stanislaff by assault,
and that the Danube and Spitfire should attempt to bom-
bard the place. It was really wonderful to see that the
Russians had erected a solid compact-looking sand battery
with five embrasures on the sandbank below the town,
where no trace of such a work existed twenty-four hours
previously.—Timer cor., Oct. 22.
THE RUSSIAN RESOURCES.

-
In the neighbourhood of Kinburn, at least, the
Russians do not appear to be in such danger of
starving for want of good food as is generally repre-
sented. From Kinburn over the vast steppes of
Kherson, far away on the left, nothing but herds of
cattle, stacks of corn and hay, and homesteads are to
be seen :

The most prominent objects on the edge of this steppe,
of which little can be seen from the deck of a ship, are the
telegraph stations, farmhouses of great extent, herds
grazing, Cossacks, and windmills. On ascending to the
masthead the steppe is seen to extend in vast sheets to the
horizon, its monotonous level being little diversified by the
few tumuli and deep watercourses visiblefor many leagues.