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

LORD PANMURE'S RECRUITS.I

The recruits who are sent out even at this day are
mere raw boys, and so thoroughly ignorant even of

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he use of the rifle that no little disgrace is reflected
upon the authorities at home for supplying the army
with such inefficient material :
All the officers with whom I converse on the subject de-
plores the necessity under which Government finds, or
considers, itself placed, of tilling up the gaps iu our army
in the East with recruits of tender age and no instruction,
peculiarly liable to be struck down by disease, and com-
paratively inefficient in front of the enemy. Owing to the
smallness of our army when the war began, and the heavy
losses since suffered from sickness and the sword, some
young and raw soldiers must inevitably be sent out, but it
is thought that ought not to be the ease to such au extent
' as it at present is. It is a well•known and proven fact that
some of the recruits lately sent out were ignorant, on their
arrival here, how their musket or minis should be fired.

They had been enlisted one day and embiuked the next.
And of these some were sent to take the ltedan! Granted

that after nearly two months of deplorable inaction, spent
in waiting on the movements and preparing for the attack
of the foe we had defeated, bad weather is now at hand,

and campaigning becomes impracticable ; but do the
authorities at home imagine that during the four months'

rain, mud, snow, and storm we may now expect their raw
material will be converted into skilled soldiers? The ex•
pectatiun is rather too sanguine.—Times cur., Oct. 25.
As an instance of penny wise and pound foolishness
on the part of the Government at home, we may
offer the following fact with regard to " tarpaulins "
for covering the reserve stores of provisions collected
at the head-quarters of the different divisions :

Besides the c 3ntents of store-huts, one sees great masses
of rations piled up in the open air, on spots from which
deep surrounding trenches will carry off the rain. Here
are huge mountains of pressed hay, piles of barrels, heaps
of sacks, telling of providence and promising abundance.
Trunks and branches of trees (firewood) raise these pro-
visions sufficiently from the ground to preserve them from
its humidity, and many of the packages—such as casks of
beef, rum, not be injured by water pouring down
upon them. For other descriptions of rations—such as
hay, straw, and corn—it appears to me that the amount of
tarpaulin covering is insufficient. lam assured that this is
in no way the fault of the Commissariat, but that, on applica-
tion being made some time ago for several thousand tarpaulins,
the reply was that these were very expensive, and that shift
must be made for the present with what were already provided
—namely, with about as many hundreds as there had been
thousands asked for!—lb.
THE HUTTING PREPARATIONS.
In spite of all the reports of the foresight and care
of the War-office, it appears that only a limited por-
tion of the army will be huttod this winter :
It has been announced by officers most competent to
give an opinion on the subject, that only a very limited
proportion of officers and men can expect to be provided
with hut accommodation. Under these circumstances, it
is hoped that no more draughts may be sent from either
England or Malta until the spring, for Assuredly if they
come during the cold and rainy season, which we have a
right to expect shortly, the change from barracks to damp
tents will be productive of much sickness and mortality.
Even many of those now in camp, and who, under the in•
fluence of warm and genial weather, have preserved their
health, will suffer when the rain and frost find them still
in tents.—D. News cor., Oct 22.
The authorities appear to cling to the hope that
the Karabelnaia suburb will yet be available:—

In consequence of the intended occupation of Sebasto-
pol, should the Russians on the north side leave us any-
thing to occupy, the troops have been forbidden to fetch
any more timber from its ruins: otherwise, if time and
permission were granted, the men would be able to get
much that would be useful in forming substantial protec-
tion, in lieu of the Government huts. There are solid
beams and rafters without end to be obtained, but service-
able planks are becoming very rare. These can be ob-
taMed, however, at a reasonable rate' from Sinope and
other places on the coast of the Black Sea.—lb.
Sir Colin Campbell was conspicuous for his efforts
to hut his men before the winter set in :
Sir Colin Campbell is certainty a striking example of a
general who looks after his men before himself and his staff
in the way of huts. To this day he may be seen at Kamata
with only a small marquee to live in. Every week-day ta o
thousand men of his division, with a proper complement
of staff and regimental officers, march down to Balaklava,
a distance of four miles, to carry back butting, and by to:
morrow the men hope to have conveyed up their whole
number. But do not be misled by this statement, for I
don't think there is a chance, although huts are on their
way out, of more than one-third of the army in the front
being properly hutted by the end of November. By a late
order no sailors or civilians are allowed to enter the Kara-
beloala suburb without a pass, and there is some talk of
repelling the roofless and ruined houses fur occupation.—
D. News Cor., Oct. 23.
The Government preparations for winter, accord-
ing to every correspondent, were far below the wants
of the army :
Seeing the large number of huts collected for the High-
land division, and ready to be put up, one cannot avoid
making comparisons between it and other divisions, in
which there seems to be as yet no signs of similar activity.
People at home, perhaps, imagine that the majority of the
regiments—at least those that came out first—are hutted ;
but this is not at all the cue. There are regiments, and
those old ones, too, which have only four huts in all ; and
these must be repaired, as those first sent out let every
shower through like sieves. The materials are brought up
from Balaklava in large quantities, but the men have been,
and are still, so busy with the main and division roads that
they have no time for anything elm—Times car., Oct. 2