The Press.
London, England, 1854-10-21 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

996

THE

W E E K.

THE public impatience for decisive tidings from Sebastopol is not
relieved, but heightened as day after day creeps by—heightened
because the contest, from the reinforcements received and the pre-
parations made on either side, is swelling in magnitude. By the
steamer which has arrived at Marseilles dates from the Crimea to the
Bth have been received. The allied forces then amounted to 80,000
men, and further reinforcements were on their way, so that by this
time not less than one hundred thousand men must be collected for
the grand attack. As to the Russian strength we are quite in the
dark. It is probable that Prince MENSCHIKOFF has been joined by the
corps of OSTEN-SACKEN, and that reinforcements have reached him by
way of Kertch. No data, however, exist for estimating the strength
ho has been able to collect. The corps of OsTEN-SACKEN, we imagine,
would raise his troops, inclusive of the garrison, to quite 100,000 men.
The manoeuvre by which the allied commanders transferred their
plan of assault from the north to the south side of Sebastopol has
been closely criticised. The defences on the south are the weakest—
the military position established at Balaklava is secure from attack—
and there is convenient communication with the fleet, which is thus
in a condition to supply them with all necessaries. On the other
hand, MENSCHIKOFF is left in undisputed possession of the whole of the
Crimea, save the spot where the allies have established themselves—
ho communicates freely with Sebasto pol by the northern front of the
fortress—and he has the advantage of keeping open the great road of
communication to the north with Perekop, and to the east with
Kertch, whence the reinforcements he anticipates must come. His
" relieving army" is thus in a position to act with perfect freedom,
and to strengthen itself as it best may by collecting outlying detach-
ments. Was it prudent to leave him so completely at liberty?
Perhaps the allied commanders may think this " relieving army " of
very little consequence, satisfied of their ability to beat it, should it ever
afford the opportunity. They may conceive it to be their best policy
to allow nothing to distract their attention from the great work set
before them, the reduction of Sebastopol, and may think their ener-
gies better employed in vigorously forwarding preparations for the
siege than in pursuing an enemy they might never be able to overtake.
It does seem strange, however, that no attempt should have been
made to seize and fortify the isthmus of Perekop, which would have
prevented MICNSCHIKOFF from receiving reinforcements from that quar-
ter, and would have prevented his escape in that direction, should it
have been thought advisable to follow him closely up. With the
'ample material and forces at the command of the allies, this occu-
pation of the neck of the peninsula might have been effected, one
would have thought, without interfering in any way with the main
object of the expedition.
We may conclude that up to the 13th or 14th inst. no event of
importance had taken place before Sebastopol, or intelligence of it
would have been transmitted by telegraph. But, considering the
magnitude of the interests involved, the anxiety of the friends of the
combatants, and the natural impatience of the public for intelligence,
it appears strange that no arrangement has yet been made for the
regular transmission of authentic news from the Crimea. The expense
ought not to be a moment's consideration; and, as it is proved that
intelligence can be transmitted in seven days, there is no good reason
why we should have to wait for it seventeen or eighteen.
Now, as heretofore, the Russians seem remarkably destitute of
enterprise. On the night when our troops first bivouacked on the
Crimean soil, and the ground was new to them, and the weather wet
,and dark, some squadrons of Cossacks bursting upon the wearied
• mp might have done considerable mischief; but neither then, nor
,on occasion of the difficultmarch to Balaklava, nor since, has anything
like a surprise been attempted. The fatigue parties engaged on the
siege works at Balaklava do not appear to have been seriously dis-
turbed. The Moniteur mentions one sortie, which, it says, was vigo-
•usly repulsed, but it was probably sent out to reconnoitre rather
than with any serious purpose of interrupting the works.
Meanwhile the batteries for the destruction of the fated town
,were steadily proceeded with. Their fire, from the number of guns
:and weight of metal, would be tremendous. When the fire is once
opened, MENSCHIKOFF must advance to the relief of the town, or leave
it to perish almost in his sight. The forts on the north side might
hold out longer. We do not know to whatjperiod it will be thought
expedient or possible to keep the field. Should the weather in the
Crimea have resembled that which we have experienced here, it must
have acted unfavourably on our troops, though it is to be supposed
that their tents were landed soon after their arrival at Balaklava.
Some amateur strategists conceive that MENSCHIKOFF, at the proper
time, will be able to operate with effect on the right wing of the be-
sieging army. Some sharp fighting we must anticipate there will be
before the fate of Sebastopol is decided.
The current of opinion is running strongly against Admiral Des-
DAS. The sneers in the correspondence of the Times are significant.
'‘But the admiral will, no doubt, soon have an opportunity of re-
" establishing his character for conduct and courage. The fleet must
take part in the attack on Sebastopol when. it commences in earnest.
The gravest charge against the admiral yet is his quiescence during

SATURDAY,

the battle of the Alma, and his indisposition to co-operate with the
army on land.
Sir CHARLES NAPIER, with his fleet, is homeward bound Aland
has fallen—and that is all. It would be most ungenerous to say a
word against so gallant a commander until he is heard in his own
defence. But Sir JAMES GRAHAM must surely feel rather awkward
when he reflects on his boast at the Reform Banquet—that " Re-
formers" had been appointed to the command of the Euxine and the
Baltic fleets.

In connection with the war, appeals have been made to the
purses of the public to show sympathy with those who are fighting
our battles. The most legitimate of these appeals, as respects private
benevolence, is that for the wives and children of our soldiers, who
are left destitute by their departure, or nearly so. Government could
not take these persons under its charge, nor assist in making any pro-
vision for them. Their distress must appeal to the hearts of the charitable
alone. But the principle of the other appeals is more questionable.
It is merely scandalous that any subscription should be necessary
to provide for the wants of our wounded : the neglect of the Govern-
ment is not to be thus shielded. Private benevolence is abused when
it is asked to perform the work which it is clearly the duty of the
State to fulfil, and to fulfil in the best possible manner. Yet the
pictures drawn of the wounded, lying in agony without medical at-
tendance to relieve their suffering, or bandages to dress their
wounds, or medicines to take, or trifling comforts to assuage their
distress, seized so powerfully on the popular imagination, that all thought
of administrative negligence was lost in the instant prompting of a
generous compassion, and the notion of relief was no sooner suggested
than it was eagerly responded to. In some country villages simple
families who could give little else set themselves to collect rags for
lint, anticipating, good souls, that the bundles they sent off per rail
for the next mail-packet would tend to alleviate the sufferings of
which they read such fearful accounts. The " Patriotic Fund," for
making provision for the widows and orphans of soldiers who fall in
the service of their country, raises a question whether wealthy
England could not for such a purpose make an adequate parliamentary
grant. In the subscription recommended by Royal Commission the
charitable will give, and the niggardly withhold. Tom BOUNTIFUL, who
has not a shilling to spare, sends five pounds and runs in debt
to his butcher and baker, while Mr. DIVES buttons up his pocket, and
escapes the fraction of a percentage on his thousands. Admit the
claim of the widows and orphans on the State, and through the national
revenue all must contribute to their relief alike, and the condition of
the soldier and sailor is instantly elevated, and the service becomes
more desirable and more popular.

The late courts-martial upon the officers in command of the
Arctic expedition have excited some interest. The trial of the junior
officers, who were all honourably acquitted, was a mere matter of form,
as they were severally under the orders of their senior and superior
officer, Sir EDWARD BELCHER, upon whom the responsibility rested.
Sir EDWARD himself, however, appears to owe his acquittal of the charge
of having abandoned her Majesty's ships without sufficient cause to
the large discretionary powers which were given him by the Admiralty.
Upon the finding of the Court being read it was remarked that, while
the other officers had been " honourably acquitted," and their swords
returned to them with a complimentary speech from the President of
the Court, Sir EDWARD BELCHER wati simply " hereby acquitted," and
his sword handed to him in silence. From the evidence it appears
robable, at least, that the ships might have been released had Sir
EDWARD waited for the open season, while they were sufficiently well
found to have stayed out another season with no other risk than
usually attends an Arctic winter. These trials are, however, chiefly
remarkable as all but closing the long series of Arctic voyages which
have illustrated the annals of our navy with so many instances of
courage and skilful seamanship, and have so greatly added to our
knowledge of Arctic geography. The name of PARRY still stands pre-
eminent among successful discoverers, though to M'CLURE belongs
the honour of having set at rest the question of the North-West Pas-
sage. The gallant COLLINSON.B fate is still uncertain, but we may con-
fidently hope, from the traces found of him, that he will reach home in
safety. The search for FRANKLIN may now be considered as at an end :
no trace of him has been found beyond Beechey Island ; and whether
his ships went down at sea, or penetrated far beyond the limit to
which other discoverers attained, and were there frozen up, will pro-
bably for ever remain a mystery.

Sir CHARLES HOTHAM has arrived at Melbourne, and was carrying
out a vigorous system of reform in all the public institutions of that
colony. A curious anomaly had been found to exist upon the gold
fields. Misery and pauperism were now so general that public sub-
scriptions were being made on the gold fields for the erection of
almshouses for the relief of the indigent digger.—" Sic transit
yloria auri."
The Queen Mother of SPAIN has already commenced a fresh
series of intrigue 3. A fusion between her Majesty and the Conde de
MONTEMOLIN is spoken of as positive, having for its object the
abdication of ISABELLA, and the succession of the Conde de MONTEMOLIN
to the throne
The insurgents in China seem still gaining ground. They had
been repulsed in three attempts to storm Canton, but they. were
masters of the surrounding country. It seemed merely a question of
time when they would gain possession of the city. The effects on the
trade of the city were most disastrous, though the insurgents had
promised to protect the property of neutrals.