The Express.
London, England, 1855-10-25 00:00:00

Till EARL OF ELLESMERE ON THE WAR.

On Tuesday night the opening lecture for the
IMMO Of the Wonley Literary lostitutios wee delivered is
the Court House, Wonley, by the Earl of Ellesmere, who
chose for his subject, The Premed Wer." The room wee
crowded.

The Noble Letterer, on conauesolog, said that in pro-
posing to endeavour to illustrate hi. lecture oa the war is
the East, he should have some apology to ask. for the
seleatiew, became he was sure there could be no assemblage
ita this °natty to whit& **subject was not in sagas degree
familiar, aid he felt that, whatever might be the merits of
the subject, some excuse was necessary from any cos who
Proposed to inetruet others respeating it. Now, if the nota-
tion was asked him, whether be line able to tell time ear-
thing that they had not learned themselves, his beet reply
mast be with Shylock is the play, " sot 'sower that."
Bat having more idle rims than most of those present, there
might be *mesa of informatics—Fronale mid Getman mote
particularly—to which hi and not they had had access. He
was inclined to look upon the war from • military plat of
view; but with respect to the origin and nature of the
war he might touch so far apes its politiesl aspect se
to say that than mover was a war more mosatially
astional. There had boon ware atteadim ea the Ulla of
statesmen, of kitty, ant even of kings' WoUesses ; and he
had lived in a time whoa one man, contrary to the advice of
all surrounding him—of his most confidential and faithful
advisees—could launch the whole of Foam into wars that
overwhelmed that country. Bat this was emphatically the
war of the people, as far as this nutty was concerned. It
obsequious to mu** what had been the cause of this.
It was my mental that a people is great melon or great
slevinks abut ba iallnemend Athos by fear or by tenth*.
Jul Wane dm, iallomelle Wheel any particular effect
on Ws Moat steeple. Weems actuated by a sentient
suing lb. opumelem albs soak, sad by • feeling of in-
dignation alibi brink it that pesos under which Rupp,
was pootuselan; and those were the motives that had lea us
totido aostost; Ea& bad thrown down lb. gauntlet of
defames in lbwmps, sad Europe would have been dis-
pelled V site bad not takes it up. The prevastios of
the ettemels• et Rusk was only a provident step Gs our part,
and en Nokias at her pees history k. thought itiwiee to cheek
her peewee towards betionaisg a greet naval and military
power. His lordship pointed out the length of
time that Ramis had had denim sees Con.
stantisople, and alluded to the fact of her having
*Emoted nitrate trom the Greek empire in tbe ninth century,
when the Aoglo-fithon rule was established in this country ;
and this war might have takes pins, hi said, after the con-
gress of Vienna but for Napoleon's ratan from Elba—
when that general, on reaching France, found the secret
treaty framed by Lord Cestionant and entered into avant
Russia by Ragland, France, sad Attalla, and sent it to the
Cm. Be thought we wen perfectly right in not being
alarmed by the sight of the Balsa say on paper. In
time of war it was said Russia mild rain a MUM of men;
bat she mild not move any considerable parties of that
army to any frontier that was threatened, and still more
difficult welled the find it to advance on Turkey or any other
power. Bat sal was formidable in a strictly defeesive war,
from her insocusibility, as was experienced by Charles XII.
and Napoleon. On othemenoiog the war we were too san-
guine, end overlooked the fact that for 40 years Rustle
had been making ready for the struggle, and tad carried
her military preparations u far as she possibly could.
But Russia herself was not • warlike satin, sad he doubted
whether the Raper°, timid get a single velesteer soldier
out of all his people. Rio lordship, however, acknowledged
the stubborn bravery of those Russian soldiers engaged in
fight, and spoke in terms of admiration of their officers, who,
he said, were highly Minuted sad able generals. At
the time when the Russian Pests gad our naval operations
meet enraged our &Unties, there were great amputation
raised, and it was said that great improvements bad taken
pint particularly in osr anal gunnery. The range of
our gene bad been vastly increased, and we had the
mew spoiled to oar vessels; and so we were to destroy
thole gnat foctresses, Crentedt and Sebastopol, and put
an end to the *ant pow ,/ of Russia for ever. Now he
thought this increase of range of ao menu for sat a
fortress Wink, ethos vy game required to be sear to have !
effect, whilst a not from the fortress might easily get into
lb. magasine of sad blow up • ship. However, it had bath
said that though we tailed is our gavel attack at Sebastopol
we had sutionded at Bossarsuad. But Bomusund was not
taken by naval, bat by • land attack. There were three
towers, one of which was taken by our sestina* with three
heavy Inas ; soother by oh. Fronk ; sad the last fortress,
though it had been battered by oar guns, fell in nun-
quoin of the others being taken. Be thought the attacks
that bad bees made on oar 'daunts, for not making more
havoc, were unreasonable and unjust. His lordship then
pretended to give an historical sketch of the war, in the
nurse of whit* he spoke with soon warmth sad admiratftn
of our athievemente, and particularly of the late Marshal
8t Arnaud and Lord Raglan, of the conduct of the officers
Butler and:Plasmyth at Silisuia ; and of tkat olGeneral Sear-
lett at Balakiava. The war bed been very neurally called
" the soldiers' battle." If it was meant by that that the
victory was owing to the bravery of the Mulish wittier, the
defiaitioa was good ; but if it meant that he was not well led
by the English officer, it was a libel. The Ruttish army
had borne a distingaintd, if not a successful slurs in the
last great action, monition in the fell of Sebastopol ; and be
regretted to see tbs statements whisk had bees made is the
Thus, statements which, even if true, should sot have
bees promulgated by an Eaglish newspaper. It had
bees said that the dietaries is the army between the off •
sere aid the men was too great; but there was not an
army la the world in whit* there woo such attachment
between officers red ma. He would give as instance. A
yang sum, wounded, was lying la his tent daring the
dreadful hurricane in the Crimea, and the tent was three-
oath to be blown down • but eighteen men toned out of
their ova tent, and remileed oat in the told all night in
orti,.r to keep the poor boy's tent from faille,. It bad also
been objected that officers were too young ; but he would
irk—where would • well grown sad well.edionted boy not
go, and where would not ma follow him? H. lordship
then proceeded to give instathes of the bravery of young
officers daring the campaign. Is coacluma he might
proceed to sum up, or, in costmeredal language, to take
nook of the oasts and the meta of the war ;and he might say
that, though our union bad been vast, oar returns had
both somowbat in properties. We bad everywhere been
successful; and, though we bad had groat lames in
killed, be shuddered to think bow much, even in that
respect, the balsam was in our favour. He had heard
the Russian lost stated at 400,000; and he himself was in-
dined to estimate it et 300,000. The latest telegraphic
despatsises
et Anal,r heelit se &menu of eueseesse at Ears, mid is
the SeeSeeand lastly, of the minim of that fortress
ea the math the Wiper Alarmism. These were advert-
togas ; but bee shoal tfeahehis bearers U he said they won
sufficient to Indus Barth to make Mien of pens that
should be asceptod by the allies; sad, tUI each offers were
made, he trusted this eenntry would persevere in the
struggle. No one mold be mere aszless than he was foe
the reams of pease, and ht hoped the path to it would sot
be impeded by any earessesslis dewed hose ms. He
waned mot talk of the humiliations.' depsdadsa at awake.
B. biped that pone would be seenquilly alleseed ea tosses
give it the shims of being thinnest ; bat be
Lai Itiwaald only be wtait atleallbair sad esaaderable
la the war. lie weld seeded' by saying, " St.
deem' far Zealand. God defend the right l' noble
leonine was listemed to t t with tusked aturatims,
sad army Obis remarks ermeidsrable applause.