The Express.
London, England, 1855-05-08 00:00:00

1
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tired
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moveablet to
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property.
interiortiop.,: 7i
discharged,
ohiNrtgoheted
thcountry,esingle
counting-houses
m emerchant taking
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itphaeei
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nthoewirtofambeiliesseeanndinththee
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,
numerousar t of
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work-
men employed by the merchants in the corn wares I
shut up, the Exchange deserted, and money at a
great premium owing to its scarcity and the general
insecurity. Oar merchants cow spend their time in
reading, instead of making money. They speak very
cautiously about public affairs, but it is easy to per-
ceive
and have no confidence in the ultimate success of the
Russian arms, nor do they evince aey enthusiasm for ,
the cause of the Emperor. From the number of .
spies about, they, however, feel and think more than t
they say, for they are looked ou with suspicion, and
every word that escapes them is subject to especial I
examination from the numerous secret agents of the
police. This is especially the case with the foreigners
resident here, and even the consuls of neutral and
•
friendly powers are not exempt from this system of
.
surreillance. I
Thisbe who have an opportunity of looking behind i
the curtain will confirm what I say, that the so I ' I
• loudly vaunted patriotism of the Russians ought not
to be taken for more than it is really worth. Even :
the enthusiastic cheering heard in public by the
soldiery, when a made-up despatch is read to them
of an important and decisive victory over the enemy
at Sebsstopul, or the particulars and even names of • .
the English line-of-battle ships sunk and destroyed . .
by the inimitable artillerymen of Fort Constantine,
subsides into cold indifference on their arrival in
barracks, after the order to cheer has been carried
into effect. But it is more particularly in the hospitals
that the true feelings of the men may be studied; .I.
for on a bed of sickness, or whilst suffering from the I
rudely performed amputation of a limb, and when • .
hovering between life and death, the Ituseian soldiers i I'
are apt to speak their mind, freely, and communicate
to each other what they feel and think without mach
tear of the knout in perspective, it being very proble-
matical whether they shall live to undergo once more
that well-known punishment, to which they have been
accustomed all their days. 1 •
The large and extensive building known as the se-
minary for young noble ladies hos been fitted up as •I!
a hoepital ;so have the barrack 4 for soldiers under
a
arrest, as well as several other government esta-
blishments. But notwithstanding all these arrange-
ments, your readers will be able better to judge of I
the number of sick and wounded here when 1 state ,
. -
that the existing hospitals are still not roomy enough,
' 1
and that upwards of 200 military patients are at this
moment inmates of the municipal civil hospital.
' Great pains are taken to keep all these things secret,
but when ne.v hospitals are fitted up, it is evident i.l
that those already existing are nut adequate to the
, •
number of patients.
I
The soldiers submii to their miserable lot without
murinur.rig, and bear their hard fate with a sort of
dogged resignation. Those who are nut in the hospitals
are be ter fed than in time of peace, for now they actu-
ally get rations of meat twice a week ; whereas when
there is no war going on meat is a luxury with I
which they are totally unacquainted. They also :I
now get a better description of bread, though still •,
made of rye, and of very dark colour; but independ-
ently of the risk of getting a rifle bullet through their
head, they are obliged to work very hard at the de-
fensive
works in course of construction.
The Russians have not been idle since the bombard-
ment
of last year, and have thrown up some very
fermi able works for the safety of the place. Those
ou the side towards the sea may be considered as
finished. A very large battery has been built at
Lusdorf, and armed with guns of heavy calibre.
Another, with 12 large pieces of ordnance, has been
made near the farm Langeron ; and then there is the
so-called DschitFchi Battery, aimed with the guns of I
the unfortunate Tiger, one of which, however, burst
whilst exercising the Artillery recruits. Another
battery has been formed in front of the house called
Potemkin, and two others are placed on the pier of
the harbour for ships of war ; and one, win It eight
guns, ou the Androsow-pier. On the Boulevards are
two new batteries, one before the palace containing I
the offices of the governor-general, and the other
before the house ,Carouta, whilst the two list in this
formidable catalogue are ematrocted in the garden of
the Archbishop of Webb& and iu that of Prince Na. .
rislikin.
The beautiful Custom-house has been fortified as
defensive barracks, and is occupied by two regiments
of infantry; whilst the offices of the Customs, that is
to say, the archives, &c. (fur, on account of the war,
there is no business to execute, and the employes hold
temporary sinecures), have been removed to the house
Attchinikoff, on the Alexander Boulevards.
Those of your readers who have been at this place li
will no doubt remember the fifteen large guns half
embedded in the masonry of the great pier forming I
the war harbour, and used for mooring the ships to.
Tradition ascribes them as having been taken from
the Swedes in some previous war. They have lately
been disembedded, thoroughly cleaned inside and out,
and although they were naturally found to be much
honey-combed, yet they are still serviceable, and It
have been mounted to reinforce the heavy artillery
on the Schegetoff battery on the pier of the harbour
for merchaut ships.
On the road from Odessa to Bessarabia, through
Tira'pol and Dalnick, much fewer troops will be •
seen than might bo expected; but on the other side
of the Dniester, and particularly in the neighbour- 'l
I hood of the fortress of Bender, the extensive lines of i
6 newly erected carthwinke, redoubts, and other works
1 of defence abundantly testify to the diligent industry
that the Russians have paid to the defence of their
country, and prove that they are prepared to dispute
, every inch of ground. The roads are in an almost
i impassable state now that the frost is over. Waggons
i and artillery sink up to the axletreee in the soft
muddy soil, and upwards of sixty horses are not
1 unfrequently seen dragging one single gait.
6 The fine spring weather we have had lately pro-
~
. mises well for the crops, but the owners of estates .
complain sadly of the want of hands to perform the i
I farm work, as the country has been of late so much
I drained of men for the army. In former years thou-
. sands of able-bodied agricultural labourers tame down I
from the provinces of Charkow, Kaluga, Orel, Nes-
t chin, and Kursk, to seek employment. This year but
j very few have arrived, and they have been ell
engaged by the government to assist is the military
I works of' defence above described. The German
colonists are best off in this respect. &log exempted
front military servitude, they are permitted to culti-
vate their lands without interruption. Formerly the
Russian workmen came to them to seek emplot tont. :
At present they are visited personally by the Russian
nobles, to induce them to assist in tilling the fields of
the latter,, who are glad to obtain the use of their
services under any conditions.
1
DESPATCH FROM LORD RAGLAN. ,
i
(room • SUPPLIKINT TO THIB LONDON OAZITTII.) 11.
WAR DEPARTMENT, May 7.
Lord Panmure has this day received a despatch
and its enclosures, of which the following are copies, , I
addressed to his lordship by Field-Marshal the Lord ,
1 Raglan, G.C.B. :
" BEFORE SEBASTOPOL, APRIL 24.
1
1 "My Lord,—Nothing material has occurred since
i I
immediately in front of
r I that which was taken on the night of the 19th, was
7,aTdheemßyunreipeonrtritfloepit, your lordship on the 21st i
t nst.
1 ,
t I destroyed by a party of volunteers on the morning of
- , the 21st inst. These were headed by Lieutenant and
•'
i I stated to be an excellent officer, and to have conducted
manner. ' i'
f ' himself on the occasion in the most spirited.
"The pit was found to be empty, and being useless II
. 1
i:
immediately levelled and filled in. The enemy
- was ~
f I Adjutant Walker, of the 30th Regiment,
who ls
regret t Iwhich, I to
a I say, is heavy. The nearer w
Hitherto it haft
3 I the more loss is to be appreheeded.
~,
i I been lees than might have betel expected.—l have,
r did not interrupt uthpet
listtlie
0 work.
eae
3 I &c., naleties,
approach
theowe .
RAGLAN.
- " The Lord Nunn" *e."
ormoo OF CM,VALTUKFKOI. nut The Ts 111 X sus or APRIL, 1855,
, ~,,,,,,,,,,,,--edi auaimeat td Foot-1 Teak and Ala, wounded. 17th
. Feet-I rack and eL, killed. 19th Foot -T rank sued file, wounded.
D vitt, Foot-3 rank and file, wounded. 4lat F,..0t-1 rank Bed file, 1
i kilted; 15 rank and file, wounded. 118th Foot -1 sergeant, wounded.
47th Foot-3 rank end file, united. 49th Foot- I rank and Ala,
killed; 1 rank and Ilia.n NM roat.-1 sergeant, 1 rank and
d Me, wounded. 57th Foot-. 2 Tank saw file, killed; 2 rank and file
, I wounded. 62nd Foot-'. rank and tile, killed; 1 odeer, wounded.
' 77th Punt-1 rank and ale, wounded. be.h Foot-i rank and file.
F. wounded. tad Walks MAI Brigade-7 rash sad fits, womb&
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