The Express.
London, England, 1855-03-09 00:00:00

I THE ARMY BEFORE SEBASTOPOL

(711.011 Tam SPICILL

OF TED DAILY

imswe )
BALAIELAVA, Fin 23.
. .

The late hot w inds have been followed by wind.
u cold and westliksr as severe as might have been
expected in the las: week in December or the first
week in January. The Crimean winter is not likely
to leave us without a petting salute, just to keep his
" memory green'!in our minds. A hard squally gale
from the northern Mapped!, a thin piercing air, and a
snow storm. after some days of oppressive heat, and
in the midst of our idyllic occupations of gathering
[Bowers on the mountain side, will suffice to remind us

of this Irons half of Febraary;whenever and wherever
the stormy winds do blow ; and this the more as the
presset cold weather has about it all the signs of
permanence; it has now lasted nearly a week, and
makes all prognostics turn out deceitful ; it is likely
to continue during another week or fortnight. This
is the time for the men to prize and make the most
of their fur coats and high boots, and it is a mercy
that the arrival of theme necessaries, though late, has
I provided at least against this sudden return of all the
rigours of winter.
The siege has made and is making little progress.
In the last few days there have now and then been
heavy cannonades on the Sebastopol front—from the
town and at the town—but these ephemeral manifes-
tations of sporadic activity have not contributed to
advance the work in hand, and we as well as the
Mundane are biding our time for the real re-com-
mencement of operations. The proposed reconnais-
sance of the plain has not yet taken place. Bat even
without a reconnaissance, we are fully aware of the

fact, that since the dry. weather imprcived the roads,
large numbers of Raman troops have again taken up
their station on the Tchernaya, and amidst the
ranges of hills between that river and Samara.
Dense columns come over the hills and show on our
side of the plain, especially at night, and twice this
week Sir C. Campbell's camp and the troops
on the hills were under arms all sight, because
from eight to ten thousand Russians debouched
into the plain ; and, very conscientiously keeping
just out of range, thereby kept our batteries and
infantry in a state of extreme watchfulness and un-
profitable excitement —unprofitable, because the
enemy returned u they came, without giving our
troops a chance of testing the present strength of the
Balaklava position. Batteries, too, have been made
by the Russians, for the purpose of firing upon Sir
C. Campbell's camp, and contending with our bat-
teries on the hills, and perhaps of protecting their
new camp against any attempt of ours to reconnoitre
it, and burn it by the way. It remains to be seen
which batteries carry the heaviest metal—theirs or
ours. It is needless here to enumerate the number
and calibre of the guns we have is position on the
Balsklava front, though if the Russian spies are
worth anything, General Liprandi must by this time
be fully aware of our strength in this respect;
bat it is most likely on trial the Russian ordnance
opposed to us will not be found inferior to
ours. Sebastopol is very near, and common sense
tells us that with so large an arsenal close at hand,
the Russians are not likely to mount their batteries
with field pieces. Long 68's and 15-inch mortars
are more in their way, and whenever the day of
battle arrives, we shall obtain full and convincing,
though not very satisfactory, information on a point,
on which, at present, opinions aro much divided in

Our camp.
The last few days have produced so distressing a
rumour, that for obvious reasons I can only hint at
the circumstances of the subject. It is whispered
that an officer, high in command in the French =
has been accused of treasonable correspondence
the enemy ; that he has been proved to have fur-
nished the Russians with the exact plans of the siege
works in progress, thereby enabling them to destroy
those works by mines; that General Canrobert
has caused the said officer to be arrested,
and tried by court-martial. While I mention
the rumour, I must say, that nothing appears
to me more improbable than its authenticity.
As yet, not a single French officer has volunteered to
give information on the subject, and that subject,
you must be aware, is too delicate for inquiry. We
least of all should throw a doubt on the loyalty, or
sport with the reputation, of any of our allies. It so
distressing an occurrence has taken place, it will show
in General Canrobert's despatches, but for the present
I dismiss the subject, while recording my utter dis-
belief of the truth of the alleged facts.
I have now to add a few lines on a subject which
indirectly, but most seriously, affects the good fame
of the Crimean army and our national reputation in
the East. For some time past statements have
reached me of the outrageous conduct of several of
the English residents and visitors at Constantinople.
A friend who lately came up confirms those state-
ments, and adds to them the result of his own expe-
rience. While living on board ship, in the
Bosphorus, waiting for the departure of the
same for the :Crimea, he was persuaded to join a
party in a visit to the theatre at Pers. The party
consisted of the muter of one and the first mate of
another of our first-clue transport steamers, and of
several officers of line regiments, then waiting for
their passage on board the two ships. They set out
at night on a raid rather than aapV of pleasure.
Windows were smashed as they p along ; those
unfortunate enough to meet them were wantonly in-
sulted. Covered with mad, and in a state of the
most noisy excitement, they entered the Pera
Theatre, but left it soon to get drunk at a tavern.,
On the way back windows were again broken, the
Turkish sentries were insulted at their posts, and
compelled to avow that all the "Engiliz" were kw.
In short, the whole affair was very much like the
amusements of fashionable rakes in the palmy days
of the Regency, or the sprees of our worst class of
medical students. And such scenes are permitted to
be enacted in the capital of an empire for whose de-
fence we are in arms! The Turks dare not interfere ;
even the French think it prudent to abstain from
arresting British officers, though I believe no
one could really blame their patrols for ar-1
resting rioters, without regard to the coats
those rioters wear. But something, too, might
be done on our part ; and if the French petrol the
streets of Pera to keep order among the Levantine.
and their own countrymen, surely the least we could
do would be to add a couple of constables to each'
French patrol, for the benefit of such among our
countrymen as require to be kept in order. Unless
something of the kind is done, a few turbulent spirits
will do more than all the agents and emissaries of the
Car; they will succeed in utterly disgusting the
Turks and Levantines with the British occupation.
Individual wrongs rankle deeper than the harshest
measures an imperious ally saa devise.