The Express.
London, England, 1855-08-24 00:00:00

WINKRAL BEATSON AND HIS BASHI-
BAZOUIES.

(NMI OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.)
DARDANELLES, Avover 6.
Bach startling roports had got into circulation in
Constantinople as to th• condition and conduct of the
irregular Ame now bsng organised here by General
Beaton, that I thought It worth while to run down
hither for a day or two, and glom such authentic
information as would prevent your giving currency to
erroneous statements of the fact. which have already
found their way into the columns of the Journal de
Cbvistantimple, and other equally one-sided prints.
The whole of the disorders which have been so
fancifully magnified had their origin in some personal
disputes

between a few of the native officers, about
the middle of June. The hostile enrols gradually
Idolised, till, on the 26th of that montb, it broke

out into a pretty extensive fight, in which four Ines

were kill azia asses wee;dsd. Gemini
sammarily tried the principal offenders, as

Metered a severe stick:floggiog to the most guilty—

a proceeding which spesigy reestablished cider and
harmony throughout the camp. Tea days later, how-

ever, ow of the oluef motors in this first disturbsoos

attempted violence to a woman of the town, and wee
for this new offence disarmed and sent to idiom. On
the following day, a large party of his company—he
was a colossi, or second captain—rode down to
heed-quarters, and, forcing themselves into the com-
mands?. presence, demanded the liberation of their
chief. To such attempted intimidation the general

of emus rsfused to Meld; but whilst ose•halt of the

armed deputation were parleying in the manner I
mention, the other were taking the law into their

own hands, and setting the pricier free. On gain.

ing his liberty the latter proceeded likewise to the
general's house, and insisted on receiving back his
arms. To such a demand, backed by the menacing
support of 140 armed gauges, General Beatson wee,
after a while, compelled to yield; and on receiving
back his pistols the colossi further bearded his chief
by loading them in his presence. With only lame

three or four oaken arose d him, the hate; could

only pocket the threatoning insult; though I am
strongly inclined to think that had he shot the mewl

dead-on the spot, the effect upon the rest would have
been most salutary. The party then withdrew, and,
mounting their horses, galloped off in a body out of
the town, and proceeded in the direction of the Troad,
some 15 or 20 miles distant from this. On their wsy
they partially plundered a country-house belonging
to Mr. Calvert, the consul, and committed other
outrages in the villages along their route. To pre-
vent a further spread of the revolt or any violence to
the town, General Beation at once applied to the
military Pacha for a body of regular troops, and a
couple of squadrons of Lancers and four field-pieces
were forthwith sent over hither from the garrison of
Bilitbshar, on the opposite shore of the Straits. And
here again I venture to think that the general again
erred on the side of leniency and moderation : I a
disposed to believe that, had this force and another
of trustworthy irregulars from the camp proceeded
briskly in pursuit, and, on coming up with the de-
serters ea the following morning, given them a
. _

severe chutisement, the remainder would have at
ones succumbed and a most wholesome lesson been
taught to the whole corps. Wishing, however, to
avoid bloodshed, the general declined to employ the
goes, and preferred to make use of a body of colon-
ises foes sassosst his own men to bring the insur-
gents lisok. Asswilingly, 300 Albanians and Arabs
semi tlte■eeises on the afternoon of the second day
he this asides, but when the party was preparing to
sit sot early next morning, it was found that of these
misty the half had returned to their tents, and de-
ans! slims. The remainder, however, started on
their minion, but found as they proceeded that the
objects of their search bad gone on towards Ivalu, on
the road to Smyrna. The pursuit wee then aban-
doned, and the force sent on it remained in the vil-
lages, to protect the inhabitants from further mischief.
Such, in a few words, wu the withdrawal of some
half-doses score of brigands, which has been mag-
nified into the " desertion of nearly thre►fourths of
the entire oorps"—the mountain thus sinking into
a mole-hill when seen through the spectacles of
truth.

Not only, however, did these exaggerated reports
gala credence amongst the wonder-loving Perotea,
bat they appear to have been as folly believed at
the Embassy; and a commission was accordingly
deputed by Lord Stratford and General Simp-
son to inquire into and report on the whole
affair. Exclusive of some minor aids, this jury of
investigation was formed of Brigadier Neale, of the
Turkish Contingent ; Mr. Calvert, the British consul
at this place; and Mr. Skeen, late vice-consul at Con-
stantinople, bat now appointed to the vacant consu-
late at Aleppa. These three gentlemen have now
been for some weeks employed in hearing evidence
and ping through the other forms of a judicial in-
quest, with results which, I must say, are in harmony
with the ridiculous exaggeration of the events, in
consequence of faith in which they have been sent
hither. Individual acts of odd bashi-bazooka have

been inquired into with a painstaking gravity which
becomes amusing, when one reflects that the charge
amounts to a theft of grapes from an open vineyard, a
quarrel with some Greek or Armenian huckster, or
a scuffle with the town police. Yet on such cases
as these evidence has been taken, and grave counsel
held, as if the culprit had perpetrated the weightiest
offences known to the Articles of War. As an illus-
tration, I may mention one which occurred only
peMerday. In the middle of their deliberations, the
mmuniesion were startled by the report that a murder
bad just been committed in broad daylight, and in the
apse, street by one of the basbis, who, after the
isati of his victim, had fled to seek protection
samsget his fellows in the camp. A guard was
promptly despatched to bring the murderer to trial,
and his immediate execution was resolved on as an
example to all ; but even before the doomed offender
made his appearance in manacles at head-quarters, it
we. discovered that the extent of the murdered"
Greek's injuries amounted to a skin-wound in the
bole which he had received from the Albanian for
=Wag to sell the latter a melon! And,
excepting the major offences which I have men-
tioned, such in substance are the greater part of
the catalogue of delinquencies on which so much
adjudicative wisdom has been bestowed. Now, I
ask any one who knows a rifle from a drum-stick, if
this be not ridiculous to the last degree? Here you
have some two thousand five hundred half-savages,
from some of the least civilized provinces of the
Turkish empire, and yet it seems to be thought a
matter of grave importance that they should commit
ramose which me equalled every day by our own