The Press.
London, England, 1856-05-17 00:00:00

THE PRESS,

Before the terrible and doubtful hazards of a general
assault—before the perpetual menaces of the north of the
town, which we could not comprise within our attack, and
after so many disappointments, and so many unforeseen
and contrary events, General Canrobert attached to the
projected operation an importance so capital that he did
not hesitate to sacrifice himself to what he regarded as the
great demand of the situation. To arrive promptly at a
happy result, remove difficulties, and reduce obstacles, he
offered under these circumstances to give up the chief
command to Lord Raglan, and, further, begged of Omer
Pacha to accept his lordship's superior orders.
Lord Raglan was at first astonished at this proposal, for
it was an act of such self-sacrifice to the common cause as
the most exalted characters often find difficult. Moreover,
it involved a heavy responsibility, the sudden weight of
which, perhaps, dismayed the English general. He at
first refused, then wavered, then at length accepted, and
afterwards called for French troops to occupy and defend
the English trenches.
This request General Canrobert refused, and from
that time Baron de Bazancourt states there was no
means of coming to an understanding between the
two generals:—
The first blow which fell on the cordial understanding
between the English and French Commanders•in•Chief
had been the recal of the Kertch expedition ; the refusal
of Lord Raglan to cooperate in the plan of attack pro-
posed by General Canrobert was the last.
In consequence of this refusal, the situation of the
French general became untenable as respected both the
forces he commanded and the commander of the English
army

General Csnrobert's determination was soon made ;
and we are told he resolved on resignation. On the
16th of May he telegraphed to the Minister of War,
demanding to be superseded, and assigning the state
of his health as the ground of the application. To
the Emperor he explained the real reasons of his
desire to be superseded :
The relative want of effect produced upon Sebastopol by
the numerous and excellent batteries of the allies ; the
absence of any attack on our outer lines by the enemy—an
attack which seemed very probable, and front which I had
promised myself a success not less important than that of
Inkermann ; the serious difficulties which I have lately
experienced in preparing the execution of your Majesty's
plan of campaign, rendered almost impossible by the non-
co-operation of the chief of the English army ; the very
false position in which the sudden recal of the Kertch ex-
pedition has placed me towards the English, who, as I
have since learned, attached the highest importance to
that undertaking ; the exceptional moral and physical
fatigues to which for nine months I have been subjected—
all these reasons, Sire, have wrought in my mind the con-
viction that I should no longer direct as chief the immense
army whose esteem, affection, and confidence, I have been
able to conquer.

An account is then given, rather theatrical in effect,
of General Canrobert resigning his command into
the hands of Pelissier, who, of course, " wept," em-
braced his ex chief, and retired to meditate upon his
position.

THE CRIMEAN INQUIRY.

THE board of general officers reassembled at Chelsea
Hospital for the twentieth time on Wednesday.
The Judge Advocate, at the opening of the pro-
ceedings (addressing General Airey), stated that a
summons had been sent to Sir J. M'Neill to attend,
and the fullowing reply had been received .
Granton-house, Edinburgh, May 10, BM.
Sir,—Tn reply to your letter of the Nth, requesting me
to attend on Wednesday the 14th instant, at eleven o'clock
a.m., in the Great Hall at Chelsea, for the purpose of
being examined as a witness, I have to inform you that I
am too unwell to be able to attend at that time.

But although the state of my health precludes the possi-
bility of complying with the request contained in your
letter of the Bth, or with the suggestion contained in your
letter of the 6th, I think it right, with all possible respect
for the board, to add that, even if that obstacle had not
existed, I could not have agreed to depart from the course
1 have hitherto taken, in the absence of any authoritative
information, more definite than I have yet received, as to
the precise objects and the scope of the proceedings going
on at Chelsea, and as to the position occupied or expected
to be occupied, relatively to the hoard and to each other,
by the persons who have offered or have been invited to
appear in these proceedings ; and especially whether the
proceedings are intended to bear upon the manner in
which the members of the late commission of inquiry in
the Crimea, of whom I was one, discharged their duties;
and if so, in what respect, and particularly, and to what
effect—l have the honour to be, sir, your most obedient
servant,

JOIM M'NEn.L.
The Right Non. C. P. Villiers, Judge Advocate General.
The Judge Advocate also stated that. Colonel
Tulloch was still too unwell to attend. The Judge
Advocate then said that an impression had got
abroad, owing to an expression used by him, that
General Airey had conducted himself disrespectfully
towards Colonel Tulloch. Nothing was further from
his intention than to convey such an expression, as
General Airey had conducted himself towards Col.
Tulloch with all possible consideration.
Sir Richard Airey disclaimed all intention of dis-
respect towards Colonel Tulloch.
Colonel Wetherall and Captain Derriman were
then briefly examined as to whether materials or

SATURDAY,

artificers could have been easily obtained from Con-
stantinople. Colonel Wetherall stated that, with respect
to canvas, the Turkish Government undertook to
supply sufficient of that article for the construction
of 200 hospital marquees ; but in a week or two
they wrote to say that they could get no canvas
whatever, either from the arsenals at Constantinople
or from private hands, and they begged that cotton
might be taken as a substitute. He then wanted
canvas for some pontoons, but none could be got.
Captain Derriman found it impossible to obtain
any artificers himself, but applied to Lord Stratford,
and through his means, early in February, procured
forty-nine :

These carpenters were wholly employed in the erection
of huts. The ships' crews were employed in buildirg
wharfs, in landing stores and provisions, and in the boat
duties of the harbour. Not a man was unemployed whose
services could possibly be made available. It was his
opinion, as a naval man, that as many of the crews of mei.
chantmen were landed and engaged in service ashore as
could possibly be spared. Had tried to procure CIIIIV:13
Constantinople for the use of the ship he commanded, but
found it impossible to get any.

Sir Richard Airey then proceeded to sum up his
case, and declared his conviction that the animad-
versions in the commissioners' report in connection
with himself had been fully disposed of. Those ani-
madversions resolved themselves into two:—

First, a supposed want of ingenuity in providing shel-
ter for the horses ; and, secondly, a supposed want of
good management in the issue department. With regard
to the question of shelter, it was now quite evident that
the mortality among the horses had arisen, not from want
of shelter, but from want of forage, while it was also plain,
from the evidence of Admiral Dundas, Sir E. Lyons, and
others, that the canvas suggested to be used by the com-
missioners could not have been procured. Engineer
officers had shown that temporary shelter for the horses,
formed by means of canvas, would have required a far
stronger framework to support it than a wooden structure.
The horses (or rather the baggage animals, as the com-
missioners called them) belonging to the Sappers and
Miners had turned out to be oxen and mules, stabled be-
tween walls at Balaklava, and tolerably well covered in by
an sail stretched from wall to wall. In the village of
Mak shelter was possible, but on the heights of
Kadikoi it was utterly out of the question. With mgard
to the issue department, he (General Airey) had shown
how destitute the quartermaster general's department
was of all the machinery necessary to issue stores to an
army. Why it was so destitute was simply because the
issue was no part of the quartermaster's duty—he had
only to look to the apportionment.

Remarking how sincerely he regretted the illness of
Colonel Tulloch, which had deprived the board of
the :slue of his assistance, General Airey said he
could quite understand how anxiety and mental
labour had contributed to that indisposition, for be
had known lately from personal experience how
heavy was the labour of those engaged—night and
day—in the ungrateful duty of justifying their con-
duct to the country.
After an interval of a few minutes, during which
the board adjourned, the case of Colonel Gordon,
Assistant Quartermaster• General, was proceeded wit/.
Colonel Gordon commenced by calling attention to
discrepancies existing between the notes of his evi.
dence, as furnished by Colonel Tulloch, and the ori-
ginal notes taken in his presence, which he had never
seen until they were produced by Colonel Tulloch at
the desire of the court, and then proceeded with his
statement, confining his remarks to the paragraphs
of the report, in the first of which the commissioners
have misrepresented his evidence upon the non-issue
of knapsacks, for which he now assigned what he
conceived to be sufficient reasons—viz., that the com-
manders of regiments were generally disinclined to
receive the knapsacks at the moment of an expected
assault upon Sebastopol; and in the second of which
he was made to assign, as a reason for the non-issue
of supplies, that the men already had enough. The
accuracy of this statement he unequivocally denied,
for the real reason assigned by him for the non-issue
of greatcoats, blankets, and rugs was, there was not a
sufficient number in store to admit of such an issue.
In conclusion, he stated that he did not intend to
trouble the court with any witnesses.

II

In reply to the Judge Advocate,
Colonel Gordon stated that Sir J. M'Neill acted•
as principal commissioner in the Crimea, and Colonel
TuHoch as his secretary, writing down or striking out
answers just as Sir J. M'Neill directed him.
The court then adjourned until Thursday, when
the case of Mr. Filder was proceeded with.
The Judge Advocate read a letter from Sir Charles
Trevelyan, stating that he did not think it necessary
to attend.

Mr. Filder proceeded with his statement, which he
said was rendered necessary by certain general
animadversions cast upnn him in the report of Colonel
Tulloch and Sir J. M' Bill

He was charged with supplying the troops with expea•
sive, and at the same time unhealthy food, and with a
general want of energy and aptitude in supplying the
army with necessaries. In reply to these charges he had
to urge that any deficiencies which had existed were owing
to causes over which he had no control—among other
things, the distance of the army from the base of 10

MAY 17, 1856.

dons and to the frequent change of ground. The
opera '
limy was well supplied with everything but forage up to
the 11th November, and until that time there was no de.
Wcieney in the means of transport. After that time, how•
ever, he admitted that he had not satisfactorily discharged
his duty ; but then, that was owing to the dreadful state of
the country between Balaklava and the camp, which it was
impossible to foresee ; and owing to which the baggage
animals broke down, and died off faster than they could
be replaced.
Mr. Filder here quoted copiously from the evidence
of other witnesses in proof of the difficulty of trans-
port which existed in the Crimea, and then passed
to the question of carriage by sea, upon which the
army was dependent for its supplies of fresh meat,
after the first six weeks of its stay in the Crimea,
when the stock of live animals found in the country
was exhausted :
In order to secure the attendance of a constant supply,
he applied frequently to Admiral Boxer for the means
of transport. but could never secure a number of vessels
at all adequate to the purpose, as fully one•third of the live
animals purchased died on their passage to Balaklava.
With regard to the supply of fuel, the commissioners
were under a complete misapprehension
He had never content:.:d that it, was not a part of cern-
missariat duty to supply fuel, and on receiving instructions
from Lord Raglan on the 4th of December to permit the
issue of charcoal, he at once caused 80,000 rations to be
prepared, and gave notice to the several divisions that
they could be supplied on an application at Balaklava.
With reference to the supply of hay, he wrote to Sir
C. Trevelyan for 2,000 tons on the 13th of September,
but only one-fifth of that quantity was sent out, and
he received information from Sir C. Trevelyon that
only 157 tons per month could be sent out :
The Artillery, Commissariat, and Transport Service alone
required 580 tons per month; and including the cavalry,
886 tons per month were required. He wrote to inform
Sir C. Trevelyan of this; but notwithstanding, in each
of the months of October and November only 270 tons
were sent out, a quantity which was only one third of
that which was requisite. Sir C. Trevelyan, in a letter,
stated his opinion that. a much smaller quantity would
suffice than he (Mr. Filder) had written for, as he
thought that extensive supplies might be obtained from
quarters which he (Mr. Flitter) sated t' be exhausted.
As to the vegetables, these were scarcely to be got.,
and limejuice was sent out for the hospitals, and no
order for its general issue to the army was given
before the 29th of January, 1855. Mr. Filder further
stated that the commissariat staff were inadequate
from the first, and that he would lay before the
board his original instructions from the Treasury of
February, 1851, for the provisioning and foraging of
/he army.
The board then adjourned.
On Friday the case of Mr. Filder was resumed.
Mr. Flitter continued his statement, pointing out
various inaccuracies in the commissioners' report,
and attributing them to not obtaining information
from proper sources in the first instance.

I