The Press.
London, England, 1854-09-23 00:00:00

THE WEEK.

THE allied army has now broken ground, its long period of inaction
is over, and the whole of Europe must wait with anxious suspense for
intelligence of its doings. On the 14th a force of 58,000 troops, 25,000
English, as many French, and 8,000 Turks, landed at Eupatoria.
Though in military operations we are seldom justified in expecting
rapid results, yet in this case, as the distance from Sevastopol is only
from forty to fifty miles, it is likely fighting has already commenced.
Eupatoria is a considerable seaport on the western coast of the Crimea,
containing about 5,000 inhabitants. Roads branch from it in one
direction to the isthmus of Perekop, which, if taken and fortified,
might effectually prevent the arrival of Russian reinforcements ; in
another to Simferopol, in the interior, where it is supposed that the
army of the Russians was stationed; and a third, following the line of
coast for a portion of the distance, conducts to Sevastopol.
The accounts received by our Government announce that the
troops had commenced their march on Sevastopol. If this be correct
we must suppose that the commanders feel themselves sufficiently
strong to begin their great enterprise without delay, and they may
probably hope to secure a favourable position for the commencement
of operations before any considerable Russian force can be concen-
trated to oppose them. On the road between Eupatoria and Sevas
topol are four rivers, the Bulganak, the Alma, the Katcha, and the
Belbek. Either of these streams must afford facilities for defence ;
and it appears probable that one or more of them will be chosen to
attempt to check the passage of the allies should they follow the
route by the coast.
There can be little doubt that by this time, thanks to the period
afforded them for preparation, the Russians have raised fortifications
on the land side of Sevastopol. The allies, therefore, in the prosecu-
tion of their enterprise, must be prepared to carry strong positions, in
addition to finding the enemy posted in the most advantageous
manner. That no attempt was made to oppose the landing at Eupa-
toria shows that the whole Russian strength will be concentrated for
the protection of the fortress alone. That is the great prize to be con-
tended for, and we cannot suppose that it will be yielded without a
desperate struggle. The Russians, as soldiers, though possessed of
but little intelligence or vivacity, are endowed with great powers of
endurance and a dogged determination, which, in advantageous posi•
tions, may supply the place of more animated courage. There are few
instances in modern day of a Russian army being routed, however
severe the losses it has sustained.
Two circumstances must undoubtedly tell against the allies—the
lateness of the season, and the diminution of their force by sickness.
Their present strength appears insufficient for so great an enterprise,
but it is to be expected that they will be largely reinforced, and that
the army before Sevastopol will be augmented in numbers as the
operations of the siege progress. No intention can exist, we imagine, '
of capturing the place by a coup-(k-main, and, after all, success or
failure may depend more on the season than on any other circum-
stance. It is far from improbable that the enemy may be able to
protract their resistance until the time for field operations is over.
Strong reinforcements have just been despatched from St. Petersburg
to the army of the south, but from the great distance they have to
traverse it would seem impossible that they can have any influence on
the present campaign. Should the allies be successful, and Sevas-
d
topol fall before their arms, the prize, with fortress, garrison, an
fleet, would be one of the most splendid ever gained in warfare.
No further news has been received from the seat of war in Asia,
except that General Grryott has been recalled. The Russian forces
appear to be waiting in entrenched camps until the army of Schamyl
shall have dispersed.
The English fleet remained at Ledsund, but the French had taken
its departure. It is now admitted by the leading Ministerial journal
that Sir CHARLES NAPIER, before his departure, petitioned for gun-
boats and a land force. If more has not been done in the Baltic, the
blame is due o not to him, but te Ministry which denied him the
necessary means for effectively t
condh ucting hostilities.

In connection with the war, an article in the Times of yesterday,
mputing, to speak plainly, cowardice to our officers holding commands
in the expeditionary army, has excited strong animadversion. A long
period of sickness and inaction, and the attacks of a malady which,
even when not fatal, prostrate physical strength, and produce great
mental depression, may have had some effect in damping the spirits of our
officers, and they may have less confidence in the =CCM; of the expedi-
tion on which they have been sent than it suits the purpose of our Minis-
terial scribes to show ; but nothing can be more scandalous than to
attempt to excite a prejudice against them at the very moment when,
in all probability, they are shedding their blood in obedience to their
country's orders. The slander is the more insidious as it is vague.
" Superior officers" aro spoken of as " infecting others with the
" suggestions of their own nervousness and apprehension," and, as
no names are mentioned, the stigma attaches to the whole body with-
out admitting of formal contradiction.

The cholera continues to abate in the metropolis, though the
mortality is still awful. Several medical men have published the
results of their practice with castor oil, and death appears to have
usually followed its administration. In fact, in cases of malignant
cholera, no mode of treatment yet adopted seems to have been attende

SATURDAY,

with success. The pestilence has broken out with alarming severity
in some parts of Spain. In the little town of Mataro, near Barcelona,
260 persons died in the two first days.
A social gathering in Ireland has been marked by an outrage of
almost unprecedented malignity. The Protestant excursionists, to
avoid rousing hostile passions, abstained from the use of colours, flags,
or outward demonstration of any kind, yet, simply because they were
Protestants, a deliberate attempt was made to massacre the whole
party, and probably would have succeeded but for the prudence of
Lord ENNISKILLEN, who sat by the driver, and moderated the rate of
the engine to six or seven miles an hour. Several persons must have
been concerned in the outrage, as one stone, weighing three hundred-
weight, had been removed from a parapet of the railway, and placed
across the rail in such a direction as was calculated to throw the whole
train down a precipitous embankment of thirty or forty feet. An ordi-
nary train, moreover, had passed only twenty minutes previously, so
that the act must have been both deliberately planned and exactly
timed. This cruel and cowardly conspiracy is noticed by some of the
Coalition papers in a tone of disgraceful levity.

THE (DUBLIN) CASTLE OF INDOLENCE.
(ADAPTED FROM JAMES THOMSON FOR THE EARL OF ST. GERMANS).
In that still pile, where, driving slowly by,
The gentle carman curses " Saxon" rule,
Where Whigs and Priests congenial callings ply,
To rouse a mob or Parliament befool—
Home never shut to borough-bribing tool—
Grave place-hunting M.P. or dirty spy,—
St. Germans yawns like Chesterfield the cool,
But, drowsy lolling, lacks the .strength to cry,
" Connaught has risen !—why then, so will I !"*
And thus Lord Aberdeen's Lieutenant takes,
In gentle indolence, his sleep and pay ,
And thus a pleasure and a profit makes,
Of that Proconsulate of which did say
Pitt, who was thought a statesman in his day,
That it " the safest school of statesmen makes.
But that old time has long since passed away,
Not e'en the cry of "justice" his slumber breaks,
Nor murderous rocks on rails the drowsy Viceroy wakes.
Dublin—Eve of the Massacre on.the Enniskillen
Railway, 1854.
• All remember the anecdote of Chesterfield the Courtly when Lord Lieutenant of
Ireland. When his valet awoke him exclaiming, "My Lord ! My Lord ! Connaught has
risen !" "Ah !" replied Chesterfield, "It is put two o'clock—l must rise also !"

SEPTEMBER 23, 1854.

THE P

THE TWA SCOTTISH AIRLS.

A RESPECTED contemporary deliberately states, in a leading article,
that the command of the Baltic expedition was in the first place
offered to the Earl of Dundonald, who would accept it only on con-
dition that the war with Russia was to be prosecuted " in earnest."
The Earl of Aberdeen, it is further assorted, would not assent to these
terms, and consequently the command was given to Sir Charles
Napier, who, it may be assumed, has been a good deal more hindered
by the Premier's instructions than by the shoals and sands of the
Baltic. A document which was found on board the Russian vessel
recently captured in the Black Sea, with important despatches on
board, seems to confirm the statement to which we have referred. It
would appear to have been sent out for the information and comfort
of the Court of St. Petersburg, and to have been transmitted thence to
console Prince Paskiewitch under the painful circumstances of his
position. It was unluckily torn during the ransacking of the vessel,
and a portion is lost, but apparently an unimportant part. We give
all that has been supplied to us. We are aware that Lord Dundonald
himself has stepped forward to shield Lord Aberdeen, and this fact
does not, of course, add to the authenticity of the subjoined document ;
but the chivalry of Lord Dundonald is well known, and so is the chi-
valry of Lord Aberdeen, and our readers are as capable of deciding on
the whole case as we are.

MYSELF No, my Lord, the honour, although great, is not more
than your deserts entitle you to expect. The command of the expedi-
tion would be entrusted to you in full confidence that you would carry
out the views of her Majesty's Government.
Lord D.: I should assuredly endeavour to do so. The magnificent
fleet which you propose to place in my hands is capable of achieving
anything.
MYSELF : Against an ordinary enemy, no doubt. But the navy of
Russia is a very fine one, the fortifications of her harbours are splendid,
and her whole service is animated by the conviction that the eye of
the greatest and wisest Sovereign she ever possessed is upon every-
thing. [lf I might ask your E. to take care that this speech is written
very clearly in the copy you transmit to his I.M.]
Lord D.: My belief is that your lordship overrates the resources
of Russia; but I will neither argue the question nor dispute with you
as to the virtues of Nick. But if he is strong, so much the more
reason why our strength should be put forth to the utmost. I will
do my best. Shall I put myself into communication with Sir
James ? _ _ _

MYSELF : Not until we understand one another a little better.
What should you have to say to Graham ?
Lord D.: I must have gun-boats. Plenty of them, and as soon as
possible.
MYSELF : It is my duty to inform you that the views of her
Majesty's Government do not comprise gun-boats.
Lord D.: But, my dear Lord, I must assure you of the absolute
necessity of them. You do not know the navigation of the Baltic.
Take it from a practical man that it is quite impossible to bring the
large ships up to the fortresses.
MYSELF : The views of her Majesty's Government do not comprise
the bringing large ships up to the fortresses.
Lord D.: Then how the devil do you mean to take the fortresses
themselves?

MYSELF: The views of her Majesty's Government do not comprise
the taking the fortresses.

Lord-b. : Eh? 0 ah I see. Y3u mean that with such a magnifi-
cent armament as that now lying off Spithead we can afford to dis
regard the smaller places, and make a dash upon Cronstadt. Well, I
do not know that we can do better.

--- .
MYSELF : Her Majesty's Government will wish you to do a great
deal better. _ _ _

Lord D.: What—get the Russian fleet out, and smash that in the
first place ? Easier said than done. I shall shell Cronstadt like the
very deuce, but I doubt whether even that will bring them out, unless
we are lucky enough to set a few of them on fire.
MYSELF : Any such course would meet with the extreme dis-
approbation of her Majesty's Government.
Lord D. (impatiently) : Then her Majesty's Government must be
good enough to explain itself, for shiver my blessed timbers if—that
is to say, I am incapable of pointing out any other way of going to
work.

MYSELF : You have precisely indicated the requisite position. You
are not to go to work.
Lord D: My Lord, you are an old man, but I am older than your-
self, and I did not come here to be trifled with. Keep your riddles for
your ambassadors, and for the House of Lords. lam a sailor. If you
want me, tell me so, and ril do my duty.
MYSELF, (mildly): Had we not wanted you, should I have troubled
you to attend here ? Pray restrain your temper. We wish you to take
the command of this expedition. But though you are a sailor, and a
gallant one, you are something more, and you are quite able to see
that an expedition is only a feature—an important one, no doubt—of
a whole scheme, and, therefore, regard must be had to the rest of the
arrangements.
Lord D. (frankly) : Certainly. That's true enough. If I send a
boat's crew to cut out a frigate, they are to cut her out, and come back,
and not to pull for shore, and act on their own notions. That's all right.

BESS.

901

I meant no more than this. I'll go to the Baltic, smash the fortresses,
and take Cronstadt, or try hard for it, and then I'll wait orders.

MYSELF: You see something of what I mean. But still you go
too far. We do not want you to attack Cronstadt.
Lord D.: What ! Destroy the small places, and leave the big
place alone! Hang it ! look at the big Duke and the others, and ask
yourself if that's worthy of such noble vessels.
MYSELF : I have made the inquiry you recommend, and have re-
ceived an answer in the negative. I feel painfully that it would not be
worthy of such an armament, and therefore
Lord D.: And, therefore, we'll have a shy at the great place.
MYSELF : And, therefore, we'll fight shy of the small places.
Lord D.: Then what [I omit some very emphatic theology] do you
want me to do with the fleet?
MYSELF : What you first proposed. To go to the Baltic.
Lord D.: And do nothing ?
MYSELF: Dear me, no. Any manoeuvres you can execute, any
exercises through which you can put the men, any hydrographical
knowledge which you can acquire by means of surveys, will all be valu-
able services to the navy and to the country ; and 1 have pleasure in
undertaking that they shall be duly set forth to Parliament. About
October, I shall trust to receive a summary of them from your own
lips.

Lord D. (restraining his wrath) : But—but—but---what is all this to
do with the war. What harm will all this do to Russia ?
MYSELF : The views of her Majesty's Government do not comprise
the doing any harm to Russia.
Lord D. (furiously): D—(the rest it torn of).

WHEN DOES PARLIAMENT MEET
You remember, you remember,
How the session fleeted by,
How a meeting in November
Was suggested in July ;
How each Minister, outrageous,
Met the hint with wild defiance,
Declaring Europe linked
In an anti• Russ alliance.
You remember, you remember,
How the session fleeted by,
How a meeting in November
Was suggested in July.

_


You're recalling, you're recalling,
Lord John"- 'Aged his word


How _ luny plei
That Austria's isolation

Was a notion too absurd ;
That a splendid Austrian army,
With its cannon, foot, and horse,
Would " advance " on the invader,
And would "turn him out by force."
You remember, you remember, &o.
You are thinking, you are thinking,
How the lordly PALM once spoke,
How he made the Austrian junction
A most amusing joke ;
How he laughed at Austria's friendship
As a thing that might be spared ;
She could " join or stand aloof"—he
Was—something—if he cared.
You remember, you remember, &c.

You've been reading, you've been reading,
How these slightly-clashing words
Were explained to those the l'remier
Calls, .S'cottice, "my birds ;"
How, flatly contradicting
What both John and Pam had said,
He declared we needed Austria,
And he " hoped " to gain her " aid."
You remember, you remember, &c.

Now you're sulking, now you're sulking,
At the telegraph from Dover,
Which finally announces
That the Austrian throws us over.
With an army such as Palmerston
111-pleased beholds arrayed,
She won't "advance" to please Lord John,
Or lend the Premier "aid."
You remember, you remember,

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS.
(At the service of the Coalition Jotirna/e.)

LOSOPHEIL—The idea of the weekly journal referred to, that" the comprehensireness of its
" relations saves the Government from falling," though brilliant as a Northern light, is
not original. The thought first occurred to the Yankee doctor in Washington's militia,-
who, to keep his seat un horseback, mended his legs to their utmost stretch, on the prim
cipk that " the broader the base the stouter the superstructure."—See Cooper's " Spy."