The Press.
London, England, 1854-12-23 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

1217

prandi, drive them out of the field, and then quietly draw
a cordon round the plebe, inolosing forts, citadels, earth-
works, anti batteries from the Ilelbeck to lialaklava. How
many men would do this? Perhaps 120,000 would be
sufficient.
When the people hear that our army is, and has been
for awns days pest, helf•starving of hunger, and that the
sickness which always prevails in camp, aided by a fresh
outburst of cholera, is finding but too many victims
among our exhausted ranks, they will see that every effort
in the power of the oountry to make is put forth to suc-
cour them. What is the use in disguising the fact ? I see
none.
The army is suffering greatly worn out by night work,
by vigil in rain and storm, by hard labour in the trenched,
they find themselves suddenly reduced to short allowance ,
and the excellent and ample rations they had been in the
habit of receiving cut off or miserably reduced. For nine
days there has been, with very few exceptions, no issue of
tea, coffee, or sugar, to the troops. These, however, are
luxuries, nut necesseu ies. of military life.
Yesterday (November 30) the issue of meat to the men
of the fourth division was restricted in most instances
to two ounces of meat, and that meat was salt pork.
This division received part of its grog or rations of rum.
The general allowance of meat per man throughout the
army now is half a ration or half a pound. Sometimes
this allowance is reduced to one-third, or even to one
quarter of a pound of salt meat.
The cholera, which broke out on the night of the 2Fith
of November, continues its ravages, and we cannot esti-
mate the number of deaths iVOIII it and its abettors in
the destruction of life lower than sixty per diem. No less
than eighty-five men died the night before last iu (vamp,
according to the statements I have rece►ved and believe,
and the number of sick men is very large. Ot the marine
officers in the trenches only two are lit for duty. Of the
naval lieutenants of the brigade of seamen, amounting to
twenty, it is stated only five are able to work.
On the 2nd the same writer adds :
Until the new guns can be placed in position, we can-
not expeot to see any very great progress made in the
bombardment. The enemy usually make a nightly sortie ;
the one of the night of the 214th was a more serious one
than usual ; they attacked the French lines with 4,000
men, but were driven back with great loss ; the French
had five officers killed and wounded. Early this morning
(;lud ) the Russians attacked the pickets of the 30th, and
drove them in, but were in their turn repulsed and driven
back, by the Rifles. We had about twenty killed and
wounded. I have heard of no officers among them.
General Liprandi is reported to have left with a part of
his division going towards the eastward. There is evidently
something going on, as there was a greet deal of bell
ringing and cheering last night ;Ist) in tiehann,pol.

l'he correspondent, in closing his despatch on the
3rd, relates :
The cause of the Russians cheering which we heard yes-
terday morning is now ascertained. They had received a
remforcement of men and of provisions, and, according to
the statement of a deserter, both were much needed. The
supply must have been very small indeed, for it escaped
our observation, and any large body of men or waggons
must have been seen entering the city. They also cheered
in the morning before they came out to attack a party of
the 50th Regiment, posted in the Ovum—the eaves in the
rocks to the lett of and below our left attack, in a ravine
near the neck of the harbour. As our men had been out
in the wet all night, they found their rifles would not go
off, and, the enemy bung very numerous, they were forced
to fall back, and tire Russians once more established them•
selves in the Ovens. These were soon, however, made
too hot to hold them, for a party of the rifle brigade was
at once pushed down, and speedily dislodged them. We
lost two men killed and two severely wounded, eight men
slightly wounded, in this affair.
Three men are supposed to have deserted to the enemy,
one from the 77th, one front the 33rd, and one from the

138th.

The operations on the Russian side are described
in a letter of the 2nd from the Daily News cor-
respondent :
The large lltinch mortars have arrived, and are to be
divided between the French and our own baueries. Two
Lancaster guns have been brought into position to the
left of Chapman's battery. The French have mounted
their guns in their new square redoubt above the hiker-
mann valley ; they are heavy ships' guns, and will be
brought to bear upon the Inkertuann Light nearest the
water of the roadstead, and the two earthwork batteries
which the Russians have thrown up in front and to the
left of it. This lighthouse is constantly during the night
repeating signals to the garrison in the town, by means of
lights of various colour% and numbers, from the second
lukermann Light on the hill to the eastwird. The guns
are not yet mounted iu one redoubt which is a little to the
westward of the redoubt just named. The Itussiiiiia have
been attempting to interrupt the new works by throwing
shot .from the Lighthouse-bill batteries, but they have
done no damage. They have evidently perceived the
object of another new work which is still further to the
westward, and commanded the Harbour Creek and Careen.
ing Bay, as they have removed some vessels from these
situatiuna, and moved them over to a bay near the double
battery on the north side of the rusdatead. '1 hey have
also moved three line-of-battle ships to a further distance
than they were from the south shore of the rotdsteltd, as if
to be able to use their guns against the new works. The
Russian troops on the north heights are very busy fortify-
ing their position; no less than eight new batteries can
now to: counted on their left flank. These batteries ale
placed on the heights above a broad raiine, which opens
into the I iikermioin valley, east of the Lighthouse-hill. A
zigzag road is carried up this ravine, and is the main route
of communication between the Heerlen army and the head

1218

of the roadstead, where there is a considerable number of
Government storehouses, and a range of buildings which
appears like a barrack. The batteries command the
approach by this road, and protect the left flank of the
Russian position.
Respecting the condition of the besieged, we find
the following details in the Chronicle correspon-
dence :
Whatever may have been our losses, we have at least
the stern satisfaction of knowing that those of the enemy
are greater. Three deserters came in on the 29th, and
after making due allowance for exaggeration, there yet re-
mains enough for a fearful amount of want and misery.
The living are said to be no longer able to bury the dead,
and the troops to be utterly worn out by their ceaseless
labours, and dispirited by their sill-success whenever we
have met them in the field. Flour is said to be almost all
consumed, though there was no want of cattle. The state
of the country now must utterly prevent any further rein-
forcements being thrown into the town; those there
already, and their army of occupation, must be daily
weakened by hunger, sickness, and disease. On the
other hand, our fleets command the sea; we can obtain
continued supplies of provisions and men. The place
must eventually fall, and we have every reason fur antici-
pating our flag will wave over its battlements ere the first
dawn of the new year, when once the new guns and mor-
tars can be got into position ; but the weather has been so
unfavourable that we cannot expect this to be done in less
than three weeks.
BALAKLAVA HARBOUR AND THE FLEET.
A. letter dated on the 2nd inst. states :
We cannot boast much of the order in which ships are
moored in the harbour of Balaklava. Every one seems to
shift for herself, and they certainly ride it out very well ;
but every yard of room, especially with such a winter as
we anticipate, is precious, and a little economy of space
would admit many more vessels.
The Avon, with 330 sick and wounded, leaves to-morrow,
the 3rd, for Constantinople, at which place or at Malta she
will have to repair the damage sustained in the late gale.
Among her passengers is expected to be Lord Cardigan,
returning on account of his health. The Jura proceeds
the same day to Corfu for troops.
The main body of the sailing fleet have probably left the
exposed anchorage of the Katscha before this for Beicos.
Only the Rodney and Vengeance are to remain in the little
bay to the eastward of Chersonese, and they are to be used
as store depots, save in case of unlooked-for necessity. It
is said that the men "under authority" have changed their
minds once more about Eupatoria, and will endeavour to
hold it for the present. Commander 13orlase is to succeed
Captain Brock in the government.
WEATHER IN THE CRIMEA.
The correspondent of the Daily News has trans-
mitted the following weather-table kept at Balaklava
during three weeks before the mail of the 2nd inst.
was despatched
On the 10th November it rained all the night preceding,
and all the morning up to mid-day. The afternoon was
sunny, and in the evening it blew very hard.
The 11th. The gale subsided in the course of the night.
The morning was foggy, the day sunny, with frequent
showers of rain. At this date the roads were almost im•
practicable.
The 12th. Dry, windy night. Bright, squally morning.
The 13th. A windy day, with frequent showers of rain.
The rain ceased at sunset.
On the 14th, it blew a hurricane from 5.30 to 10.30 a.m.,
the sun shining brightly all the time. Fall of sleet and
hail at 1 p.m. At that hour it still blew hard. Dark as
night at 2.30, and thunderstorm at 3 p.m. Storm of sleet,
hail and snow, from 3to 4 p.m. Four inches snow on the
heights. It blew a gale from 7to 9 p.m, and the wind was
moderately high all night.
15th Sunny morning. A delightful breeze.
weather all day.
16th. Squally all last night. Bright morning, and sunny
day. Wind hardly to be felt at Balaklava, but disagreeably
high in the camps.
17th. Warm, genial weather. Summer sun, and spring
breeze.
INth. A beautiful day. Wind high on the heights.
Mild night.
19th. After the mild night intensely cold at 4 a.m., and
a gusty, squally, raw morning up to 10 a.m. The day was
again mild, but with a high wind and fast drifting clouds.
The night squally.
20th. Slight rain in the morning. Torrents of rain at
9 a.m., and all day long. Rain lessened at night.
21st. Dry mild morning.
22nd. Dry morning, but cloudy. The sun broke
through at 11 a.m. Rain at sunset and heavy rains all
night.
23rd. High wind ; rainy, muddy, mild morning ; rain
all day and all night.
24th. Rain, but clearing off; very mild weather; wind
hardly felt at Balaklava, but strong on the heights.
26th. An English May-day, but the mud terrible.
27th A dry, mild, cloudy day.
28th. Heavy rains.
29th. Rain and wind; air mild.
130th. Dry, bright, mild ; followed by heavy rains on the
Ist December.
The writer adds :
We have the most confused statements of the probable
state of the weather in this month and in January. Some
of the natives talk of heavy falls of snow, but if such there
ever have been, they must be the exception, not the rule,
for in snow countries every house has its sleigh, while in
the small portion of the Crimea which the army has hitherto
been hardly any sleighs were to be found. Nor are the
roofs of the houses strong or steep enough for a snow
oonntry. Others assert that the rains will cease about the
middle of this month, and dry weather, slightly frosty, act

Fine