The Express.
London, England, 1855-03-13 00:00:00

roa, MARCH 13, 1855.

have DIVOT

gaii-sliim—s.-- The petned"--Pal eeme Vrod;laichrsstatrof
Mega is the absence of ealledrat rale to enable the miners
to presents their labours. Frees various motions of the
data *camas amounts meek tea—abusdattaa of auriferous
earth thrum up, but no water to &disloyal' the metal.
For the past few days the sky has bees overcast, and we
had bum fumed with a bud& atmesphed. bet the old-
!whined wined sir he net pat mu their appearance.
Be deed te die peep ed's mead of the year. we learn
that e 17aaniestair et awes of wheat Mee hum sown, and
that di* tof Misr asps will be My up to that of last
year. hi as 'Manny propitious seem, we shall had
: :=s:e of** anal egrioultaral pedants. Of general
, dads ea bard mad empgihe cs the way an
lcalla
sTal to our weals fee salsas is mac The news
by the last mall elemsr, limillippers oa the other
side were measurably reeswederibek mese, sad mein to
11l asp ell the dude Wide& We jives rise to some enure-
moment We. The prosiest et- oda a partial breathing
apse. sad the psedhility of ewe rad before the sprig(
seem anima., welds the hope that we may not yet be
delivered over to inter despoadency.

THE ARMY BEFORE

MR. ROEBUCK'S CODUlzxnn.
11 The announcement that hi Royal Highness the
Dake of Cambridge, in command of the Guards during
their brilliant enoleite at Alma, Inkormann, and Haskins,
one to be seamalmil yesterday, attracted, long before the
Emer were opened. • formidable concourse of
IMP pllEMmoiraserleally mush larger than the committee-
Milnited to contain, and to preserve the aeries-
ma Min% gibe were stationed along the corridors to mai-
lob an ages gangway. EIS royal highness arrived shortly
Ilbin Alsak, and was ushered la to the committee.
lOeattigbtls custom of important public committoes in
all prod= iteldema, the pablio in the present instance are
not Malaita Imbe the cosamittm-room until the committee
itself is assemßied. The oinsequeaos of this arrangement, or
rather malmmaageotent, is, that on the room being opened,
• most unparliamentary rush takes place through the nar-
row doorway, and all is pell-mell and confusion—an
Oonsomly overture to the proceeding, that might be readily
melded by snowing the gentle public, as in the case of
Mbar laibunals, to take their plum by a process of gradual
agregollem The representatives of tin press, moreover,
who wise in considerable strength, encountered in cons.-
moms peat difficulty in obtaining their privileged entree
at the hands of the police, who, as usual, exercised their
obstructiveness and brief authority on the occasion, till at
length the committee room having assumed something like
silence and signs of the ado renew, which it was for
some time difficult to establish oat of the dense public mass
pecked together, like pigs in a Turkey basket, the hoe.
Chairman addressed himself to his royal highness, who,
though apparently hemmed under the heat and labour of
the campaign, was looking remarkably well. His royal
highness was seated on the left of the Chairman, and not
in the place nasally allotted to the Mimes.
This was rather unfortunate for than who had to catch and
Imam a comet account of what was said, since the exami-
nation assumed occasionally too much the form of • iele-et-
fore or tea table conversation at the committee table between
the Chairmen, the various reemben, and his royal highnem.
His royal highs/sin, who gave his evidence with ad-
mirable truisms, said—He joined the army to the East at
ISeuteri on the 10th of May, sad embarked from theme
Varna with the expeditionary forces on 13th June fol-
lowing. All the forces, with the exception of the artillery,
went by steamers. The artillery went by ailing vessels and
not by steamers. The condition in which he found the men
of his division at Scutari was that of perfect good order : in
fact, they were as well as when they left England. Hie
own men, when they encamped, were particularly well,
and were well supplied with food; but the commis-
sariat operations were not as satisfactory as he could
have wished even at ficatari. Greet inconvenience arose
es regarded forage, there being only one plea of issue for
the whole of the troops, during the time they were at
Scutari, and that caused so much delay that it sometimes
took an officer's servant all day waiting before be could
lobtala his supply. Whet they arrived at Varna no prepa-
rations were made to receive them. They had only to land
sad take up their position. The troop' were not actually in
want of provisions, but only now and then. The supply
was not SO regular as could have been wished. The forage
fin the hones was often very irregular. Personally, his
sepal highs's* recommitted soma 12 or 14 miles of the
muntry around Verna, sad should have imagined that there
wee an opportunity of furnishing the hones with food from
theses, and that they might have obtained • large supply.
TM went of forme did not, he thought, arias from the
abases, of awns of food in the country. When his division
moved en to Alladin, he directed it to encamp as near as
they mad conmoiently to where the light division
had been. His division might have been ball or a
quarter of • mile from the water, but still ea
the high ground. They encamped further from
the water than the light division did, thinking ft
objectionable to be so near. He had no opinion as to the
salubrity or otherwise of the place from the medical coM-
ion of the division, but considering they were obliged to
encamp sear the water, they took up such ground as they
thought most advantageous under the circumstances.
When they were there their honea were not very regm
isrly supplied. They were well supplied as regarded
barley, but not as regarded hay. He had nothing but
oxen to carry his camp material, attached to his division.
There might have been a few horses. The first cam of
*knew was on the 17th hill. The weather was very
visa. and they had only been 17 days encamped when
the eholera broke out. Them was a deficiency in the
attendance of medical men, but • good many fell in after-
words. Tiny went out with' two assistant-surpass to
sash regiment, but his impression was they ought to have
had three at least, and this number they now had. They
did not feel the want of them so much until the cholera
broke out, and then there was so much difficulty expo-
*mad is all the divisions that they made the best of it.
Thera was no such great delleissey et =idiotism atVarna,
sod no deficiency of medicine. As soon as the sickness
broke out he took steps, with the concurrence of Lord Rag-
lan, to move the encompment, sad it was moved away from
AlleitUa similes distant. The troops were all well then,
sad they had wells and small running streams for supplying
eas maps with water ; but the sickness rather increased
than diminished on their removal. He lost a groat many of
the Guards from cholera, bat he could not say how luny of
the highlanders. The brigade of Guards lost 170 from

bleakete. He was not sure whether the order is to eanylog

(erred taking them, while others took only what they con-
tained and left the covering behind. He did not know
whether they canted with them a change of clothing. He
was one of the fist who arrived with his division at Bala-
klava sad took pessession, and they pared the first night
OWING the loam The Nana for doing se was that they
led net Won pereirion of the house in the town so as to
pat the men inlet carer ; and the general impression was
that they might be attacked, and of course all the regiments
of the division would be kept together to meet any sadden
'uprise' ; in fast, they took up a sort of military position to
Vet the town towards Mackenne's farm and Sebastopol.
With reference to any authority to distribute the houses
in Balakiava among the boon, there were certain benne,
he believed, " told off" for certain departments, but the
generality, be thought, were not " told off." And as re-
garded any fighting in the town, the light division exchanged
a good number of shots when they first arrived, sad several
shells were thrown from an old Grecian fort. into the town.
There was a certain amount of devastation committed by
the troops; bat, considering there had been firing going on,
there was as little disorder in the town as they weld well
anticipate ; 1n fact, upon the whole, he thought the inte-
rior was very creditable to troopsattaelting a town. There
was a very large house, occupied by Lord Raglan when they
ant got in to Dakhla's, and be believed it was always sup-
posed to be Lord Raglan's, as it was chalked on the door to
be hi head-qurten. The house was afterwards offered to
him when he was taken ill, but he did not take it, and did
net know who occupied it after. The sick under the hos-
pital tents might have been taken to it ; but he could not
my that the troops wanted housing, as they were generally
either put late the houses, or "told out" into the
hespitab, or taken on bard ship. He did not
revisit Balaklava during the whole time he was
before Sebastopol, being too much absorbed in what he had
to do there. The work of opening the trenches began
about two days after they reached Sebastopol, and it was
than that they began the work of forming the batteries
with their working and covering parties. He did not know
that any portion of the troops were unoccupied, and be did
sot think, so far as his division went, that any of them
could have bean spared to make the road that was required.
At first the weather was fine, but sickness soon set in, and
there was a groat number of sick before they got the torte.
The fact was, the cholera re-appeared amongst them.
Many of the houses in Balakiava were in a very dirty state,
and knocked about by the inhabitants rushing to get away,
and consequently many of them were not exactly suited
for the men: He took the Woronzoff road, an
excellent pest road to communicate with Bala-
kites. While oat the First Division were never a
day without rations, with the exception of being
a little short of rum, but they always had bread and biscuit,
and from the latest accounts he had received their supply
was good now. He attributed this not only to the ears and
circumspection of the officers, but to the energy and acti-
vity of the oommissariat. He was very well served by the
eommisutiat himself. Those of that body attached to his
division were particularly good men. They were young,
and at first, perhaps, wanting in experience ; but they were
extremely anion and attentive, and when he (his royal
highness) made known to them the difficulties of the depart-
ment and his wants and wishes, they carried them out to
the letter. Then difficulties (continued his royal highness)
consisted, if he might so term it, in the forms common to
the department, and in their not being suited to the opera-
tions of the field. He thought they were extremely incon-
venient. They seemed to consist in throwing difficulties in
the way instead of making everything easy. (Laughter.)
Re would give the committee an instance. Early in the
day when he first went to Balaklava his division
moved on to Alkali, and he (his royal highness)
remained a few days behind ; and being anxious to have
his men properly rationed, he sent an officer on to the earn-
raises:let, with instructions to that effect; but instead of
doing this, the gentlemen of the commissariat sent back, in
place of rations, a printed form. (Laughter.) This caused
a delay of some hours; and instead of sending the return
back, sad saying it was incorrect, or that the return must
be altered to entitle the men to rations, they sent no rations
at all. On the officer coming to him (his royal highness), ha
immediately directed him at once to go with the saireals,
and bring the rations up, end so they got them at lost,
though he thought they ought. in spite of the official form
end flaw, to have get then rations at first. (Laughter.)
To cap the whole it turned out that the oommissariat officer
was wrong and the military officer right, and that there was
no mistake in the return at all. (Much laughter.) He
thought then matters of form were quite preposterous, but
that the absurdity was considerably shaken off by the time
they got further into the Crimea. He named it to Commis-
sary Filder, who did not seem to take much notice of the
matter. (Laughter.) He attributed the general ill-feeding
of the troops and forage of the horses to the beads of the
commissariat department. Had nothing to complain of as
regarded his own commissariat, who, in pursuance of his
instructions, always provided a three days' store. He did
not make himself much acquainted with the resources of
the country • round Varna when there with reterence
to its capability of supply of food and forage
for the tinny ; but thought that the districts
around Constantinople, from what he saw of them,
might unquestionably have furnished those supplies.
It would take a steamer thirty-six hours to run from Varna
to Balaklava, and stores at Varna might have been mar
ported to Dalaklava in that time. There could not be
two opicions on the subject u to the troops having been
very much overworked—worked beyond their strength—
and no men could be worked to such a degree without being
seriously affected in their health and physical strength.
Much of this ilium and fatigue was owing to the want of
roads and conveyances. They bad to carry thing. them-
selves that ought to have been brought up for them. On
their transit from Varna to Old Fort they did not take any
baggage animals with them. Not being a naval officer he
could not speak with confidence as to the.ressons why the
men-of-war did not carry any troops ; but he believed the
vessels of was were obliged to be retained to protect the
convoys, lest the steamers, of which there were • large
number in the harbour of Sebastopol, might come out and
attack them. He did not know whether the baggage
animals had any supplies of food when they arrived. All be
could say was, that his baggage animals had not, and that
he was obliged in consequence to shoot them down. In hie
own division he had to shoot 24 immunities ponies, on one
morning, at the end of October, owing to the dreadful state