The Express.
London, England, 1856-01-08 00:00:00

OUR ARMY 1N THE CREWEL.

DESTRUCTION OF RUSSIAN DOCKS.
(PROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.)
OAMP, SEBASTOPOL, Dna Si.
One of the dye celebrated dry dodos In the Kars.
belasia suburb of Sebastopol was demolished by the
French engineen on Saturday last, the 923 d instant,
at 2 p.m., by the explosions of miss". The &arm-
dos of the desk was fully asoompliehed, the blest
having almost instentameonely reduced the massive
abrio into a ruined and confused heap of stones.
The intention of destroying a poetics of the docks
Ilam not known in clamp until an early hoer of the
morning of the same day. The six companies of the
18th Royal Irish regiment, which for the last mouth
a dye weeks have bees quartered la the lambda.*
deating fa -drommeaseem pespaealome-ine-.111•1
destined's of the three docks la nee, and the
part of dm basin in "barge of the English engagers,
were mend up at ti a.m., before daylight.
Their departure was the unobserved by the
mealy as the north side of the misread. It was
smoldered pendent to march these men up to camp,
Is ease the Reeds= might think proper, after the
explodes, to direct a heavy fire as the suburb, and
to avoid all risk of comalties, should say of the
buildings fall from the sonemsion. This movement
was a sailleint intimation that the explosion of put
of the docks was at hand, bet I. addition all ser-
vants, and men on fatigue, going into the tows for
wood, were early fa the amain stopped at the
Redo, and subsequently a radon of Nutria wee
drawn around to prevent damn or any peen from
approaching within the neighbourhood of the docks
where then was the slightest chests dearer from
the explodoe. As it turned oat, however, diem
precaution proved unnecessary, for the mines were
se laid that the abets of their explosion were con-
fined to a very limited sphere of sedan.
The dock selected by the French enginews for de-
molition as this masks was the cue pissed to the
west of the lock through which Needs formerly en-
tered into the great basin. In addition to this dock
the French have to destroy another dry dock oa the
east side of the same, look, the look itself, which,
with itssidosand foandations of at masonry sad maga-
Seat floodgates, has the appearance of weaker dock,
and half the bade. It I. understood that the ail-
searing operations are completed for the demoli-
tion of the whole of those stratum, and that the
shiest in densolideng one portion only was to test
the amersoy of mask salealations with regard to
the quantity of gunpowder seeeeeary ler Amin
the desired result. The quantity actually 'employed
is said to have been a little over 9,000 pounds English,
coe 1,000 French ldlegrammes.
The Free& esgiames have followed a somewhat
diffsrent plan yes the English engineers for the
destination" of the docks. They have trusted princi-
pally to galleries serried mom end beam* the
beams of the Ilea. They have ales, however,
Ismael with sack side, a banana' gallery, to blow
out the foundation sad lower part of each side wall.
Is the dock, to be destroyed by the English, perpen-
dicular shafts have been sank at frequent atonal§
slag the sides, for the purpose of blowing the whole
of the sides inwards. Latterly elm, galleries have
been constructed beasatk the foundations of the
bottom of sub desk. me that their demolition meet be
very effsonal. Arrangements have been made for
Bring the English mines by a ,ohale battery. The
Freak seises on Saturday were find by mane of
trains of laid gunpowder and fume.
The report of the explodes was yon means lend.
It was beard is lamp bat was generally seppomed to
be the amain of some of the Remits projectiles
among the buildings of the town. Nearer to the
seas of the explesioa a tremulous agitation of the
grand was felt, and this was followed by the pecu-
liar compreesed essed—aces like the rumbling of
distant thunder than the anal report af gunpowder
and from within metal—which always assompanies
subterreneees dietherges. Simaltasseas with the
wise of the Weeds& the air over the sites.
tics of the desk became Wakened with
smoke, dense, and rubbish. A large quatky,
among whisk were MOM of comaiderable sink 70119
perpandieulerly upwards, while at the same time a
shower of smeary was hurled from each side upwards
and serving towards the centre. The grouse portion
of these blocks and fragments of stone appeared to
fall downwards into the vacaat space of the dock :
namely any ware observed to Ay far hoped its
limits. A deem cloud of smoke filled aid rested
over the place of ruin, end this soutinued hanging
over it for a coomiderable time, for there was so
brass to waft it away. No 100/11R bad the explosion
occurred, the crush of the falling mosoary bad searealy
died away from the are, whoa the sharp reports of
several shells about the docks and neighboring bead-
ing' told that the sassy bed been no unobservant
speetston of the some. They hoped to hit some of the
troops, wham they empested to be is the salghboar-
hood of the szplosisa, the mare of which they no
doubt understood, bat, as and, fired without amt.
iag any injury or musing casualty. It is remarkable
bow very few semselties have taken place among the
Sappers and Artillerymen, and in the six companies
of the men of the 18th Refloat, who have been
quartered in the Harabelnala during the opera-
tions connected with the mining of the
docks, notwithstanding the constant fire of the
easy. Until a short time ago, when •
obeli entered a omnpaay's cooking-house, whence
the men could not readily serape, and when, in con-
sequence, several were wounded, not a casualty bad
occurred among the seen of the 18th Regiment. The
Russians appear to have the range of all the principal
points, and, moreover, seem to have men always on
the look out. whe make signals to the gunners in the
batteries whenever a party of troops are otreened
moving in the tows. for no wooer is a group exposed
to view than it is Ind at. Oals principal mares of
severity to our men is, of mane, the member of stone
buildings of the tows these not only attempt the
missiles of the enemy as they fall towards the
ground, but afford tolerably oafs means of shelter
when • well-directed shell falls too dangerenely
class set to be, if possible, avoided by hasty Wit-
Report mys that all the preparations will be gam-
piked for the &mad= of the three decks to be
destroyed by the English in the coarse of week
front the present date. The arrangemeate would have
bees tabbed already bad it not been for the large
quantity of wets" whisk has found its way into the
shafts and vineries 'solvated for the remptioa of the
blasting powder. It appeals that the mean for the
water having entered so *lamely Into these,
excavations, while those sonnected with the French
mines have 'sambaed dry, is their relative polities