The Express.
London, England, 1856-04-10 00:00:00

(FROM OUR SPECIAL
CAMP, SEBASTOPOL, Manx 29.
Bina the 24th, the day on which the great rase
meeting took plane in the valley of the Tohersaya,
the weather has again been severely cold, with a
strong and cutting wind from the north. Coughs
and colds are now more prevalent in camp than they
have been at any time during the winter; and these
affections are very probably due to the circum-
slum just mentioned, and neglect of the
precautions necessary in 00011( queue. There
is, however, no serious illness of any kind
in the English camps. The French are also much
healthier than they were a short time since. We
hear that at Pert the mortality has been very great
from typhus fever. NU@ been stated, as a curious and
.thil striking evidence of the different sanitary conditions
of the French and English armies, that for some
time the mortality among the French surgeons and
deiftratitr• from contagion was as great as the mods-
lky among all classes of the British forces. One of
chief physicians of the French army, Dr. Bandana,
Las lately arrived from Constantinople to inspect the
iseash ambulances, and has also bees visiting many
of the English hospitals in the Crimea. Among other
arrivals connected with the hospital establishments
has also been that of Miss Nightingale, with eight
hospital nurses. The latter are said to be intended
for duty at the hospitals of the Land Transport
Corps, the men of which establishment have been
suffering from sickness more than any other parts
of the army for some time past. Miss Nightingale
has also brought up aquantity of hospital stores.
It is understood that an extension of the armistice
has been agreed to between the respective Com-
maoders-in-Chief. The terms are differently stated.
All kinds of rumours prevail respecting the things to
be done in the event of the negotiations terminating
pacifically, the destinations of divisions and regiments,
and many other matters, but they are not worth re-
prating. Hitherto, from the mere outward appear-
, once of the encampments, one might suppose that the
armies had taken up their positions for many months
to come. The French are making gardens in all dirso-
done, and in places even ploughing up the ground
and sowing seeds. Many evergreens pare been brought
up from the sides of the hills looking toward the
north side, and various places too exposed to be
reached prior to the cessation of hostilities, and Giese
have been transplanted for the purpose of ornament-
ing the neighbourhoods of the tents and huts. Even
these small patches of verdure offer a great relief to
the eye in looking over the bare and trodden ground
of the plateau about the encampments. The same
succession of parades and drills is observed on all
sides; though occasionally the marching out of a
whole division, with its artillery, transport, commis-
sariat, and field equipments, and the reviews of larger
bodies of troops, would indicate preparations for
quitting winter quarters and taking the field. The
second division is preparing to march oat to-day. On
the 26th instant General McMahon reviewed the
whole of his corps drawls in the plain of Beleklava,
on the south side of the Fedioukine heights. The
constant daily removal of Russian guns and stores,
both by the French and ourselves, from the front,
show that every effort is being made to remove these
prises before the time shall arrive when the greater
part of the troops mast be engaged in other occupa-
tions. •
The cold weather hes interfered in some degree
with the preparations for the grand contest in rifle
retool which :was announced to take place at the
ing of the meeeth. Naas e= trials have,.
however, taken place In the several regiments and
brigades, with the view of arriving at the best marks-
men, to compete hereafter in the general contest.
There is but one opinion among men and oflioas of
the great superiority as a weapon, in all respects, of
the Enfield rifts over the Minifi rifle, for which it has
lately been exchanged.
The mail due on the 27th instant his not yet oozes
to hand. The latest dates of Laudon sews is camp
are up to Much ii.
The following is among the ge&neral orders:
Headquarters, bump, 1, Marsh 25.
The Communitr of **Forces publishes to this army the
translation of a general triter non ii by Mantel Mosier
to the French army :
" Bradqurtart, Frisch Army, Much 23.
" The Snag you Mrs jest Mud his interned you tbat
ties Empress boa given to Fresco as impirial Prince. Oar
bravo sad loyal allies, the English and Budiniass, have
also desired to tire a 'slate in honour of this happy birth.
" &Adieu! Yon will be sensible on this day et the ease
joy that the country bee lot; for, like her, los will see is
this desired mat another satisfaction for our Empurr, a
new pledge of the peat denudes of France, sad a striking
mark of the blessings of Hamm
" The Marshal Commanding in Cblsf,
((lived) " A. Pzussizz."

(FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.)
MELBOURNE, JAN. 18, 1866.
•
The close of the past year has been attended witit
gloomy meats on this side of the ocean, and I have
to record in the same letter the death of his late
Excellency Bir Charles Hotham, the Governor of
Victoria, the total wreak of the royal mail ship
Schonberg, and the failure of the repreeentative party
io the Council to form an administration. Intelli-
gence of the stranding of the Schonberg reached
town with her passengers, all saved, by the Queen,
steamer, on the 28th ult.
It is with sincere regret that I have to announce
the wreak of that splendid ship of the Black Ball
line, the Sohomberg, on the Australian comt, and
within a few hours sail of her destination. Fortu-
nately no lives were lost. The passengers and mall
were all landed safe on Friday morning. The Argus
says:
With reference is the petfornsaaces of the vessel, cad
the ceadnetof the captain, we have glowed the following
from eau triads, in whom we plum implicit reliance, who
were pressers on board. The TOW was overlooda,
drawing over 25 feet when the left, and the cargo was
chiefly iron and plant for the Goaloig Railway. Till
about lat. 46 deg. 8., and its the longitude of Greenwich,
there were nothing but calms and light winds, and she was
be calmed for nine days ate deg. north of the line, and
dysentery and Boeirtt cholera began to show themselves.
In onager:lce of the trades being southerly they were
forced to hog within five tales of the South American
coat south of Pernambuco. They then fathead to land
at Tristan d'Aeunha for fresh prow as, bat the wind again
calmed, sad they lost nearly a week. It was not till a day
past the meridian of Greenwich that th got fair wade.
lithe then ran 123 deg. of longitude and Bey
des. of latitude
in seventeen days—the best work ever done in that part of
the voyage, showing what the vessel could heap done nabs
had been properly laden. She this fell in with light and
contrary winds, which continued till Tuesday, when she
sighted Cape Bridgewater. The captain is reported as
Pros °endured anesellas a thorough searae, and was
slave tip, sight and day, when in the seighboorhood of
land. The catastrophe may be said to have arisen from his
culety to bring his vessel in a maternal. °unto tort, from
°wain Forbes not being acquainted with the strength of
the samint on the Australian coat, end from the rase
eadisaly Ailiag at a most critical moment.
Oa the arrival in town of the unfortunate passen-
gers instant exertions were put forth for the accom-
modation and shelter of those who were rendered
destitute by the occurrence. Seventy-five were ad-
mitted into the Immigrants' Home, and en additional
fifty were lodged by the order of the government in the
Government Depot in Ring-street. On the following
day (Saturday) a meeting of merchants and others
was held for the purpose of raising a fund to contri-
buts to the immediate neoessitim of the passengers.
A subsoriptioa was entered into at the meeting, and
about 40W. has since been subscribed. A large
quantity of the luggage has, however, sines been ro
covered, and consequently the parties are in as gad
a position as they would have been had the yang
landed them in the bay. A few of the pessimism
still remain on the funds of. the committee, but the
majority have not made any application for relief.
The most unpleasant part of the business has yet to
be told. From the very first moment serious ramous
were rife with respect to the caused the stranding of
this ship, and several of the yummier. openly se-
eased the captain of deliberately mooing her ashore.
A committee of premiers was formed on their
landing, which committee adopted an unanimous re-
port that the conduct of the captain and acme had
been immoral and grcealy negligent, and that had
the smallest amount of caution been observed the,
ship woad not have been lost. This report was sent
in to the committee having charge of the subsmip-
lions in aid of the walisims. sad • publie meeting of
the passengers was held in the Mechanics' Institute
on the 3rd instant, when these charges were openly
repeated. At this meeting resolutions were passed
condemnatory of the conduct of the captain
and doctor of the Schonberg and the agents of the
Black Ball line. I send you a copy of the Argo of
the 4th inst., which contains a report of this meet-
ing, at which I was present, from which you will
observe that the passengers agree in charging the
loss of the ship to the culpable negligence of the
captain. At a meeting of the seensittee of the
Chamber of Commerce, held on the Wednesday pre-
ceding this meeting, it was resolved that the govern-
ment should be requested to institute the most rigid
inquiry into the cause of the wreck.
The cloy after the occurrence of the wreck became
known in town, Lloyd's agent went down to the
ship in the Keen steamer. When the steamer was
observed, Captain Forbes went off in • boat, and re-
quested the Leers to come alongside. This was at
once done, and everything that could be removed
was taken off the wreck until night had set in. At
daylight on Sunday the Keen bore down again
to the wreck, where every. preparation was being
made to tranship the remainder of the passenger.'
luggage, by means of the only remaining large boat.
During the night the sea bad risen considerably, and
was breaking over the wreck fore and aft; the keen
meld not get aloegeide in consequence. The boats
and crew came off from the shore and proceeded to
give all moisten°, in transferring the luggage to the
steamer, but the sea bed risen to such a fearful
height about nine o'clock a.m. that it was found
impossible to work the boats any longer. Captain
Mathews, in company with Captain Forbes and Cap-
tain Ferguson, the harbour master, then visited the
wreck for the last time, and finding it unsafe to re-
main, orders were given to the crew to prepare to
abandon her. About this time the steamer Queen
chartered by Messer. Mackay, Baines, and Co., the
agents, arrived with a stevedore and twenty men oa
board, and immediately boarded the wreck and
assisted to cut away the miseomast, the only one re-
mauling. Mr. Murphy, one of the agents, also came
up in the Lioness, and boarded the wreck, soon after
which the whole of those on board—the crew, the
stevedore and his men—found it impossible to remain,
and were taken off in the ship's boat,. The
Leers then made the best of her way to Melbourne,
with Captain Forbes on board. On the return of the
Queen from Portland, on the 3rd, she reported that
not a vestige of the Schoenberg remained, this mag-
nificent floating palace, about which so much Ms
been said, having entirely broken up.
Captain Forbee's statement, in conversation, of
the way in which this sad catastrophe happened is
briefly thus :
The Schoenberg was on the starboard tack, under single-
reefed topsails sad reefed tortillas% sails When, as he
istagined, be was shoat four to five miles from the shore, he
I,V. orders to prepare to 'boot chip. The wind wee then
(ailing every rebate, end there was • ',rang southerly
swell cm the sea; and when the attempt wee made to tack,
the ?NW woad asp. The shi, was then wore, the lead
shoals( 17 fathoms of water at the time. The wind was
freshesieer from the eptweed, and the ship cams rand
gala. All sail wee mad* with her head S. by B. by the
compass, right off shore when she struck es a spit of reay,
end began to drift. A goat was lowered, and then it was
diapered that there was a current to the westward of from'
three le fear keots an hour. This thereat le set marked in
the chart, although known to masters of vessels radius
along the ors% Wiles the chip struck all tail was k• pt on
her to try and free her over the spit, but this berg sound
of ao avail, the sails were deed up and the anchor let go
to prevent her drifting. About two hours afterwards her
head bore straight for the shore, and she thumped heavily.
On the morning following the meeting of the pas-
senger. Captain Forbes addressed a letter to the
newspapers. The statements contained in this let-
ter have been contradicted by the passengers in a
host of letters which have appeared in the three daily
journal., and they most emphatically deny that the
anchors were ready when the vessel struck. The
official inquiry, however, if it should take place, of
which there is some doubt, will show which state-
sman correct.