The Sun.
London, England, 1855-01-12 00:00:00

LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, JANUARY 12, 1855.

11TA VAL AND MILITARY INTELLIGENCE.

The Duke of Wellington, 131, screw, Captain Gor-
don, paid wages yesterday at Portsmouth.
Royal George, 120, screw, is still in Sheerness Basin.
Her crew are all gone on leave. The poop is fast being
taken off.

Exmouth, 91, screw, Captain Hon. F. T. Pelham,
moved out to the sailing moorings in Hamoaze from the
Devonport Dockyard on Wednesday.
Princess Royal, 91, screw, Captain Lord C. E. Paget,
sailed on Wednesday afternoon from Devonport for
Queenstown, where, as before stated, she embarks troops
for the Crimea.

Caesar, 91, screw, Captain Robb, went out of Devon-
port Harbour on Wednesday.
Majestic, 80, screw, Captain Hope, C. 8., is in No. 3
dry dock, at Sheerness ; her rigging and masts are all
set up, and the crew gone on leave. She is principally
now in the hands of the engineers, with the exception
of the defects in the after part.
The Hastings and Pembroke, 72-gun sailing-ships,
that have been in dock some time being converted into
screw-ships, to carry 60 guns each, will have the neces
Fa ry alterations completed by the end of this month.
They will, it is expected, with the four or five other
ships of the same character undergoing a similar conver-
sion at the ether dockyards, form a very suitable and
useful addition to the class of vessels best adapted for
service in the ensuing campaign in the Baltic.
Russell, 60, screw, is still in No. 2 graving-dock, at
Sheerness. About the 15th she is to go out, if possible.
Her sister-ship, the Hawke, at Chatham, went out of
dock on Monday, and got one mast in. We hear she is
to go in again for greater facility of rigging, ice.
Amphion, 34, screw, Captain Key, is in the Sheerness
basin, with her masts out and lower deck cut away, pre-
paratory to getting her boilers out ; her crew were paid
on Tuesday, and have gone on leave till the sth of
February next.
The crew of her Majesty's screw steam corvette Cos-
sack, Captain Fanshawe, were paid wages at Plymouth
yestei day.

Pylades, 20, screw, Captain D'Eyncourt, on Tuesday
hoisted the pennant in Sheerness basin. Her crew,
drafted from the Desperate, assisted getting in her other
two boilers. She is under the sheers, and is to be brought
forward with all despatch.
The Cressy, 80, screw, Captain Warren, is in No. 1
dry dock at Sheerness. She is now nearly out of the
hands of the shipwrights, and will go out of dock
about the 18th, after her return. Fiftyone of her crew
have already returned.

Royal Clarence barracks early on Monday morning for
Ireland ; they conmisted of 83 faniilies, who were all well
catered for while in the Clarence barracks, and on leav-
ing they were provided with omnibuses to take them to
the place of departure. Lord Methuen was particularly
kind to the sick, who have been nourished by his means
with soups from the officers' mess. His lordship's as-
siduous attention and liberality towards these poor crea-
tures has been unbounded. On Sunday Mr. Chauncey,
purveyor to the troops in garrison at Portsmouth, kept
his bakehouse open to cook provisions for his lordship's
numerous charge, and at his expense, consisting of mut-
ton and bread to take on board ship-2501b. of the
former and 3401 b. of the latter ; those women nursing
children were provided with two quart bottles of stout
each to comfort them in their passage to their homes.
On Wednesday Lord Methuen, Captain Bellers, and
Quartermaster Paton were again indefatigable in for-
warding the remainder in vans, to the railway to
proceed to different parts of England and Wales, having
supplied them liberally with necessaries, as in the case of
those who had left before them. Such truly patriotic
benevolence needs no praise.

THE B.ATTLE OF INKERMAN-THE
PROSPECTS OF THE WAR.

(From the new number of the Quarterly Review.)
In the meanwhile large reinforcements were daily join-
ng the Russian camp to the north of Sebastopol. Extra.
ordinary efforts were being made to bring down those
troops which the Austrian occupation of the Principalities
now placed at the disposal of the Czar for the defence of
the Crimea, and all the resources of the country were em-
ployed for this purpose. Carts, carriages, post-horses,
bore one corps d'armee limn Odessa to-the Belbec. Before
wo even received notice of their approach fifty thousand
men were collected on the heights of Inkerman, the
greater number of whom the generals of the allied armies
had been assured from home were still watching the fron-
tiers of Bessarabia in expectation of an Austrian invasion.
Prince Menschikoff resolved, by one great effort, to force
our ill-defended position, which, once carried, would place
the Allied armies at his mercy. His plan was well con-
ceived. Our front was exposed, our flank and rear open,
and he could pour his columns from all sides upon our de-
voted bands, before we could even know that they were
near. A. despatch, written to the Emperor, his master,
some days before the execution of his design, betrays the
confidence he felt in its result, and the almost mad excite-
ment of his brain at the prospect of success. "A terrible
calamity," he wrote, " impends over the invaders of your
dominions. In a few days they will have perished by the
sword, or will be driven into the sea. Let your Majesty
send your eons hero, that I may render up to them un-
touched the priceless treasure which your Majesty has en-
trusted to my keeping." Two days before he was to fulfil
his pledge, two imperial carriages, preceded by outriders,
and accompanied by an escort of cavalry, were seen to
enter Sebastopol by the high road from the north, and the
sound of rejoicings came up from the city.
Soon after midnight, on the morning of the sth of Nov.,
those who guarded the trenches and lay sleepless in their
tents listened to the tolling of bells, as for some sacred
ceremony. The distant sounds of chanting are even said
to have been heard by persons who watched still nearer to
the beleagured city. The solemn peal ceased about two
hours before daylight, and was succeeded by the bright
flash and heavy report of ordnance in the rear of the British

lines. After a little time there was again deep silence,
only broken by a low rumbling beard by the furthest
pickets, who thought it to be the noise of waggons laden
with supplies entering the town.
The dawn long struggled through the mist which hung
on the heights of Sebastopol. As daylight broke a party of
unarmed men appeared on the crest of the hill, aboyo the
eastern end of the harbour of Sebastopol, and in front of

the second division of the British army. They made signs
as, of surrender to the pickets which watched those
heights. The officer believing them to be deserters ad-
vanced to receive them. Having been thts thrown off
his guard he and his men were suddenly surrounded and
seized by a largo body of troops who had lain in ambush
behind the ridge. An alarm was thus avoided, and the
first Russian columns were fast drawing near to the Bri-
tish lines, partly concealed by the mist, before they were
perceived by the remaining pickets, which gave notice of
their approach; and boldly resisted and checked the ad-
vance of the enemy. They only fell back when their am-
munition had been expended, and when completely over-
powered by the weight of succeeding masses of men. The
second division, to which, though reduced to nearly half
its numbers by battle and disease, was still confided the
important post now menaced, had scarcely time to collect
to receive the Russian advance. Their able and expe-
rienced commander, overcome by his duties, anxiety, and
disease. was on bed at Balaklava. qun. Peanefather
hail taken his place. He hastily foe4mAZ tne.da,thaated regi-
meats, and rapidly- red them to meet the Onemy, who were
pouring in dense masses over the hill. Soon they opened
the deadly fire of the Blinie, making havoc from afar amongst
the approaching columns. The Russians, seeing that the
British troops were now prepared to receive them, rushed
forward with loud and discordant yellsrising above the roll
of musketry and the roar of artillery—a sound—how un-
like the hearty English cheer I —never Sc be forgotten by
those who heard it en that memorable Morning. At that
same time their numerous artillery, which had been
brought to the edge of the bill over which they had been
so noiselessly dragged, and the guns of tie town and ships
of war, threw an unceasing volley of slot and shell not
only into our troops, but even beyond their camp, tearing
to pieces the tents and killing the horses which were still
fastened to their pickets. The batteria of the Ist and
2d divisions soon took up a position ok a rising ground
in front of our linos, and sought in vain lo check the heavy
fire.

Whilst fresh columns ascended the hill facing the end of
the harbour, others, winding round it: base, threatened
our flank by a road through a deep ravine, and our rear by
a second track leiding up from the Inkerman valley.
Another large body advanced towards tae five-gun battery
through a narrow gorge, stretching from "Careening
Bay" almost into the centre of our position. Thus was
the right of the Allied armies menaced on all sides by
overwhelming numbers.
The Guards were in the immediate rear of the 2d divi-
sion, and consequently the nearest to the point of attack.
The GrenAiers and Scots Fusiliers lost no time after the •
first shot was fired in hurrying forwards. The greater
part of the brigade had but just returned from the trenches,
in which they had been exposed to rain since an hour be-
fore daylight on the previous morning. Benumbed with
tahnetyi
peartei
nled t
ha
ag
ta itnhset
et
nh
ee
me
yn e n yo Ad. sa theyda di vn
force
cold, wet, long without rest, and for many hours without
w
some way down the ancid
by the road in the rear of the second division, they turned
9
justlyfd
to the right. On a small spur,
preci-
pitous hill :overlooking the valley of Inkerman, was a small
battery built of sandbags and fascines ; it had held two
siege-guns, placed there to silence a gun which, mounted
by the Russians on the opposite heights, above the ruins,
had caused much annoyance to our camp. The desired
object having been effected, the two guns, being required
elsewhere, had been removed. The unarmed battery was
occupied en that morning by a picket of the 55th Regi-
ment. In front of it, before daylight, the enemy had
brought up heavy guns, which opened suddenly upon
this small body of men. Surprised by an overwhelming
force, and unsupported by their own division, they
were compelled to fall back, after making for a short
time a vigorous resistance, and losing nearly two-thirds
of their number. As they retreated the Guards wore ad-
vancing to the spot. Seeing that the pickets were retiring
before the enemy, who had already taken possession of the
battery, the Grenadiers, giving a loud cheer, charged
down the declivity. It was the work of a moment. Thu
Russians were driven headlong from the work. The three
regiments of Guards, the Coldstreams having soon after
joined the rest of the brigade, held the battery, formed
into line at right angles to it, and occupied the ridges of
the projecting spur.
Then commenced a struggle which has rarely if ever
been equalled in modern warfare. The columns of the
enemy, unchecked by the English fire, again impetuously
advanced with fearful yells up the slope, attempting to
turn the right flank of the Guards. The Grenadiers,
united with the Coldstreams, met the approaching columns
with a second eiarge. Again the enemy were driven
back, but again, urged onwards by the overwhelming
numbers behind, returned. The ammunition of the
Guards was nearly expended, and their ranks broken and
thinned by those who had fallen in this bloody contest;
but still they held their ground—firing upon the advanc-
ing foe on ono Bide, rushing with the bayonet upon thoSe
who attempted to surround them on the other. Fresh
supplies and come reinforcements from the 4th division
at length reached them. But still the Russians pressed
on with undiminished strength. Again our brave men
were in need of ammunition, and were fast falling be-
fore the unceasing fire of the enemy, who, concealed
by the thick brushwood and by the undulating ground,
had now succeeded in surrounding them. They could
but give sway. Charging with desperate fury, they
bore their colours triumphantly through the dense
mass. Reaching a breastwork which had been raised at
some distance behind the battery, they formed again, and
with the bayonet prepared once more to dispute every inch
of ground. During more than five hours this heroic brigade
almost alone resisted the attack of an overwhelming force,
supported by a heavy and continuous fire of artillery.
Nearly two-thirds of their numbers• were mown down in
this hand-to-hand fight. Yet they know that the safety
of the British army depended upon them, and they nobly
held their own—each man performing deeds of almost un-
exampled heroism.
The 4th division, whose camp was far distant, had early
hastened to the pbint of attack, led by Sir Geo. Cathcart,
but they did not reach it until after the Guards had long
been engaged in the struggle for the possession of the two-
gun battery. Ono brigade under General Goldie was de-
tached to the assistance of the 2d division, now hard pressed
on the left by the increasing columns of the enemy. The
other, commanded by General Torrens, turned to the
right and sought the Guards, who wore almost surrounded.
Sir G. Cathcart believed that the most effectual succour
could be given them by turning the enemy's flank, and
thus compelling them to fall back from the disputed battery.
Unwilling to credit the earnest representations made to
him that the Russians had already occupied the opposite
heights, he placed himself at the head of a few companies
of the 68th Regiment, and with undaunted spirit entered
a gully to the right of the earthwork. But ho had scarcely
descended far before he perceived the Russians on the ridges
above him. Ile saw, too late, that he was surrounded.
Attempting to lead back his men, this distinguished officer
fell mortally wounded, and his body remained for some
time in the midst of the enemy. His gallant aide-do-camp,
Colonel Chas. Seymour, who had long shared the fortunes
of his chief, and who stooped to receive his last breath,
perished by his side.
But a contest no less terrible than that around the two-
gun battery raged on the hill above the harbour, on which

the Russians had first appeared, and which was separated
by a deep ravine from that held by the Guards. The ground
th
s
f
etwtiecuebecvwbhnirxhvoolpeareecaaevuheesonromersniaekelasnetgsdirctuiisseja:enon.
atnsd!jetneurTcetdrodieehseoaetsvhdtngAotlduttedenhoishadbiii
nitmwmeicf
aheiyywtlnaeiyneothetniatiaie:wu,
the
difficulty
deabsclwefdlat:nmr
itreedmypoeeeldwage
oirfnputinrafeasndrefodndasedsooscirk
itynsteartteihtriacecredlor
mhoouanhdesdenfinkettmilaoasilthogrhsubci
nbhhee,eaklbloserecveomfliirelodbift
,onlerrontittodgoiasi
turtn
a_hemsovehtks.
eue.hestturneibnhobroTewpsegotwtepteoT
jhaeswfiehaninroetta
nettihdukumohi2d;
e,eilhnoecundeeitryuaderreps2ndprttbeahtetyhdrtrarolernioibetc:ldhesilapisyridith.verffis:sn:uioim,
ynumscefstweßiiduhhnhoeafilikceutuaneaisshidyndotet.
Rus-
sians advanced with renewed confidence, charging our re-
f
Four of our guns were already in their poesession, and they
For a moment the issue of the day seemed doubtful, and
again, by superhuman efforts;our broken regiments rallied,
order, and recaptured the guns.
General Bosquet, as usual, had lost no time in ascertain-
ing the nature of the attack, and had ordered two batta-
lions of infantry to aid in the defence of the British posi-
tion. Ho would have hastened himself to take part in the
contest with a larger force, but, the Russian fire suddenly
slackening between eight and nine o'clock, Sir G. Cathcart,
under the impression that the enemy were retiring, sent to
inform him that there was no longer need for his imme-
diate advance. At an early hour of the morning a move-
ment had taken place in the corps d'armee under Liprandi,
in the valley of the Tchernaya. Acolumn of infantry, with
riflemen, had advanced to the foot of the heights, and had
exchanged shots with the Zouaves and French troops de.
fendieg that part of the position. The batteries en tke
Tchernaya ridge and in the redoubts, and some field pieces,
opened upon Balaklava and upon the edge of the plateau,
in rear of our lines. This fire wso rstssssisa, anti flaring
been continued on both sides for some time, without any
apparent effect, the Russians fell back, but still appeared to
threaten a further advance. Such being the case, General
Bosquet could not withdraw the troops which defended this
part of the position, and, for a time believing it possible
from the slackening of the fire in front of the British camp
that after all the real attack might be made in the rear, he
speedily returned to his own pout. But the Russian artil-
lery had only ceased awhile, to draw nearer to the English
camp under cover of the mist which still prevailed. Soon
after it opened again with redoubled violence. Fresh
bodies of men at the same time came over the crest of the
hill, and up the ravines. Our regiments, no longer able to
oppose their shattered lines to the exhaustless stream of
men, were forced back at all points, and were retreating
mingled tegether in complete disorder.
This was the most critical period of the day. More than
an hour had been lost by General /3osquet's return to the
rear. He now learnt the magnitude if the danger. Pre-
suming that General Liprandi's attack was but a feint,
with the decision and courage of a true general he resolved
at once to act upon the supposition. Leaving, therefore,
his position almost undefended, he brought nearly the
whole of his force to the aid of the English. Advancing
to the verge of the range of tho Russian artillery, he halted
his troops, and, surrounded by his staff, rode himself into
the midst of the conflict. At that instant the dispersion
of the mist revealed the scene for the first time. He sur-
veyed it with a calm and practised eye; he returned to his
men, and, making the dispositions he deemed necessary,
gave orders for the attack. 'The field-artillery covering
the left of our position was new nearly overpowered by
the superior weight and range of the Russian guns. A
heap of dead and wounded men and horses mingled toge-
ther proved the deadly nature of the enemy's fire. Gene-
ral Bosquet sent two troops of horse artillery and one field
battery to protect and assist our guns. At full speed they
swept before our almost disabled batteries, and taking up
a position in front of them, amidst the cheers of our men,
opened a rapid and well-directed fire upon the enemy's
powerful artillery; but still the Allies could not contend
against the superior weight and length of range of the
Russian ordnance.
It was, however, in the rear of the 2d division, in the
ravines, running up to the two-gun battery, where the
Guards were en gaged in the deadly struggle, that the danger
threatened most; and it was to that point that General
Bosquet principally directed his troops. A regiment of
Zouaves, and of Indigenes, or Arabs, were accordingly
ordered to charge the enemy, who covered in one dense
grey mass the sides of the hills. Rushing headlong upon
the Russians with an impetuosity that nothing could with-
stand, they drove them back in confusion. These brave and
intelligent troops on this day well sustained theirreputation.
Not affecting the calm and steady advance of the British
lines, they scattered themselves over the broken and undu-
lating ground, seeking for every irregularity in the soil ;
sheltering themselves behind the brushwood and rocks ;
firing with deadly accuracy into the opposite columns ;
then suddenly darting forward, and with irresistible daring
throwing themselves upon the wavering ranks, they struck
terror into the Russian infantry. " See !" cried their
brave general, as he gazed with admiration upon them,
" see ! they bound like panthers from the bush !"
The French troops of the line, moving forwards more
steadily in support of our broken regiments to the left,
were exposed to a heavier fire from the Russian artillery on
the ridge, as well as from the batteries of the town and
ships. For a moment they quailed before it. Then with
laud shouts of " Vivo l'Empereur 1" and amidst the cheers
of the English, they charged with the bayonet. Thus re-
lieved, our disordered regiments were able to form again
and when their allies,-in their turn, we,-a em.powered by
numbers, they once more rushed upon the enemy. Soon
,the various uniforms of the two nations were mingled to-
gether : English regiments charging with French ; their
shouts of defiance and of victory rising together, and their
blood moistening the seine soil. Both were inspired with
a generous rivalry, and returned with fresh ardour to the
bofllgthrdtws.,haeNlnnidottrhhoilenlEgedreiould resist such men animated by such a
spirit. The vast wave, which threatened at ono time to
a hnd t.y
ti
its
incessant
secharky.c;:a
ishoprgw„
,:ahztelhi no
maintainedibgrhotks e. uo n
thse
position,s s heroic
fire enoonraged the re-
newed attacks of the infantry. It has ben estimated that
the enemy had no less than ninety guns in the field on this
day, almost every ens being superior in weight and range
to those possessed by the English. A large number were
" guns of position,"that is, cannon of too large a size to be
commonly used in the field, and intended for permanent
works. Moreover, the fleet and town batteries threw a
continual volley of heavy shot and shell into our hues.
The contest at one time of the day, when a bright sunshine
had dispelled the mist, was becoming a mighty duel of
artillery to be decided by tho number and weight of the
guns on either side. As yet the Allies had been almost
overpowered, and had suffered most severe losses. We had
still two 18-pounders remaining in the park of the siege
train. Lord Raglan ordered them to be brought up to the
front. The execution of this order was declared to be im-
possible, but Col. Dickson had already anticipated it, and
prepared to carry it into effect, Col. Gambier, who com-
manded the siege train, being wounded. By the help of
men and horses he dragged the heavy guns through roads
deep in mud, and over the rough ground. Reaching at last
a:ridge in front of the camp of the 2d division, he proceeded,
although exposed to the heaviest fire, withadmirable calm-
ness and judgment, assisted by Captain D'Aguilar, to
place them in position. He well know how much depen-
ded upon the steadiness and accuracy of their practice.
They were opposed to a large number of guns of equal if
not heavier calibre. The ammunition provided for them
was limited and easily obtained ;* not a round, therefore,
was to be wasted. The unerring shot crushed through
the Russian batteries, each one disabling a gun or destroy-
on
hi
shotnogr s mene
plunged
s ear
en ds
et nhh tor rot suoe
through
moveS
them, fo r
aw:andrecyl
the bAnother grat
in), l
etr yo niwsan ver
well-directed The
harness-
ing their teams, fell back upon the edge of the kill where
they had first taken up their position. But they were still
within roach. Again . their guns were overthrown, and
tumbrils lay broken on the ground. The fire slackened,
and the heavy columns of their infantry, no longer urged
onwards by it, were falling back on all sides. The Zouaves
and Indigenes relentlessly pursued them. In a little while
none were left on the kill facing the British lines, but the
still powerful Russian artillery carried on the ttle, and
covered the retreat. Three times were the entire detach-
ments which worked the two English guns mown down
before the enemy's fire completely ceased, and their last
ammunition waggon had disappeared over the crest of the
hill, leaving in one spot a heap of dead, 68 horses, six en-
tire and several broken tumbrils, and the shattered remains
of several gun-carriages 1 but no gun had been aban-
doned: By extraordinary exertions the Russian artil-
lerymen had, as usual, prevented any such trophy falling
into our hands.

The battle was now won. 1 heavy fire from the town
and ships still covered the retreat of the Russians. Lord
Raglan, Generals Canrobert and Boscinet, surrounded by
the officers of their staff, advanced to the edge of the cliff
beneath the two-gun battery. Long before they reached
the spot they dismounted, for ne horse could tread there on
that day. A heap of dead and dying, perhaps more dread-
ful than ever field of battle had shown before, encumbered
the ground. On a small plain beneath, on the opposite
side of the river, were gathered together the thousands
which had been driven from the heights. Broken columns
were hurrying in utter disorder over the narrow causeway
which crossed the marshy valley, although there were none
to pursue. A French battery advanced at full speed to the
edge of the overhanging height, and poured its fire upon
the panic-stricken crowd. It reeled to and fro, and then
breaking up, the hill sides and the ravines were covered
with flying men. No army had ever made a more dis-
graceful retreat. Before nightfall not a remnant of the
mighty host which had that morning been led to battle
could be seen.

Whilst the battle was raging on the heights in front of
the second division, a large body of infantry with artillery,
under General Soimonoff, attempted to turn our flank by
ascending the valley to the right of the five-gun battery ;
but they gave way before the steady and well-directed fire
of a small body of Marines, and of the first brigade of the
light division under General Codrington. At the same time
a sortie was made upon the extreme loft of the French
lines. About 5,000 men issuing from the town under cover
of the mist surprised and entered two batteries, but they
did not long hold them. General Forey, who commanded
the division attached to the siege operations, quickly ad-
vanced. The Russians were driven back in disorder, and
with great loss. General de Lourmel, carried away by the
ardour of the pursuit, fell mortally wounded under the
very walls of the town. In him the French army lost a
leader renowned for his chivalrous bravery.
Such was the battle of Inkerman, one of the most me-
morable in the annals of war. For nearly seven hours 8,000
English and 6,000 French soldiers sustained a hand-to-heed
vastlyfigh againstsuperio
rnienarnluymn,eoOr
and
opposed to them. Upon the issue of the struggle depended
the very existence of the Allied Armies. Had the Rus-
orutiii(lie ty,
Rus-
sians succeeded in their attempt, • the prophecy of their
commander might have been fulfilled—their enemy would
have perished by the sword, or have bean driven into the
ndme calibren suptpoorte any supported
ca

sea.
Again in thin instance an admirably planned attack was
ill executed. It owed its failure principally to two causes :
the want of vigour in the attempt of General Soimonoff to
turn the flank of the 2d Division by ascending the valley
leading up the five-gun battery, ane the unskilful manner
in which General Liprandi executed his ill-concealed feint.
Bnt it is principally to the latter cause that the complete
defeat of the Russians must be attributed. Had the attack

* It will appear scarcely credible that these highly useful
guns had been supplied from Enoland with only 120 rounds
0 ammunition each,

FPRICE SD.

upon Balaklava and our rear been sufficiently persevered
in, General Bosquot could not have moved his battalions to
the assistance of the English. Without this aid our troops
could not have maintained their ground against the vastly
superior numbers brought against them. The Russians,
encouraged by the presence of the sons of their Emperor,
blessed by their priests before entering into battle, and
drunk with religious enthusiasm and strong drink, rushed
with blind fury upon our troops. The foremost columns,
vken once engaged in the struggle, could scarcely fall hack ;
there was no space for there to deploy, and the thick
brushwood impeded their movements. Masses after masses
of men pressed up the hill sides, pressing onwards those
that wore in front, and leaving no room for retreat.
Upon these dense crowds the Minie told with fatal effect,
and when once they were broken the most complete confu-
sion ensued. Hence the terrible slaughter in the Russian
ranks. The excitement of a first success having subsided,
they rapidly gave way, and fled panic-stricken before the
impetuous and repeated charges of the French and English
troops. Their artillery was well served and inflicted great
loss upon the Allies. i 3 at again the fear of leaving a trophy
made the gunners uncertain in their movements, and in-
duced them to retire too soon. More than once the horses
were led to the guns whilst the issue of the struggle was
still doubtful. Colonel Dickson well divined the best mode
of defeating the enemy, when, neglecting the columns of
men, he directed his round shot upon their guns. The ar-
tillery once silenced or hesitating, the Russian infantry
no longer fought with confidence, but soon fell back in
disorder.

The British troops fought on this day with a calm and
steady courage that has never been surpassed. Led on by
' their regimental officers they charged over and over again
tie massive columns of the enemy, and drove them back
with the bayonet. When without ammunition, and borne
down by overpowering numbers, they were compelled to
retire, they formed e.e.;— ....been as they ecie cut of fire,
gull ~.tesa once more into the fray. We cwe our preser-
vation to the indomitable courage and heroie conduct of
the soldier; and well, therefore, was Inkerman called by
one consent on the field " the soldiers' victory."
The imminent danger we had incurred on the sth of
November opened the eyes of the nation to the precarious
position of the Allied armies, and to the desperate nature
of the enterprise in which we were engaged. No lenger
besiegers but the besieged, with a force nearly twice as
great as our own upon our flank, a fortress of enormous
strength and an arsenal with unlimited reriarces in our
front, and reinforcements and supplies pouring into a place
which we were unable to invest—it was only by enormous
exertion that we could continue to hold our ground we had
occupied. When the time had almost passed, ministers
began to make their efforts, and it may be hoped that after
all the sacrifices we have made we may succeed in our
object.
The nnexpected resistance which they had met on the
heights of Inkerman almost paralysed the Russians. They
made one more attempt upon Balaklava. From a hill
commanding the height occupied by the marines they
opened an ineffectual fire of field pieces: The day after, a
crowd
.was seen dragging a siege gun of large size up the
precept° us ascent. It had nearly reached the summit,
when the weight, overpowering men and horse, hurled
them clown into the ravine beneath. With these excep-
tions, and occasional sorties, principally directed against
the French batteries, and all vigorously repulsed, the Rus-
sians have not again ventured upon an attack. The allied
armies, at the same time, have remained ontthe defensive;
each satisfied to hold their position until fresh reinforce-
ments of men, and fresh supplies of the munitions of war,
should enable them to recommence the siege with some
prospect of success.

The approach of the stormy season farther disclosed the
neglect and improvidence in the Government, and the gross
negligence and incompetency of the departments to which
the details end conduct of the war had been confided. Our
army was left without adequate clothing to protect them
from the inclemency of the weather; with scarce sufficient
food to sustain them ; and without an adequate medical
staff to care for thoso who were wounded in battle, or dis-
abled by 'sickness brought on by the privations and suffer-
ings to which they were exposed. From the absence of the
means of transport and the want of a proper road, the
operations of the siege hare been paralysed, our horses
have been destroyed, the supplies, which [might have pre-
served the health and contributed to the comforts of the
soldier, have been allowed to rot, and the sick have been
left exposed to wet and cold in miserable tents* at Bala-
klava. The French, more provident than ourselves, had
foreseen the difficulties and unavoidable sufferings of a
winter campaign. They had constructed roads between
their lines and the place of disembarcation, and had more-
over made depots for the commissariat in their camp, an-
ticipating the possibility of a temporary interruption,
from weather or other causes, of communication with the
harbour : provisions for the men, or provender for the
horses have thus been at all times at hand. Large sub-
stantial sheds of weed were easily built for their sick and
wounded, and afforded them effectual protection until
they could be removed to Constantinople, where well
ordered and well provisioned hospitals, furnished with all
that humanity and medical skill could devise, were ready
to receive them. Their shipping in 'Cornish Bay has been
admirably managed, and although greatly inferior to
ours in tonnage and in size, has never failed to furnish theta
with necessary supplies, whilst proper and well-enforced
regulations have prevented confusion and preserved a com-
modious and unencumbered landing-place in the harbour.
Contrast the condition of our army, and the management
of the derartmant ...,ne,,teci -with it, with that of our
allies; the state of our roads, the sufferings of our sick,
the harbour and town of Balaklava, our hospitals at Scu-
tari, and the unparalleled sufferings of our men and ani-
mals. As in all the naval movements wo have hitherto
been behind them, so in all that tends to the efficiency and
comfort of the soldier, we have shown ourselves infinitely
their inferiors. These are humiliating reflections, and
still more painful when it is remembered that they are
caused by our own want of common foresight, and our ob-
stinate determination to reject every warning and every
counsel.
Before we conclude we cannot but refer to the ready and
his truly considerate manner in which General Caarobert and
oa/cera have aasiatud ua in our wants. By hi ness to afford at all times that aid which mai illing
and imprudence have compelled us to seek at
his
hands, no less than by his eminent qualities as a com-
mander, and the generous way he has always borne testi-
mony to the courage and conduct of our troops, he has
gained the confidence and esteem of our army, and has
strengthened that bend of union which now exists between
the two nations.

By the end of the year the Allies, after extraordinary
exertions, were, it would appear, in a condition to com-
mence a second attack upon Sebastopol, and possibly, at
the time we are writing, that event has actually occurred.
We devoutly hope that it may prove successful. Indeed,
we can scarcely hope that if our preparations and resources
are such as we are informed they are, the south side of the
place must succumb before our fire and a subsequent as-
sault. But we must be prepared for a heavy loss and fur
further difficulties. Whatever reay be the result of this
expedition—whether the fall of Sebastopol be but the first
event in a long and bloody war, or whether the nation
suffers a hollow and uncertain peace to be concluded,
utterly inconsistent with the vast sacrifices it has made--
the future historian of the campaign in the Crimea will
record with mingled feelings the indomitable courage and
long suffering of an English army—the incapacity and
neglect of an English Ministry—and the generous forbear-
ance and noble spirit of the English people.

---
* It will scarcely be credited that many of the tents sent
out with the army were used in the Peninsular war. It need
hardly be added that they afforded no protection vithatcyer.

THE BLOCKADI? IN TEE BLACK SEA.

The Lords of the Admiralty have at length thought
proper to communicate to the Secretary at Lloyd's,ad
to the mercantile community, the determination of the
Governments of England and France to extend the
blockade of the mouths of the Danube to all ports in the
Black Sea and in the Sea of Azoff which remain in the
possession of the enemy, and it is added that this block-
ade will take effect on and after the let of February
next. This notice is, of course, a complete corrobora-
tion of the statement, which has been frequently made,
though hardly credited in this country, that during the
whole time of the command exercised by Admirals
Hamelin and Dundas in the Black Sea, since th© decla-
ration of war, no effective blockade whatever has been
established ; and we must say that this fact involves a
serious charge either against those officers or the good
faith of the Allied Governments. The mercantile public
were undoubtedly led to believe, by the repeated decla-
rations of Ministers in Parliament and elsewhere, that a
rigorous blockade of the Russian ports would be esta-
blished. During the whoki period, from the beginning
of April to the sailing of the expedition from Varna in
September, the naval forces of the two fleets had little
duty to perform. The confident expectation that a
blockade would be established had paralyzed the ordi-
nary trade, but the Greek houses on the spot, were ena-
bled to take advantage of the facilities of communica-
tion still open to them, and of the increased prices
of Russian produce in the foreign market. Great
efforts had been made by our merchants to obtain from
India and elsewhere some of the commodities habitually
imported from Southern Russia ; but, when their
consignments arrived, they had to compete with an
almost unabated supply of Russian produce ; and, while
the Government complains that the Baltic trade. of
Russia had been carried on too successfully through
neutral ports, they have allowed Odessa and the Sea of
Azoff to remain free. 'We really can discover no excuse
whatever for this extraordinary neglect. If it was the
intention of the allied Governments to leave the Russian
ports in tho Black Sea unblocbaded for the space of ten
months from the declaration of war, they should have
made that intention known ; but to lead the public to
believe, as Sir James Graham has repeatedly done, that
a blockade has been established, when in fact no block-
ade existed, is to revive the mischievous and exploded
system of paper blockades, and to encourage neutrals to
contest a right which is applied with so much laxity and
irregularity.

The only portion of the coast of the Black Sea which
has been notified to be under blockade is the mouth of
the Danube, though that is, in fact, the passage we
ought, both for military and commercial reasons, to en-
deavour to open. The month of the Danube is only to
be regarded as Russian territory inasmuch as Bessarabia
is a Russian province ; but the exports of the Danube
are in no sense Russian sinco they proceed from Austrian
and Turkish possessions ; and if they can find their way
to the sea during the present war, we have no interest
in preventing them. But it is far other wise with the
Gulf of Odessa and the ports of the Sea of Azoff. The
greatest vigilance is required not only to stop the main
channels of Russian commerce there, but to intercept
supplies which have been used for their military opera-
tions.

Oar attention has been the more directed to this
question of blockades by the arguments which have
taken place in the course of last week in the case of the
Francieka, a Danish vessel brought in for breach of
blockade, and now awaiting the decision of the Prize
Court, is skip is one of A numerous class of cases

z-

. upon which great doubt has been thrown by the impel..
feet manner in which the notification of the blockade
wag made. An actual blockade of Riga and some parts
of the Russian coast was undoubtedly establi,hed in
May, but it was not until the middle of August that a
species of supplementary announcement in the Gazette
brought this fact to the legal knowledge of the world.
There has evidently been great ignorance and remiss-
ness on the part of some of the naval authorities in com-
mand as to the mode in which they ought to have pro-
oeeded to constitute a regular and unimpeachable block-
ade. But, at the same time, we do not know whatmeans were taken to make them acquainted with this
important part of their duties. The law of blockade is
not to be learnt by intuition, and the simplest acts done
by a naval officer in what he conceives to be the discharge
of his duty on this subject are submitted to the rigorous
scrutiny of a court of law. Under these circumstances it
is the obvious duty of the Admiralty to provide ofllcers
who may be enraged in establishing or maintaining a
blockade with clear and minute instructions to regulate
their conduct. They should be told that a blockade
must in every case be defined with mathematical pre-
cision, and reported to the home Government with the
utmost expedition. Their attention should be directed
to the treaties, if any exist, which concede an exemp-
tion from immediate seizure to the merchant vessels of
particular nations, whereas the results which have already
come before the Prize Court, aid the entire omission of
the blockade in the most important parts of the Black
Sea, show that these important measures have been
left chiefly to the discretion of the Admirals, who know,
for the most part, as little about them as their junior
officers.

We hope that with the commencement of another
campaign a total change will be effected in these opera.
tions by greater precision on the part of the Govern•
meuts at home and greater vigilance abroad. Of all
the weapons we can use against Russia the mastery of
the sea, and especially of the Black Sea, is the meet
complete ; yet even in this respect, for want of distinct
administrative arrangements, our fleets have failed to
check the trade of the enemy. We entertain strong
hopes that Sir Edmund Lyons will promptly repair
these omissions in the Black Sea, and infuse greater
energy into all the operations of the fleet : and we hare
equal confidence in his French colleague, Admiral Bruat.
The moment is come when every effective blow struck
at the enemy will accelerate the negotiations for peace ;
and, if the war continues, all the maritime communica-
tions from the ports of Russia to be—as they ought long
since to have been—hermetically closed.—Times.

ADHESION OF SARDINIA TO THE
WESTERN POWERS.

The ink with which we expressed the sympathy of the
English nation with the gallant and patriotic struggle
which the constitutional monarchy of Piedmont is main-
taining against Rome is hardly dry, before we are called
on to express our admiration at the decided attitude
which the Sardinian Government has assumed in the
affairs of Europe. The critical times in which we live,
the great events that are continually occurring, bring
out in strong and unwonted relief the character of men
and of natens,and show us in ono place a people tamely
sinking below its position and its opportunities, and in
another one gallantly rising above them. Look at the
present position of Prussia, a nation armed to the teeth,
and heretofore considered one of the five great Powers
of the world, entering into engagements from which she
shrinks as soon as she has entered into them, till at
last, left fairly behind by the onward course of events
and European diplomacy, she is reduced to petition for
leave to be present at conferences in which she has lost
all voice and all right of participation. Here is a Power
unequal to her destiny, inferior to the part which her
place in the European confederacy assigns to her, sink-
ing into a second-rate position, merely because she has
not spirit to act a first-rate part. Then look at Pied-
mont, a large portion of whose territory is occupied by
rugged mountains and Alpine pasture, whose popu-
lation is small, and whose geographical position is
by no means commanding. Piedmont has hardly healed
the wounds which she received from the sword of
Radetsky in her bold but unequal conflict for Italian in-
dependence. The moderate form of government she has
adopted, modelled as it is on our own constitution, ex-
poses her alike to the hatred of the slaves of a repres-
sive absolutism and the frantic votaries of republican
license. Her finances have hardly recovered the drain
of the late war, and her people are still new to the con-
stitutional system, which has ever proved more perfect
in practice than in theory, and has not with them, as
with us, the memories of six hundred years to strengthen
and support it. Had the home policy of Piedmont been
chargeable with inaction, or her foreign relations with
timidity, here surely are causes of embarrassment and
difficulty in which a candid mind would find ample
ground for excuse. But Piedmont has shown herself
neither timid nor inactive. Notwithstanding the pres-
sure on her finances, she has with admirable boldness
and decision reformed her whole system of taxation on
the footing of free trade. Beset between absolutism
On one side and republicanism on the other, she has
been guilty of no undue compliance to Dither, but has
maintained with dignity her liberties against the one,
and her moderation and self-respect against the other.
She is even now engaged in asserting her independ-
ence of the Roman Pontiff, and vindicating, in despite
of a numerous and bigoted party among her own
citizens, her supreme power over all persons, both
ecclesiastical and civil. Even while this great work is
proceeding she has taken another step equally decided
and significant. While Prussia dare do nothing but
offer mediation which nobody will accept—while Spain,
rich in territory and in memories, but poor in spirit, in
men, and in money, will not join in league against a
Government which refuses to reoognise her very exis-
tence—and while Greece, as false to her interests as to
her traditions, seeks to sell for the glories of an imagi-
nary empire her liberty and political existence, Pied-
mont, acting for itself, under no pressure and no com-
pulsion, has joined the confederacy against Russia. Our
foreign intelligence records the resignation by General
Dabormida of the portfolio of Foreign Affairs, and the
succession of M. Cavonr to that office,—a sufficient
pledge to the Allies in what spirit this important step
has been taken, and with what readiness those who have
taken it will carry it out. While the King of Naples is
on the one side prohibiting Russian loans from being
negotiated on his Bourse, and on the other patching up
his quarrel with the Jesuits, whom he had believed too
liberal for his Government, but who have, as it might
be supposed they would, succeeded in giving him satis-
faction on that point,—while the Pope, fresh from the
laurels gained in the conference on the immaculate con-
ception, is overwhelmed in prostrate gratitude at the
magnanimity which leaves him 3,500 foreign soldiers
to prevent his having to pay a second visit to Gaeta
—the King of Sardinia, strong in the attachment
of his people and the justice and moderation of his
Government, is alone able to stand erect among the
ruins of prostrate Italy, asserts for himself a clear
and independent foreign policy of his own, and takes
a place in the councils of Europe such as no Italian
State since the decline of the Venetian Republic has pre.
sumed to occupy.
It must, of course, be a matter of congratulation to the
allies that they have received the adhesion of a free and
gallant nation, possessing a numerous and well-disci-
plined army, trained in actual warfare, officered by men
of intelligence and experience, and animated by a spirit
hostile, above all things, to foreign and despotic aggres-
sion. We reckon it no small happiness to see combined
in alliance with us the troops that contested with so
much honour the fields of Santa Custozza, Goito, and
Novarra ; but, independently of any aid we may derive
from the accession of Sardinia to the alliance, we most
sincerely rejoice to see her taking a course which cannot
fail to conciliate for her the respect of Europe, and the
envy of those portions of Italy whose Governments are
too much occupied in the prolongation from day to day
of their own precarious and miserable existence to have
any foreign policy at all; who have not honesty enough
to secure a friend, nor power and spirit enough to make
an enemy. In the hands of the people of Piedmont and
in our own are now placed the destiny and reputation of
representative government. We trust that we have so
acted in this quarrel as to show that we are neither
driven prematurely into war by popular violence, nor
held back from it through the weakness of our executive;
that freedom of discussion does not always lead to
difference of opinion ; that men may love their
country without servility to the Minister of the
day, and that the unanimity of a free people gives
strength to a Government for which despotisms look
and long in vain. Wo doubt not that Piedmont will
ls
enforce the same lesson ; that the step which has been
supported
tiiosrutme
taken by the wisdom of the Minnisdtrtyhawt,il
by be
thus u
by the courage of the people ; a
•
ing a distinct place in European politics, she will secure
to herself those solid advantages which firm resolution,
well justified self-confidence, and clear and definite views
and aims, never fail to conciliate for their possessors,—
Tinto.

THE RECENT EXTENSIVE OIL ROBBERIES AT BRIE•
TOL.—The Court of Quarter Sessions, held at Bristol
yesterday, before Sir A. Cockburn, was occupied through-
out the day in investigating several charges preferred.
against J. Davey for stealing a large quantity of seal
oil, the property of Messrs. Hare and Co., and against
Mr. John Gilbert, jun., oil merchant, of Bristol, for re-
ceiving the same, well knowing it to have been stolen.
The court and its approaches were densely crowded
throughout the day. Mr. Serjeant Wilkins was specially
retained for the defence, and Mr. Stone and Mr. Pri-
deaux, of the Western Circuit, conducted the prosecu-
tion. The case was gone into at great length, and many
witnesses were examined. At its conclusion the jury
returned a verdict of Guilty against both the prisoners,
and Gilliert was sentenced to four years' penal servitude,
and Davey to two years' imprisonment, with hard labour.

SERIOUS ACCIDENT. —An accident of a very serious
and melancholy nature occurred last week to a very fine
boy, aged 7 years, son to Dr. Ryan, of Pallas-green,
county Limerick. A powder horn, full of powder, wall
left, as it was thought, safe on the chimney-piece ; the
young lad, however, got hold cf it, and said tie his little
sister, " While mamma is upstairs I will bombard Sebass
topol ;" and endeavoured to get the powder out of the
horn. In this, however, he did not succeed. He then
held the horn close to the fire, when an oxplosioa took
place, shattering the thumb of the right hand very much.
Dr. Ryan was not at home when the occurrence took
place. Fortunately, Professor Apjohn, of Dublin, who
was on a visit with his brother-in-law, T. Kearney, Esq.,
saw the child very soon after the accident, and did
of Limerick, who considered amputa-
much to allay his suffering. He was also visited by an
eminent surgeon,
tion of the thumb the only alternative. This course
Dr. Apjohn and Dr. Ryan would not consent to, when
the child was sent by the next train to Dublin,
and placed under the care of Surgeon Adams, Stephen's-
green, under whose skilful treatment the little patient is
progressing favourably. This ought to be a cautiox to
parents.