The Sun.
London, England, 1855-11-09 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.

Sir,—The new ukase of the Czar, ordering a levy of 10
in every 1,000 souls throughout the empire, with the ex•
ceptions of the governments of Pskoff, Poltawa, Tscherni-
goff, Checkoff, Ekaterinoslaff, Kherson, and Taurida, has
given rise to a good deal of speculation on the continent,
and it seems that some politicans incline to the belief that
this vigorous proceeding is intended as a blind to cover a
pacific policy.
I trust this opinion, whoever may share it, will not in-
duce the Government to relax for a moment preparations
for an active campaign next year. The chances of an
honourable and secure peace will not be diminished by a
complete preparation for war; and that the enemy is not
likely to offer such a peace without hazarding at least ono
more issue will, I think, appear probable from the
following considerations :

Only W, few days before the general ukase referred to
notice of another appeared in the papers, ordering a levy
of no less than 23 in a thousand in the two governments
of Orenburg and Samara. This partial cons2rip-
tion has not elicited any comment, so far as I have seen,
in either English or foreign journals. It is not the less
important for that. The inhabitants of the governments
in question (which lie on the eastern side of the Wolga)
consist almost exclusively of free Imperial peasants (in
many cases military colonists), or of Tartars, Ural Cossacks,
Calmucks, and other semi-barbarous, and in some
instances pagan, hordes. Every man drawn thence
will, from his previous habits of life, be a ready-
made soldier for the duties of light cavalry—one ac-
customed to endure the most violent alternations of
heat and cold—for this country has the winter of
Lapland and the summer of Egypt—able and willing
to live on carrion, and mounted on a horse which, with
no better food than the weeds of the steppe, and no other
shelter than the vault of heaven, will carry his rider
awross deep and broad rivers, parched deserts, or rugged
mountains, in a way which no animals of Western Europe
can pretend to match.
_ _

The joint population of Orenburg and Samara amounted
in 1851 (the year in which the new distribution of govern-
ments was made) to 2,861,800 of both sexes. The pro-
posed levy, after making all allowances, would bring not
less than 30,000 men to the depot, all or most of them
ready to act in the field, with scarcely any additional
training.
The question, of course, occurs—whence are the infantry
to come who are destined to act together with this cavalry ?
Obviously not from the new levies. These could not be
brought to the south e.rly enough in the spring, to say
nothing of their untrained condition. My conjecture is,
that the present winter will be rendered available for
moving, by means of sledge-transport, seasoned soldiers
from all that part of the empire which lies north of Tonic
and Pensa, and bringing them to such points on the Wolga
as to enable them to descend its stream, the great highway
of Russia, immediately on the resumption of the naviga-
tion.

If this plan has really been entertained by the Russian
Government, there are not wanting reasons for believing
that ever since the end of September steps have been tak-
ing to carry it out. In a letter of the date of October 9,
your correspondent in the Baltic fleet had the following
paragraph :—" We hear from Revel that the Russian
Government has seized all the horses along the northern
coasts, for the purpose of conveying provisions to the
Crimea." (It will be observed that at the time of
this proceeding the Czar was aware of the fall of the
south side of Sebastopol.) Soon afterwards a letter
from Hamburg (of the date of October 16), in the
Independance Beige, informed us, "that the latest com-
mercial letters from Courland mentioned that the entire
Baltic coast of that province, from Polangen to Windau,
had been ovacuated by the Russian troops on the approach
of the bad season,"—i. e., as soon as the natural defence of
winter rendered their presence superfluous, and enabled
them to be made available elsewhere. It seems not un-
reasonable to suppose that two such strong contempo-
raneous) efforts, made, the one in the north, the other in
the south of the empire, are intended to be combined for
one oommon purpose, and no other appears so likely as a
fresh attempt to retain, although necessarily at an enor-
mous cost of life, the military possession of the Crimea.
The problem to be solved appears to me to be only a
question of transport, although on the most gigantic scale.
It is required to convey men, stores, and munitions of
war to an enormous amount, so far south during the win-
ter as to be able on the opening of spring to pour a con-
tinuous stream of troops into the peninsula, cf sufficient
strength to overwhelm the Allied forces. When the
frost has once set in, and the snow fallen and har-
dened, the means of communication in Russia are for
a considerable distance southwards actually improved ;
and, if the question were merely of stores and material of
war, there would be little difficulty in conveying them to
any part of the Wolga between Nijni-Novgorod and
Zaratzin, or of the Don between Voroneje and Kascha-
linkaia, in the course of the next four months. With men,
however, the case is different. They, even when Russians,
require not only food, but also clothing, fuel, and shelter, if
they are to be available for field service when the inclement
season comes to an end : and this circumstance of itself im-
poses a limit on the choice of their location during the winter.
Now, there is, perhaps,no moreremarkable characteristic of
Southern Russia than the extreme scarcity of fuel. I be-
lieve I am literally correct in saying that in the valley of
the Wolga, south of Saratoff, firewood of home growth is
a thing unknown. What is used comes down the river
from the north, and at a very considerable expense ; but
the common substitute throughout the whole steppe coun-
try is a kind of artificial peat (called by the Germans
" mi• ttorf,") composed of consolidated farmyard manure,
the use of which the Southern Russians learnt from
their Tartar neighbours. It seems unlikely, therefore,
that many troops moved from the north should, under
whatever facilities of sledge transport, be brought into a
region where the supply of fuel is strikingly insufficient
during the severe season—that is, that they should be ad-
vanced much further to the south than Saratoff on the
Wolga, or Voronejo on the Don. Whatever resources exist
south of these points can scarcely be more tkan sufficient
to meet the winter wants of the bodies of troops which are
at the present moment in the north of the Crimea, or on
the mainland between Genitchi and Izioum.
If, however, Saratoff and Voroneje may be assumed as
the nearest pehits to the theatre of war at which any con-
siderable portions of the northern army can be assembled
during the winter, it it equally'probable that:no part what-
ever need find itself further off than Nijni-Novgorod at
the moment that the frost breaks up. In that town as well
as in Kasen and Samara, ample stores of fuel and fur
clothing, as well as food and shelter would be available; and
from the same points there would likewise be means of
water transport as far as Rostoff to any extent required.
Our possession of the Sea of Azoff wonld, of course, neces-
sitate a land march for the remainder of the way. I will
only add that the transit from Nijni-Novgorod to Rostoff
would, to the best of my judgment, occupy not more than
60 days ; and if the voyage were continued during moon-
light nights, possibly much less.—l am, Sir, your obedient
servant,
Nov. 7. A HERTFORDSHIRE INCUMBENT.

The Ilaytien Minister had an interview with the Earl
of Clarendon, yesterday, at the Foreign-office.
SOUTHWARK ELECTlON.—Yesterday the walls of the
Town-hall were placarded with bills asking the electors
"to vote for the Hon. W. Knox, the reformer of all
abuses, on Conservative principles." The bills added
that Mr. Knox would solicit the votes of the electors in
person ; but as we could not learn that any such person
had made his appearance in the borough, it is probably
a mere electioneering hoax.
REPRESENTATION of MEATH.—A new candidate has appeared in Meath. The reverend gentlemen who have
the representation of the county in their hands are not
satisfied with any one of the three already introduced as
aspirants for the seat vacant by the death of Mr. Lucas.
The new candidate is Mr. Wm. Jobn O'Connell, of
Limerick, pretty well known in London and elsewhere
as Lord Kilmallock._

Aoll'enloCcko, a fire broke
to Messrs. Bryan,
's.—Yester-
-
army contractors, situate
FIRE AT MESSRS. BRYAN, PR/
day morning, between four and five
byengines were
the
m factorystrenuous
out on the extensive premises belonging
gA
serious
reaching
The portion of the
Price, and Co., the well-known
in Dacre-street, Westininster. Nu
of arm' and,
Daly on the spot, and the flames weres
or
damage
xan
mye r
aot igfoen the sw ,
ass
u,
rI.
oouw preventednedvi from:rg,
ps
rue
:art eaiaisnce
amount of
premises destroyed served as workshops and stores
it is understood, contained a large quantity
coutrements. Mr. Braidwood, in his official repyonot"
states :—"An eight-roomed building used as workshorp;
and stores, about two-thirds destroyed. Lem covered
by insurance iu the Anchor•office."