The Sun.
London, England, 1855-06-19 00:00:00

" THE COMMISSARIAT DEPARTMENT AT HOME.

"The commissariat has been during many years a sub-
ordinate department of the Treasury ; and although nomi-
nally transferred to the Secretary for War in the summer
of 1834, it was.not placed under his immediate control un-
til the 22d of last December, when a Treasury minut,) was
issuet authorising this arrangement.
"Up to that pariod Sir C. Trevelyan, the Assistant-
Secret.try of the Treasury, was practically the head of this
department. He stated that the forms of the commissariat
had been improved and simplified &Hue years ago, and that
although persons might inisunlerstand any regulations, yet
he did not believe these forms were to be blamed. He
would willingly submit them to any practised accountant
for his opinion. Deputy Commissary-General Smith says
that, as long as regulations are required, none could bo
made of a more simple form than those applicable to the
commissariat ; 'and he had never heard any complaints
arising out of the observances of these forms.

"THE COMMISSARIAT IN THE EAST.

" It is the duty of the commissariat to furnish the army,
when in the, field, with provisions for the men, forage for
the animals, and land transport.
"Commissary-General Fikter was app6inted by the
Treasury to superintend the establishment of the commis-
sariat in the East. He Was selected, it is said, on account
of his experience and special fitness for the charge ; and
authority was given him to provide such persons as might
be required for the service; ample funds were also placed
at his disposal, and ships were ordersd and provided to
act under his exclusive directions.

" With these large powers, heavy duties were imposed
upon him according to an arrangement which appears to
have been injudiciously adopted at the cornusenceinent of
the campaign. It was determined that there shOuld be
only ono store department with the army, and that this
should be under the care of the cornmissari tt. From this
decision it followed as a consequence that the eJmmissa-
riat was expected to wake good the deficiencies of many
distinct departments. All the miscellaneous articles of
equipment which came under the name of quartermaster-
general's stores were given in charge to the commissariat,
and, in addition to these extraneous duties, this depArt-
meat was required not only to keep a large amount of Ord-
nance stores, but also to purchase materials and tools in
the East for the purpose of the siege.
" The military system in this country affords the corn-
missariat no opportunity of becoesiug acquainted with the
army, or of ministering to hi wants ; so that in a campaign
the officers of this department find themseives called upsid
to furnish supplies in regard to which they may have had
uo experience; while the officers and men, being often
ignorant of the proper duties of the commissariat, consider
this department responsible for everything they may
require.

" LAND TRANSPORT.

" From the first the system of the 11nd transpprt was
found to be imperfect. No adequate measures were adopted
for its improvement, so that the army, when enc ►mped
before Sebastopol, deponded for all its supplies upon a
service defective in its organisation and in its superinten-
dence.

" The army landed in the Crimea without the animals
necessary for the conveyance of the baggage, or for the
removal of the sick and wounded ; much iucouvenience
and suffevingresulted from thisdeticieuJy ; but if, as stated
to your, committee, every available vessel Wa3 employed for
other purposes, the commissariat cannot be held responsi-
ble.

" When the army had encamped before Sebastopol mules
and baggage animals were brought over from Varna. On
the sth of October Commissary-General Filder asserted that
he had transport sufficient fur all the purposes of the army,
and sub:flitted to Lord-Raglan a Belleau) for disposing of
above 2000. animals, which were at Varna, and which he
said wore not wanted, and would . only be an incumbrance
in the Crimea. During this same period Sir Edmund
Lyons writes, that the transport animals, though in fair
r 1 condition, were not sufficient in number.
1- "On the Bth of November the commissary-general was
informed that he must prepare for wintering in the Cri-
mea. At this period he still possessed a large number of
baggage animals, and a considerable amount of hay and
forage, on board ships, in or near the harbour of Balaklava.
" About this period the Commissary-General became
alarmed, foreseeing that the conveyance of guns and ammu-
nition for the siege and for the defence of our position, the
removal of the sick and wounded, the distribution of ra-
tions, of forage, of clothing, of fuel, of medicines, and of
medical comforts, beadles numerous other supplies, which,
in the position of the army, were scarcely less important,
would all be imperilled by a failure in the land transport ;
while the service was itself seriously endangered front the.
want of shelter and forage for the animals daring the ap-
proaching winter, and from the bad condition of the roads
between Balaklava and the camp. •
"Your committee are not aware that any measures were
adopted for the protection of the animals from. the incle-
mency of the season ; Sir John Burgoyne thinks there was
a great want, of care, and that in a few la stances whore
the animals were attended to they were. preserved. The
drivers were inefficient, and, being without proper super-
intendence, lost, or indolently neglected, the animals en-
trusted to their charge.

i the ca
"So
8o
tain muchwhom p o,f the suffering of the troops has been ascribed
" THE ROAD.
to the wretched, or, as some witnesses state, the almost
impassable condition of the seven miles between Balaklavaan
was r
et
shpaataysoi
bulre
foaernit
mheit
itaeaei itisclaeaaavecanarte4
he to
rausacie
sr:
and. what insuperable objects impeded their repair.
When the army reached the heights above Sebastopol
they found two principal roads from Balaklava to Sebas-
topol, one the fine Government road, the other, further to
the left, a useful farm road. The army held the Woroozoff
road up to the time of the battle of Balaklava, in October.
Immediately after that action it became. necestary to draw
in the outposts, which lost to the army the use of that
road ; the other road, however, remained; and was avail-
able for all purposes until the rains commenced.
"On the 13th of November Commissary-Gensral Filder
wrote to theuartermaster-leneral, expressing his appre-
hension, and calling attention to this important subject.
"The duty of making and maintaining -roads for the
army falls upon the department of the quartermaster-
general. This o ffieer was /about this time disabled by
severe illness. Six J. Burgoyne, tLe chief engineer officer
•on the staff, and other military authoritit 3, state that the
soldiers could not, be withdrawn from the trenches for the
repair of the road. The men were already.overtasked by
military duties; they were growing weaker from day to
dey, while their difficulties were increasing. An attempt
was made to e..nploy Turkish troops on this work, but it
was soon abaneloned.
." From the 14th of November, the date of the hurri-
cane, the land transport was gradually redueed in strength,
until it almost ceased to exist. The Commissary-General
*rites: The men and boasts perished, owing to tliQ fatigue
that' undorwe nt in struggling through the deep mad with
supplies, and from exposure to wet and cold.' To repair
these losses recourse wee had to the depot at Coustauti.

nople ; but the waste and consumption of animals exceeded
the supply, and the service of the land transport could no
longer, be performed by the commi9sariat. • -
" The horses of the cavalry were then employed, and
thus valuable animals, trained for the duties of the cavalry
and artillery, were used and worked to death in services
which should havebeeu performed by animals purchased
for about 51. or 71. each.

"The broken road, and the want of land transport, in-
creased the confusion of the harbour. Sir E. Lyons ascribes
the crowded state of the harbour, and its attendant incon-
veniences, to the delay in removing cargoett from the ships
to the camp.

"As far as the information obtcined enables your com-
mittee to form an opinion, it appears to them that in this
matter there was a want of due fore Sight and decision.
Early in November when the probable necessity of
wintering in the Crimea. was contemplated, energetic
means should have been taken to provide and maintain
an effective communication between the camp and Bela-
klava. The road had then already been injured by the
traffic, and its condition had excited the apprehensions of
the commissary•general, who had called attention to the
subject ; if a military force could not be spared, measures
should have been takensto obtain other labour in the East,
or application should have been made to the Home Go-
vernment, who might have sent labourers from England.
Such precaution would have saved much loss of time, and
many valuable lives, and would have contributed to main-
tain the land transport service in an effective condition.
The probable failure of the communication was not, how-
ever, brought to the notice of the Duke of Newcastle until
too late to enable him to take measures in England to pre-
vent the serious calamities which subsequently arose.

" DEPOTS IN THE EAST.

", The consequence resulting from the failure of the
transport service would have been in some degree obviated
by the formation of depots in the neighbourhood of the
camp, or between the camp and Balaklava.
" The establishment of depots is a duty specially noticed
in the commissariat regulations. • Sir C. Trevelyan states,
that in October, Commissary General Frlder was engaged
in the formation of a depot near the camp, in order that
he might be secure against the contingencies of the weather;
but after the action of Balaklava, the commissariat chest
was ordered on board ship, and the transports were sent
out of the harbour. At this time the abandonment of
Ualaklava was contemplated. After this followed the
battle of Inkerman, when
.the transport service was occu-
pied in bringing up ammunition, and a few days later
came the hurricane and catastrophe.' From this time for-
ward all the available animals were employed for the daily
requirements of the army, and the establishment of depots
was relinquished.
"At Constantinople Deputy Commissary General Smith
established extensive magazines; he states that the sup-
plies under his charge were fficient, and the arrange-
ments for the custody and delivery of stores unobjection-
able. In August, or early in September, he entered into con-
tracts for a supply of fuel, and could have procured
enough for the army throughout the winter, but he was
not able to obtain transports for its conveyance ; at the
same time the quantity that did reach Balaklava was
more than could be carried to the camp.
"He trie,i to hire native vessels for the service ; but
after the hurricane the masters of these vessels could not
be induced to attempt the voyage. According to his
evidence, it would appear that at Constantinople he had
in store all the supplies which the army would require. No
blame can justly be attached to Deputy Commissary-
General Smith, nor can he be held responsible for the
difficulties and distress which occurred in the Crimea.
" COMMISSARIAT SUPPLIES.
"FOOD FOR T.'E MEN. •

"The Commissariat Department-obtained an abundant
supply of salt meat, biscuit, and rum from England. This
was furnished by the victualling department of the Admi-
ralty, on requisition from the Treasury ; and the duty of
the commissariat as to these supplies consisted merely
in keeping the account and in arranging the distribution.
Fresh meat was chiefly procured from Eupatoria, from
Constantinople, and from Smyrna. Deputy Commissary
General Smith stated that he had at Constantinople 4,000
head of cattle during the winter ready for the consumption
of the army,' beside • ?,000 at Smyrna ; and that if he could
have obtained sea transport, he thinks he could have sent
a regular supply to the army.
"The witnesses are not agreed as to the quantity of fresh
meat supplied to the army ; the regularity of tho distribu-
tion depended partly on the zeal and energy of the several
commissariat officers, and also on the position occupied by
the troops. Until the end of October the rations, it is said,
were furnished with regularity, and consisted of fresh
meat twice or thrice in the week. Mr. Parker, chaplain to
the fist division from the 28th of November till the 23,1
of January, states that during that period the hospitals
were supplied with fresh meat almost every day, but the
troops did not receive it, he thinks, above once a-week ;
he never knew them, however, to be without rations.
Other witnesses say that the soldiers during the winter
months suffered occasionally from want of their rations,
and more frequently from the irregularity of their issue.
In the appendix a statement by a board of officers will be
found, in which it is affirmed that the men for days and
weeks together went to the trenches with an insufficient
weal, and oftentimes with none at all, save a little biscuit
and rum. Any result derived from an average of rations
issued is delusive, because privation one day is not com-
pensated by superfluity on another. Even when the men
received a sufficient meal, the proportion of salt meat with-
out an accompanying supply of vegetables was greater than
was consistent with the health of the troops. This defici-
ency of fresh meat, the most wholesome, as well' as the
cheapest food, is ascribed to the failure of the sea trans-
port, the ships having been disabled by storms, and then
delayed by repairs ; in one instance all the cattle on board
perished from the inclemency of the weather, or from the
t - violence of the waves.

" Vegetables which, according to the intentions of the
government, should Lave been issued gratuitously, were
very scantily supplied; indeed several witnesses assert that
none were ever seen in the camp. One ship load of vege-
tables was detained in the harbour until the cargo was de-
cayed • and at Eupatoria, it is said, there was au immense
store of onions lying on, the wharf, while disease; from
want of vegetables; was spreading through the camp. The
deputy commissary general states that he had an abundaut
stock of rice at Constantinople during the time when it
was wanted even for the hospitals in the Crimea. Pre-
served potatoes were, it is said, early in the autumn offer-
ed to the soldiers, but rejected ; later in the winter, when
the supply of vegetables was essential, iL does not appear
that the offer was repeated. Coffee, which had been
ordered as am extra ration, was distributed to the troops
in a green stAte, and there being no means of roasting
it) was of little use. The explanation offered to your
committee oa this point is not satisfactory. The more
immediate comfort of the troops appears to have been
overlooked, while ingenious arguments on the volatile
aroma of the berry, and on the Turkish mode of Racking
coffee, were passing backwards and forwards between Com-
missary General Filder and the Treasury.