The Sun.
London, England, 1855-06-18 00:00:00

PETITIONS.

Petitions were prsented by Mr. Ellice, from Ros-
common, in favour of the Lori Advocate's Education
Bill ; by Mr. Henley, from Oxford, against the sale of
intoxicating liquors on the L,rd's day.

REPORT OF THE SEBAS-
TOPOL COMMITTEE.

Mr. ROEBUCK brought up the report of the &bal.
topol Committee, amidst loud cries of " hear, hear,"
and, having been ordered to lay it on the table, was, on
the moti3n of

Mr. DISRAELI, also ordered to be read.
It was accordingly read by the clerk at the table.
We subjoin an abstract of the document, a copy of
which in extenso, although printed, we were unfortu-
nately unable to obtain before going to press :—The re-
pert, in the first place, alluded to the difficulties which
had beset them in prosecuting an inquiry of so
great a magnitude, and which rendered it no easy
task for them to present anything like a definite
report. These difficulties had been much enhanced
by the absence of several important witnesses, in the ab-
sence of whose evidence some persons were left under
imputations, with regard to which the committee would
offer no opinion, and they Lad consequently been
compelled to end the inquiry, so far as this
was concerned, in an unsatisfaetory manner.'
The report, after these preliminary explana-
tions, then went on to advert to the condition
of the army before &bast 'p.)l, and the conduct of the
departments at home, whose duty it as to administer
to its wants. An army encamped in an hostile country,
3,000 miles distant, and engaged in the siege of a for-
tress which it AVM not in a position completely to
i 'vest, re !evarily placed it in a situation entailing
the endurance of many hardships. Tno committee
were of opinion that much of this sufficing
had in the present case bean mach aggravated by matters

which might be attributed to thttiaegicient management
for the supply of the,aciny. In arriving at this opinion
the committee had made allowance for the severity of.
the storm of the 15th of November. It appeared
that from the 16th- of 'September when the army
landed in the r:ea, until, according to the state-
ments of sorn3 if the witneves, the middle of
November, the army suffered from overwork, inade-
quate supply of metlicinee, and the want of aoplia;nces
for the proper treatment of the sick and wounded. As
the season advanced the wait of men wai severely felt,
and the work became more and more disproportionate
to the number of men to execute it, The army was
subsequently brougt to an extreme condition of suffering
and privation, which was borne with a fortitude
and endurance unparalleled in military annals. (Hear,
hear.) They were exposed to cold, rain, frost, and snow,
encamped as they were on high grcaind in the depth of
winter, and they suffered severely from a want of cloth-
ing, insufficient supplies, and imperfect accommodation.
With regard next to the

CONDUCT
OF n DEPARTMENTS.
the responsibility oftbeTexpE
editito the Crimea rested
with the Home Government. • The
Dukereport then ad-
verted to the despatches of theloBf Newcastle,
dated the 18th April, and the 29th Jun,
5, in which
his grace directed inquiries to be made into the4l s:rength
of the Russian fcr:-f9 in the Crimea arid
Sebastopol, and affirmed the importance of the 'ie"3 °I
not being undertaken until these pattkigars
were
ascertained, adding in the last-named letter e
that
there was no prospect of a safe and honourable peace
until the fortress was either taken or reduced. The
committee, however, without pronouncing' any Opinion
on the policy of the Government in sending out the
expedition, it being only their duty to report upon
its results, went on to observe that the conduct
°f the war rested with the Duke of Newcastle,
and
ec:lmre changes took placa in the separation of the
ramps for War and the Colonise. No order in

Council was, however, prepared to define the duties of
the War Department. The Secretary for War considered
himself, therefore, responsible for all the departments
under his control, and he made arrangements to
render their operations more efficient. But he felt
that his means were ' ineffieient to accomplish
this effectually, and that the organisation Of the
departments was in a very unsatisfactory state, and that
it was impossible for him to reorganise them with any
degree of success. The report having then mentioned
that the Cabinet held no consultation after these changes
were made, but separated for the recess, resumed its de-
tail on the reassembling of Parliament this year, and
the complaints made by Lord John Russell as to the
want of vigour in the conduct of the war.
The correspondence between Lord J. Russell and Lord
Aberdeen showed that Lord Raglan reported his wish
to be placed in posit;on before Balaklava on the 26th
October in more considerable force ; and, he also re-
ported that on the sth of November there were
but 8,000 British infantry at Inkermann. In
December the Government found it necessary to
reinforce the army by passing a Foreign Enlistment
Bill. The committee regretted that a large reserve of
the army at home was not considered at a much earlier
period, and that the Government knowing the nature of
the climate and the Power we were about to encounter,
did not take means beyond those ordinarily taken for
increasing the army and also the militia.
THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR WAR.

The Duke of Newcastle was placel in a dis-
advantageous position. (Hear, hear.) He had no
separate office for his department ; no document
prescribing his new duties ; no precedents for his
guidance ; his Under Secretaries were new to the work,
and he had no adequate means of managing the war,
and he was left unacquainted with transactions of which
he ought to have been cognisant ; he took upon himself
the responsibility of many grave matters, mean-
time matters of paramount importance were
left unperformed ; he was left unacquainted with
the horrible mode of conveying the sick and wounded
from Balaklava to Scutari, or not he wring it officially he
disc :edited the rumours, so that while the whole country
was looking for light on this subject the Cabinet
were in darkness. The report next alluded to the coin-
mission sent out by the Duke of Newcastle to report on
the condition of the hospitals, and his Grace also took
upon himself the responsibility of ordering the troops
extra clothing, though the customary clothing had been
already served out to them.