The Sun.
London, England, 1855-02-20 00:00:00

LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 20, 1855.

THE SIEGE OF SEBASTOPOL.

CAMP NEAR KADIKOI (KADIEKOVA), FEB. 6.
No bombardment yet--no Ire opened, and yet the day ge-
nerally assigned by rumour for the re-opening of our attack
has been past and gone now 24 hours ago. The 'ouly great
type of life and motion visible to me is " the navvy's bar-
row." That potent engine of civilisation is lying in stacks on
the water's edge at Balaklava. The principal depot for the
railway stores is in the horrible squalid place in the rear of
the post-office. When we first arrived at Balaklava this
house was iu good order, and was whitewashed and scrupu-
lously clean ; a neat wooden balcony, reached by a flight of
steps from the garden, led to the priucipalrooms on the upper
floor, and from this balcony a strong, but light, trelliswork,
extending far down the garden, scarce sustained the rich
masses of glowing grapes which burst through the thick
foliage of the vines. Tho garden itself was enclosed by a
whitewashed wall, and a gate at the end led out upon the
quay---garden, and walls, and gate, and trelliswork, and bal-
cony, have long since disappeared, and the soil has been for
months a liquid aliimination, so that it is a glad sight to be-
hold barrows and sleepers, and blocks of wood laid over it.
It is strange that the first use—perhaps the only use—that
the Crini-Tartar will ever witness for centuries of the great
invention of recent days should be to facilitate the operations
of war and to destroy life. When the railway will be finished
I know not ; already there is a hitch, for it appears the sur-
vey had to be stopped yesterday, inasmuch as the line crossed
the road which the French are so busy and se successful in
making up towards the front from Kadikoi. After the expedi-
tion has left the shores of the Crimea, and has become a tradi-
tion among its people, the avorks of our unfinished railroad may
serve to exorcise the ingenuity of future Cimmerian antiqua-
ries, and may form the only permanent work of our presence on
this blood-stained soil. The pick is at work, and the peculiar
idiom of the navvy strikes the ear as he salutes "the sojer,"
and asks after " the foitin 'afore Sebastopowl" from his perch
up among the rocks outside Balaklava. The line of railway
is nearly surveyed, but it has not yet been marked out be-
yond the mound outside Kadiekova, over the plain which
leads up to the plateau on which our camp stands. The en-
trance to Balaklava presents a most extraordinary appearance
at present. After descending into the valley from the plateau
on which the camp stands, and passing over the plain, all torn
and trodden into mud by incessant traffic of horses, men, and
carts and camels, which extends up toTKadikoi, you suddenly
turn round by a mound on which stands a battery, sweeping
the plain, and behold a new wooden world that has arisen by
magic in a few days along the hill-aids over the road to Bala-
klava. Rows of white huts strew the ground. A little town,
called " Buffalo Town," " Log Town," " Hut Town," or
" Sutlers' Town," according to the fancy of the speaker, has
been erected on the right hand side of the path, about three-
quarters of a mile outside Balaklava, for the expelled sutlers;
and, from the din and clamour, one might imagine he was
coming to some well-frequented English fair. A swarm of
men, in all sorts of grotesque uniforms, French, English, and
Turks, throng the narrow lanes between the huts and tents
and carry on bargains in all the languages of Babel with
Greek, Italian, Algerine, Spaniard, Maltese, Armenian, Jew,
and Egyptian, for all sorts of merchandise. Here I behold
my runaway servant—a vagabond Italian— selling small loaves
of bread for 2s. each which he bad purchased from a French
baker in Balaklava for is. 6d., and thus realised 6d. out of it
for a short walk. The guardhouse had had no effect on him, and
as the authorities do not interfere in such cases, I was left to so-
lace myself with the poor revenge of seeing him break his shins
over a tent-stick as he ran away to escape my horsewhip. Here
you may see all the scoundrels of the Levant who can get
across the Black Sea making little fortunes by the sale, at the
most enormous prices, of the vilest articles of consumption,
which necessity alone forces us to use ; and hero you may see
a few honest traders sitting moodily in their stalls and
mourning over their fast departing probity. There is not ono
Englishman, so far as I know, among these sutlers of the
British army, though the greatest vein of nuggets that ever
charmed multitudes to a desert was as dross and dirt to the
wealth to bo realised in this festering crowd. Cameldrivers,
arabajees, wild-eyed, strange-looking savages from out-of-the-
way corners of Asia Miuor, dressed apparently in the spoils of
the chorus of Nabucco" or "Sentiramide," stalk curiously
through the soldiery, much perplexed by the conflicting
emotions of fear of the Provost Marshal and love of plunder.
There are about 150 huts and tents clustered together on this
hill-side. Close beside it is the new battery. Then more huts
and tents, occupied by the cavalry. On the other side of the
cleft in the mountain ridge through which the town is ap-
proached aro the huts and tents of the Highlanders, Turks,
French, Marines, and Rifles, guarding the lines towards Ka-
mera, and rising one above the other till they cover the tre-
mendous crag which frowns down at the sea 1,200 feet below.
Then there is an odd-looking acre or two of ground with a low
wall round it, which looks as if all the moles in the world
lived beneath it, and were labouring night and day—so co-
vered is it with mounds of earth, through which peer rags
and bones. This is the Turkish burying-ground, 4,nd full
well frequented it is. Little hearses may be seen flocking to
it down the hill-sides all day, and returning with the
empty litters gravely drawn back again. They have also
turned one or two vineyards into graveyards, and they have
also selected a quiet nook up among the hills for the
same purpose. Oar own more decent graveyard is situated
outside the town, in low ground, close to the sea. The huts
and tents of the 14th, and long rows of wooden sheds for the
mules, and the tents of the sailors guarding stores, and the
huts of the landing wharf, are all crowded along the steep and
at the edge of the bay on the other side of the town, so that
the place altogether would give ono the idea that ho was
looking at some groat migratory population just settled for a
week, or bad fallen across ono of the mushroom canvass
cities of Australia. Of course, those who are nighest get first
served to the huts, and are best able to put them up. If
Birnam-wood were formed of white deal boards, Macbeth
would see his worst suspicious realised could ho but witness
the moving forest of timber marching up to the front. He
would behold literally miles of men and of mules and ponies
all struggling through the mud with boards —nothing but
boards. In calm weather they got on well enough, but a puff
of wind puts au end to all progress, and a strong gust lays
men and horses in the mire. However, they are slowly work-
ing up towards the camp, but it cannot bo conceived by a
person not on the spot how hard it is to take up even ono
hut, and what a great quantity of timber has to be moved ere
the building is complete. The weather is fine, but cold. It
is not transport we want, it is a road to put our transport on.
From all I can hear there is no immediate prospect of our
opening fire. I find that in my last letter I omitted, under
the head of" February 1," to insert a slip which the wind
blew into an abstruse corner of the tent in which I was writing
at the time, and I now precede my usual daily return by it,
as the contents may have relation to portions of that letter,
which brought down the narrative of affiLirs of February 3.
FEBRUARY I.
Sir Colin Campbell received information from Lord Raglan
this morning that an attack might be expected at any time,
and to be prepared for it. Sir Colin at once went along the
lines, visited the commanding officers of the 42d Regiment,
the 79th Regiment, the 93d Regiment, the Marines, and
Lieut.-Colonel Bradford, in command of the men of the 2d
battalion of the Rifle Brigade, and gave them directions to
be in readiness to meet any assault upon their lines. Four
of the 56-cwt. 32-pounders of the Sanspareil have been left
behind, and will be sent up this evening to a hill just outside
Balaklava, iu order to strengthen the defences of the p,
and to sweep the approach to it from the valley. The infor-
mation has been received from a Polish officer who deserted
two days ago, and who is now at head-quarters.
The following is my journal since my last letter:—
SUNDAY, FEB. 4.
The thermometer this morning stood at 22 deg. There
was a sharp frost during the night, but the sun's rays soft-
ened the ground during the daytime, though they did not
temper the wind, which was very keen and searching. Tile
enemy fired very little during the day, and the French
lowed their example, so that we had a day of rest, only that
the riflemen on both sides kept up the usual fusillade from
their pits and covered works. In the afternoon a small party
of Cossacks, with two light field-pieces, were observed cross-
ing the head of the valley towards Inkerman, but no consi-
derable movement of the Russians, that I am aware of, was
visible throughout the day. Theirmen muster in for.ede, how-
be-
ever,
wv eere,u o
thever theß hheeki g o
and tfh
e
Inkerman,south
must suffer very severely during these cold nights, for
they are less able to bear the severity of the climate
sid eaonfd
soenhasthtoep roil. geTs
They
our own soldier', being accustomed, as I am in-
formed, to spend their winters in hot close barracks,
abinhaoeTbylhaeypeduaspbirt.rfg,reeioeu'
where they remain as long as the hard weather lasts. The
Cossacks alone aro employed in the open country during frost
and snow. The 71st Regiment (the battalion just arrived)
have not yet landed, but they are a most welcome addition
to our force in Balaklava, should the Russians for once attack
us when and where we expect them. It is wonderful to a
civilian that the point which we have now fortified by the
guns sent up the other day should have been so long ne-
glected, as it looked very weak, and an easy gallop down the
slope of the hills would have brought a body of cavalry right
through a gap in our lines upon the very highway between
Kadikoi and Balaklava. The 82-pounders just put in posi-
tion would render such an attempt now all but impossible.
There is a report that the Brigade of Guards, now reduced to
less than 600 mon fit for duty, is to be moved down to the
port ef Balaklava, and that Sir Colin Campbell will move up
with his fresh regiments to the front ; but I trust that Balak-
lava may not be deprived ef the vigilance and skill of such an
able officer until we can afford to dispense with the possession
of the harbour.
oaannrmneegsenhdtscethlosoemefrntrleeoopsstdinehoht
pdtotlhetehdopfoie
those
ratsmihfitthneol aelrewutwsememopondoibui:
yantrndi anongeohadsnspdeor unaccountable
operations
ueahettmtt
shro formidablehAi Diamondeopetdanvlhstmosateydott his
er
Admiral
esdelextremity
in fatigue
Boisxmsrrttofw,provided
veniyeiwraii nowairdgl:enh,
teiwneyeebh.i
cdel
alauf
sr.
ptwTetyrohhaoo. nseei
need,4a
rt hb
h
s
eihra seemGb eyo r gteo
attachpooOe
Pollock,
the ship
e themselves
Go-
vernment at cost price, has not yet opened shop. Some of the
Crimean Army Fund have been opened, and are in the
course of distribution. They will be distributed officially,
and by the instrumentality of the Quartermaster-General's de-
partment in each division, but individual officers may get
stores for their respective regiments by providing carriage for
them. It has been decided by the managers that "it is bet-
ter to sell than give away," and accordingly all articles which
aro not actually gifts to the fund will be sold at such a price
as may defray coat and expenses. Our parcels and boxes and
Christmas presents are turning up very slowly in the chaos
of Balaklava. For the last week the Foyle, laden with
packages from England, has been lying in harbour, and I am
very well acquainted with one person who has received a
polite note from Mr. Hayter and Howell, apprising him that
they shipped for Idm in the said Foyle a case marked " so and
so," who has sent en board day after day for it, who has gone
to the Parcels-office for it, and who is still without it, and
cannot hear anything of it. You may multiply that person
and that case by a hundred, if you like, and apply the calcu-
lation to most ships out here. The presents sent by the
Prince to the Guards are in the St. Jean d'Acre, but have not
yet been delivered. Poor fellows ! Those who live will have
ample comforts if they divide the share of their departed
comrades among them. Lord Rokeby is said to have been
affected to tears when the three regiments of Guards paraded,
on his taking the command. His lordship has communicated
a most gratifying letter from the Queeu to the officers, in
which her Majesty expresses her admiration of the conduct of
" her beloved Guards." There was little firing all day, and
no movement of troops on either side. The Medway arrived
at Balaklava with the Ist battalion of the 71st Regi
UA m
RY ent.
FEBRS.
Lord Raglan rode into Balaklava to-day, and remained in
the town some time, inspecting the arrangements of the
various departments of the service. A house took fire while
bis lordship was there, but it was soon extinguished:
Curiously enough, it has been remarked, it is said, that on
each of the previous days when his lordship visited the town

a ship in the harbour was on fire—the Arabia, the Star of
the South, and another vessel, the name of which I forget.
76 sick men came down from 'camp, and received a cup of tea
and brandy at Mr. Skead's establishment before they went
on board ship ; very grateful it must have been, too, for the
day was bitter cold and it froze hard. Nearly the whole of
the newly-landed French division is pushed over towards our
right. To the great dismay of the commissariat officers a
portion of the harbour of Balaklava has been assigned for
French ships to lie in, and they are to unload stores there for
those regiments which are nearer to Balaklava than to
Kamiesh, and thus they make their own road of use to
themselves. The harbour is now full of ships, packed as
close as herrings in a barrel. The landing of stores, of cloth-
ing, and of ammunition continues, bat there are really few
incidents to write baout ; one day is just like another.
As I was riding out towards the camp this afternoon, with
an officer of the Scots Fusilier Guards, I witnessed a refresh-
ing instance of the vigilance of our men. We rode out along
the valley towards the Woronzoff road, and kept a little too
much to our right, so that, happening to look towards the
top of a mound about 300 yards distant, the first thing that
struck us was the head of a Cossack as be crouched down to
escape observation, in the hope that with the aid of his picket
he could make us prisoners. It was just as well a bullet had
not struck either of us, but, as a rule, sentries never
fird on stragglers passing within range. A little in
advance of and keeping towards the mound ,on our
right was an English soldier ; behind him, at the dis-
tance of some 400 yards, another soldier was seen running,
shouting at the top of his voice, with his firelock at the pre-
sent. The first man kept walking rapidly on. The other
halted and fired, and the ball knocked the earth up close to
him. Still the fellow kept on, and we were riding up to see
what he was, when a Heavy Dragoon dashed at a gallop from
the cavalry pickethouse, and rode between the man and the
bill. The foot soldier turned back at once with the Dragoon,
who marched him to the piekethouse, -and. then went up to
the other man. We found this poor fellow was a sentry from
the hill in front of the Highland battery, and that he had run
all the distance after the other man, whom he had seen edging
up towards the Russian lines along the plain. He returned
at once to his post, and iu a quarter of an hour more he was
on his bleak beat, pacing up and down, with his eye fixed on
the enemy. It was amusing to watch the Cossack all this
time. Nothing could be seen of him for the time but his
little bullet head over the bank. Ho evidently imagined that
by lying close he might get one of us, but he was disappointed,
for the Dragoon requested us to go more to the left, and thus
debarred us the use of a path which many of the men of the
regiments on the right of the camp had been in, the habit of
taking for a long time past. It is now tabooed, however, as
the Cossacks seem to have pushed their videttes somewhat
closer than they have been for some weeks past. Still there
is no sign of any preparation in the valley towards Tchor-
goon. Tho French talk of their reconnaissance coming off
every day, but probably they do not like to venture out
without guns, and at present the ground is scarcely fit to
bear them across the plains and valley of Balaklava.
No news of the Turks, or of what they are doing at
Eupatoria. There is a rumour, however, that Omer
Pacha is not a very enthusiastic admirer of the
plans of Lord Raglan or of General Caurobert. The
French speak with enthusiasm and hope of the qualities of
General Pelissier, and expect great thingS from his energy and
activity.

The English cavalry are not at. all appeased by anything
that has been urged to quiet them. They are indignant at
the refusal of any distinction whatever for Balaklava, and the
survivors say they would rather have a bit of string and a
stick to fasten to their coats if it wore to show they had been
in the charge of the 25th of October than the gaudiest and
richest riband and claips for Alma or Inkerman, where they
feel they were comparatively inactive. They have been made
hewers of wood, and drawers of water, and biscuit-bearers to
the army, till horses died, andmen died or sickened, and they
have been deprived by the nature of the campaign, and by
the reduction of their numbers, of any other opportunity of
distinguishing themselves. If a clasp cannot be given, be-
cause the 25th of October was not a victory, let the men who
remain to us out of those two immortal charges receive soma
mark by which their countrymen may know them—two
bronze swords, crossed, fastened to a narrow riband, or some
simple, quiet decoration of that kind, would satisfy the most
ambitious of them.

Among the claimants for the Alma clasp are the officers
and men of the Vesuvius, Commander Powell. It may be
remembered that the Russians who occupied the extreme left
of the hills on which their position above the Alma was situ-
ated were forced to retire by the heavy fire of three steamers,
two French and one English, on their flank. The latter was
the Vesuvius. She was under fire, and did service, and her
crew consider they are as much entitled to the Alma clasp as
the men of two divisions of the army which wore not actually
engaged during the action.

The following General Order has been issued :
" With the view to relieve commanding officers and others
from the business of the savings bank, without in any degree
depriving the soldiers of the advantage of depositing their
savings at interest, the Commander of the Forces, with the
concurrence of the Secretary at War, directs the temporary
suspension of the savings bank regulations from the 31st
March, 1855.
" Commanding officers will cause all savings bank docu-
ments to be forwarded immediately after the 31st March to
the officers commanding the depots at home, and report to
the Secretary at War when this shall have been done.
" All moneys actually deposited will continue to bear the
I usual interest, and instructions will be sent to the Secretary
at War to officers commanding regiments as to the manner in
which soldiers' remittances from abroad shall bo made
through the regimental pay lists to the savings bank at the
depot.
. _ _

A correct list of the balances due to depositors on the
day of suspension is to bo retained by the commanding officer,
who is at liberty to sanction, in special cases, the withdrawal
of sums in deposit up to that date, taking the soldier's receipt
in duplicate, one to be retained, and oue to be forwarded to
the depot.
aAr dsetc monthly al
temen t o
to fcatsuhaeltdieespoatm.
amongst depositors must be
forwarded
" The names of the serjunts, corpora's, and private sol-
diers recommended for gratuities for gallant conduct in the
field, under the royal warrant of 4th December, 1854, will be
forwarded to the depot, with directions that the several
amounts shall be credited in their account in the savings
bank, and bear interest until the men are discharged."
The following has been published here :

War-office, January 13. i
am desired by the Secretary at War to acquaint
you, for the information of the General Commanding-in-Chief,
that the Lords Commissioners of her Majesty's Treasury
have been requested to issue the necessary directions to the
authorities at the Mint for the immediate preparation of the
medal which her Majesty has been graciously pleased to com-
mand shall be conferred upon such non-commissioned officers
and soldiers serving with the army in the East, under Field-
Marshal as may be recommended for this dis-
tinction,
q
orredn
uthat,requisition
tlof
when
tcompleted,le General
oenammeadnadl
nmg
-bceh
iseutp
up L
"lanplied
to add, that Mr. Sidney Herbert has requested that
the medal shall be similar to that now granted to soldiers as a
reward for good conduct, with the exception that, in lieu of
the inscription, For long service and good conduct,' which
now appears thereon, the words, a For distinguished conduct
in the field' may be substituted ; and, further, that, with a
view of remedying the defect which now exists in the shank
by which the existing medals are attached to the ribbon by
which they are suspended, in all future issues the shank may
t:(clinSeigrual e'do Forces,
Horse )f
the
be formed of silver, roundel', and of greater strength, so as to
guard against the probability of a loss of the medal, either
by breaking, or by cutting through the ribbon to which it is
Guards."
at t cThhe
ed -d
jlua:an, 4

"B. HAWS&

CIVIL HOSPITALS 4ND THB WAR.

The following circular has been addressed, at the sug-
gestion of Mr. Grey, of St. George's Hospital, to the go-
vernors of the principal hospitals and dispensaries. We
trust that the eppeal this made to the patriotism and
humanity of these gentlemen will be handsomely re-
sponded to, andthat y encouragement will be afforded
talents at the service of the country :
tireoffice
rsof
the these
eery
establishments to place their

" War Department, Feb. 17.
ct Gentlemen,— I am desired by Lord Panmure to request
your immediate and earnest consideration of a subject which
at this moment engages his lordship's most anxious attention
—namely the best means of rendering the vast professionalsources of Great Britain, and more particularly of the me-
at,
ever forward in a cause of
re
tropolis, available for the medical relief of the British army
the seat of war. Lord Pan
is of opinion that tPanmure is well aware that mem-
for medical assistance of
, would not be wanting
oled for first in the
bt
humanity,oerie• eospf
o nh de imtmoe
ladeniseysa medicalthan
r o
of ef s spi oa nt r i 0 t i s
In
peal which might be addressed to them
guarantee their ex-
he
me antecedentsus
must
b e l
by
ny present
ortheorder
e Grnowevcieleirs
senhimt
iceeansnt ,00tbnultyth
ehbiaes r
mil
noyrs du
callsr he
di p b
5- selection from indi-
viduals who.have already given prrof of their possession of
medical establishments of the great metropolitan hospitals.
pthoerierneqcoui;sistueoshkiilnl
" I am directed by Lord Panmure to request your aid and
concurrence in his organisation of a special civil medical
' d ai
vn idd uwahl sos
staff to assist the military medical staff of the army at the
seat of war. His lordship considers that this could be best
effected by your selection of two or more medical gentlemen
for the posts of physician and surgeon, of four or more other
gentlemen of a junior standing as assistant physicians and
surgeons, and of such proportion of advanced medical pupils
as you may deem necessary to perform the duty of dressers ;
but his lordship considers that such an arrangement will
fail to secure the services of the most highly qualified of
your officers unless you can at the same time, by an internal
and private arrangement of your establishment, protect the
gentlemen selected from a permanent professional loss result-
ing from their humane exertions. This can probably be
effected only by declaring that such offices as may be held by
gentlemen volunteering to proceed to the seat of war on tem-
porary furloughs from the d
establishments to which they
•be-
long shall not be declared vacant . during their absence ; but
that their duties shall be provisionally performed by other
gentlemen especially appointed for the purpose, and that they
shall be reinstated in such offices on their return.
" The remuneration which Lord Panmure would propose
for these officers would be that already fixed for the civil me-
dical officers at Smyrna, which are as follow—viz., physicians
and surgeons, 2/. 2s. per diem ; assistant ditto, 1/. ss. ditto.
But his lordship will be ready to consider any suggestions
you may desire to make on that head, and I am instructed to
add that to meet the ease of gentlemen who may give up pri-
vate practice to proceed to the East, it is his lordship's inten-
tion to propose that the salary to be paid by the Government
shall be continued for one year from the termination of the
engagement, which it is hoped will enable those who may
find their private practice wholly or partly passed into other
hands, to bear with less inconvenience the interval that may
elapse before they can recover it.
" Lord Panmure proposes that the hospitals to bo con-
ducted by the civil staff shall be as much as possible distinct
from and apart from those in charge of the military staff;
nevertheless, he proposes to give local medical rank to the
gentlemen so engaged.
" Lord Panmure is well aware that 'in the present infected
state of the great hospital at Scutari a local removal of the
sick is greatly to be wished. This subject presents many
practical difficulties, but his attention has been given to the
means of overcoming them ; and he trusts that the infection
in question will not remain to augment the difficulty of the
duty.

" I tun, gentlemen, your oboaieut seaaut;

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

MR. ROEBUCK'S RESOLUTION.

(Prom the Times of this day.)

The new Government has brought out its budget of mea-
sures without loss of time. That is praiseworthy ;-bnt it was
also a matter of necessity, seeing that it had either to con-
cede or to refuse an inquiry which the majority of its mein-.
'hers had.already refused, but the refusal of which had proved
fatal to their Administration. The now measures, brought
out with such promptitude, on -the spur of the moment, by
men who before were doing nothing at all but refusing in-
quiry, look at first sight miscellaneous enough. They fall,
however, under one category, as might be expected from the
crisis which has given them birth. They are half-measures,
temporising measures, ambiguous measures, that may mean
much or little, according to circumstances.. We will venture
to say that if any man in a scrape as regards his business, or
other private affairs, made a number of such promises or
such replies in a breath, so to speak, and all having the same
equivocal look, he would be simply set down as shuffling,
evading the difficulty, and trying to gain time, so little would
his conduct savour of honest intention. When Government
ought to know what to do, an ought to be prepared to take
the responsibility on itself, it sets about asking a multitude
of questions, and creating a new class of scapegoats, for the
purpose of discharging upon them its own responsibility. If
Lord Palmerston had really done what Richard 11. did—
that is, had he taken the lead of the Commons by either
instituting a general and immediate inqUiry, or adopt-
ing decisive and energetic measures—he might, by either
course, have taken the wind out of the sails of
Parliamentary agitation. He has simply created a new
element of doubt and obscurity, a new haze, a new cloud of
dust, about a state of things which already was a darkness
that might be felt. In such a situation it is necessary to
adopt the simplest possible tests, anti we are indebted to Mr.
Layard for the suggestion of the test that most directly ap-
plies. It is the test of working. How will it work ? Follow
Lord Panmure's Commissioners with your mind's eye ; be
their companion on their voyage, arrive with them at the
camp, sit by them as they come face to.face with the subjects
of their inquiry ; and then you may form some opinion as to
the almost inevitable result of a course which aims at doing
great things, and cutting the knot that has destroyed a British
army, without cost, without pain, without effort, without any
positive line of action—as if any great work over was done
without cost, or pain, or effort, or positive line of action.
General Simpson is to arrive at Head-quarters in the fol-
lowing multifarious capacity :—He is to be -Chief of the Staff
—a new office in our army—and as such he will have to be
the medium of communication between Lord Raglan and his
Staff, in particular between the Quartermaster-General and Ad-
jutant-General. He will have to convey Lord Raglan's orders,
to, see they are executed, and report how they aro executed.
He will have to inquire generally into the way in which the
duties of the Staff are discharged, to report there-
upon to the Secretary for War, to show the
report to Lord Raglan in order to give him an oppor-
tunity of anticipating the authorities at home, and to
tender advice for the same purpose, which advice Lord Rag-
lan, "no doubt," will receive. Placed thus between all,
and over all, General Simpson presents himself at Lord Rag-
lan's residence. ' He will be invited at once to partake of his
lordship's hospitalities. Will he partake of them ? Will he
dine day after day with Lord Raglan and the Staff—that is,
with the two parties between whom he is to be the only offi-
cial channel of communication ? Finding them all in a full
and close communication of near a twelvemonth's standing,
how will he substitute for that long intimacy an official com-
munication, himself the only channel ? Will he exchange
compliments and be on the best of terms with his host, or hie
guests, as may be, or retire each day from the dinner-table to
write home his unreserved opinion of his agreeable friends
and their measures? Should he assume the old Roman, be
distant, inquire, report, and advise with authority, where
will Lord Raglan be, and how little will his lordship have
reason to thank Lords Palmerston and Panmure for their
delicacy in leaving him the empty semblance of command I
Is ho to inquire in company with the Staff, or to refuse the
cup of Comus, break from the magic circle, and, as Mr. Lay-
arc! advises, go about tho camp listening to the sorrows of the
regimental officers ? How will the Staff endure to see her Ma-
jesty's " own correspondent" roving about the camp, giving a
ready ear to the disaffected, diving into the mystery of ex-
tinct regiments, and struggling in vain to conceal his sym-
pathy with the neglected, and his disgust at the folly
and insolence of those in command ? With Mr. Layard, we
must say that we want, not a commission, but a man. A man
may be in time for the great battle believed to be at hand ; a
commission can scarcely be. If General Simpson is the man
he is said to be, if he is such a man as Lord Ellenborough
would not hesitate to intrust with the command of the
Indian army at a great crisis, send after him a commission
investing him with the command which it is confessed by
his present errand that Lord Raglan is not equal to.
Sir John M'Neill's difficulties will be physical rather than

social. From all accounts, in a few weeks Balaklava, the
head-quarters of the Commissariat, will be the most pestilen-
tial hole on the face of the earth. The bodies of many thou-

sand Christians, Turks, and horses, and all kinds of unimagi-
nable filth, will then begin to fester gig -simmer on the hill
side, the meadow, the mud, and the salt water. A new mor-
tality will arise, and surrounded by fighting outside the town
and confusion within, a valetudinarian officer, disabled for

ordinary employment in his own climate, is to gn about every-
where, seeing all kinds of people, examining stores, enforcing
orders, bidding the light to shine out of darkness, and teach-
ing the Commissariat mind, at the same time formal and rude,
the difference between the " letter that killeth and the spirit
that givoth life." If Sir John does not lose his life in this
employment, he will, as Mr. Layard says, lose his well-earned
reputation, simply because he will be held responsible for re-
. .

forming the Colinaissariat, and the Commissariat too probably
will not be reformed, unless by some- more youthful
and vigorous hand. So far, indeed, as concerns the conduct
of the army, the time does not admit of more inquiry. We
have to deal with two evils —a bad system and incapable offi-
cers. The first demands inquiry with a view to reform ; the
second calls for summary measures. The course actually

adopted by the new Government is aimed at both these evils,
and is likely to hit neither. Voltaire mentions a council of
war that met the day after a great defeat to inquire how it
happened. That might be a very proper subject for inquiry
at home, as in our ease, but it was a very futile proceeding on
the part of general officers who had to-morrow to think of,
and to secure themselves from further defeats. In fact, we
know the past of the Crimea too well ; it is the present and
the future we do not know. Nobody can guess what state of
affairs these hybrid Commissioners will find on their arrival,
or whether they will be able to enter the harbour of Balaklava
at all. At the last date the British army was reduced to
10,500 bayonets, newly organised, in a new position, and
with altogether a different work to perform in the siege, viz.,
the duty of a covering army, or to complete the investment
of Sebastopol on the side of the Tchernaya.. Yet this remnant
having shifted its position, and become the mere contingent
of a larger army, in the proportion of about one to ten, if so
much, is to be mocked with the arrival of commissions of in-
quiry, to rake up the past, to retrace the dismal stops of its
downfall, and, perhaps, to report to the authorities at home
how matters might have been managed better, and how a
fraction of the remainder may be say* if the proper mea-
sures be taken in time.

PARLIAMENTARY DIVISION.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.-FEB. 19.
EAST AND WEST INDIA DOCK BILL.

Order for second reading read ; motion made and question
proposed, " That the bill be now read a second time." Amend-
ment proposed to leave out the word "now," and at the end
of the question to add the words " upon this day six months."
Question put, " That the word now' stand part of the ques-
tion." The house divided—ayes 26, noes 240.

AYES.-26.
Bouverie, Hon. E. P. Hastie, Archd.
Bramston. T. W. Lindsay, W.
Browne, W. Mackie, J.
Compton. H. C. Macgregor, Jag.
Cabitt, W. Michell, Dr. W.
Dundas, G. Nowdegate, C.
Ferguson, Sir E. Peacocke, G.
Freshfleld, J. Robertson, P.
Glyn, G. Scrope, G.
Grenfell, Chas. Seymour. H.

Smith, Abel
Thornely, T.
Walcott, Admiral
Wigram, Loftus T
Willcox, B.
Woodd, B.

NOES-249.

TELLERS.

Baring, T.
(region, S.

Acton, T. French, F. Mowbray, J.
Adair, R. Faller, A Mulgrave, Earl of
klcock, T. Galway, Sir W.
Mailings. J.
Anderson, Sir J. Gardner, B. Mundy, W.
Annesley, Earl of (WIWI, J. Manta, G.
Arbuthnott, Gen. George. J. Murrough, J.
Baines, Rt. Hon. M. Gibson, T Naas, Lord
Baird, J. Gladstone, W. Noel, G.
Ball, E. Goddard, A. North, F.
Baring, 11. Goderich, Iris. Osborne, R.
Baring, Sir F. Gower, F. Otvray, A.
Barrow, W. Graham, Sir J. Packe, C
Bass, T. Greaves, E. Paget, Lord A.
Beamish, F. Green, Capt John Pakenham, T. H.
Bell, J. Greene, Thomas Palmer, Robert
Bennet, Capt P. Grevllle, Col. F. Palmerston, Visct.
Bentinck, G. Grey, R. Paxton, Sir J.
Beresford, Rt. Hn. W. Grogan, Edward Peel, F.
Berkeley, Admiral Grosvenor, Ld. R. Pellatt, A.
Berkeley, Hon. H Guinness, R. Percy, J.
Berkeley, C. Gwyn, H. Perry, Sir T.
Berkeley, G. Hadfield. G. Phillimore, J. G.
Biggs, W. Hall, Sir B. Phillimore, R. J.
Bland, L. H. Haabury,Capt.Hon. C. Phinn, T.
Boldero, Col. H. G. Hankey, T. Pilklngton, J.
Boaham-Carter, J. Hamner, Sir J. Pinney, W.
Brady, J. nestle, Alex. Powlett, Lord W.
Bramley-Moore, J. Hayter, W. Reed, J.
Brocklehurst I. Headlam, T. Ricardo, 0.
Bruce, H. A. Heathcoate, 3. Rice, E.
Raekley, Gen. Ileneage, Geo. H. Rich, H.
Butt, O. Henley, J. Roebuck, J.
Cardwell, E. Herbert, Sir T. Rushout, Col. G.
Challis T. Herren Lord A. Russell, F. C.
Cheetham, John Heywood, J. Russell, F. W.
Chelsea. Viscount Horsfall. T. Sadleir, John
Cholmondeley, Lord Hotham, Lord Sanders, G.
Clay. Sir W., Bt. Hume, W. Scott, F.
Cobbett, J. M. Ingham, R. Ets'illy,F.
Cobden, R. Irton, S. Prymour, W. D.
Cocks, T. S. Johnstone, Sir J. Marto, R.
Cogan, W. 11. F. Jones, Capt. T. Shelburne, Earl
1 Coles, H. B. Keating, R. Shelley, Sir J.
Jollier, R. P. Keating, 11. Shirley, E.
Coote, Sir rt. H. Kendall, N. Srnijth, Sir W.
Corry, H. T. L. Kennedy, T. Smith, J. A.
Cowper, W. F. King, P. smith, J. B.
Craufhrd, B. 11,3. Kinnaird, A. Smith, W.
Curtis, Raikes Knatchball, R. Sotheron, 'l'.
Davies, D. A. S. Knightley, R. Spooner, R.
Deedes, W. Knox. Col. B. W. Stanley, Lord
Denison, J. E. Labouchere,Rt.lion.li Steel, J.
Dering, Sir 11, Laing, S. Strut t, E.
Do Vere, S. Langton, W. Stuart, W.
Disraeli. B. Lens ton, G. Tomline, G.
11.
vaii&, J.
Drummond, H. Laurie, J.
Duff, G. Loan!, A. R. Vernon Sir W.
Dud, J. Le, W. . G.
Villiers, C.
Villiers, F. -
Duncan G. lirt.Go..C.
11. T. Vyvyan, Sir R.
Locke, J. Vysc, Col.
Duncombe, 0.
11::nnceoa,bVe,ilslcoonu.nAt
A.
Duncombe, Ilon.W. Lockhart, A. E. Waddington, D.
Dunlop, A. Lushinzton, C. Watinsley, Sir J.
Do Pre. C. Lytton, Sir G. Walpole, S.
Ebrington, Viscount Macartnoy, G. Warner, E.
Egerton, E. Mackinnon, W. A. waterpark, Lord
Ellice, E. Macgregor, John Watson, W.
Lewis,LLi dddd e i I S.,
Elliot, J. Macgulre, J. Whatman, J.
Emlyn, VII. Melina, R. Whitbread, S.
Ewart, W. Mandeville, Vis. IVickham, H. W.
Fagan, W. Massey, W. Wilkinson, W.
Farre r , J . Masterinan, J. Wise. A. -
Fenwick, H. Miall, E.
,„ Wortley, J. S. -Mr
Ferguson, J. Milligan, R. Wrightson, W.
Fitzgerald,
W. Milner, W. Wyndham, Gen.
Foley, J. 1411nes, R. Wynn, Lieut.-Co'
Forester, Col. Mitchell. T. Wyvill, M.
Forster, C. Molesworih, Sir W. Young, Sir J.
Forster, 3. Montgomery, Sit G.
Fortescue, C. Morgan, 0.
Fox, W. Morris, D.
Franklyn, G. ft ,m Kowatt, F.

TELLERS
Duke, Sir J.
Williama,W.