The Sun.
London, England, 1855-01-09 00:00:00

THE MILITIA.

The Herts Militia, now assembled at Hertford, are to
remain there at constant drill for three months. Since
Wednesday 50 men have volunteered into the regiment
of the line. The following officers have now joined
the corps :—Colonel the Marquis of Salisbury, Lieut -
Colonel Dorien, Major J. Foskett, Captains W. Franks,
F. C. Gaussen, T. Rogers, A. Meetherke, 0. F. Trim•
mings, R. V. D. Vernon, and W. G. Gale ; Lieutenants
R. L. Bayliff, J. B. Myers, and the Hon. C. Grimston ;
Ensigns H. Bingham, H. Ballett, and 0. W. White;
Adjutant, Captain James ; and Surgeon, Dr. Davies.
During the past week the barracks at Dorchester be-
came vacant by the removal of the last lot of convicts,
who were sent from the prisons in consequence of the
breaking out of the cholera. These buildings have
since been occupied by the Dorset Regiment of Militia,
who, under Colonel Bingham, are now being exercised
preparatory to their selection for garrison duty.
The Marquis of Salisbury has received the order for
the immediate embodiment of the Royal Elthorne Light
Infantry, Lieutenant-Colonel-Commandant the Hon. F.
-Ir-illierev—The whole of the field Officers and captains' f
this corps formerly served in the line.
The Kent Regiment of Artillery Militia assembled on
Wednesday last on the parade ground in Dover Castle,
for permanent service, under the command of Colonel
Cator, late of the Royal Artillery. They now muster
nearly 200, and are continually increasing their' strength
by enlistment, so that in a short period it is probable
they will be filled up to the required number.

THE CAMPS OF THE ALLIED ARMIES.

• The following account of the camps of the Allied
armies is from the correspondence of the Cologne
Gazette, and contains the evidence of an impartial
observer:

" CONSTANTINOPLE, Dec. 25.—,A friend of your cor-
respondent, who left the Crimea a few days since, gives
the following description of the camp of the Allies :
" Chersonesus, where most merchant ships land, is
the nearest point to the French camp. Here everything
has an appearance of care and comfort. On every side
the French have laid down paved roads, along which,
despite the unfathomable mud of the Crimea, they trans-
port with the greatest ease their guns and provisions,
and march without difficulty from one point to
another. Their huts and tents stand in regular rows,
and at the entrance of each street there are
signposts to indicate the way. A strict camp
police is established, and prevents the accumulation
of dirt and rubbish. Between the tents innumerable
baking-ovens are erected—some of stone, others port-
able—in which fresh bread is being continually baked,
so that the French soldier is not obliged, like the Eng-
lish soldier, to content himself with biscuit, which en-
genders scurvy. Without awaliog the providence of
their Government, they have erected warm huts, from
wood collected and partly taken from demolished Tartar
huts, and the smoke of their chimneys curls up plea-
santly in the air. Under these circumstances there is
more joviality in the French than in the English or
Turkish camp. The men talk, tell tales, sing, and
work merrily. The clothing of officers and men is as
clean as if they were simply doing hard garrison duty.
The Zouaves amuse the camp at night by stealing
out individually, climbing the Russian outworks,
and planting French flags upon them. The Rus-
sians are bamboozled, as at night fires are lit at quite
solitary spots, upon which they fire away as hard as
they can. General Canrobert, despite his wounds, is
to be seen daily in the camp, but General Bosquet is
the favourite of the men. The Turkish camp, which is
next to the French, offers a miserable aspect—dirt,
torn tents, uniforms which can scarcely be recognised as
uniforms, and soldiers that can scarcaly be taken for
soldiers. Nevertheless, they squat down quietly in the
mud, and -smoke their pipes with complacency. Any
one coming from Stamboul is welcomed by then with
as much joy as if they were thousands of miles from that
city. Of the Englishmen and their bravery they speak
with the greatest admiration, and cannot find words
enough to praise their deeds at Inkerman ; but they com-
plain of their brusque manners. We have already said
so much respecting the English- camps that we shall
only give the description of our friend in a few words.
"On the whole, it is the contrast of the French
camp ; there are no roads, if we except one made recently
to convey the terrible mortars. On all sides, between
the torn tents, dead cattle, horses, and oxen are rotting,
and no one thinks of removing the pest-bringing carcases.
Officers and men are so badly off for clothes that they
may be placed on a par with the Turks. The officer does
not give himself the slightest trouble in the world about
the fate of the private, his food, dress, or shelter ; he
leaves all that to the care of the commissariat. Lord
Raglan lives in his house, and for days together is not
visible. Tho wooden huts sent from England lie disjecta
?umbra in the water, and will lie there useless, unless
the nails for putting them together arrive out. My
friend, who is a merchant, had the opportunity of making
some characteristic observations—among others, that
the Englishmen always asked for brandy and cham-
pagne, while the Frenchmen asked for needles and
thread. Before every English bureau he observed
empty casks and broken champagne and brandy bottles.
The inhabitants of the villages which lie scattered be-
tween Sebastopol and Balaklava, at first the friends,
have become, in consequence of probably necessary se-
vere treatment, the bitter enemies of the allies, so that
they are feared as spies, and not one of them is allowed
to leave his hut without an escort. My infor-
mant also had a close view of the besieged fortress. He
declares that there is not the slightest indication of a
breach, and that the walls of Sebastopol appear intact
and unapproachable. To his question, When will the
place be taken ?' a Zouave replied, ' When there are
three Thursdays in one week !' Despite this reply the
whole camp is eager for the assault. General Canrobert
never rides through the camp without being followed by
cries of L'assaut mon General,' from all quarters.
"A witness of the sally of the Wladimir from the
port, he assures me that, though she did go out, she pro-
ceeded timidly enough, and as soon as the Terrible got
under way steamed back again as fast as she could. Icy
returning the \Vladimir missed the small entrance, and
ran foul of the mast of one of the sunken ships, which
protruded melancholy enough out of the water. The
English fleet are in great hopes that Sir Edmund Lyons
will succeed Admiral Dundas in the command. Sir
Edmund Lyons is looked upon as the most active,
clever, and energetic officer of the Black Sea fleet. It
is a fact that the masterly embarkation of the troops at
Varna, the well-organised plan of sailing, and the suc-
cessful landing at Eupatoria, were all managed by him.
It is also a fact that no man is so well acquainted with
the Russo-European and Asiatic coast as Sir Edmund
Lyons, as he devoted the idle time at Beycos and
Kavarna to investigations and surveys. Of his daring
he has on more than one occasion given brilliant proofs."