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

. ,
a ship in harbour was on *rez-the Arabia, the Star of
the South, and another vessel, 'the name of which I forget.
76 s:ck men came down from c'4 p,,and received a cup of tea
and brandy at Mr. Skead's estt ishment before they went
1
on board ship; very grateful it!:- tat have been, too, for the
day was bitter cold and it froze card Nearly the whole of
the newly-landed French division is pushed over towards our
right. To the great dismay oetlie 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 tfarer to Balaklava than to
Kanciesh, 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. I'l),e landing of stores, of cloth-
ing, and of ammunition coutinues, but there are really few
incidents to write Wont ; one day is just like another.
. As I was riding out towards the camp this afternoon, with
an' officer of the Scots Fusilier ClUarde, I witnessed a refresh-
ing instance of the vigilance of our men. We rode -out along
the- valley towards the Woronzofl' road, and kept a little too
much to our right, so that, happening to look towards the
lop of a mound about .300 yardsdistant, the first, thing that
struck us was the head of a Cossack' as he crouched down to
escape observation, in the hope that with the aid of his picket
he could make us prisoners. Itwas just as well a bullet had
not struck either of us, hut,
,as a rule, sentries never
fire 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-
taatce•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 ho was, when a-Heavy Dragoon dashed at a gallop from
the` cavalry pickethouse, and rode between the man and the
hill. 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 in a quarter of an hour more he was
on his bleak beat, pacing up and,dovn, 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. . He 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-
goun. The 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 Canrobert. 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
sni•vivors say they would rather have a bit of string and a
stick to fasten to their .colts if it were to show they had been
in the charge of the 25th of October than the gaudiest and
richest riband and clasps 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, 'and men 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 some
mark by which their countrymen may know them—two
bronze swords, crossed, fastened to a narrow riband, or some
simple, quiet decoration of thattind, would satisfy the most
ambitious of them.

Among the claimants for the Alma clasp aro the officers
and men of,the Vesuvius, Commander Petrel]. 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 wore forced to retire by the heavy fire of three steamers,
two French and one English,-on their tank. 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 were 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 b4nk, without in auy 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
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 be made
through the regimental=pa,y lista te the savings bank at the
depot: .
•' A correct list of the balances due fo depositors on the
day of suspension is to be 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 ono to be forwarded to
the depot.

" A statement of casualties amongst depositors must be
forwarded monthly to the depot.
their
" The names of•the serjeants, corpora's, and private sol-
diers recommended for gratuities for gallant conduct in the
field, under the royal warrant of 4th December, Int, will be
afornrwoiamrdtsedshthall the
ee
cdrefdoitted in thil
with dct :ennsuntin that
ttnhee severalsavings
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
been graciously graciously pleased to com-
mand at the Mint for the immediate preparation of the
modal
and soldiers serving with the army in the East, under Field-
ma,rs'‘al Lord Raglan, as may be recommended for this dis-
tinction,has and that, when completed, the medals may be sup-
plied upon requisition of the General Comma__ a. g.
in in-Chief.
shall be whichher
I am to add, that Mr. Sibley Herbert hasrequested 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, For distinguished conduct
in the field: may bo 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
be formed of silver, rounded,br andf of greater strength, so as to
against the probability o a loss of the medal, either
guard
by breaking,
• or by cutting through the ribbon to which it is
attached.— I am, dm,
(Signed)
" The Adjutant-General of the Forces,
Horse Guards."

" B. HAIVES.

CIVIL HOSPITALS AND THE WAR.

addressed, at the sug
wild dispensaries. We
The following circular has been
to the go-
vernors of Mr. Grey, of St. George's . troa' pita",
ment will be afforded
trustyern o rths
that
tf the
tha principal
apps a
l thishospitals
made
to the patriotism and
humanity of these gentlemen will be' handsomely
particularly re-
sponded to, and that every 81100Urage
to the officers of these great establishments to
:ypoefbt.hleso.na
sieelief of the British army
of a subject whichq
talents at the service of the country :..... place
uthretorethueesirt
" War Department, F
~. I am desired by Lord
Pled anxious attention
—namely the best means of rendering the
maneddiczo
immediateenlen and earnest Consideration
vast -professional
• l
ayten't‘hrGisenmtloment engages his lordship's
me-
tropolis,resources of
available GreatGreat
at the seat of war. Lord Famous° is well aware that mem-
bers of the medical profession,, ever forward •in a cause of
fßerritatlisne,
humanity, no less than of patriptism, would not be wanting
to respond to any appeal Vaiclt might be addressed to them
by the Government, but his lordship is of opinion that the
present necessities of the army, call for medical assistance of
an order which can only be insured by ion
select from indi-
viduals who have already given proof of their possession
of
the requisite skill, and whose antecedentsguarantee their ex-
perience ; such individuals must b looked for first in the
medical establishments of the aeat metropolitan hospitals.
" I am directed by Lord Panmuro to request your aid and
concurrence in his organisation of a special civil medical
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 select;on of two ormore.medieal gentlemen
for the posts of physician and Surgeon, of four or snore other
gentlemen of a junior standing as assistant physicians and
surgeons, and of such proportion of advanced medical pupils
as you may deem necessas y 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 establishments to which they be-
long shall not be declared vacint during their absence ; but
that their duties shall be provisionally performed by other
goutlemen especially appointafor the purpose, and that they
shall be reinstated in such offices on their return,
" The remuneration which Lord Palmas.° 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
I suggestions
you may d.ssire to snake on that head, and I am instructed to
add that to meet the case of g • Memos who may give up psi.
vats practice to proceed to th East, it is his lordship's inten-
tion to propose that the'salar to be paid by the Government
shall be continued for one y r from the termination of the
engagement, which it is hop4l will enable those who may
find their private practice wholl3r or partly passed into other
bands, to bear with less inconircuience the interval that may
elapse before they can recover it.
" Lord Panmuro proposes that the hospitals to be 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, ho proposis to give local medical rank to the
gentlemen so engaged.
" Lord Panmuro is well aware that in the present infected
state of the great hospital at Scutari a local removal of the
sick is givatly 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 auginent the difficulty of the
duty.

" I am: gentlemen: your obedient se.want."