The Sun.
London, England, 1855-03-07 00:00:00

THE SUPPRESSED PAMPHLET.

( Front the Examiner.)
A pamphlet with the title Dc its Conduits de la Guerre
ci' Orient, Memoireadresse au Gourernement del'Empereur
Napoleon M., par un °Pier General, has been printed
at Paris, and suppressed by order of the French Govern-
ment. It is rumoured that it has been written upon
information furnished by Prince Napoleon. It professes
to give the history of the causes of the war, and, above
all, of the expedition to the Crimea. Having obtained
possession of a copy of this pamphlet, we subjoin an ab-
stract of its leading statements.
The idea of the expedition is affirmed to have originated
at the beginning of July with the French Emperor, who
drew out the plan with his own hand, and submitted it to
the Governments of London andVienna,both of which gave
it their warmest approval. On its arrival at the allied camps
Marshal St. Arnaud adopted it with enthusiasm. He
propounded it to a council tf war, held at Varna on the
10th of August, and gave it as his opinion that, after
defeating the Russians in a pitched battle, the allies
could march straight on Sebastopol and take it by a
cap de main. "All eyes were directed to Lord Rag-
lan, whose countenance had far some minutes worn an
expression of incredulity. He objected that we were
without inf,rination as to the Russian force and the
state of the place on the land side. The roads, rivers,
and natural obstacles were equally unknown. He ob-
jected above all that we were deficient in cavalry, and
that the Russian horse were both numerous and excel-
lent. The game was not equal."
Admiral Hamelin enforced the views thus put forth
by the English Commander-in-Chief, and added fresh
objections, such as the variableness of the climate at
that period of the year, and the difficulty of keeping up
communication by sea during the stormy season.
Hereupon, after an expression of opinion from General
Canrobert that Sebastopol would infallibly fall into our
hands after the rout of the Russian army, Lord Raglan
inquired, " What if the place resists and is well forti-
fied l" Marshal St. Arnaud answered that they must
then have recourse to a siege ; and that when the forti-
fications on the north were taken we should necessarily
I be master of the town. If the fortifications on the north,
he continued, were too strong for them, it would be easy
to go to the south and commence a regular siege with
the assistance of the fleets, which would have a good
anchorage at Balaklava. In the course of the discussion
he freely quoted the authority of the French Emperor
in support of his arguments ; and the final result was
that Lord Raglan, in spite of the objections he had of-
fered, joined St. Arnaud, Canrobert, and Bosquet in
voting for the expedition, while Admiral Hamelin, Ad-
miral Dundas, the Duke of Cambridge, and Prince Na-
poleon voted against it.
The pamphlet, which is very nnfavourable to Marshal
St. Arnaud, then proceeds to state thit he was so ill on
the morning of the 20th that the attack was arranged
in his presence by General Martimprey, the chief of the
staff, and that the sick man could only give his assent
by a sign. The battle was fought ; and when the Allies
continued their march after the victory, and arrived at
the Belbek, they found the mouth and left bank of the
river defended by batteries. Upon this Lord Raglan
and General Martimprey thought it dangerous to attempt
to carry them, and at a council of war it was determined
to march to the south. Marshal St. Arnaud continued
at this period to speak of the assault as a thing that
could be easily executed after a bombardment of from 12
to 24 hours, but he was too far gone to take any real
part in the measures adopted, and on the 26th he re-
signed his command.
" He summoned the generals of divisions and of bri-
gade, and endeavoured to make them a last address, but
his feebleness did not permit him to proceed. He made
a final effort, and said that he thought he should not be
departing arm the wishes of the Emperor in assigning
the command to the general who appeared to bare been
designated by the unanimous voice of the army. I
have selected Canrobert,' he said, to replace me pend-
ing the confirmation of the appointment by his Majesty.'
The Marshal made a sign with his banal to General Mar-
thruprey, who advanced to General Canrobert and pre-
sented him t'ie paper which cmtained his provisional
commission. Instead of taking the paper, General
Canrobe-t drew from his pocket a letter bearing the arms
of the Emperor. Marshal St. Arnaud opened his eyes,
but expressed no surprise. His head fell back on his
pillow, and he uttered faintly these words, It is well.'"
The pamphleteer does not scruple to give his opinion
upon the different courses which were open to the Al-
lies :—" Could we," he asks,
" have taken Sebastopol
by a coup de main on the north after the battle of Alma I
Perhaps, at all events, it should have been tried. Once
arrived on the south, could we reduce the place by a
bombardment, make a breach, and carry it by assault 1
That is more doubtful. Tho position was changed to
our disadvantage, and if we had carried the place we
could not have held it. The fore Sieverna on the north,
which commands the town, the harbour, and the port,
was armed with more than 300 heavy cannon, and de-
fended by a garrison of 3,000 men. As long as that
fort is occupied by the enemy, the place, when taken, is
not tenable. The so mmanders-in-chief never appeared
conscious of the existence of this obstacle. Neither in
the journals of the siege, their reports, or their convent
cations, is there any trace to be found of considera-
tions which were the anxiety of everybody. Doubtless
theirtho ughrtes
themselves
thought themselves obliged to promise miracles to
pectivseelyGesoovberlingmedenttos, as their Goverastrenta
promise miracle' to
public to conceal the irreparable fault of the expedition."a
The pamphlet continues the narrative down to the lay
after the battle of Inkerinan, when the French
woefre t
in-
clined to take advantage of the demoralisation
forces, and es
upon General Canrobert that the
Russians to attempt the assault, but
Allied Lord aglan urged
cially those of the English,.
terprise. There were only, he said, two courses—to
wereba r
k. insufficientAs d
th fee rwtrhi
tee
rPenor.
continue the siege, or tor
e-ewmho had all along •
instigator of the pamphlet,
the
been in
favour of a campaign on.
Danube, would evidently
have preferred a retreat, in which he could see no die-
grace to the Allied armies. General Canrobert, as well
as the English thought otherwise.

AFTERNOON VOCAL CONCERTS.—A.-1; announced series
of four concerts, projected by Arr. Mitchell, of Bond-
street, bearing the above title, and to consist wholly of
vocal concerted music, by Sir Henry Bishop, was in.
augurated yesterday at the Hanover-square Rooms. The
vocalists on this occasion were Masters Sullivan, Cooke,
Malsch, Norman, and Messrs. Francis. Benson, Lawler,
Land,
and H. Buckland. .'he selection, though want-
ing in variety, included some of Sir Henry's best works,
and the performance, generally . excellent, appeared to
give great pleasure to the audience, who received it
throughout with warm demonstrations of approval, and
unanimously redemanded two of the pieces. The
L mud concert A gad fox SiqurciNt vat 4,

. '~.:~