The Sun.
London, England, 1855-07-05 00:00:00

THE ATTACK OF T ffE 18th JUNE.

The valuable letter of our correspondent from the
camp before Sebastopol, which we published yesterday,
and some additional particulars on the movements of
the French army which we have received from Paris,
place us in possession of the principal causes of the
check sustained by the allied armies in their late com-
bined attack upon the place, and we must add that these
authentic particulars confirm with remarkable precision
the observations we had already ventured to make upon
the occurrences of that eventful and unfortunate day.
The first untoward incident was, that General Mayran's
Division, which was on its way to attack the fort on the
extreme right by the Careening Harbour, began the
attack before the hour fixed for the commencement of
the action, and before the other Divisions had taken up
their ground. General Mayran himself was struck by
three wounds, and fell mortally hurt in the presence of
his men, upon whom this melancholy event at the very
outset of the battle produced a most painful impression.
The Division on the right having been thus pre-
maturely worsted, the whole concentrated fire of the
Russians was turned upon the next Division, which
came up under the command of General Brunet, and
here again the commanding officer was unhappily killed
as he was leading on his men with the utmost gallantry,
and the Division suffered frightfully, The order was
then given to withdraw the troops into the trenches,
although General d'Autemarre had meanwhile reached
the Malakhoff Tower. The retreat was effected in good
order, though with great loss.
The spectacle of this disaster, which was partly
visible in the early dawn of morning from the position
at which Lord Raglan stood in the 8-gun Battery, de-
cided the British Coraniauder in• Chief to give the
signal for attacking the Redan. We state with con-
fidence that it had not been the intention of the allied
Generals that the attacks should he simultaneous, or at
least that they should commence simultaneously ; on the
contrary, as the Redan is entirely commanded by the
works of the Malakhoff Tower, it was impossible to take
or to hold it unless the latter was already in the pos-
session of our allies ; and the British troops told off for
this service would not, if all had gone well, have quitted
the trenches until the French colours were seen on the
➢Zalakhoff works. When, however, Lord Raglan ob-
served that the right columns of the allied army bad
sustained a severe check, he determined at all hazards
to attempt his portion, of the enterprise, and at least to
effect a diversion in favour of our brave allies. Painful
as it is to record the unprofitable loss of so many heroic
soldiers, it would have been far more painful to the
honourable feelings of the British army if they bad not
shared the losses which have told so heavily on our com-
rades in the field.

Since the attack failed, and no number of men could
have stood against the awful storm of grape and balls
poured from the embrasures of the Russian ramparts,
we may rejoice that the sacrifices of the army wt re not
greater, but for the purpose of assaulting, capturing, '
and holding a work like the Redan, the number of men
under the command of Sir Geo. Brown was exceedingly
small. Supposing they had penetrated through the
abaitis and the ditch, and scaled the parapet of the
work, which could not have been accomplished without
heavy loss, what could a column of 400 men, or three
columns of that number, making in all 1,200 men, have
done against the large forces which the Russians are
wont to cram into every part of their defences ? Even
including the supports and the sailors, the whole num-
ber of British troops engaged barely exceeded 5,000.
When the Duke of Wellington exclaimed at San Sebas-
tian that he wanted "some of those fellows who would
show the way to mount a breach," 750 volunteers started
up, and that storming party carried the place. But in
all the sieges of the Peninsula the assailants far outnum-
bered the garrison. At Sebastopol it must never be for-
gotten that the Russians are defending an intrenched
camp with all the resources of an army. WV) shall pre-
sently see that of all the faults committed on the 18th of
June by far the greatest was the not bringing a larger
number of men into action on several points. Ever since
the bombardment of the 7th and the loss of the Maine,
lon and the Quarries, the Russians hal confidently ex-
pected an attack on the Malakhofl works and the Redan.
Those were consequently the points on which they were
best prepared, and it is now capable of proof that they
had concentrated in those works the greater portion of
the garrison, who were coneequsntly separated from the
town itself by the Dockyard Creek.
By far the most extraordinary part of the events of
the day was the successful, and we must add astonish.
ing, attack on the Barrack Battery, made by the Second
Brigade of the Third Division, under the command of
Geoeral Eyre. The official report of this officer to the
Commander-in-Chief will be found elsewhere, and, with
the description given of the operation by our own cor-
respondent, affords demonstrative proof of what might
have been accomplished if this gallant brigade bad been
properly supported. This corps consisted of the 9th, 18th,
28th, 38th, and 44th Regiments, to which was added the
18th Royal Irish as the storming party. These ,ix regi-
ments mustered in all scarcely 2,000 men. Their task was
to occupy the Cemetery and Barrack Batteries upon
the Dockyard Creek. Major Biddulph
,states, in his
"Topographical Saddles of Sebastopol," that the Bar-
rack Battery stands on the nose of the hill, immediately
above the bay. Lord Raglan describes it as " the works
at the head of the Dockyard Creek." It is, in fact, a work
between the Redan and the South Harbour, and slightly
in the rear of the Redan, as represented by Major Bid-
dulph. Against this point the attack of General Eyre
and his brigade was directed. They rushed upon the
Churchyard (which must not be confounded with the
work of the same name on the extreme left), and drove
out the enemy, but a heavy fire immediately opened on
our men from the adjacent batteries. Nothing daunted,
however, four companies of the 18th dashed on towards
the town,, and literally entered the suburb, where they
occupied some furnished housee, apparently just deserted
by their inhabitants. In this singular positron they
were'secure from the fire of the Russian heavy guns, but
they could neither advance nor retreat, and, what is most
extraordinary, no attempt appears to have been made to
relieve them, or to strengthen this attack, although they
remained in the place 17 hours, from 4 o'clock in the
morning until 9 at night, when the return of darkness
enabled them to retire. Nor was this an exceptional cir-
cumstance. The 9th Regiment also effected a lodgment
in some houses ; a sergeant's party drove a dozen lus-
sian Artillerymen out of a small battery ; an officer with
6 men and about 15 French soldiers reached a part of
the Flagstaff Battery ; another officer with 12 men took
one of the Russian rifle-pits, and held it throughout the
day. It is scarcely possible to doubt that if, upon the
failure of the attack on the Redan, which, fatal as it
was, did not last half an hour, the strength of
the columns of attack had been thrown on the left, one
part at least of the place would have been carried. It is
indeed inconceivable that, knowing the critical position
in which this brigade was placed by its own successful
advance, and the fact that it was engaged alone through.
out the day, no attempt should have been made to take
advantage of its entry, and to relieve it at all hazards
from so perilous a predicament.
We are aware that throughout those operations Lard
Raglan's opinion was decidedly in favour of a general, in
preference to any partial attack, and we have reason to
believe that to the very last, and even after the first
check had been sustained on the 18th of June, the
British General still urged a more extended system of
operations ; but he appears to have thought that his own
forces were not sufficient to execute the plan on a more
enlarged scale. The obvious advantage of a general at-
tack is, that as the enemy cannot be in force at every
point at once, if you do not succeed on one point you
may on another. The Duke of Wellington did not ex-
pect to take Badajoz by the Castle or by the bastion of
' San Vincente, but by the breaches. When, however,
he found that he was repulsed at the breaches, and that
Picton had found a way in at the Castle, he instantly
ordered his whole division to establish themselves there.
On the present occasion the First Division of the army,
consisting of the Guards and the Highland Regiments,
was on duty as a reserve force in the trenches. Had
that intrepid and powerful corps been flung at once upon
the Barrack Battery, into which the Royal Irish had
already penetrated,• it is not too much to say that the for-
tune of the day might have been turned ; for the vigour of
the defence of the Russians lay in the superiority of their
fire; but, if they had learned that the enemy bad penetrated
their line of defence between the Redan and the South
Harbour, it is highly probable that the troops in the
works more to the eastwar.; would have been seriously
shaken, and they would perhaps have receded to tbeir
second line of defence. It is vain to express ueeiese re-
gret at the occurrence of an error of this nature, which
is still almost inexplicable. But Lord Raglan himself
states that " General Eyre possessed himself of a church.
yard which the enemy had hitherto carefully watched,
and of some houses within the place ; but, as the town
fron twee not attacked, it became necessary to withdraw
his brigade at night." There is, therefore, no mistake
as to the facts. Why the town front, where General
Eyre was, was not attacked we are not told; but we
know enough to perceive that the action was lost in the
first instance by the confusion into which two Divisions
of the French army were thrown by a premature attack
and by unforeseen obstacles, and that this check was
not retrieved, as perhaps it might have been, by bringing
up the strength of the army upon the only point at
which a successful assault had actually been made.—
Times.

THE BANKRUPTCY OF STRAHAN,
PAUL, AND CO.

In consequence of the startling failures which have
recently taken place, a suggestion has been thrown out
that a solemn inquiry should be instituted before a com-
mittee of the House of Commons as to the general
system upon which commercial affairs are conduCted
by the trading community. We have no great belief
that the evils which are acknowledged to exist are
within the reach of legislaton. Who shall circum-
scribe the scope of credit ? Who shall say to the mer-
chant, the billbroker, or the banker, that positive law
shall prohibit dealings from which they should in reason
be deterred by the most ordinary dictates of prudence ?
We do not, however, imagine that the persons who
have been struck by the magnitude of the evil aim so
much at prohibition as exposure. But who is to aid in
the exposure ?—the persons who profit by, or at least,
acquiesce in the system ? From them, at least, no trust-
worthy evidence is to be expected ; and, indeed, the sub-
ject 'is so encompassed with difficulties that we can scarcely
indulge a hope that the inquiry suggested would be at-
tended with any beneficial result. If public discussion of
th e m ore flagran t cases which from time to time are brought
before the commercial or criminal tribunals will not
avail, neither is ranch to be expected from a more formal
investigation, which would invite, without compelling,
11,,,c1c0..ure upon transactions of the most rrva'e and
delicate nature, involving the failure, of many a despe-
rate enterprise which depends upon secricy a's its sole
chance of success. Until we can see our way clearer
through this entangled maze, we feel it the safer course
to point to the records of the tribunals for evidence of

the unsonnd basis upon_ which a large portion of the
mercantile community rest their dealings. It is easier
to signalise the evil than to suggest the remedy ; but the
evil undoubtedly is that undue facilities for credit are
given by houses which ought to be perfectly acquainted
with the private circumstances of every estabtisinn,nt
which applies to them for accommodation. Their only
thought, however. appears to be, "Are we secure our-
selves?" So that they can answer this question in the
affirmative they seem not at all concerned to prevent the
terrible consequences which the extension of their assis-
tance to speculative or bankrupt concerns may entail
upon others. They will look keenly enough into the
validity of the securities placed before them, but there
their inquiries seem to stop short.
We have been lee to this subject by the revelations
which have been made in the hideous case of Strahaa
and Paul, now under investigation at Bow street as
well as at the Bankruptcy Com t. Yesterday Sir John
Paul and Messrs. Strahan and Bates were again placed
in the dock before the sitting magistrate, and Mr. Bud-
kin, for the prosecution, proceeded with each evidecce
as he had been able to procure since the last ad-
journment. The principal feature in this was
the negotiation of a loan for 27,0001. by Paul in
April last with the house of Messrs. Overend and
Gurney. This transaction may be taken as a fair
sample of the kind of trading we have already pointed
out. We think it tainted with many marks which
would have aroused suspicion in minds generally
less acute than. those of the gentlemen who manage the
business of the firm which made the lean. We certainly
cannot lay claim to the vast commercial experience of
Messrs. Overend and Gurney, but we should have ima-
gined that the mere fact of a banker presenting himself
with a pressing request for accommodation to so consi-
derable an amount should have necessitated very search-
ing inquiry. There are times, of course, when a panic
takes place in the money-market—times of reaction
from mad speculation and commercial mania—when
the fairest trader may be hardly pressed to rea ise
securities of unquestionable value ; but last April
was not such a season as this. Messrs. Overend
and Gurney appear to have felt a certain degree of
suspicion, but their suspicions were very lightly allayed.
The loan was negotiated through Mr. George Young,
a solicitor in Sise-lane. Paul required, at first, a
loan of 30,0001., and fir this he tendered a parcel
of Dutch and Danish securities. • Overend and
Gurney refused to advance more than 27,0001. on the
securities offered, and this smaller amount was greedi;y
caught at by the embarrassed banker. It was then that
the money-dealers asked to be informed of the name of
the real borrower, and were content with the slender
satisfaction to be picked out of•the note contained in the
,following extract from evidence :
" My dear friend,—You will greatly oblige me by rais-
ing as much money as you can upon the securities I handed
to you, for three mouths, pending the purchase of an' es-
tate. You know the purpose for which the money is
required, and also my reason for my name not appearing
in the matter.

"Yours faithfully,

J. D. PAUL."

Now, nothing can be further from our desire than to
cast any reflection upon Messrs. Overend and Gurney,
but we trust cur public mention of the subject may elicit
the judgment of commercial men upon this transaction.
Does thismethod ofdealing receive the sanction of public
opinion in the city? If so, we of course can have nothing to
say against the men—it is the system which is atfault.
ourselves, we cannot but think that Messrs. Overend
and Gurney must regret their skate in the transaction,
when they calculate how vast an amount of human
misery might have been saved had the bank been driven
to extremities three, o: even two, months ago by the
denial of acco:nmodation. The disclosure of ruin was
staved off for a time by the loan, but at what a cost !
Time&