The Sun.
London, England, 1855-02-03 00:00:00

MILITARY.

The authorities have had their attention drawn to the
present unprotected and defenceless state of the whole of
the coast of Southern Wales, and they have determined
upon taking the necessary steps forits due protection. For
this purpose the Ordnance have sent down Colonel Bur-
mester, E. E., to inspect the coast and to select the most
important and advantageous sites far the erection of bat-
teries or other defences. Among other places, Swansea
is to be better protected, and it has been deemed ad-
visable that two heavy guns should be mounted upon
the eastern pier of the harbour. These are to be fixed
upon traversing platforms, so as to command every ap.
proach. The high ground at. Penarth will, it is ex-
pected, be the site of another battery, so as to command
this important roadstead. The whole will be placed in
the hands of the Glamorgan new Artillery Militia.

THE SIEGE OF SEBASTOPOL.

ENGLISH CAMP, HEIGHTS OF
SEBASTOPOL, JAN. 20.
The enemy's garrison in Sebastopol has, during
the last two or three days, been showing forth in
the lines in very considerable strength.
The French have considerably slackened in their
fire upon the town since the date of my last letter.
The reason alleged for this is, that such a com-
paratively trifling fire from ten mortars, without
producing any very important results, only leads
the enemy to take measures to counteract the
rlTPcht of a ftzUire bombards t. The English, it
is said, are now in.a.position toy support the fire of
our allies, and only wait for favourable weather to
comaienae the final attack.

Since the last post and until the 16th there has
been an intense frost, which, while it lasted, sur-
passed for its severity anything we have yet felt.
During the day the thermometer seldom rose above
18 deg., but with th• night a keen wind swept over
the snowy waste, which froze the very blood of those
exposed to it.

Major Macdonald, of the 89th, it was stated,
was frozen to death in the trenches on the night of
the 16th, and another gallant officer who fell into
a deep snow drift most narrowly escaped the same
fate. Both in the nights of the 16th, 17th, and
18th, many of the men on sentry and on fatigue
parties were numbed by the cold in such a man-
ner as to expire in a few hours afterwards.
On the 17th, fourteen of the 46th were buried,
the majority of the deaths being caused by the
severity of the weather, and on. the 18th ten
more were in-tarred from the same cause.
klava are being erected for
hospital purposes
around
nhdutths
the village.
The beemn disembarked at Bala-
en
are on full rations ;
b inspiteut, and spread of scurvy,
on salt rations, of
the
which they would be almost
bettor without. About one-fourth of the troops
o presence
have their warm great coats ; the rest are
pretty much as they landed. This is the
actual state of affairs on the 20th of January.
Applications for medical stores have been sent in
to Balakla,va, and the answer returned was that
not enough to. say
routine,f
mismanagement can
unfortunate in the mortality which
prevails. Such a term is far too weak to stigma-
tise the cruel waste of life which takes place
that
tre
w we er
aree none there. It is
here every day. Our men are literally murdered
—murdered by neglect,
by incapacity, by the
etiquette
and by every way
in
reach both officers and privates, old and young.
Naval and military officers exclaim perpetually,
ti Oh, if we had only a coroner with an English
jury here for one day to inquire how and by what
which o f
our military
endless
form
o
neglect our men die!" This expression has been
common during the last two or three days. Lord
Raglan again took the Balaklavians by surprise, by
entering the village on the 18th. Numberless were
the jokes and comments in the town on this sudden
visitation ; and much ironical anxiety was ex-
pressed lest his lordship should suffer from the ex-
citement of leaving his comfortable quarters twice
within 20 days. His lordship merely rode through
the town, and only delayed a few minutes at his
old residence near the church.
The Russian picquets round Balaklava have ap-
peared unusually busy during the last few days,
and the force on the left of the Tchernaya has been
strengthened by the addition of some 3,000 or 4,000
men.
The sanitary condition of Balaklava is beginning
to excite serious apprehension. The filth of the
town is now something beyond all description. We
are now giving rations to 4,00.0 8
Turks ; two months
ago we were rationing 14,000 „000 of the missing
"
on
10,000 are dead and buried"the slope of the
hill, over the harbour.

CAMP BEFORE SEBASTOPOL,
JANUARY 19,

a great holiday
- -- . •
The followin,, " caution" was issued on the 18th,
to each generarofficer commanding a division
:.....
" MiIMORANDIIM.
wit‘h‘Tthemll"rus°swia'
make an attack,
and officers commanding divisions are requested to im-
press upon the officers and men, particularly those en
ntsh, e
tlhBeythairnes tlainkte,lyhteoing
duty, the necessity of increased vigilance that day and
following night.
(Signed) t, R. AI sa; Qx.G.,,

deidt the 20th ofm. for pro-
lie
_ -
The "caution" proved unnecessary.
A General Order was published yesterday, an-
nouncing the names of those brave and gallant fel-
lsoewp st ,e
mwbhe or s
lea
s't', die, eacvl se or
pro-
f c arms," rmmms ,e'n'
since
motion from non-commissioned officers to ensigns
and cornets. It is as follows :
" GENERAL ORDER.
~ Head-Quarters, January 18.
"In accordance with the instructions contained in the
letter from the General Commanding-in-Chief, of the
14th December, 1854, which was published in the Gene-
ral Orders of the 28th ult., the Commander of the Forces
has the satisfaction of appointing provisionally, and
pending her Majesty's pleasure, the undermentioned
sergeatTts of the cavalry and the lice, as cornets or en-
signs, each in his own regiment. All commissions to
bear date sth November :

2d Dragoons—Sergeant Gibson.
4th Dragoon Guards—Sergeant-Major Price.
sth Dragoon Guards—Serjeant-Major Fitzgerald,
Ist Dragoons—Sergeant-Major Leo.
6th Dragoons—Sergeant-Major Hall.
4th Dragoons—Sergeant-Major Jennings.
Bth Dragoons—Sergeant-Major lirrison.
11th Dragoong—Sergeant-Major Silver, I