The Sun.
London, England, 1855-07-30 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS..

I(Front the Times of this day.)
The last Russian reports of the naval hostilities in the
1 Sea of Azoff are rather more complete than the accoents
which have been published officially iii this country.
Despatches had, indeed, reached the Admiralty from
Sir E. Lyons and Lieutenant Hewett, commanding her
Majesty's ship Beagle, from which it appears that on
the 3,1 of July the large flats and hawseri of the flying
bridge connecting the Arabat Spit with the maiu'a d
i across the Strait of Genitchi were destroyed. This
operation was performed with great spirit, for the Rus-
sians had lined th) beach with riflemen, and our boa a
' were riddled with balls at a distance of from GO to SO
yards. The principal part in the achievement was per-
' formed by Stephen Trewavas, an able-bodied seaman of
.1 the Agamemnon, and, by his name, a stout Cornishman,
• 1 who cut the hawsers and set the floating bridge adrift.
The road across the ferry from Genitchi to Arabat is,
therefore, interrupted, and we are not without hopes
that the launches of the ships may still be able to force
the strait and enter the Putrid Sea. The Russians
themselves appear to contemplate this contingency, for
Prices Labanoff, who commands on that part of the
coast, reports that the Tchongar-bridge has been pro-
tected by new fortifications—a precaution the enemy
would hardly have taken if they had not been aware
that the bridge can be approached by water. The
Tchongar-bridge and the military road passing over it,
to which we first called public attention some months
ago, are accurately laid down in the map annexed to
Mr. Danby Seymour's book on the Crimea and the Sea
of Azoff ; and the point at which the road is carried for
about 400 yards on piles across the lagune does not ap-
pear to be more than 20 miles off the Strait of Genitchi
From their first invasion of the Crimea the Russians have
uQed these lines of communication. In 1737 General
Lasci halted his army at Genitchi, threw a bridge over
the strait, and marched along the Tongue or Spit of Ara-
bat. In this critical pcsition he learned that the Tartars
were prepared to dispute his passage at the southern ex-
tremity, where a small body of men might successfully
oppose an army. With great presence of mind he cut
through the tongue of land, on the one hand to cover
himself from attack, and on the other he caused a sort of
raft er floating bridge to be constructed between this
Tongue of Arabat and the mainland, across which the
troops passed, while the horses of the army swam or
fordo I the lagune. The Khan of Crim Tartary continued
to await the approach of the Russian army at the lines of
Or-Kapi or Perekop ; but Lasci again deceived hts-a-nta-
gonist, for having entered the Peninsula in this singular
manner from the Spit of Arabat, he evacuated the coun-

try again by the promontory of Tchorgoun, showing
thit even 120 years ago military operations in the Crimea
could be conducted by two lines of march independent
of the isthmus of Perekop. The history of these early
campaigns is by no means uninstructive, for it is certain
that with means of transport far inferior to those now
possessed by the allied armies the Russian generals suc-
ceeded in entering the Crimea on several different points,
and confounded the enemy by the rapidity of their un-
foreseen attacks.

We now revert, however, to the recent operations,
which have been imperfectly described in the published
despatches of the British Government. It is stated in
the Russia❑ accounts that on the 27th of June nine
steamers of war appeare4 before Genitchi, and opened
fire partly on the town and partly on the roads along
the coast, where a convoy of salt was stopped and de-
stroyed. The fire was continued for some days, but it is
stated, oddly enough, that on the 29th of June vessels de-
tached from the squadron set fire to all the farms within
30 veists. We are at a loss to conceive how these ves-
sels could interfere with the agricultural pursuits of the
inhabitants except in the immediate vicinity of the shore,
and the report appears to be a loose and unmeaning
one. On the 3d of July it is correctly stated that two
boats came within about 60 yards of the shore ; but the
Russian cammander has omitted to add that they suc-
ceeded in performing the daring exploit of cutting the
floating, bridge adrift under fire, and that, instead of
losing " three rowers and the man at the helm," this
feat fortunately cost our brave follows only two slight
contusions.

The immediate effect of these operations seems to have
been to draw the attention of the Russians to this point
on the coast, and we are informed that, " from arrange-
ments made by Prince Gortschakoff, the detachment of
Genitchi was reinforced by fresh troops, and the number
of Cossacks of the Sea of Azoff placed with their boats
at the disposal of Prince Labanoff was increased." We
remark this passage, because it is the first time, as far as
we know, that any allusion has been made in the Rus-
sian despatches to these Cossacks of the Sea of Azoff.
These Cossacks are a branch of one of the clans of Za-
porogue Cossacks, who maintained their independence
against the Czars of Russia until the last century, and
were eventually destroyed by Catherine 11., who trans-
ported a portion of them to the frontiers of Circassia and
the Sea of Azoff.. They are organised under their Het-
man, not as irregular cavalry, but as a portion of the
naval forces of Southern Russia. They pass for the best
mariners of those seas, and they furnish about 30 well-
armed gur-boats to the Imperial fleet, which were em-
ployed until last year in maintaining the blockade of the
Circassian coast. When the allied squadrons forced the
Straits of Yenikale and swept across the Sea of Azoff,
we heard nothing of the maritime Cossacks to whom the
navigation and defence of those waters is specially en-
, trusted. It seems, however, that this flotilla was
in some place where it escaped the observation of
our cruisers, and where its services remain at the
disposal of Prince Labanolf at Genitchi. We there-
fore are led to conclude, that if these facts are at all
oorrect, these gun-boats of the Cossacks of the Sea
of Azoff must have retreated to the Siwash or Putrid
Sea, where it was known that a considerable quantity
of shipping took refuge when pursued by Captain Lyons.
If this be the fact, it serves to show that there must at
least be water within the Strait of Genitchi to float
some of our launches and gun-boats, and the prepara-
tions for the defence of the Tchongar-bridge prove that
the enemy anticipated an attack in that quarter. This
hostile demonstration was, however, not persevered in
at the time it was made, which is now fully four weeks
ago, and more recent accounts from the fleet lead us to
believe that the Admirals had collected the whole body
of vessels of light draught in Kamiesh Bay, where it
was thought that a coup de main would speedily be at-
tempted in another direction.

Whltever may be the cluses that retard the progress
of the siege of Sebastopol by land, and cause the allied
Commanders to postpone those field operations which
are considered by all those military authorities who
have investigated the subject, both abroad and at home,
to be indispensable preliminaries to the reduction of the
place, none of these reasons can affect the movements of
the navy. It is obvious that the Admirals possess ail
the advantages which the undisputed possession of Se-
bastopol itself has heretofore secured to the naval power
of Russia. They have a fleet, an army, and an arsenal
at their disposal in so central a position that they can.
strike the enemy within a few hours on any point of th,s
vast semicircle which extends from the mouth o f
the Danube to the mouth of the Don, and th
terror inspirT, by these sudden incursions woul a
be greatly increased by the rapidity with whi,
they might be made to succeed each other in different
places. Indeed, large armies would be required to g!Ar-
rison and defend so vast an extent of coast. The ev.-pe,-
riment tried in the Sea of Azoff was complete :y success-
ful, but it has scarcely been followed up, and, with
forces capable of achieving any exploits at sea, it is in-
credible how little has as yet been undertaken. We sin-
cerely hope that the time of these intermittent operations
is nearly at an end.
One scheme of a novel and peculiar character is men-
tioned in some of the last letters from the camp, which
partakes of the character of a naval operation. The
French have now carried forward the White Works on
the extreme right until they reach the shore of the inner
harbour of Sebastopol at Careeniag Bay. It has been
suggested that, under cover of the French batteries, it
may be practicable to construct and launch rafts carry-
ing heavy guns, after the fashion of the Lady Nancy,
which did good service in the bombardment of Tagan-
rog, and that a small flotilla of this description may act,
with effect against the Russian steamers and some par
of the defences. The expedient reminds one of the cele-
brated, but almost incredible, operation of Mahomet IL,
when he brought his fireships and galleys at the siege of
Constantinople into the rear of the Golden Horn ; but
in the present instance, since the allies are in possession
of part of the coast of the harbour, and will probably ere
long completely occupy the Careening Bay, it is by no
means impossible that some portion of our naval re-
sources may be employed above the town.