The Sun.
London, England, 1855-06-20 00:00:00

Finnish captain took the flag of truce from Mr. Geneste.
and waved it, shouting, `°l{ leg of truce ! Truce ! " but
the Russians yelled, and fired upon them. Before the
men could do anything they were fired upon, and the
Russians with cutlasses jumped into the boat. The
Russians did not use their cutlasses.
GEO. H. L. Wise, Paymaster.
ARTHUR M 'KENNA, Assistant-Surgeon.

R. S. Dundas, Rear-Admiral and Commander-in-Chief.
GENERAL MEMORANDUM.
Duke of Wellington at anchor.
Tolboukin Lighthouse, East .16 miles, May 29.11
It is my direction that all coasting vessels, undoubtedly
Russian property, which may be met with passing and
re-passing within the Gulf of Finland, and not of suffi-
cient value to be detained as prizes, are to be destroyed,
but no injury is to be done to boats or small craft which
may be found empty at anchor, and not trafficking.
This order, however, is not intended to preclude the
exercise of the discretion of officers in special cases where
the owners of vessels may be obviously poor and harm-
less ; but the rule above ordered is to be generally ob-
served, and made known, as far as possible, to all the
owners of coasting vessels, it being the object to prevent,
generally, all traffic along the coast.
(Signed) R. S. DUNDAS,
Rear-Admiral and Commander-in-Chief.
To the respective Flag Officers, Captains,
Commanders, and Commanding Officers
of her Majesty's Ships and Vessels under
my orders.

Duke of Wellington at anchor.
Toulboukin Lighthouse, E.S.E. 3 miles, June 8, 1855.
Sir,—l have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter
of the 6th inst., No. 4, with its enclosures, reporting
the painful circumstances under which a serious loss of
officers and men has been sustained in consequence of a
boat belonging to the ship you command having been
detached for the purpose of landing and releasing pri-
soners upon the coast of the enemy ; but much as I
must regret the losses which occurred, and sensible as I
am of the distress which such occurrences are calculated
to excite in the mind of any officer entrusted with com-
mand, it has nevertheless become my duty to call your
attention to some important omissions in your report,
and to several explanations which are necessary, not only
to enable me to form a correct judgment upon the con-
duct of yourself and the officer who has been unfortu-
nately sacrificed on the occasion, but which are due also
to the character of an enemy who is charged with the
grave crimes of having violated the good faith of a flag
of truce, and the indiscriminate massacre of prisoners
about to be released and the unarmed and defenceless
crew of a boat employed upon such a service. I have
therefore to direct that you will furnish me with full and
exact reports upon the following queries :-
Ist. What were the circumstances which rendered it
necessary to select an opportunity for landing the pri-
soners in question, when the boat was unsupported by
the immediate presence of the ship you command, and
when the display of a flag of truce from her own mast-
head would have obviated all misunderstanAing as to her
object ?
2J. What were the particular instructions given to
the officer in charge of the boat, and what opportunities
were afforded to the enemy to grant or to reject condi-
tions of truce before the party had actually landed upon
his coast ?

3rd. What was the distance of the boat from the ship
when last seen previous to her landing, and what at that
time was her distance from shore ?
4th. When and at what distance from the shore was
a flag of truce first displayed, and were any blank guns
or muskets fired at the moment, and is the officer in
charge of the boat supposed to have had any reason for
believing it to have been acknowledged by the enemy on
shore ?

stb. At what distance from the shore were the rifle-
men of the enemy first seen on the "jetty" by the crew
of the Cossack's cutter ?

6th. Was any assent, implied or understood, supposed
to have been granted by the Russian officer on shore to
the landing of the prisoners or crew ?
In directing your attention to the importance of ac-
curate replies to the foregoing queries, I have to remind
you that the spot at which these melancholy losses have
been sustained had been recently visited by the ship you
command, and acts of hostility had been committed i n
that vicinity. There was, therefore, good reason to
consider that the attention of the enemy might be di-
rected to its protection, and every proper precaution
should have been taken. I cannot but regret, therefore,
that persons whose services were not necessary on the
occasion were permitted to proceed in the Coosack's
boat ; and I have to remark that such permission was
not calculated to impress upon others the importance of
proper vigilance and of due attention to forms in com-
municating by flag of truce.
On the receipt of this letter you will repair immedi-
ately to this anchorage to rejoin my flag.—l am, &c.,141
(Signed) R. S. DUNDAS,
Rear-Admiral and Commander-in-Chief.
Captain E.. G. Fanshawe, H.M.S. Cossack.

(No. 169) Duke of Wellington, at anchor,
Tolboukin Lighthouse, E.S.E. 3 miles, June 11, 1855%
Sir,—l have to report, for the information of the
Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, that her Ma-
jesty's ship Cossack rejoined me this morning, and I
have now to t 7ansmit, for their lordships' information,
further reports; which I have received from Captain
Fanshawe, in reply to the inquiries contained in my
letter of the 9tht instant, No. 162. _ _

After full consideration of the explanations afforded,
and,'after personial communication with this officer on
the subject, I am entirely at a loss to diScover any cir-
cumstances whiob can serve to excuse or to palliate the
conduct of the enemy, by whom the cruel and unneces-
sary slaughter ,of the Cossack's boat's crew has been
perpetrated.
No precaution appears to have been omitted by the
officer in charge .of the boat to make known the object
of his mission, an d it their lordships should see reason to
regret that she wets detached beyond the reach of pro-
tection from the sh ip, I feel assured they will do justice
to the explanations of Captain Fanshawe.
I regret to add tliat he has informed me little or no
hope can be entertai,oed that any of the officers or crew
have survived, and th at repeated wounds were inflicted
upon several of them.. with the most reckless cruelty,
hut it is my intention to take the earliest opportunity
to endeavour to corm utunicate with the authorities at
Ilelsingfors.,__l have, sc.c.., _ _

(Signed) R. S. DUNDAS,
Rear-Ad'tniral and Commander-in-Ch lef.
The Secretary of the Admiralty, &c.

Steam-Ship, Cossack, at sea off Siskar,
June 11, 1855.
Sir,—ln replying to the points connected with the as-
sault upon the boat of this ship, upon whieh you desire
additional explanations, I would premise that I sent her
in the full belief that a boat with a flag of of truce flying,
detached from a ship stationary off the enemy's coast,
was entitled either to be warned off before approaching
the shore, or to be ordered off on reaching the shore be-
fore her' communication was received, or to have an op-
portunity of making that communication to a person ap-
pointed by the enemy ; and I was persuaded that a boat
complying with these conditions was perfectly safe from
molestation, and that while she did so no misunderstand-
ing could arise.

will now proceed to answer your queries.
Ist, The opportunity was the first that had presented
itself, and as it appeared a favourable one, I sent a flag
of truce in immediately on my arriving at Hango. It
was in respect of what I believed to be the proper form
of sending a flag of truce that I did not take the ship in-
to the inner roads, for I believed that it was in accord-
ance with usage that the ship should stay out of eiun-shot
on such an ocoasion. I stood into the island of Rug, on,
about two and a quarter miles from the village of Hango,
and thence sent the boat, and I then stood off and on
to the same spot. Remaining for this reason on the
ordinary station for a blockading ship, I believed that I
complied with custom in not hoisting a flag of truce
on board my own ship, but only in the boat detached.
2d. The instructions given by me to the officer in
charge of the boat to proceed with the flag of truce to
the landing place at the village of Hango. If any troops
were there to ask to communicate with the officer in
, command, to explain the reason of the boat coming in—
namely, to land the liberated Russian prisoners, and to
ask leave to do so. If no troops were there, he was to
land the liberated prisoners at the landing place, with
all their luggage, and to return on board without
delay. He was at liberty in the latter case to allow
the officers' stewards to purchase any Article offered at
the boat by the villagers, provided that no detention
of the boat was occasioned thereby. I also directed
him, should he be questioned as to the manner in which
the blockade would be enforced with reference to coasters,
to explain the intentions set forth in your memorandum
on the subject, as clearly as possible.
He was charged not to allow any one to stray from
the boat, and also to be careful that no injury was done
to property at the landing-place and none of it removed.
The position of the ship, and the course of the boat from
the ship to the landing-place, was in full view of the
telegraphic station which overhangs the village, and
to
O
boat took about three-quarters of an hour to reach the to
shore. It was therefore open to the enemy eitheeitherhave warned her off by firing with blank cartridge, o
I.order her off on her approaching within hail.
33. The boat was about two miles from the shiphalf
last seen previous to her landing, and leAi
mile from the landing-place, there being a ®mall rocky
islet which then shut her in from the ship 4
when about
4th. The flag of truce was first display
halfway from the ship to the shore, or rather more than
a mile from the shore. No blank gun
fired, but the flag, which was on boag or muskets were
rding pike, was
clear a good -
by Lieutenant Geneste's orders, kea in ptPo ,
sition to be seen.
The officer in charge could have no reason to suppose
either that it was acknowledged or rejected by the ene-
my, as they were not to be seen, and the place appeared
deserted.
sth. But one man, an was not a soldier (who ran away
as the boat approached), seen from the cutter before
she reached the jetty.
The officers and prisoners had landed, and the baggage
was removed from the boat to the wharf before the
troops were seen. They came out buddenly from be-
hind a cover of some houses or rock, and rushed down
firing their muskets. Before stepping on the wharf,
Lieutenant Geneste gave the crew strict orders to re-
main in the boat, and to be careful not to touch any-
thing on the wharf. When the Russians first appeared,
be was on the wharf with the other officers, about four
or five paces from the boat with the flag of truce in his
hand, which he immediately waved, and called out flag
of truce. The person who headed the soldiers replied,
that " they did not care about flags of truce there." The
Finnish captain took the flag from Lieutenant Geneste,
waved and shouted in his own language and in English,
6, Flag of truce."

6th: No assent could be implied, •r otherwise, A 4 no