The Sun.
London, England, 1855-10-12 00:00:00

FALL OF SEBASTOPOL.

Alderman SIRE, in moving "that a dutiful and
loyal address of congratulation be presented to her
Majesty upon the glorious successes of the British
army and fleet, in conjunction with those of her Ma-
jesty's faithful allies," said—My Lord Mayor, I am sure
it is unnecessary that I should apologise to the Court
for introducing such a subject as that which stands upon
the paper of business, because precedent, duty, inclina-
tion, I feel assured, will alike compel the Court to agree
to the motion which I shall have the honour to submit to
their consideration. (Hear, bear.) I feel that it is un-
necessary to go into any details respecting either the
origin or the conduct of the war. It is simply an ad-
dress of congratulation, to which I am sure this Court
will heartily agree, to her Majesty upon the success
which has already crowned her arms. It will be re-
membered that, very shortly after the fleet had left this
country for the shores of the Crimea, an army was per-
mitted to land unmolested. No doubt the haughty
commander of the Russian forces intended by that to
give an opportunity to the Russian troops of doing what
he had often boasted he would do, namely, of driving
the British troops back into the sea. But scarcely had
they landed, almost without provisions and the necessa-
ries of life, than they were assailed and by the enemy
and a battle ensued, when the troops of England,
true to their ancient spirit and reputation, after
struggling against enormous difficulties and over-
powering forces, succeeded in beating and driving
back the foe—a result so unexpected to the Russian
commander that he had actually brought out his car
riage and his ladies for the purpose of witne-sing how
easily they could de what he had promised should
be done. But I need not say that in this expecte;
tion he was justly disappointed, and the indomitable
valour of our troops who had scarcely before been in
the field of action, succeeded in driving them back and
gland in
the puttinghissuccess w
h troopswhich
h attotetnhdeeudtttehre route,arms oefnEd
ntbat the
their fo re
first engagement with the enemy was a positive augury
onfotthneymtboastt
eir c(aareearer,whoeuarld.) ble
needone
• after this battle, which not only a!s! !4 1:110 gratified

all Europe, the troops of England, combined with those
of France, made a movement which all the opinions of
military men, which have been collected together say,
was one of the most successful and one of the most use-
ful movements. They succeede lin passing through a
difficult and dangerous country, and in setting them-
selves down before Sebastopol. I need not say a word
as to what has taken place before Sebastopol, further ,
than to draw your attention to the position of the allied 1
troops when they settled down before that the greatest
stronghold the world ever saw. During the progress of
11 months the siege of Sebastopol continued, and during
that time two actions were fought, both under disadvan-
tages on the part of the allies, but in both of which they
were victorious, and to Alma was added the proud
triumph of Inkerman and Balaklava. (Cheers.) After
an heroic endurance on the part of the English soldiery
and that of the allies, after nearly 11 months spent be-
fore that place and in the trenches under difficulties and
dangers innumerable, pursued by pestilence, deprived of
comfort, the heroic endurance of the English troops en-
abled them—in conjunction with their brave and gallant
allies—at last to take possession of the south side of
that stronghold of the Czar ; and, my Lord Mayor, I
should say, in the words of the Prime Minister of Eng-
land—" This was not the siege of a place, but a series of
battles against the stronghold of the enemy," where the

troops inside the town were not enclosed, where one side
out of it was continually open, where they were continu-
ally able to receive reinforcements of men and supplies of
ammunition, provisions—everything► that could inspirit
an army in the defence of so great a stronghold ; and
upon the falling or the resistance which it might be able
to make, I think, turns the whole of the war now raging
between England and Russia. You are aware that after
the allies had so suffered and endured, the final day came
when they were to make the won't ; and when we look
at the nature of the works which the Russians defended

—when we look at the difficulties attending that assault
—when we look at the enormous power which they hid'
behind their batteries—when we look at thealreacifta
encounter which must take place between ttke-Mops
that were to assail anirthose who were its bil'alhiled—
One only wonders that such should have been the cou-
rage, endurance, and perseverance of the allied troops
against so formidable an enemy, entrenched in so
strong a position, that notwithstanding all this the arms
of the allies were triumphant, and that they took pos-
session of that part of Sebastopol which commands, and
will ultimately give possession not only of the other side
of the city, but also of the entire of the Crimea itself.
(Cheers.) It is not necessary that I should notice in-
cidentally the combats that took place from day to
day in the assaults upon the trenches, or of the men
in the trenches upon the fortifications of the town, nor is
it necessary that 1 should go, in order to induce you to
agree to my motion, into the history of the operations of
the army and fleet before Sebastopol. You are aware
that our navy has successfully swept the Sea of Azof--
that it has kept in shore every vessel—that it has de-
stroyed the entire fleet of Russia, and has not left in any
part of the world a single vessel that can combat the
English fleet. (Hear.) It was expected, hearing what
we did of the fleet of Russia, that it would have come
out of the harbour—that it would not have skulked be-
hind stone walls—that it would only have seen the Eng-
lish fleet to have induced it to come out and give it fair
battle upon the ocean. (Hear.) But the only manner
in which the valour of the Russian fleet was exhibited
was that it stole out of the harbour and went and at-
tacked an almost defenceless people ; and the massacre
of Sinope is the only thing of which the Russians can
congratulate themselves. Having swept the Sea of Azof
—having drowned in deep water the proud fleet of
Russia--having beaten them three times in battle—we
have been successful in almost every skirmish. We have
done something more, although not so much as was ex-
pected or anticipated by an impatient public, jealous that
the renown of the English people should be spread far
and wide when engaged in an offensive war—a war of
civilisation against barbarism, offreedom against tyranny,
of the independence of nations against their subjection
to a tyrannical foe. In alluding to the valour of the
English in the field—of the navy upon the sea. I should
hardly do sufficient justice to the subject if I did not
allude to their heroic endurance, during eleven months,
whilst fighting is the trenches. It is well known
tbat when they landed upon the shores of Russia they
were destitute of almost every provision—that as soon
as they broke up the ground for the purpose of
forming their trenches, they were destitute of provisions.
It is known that they were all this time suffering from
pestilence—that disease visited their ranks ; and notwith-
standing they were destitute of all these appliances, so far
from fear, or desertion, or cowardice taking possession
of their minds, their sufferings only seemed to inspire
them with a more heroic determination to conquer the
enemy, or to leave their whitened bones as a testimony of
their duty and devotion to their country. (Loud cheers.)
Deputy DARIN, in seconding the motion, eaiii,—My
Lord Mayor, the hon. alderman has so graphically and
so eloquently described the course of the campaign,
which has been a subject of deepfelt gratitude on the
part of the nation, that I shall not attempt to follow him.
If ever there was a time when the Common Council of
the City of London might address the Throne in a tone
of congratulation, I believe this is the time. I believe
we may go up to theTbrone to congratulate her Majesty
upon the heroic deeds of her army and fleet. (Hear.) We
all know that war is a terrible scourge. We have been
all terrified by the details of the curls of fire which have
encircled that devoted city, and which have hurled to
etcrnity thousands of men ; and whilst we glory in the
result wedeeplydeplore the necessity. But there are things
more terrible than war. There are pictures that the mind
may draw, which would be even more to be dreaded
than the campaign of the last two years. We have sha-
dowed out to us by the deeds of Russia, as alluded to
by the worthy alderman, when she attacked a defence-
less fleet and scattered it to destruction, what her will
would have been if she bad been unchecked in her career
of lawless ambition and domination. If England and
France, to their immortal glory, had not stood out for
liberty, civilisation, and order, but allowed that colossal
Power to march on to her prey and taken her stand in
the Mediterranean, thetraces of learning and civilisation
and order might have been blotted out in the West.
(Hear, hear.) This would have been more frightful
than even that war ; and, seeing the success which has
hitherto attended our arm., we may properly go up to
the Throne with the language of congratulation. (Hear,
hear.) Her Majesty is to be congratulated upon the
stern valour of her troops, and the faithful alliance of
the noble French and Sardinians. She is to be congra-
tulated upon the sustained opinion of this country,
which sees the importance of the steps which have been
taken. She is to be congratulated upon the result of
the last campaign, and I do not think that this Court
can be engaged in anything more fitting or gracious than
that they should humbly tender to her Majesty at the
foot of the Throne the congratulation of the citizens of
London. (Loud cheers.)
Mr. ELLIOTT said he did not consider that the present
was a fit time for the voice of congratulation, and hoped
that the corporation would wait till some more decided,
clear, certain, and unquestionable facts were brought be-
fore them. No man would be more delighted to support
the warmest expression of congratulation to her Ma-
jesty, and the most enthusiastic expression of gratitude
to our gallant troops when the proper time arrived than
himself. Eighty thousand of the best blood of Britain-
-80,000 of such men as 10 years must elapse before their
places could be supplied, had been sent out to the Cri-
mea, 50,000 of whom had melted away. (Hear.) Did
these sink before Russian iron and Russian hard steel ?
No ; a large portion had melted away before Aristoca-
tic rule, before titled insolence, and before the exhausted
meoenneedusictntot'f thet.' wart
and nervous powers of the body that called themselves
the Government of the country. Thousands upon thou-
sands of our noble army had fallen, not before Russian
steel, but bad stiffened in the trenches, had died of fever
in a foul, nasty, miserable condition, because there was
not energy and common industry on the part of generals,
staff officers, ministers-at-war, Sidney Herberts. and
things of that sort. (Hear.) The report of the Sebas-
topol Committee proved that a large portion of all the
misery, suffering, and loss of life and treasure was to be
found solely in the incompetence of the men holding
official appointments sent out by the Government to
the Crimea. In the late storming of Sebastopol the
French had done a great deal more than the English,
not because they had better soldiers, but because they
had officers trained and educated, picked out not be-
cause they were the sons or bastards of noblemen, but
the children of nature's aristocracy. He hoped that the
corporation would pause before they gave the weight of
either
their authority to so important a proposition as going up
ain'tsdd libertiesespo i despotic
to the Throne with the language of congratulation upon
events all the circumstances connected with which were
doubtful, to a very great extent humiliating, and by no
means of so clear and defined a character as to justify
their taking the proposed step.
Alderman SIDNEY said there was no doubt whsatever
that the war, especially at its
pctohme nut the
con-
ducted to the great disgrace of the M
in"orfythe war.
motion was not for criticising the conduct gigantic st
The country was now engaged in a
wciivtihlistahteiognremautesstt
triumph,military id andru'gg
of Europe. (Hear.)
(Alderman Sidney) considered
oration, notwithstanding
this to be a time when the corporation,
all the bungling and disasterbl
income
notwithstanding the double,
consumption,
tag and the addi-
tional taxes upon articles c•t sumption, should say to
her Majesty, with an unmistakeable voice, whether they
rule must expand its sway Poor:, ewbraertrhbiaenrishrne freedomwwoitrh
of the earnest. hope of the Court that her Ma-
were anxious for peace upon any terms, or that the war
should be conducted to a conclusion honourable to this
country and teeth he best interests of the world. (Hear.)
Ho thought should be an addenda to the motion
conjunction with her noble and gallant allies,
would take every means of bringing the contest to a safe
and honourable termination by exerting themselves in
the due prosecution of the war. (Hear.)
Mr. Cox considered
the right which the Court pos-
sessed to approach the Throne a rno,,t important privi.
lege, and one which should be exercised with very
great cauticn. The question was, whether that was a
proper time to approach the Crown with an address of
congratulation. He thought it much better to approach
the Crown with wailing and lamentation, because he had
seen nothing of late that he could call glorious success.
If the battle of the Alma had been fought last month he
jeexsptyre.slini expressive
11, should have had no difficulty in congratulating her Ma- I
pity- but the time for that bad now gone by ; so
with I

Deputy BOWER said it was the attack of the cote-
blued forces that led to the capture of the Malakboff
Tower, and the evacuation of Sebastopol by the Russian
army. Both British and French troops had done their
duty, and the French General, in his despatches, had
paid a just tribute to the gallantry and valour of the
English soldiers. (Hear, bear.) He (Deputy Bower)
concluded by expressing himself in favour of the original
motion.

Mr. FRY said he could not help expressing his deep
regret at the comparisons and contrasts drawn with re-
gard to the proceedings of the British and French armies.
(Hear, hear.) If such comparisons and contrasts were
to be drawn, he trembled very much for the stability of
the alliance between the two countries. The armies had
mutually assisted each other, and everybody ought to re-
j,tice that such cordiality and good feeling existed be-
tween them. (Cheers.)
Mr. ANDERTON said one would suppose, from the
course taken by some members, that they were the allies
of Russia, and his only wonder was that they did not
propose an address of congratulation to the Czar. (Hear,
hear.) Public meetings and demonstrations in connec-
tion with the fall of Sebastopol had been held all over
the country, and if the corporation had done its duty it
would have taken the lead in celebration of the event.
(Hear, hear.)
Mr. Primurs said he could almost have wished that
his friend, Alderman Wire, had not brought the motion
forward ; but having done so, he (Mr. Phillips) thought
that the Court would be guilty of a great dereliction of
duty if they did no' carry the address of congratulation
to the foot of the Throne—the British army and navy
having strained every nerve to promote the greatness
and glory of their country. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. GRESHAM regretted that some gentleman had
not proposed an addenda to the motion, expressive of
the regret of the Court that the early prosecution of the
war by the Ministry had not been conducted with more
vigour and ability. (Hear.)
Deputy LOTT characterised the motion as indiscreet,
ill-formed, and unfortunate. The discussion would have
the effect of dispiriting the army. If an alderman was
to come forwrr 1 on every occasion of a victory, the
Court would have addresses without end, and the alder-
man honours without number. (Laughter.)
Deputy STEVENS hoped the Court would be unani-
mous in carrying the motion.
Alderman WIRE having replied,
The amendment was put and negatived, there being
eight for, and about 60 bands held up against it.
The original motion was then carried amid much
cheering.
A committee, consisting of a member from each ward,
was appointed, and they immediately retired to prepare
the address.

Deputy LOTT presented a petition from the incumbent
of St. James's Church, Holloway, in the parish of St.
Mary, Islington, and the committee for erecting and
managing the schools of the said district, fur a grant in
aid of their funds.
Referred to the Coal, Corn, and Finance Committee.
Sir J. DUKE presented a petition from the guardians
Of the West London Union, praying the corporation to
erect baths and wash.houses on the unoccupied ground
in Victoria-street.
Referr.d to the Coal, Corn, and Finance Committee.
Adjourned.

':u. i