The Sun.
London, England, 1855-01-02 00:00:00

LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 2, 1855.

CONTRACTS FOR MATERIALS FOR SEAMEN'S CLOTHING.
Department of the Comptroller for Victualling and Transport
Services, Somerset House, 24th December, 1851.
THE Commissioners for executing the Office of
Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, DO HEREBY GIVE NOTICE, that on MONDAY, , h
15th January,-1855, at One o'clock, they will be ready to treat with
such persons as may be willing to contract for supplying and delivering
into her Majesty's Victualling Stores at Deptford and Gosport, the
under-mentioned Articles, TiZ.

To be delivered at '
Deptiet.
--
Yards. Yards.
1-IEssEN ...• ......
WHITE CALICO
OSNAEUEGN •••• .. • •
PADDING CLOTH.... •
BLUE BAIZE ' 1,000 . -
BLACK LINEN .........
Skeins. Skeins. ofeach quan-
BLACY SILL .... .... . 100,000 60,000 tity to be
Yards. Yards. delivered by
BLACK SILK Twin 90,000 50,000 the 31st
Lbs. Lbs. March, an-
SEWING Corros (Pine) 3O) 200 other fourth
Yards. Yards. by the 31st
BLACK SHALLOON
Bo TAL CANVAS • • .. 10,500 7,080 the remain-
-IStay .
1 White
• Pieces. Pieces. next,or ear"
TAPE i Dutch (White) .• •
ii
-Black .. - I Yards. (erred by
21,000 the party
Gross. Gross. tendering.
Black Bone - 3,000
BUTTONS
White Metal
Large Horn 6OO -
Pearl - 4,000 2,50)
Lbs. Lbs.
WisusTEu (Blue) 3,050 2,509
1 Black •. • • ......
T11.1!,741 1 Whited Brown ..,,,,, 3,000 ' 4,000 .
-Wig Utillxib- Naga- 3AQO , ;41.500 ..'... . . r,-
,

Their Lordships reserve to themselves .the power, when the Ten-
ders are opened, of contracting either for the whole, or for sack part
thereof only as they may deem fit, or for a greater quantity, or of
not contracting for any.
No Tender will be received unless made on the Printed Form pro-
vided for the purpose, and which may be obtained on application at
the said Office, at the Victualling Yards at Gosport and Plymouth,
or to Commander Bevis, conducting the Packet Service at Liver-
pool, or to the Collector of Customs at Bristol.
Tenders will be admitted for any portion of the above quantities,
but separate tenders must be made for each place, and no attention
will be paid to any offer not so made.
Samples of the articles may be seen at the said office, between the
hours of eleven and two only, and also at the Victualling Yards, at
Gosport and Plymouth.
. .

The conditions of the revised contracts, to which particular atten-
tion is called, may be seen at the said Office, at the said Victualling
Yards at Gosport and Plymouth, and also at Liverpool and Bristol.
No tender will be received after One o'clock on the day of treaty, and
it will not be required that the party tendering or an agent on his
behalf should attend at the effice on the day of contract, as the
result of the offer received from each person will be communicated to
him and his proposed sureties In writing.,
. _

Every tender must be addressed to the Secretary of the Admiralty,
and bear in the left-hand corner the words " Tcnder for
and must also be delivered at Somerset House.

NA.VAL AND MILITARY INTELLIGENCE.

St. Jean d'Acre, 101, screw, Captain Hon. F. Kep-
pel, was completed on Saturday at Devonport. On
Sunday, at one p.m., she got up steam. Soon after the
band played some cheering tunes, and at 1.45 p.m.
three hearty cheers were given on board. She left her
mooring, and glided off most beautifully. When she
arrived abreast the flag ship her steam was increased,
and she gathered way, and passed through the Narrows
in splendid style, answering her helm like a boat. A
select party were on board. She goes to Cork to em-
bark troops for the Crimea.
Princess Royal, 90, Captain Lord C. Paget, is to take
troops to the Black Sea. A part of Sappers and Miners
will embark at Devonport ; the remainder will embark
at Queenstown. . . .

Cossack, 21, screw, Captain Fanshawe, was taken out
of dock at Keyham on Saturday, and was to go out fer a
cruise to-day to try her engines, as well as to sea if her
leak is stopped.
Penelope, 22, paddle, Captain Caffin, hauled into dock
at Portsmouth, yesterday morning, and on the water
being pumped out, it was remarkable that her bottom
was in such excellent condition. Although she was on
the rocks at Bomarsund forthree-and-a-halt hours scarcely
a scratch is perceptible ; a few sheets of copper, and two
hours' work will enable her to come out of dock, and to
be employed on any troop or store service ; her crew
will be paid down to-day, and half of her officers will
have leave of absence, the men we have before stated
(the old hands) to have 60 days' leave, and the new
hands 14.

The Falcon, 17, screw, is being blasted in the steam
basik& dock.

Yesterday her Majesty's steamer Lizard, having been
round in company with the African steamer to Plymouth
and Portsmouth to transfer 100 supernumeraries to the
ships under orders for the Black Sea, returned to Sheer-
-11235.

The Cuckoo, paddle, Lieut. Commander Murray,
sailed to day to the westward.

The Clyde, iron screw chartered transport, has nearly
completed filling up with stores for the Crimea, and will
sail for Portsmouth to-day.

APPOINTMENTS.

Commander—Joseph G.' Bickford (1852), t• the
Princess Royal, 90, screw, at Devonport.
Masters—John W. M. T. aall (1845) recently serving
in the Euryalus, to the Princess Royal ; and Wm. Jet.
fery (1841), who was on Saturday last appointed to the
Blenheim, has been transferred to the Euryalus, 50,
screw, at Devonport.

Colonel Harry G. Jones, director of the engineering
establishment at Chatham, is under orders to proceed to
the seat of war is the Crimea. It is expected that he
will embark in the courrne of the weok, at the same time
as the Ist Company of Royal Sappers and Miners, now
in Chatham, under orders of readiness to embark for the
Crimea. The Sappers have been medically inspected,
and are slow receiving a supply of warm clothing and
very strong boots for trench work.

battleships are moored on the south•east side of the
harbour.

Yesterday the Lords of the Admiralty gave notice at
the Underwriters'-room, Lloyd's, Royal Exchange, that
three more steamers were required for the conveyance
of provisions to the army in the. Crimea ; they will be
required to call at Constantinople for orders from the
senior Commissariat officer.

Since Friday transfers of able seamen have been made
from her Majesty's ship Crocodile, off the Tower, to her
Majesty's ships Majestic, Nankin, Tartar, PArcher,
Rhadama.nthus, and Esk as also to her Majesty's
training ships Waterloo, at Sheerness, Fisgard, at
Woolwich, and Illustrious and Excellent, at Ports-
mouth.

Since the arrival of the Powerful at Greenock, in
November, she has shipped above 100 men, principally
ordinary seamen. Her complement is still 200 short.

..... ..,.

MILITARY;
The under-named officers at Chatham garrison have
obtained leave of absence for the periods herein stated :
Captain A. Campbell, 94th, to the 4th March ; Capt.,
A. Lennox. Peel, 52d Light Infantry, to the 30th inst. ;
and Lieutenant Richard Clancy to the 31st ; Ensign
Bowton, 99th, and Captain Edward Steele, 83d, the
former officer to the 14th, Asa the latter to the 27th
February next.
Surgeon Barry, of the 13th (Prince Albert's) Light
Infantry Regiment, is relieved front duty at Gravesend
for the purpose of proceeding to join head-quarters.
Acting-Assistant Surgeon Spittal is relieved from
duty at the Medical Hospital, Fort Pitt, Chatham, for
the purpose of proceeding to Dovonport, to embarki iu
the Princess Royal, with drafti of regimenia for the
Crimea. The ambulance cerps,twidch has been formed
skt4lhateam for service at the_etrekof war in the - East,
have received their mite far embarkation, which is to
take place at Devonport. They are to embark en Sa-
turday next on board the above ship.
Lieut.-Colonel John Henry Fraucklyn succeeds to the
command orthe artillery at Ballineollig, vice Lieut.-
Colonel Crawford, ordered to the Cape of Good Hope.
Lieut.-Colonel Crawford has received one month's leave
of absence prior to proceeding to the Cape.
The anniversary of the battle of Maharajpore falling
on Friday, the non-commissioned officers of the 39th
Regiment, at Cork, celebrated the day by a festival, at
which they entertained representatives of other regi-
ments now in this garrison. The 39th Regiment, as
most persons probably are aware, bore a distinguished
part in the above-named engagealent, in commemora-
tion of which the word "Maharajpore" is inscribed on
their colours and appointments.
There is no depot battalion yet formed in Limerick.
The 9th, 17th, 39th, and 89th depots will constitute the
LpriomveisrlocknailsbtahtetaBl9iotho., but the only depot yet arrived in

Lieut.-Colonel N. M. Stack, froth the 71st, nephew
of Lieut.-Colonel Stack, late 24th, is to command the
aptain provisionalGillebya,taarliicivd
battalion at Limerick,
Limerick on Friday, to and the adjutant,
C
pre-
pare the establishment.
The officers attached to the 89th depot, in Limerick,
are, Captains Thorpe and Atkinson, Ensigns Breedon,
Lloyd, alai Harvest.

LETTERS FROM THE CRIMEA.

The following is an extract of a letter received
by a gentleman from his son, an officer in the
Regiment, at present serving in the Crimea :

"Camp before Sebastopol, Dec. 12.
" The attack is expected to be made very shortly,
though there are a great variety of opinions on this sub-
ject here. Some go so far as to say it will not be at-
tempted at all ; but the more general belief, is that the
fortress will be taken before Christmas. How this is to
be done I cannot see, for all the guns before Sebastopol
are completely done up, quite worn out, and no possi-
bility of getting up fresh ones, from the continued bad
state of the roads.

" Every one is grumbling and growling, being
thoroughlY disgusted with the whole affair. Everything
is grossly mismanaged—the command of the army, the
commissariat, the ordnance, and all are none knows
where. Every one leaves everything to the others to do,;
and consequently nothing is done. Lord Raglan hall
not been seen for three weeks, and the report is he has
gone to Malta for the winter. In fact, he has succeeded
in giving general dissatisfaction. There is nothing but
discontent prevailing, from the heads to the subordinates
of the army here—despondency everywhere. Lord Car-
digan, it is said, has made zp his mind to quit the ser-
vice, and has sold off all his traps. There were 125
attempts at resignation within the- last week, but none
will by permitted to resign. No one thinks of selling.
" The /cold is dreadful. The first night the 46th
were in the trenches seven man were frozen to death
However, I don't mind it, for I can bear cold tolerably
well, having also a fair supply of warm clothing, in the
-way of drawers, flannel waistcoasts, &a. My spirits
and Health ~ were-never' better, It- is quite' ridietdout
the prices that are paid at Balaklava for the oommones.
necessaries of life procurable there, one stick of choco-
late going fbr 16s. British money ; what you would get
at home for 2s. or so."

The fallowing letter, describing the present
state of the army, has been received from a colour-
serjeant of the 50th r—
" Camp before Sebastopol, Dec. 11.
" There does not appear much chance of their giving
in. If, please, God, we could only get about three weeks
fine weather, we could play the deuce with them ' • but,
as it is, the road from Balaklava is in such a state that it
is impossible to ' get the guns up, for the road is knee
deep in mud. The horses we send down for provisions
drop down dead on their way back, though poor things
they are scarcely able to crawl. I have seen as many
as six live ones to draw a dead one away to a place to
bury it, and it was as much as they could do. The poor
things are actually starved to death, for they cannot get
provisions, and the places they stand in as stables are
over their hoofs in mud ; but, thank God, the weather
is better at last ;we have now had three fine days. But
for the last month it has been continually wet and
cold ; so, as I said about the horses, how must it
be for the men ? I can assure you it has been dread-
ful—up to our shoetops in slush and dirt in the
trenches ; and there we have to remain for twelve
hours in the wet and cold. I have seen as runny as four
men die in a night in the trenches, with the cramp, from
wet, cold, and fatigue. We are getting more regiments
out here now, and it is the fresh ones that sillier the
most, as we are pretty well inured to it now. The 62d
landed about a fortnight back, and I heard yesterday
they had lest 90 men. The 46th landed about the same
time, and I bear that they have lost more. The 9th
landed last week, and they are burying five and six a
day. The Ist Royals lost 10 in one night ;we lost
seven, as we had a draft of recruits, on the 22d ult. I
had an officer and eight men posted to my company ; I
have lost the officer and four of the men since. But,
please God the weather continues fine, the sickness will
soon leave us. The last three days being fine, the men
and cattle are getting round again. During ray time of
soldiering I have seen a good deal, but this beats all.
Bat I only hope it may please God to protect me, to return
again to old England ; then I could tell you more than
at present. We are all very thankful to the ladies of
England, as we hear it is they who have made all the
troops a present of the warm clothing we so much re-
quired that is, a good Guernsey shirt and flannel
drawers, which are famous things ; also a nightcap,
though that will not be much used between the sheets,
for such a thing I have not seen since I left Dublin, and
God knows when I shall again ; but I hope some time.
We are now nearly all served out with another blanket
and a great coat, or rather cloak, with a hoed to it. It
puts me in mind of the old women's cloaks of former
times ; but we don't care, so long as they keep us warm
and dry. If you could get a peep at the regiment now,
you would hardly known zuwu, as we are all wearing the
moustache, or I may say hair, for none of us have shaved
since we have been out in the Crimea, so you may guess
some of us look like old priests or monks, for we can hardly
find the way to our mouths. Blacking and pipeclay are
entirely done away with, and, if we can manage to get
a wash once a-week, it is quite a luxury, so I leave you
to guess how we all are ; let us hope this may soon be
over, and, if it please God for us to get some fine wea-
ther, so that we could manage to get some more guns
np, the scale would soon be turned—at least, it
is so hoped by all the army, and I expect it is by all at
home." _ _ _

The writer of the above letter was with the 50th
at the battle of Punniar in 1843, and in the cam-
paign of the Sutlej in 1845 and 1846 ; engaged at
Moodkse, Ferozeshar, and Aliwal ; at the latter
place he was wounded ; at the fall of the barracks
at Loodianah he escaped unhurt, although there
were over 200 of the regiment killed and wounded.

THE POSIT' ON OF OFFICERS IN ACTION.