The Sun.
London, England, 1862-01-07 00:00:00

THE BALACLAVA RAILWAY.

An interesting reminiscence of the Crimean war has been
published by the Times, it?' the form of an extract from a
letter of Sir Morton Peto, Bart., M.P., explanatory of the
circumstances attending the construction of the railway
from Balaklava to the British camp. Sir Morton writes :
"It was in the midst of the dreary winter of 1854, when
the British army was suffering unparalleled hardships be-
fore Sebastopol, that it was resolved to construct a railway
from Balaklava to the British camp. Let honour be given
where honour is due :—The idea emanated from the Duke
of Newcastle. His grace applied to our firm to assist in car-
rying out the design. The sympathies of all England were
excited at the time by the sufferings of our troops. Every
one was emulous to contribute all that could be contributed
to their succour and support. The firm of which I am a part-
ner was anxious to take its share in the good work, and, on
the Duke of Newcastle's application, we cheerfully undertook
to make all the arrangements for carrying his grace's views
into execution,on the understanding that the work should be
considered National, and that we should be permitted to
execute it without any charge for profit.
" We accordingly placed at the disposal of her Majesty's
Government the whole of our resources. We fitted out
transports with the stores necessary for the construction of
the railway ; employed and equipped hundreds of men to
execute the works; provided a commissariat exclusively for
their use; engaged medical officers to attend to their
health, and placed the whole service under the direction of
the most experienced agents on our staff. These important
preliminaries were arranged so effectually, and with so
much despatch, that the Emperor of the French sent an
agent to this ( ouutry to instruct himself as to the mode in
which we equipped the expedition.
" Every item shipped by us for the works was valued
before shipment at its selling price; and for all these items
of valuation, as well as for the payments which we made
for labour, we received the certificate of the most eminent
engineer of the day (the late lamented Mr. Robert Stephen-
son.) We undertook the execution of the Balaklava Rail-
way as a `National' work, agreeing to execute it without
profit. We performed our contract to the letter. We never
profited by it to the extent of a single shilling.
"The works (nearly seven miles of railway) were exe-
cuted in less than a month : an incredibly short space of

time, considering the season of the year, the severity of the
climate, and the difficulties to which, considering the dis-
tance from home, we were all of us exposed. It is a matter
of history that they eventuated in the taking of the great
fortress of Sebastopol. Before the railway was made, all
the shot, all the shell, and all the ammunition necessary
for the siege, had to be carried from Balaklava to the Camp,
a distance of 5 miles uphill, through mud and sludge, upon
the backs of the soldiers. An immense proportion of our
troops was told off for this most laborious service; of whom
no less than 25 per cent. per month perished in its execu-
tion. Oa the day the railway was opened, it carried t o the
camp of the British army, in 24 hours, more shot and Sher
than had been brought from Balaklava for six weeks pre
viously.

"To our principal agent in the Crimea, the late Mr.
Beattie, the greatest credit was due for the way in which
the arrangements were made, and the work executed, on
that side. Mr. Beattie's labours were so arduous, and his
efforts so untiring, that he died of fatigue within six weeks
after the completion of the work—a victim, absolutely, to
his unparalleled exertions. The only favour in connection
with these works which the Duke of Newcastle ever
granted at our request, he granted to the family of this
lamented gentleman. Mr. Beattie left a widow and four
children to deplore his loss; and through the favour of the
Duke of Newcastle, the widow, who now resides with her
father, an estimable clergyman in the North of Ireland,
enjoys a pension as the widow of a colonel falling in the
field.' "