The Sun.
London, England, 1854-10-28 00:00:00

PROGRESS
BEFORE

We extract the following from a letter received
yesterday from the camp before Sebastopol it is
dated Oct. 13

I am now sitting on the wall of a ruined farm-
house, which serves as a picket post for the Third
Division, and from which I can look down on the
town of Sebastopol. It shines, white and clear, in
the fine October sun, and, on a first view, it seems
open and defenceless on the south and south-east
side. The Russians are plainly visible through the
glass, working like bees ; women and Aildren are
carrying up earth in baskets, and already the white
tower on the right of our lines is blocked up with a
double lino of earthworks pierced for guns. The
fort is no longer the white fort—it has been painted
of a buff colour, probably not to look so conspicuous
at night. Fort Constantine and the Star Fort are
silent—not a soul is visible around them. A large
camp has been formed opposite to the extreme left
of our lines, defended by earthworks, but not many
men are visible inside. Large masses of men are,
however, at drill or parade on a piece of land in-
side the camp, and probably belong to it. There
are a few Cossacks prowling about in front, perched
on the high grounds and watching our motions.
The spires and domes of the various public build-
ings would be fine marks for our guns if we were
inclined to fire upon them. There is nothing doing
in our front, but in the rear the sailors are busy
dragging up guns and carriages. They are splen-
did fellows at this work, which is a pleasure and
-not a toil to them, and their merry songs as they
drag and strain at the ropes cheer the ear of the
passer-by. They have a' camp full of quaint names
—" Albion's Pets," " Tiger's Revenge," " Rule
Britannia," such terms being marked on the tents,
titi hich are pitched on the side of a pleasant hill
near the town.

_ The delay has been, I honestly believe, quite una-
avoidable. Any officer who has been present at
great operations of this nature will understand what
it is for an army to land in narrow and yAdgy-
separated creeks all its munitions of war—its shells,
its cannon shot, its heavy guns, mortars, its pow-,
der, its gun carriages, its platforms, its fascines,
gabions, sand-bags, its trenching tools, and all the_
various materiel requisite for the siege of extensive
and formidable lines of fortifications and batteries.
But few shipz can come in at a time to Balakla,va or
Arrow Bay ; in the former there is only one small
ordnance wharf, and yet it is there that every
British cannon must be landed. The nature of our
descent on the Crimea rendered it quite impossible
for us to carry our siege train along with us, as is
the wont of armies invading a neighbouring country
only separated from their own by some imaginary
line. We had to send all our materiel round by
sea, and then land as best we could. But when
once it was landed the difficulties of getting it up
to where it was required seemed really to com-
mence. All these enormous masses of metal were
to be dragged by men, aided by such inadequate
horse power as is at our disposal, over a steep
and hilly country, on wretched broken roads, to
a distance of eight miles, and one must have wit-
nessed the toil and labour of hauling up a Lan-
caster or 10-inch gun under such circumstances to
form a notion of the length of time requisite to
bring it to its station. It will, however, serve to
give some idea of the severity of this work to state
one fact—that on the 10th no less than 33 ammu-
nition horses were found dead, or in such a con-
dition as to render it necessary to kill them, after the
duty of the day before.

"Jack" has been of essential service. The only
thing against him is that he is too strong. He pulls
strong carts to pieces as if they were toys. He piles
up shot-cases in the ammunition waggons till the
horses fall underthe weight, for he cannot understand
" the ship starting till the hold is full." He takes
long pulls and strong pulls at tow ropes till they
give like sewing silk, and he is indefatigable in
"rousing" crazy oldvehicles uphill, and running full
speed with them down hill till they fall to pieces.
Many a heap of shot or shell by the roadside marks
the scenes of such disasters ; but Jack's good hu-
mour during this "spring on shore" is inexhaustible,
and comes back for the massive cargo from the
camp with the greatest willingness when he is told it
must be got up ere nightfall. It is most cheering to
meet a set of these jolly fellows " working up a gun
to the camp." From a distance you hear sonic
hearty English chorus borne on the breeze over the
hill side. As you approach, the strains of an un-
mistakeable Gosport fiddle, mingled with the
squeaks of a marine fife, rise up through the unac-
customed vales of the Crimea. A cloud of dust on
the ascent marks their coming, and tugging up the
monster gun in its cradle, with " a stamp and go,"
strange cries, and. oaths sworn by some 30 tars, all
flushed with honest exercise, while the officer in
charge tries to moderate their excessive energies,
and to induce the two or three hairyHerculeses who
are sitting astride on the gun, or the few horses in
front, with vine-leaves in their hats, or flowers in
their hair, fr, di.c.m not and leave off the mugio
The astonishment of the stupid fur-capped Crim
' Tartars, as they stare at this wondrous apparition
on its way, is ludicrous to a degree ; but Turk,
Crim, Russian, or Greek are all the same to Jack,
and he is certain to salute every foreigner who
goes by, while in this state, with the universal
shibboleth of " Bono ! Bowno ! Johnny !"

The silence and gloom of our camp, as Compared
with the activity and bustle of that of the French,
are very striking. No drum, no bugle-call, no
music of any kind is ever heard within our pre-
cincts, while our neighbours close by keep up
incessant rolls, fanfaronnades, and flourishes, re-
lieved every evening by the fine performances of
their military bands. The fact is, many of our in-
struments have been placed in store, and the regi-
mental bands are broken up ana disorganised, the
men being devoted to the performance of the duties
for which the ambulance corps was formed. I
think, judging from one's own feelings, and from
the expression of those around, that the want of
music in camp is productive of graver consequences
than appear likely to occur at first blush from such
a cause. Every military man knows how regi-
ments, when fatigued on the march, cheer up at
the strains of their band, and dress up, keep step,
and walk on with animation and vigour when it is
playing. At camp I have always observed with
pleasure the attentive auditory who gathered every
evening at the first tap of the drum to listen to the
music. At Aladyn and Devno the men used to wander
off to the lives of the 77th, because it had the best
band in the division ; and when he bands were
silenced because of the prevalence of cholera, out
of a humane regard for the feelings of the sick, the
soldiers were wont to get up singing parties in their
tents in lieu of their ordinary entertainment. It
seems to be an error to deprive them of a cheering
and wholesome influence at the very time they need
it most. The military band is not meant alone for
the delectation of garrison towns or for the pleasure
of the officers in quarters, and the men are fairly
entitled to its inspiration during the long and
weary march in the enemy's country, and in the
monotony of a standing camp ere the beginning of
a siege. Our neighbours have made the head-
quarter camp quite lively by their vicinity and their
excellent music at night.
The French have achieved a great success. To-
wards sunset, of the 10th, four battalions, number-
ing 2,400 men, marched to the front of our left,
and at 9 o'clock they commenced work. Before
daybreak they had finished a ditch, parapet, and
banquette 1,200 metres long, at a distance of 900
metros from the enemy's lino, and so little did the
Russians suspect the operation that they never
fired a gun to disturb them. At first the workmen
encountered hard and rocky ground, but after they
had penetrated to the depth of a foot and half or
two feet, they came upon a deep bed of plastic tough
clay, admirably suited for the purposes of entrench-
ing. Each man worked and kept guard as one of
the covering parties in turn till daybreak, and by
that time every man had finished his half metre of
work, so that the 1,200 metres were completed.
From this position a considerable portion of the
enemy's defences on their right is quite under
control, and the French can command the heaviest
fort on that side. From the top of the ditch 76
guns can be counted in the embrasures of this
fort. The French have got 46 guns lying behind
the work, ready to mount when the embrasures
aro made and faced with gabions and fascines,s and
the d
a
the platforms aro ready. Most of those guns
of brass—at least I know many of those
landed are of that metal ; a
p
and the result
times, for
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that their fire must be slackened latt
will
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brass guns will droop
repeated discharges.
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The
lore.
Division. There are about 2,000 men on shore.
The of the left actatamckp, is
seafor
The officers who command the Naval Brigade are
Captain Stephen Lushington (Albion, 90), Com-
mander-in-Chief ; Captain William Peel (Diamond,
27), second in command ; Commander ltaiundooolinph_
(temporarily disqualified by illness), t
'nand ' • Commanders Burnett and Borlase ; Lieu-
tenants—First, J. N. Norman (Trafalgar) ; Second,
W. H. Bridge (Vengeance) ; Third, G. Greathed
(Britannia) ; Lieutenants \ Vilnaslmrst (Trafalgar),
Lieutenant Partridge (Queen), Lieutenant Capel
(Britannia). Commander Hoare of the Beagle,
and Commander Snow, of the Arrow, have landed
the heavy guns of their vessels, and rendered ex-
cellent service at the naval camp by their exertions.
The guns landed by the fleet were furnished by the

following vessels,
OF THE SIEGE as nearly as I can ascertain
The Albion landed 6, the Queen 6,theß
SEBASTOPOL.
Rodney 6,
, the Trafalgar 6, the Terrible 2 (heavy metal), the
' Britannia 6, the Diamond 20—in all 52.
The Marine Battalions, numbering about 1,200
men, are encamped on the heights over Balaklava,
but I have not yet benedn. able
Th to ascertain who are
the officers in corn
of the batteries of howitzers They are tor will
llabv charge
ee
placed
on those heights, and are intrustedth r
with the charge
of the
siegero ad
trainto t
is
the town from
eastern
ck"attacks .
Our
.t: two
a
thethem"eriogffihtee"rsand '
commanding'
left" attack.
the batteries on the
right attack are—Lieutenant-Colonel Dickson (who
volunteered his services for the battery left vacant
by the death of Captain Patten), Cacpers ta
inp'l
Agui
commandingar,
and Captain Strange. The offi
the batteries of the left attack are—Major Young,
Major Freese, and Major Irving. The whole of the
siege train is commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel
Gambler.
The Golden Fleece, Hydaspes, and Jason sailed
on the evening of the 6th for Bourgas to embark
the Chasseurs d'Afrique and French infantry. The
reinforcements landed by the French to-day in-
crease their strength by 11,000 strong. The Simla
and Trent have already gone to Bourgas, and are
expected immediately. The Rip Van Winkle has
come in with the loss of 50 horses of the Royal
Dragoons • the Wilson Kennedy lost still more.
This, coupled with the loss of some horses onboard
the Simla, and 70 on board the War Cloud, has
deprived us of nearly 150 horses.

FROM ANOTHER LETTER.
You must wait patiently for another post or
two before receiving intelligence of the taking of
Sebastopol. The delay has been heartbreaking. The
Russians have made the most of it by throwing
up earthworks, strengthening their fortifications,
and making new batteries. Every morning we can
discover the results of their previous night's work.
We came up here on the 29th ult., and only three
days since we did begin our entrenchments. Now
that we have begun, it is done in earnest. One
battery of four 68-pounders, mounted on our 0X
treme right. A battery all ready for action, with
one of Lancaster's 92-pounders from the Beagle,
has been math) in front of the left of the light
division, and will play upon the Twelve Apostles,
a large three-decker, in the dockyard creek,
wtch has been annoying us with shot and shell.
At present this gun hsv! been nicknamed the
" apostolic cannon." It is intended to put some
more guns into this battery, but not at the
" opening of the ball." Another battery is ready
in front of Sir George Cathcarts, or fourth division.
Large fatigue parties have been employed for the
last three nigh* in opening trenches (last night
there was a good deal of work done) in spite of
the enemy's continual fire of shot and shell. The
Russians have not shown the least pluck as yet ;
they fire away at us from behind their for-
tifications, but no sortie has been made upon
our working parties, nor have they attacked our
pickets. At about one o'clock this morning we had
an alarm, caused by the blunder of some Sappers,
who lost their way in going down to their work. The
Russian pickets fired upon them, and it is said took
some of them prisoners. The Rifles, who were in
our front, charged the enemy after firing a few
shots, and drove them back into the town. Then
came upon us a shower of shells, rockets, and round
shot, which was kept up for a short time. Our
troops were soon under arms with all available men,'
but we could not muster many, as a large number
were in the trenches with the usual protecting
parties. Sir George Brown, the Duke of Cam-
bridge, and Sir Cohn Campbell, with their respec-
tive staff, were soon up at our picket-house, nearest
to the point of " alarm."

I mei yesterday a Fren ch staffofficer of high rank,
who told me that they had no guns in position, but
that some batteries had been made. His opinion
was that we could take Sebastopol in four or five
days by storming it, after pounding away at their
works during that time; but that if it was to be
done with caution and economy of life, it would
take ten or twelve days. Ho imagined that Can-
robert as commander-in-chief would be more cau-
tious than if the responsibility had rested upon one
senior to him. As for their stone fortifications,
unfazed with earth, they must soon come down ;
and it is said that their earthworks are so badly
made that they crumble from their own firing. All
sorts of rumours are afloat about an army of 35,000
men, under Luders, being within five days' march
of us ; but I don't believe it. It would certainly be
a serious business if we were attacked in rear, when
we shall have so many large siege guns in position
in front, which must be defended from all attacks
from the town.

DECREE OF THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT
ON TEE CORN TRADE.

The official part of yesterday's Moniteur contains
a report from M. Magne, the Minister for the De-
partment of Agriculture. from which it would ap-
pear that in France, as well as in England, the
advance in the price of grain had begun to assume
importance. M.. Magne ascribes the high price
of grain chiefly to the extensive distillation, and,
with a view to remedy that evil, he has addressed
the following report to the Emperor
" Sire,—The price of corn keeps at a higher rate than
might have been expected from the incontestable abun-
dance of the harvest, and your Majesty has justly turned
your attention to ?. state of things which would tend to
prolong the sufferings of the working classes.
"Already in a preceding report I had the honour to
explain to the Emperor the circumstances which appear
to be the principal causes of this accidental enhance-
ment of price. In order to diminish the effect of it, you,
Sire, were pleased to order the postponement of all the
measures which were taken last year to facilitate the
arrival of foreign grain, its transport from one port to
another, and its circulation in the interior. But these
various measures could not apply to a particular cause
of dearness, which operates at this moment with peculiar
force throughout a great extent of the empire.
" The scarcity of alcohols has, in fact, this year given
an extraordinary extension to the distillation of grain.
Not only at this moment is a large quantity of cereal
produce submitted to that operation, but new establish-
ments have been formed upon various points with the
object of carrying► on that branch of industry upon a
more extensive scale.

" The information which reaches me from various
parts of France, and particularly from the departments
of the North, Les not allow me to doubt that the dis-
tillation of grain is one of the causes of the present dear-
ness, as well from the importance of the purchases to
which it gives rise as from the moral effect which these
purchases produce upon the public in a matter where
opinion exercises such a great influence upon price.
" Under these circumstances, I have the honour to
propose to your Majesty to prohibit temporarily the dis-
tillation of grain. I have less hesitation in doing so, be-
cause the facility of exporting grain in the form of alco-
hol is in evident contradiction to our legislation, which
at the present moment forbids the exportation f cereal
produce; and, besides, it is not a question of suppressing
a branch of industry, but only to interdict it, in the great
interest of the supply of food to the public, from employ-
ing an article for which other substitutes may be found.
The point, too, only involves a temporary measure, the
revocation of which I shall hasten to request from your
Majesty as soon as ever the exceptional circumstances
which induce it shall have ceased to render it necessary.
_ _

"If your Majesty shouldapp;oWthesnigesiien which
I have the honour to submit to you, I beg you to sign
the accompanying decree.
" I am, with the most profound respect, sire, your
Majesty's very humble and very obedient servant and
faithful subject, P. Means."

---
The report is followed by the subjoined decree
" Napoleon, by the grace of God and the national
will, Emperor of the French, to all present and to
come, greeting.
" On the report of our Minister, Secretary of State for
the Department of Agriculture, Commerce, and Public
Works, we have decreed, and do decree, as follows :
" Art. 1. Until it shall be otherwise ordered, the dis.
tillation of cereals and of all other farinaceous substances
charged,
serving in the process is prohibited.
Department of Agrculture, Commerce, and p ~.°
eachA.3
as
"Art. 2.n 1
90: Our
concern Min
isters, i
him ,S ewcirteht a rt
Works, and also the Minister of Finance, are h uulla
present decree, which shall be published in u ion of the
des Lois. in the Btaletila
" Done at the Palace of St. Cloud,
1854. the 26th of Octobers
"Sy the Emperor. " NAPOLEON.
" The Minister, Secreted.
mint of Agriculture, yof State for the Depart.
ihe es Commerce State
or
th
Commerce, and Public Works,
P. Ileum"