The Sun.
London, England, 1854-05-29 00:00:00

THE BRITISH EXPEDITION TO THE EAST,

The following is extracted from the letter of the
special correspondent of the Times, dated Scutari,
Monday, May 15
"I have just seen a copy of the Times, of the 28th
of April, containing a report of a discussion in the
House of Lords, in which the Duke of Newcastle,
in the course of a reply to a question from the Earl
of Ellenborough, denies repeatedly certain state-
ments contained in my letter of the 10th of April,
respecting the arrangements, or rather non-arrange-
ments, for the reception of our troops at Gallipoli. The
statements in question were not put forward by me as
counts of an indictment ; they were made, in the dis-
charge of my duty, as recitals of matters of fact. They
are true in letter and in spirit ; and, notwithstanding
all that passed in that debate, I beg once more to re-
iterate them from beginning to end. I am not respon-
sible for the construction Lord Ellenborough or any
one else may place upon my words ; but I repeat that
Mr. Calvert received no instructions to prepare for
the troops, and that he acted on his own responsibility
in ail his very efficient and active services for the re-
ception of the force. 'lt is no answer to this to say,
that Mr. Calvert knew generally the troops would be
stationed at Gallipoli, or the Dardanelles, or somewhere
or other in- the neighbourhood, at some time or other,
and that he drew up an able report on the capabilities
of the district. I also stated that the deputy-assistant
commissaries-general sent to Gallipoli were not provided
with interpreters or staff, that they were ignorant of
the Turkish language, and that all their proceedings
were necessarily slow and tedious. That statement
cannot be denied ; nay, more, they had no instructions,
I am credibly informed, as to the time when the
troops might be expected and the number to be landed.
Neither the Duke of Newcastle nor the Earl of Ellenbo-
rough seem to have had any experience in the details of
disenibarking troops—or, at all events, could not have
reflected and made Use of it when they spoke of the
boats of the Golden Fleece as being available for such a
purpose, and started it as a matter of controversy
whether she was provided with the proper number of
boats or not. Any person of the smallest knowledge in
such matters must be aware that the boats of a mercan-
tile steamer, such as the Golden Fleece, would be
utterly inadequate for the disembarkation of 1,300
men, their arms, and stores, and equipments, even
if she had crews to row them. What I referred to
was the want of any proper boats for the purpose,
and, though Gallipoli was not deficient in the re-
quired accommodation, nearly all the large boats were
engaged by the French. If all our preparations were so
complete, will any one answer this question ? The
Golden Fleece anchored at 12 o'clock on the night of
Wednesday ; the troops were not landed till Saturday.
Why were they not sent on shore on Thursday I Why, at
all events, were they not disembarked on Friday ? Can it
be possible that there were neither boats to take them nor
rations to feed them ? I fear, notwithstanding his Grace's
incredulity, that several very 'monstrous' occurrences
of this . kind will be found to have taken place.
No, I repeat that there were no blankets for the sick,
no beds, no mattresses, no medical comforts of any
kind, and the invalided soldiers had to lie for several
days on the bare boards in a wooden house, with
nothing but a single blanket as bed and covering.
It was only on Friday, the day before the disembarka-
tion, that the principal medical officer went round Galli-
poli to fix on the houses to be used as hospitals, and we
found the Greek families living in them in all their dirt,
and not very well pleased at being disturbed. One
would think from his Grace's speech that these houses
had been fixed upon and prepared for the reception
of the sick long ere the arrival of the troops, but the
facts are as I have stated them. The buildings for
the reception of the sick had not even been indicated,
much less were any preparations made to get them
into cleanly order; and when the sick were put into
them they were unprovided with anything but one
blanket—they had neither bedding, covering, medical
stores, nor medical comforts. At that time money. could
not purchase them, and when a sick man was sinking
from want of proper stimulus no wine could be got for
him until Sir George Brown heard of it, and immedi-
ately ordered him wine and arrowroot from his private
store of creature comforts. The truth is that not
only were there no medical stores and comforts landed
at Gallipoli, but up to the present month at which
I write, on this 15th day of May, 1854—the army
at Scutari—this corps d'aite of sixteen of our best
battalions—has not received its full share of them ;
and a portion of these stores—please to observe, only
a portion .of them—arrived within a few days, previous
to which the army had not its requisite supply. The
rest may be coming in the two sailing transports. I
have nothing of consequence to report since my
last letter. Lord De Ros went up a few days ago
to Varna, with the intention, it is said, of going
over to Shumla to visit Omer Pasha. Probably he
will also survey • the country generally, in order to
form some estimate of its capability as a station for
troops. The Banshee went up for him last night, and
he is expected back to-morrow. The Caradoc was in
readiness to take up Lord Raglan, but the order was
countermanded yesterday, and she is still at anchor off
Scutari. Brigadier-General Rose arrived here with
his aide-de-camp by the last French steamer, and
has entered on the discharge of his duties as com-
missioner with the head-quarters of the French
army. There are all kinds of rumours afloat through
the camp, the precursors probably of a decided move-
ment. The Victoria, the Golden Fleece, and an-
other steamer were ordered to be in readiness to
sail this morning with 28 days' coal, and it was stated
that the Light Division, commanded by Sir George
Brown, would embark on board them, and proceed, some
said to Varna, others to the Caucasian side of the Black
Sea, others to Trebizond, but no one knew. The
matter was set at rest by the vessels not going at all,
but there is a great bustle of preparation about them,
and no doubt on Wednesday or Thursday next a por-
tion of our troops will leave Scutari to reap fresh
laurels, and it will be found most likely to consist of
Sir George Brown's division. A portion of Sir Do
Lacy Evans division, consisting of the 41st Regiment,
47th Regiment, and 49th Regiment, is in barracks,
and so are the 30th Regiment, which landed here
on Friday. I am given to understand that some of
these regiments are as yet unprovided with tents,
and cannot take the field till they come. In camp
around the barracks are the 7th Regiment, 19th
Regiment, 23d Regiment, 33d Regiment, 77th Regiment,
and 88th Regiment, forming the light division of the
Rifle brigade. The Duke of Cambridge's division, con-
sisting of the three battalions of Guards, the 93d, 79th,
and 42d Highlanders, is not yet complete, as the last two
regiments have not arrived ; but a transport is in sight
in tow of a steamer, which probably contains one or
ether of them. The artillery, which numbers 30 guns,
is stationed- under canvas about two miles from
Scutari. All the men continue healthy, though the
average of sickness is not so low as in the camp at
Gallipoli. However, it is still below the usual percent-
age, even of the healthiest camps in the best climates,
notwithstanding the indulgence in wine and spirits,
which continues to be immoderate. Great complaints
are made by the officers of the heavy postages to which
they are subjected. It seems very hard to charge 3s.
2d. for a letter from home, and yet I have seen several
of ordinary size and weight for which that sum was
paid.-- However, that is not so bad as ls. 7d. for a
newspaper. It is to be hoped the home authorities will
take some steps to obviate the complaints which arise
on--this score. There is no postmaster at Galli-
poß,ii•or any person to take care of our letters there.
We have had several horse-racessacut
taGrialblieptowlei,enanudapot.n
Saturday there was a loot-race at
Astly, of the Scotch Fusiliers Guards, and is private of

the 33d Regiment named Hickey, who had " challenged
the British army." The betting was stol on the cap-
tain, who took the race at his ease, and won quietly.
The other man never had a chance. ci icket had also
been established, and there is fair teason to believe that
several respectable Mussulmans have nearly lost their
senses in mental efforts to comprehend the game."