The Sun.
London, England, 1854-12-04 00:00:00

HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE.

at the
sLiUttlilnLgE
Mr. Unthank, • ed
a rule to show cause why the proceedings in error t tliia
sittings of Court, obt. Ito
case should not be quashed, on the- ground that ther di
not come within the operation of the Common
vi Procedure Act, as the act did not take a retrospect iv-
ew. This was an action of ejectment to recover I )°9;
session of her Majesty's Theatre. A verdict was gm "
for the plaintiff' and judgment had been obtained, out
defendant had set the plaintiff at defiance, and .-a
tamed possession of the theatre. A special case • it'be
been agreed to between the parties for the opinion of ",ea
Court of Que,m's Bench, but the court had decit
against the defendant, and it having been agreed ti bno error should be brought, the defendant had, contra.
to that agreenient, brought a writ of error, and
rnitted that he had a right to do so under the Contray.„,
Law Procedure Act, which enacted that proceed/ °=
in error might, be brought in special cases as well Etis
special verdicts, Et
Mr. Hogging :and Mr. Wise, in showing cause again
Il
the rule, submit ted that the act was applicable te!iiio
causes pending at the time it came into force---ilia
the act was ret;eospective, and that although the sPec,,,,,
case had been a greed to previous to the passing of rot
act, yet the ca,r Lee had not been decided and judges
!
pronounced upon it until after the passing of the act
'be
court w ere of opinion that the plaintiff haVve
thought error ,:ould have been brought would not ,s,„,f
agreed to a spt case, which was for the purpa yob.
obtaining the et anion of the Court of Queen's Ben „t,
This case dill r sot come within the provisions of tho.eter
therefore the r tale for quashing the proceedings in r`
must be absoli rte.

Rule accord' Tangly.

...esee.••••••arre.....ide
,11110'
EXPLOSION OF FIREDAMP AT SILXEITONE.—An
sion of fireda osp took place at the Moor-end Collie,ia,
the property of Mrs. Clarke, on Wednesday last, lea,
two persons, named William Holylwad and James -`,OA
der, were sevc met y burnt. It appea':s that the roof Poly
been falling in,. sr hich caused the for d air to come in %en
tact with the naked candles used 1 by the men W
working, and tiA' us caused the ex lesion.

FURTHER PARTICULARS.
Nov. B.—ln my despatch forwarded to-day from Bala-
klava I attempted to counect the interval which had elapsed
since the last post day, Nov. 3, with the present date, but
the great battle and victory of Inkerman rose up grimly in
the middle of my notes, and engrossed all my time, and
would have consumed far more if I had had it to spare,
for I could have devoted many hours more to the descrip-
tion of the fight, and to the incidents which marked
that memorable sth of November., I sent off my notes
of the 3d and 4th unfinished as th y were; and
persons far more favourably situated than myself
for the indulgence of literary tastes might have found it
difficult to give any details of the day of Inkerman in a
coherent form. I was stopped full swing in the middle of
my despatch by the departure of the post, and had to close
it up in great haste to save the mail.
The battle was at its height about eight o'clock, and by
that time the Russians had partially established them-
selves on the heights on our right. Dr. Smith of the
head-quarters staff, and two gentlemen who had ridden
out with him towards the front, ignorant of the exact
position of the enemy, got under fire in the fog, and
the proximity of fragments of shell, the whirring of shot,
and the " fiz-z-zinc," of fusses, warned them that it was
just as well for non-combatants to retire as rapidly as pos-
sible towards the valley of Balaklava, where all seemed to
be quiet. As they cantered off they saw poor Sir George
Brown, who has been living in a blaze of fire since he came
out here (for not onlyhas he been in the heatof action, but he
has received smart volleys from our own pickets), borne
back on a litter, and taken down and put on board the
Sanspareil, after Dr. Alexander had examined his
wound. Men covered with blood and spitting it out came
limping along, and sat down by the bushes, examining,
their hurts, and imploring water or a little brandy. Am-
bulances hovered on the plain in the rear around the scene
of the fight ; horses on three legs or cut by balls hopped
along, looking piteously for help ; the fog folded the hills
in its clammy embrace, but the roar of cannon and mus-
ketry told of the struggle that was going on along those
bloody heights. General Canrobert, with a brilliant staff,
attended by the English officers attached to the French
head-quarters, and followed by a party of red-coated Hus-
sars and wild Spahis, with a tricolour guidon borne in
front of him, dashed past on his Arab in eager pursuit of
Lord Raglan through the haze of the morning. Forty-
five is a capital age for a General, the juste milieu between
manhood and old age ; and the General is so much among
his soldiers, and exposes himself so frequently while among
them in the trenches and in the field, that they all adore
him. To-day he was hit by a shot, and had his horse dis-
abled. Many of his escort were killed or wounded. Gene-
ral Bosquet also went into the thick of the fire, and left
more than half of his escort behind him on the field.
The French were drawn up in three bodies of about
2,000 men each on the ridge of the hills over Balaklava,,
watching the movements of the Russian cavalry in the
plain below. As I came up the enemy were visible, drawn
out in six divisions, with the artillery and infantry ready
to act, and horses saddled and bridled. It was evident
they were waiting for the signal to dash up the hills in
our rear, and sabre our flying regiments. They had a long
time to wait ! The French lines below us were lined by
Zouaves ; the gunners in the redoubts, with matches
lighted, were prepared to send their iron messengers
through the ranks of the horse the moment they came
within range. Behind the French 5,000 " Bono Johnnies"
were drawn up in columns as a reserve, and several Turk-
ish regiments were also stationed under the heights on the
right, in a position to act in support should their ser-
vices be required. Already the French were on their
march from the sea to our assistance, and the black lines
of their regiments streaked the gray plain as they marched
double-quick towards the scene of action. The Chasseurs
d'Afrique on their gray Arabs swept about the slopes of
the hill to watch an opportunity for a dash. Our own
cavalry were drawn up by their encampments, the Heavy
Brigade on the left, the Light Brigade in the centre of our
position. The latter were out of for some time, but
an advance to the right exposed them to shot and hell.
Mr. Cleveland received a mortal wound, and several men
and horses were injured later in the day. The heavy
cavalry were employed in protecting our left and rear. At
9 the French streamed over the brow of the hill on our
right—Chasseurs d'Orleans, Tiralleurs, Indigenes, Zouaves,
Infantry of the Line, and Artillery—and at once rushed
over the brow and dell on the flank of the Russian columns.
On visiting the spot, it was curious to observe how men of
all arms—English, French, and Russians—lay together,
showing that the same ground must have been occupied
several times by different bodies of troops. The French
were speedily engaged, for the Russian. had plenty of men
for all corners. Their reserves in the valley and along the
.toad to Sebastopol received the shattered columns which
were driven down the hill, allowed them to re-form and
attack again, or furnished fresh regiments to assault the
Allies again and again. This reserve seems to have con-
sisted of three large bodies—probably of 5,000 men each.
The attacking force could not have been less than 20,000
men, and I make a very low estimate indeed of the strength
of the Russians to-day when I place it at fr0m,45,000 to
o 50,000 men of all arms. Some say there were from 55,000
'dike 60,000 men engaged on the side of the enemy ; but I
think that number excessive, and there certainly was
not ground enough for them to show front upon. Cap-
tain Burnett states that he saw fresh bodies of Rus-
sians marching up to the attack on three successiv e
occasions, and that their artillery was relieved no less
than four times. The Minie rifle did our work, and
Lord Hardinge is entitled to the best thanks of the
country for his perseverance in arming this expedition as
far as he could with every rifle that could be got, notwith-
standing the dislike with which the weapon was received
by many experienced soldiers. Our volleys told on the
advancing bodies of Russians fearfully, and, in order to he
out of scope of such terrible weapons, they rushed on us
with the bayonet, and after long and desperate encoun-
ters met their masters and were forced to retire.
The column of attack on the Russian right, which came
up on our position at the nearest point to Sebastopol, was
mainly resisted by the Fourth Division and Marines. The
.Russian centre was principally resisted by the Second
Division and the Light Division ; and some of the Third
Division and the Brigade of Guards were opposed to the
third or left attacking column of the Russians, which
forced its way up the hill towards the Sand-bag Battery,
at the furthest point irom Inkerman. The Fourth Divi-
sion had in a short time all its Generals—Sir George
Cathcart and Brigadiers Goldie and Torrens—killed or
mortally wounded, and 700 men, or more than one quar-
ter of its strength, put hors de combat. Colonel Swyny,
of 63d Regiment, and Major Wynne, of the 68th, were
killed early. Colonel Crofton was wounded in three places;
Major Sharpe was badly wounded also, and Lieutenant
Dowling was killed. The 20th Regiment, to which these
officers belonged, went into action 490 strong ; it came out
362. The other regiments suffered in proportion. The
Second Division had left when it came out of action ex-
actly six field-officers and 12 captains fit for duty, and I
believe Major Ferrer, of the 47th Regiment, was the senior
officer, and had to take charge of the division. The pro-
per complement of captains to the division would, of
course, be 60.
The greatest atrocity marked the conduct of the Rus-
sians towards the officers of Adams's Brigade who fell into
their hands. Poor Colonel Carpenter, as he lay on the
ground badly wounded, was bayonetted by a ruffian who,
not content with that act of ferocity, clubbed musket, and
beat the gray-haired man with it on the head till he left
him senseless. The Colonel lived but a few hours after
he was taken to his tent. Colonel Haly, of the 47th, was
treated in the same way, as he was stretched in his blood
in front of his shattered regiment. The men on both oc-
casions rushed in and carried off their officers and bayo-
matted the Russians who had used them so barbarously.
'Major Powell, who was in command of the 40th, was
killed as he fell to the earth, and his murderer, who is an
officer, is in our hands a prisoner of war. The First Bri-
gade suffered fearfully also in men and officers.
The Light Division, or the portion of it in action, was,
as usual foremost in the fray. Some of the officers had
most wonderful escapes. In the 88th Regiment Major
Maxwell's horse was shot under him, in front of the
enemy's column. Lieutenant Crosse and Lieutenant Baynes
were surrounded by a body of Russians, who attacked
them with the bayonet, although they were both wounded.
Mr. Baynes miraculously escaped. Mr. Crosse was sur-
rounded by four Russians, who thought to make sure work
of him. ' He shot the two in front of him with his re-
volver, and a private named Houlaghan rushed out of the
ranks, shot one of his remaining assailants dead, bayonetted
the other, and taking up Mr. Crosse in his arms, ran hack
with him to the rear of the regiment and placed him in
safety. Out of four weak companies the 88th lost 140 men
killed and wounded, and they would most likely have been
cut to pieces but for the gallant charge of a party of their
comrades of the 77th, under Major Straton. The 33d
Regiment lost 58 out of less than 300 men. Ensign
Thorold, a most promising young officer, was killed as he
was zealously employed in serving the men with cartridges
from the pouches, and Lieutenant Corbett and Mr. Owens
were wounded.
Mr. Donovan, brother of Captain Donovan of this regi-
ment, who was attached to the 33d at the battle of the
Alma, where he displayed great gallantry, has received his
commission from her Majesty for his behaviour in the
field. Lieutenants Butler and Shipley and Ensign Jones,
of the Fusileers, were wounded at once. Colonel Yea,
Captain Rose, and one other officer, whose name I don't
remember, are the only officers now serving with the 7th
Fusileers, who were at the Alma and at Inkerman with
the regiment. Sir T. Troubridge lost both legs above the
ankle. He is doing well. The men of the 19th and 23d
Regiment displayed more even than their usual firmness
and daring, and met their full share of the enemy's fire,
but many of the Light Division of this brigade were in the
trenches. The 2d battalion of Rifles has to deplore the
loss of an excellent young officer, who was a universal
favourite—poor young Malcolm, and Captain Nowdigate
was wounded in the foot by a ball.
Sir Do Lacy Evans, who was very unwell on board ship
when the fight began, managed to get on shore and ride up
to the front, and I saw him on the battle field full of grief
for the loss' he had sustained in his division. Captain
Allix, one of the General's aides-de-camp, was killed ; Cap-
tain Gubbins, another aide-de-camp, was wounded ; Bri-
gadier Pennefather had a narrow escape, and Brigadier
Adams was slightly wounded ; and there lay the spot the
weakness of which the General had so often represented !
It was enough to make one sad.
Poor Butler ! Two brothers have thus laid down their
lives in the cause. He was shot through the head, and
when I saw his body there was a placid smile on his face,
as though he slept. For a long time it was thought that
Captain Gordon, of the Engineers, had fallen, and Captain
Butler's body had actually been removed to that officer's
tent before the mistake was discovered. It was in the
height of the sanguinary struggle which the Guards had
to maintain alone with the enemy that he was shot. The
brigade lost 14 officers, but the wonder is that any escaped
the murderous fire directed on their position. The carnage
at the Alma did not present anything like the scene round
the Sand-hag Battery, which is placed on a steep descent
towards the Tchernaya. The piles of dead here were
frightful. Upwards of 1,200 dead and dying Russians
lay behind and around and in front of it. and many
a bearskin cap and tall English Grenadier lay there
• too, with frequent csrpses of French Chasseur and
infantry soldier. At one time, while the Duke was
rallying his men, a body of Russians began to single him
out, and to take shots at him in the most deliberate man-
ner. A surgeon of a cavalry regiment, Mr. Wilson, 7th
Hussars, who was attached to the brigade, perceived the
danger of his Royal Highness, and with the greatest gal-
lantry and coolness assembled a few men of the Guards,
led them to the charge, and utterly routed and dispersed
the Russians. The Duke's horse was killed in the course
of the fight. At the close of the day he called Mr. Wil-
son in front of the regiment, and publicly thanked him for
having in all probability saved his life. Major Macdonald,
whose sang froid is as conspicuous as his bravery, had his
horse shot under him in the heat of the battle, and
gathered himself up with the same self-possession that he
displayed under similar circumstances when unseated by a
cannon shot at the Alma. The conduct of the Russians
towards the wounded Guards' officers was brutal in the
extreme. Colonel Mackinnon would, no doubt, have lived
but for bayonet wounds received while lying on the ground.