The Sun.
London, England, 1854-12-14 00:00:00

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fled in turning into ridicule the boastful htilletineof
Osten-Sacken, and which he has not imitated. You can
scarce have an idea in France of the delight of our
troopers when they put on their furs. They are as happy
as children in their first gala dress, as sailors when they
first put on boot. The poor fellows were previously ob-
liged to shelter themselves from the rain in the trenches
by wearing their blankets knotted about the neck in the
form of an inconven;ent cloak, and, when entering their
tents, to sleep with the same covering, saf urated as it was
with water. Now. at least, their beds will al ways be dry.
With the object of preventing any fresh surprise on the
part of the enemy, the shrubs and brushwood of the
sides of the valley have been cut away• Some days ago
some of our soldiers charged with that duty descended
to the bottom of the precipice, and heard groaning in
the fields inundated by the Teliernaya.. They informed
the officer that wounded men demanded succour. The
Captain immediately sent out a section of his company
on the search, in crder to avoid any surprise on the
part of the enemy, whose videttes were guarding the
banks of the river. Shocking to relate, they fond hid
among the grass, and half submerged, three wounded
Russians still living, and who had been abandoned by
their officers 13 days previously ;—they were bleeding,
maimed, and without any resource. One of them, who
was separated from the other, bad eaten the grass within
his reach, after having consumed all the black bread he
had in his haversack. The two others, more fortunate,
had succeeded in dragging themselves near five or six of
their dead comrades, whose provisions they made use of.
But, that supply exhausted, they also had begun to
eat the grass. With the most brutal obstinacy the Cos-
sacks, who were stationed on guard for a week before
near them, within reach of their voices, had refused to
succour them. As maimed soldiers they were no longer
in the eyes of their masters but as useless serfs, and only
fit to be left to die, as beasts no longer able to work.
Our soldiers took up these poor creatures and carried
them off. They gave them a little soup with a small
quantity of eau-de•vie. They then covered them up in
warm blankets and placed them near the fire, when they
recovered the use of their limbs. In the course of an
hour these half corpses, who wounds had already be-
gun to putrify, recovered their colour and a little of their
strength. Completely re-assured on the point of the
pagan barbarity which they were told was our charac-
teristic, they kissed the hands of our men. A Pole, be-
longing to the Foreign Legion,' who happened to be pre-
sent, asked some questions of the pqor men. They in-
formed him that their popes and their officers had as-
sured them that the pagan enemies of the Holy Church
of the Autocrat caused the Russian prisoners to be put
to the most frightful torture, and that such of the
children of the Czar as died in the sacred war would
mount straight to Paradise, unless they were in a state
of sin, and in which case they would be again born in
their own country."

CowsTANTINOPLE, Nov. 30.—Within the last few
days the hopes of the British in this city have revived,
and there is a disposition to believe that the present
year will see the successful termination of the great
enterprise which in difficulty and danger has transcended
all the expectations of the most experienced military
judges. That which has reassured us more than anything
is the news that large reinforcements are not only ordered
to the seat of war, but that they are actually on their
way, and that the next fortnight will probably see an
addition of 30,000 men to the forces of the Allies. It is
a great thing that the two nations are at last roused to a
sense of the magnitude of the war in which they are
engaged, and that the overweening self-confidence of the
London and Parisian publics have given way to a juster
estimate of the enemy's powers, both for aggression and
defence. For several months the people of England and
France had been accustomed to regard the Russian
troops as men who would not stand a conflict with any
enemy more powerful than Circassians and Tartars, and
it was believed that their officers were as much
wanting in skill as the men in courage. Although it is
true that the superior energy and bodily strength of the
British has on every occasion proved too much for the
enemy in the open field, there can be no doubt that the
Russians are endowed with an obstinacy and defensive
courage which equal those of any other army in Europe.
It seems that no idea is entertained of any serious attack
until the place is entirely invested, for, according to all
accounts, Sebastopol proper will be untenable unless
the forts on the northern side are also in the hands of
the Allies. That the place will fall before the end of the
year is hardly pi obable, but that thesteady perseverance
of the Allies will be crowned with success is certain, if
the two nations only put forth their strength. We shall
no doubt have to fight some more battles, on a larger
scale than either Alma or Inkerman, for the whole force
of the Russian empire will no doubt be directed against
us, and the fine army which has been concentrated in
Poland will probably he in the Crimea in another six
weeks. But with 120,000 men the allies be able to re-
pulse all attacks, and to carry on the siege with regu-
larity and filial assurance of success. Tile enterprise is
a great one, and it is a matter mot only of honour, but
of safety for France and England, to carry it on to a
prosperous conclusion. It is a kind of duel between the
Western Powers and their adversary ; the world
is looking on in silence and expectation, and now
that we are fairly engaged all counsels as to the raising
the siege and resting on the laurels of the Alma ought
to be discarded at once.
A letter has been addressed to the Ministers of the
Porte by Omer Pasha, complaining of the manner in
which his troops are neglected. It appears that the
army in the provinces, which has dose so much for
Turkey, which defended the line of the Danube for
half a year against the whole power of Russia, and which
has been brought to a great state of efficiency by the
genius of its commander, is now destitute of the com-
monest necessaries. That the soldiers have net re-
ceived their pay is comparatively a small matter, fur to
that they are accustomed, and no soldiers will more
easily forego the little luxuries which are requisite to
keep soldiers in good humour. The Turkish force in
Thessaly, during the past spring, was for weeks fed on
biscuit alone. Water was their only drink ; coffee and
tobacco they never saw, aid yet they did well, and went'
through the campaign without complaint. But the
army in the provinces is not only deprived of the com-
forts which ought to be provided for troops who have
borne such hardships, or for the purchase of which their
pay should be regularly given, but they are destitute of
necessaries which are required to support existence during
the present winter. Their clothes and mimes are worn
out, and so pains have been taken to supply them with
others. The provisions are bad in quality, and the
supply is small. No small mortality appears
to be taking place. The letter of Omer Pasha
is said to be a circular addressed to all the Minis-
ters, and it is to be hoped that immediate
attention will be paid to it. The army which has
faced the Russians in this war can hardly be re-
placed, and if it be ,allowed to suffer a diminution of
numbers the time may speedily come when the enemy
will be encouraged to resume offensive warfare. How
much this well-drilled force is superior to the common
run of Turkish troops may be learned from the differ-
ence between the conduct of the Ottoman forces at
Silistria and Balaklava. The present neglect is the
more censurable since the Turkish Government has
raised its loan, which ought to be applied in the first
place to the payment of its troops, and the preparation
for the winter, which is likely to set in with great
severity. The defence of the northern provinces from
future aggression may be considered as a duty to be
fulfilled by the Turkish army, for although Austria is
no doubt indisposed to the extension of Russian power
in Europe, we do not know how long the present feel-
ings will continue to inspire her Government. The con-
scription also has much exhausted the Mussulman po-
pulation, which is in a state of groat distress, and no
very great reinforcements can be expected to supply any
loss occasioned.
The Duke of Cambridge arrived here on Monday, by
the Trent, from the Crimea. His Royal Highness is
somewhat better, but is still far from having recovered
his health. He is at present' at Missirie's Hotel, with
his aides-decamp, Major Macdonald and Captain
Clifton.
Lord W. Paulet has arrived here as Commandant at
Scutari. Many improvements have taken place daring
the last month, in a great measure through the muni-
ficent subscription raised for the benefit of the wounded.
But the shortcomings are still very grievous, and it is
to be hoped that the arrival of a Commandant, with
authority to control all the departments of the hospital,
will be productive of beneficial changes. The Commis-
sion appointed to inquire into the working of the medi-
cal department began its sittings on the 28th. It is
rather late to inquire into the state of such affairs when
we are in the midst of a bloody campaign ; but if the
Commissioners discharge their duty with energy and
impartiality, much may be elicited which will be useful
in the future conduct of the war.
The Valeny, Ville de Paris, and Suffren have arrived
in the Bosphorus in the course of the last week, having
suffered much damage in the tempest of the 14th. The
Ville de de Paris was towed up to the arsenal on the 28th
by the Mogador steamer. In passing through the
opening in the floating bridge she struck against one of
the barges on which it is laid, and carried away a con-
siderable part of the construction. The bridge is, how-
ever, still available for traffic.
On Satsrday last 2,200 Egyptians arrived at Constan-
tinople, forming part of the new contingent to be fur-
nisher, by Said Pasha. They were reviewed the same
day by the Seraskier in the Great Court of the Sores-
kierate. The assistance rendered by the Viceroy to the
Sultan is a matter for rejoicing to all who desire the in-
tegritye of the empire. and the troops sent may be made t
very useful in defending the frontiers of the country
against any new incursion of the enemy ;
b tthowoud
perhaps be as well that no large number ofut
Otto-
mans should be sent up to the Crimea. These at Balak-
lava -
lava are dying in great numbers, and, though they have
done some service in bringing up guns and stores from
the harbour to the camp. they are not to be relied on to
face such troops as the Russians have and are likely to
have in the Crimea. The French and British armies
must rely on themselves alone for success in this stoutly-
contested campaign, and the presence of a large Dumber
of Eastern troops may probably only retard their move-
ments.
The Livorno arrived on the 27th with French troops.
In all about 9,000 French have arrived within the last
fortnight, and large numbers may be daily expected,

Generals Dulac and De Salles, with their divisions, are
looked for every day.
A return has been made of ' the number of inmates
of the French hospitals in the neighbourhood of Con- ,
stantinople. The mortality appears to have been very
small, compared with the number of cases brought
under medical treatment. Into the Hospital of the
Grands Champs there have been admitted, from the 12th
of July to the 22d of November, 4,232 sick or
wounded; out of these 352 havedied. At Dolma Baghtche
37 have died oat of 343 admitted since tie opening.
The French authorities have also opened an hospital at
Gul-Khaneh, near the Seraglio : in eight days 600 have
been admitted, and only five deaths have taken place.
At Rami-Tchifiik there have been 3,869 admissions, and
38 deaths ; at Kalindj6, there have been 400 admissions,
and 40 deaths.
The patients at the Grands Champs suffered much
from cholera a few months since, and this accounts for
the proportionably larger number of deaths ; but, on the
whole, the return is higl;ily creditable to the skill of the
French medical staff and the efficiency of their arrange.
ments.

THE BLACK SEA. FLEET.
Nov. 23.—The boats of the men-of-war have been
working for the last two days to get afloat the Lord
Raglan, one of the transports which went on shore the
other day ; they expect to be successful to-day. She
has still her foremast standing, and the injuries to her
hull seem to be but trifling.
Except a few of the crew of the Maltese bark, who
were shot by the Cossacks from the cliff, and a sailbr
killed in one of the boats Of the Queen, all the crews of
English transports, as far as I ara aware of, were saved,
but the crews of several of the French transports were
either drowned or killed by the Cossacks. Their bodies
are lying about unburied on the beach ; one of the
Queen's boats went. therefore, to bury them. The boat
has not yet returned.

The sailing two deckers Rodney, Vengeance, and
London will, I hear, lie in Razart's Bay, next to Ka-
miesh Bay ; but the London will first go down with the
three•deckers to Stamboul to have her rudder repaired.
The steamers will keep up the blockade as they do now.
The ether day, during the storm, one of the sunken
vessels in the entrance of Sebastopol was dislodged ; but
when the storm ceased another ship was stink in its place.
Nov. 27.—The late storms have
,proved the danger of
keeping the fleet in its present anchorage, and some ar-
rangements have been made to keep up the blockade of
the harbour of Sebastopol without risking the safety of
the squadron.
It has been determined, I hear, to send the three.
deckers down to Constantinople, the sailing twcodeckers
to Kazart's Bay (with a boom across the entrance), while
the steam, squadron will maintain the actual blockade.
In consequence of this, the roadsted of the Kutch&
has been the rendezvous of a great number of steamers
within the last few days. The Algiers, Agamemnon,
Spiteful, and Retribution ran in and took up their places
alongside the Terrible, Furious, Fury, Stromboli, and
Firebrand, giving more animation to the anchorage, de-
serted by the.tFreali and Turkish vessels.
The Britannia, Trafalgar, and Queen were busy daring
the whole of last week in sending all the provisions they
could spare on beard the Algiers, Firebrand, &c. The
),boats of the Algiers and Queen were further employed
takings number of lower-deck guns from the Britannia
and the Trafalgar to the Stromboli and Firebrand, to be
conveyed to Balaklava, and disembarked there for the
service of the batteries. They are mostly long 32-
pounders, in all 28, 14 of which the Queen's boats took
from the Britannia to the Stromboli, while the other 14
were taken by the boat of the Algiers from the Trafalgar
to the Firebrand. A great quantity of powder and shot
was sent with these guns.
When the Britannia is going the Admiral will hoist
his flag on board the Furious, Captain Loring.
This morning the Valorous, the Australian, and the
Mauritius, towing a small brig, came in, all with troops,
the first two having on board English, and the third
French troops. They have all gone down to Kamiesla
Bay to disembark.
The Simla, with three other steamers and four tran-
sports, is ordered to Bourgas to bring up four Turkish
regiments. The Simla has just disembarked 300 horses
and men of the 9th Regiment of French Dragoons.
The Lord Raglan has got off; and has been towed
down to Kamiesh Bay.

The weather is still as uncertain as ever. Nearly every
night a second anchor is let out to be weighed in the
morning. The barges and the launches, every day re-
quired to carry stores, guns, powder, &c., from one
vessel to the other, are hauled out of water every
evening. Very often, even during the day, the
swell is so heavy that all labour with the !!bats is
suspended.

Hitherto the wind has been southerly ; since yesterday
veered to the north.

Among the new arrivals is the gun-boat the
Wrangler, which arrived three days ago from Con-
stantinople.

THE LATE GALE IN THE BLACK SBA

The following is a list of the steam and sailing tran-
sports lost, &c., in the Black Sea during the gale of the
14th of November :

Off Balaklava—No. 107, the Prince (screw steamer),
totally lost—one midshipman and seven men saved; No.
5, Resolute (ship), totally lost—magazine ship ; No. 40,
Kenilworth (shin), totally lost—empty horse-transport;
No. 63, Wild Wave (ship), totally lost—one man saved ;
No. 82, Rip Van Winkle (ship), totally lost—empty
horse transport.
Off the Katcha*—No. 1. the Pyrenees, (ship), wrecked
—empty horse-transport; No. 20, Ganges (ship) wrecked
—empty horse-transport ; No. 37, Rodiley (ship),
wrecked—empty horse-transport ; No. 89, Lord Raglan,
(ship), wrecked—empty horse-transport.
Off Eupatorie—No. 3, her Majesty (ship), wrecked
—empty horse transport; No. 53, Asia (ship), wrecked
—empty horse transport ; No. 55, Glendalongh (ship),
wrecked—empty horse-transport ; No. 61, Harbinger
(ship), wrecked—empty horse-transport ; No. 81, Geor-
gians (ship), wrecked—empty horse-transport.
* Crews reported to have been saved from these ships.
Other Wrecks and Casualties at Balaklava—No. 73,
the Melbourne (steam-ship), lost her fore and mainmast ;
No. 2, Mercia (ship), dismasted ; No. 18, Lady Valiant
(ship), dismasted ; No. 19, Caduceus (ship), dismasted ;
No. 21, Pride of the Ocean (ship), dismasted ; No. 45,
Meolora (ship), dismasted ; No. 88, Sir R. Sale (ship),
dismasted ; Progress (barque), totally lost—a commis-
sariat hired ship, with hay and barley ; Wanderer
(barque), totally lost—ditto with oats ; Peltona (barque),
totally lost—ditto with biscuit ; Maltese merchant brig
totally lost.
The estimated loss of life in the crews at Balaklava is
about 300 is number.

The shipping and steamers at Balaklave have suffered
considerably from collision.
LIVERPOOL, Dec. 12.—The following letter' in refer-
ence to the storm of the 14th ult. in the Black Sea, was
received here to-day, and posted in the Underwriters'.
rooms. It is from the captain of one of the transports,
and gives a graphic account of the disaster :

"Crimea, Nov. 17.—We had a most singular and
narrow escape in the gale of the 14th, which occasioned
such fearful disasters aitoig the men-of-war and the
transports, and yet these casualties are nothing more
than what we have expected, for all the captain■ of the
transports have remonstrated against lying in such dan-
gerous anchorage during the winter on such an iron-
, bound coast ; yet no precautions whatever have hem
taken by the authorities to guard against snoh fear•

ful losses.
"On Sunday last we had a hard gale from the south,
which the ship rode out very well, and on Tuesday the
barometer indicated another, and I gave the ship more
chain and made all snug.
" At 9 a sea rose se fast, and the weather looked so
bad, that I ordered the masts to be cut away, and in five
minutes they were all over the side. The wind then
came on in such terrific gusts that I was blown off the
forecastle, when I was watching the chain and hawser
pipes with an anxious eye. After the masts were gone,
she pitched and rolled fearfully. The other vessels also
cut away their masts, and were thus saved.
" Saving now done all in my power, I was enabled to
cablesytof at
wind,n do tried
and
got
others.otot
look on and see tohstelispmtpeeeadlmahnhceheracross
totuo
sea. The
stea
meSrhVe ceosuuvldiuns
our bows, and did us considerable damage.
"About 10 the Prince steamer
and in one minute not a vestige of her was to be seen. •
Then followed the ships -close around me. The Wan-
derer, Progress, Resolute, and Kenilworth struck, and
not one lasted five minutes ; by this time we had driven
into the breakers, and every moment I expected the ship
to go to pieces. The Wild Wave was then riding close
to us, about half a cable's length from the rocks. About
3 p.m. she made a start, and in less time than I can
write she disappeared, and we were instantly floating in
a sea of casks and barrels. I certainly then thought it
was our turn, but Providence ordered it otherwise. The
storm after that moderated a little, and the life-boat came
out. I ordered 15 of my crew to leave, intending with
the remainder to stay oil- board all night,l but the sea
was so high they could not get into the boat. The baro-
meter was then ri•sing, ' and I had strong hopes that the
weather would moderate. I found the anchors coming
home all night. At daylight we were close on, but it
was moderate, with a heavy sea. The land. then was
b ve our
sawedhead, 700 feet high, and quite perpen-
nearly a o
dicular. I never
my life.
"The reason ships drive so when close in shore is that
a cable's length and a-half from shore is all foul ground,
and the moment anchors get out of the mud the vessels
go on shore.
" Soon after daylight I communicated with the shore,
and we were towed in, though not without
great risk,
for the hawsers broke three times.
" Besides the damage to the ships, there has been
_
into
great destruction among the Government stores—bread
beef, pork, stationery, &c., all rolled • mass of
a mass of
dirt."

CANADA.—The last advices from Canada describe in
strong terms the fatal effects of the usury laws in that
province. The legal rate of interest thus is limited to
6 per cent., and the consequence is, that while money
can be lent on good security in the United States, Owing
to the commercial pressure, at from 10 to 15 per cent.,
every available sum is attracted out of the colony, and
its regular trade is crippled and its character damaged
by heavy failures. The number of suspensions lately
has been very large, and the difficulty of procuring bills
or Eu;,land has become so great, in consequence of the
banks having been diverted from their regular exchange
operations, that houses even of means and respectability
are tempted to delay remittances, and thus to disappoint
their English correspondents in a way that is likely to
\
lead our merchants to adopt the precaution of rapidly
contracting the credits they have hitherto granted. As
there is no bankruptcy law in Canada, the necessity is
i increased for taking early warning from such irregular'.
I ties as Ray manifest themselves.