The Sun.
London, England, 1856-09-11 00:00:00

LAND TRANSPORT CORPS.

Last night the third aggregate meeting of the non•
commissioned officers and men of the above corps
was held at the Central Committee-house, the Eight
Bells, Ironmonger-row, St. Luke's, for the purpose of
forwarding the movement which has been commenced
for obtaining a satisfactory recognition of theirjust claims
by the Government. Mr. Serjeant Reardon in the
c.lair.

The room was densely crowded.
The CHAIRMAN, in opening the business, said he was
very proud to see such a numerous meeting, which was
indicative of future success. They only sought to ob-
tain what they had fairly and justly earned ; and he
would ask them, were they content to pursue the object
—(cries of "Yes, yes")—or to be made the scapegoat of
the Government. (No, no.) They had been treated in
the Crimea as soldiers, for unfortunately some of them
bad received the lash. Therefore if they were soldiers,
and the Government bad used them as long as they
wanted them, and now wanted them no longer, they
were at any rate entitled to a soldier's discharge. Reso-
lutions would be proposed in reference to their discharge,
their gratuity, and clothing. in reference to their
clothing, lie would a,k them if they ever before beard of
a soldier heir g charged U. for a pair of trousere,, for
they well know that the highest price ever charged to a
soldier in the line was 12-3. 4d. Then they were
charged 9s. 4d. for a pair of shoes which could be pur-
chased anywhere in London for 4s. 6d. They had been
most hardly treated ; for while the German Legion had
been well cared for, those me❑ who had left their situa-
tions and broken up their homes to go out to the Crimea
in the service of their country, had been altogether ne-
glected. He did not know where the fault rested—
whether it was with Lord Panmure or those under him,
but the claims of the men had not been settled, ner had
they received any compensation for clothing, to which
they were justly entitled. He hoped they would all
unite together to obtain an acknowledgment of their
rights.
Several resolutions were then put and carried, much
to the same purport as those already reported in this
journal in the proceedings of a former meeting, to the
effect that they required a proper and legal discharge,
compensation for clothing, and a gratuity of three
months' pay.
After several speeches bad been made, stating the
hardships the Land Transports Corps had ungergone,
thanks were voted to the Chairman, and the meeting
was dissolved.

TESTIMONIAL TO Mn. WADDINGTON, M.P.—We
understand that it is intended to present a testimonial
to Mr. Waddington on the occasion of his resigning the
post of chairman to the Eastern Counties Railway Com-
pany. A circular has been issued amongst the com-
pany's servant,, signed by the assistant superintendent
of the line, and from the hearty response which the pro-
ject haq already met with, we augur well for its success.
we trust, however, that the contributions will not be
limited to the officers and staff of the company, but that
a wider range will be given fur subscriptions from those
numerous friends of the late chairman who are uncoil-
sectocl with the ralwe,y,

On the Gth inst. the fortress of Kars was re-
stored by the Russians to the Turks, and, as this
event derives special interest and importance from
being the closing scene of the war, some account of
it beyond the dry official report will perhaps be ac-
ceptable to the public.
I should observe that the Gth had been fixed for
the occasion some time previously at a personal
conference between the Mushir Ismail Pasha and
Colonel Lorismelikoff, Governor and Commandant
of Kars, who to do the greater honour to his late
enemy repaired himself with a brilliant staff to
Erzerouin for the purpose, whence he returned to
Kars on the 2d inst.
On the 3d he was followed by three British
officers—viz., Major Peel, Major Fraser, and Mr.
Evans, 9th Lancers, who came as the representa-
tives of the country and army to which they be-
long. It was my good fortune to be joined with
them in this interesting duty, and, hilving taken
an active part with them in the whole proceeding,
all the particulars here narrated came within range
of my own observation.
On reporting our arrival to the Governor, every
attention was immediately shown that respect and
hospitality could suggest ; General Boutiloff in-
sisted upon giving up his room for our accommo-
dation ; we were pressingly invited to dine with
the Governor every day during our stay ; horses
were placed at our disposal, and a Cossack escort
told off to attend upon us.
These civilities, which policy, if not a better mo-
tive, would have dictated, were perhaps, in some
measure intended to repay the friendly reception
which Lorismelikoff andsuite experii3nceu from the
officers of the British staff on the occasion of his re-
cent visit to Erzeroum. But I would not attach
much value to this remark, for since the establish-
ment of peace the meeting of British and Russia
officers in these parts has in every instance been
characterised by feelings worthy of gallant gentle-
men and soldiers.

On the 4th we visited the scene of the bloody
fight of the 29th of Sept., being accompanied by a
Cossack officer, who was engaged in that memor-
able struggle. His account of the whole affair was
clear and circumstantial ; he related every inci-
dent, and pointed out every spot of special inte-
rest ; and it was impossible not to admire the com-
posure—.l may say the stoicism—with which he
thus detailed for our information the particulars
of as signal a defeat as his countrymen sustained
throughout the war.
The ridiculous will always tread upon the sub-
lime ; the absurd will not be scared even from a
battle-field. Hero it attached itself to the person
of one of our party—a robust John Bull, who, got
up in his best staff uniform, was obliged by some
whimsical chance to ride in a Cossack saddle on a

litlo ragged restiff horse ; nothing but his innate
horsemanship enabled him to hold on with his knees
doubled up at angle of 45 deg. Such an exhibition
would prove irresistible at Astley's, still it failed to
disturb the gravity of our solemn Mentor.
On the sth wo dined at the Russian camp with
Gen. Kruloff, who invited a largo party of his
friends to meet us ; toasts were the order of the
day, and Gen. Williams's health was drunk three
times three with enthusiastic cheers, in which the
troops, -who had gathered in forco round the tent,
joined to the full stretch of their voices. _

After dinner, which was over at three o'clock,
there was a parade for all hands. We had au op-
portunity of witnessing some beautiful Cossack
drill, and then went down the ranks of the infantry.
In stature the men were below the average height,
but they were well appointed and drilled. The
Russian camp, I should observe, is about four
miles from Kars, on the road to Guinri, and com-
prises about 5,000 men all all arms.
At an early hour on the Gth we started with our
Cossack escort to meet the Turkish troops, who
were marching in under the command of Hus-
sein Pasha. They consisted of two battalions
of infantry, two companies of Chasseurs, one
troop of Lancers, and two guns—the force which,
until further orders, is to constitute the gar-
rison of Kars, joining them a few miles from the
town, we accompanied them for the remainder Of
their march in, and tell it not in Gatti, ou
the way Hussein Pasha was glad to learn
a few hints as to the manner in which he was to
act his part. Approaching the fortress we found
the Russian infantry, under Lorismelikoff, formed
in line to receive us, outside the works, on the
Erzeroum-road. At the distance of aboutlOyards
from them the Turkish column halted, and de-
ployed into line, parallel to and facing the Russians.
General salutes were exchanged, after which the

lines broke into contiguous columns of sections,
and marched side by side into the fortress. The
Turkish flag was hoisted on the citadel, salutes
were fired, the Russian guard and sentries were
relieved by Turks, and the old fortress was once
more in possession of its former owners. There was
no cheering, no expression of popular feeling ; but
the whole affair was as inanimate and formal as can
well be conceived.

During the short time the Russian and Turkish
troops were drawn up face to face we- were struck
with the superior personnel of the latter; in every
other respect the advantage was with the former.
At 9.a.m. on the following morning the Mushir
arrived ; either personal feeling or national eti-
quette forbade his entering the fortress until it had
been evacuated by the Russians ; he rode without
any display into the town, and retired at once to
the quarters which had been provided for his re-
cept►on. We wont out several miles to meet him,
accompanied by our band of faithful Cossacks, who,
plain as they were in dress and appointments, con-
trasted most favourably as soldiers with the gaudy
troop of Baski-13azouks that escorted his Excellency.
We all met by appointment, cit grande tenue, at
three o'clock, the Mushir accompanied by a host of
Turkish officers, and Lorismelikoff with all his
staff, each party being attended by a mounted
escort. Filing through the narrow streets, we pro-
ceeded to the Russian camp, where a grand review
had been ordered in honour of the Mushir. On
clearing the heights of Karadagh we were met by
General Kruloff and staff. Between the two chiefs
there was no lack of outward cordiality, and on
taking their place in front they headed the pro-
cession the rest of the way.
All along the road the Cossacks and Bashi-Ba-
zouks kept up a constant succession of mock skir-
mishes and single combats,
.in which each party
made the best display of his peculiar tactics. The
superior adroitness of the Cossack was, however,
conspicuous, both in horsemanship and the use of
his weapons. Some of their feats were astonishing.
Just fancy a man, when closely pursued by his
adversary, at full speed, disappearing over his
horse's side, and, holding on by the heel, leaving
nothing but the sole of a buskin as' a mark ! His
wily little horse, thoroughly trained to all these
manoeuvres, or rather seeming to exercise an inde-
pendent intelligence of its own, carries him safely
out of harm's way, and soon after he reappears on
the offensive when and where least expected.
These skirmishes threatening more than once to
exceed the limits of mere display, it was deemed
advisable to recall the parties to the ranks.
An hour's riding brought us to the camp where
we found the whole Russian force paraded in
marching order. The Mushir was received with a
general salute and rounds of cheers (not exactly
the British cheer), after which, breaking into open
columns, the troops marched past—the infantry in
slow time, the Cossacks at the gallop. And here
again these astonishing horsemen treated us to
some specimens of their India-rubber performances.
While at full speed some would spring from the
stirrups to a standing position in the saddle-tree,
others would bend down out of sight ; they writhed
and twisted about, backwards, forwards, and side-
ways, after a fashion that, I think, would astonish
your stately giant at the Horse Guards, while, at
the same time, they rent the air with yells and

screams of most unearthly discoid. May- the for,
tune of war defend me from such enemies !

The review over, we proceeded to the tent of
General Kruloff, where a magnificent banquet was
ready spread, and we spent the remainder of the
day and a great part of the night too in a course of
feasting and drinking which, perhaps, it would be
as well not to describe too minutely. It was a day
of festivity for all. As long as there was light the
soldiers engage' in coarse comedies, one personat-
ing to admiration the character of a lady of the
camp. When darkness set in these amusements
wore succeeded by fireworks.
Within the tent all was good fellowship. Cham-
pagne flowed without stint: Healthy were drunk
with uproarious applause, the Sultan, our Queen,
Napoleon, the Emperor, Mouraveiff, Williams,
&c. ; and at last the fraternisttion was carried to
such a degree of warmth that it could be expressed
only by embraces. My English friends were the '
special objects of these caresses ; and it was emus-
-1 ing to witness the fervour with which these men of
broad shoulders and bearded faces were hugged
and kissed .by our loving friends.
li
We slept that night at the camp, in the tent of
a general officer which had been kindly vacated for

BIARRITZ, &Pr. 7.
The Emperor and Empress, accompanied by a
few attendants, visited on Friday the picturesque
_ valley of Cambo, which is situate at the entrance
of the Pyrenees. and is distant about three hours
from Bayonne. The road to this halting-place in
the Basque country is by Marrac and Ustarits.
The chateau of Marrac is now a ruin, but it has
lost nothing of its historic interest. It was under
againstafStepraihnimselft, xri•
was
es
rteh ecr eh
atrhl
east Lye r
he ai
its roof that Napoleon I. began to execute his pro-
: jpeacl t s
actors,
t
political drama was performed in which the princi-
' Queen Maria Louisa, her raratnour Manual Godey,
and their unworthy son, the Prince of the Astu-
rias, afterwards Ferdinand VII. It was there
that Joseph Bonaparte received the fatal gift of
• the Crown of Spain and the Indies ; and it was
from those gates that the "Royal Wittol" and his
depraved Queen departed for Compiegne, with such
consolation as a yearly allowance of 30,000,000 of
reals could afford, and their unnatural son was
sent to Valeneay with 1,000,000 f., as the price of
his dishonour. And, filially, it was there that
Napoleon himself prepared the invasion of Spain
by his armies, and which before long he had reason
to regret bitterly. The present occupant of the Im-
perial throne of France must, as he passed before
it, have regarded with curiosity a monument so
suggestive of instruction and of warning ; and the
sight of those decayed walls and that deserted do-
main may have confirmed him in the resolution he
has more than once expressed of not repeating the
faults committed by his uncle, whatever errors he
himself may fall into. The chateau of Marrac was
a suburban residence, in an agreeable situation, and
with grounds well wooded and sloping down to the
banks of the Nive. It had no other celebrity than
what the residence of its Imperial tenant gave it.
But it did not long survive that honour. Its de-
struction by fire soon after Napoleon quitted it
seemed like the prelude of the conflagration which
broke out in Spain when_ the uneonquaratle spirit
of her people was stirrel up against the invader ;
and it foreshadowed the desolation in which his
ronderful career was doomed to close. Should the
demon of conquest ever tempt the Sovereign of
France, a glance at the blackened ruins of Macrae
might serve as a lesson and a warning.
Cambo is the Biarritz of the mountain. It affords
during the spring and autumn seasons the plea-
sure and the benefit which are to be found at Biar-
ritz during the summer months. Its mineral waters,
ferruginous and sulphurous, issue from beneath
wooded rocks ; and the numerous votive offerings
suspended to the roof of its church are a pious tes-
timony to their salutary power. The air of i••.;s val-
ley is soft and genial, and it attracts the visitor the
moment the irst rays of the sun have tempered the
rigour of winter. Upper Cambo stands on a lofty
terrace, at the foot of which spreads out the valley
in a circular form, bounded on the opposite side by
an amphitheatre of verdant heights rising in grace-
ful lines behind each other ; while the surface of
the ground itself, level as a bowling-green, is
covered with meadows and fields of Indian corn,
through which the silvery waters of the Nile wind
along. The old village of Lower Cambo lies; at the
opposite extremity, but is almost concealed from
view in the shadow of a wooded eminence. A few
detached houses appear here and there on the mea-
dows close to the bank of the stream, half con-
coaled by a curtain of willows and poplars, or rising
on the summit and declivities of the hills, amid
thick foliage. The small church stands outside the
village, in the centre of what seems, at a distance,
to be a garden covered with flowers, but which is
the public cemetery, called in the dialect of the
country Ilherri, or the region of the dead. It is
customary with the Basque population to visit
Catubo, as well as Biarritz, once in the year, and
with a certain degree of solemnity. It is on the eve
of St. John that the incursion takes place, and
crowds of pilgrims flock from valley and mountain to
its waters. The pilgrimage lasts 24 hours ; it is ac-
companied by dancing, and those shrill cries which
so often before awoke the echoes of those hills aro
incessant. The Basque mountaineer deems it au
obligation to drink the mineral waters of Cambo
once a year, as well as to bathe in the sea at, Biar-
ritz : and their great ablution takes place on the
Sunday following the Assumption. Fortified with
copious draughts of the mineral within, and the
salt water of Biarritz externally, the Basque fears
no evil that flesh is heir to, except it may be the
blow of a cudgel from a rival, or a bullet from the
musket of the Custom-house officer.

Friday was not wholly favourable to the Impe-
rial visitors. As they were on the way to the
gorge of the Pas de Roland, where the redoubtable
Paladin opened with his battle-axe a passage in the
mountain for the knights who followed his banner,
the party was overtaken by a shower of rain—such
a shower as falls in those mountains. They had
time, however, to admire the picturesque scenery,
and even to enjoy a repast iu the open air. They
returned in the evening to Biarritz.
The grounds of the Imperial villa at Biarritz
offer no shelter nor recreation. The house stands
on a low barren spot, so close to the sea that when
the wind is high the spray dashes against the win-
dows. An attempt at planting has been made, but
the plants do not appear to prosper, and the scant
herbage hardly conceals the sandy soil on which it
was sown. The palace is convenient for bathing,
but it presents few advantages otherwise. For
some days after the Emperor's arrival workmen
were employed in stopping up the apertures
, through which the water oozed into his private
room.

The Emperor's stay at this place will depend on
the weather, which, until the last day or two, was
very fine. A change, however, has occurred. High
winds, a cloudy sky, and heavy and constant
rain, do not allow any place to appear to advan-
tage, and Biarritz is not an exception. Many
persons have already left, and others are leav-
ing daily, but their places aro more than filled by
new comers. The importance of this place has so
much increased in consequence of the railroad which
now extends in an uninterrupted line from Paris to
Bayonne, the establishment of pleasure trains from
Bordeaux, and the presence of the Court during
the summer months, that it is contemplated to con-
struct a tramway from Bayonne to Biarritz. The
present uncomfortable conveyances and the extor-
tion attempted by some of the ordinary OrnlaiillUS
proprietors render such an improvement desirable.
It will probably be carried out before the next sea-
son commences. The crowd of visitors has increased
so much that the local paper has ceased publishing
the lists. No previous season has been so success-

ful or so profitable to the town and neighbourhood
as the present.

From- Spain there is no political news deserving
of notice. With slight exceptions, the country is
tranquil ; but the same uncertainty prevails as to
the future policy and fate of the O'Donnell Minis-

try. The name of Narvaez is more frequently men-
tioned, and the probability of his superseding the
present Government is more generally discussed.
A person who has been himself one of the principal
victims of the last revolution admits that the Pro-
gresista party is for the present crushed, and it is
difficult to assign a term for its resuscitation. The
want of decision or rather of foresight on the part
of Espartero is admitted by his best friends,
though some assert that he is not so much to blame
as is generally supposed. He appears, however, to
have lost all prestige even among the classes with
whom he was most popular, and in the distaicts
where his name was idolised he has completely fallen
into discredit. General Gurrea and some others
who figured in the late events, and who recently
entered France as refugees, have, at the request of
the Spanish Government, been sent to the interior.
Their present destination is Bordeaux and Tours.
Others who quitted Spain on the overthrow of the
Polaco Government may be seen still hovering near
the frontier.

It is stated that a petition has been presented to the
Lord Chancellor for winding up the affairs of the Royal
British Rank.
SUDDEN DEATH.—One of the passengers by the
Tamar, which arrived at Southampton on Saturday last,
put up at Murray's boarding-house in that town. On
Sunday night be called the landlord, and mentioned that
he was unwell, and desired him to get a nurse to sit up
with him. Mr. Murray left for a few minutes to give
hneedthat
the necessary instructions, and when he returned the
stranger fell into his arms and expired. It was with
some difficulty that it could be
iatswcearstaaienneedrtaw re his
i
friends resided. Flom his
be was a Mr. Delany, and teat he was connected with
the Pernambuco Railway. He had left Rio, where he
had been stationed for the last six months, en account
of ill health, but be evidently bad no idea that death for
him was so near until a few moments before he died, and
then he was unable to state who he was or where his
friends resided.
CAPTURE Or Two MONSTER SHARES.--C n Saturday
morning the crew of a Pertktiockie boat, fishing at
]3roadtavcn, towed on shore what they and many others
imagined to be the body of a respect bl whale.
When first found it was alive and entangled amongst
their nets ; but its efforts to relieve itself were so feeble
that it was evidently in the struggles of death. It was
sold for 2/. In the afternoon, however, some gentlemen
who knew a little more of natural history than the first
sight-seers who inspected the animal, declared that it
was a basking shark, known by naturalists as the sgualus
maximus. Further investigation and examination of tI e
animal confirmed this assertion, and it is now believi d
to be correct. The animal is about 30 feet long, and
.
was a very film specimen. On Monday nut another
crow caught another of the like-species, and • of much
the same size,—Scoisman.