The Sun.
London, England, 1856-03-21 00:00:00

THE SIJN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, MARCH 21, 1856,

truly English part, and only yielded to the force
of adverse and irresistible circumstances.

It is als) due to our Allies that not only the
truth, but the whole truth, should be known.
As we have already stated there are unpleasant
impressions abroad, and nothing can be worse than
silence under such circumstances. The most
"damning fact" could not so greatly damage
their interests as the " doubts and fears " that
must attend protracted secrecy.
We trust, then, that one of the first acts of the
British Parliament, after the announcement of
the terms of the Treaty, will be to insist on the
full publication of all the negotiations, that have
taken place at Paris or elsewhere, in which Bri-
tish diplomatists have taken a part.

If we had not pretty nigh exhausted our stock
of wonder over offieial management we would
certainly express a good deal of surprise at the
postal intercourse by steam between this country
and Australia having been suffered to be sus-
pended, and that for a period of seventeen months.
Had the colony in question been a poor colony, I
and the traffic between it and the mother
country so small as to be an object of indiffe-
rence, this suspension might have been ac-
counted for in a satisfactory manner. Such,
however, is notoriously not the case. Of all tie
colonies under British sway none is more pro-
mising nor more valuable than Australia ; and
when we say valuable we don't mean in prospeetu,
but valuable at the present time. Why, our
commerce with Australia is of the first class in
point of magnitude. In 1853, according to a
Parliamentary return, she took more from us
than America, previously eur largest customer,
had done on an average of seven years, 1847 to
1852—that average being little more than 13
millions, and the amount of British imports into
Australia in the above year exceeding fourteen(
millions and a half ! It is with a colony like this
that " tricks of office" must be played, with a
trade like this unnecessary delay in the trans-
mission of correspondence has been hazarded.
Daring a critical period, and while a, regular
postal service was carried on with America and
the West Indies, letters from Australia could not
reach us on an average in less than 93-i days, the
outward mails to Melbourne having an advantage
of nine days. A strange mode of promoting our
commercial interests truly.

Under such circumstance; it is gratifying to
find the General Association for the Australian
Colonies taking the matter into consideration, and
forwarding the resalt in the shape of a memorial
to the Treasury, in which, after pointing out the
injurious effects of the present system, they recom-
mend the adoption of a new route, by which
2,338 miles would be saved, as compared with
every other, and the employment of first-class
vessels with adequate steam power and well-tested
speed for the performance of the voyage. The
route recommended is that by Suez and the island
of Diego Garcia (the largest of the Chita° group in
the Indian Ocean) to Melbourne—the island to be
used as a coaling depot. For this purpose, and
as a halfway-house of call, it appears to be well
adapted, being a British dependency, lying about
halfway between the straits of Babelmandel at the
Red Sea, and the south-western promontory of tlie
continent of Australia, and possessing a eapaeAous
harbour, easy of access in all weathers, aud com-
pletely landlocked. The superiority of this route
not only over those via the Cape, and via Aden,
Ceylon, and Singapore, but also aver the Panama
route, is sufficiently apparent on the table ap-
pended to the memorial, the distances and periods
of passage laid down in which are given on the
authority of the Hydrographer Royal. The first,
or Cape route, is 13,367 miles in length, and
occupies a period of 80 days. The second, or
Ceylon route,: involves a distance of 11,521 miles,
and a passage of 64 days. The third, or Panama,
a distance of 12,686 miles, and nearly a 5'7 days'
passage, while that recommended, by the Association
is not more than 10,348 man in length, and can be
traversed in 44 days, nearly a fortnight less than
by the Panama route, and one-half the time at pre-
sent occupied. Of these ten thousand miles odd
nearly one-tenth will be accomplished by rail,
viz., the distance between Dover and Marseilles,
and between Cairo and Suez, the remainder of
the calculation e.s to time being based on a spee-a
of ten miles an hour lsaing maintained loetween
Suez ae; Melbourne, a rate kecide.4' iy below the
average now achieved by steam navigation.
Even on the score of expense every facility is
offered, the o'jtonies having volunteered most
liberal 007atributions to carry out a scheme in
which they feel themselves deeply interested.,
Victoria alone has voted 50,0001. per annum for
the purpose, and there is every reason to believe the
remaining colonies will con tribute in like proportion.
Thus the Government are offered every induce-
tuent to proceed with the undertaking ; notwith-
standing which we regret to learn they propose
to refer the question to Australia, apparently in-
different to the additional inconvenience and delay
such a step must occasion. It would redound
more to their credit, and be productive of great
advantage to this country as well as to Australia,
if they set the line to work without a moment's
unnecessary delay. Unfortunately such conside-
rations have generally but little weight with men
in office, and we have therefore no great confi-
dence of an exception being forthcoming in the
present instance. The time, however, is not far
distant, and the face of officials do their best to
hasten it, wh'en our Australian colonies will not
submit tq ise thus trifled with and victimised by
Imperial incompetency and indifference.

THE NIOHTINGALE FUND.—The sum 'of 3001. has been
forwarded from Bath to the London committee.
His Royal Highness the Duke af Cambridge left town
yesterday morning, for Win :,sor Castle, to attend the
`,:ss Royal. His Royal High-
nc eons
sfirreeitantritol
endotfn tthoewn c
the afternoon.
His Serene Highn:,se Prince Edward of Saxe Weimar
went to Windsor f.iastle yesterday, to be present at the
confirmation (Ji the Princess Royal. The Prince re-
turned to London after the ceremony.
The lqarquis of Lansdowne, the Earl Granville. and
Visc;ruut Palmerston returned to town from Windsor
Castle yesterday afternoon.
THE SADLEIR FORGEEIES.—DDISLIN, Thursday.—lt
has transpired that forgeries, in the shape of promissory
notes to the amount of 25,0001., have been committed by the late John Sadleir on Mr. Dargan.
THE ENSUING EASTER TERM,—The customary notices
for "eighty-five" attorneys to be admitted in Easter
Term base been given, they having passed their exam'.
nation.
DEATH OF CAPTAIN IRVlNE.—Captain Chas. Chem-
berlayne Irvine (retired under her Majesty's order in
council of the 10th of August, 1840) died on the 14th
in,ta;it, in Upper Albany-street, Regent's-park, the
85.,„11 year of his age.
DEATH Of CONSIANDER PATTERSO/C.—C
than doe
William Patterson (1847) (on the retired list died on the 16th inst. at Plymouth, aged 75 years.
This officer
entered the navy July 1, 1804, as first-clr4„olunteer
board the Monmouth, 64, Captain Geotge Hart, bear-
ing the flag in Yarmouth Roads of R..v4r-Adrniral Thos. r.
Russell.
CANADA CouoANY.--The general o'ourt of proprietors, Mr. Charles Franks, governor, in the chair, was held yesterday, for the purpose of ele'Jting a governor, three
other directors, and an audito.r. The consideration of
a motion for a retiring allowance to Mr. John Perry,
the secretary of the company (4001. per annum), was
carried. The compatative statement of transactions,
from Ist Jan. to 2Ala Feb , was as follows :—Land
sold, 1856, 477 acres, at 3s. 10d. (average) ; 1855, 685
acres, at 265. sd. (average.) Land leased, 1856, 2,176
acres, at 465. 2d. ; 1355, 5,759 acres, at 31s. Bd. ; to-
tal, 1856, 2,G53 acres, at 439. 6d. ; 1855, 6,444 acres, a';
30s. 10d. Leases converted to freeholds, 1856, 21,702
acres, at 15s. 9d. ; 1855, 31,727 acres, at 15s. 2d. Re-
ceipts in Canada to ditto, 1856, 28,7801. ; 1855, 48,709/.1
The report, after a short discussion, was agreed to, and
the directors and auditor were elected.

CONFIRMATION OF THE PRINCESS
_ROYAL.

WINDSOR, THURSDAY.
The Confirmation of the Princess Royal took plan-
this day in the private'chapel at Windsor Castle.
The Archbishop of Canterbury ; the Bishop of Oxford,
Lord High Almcner ; the Bishop of Chester, Clerk of the
Closet ; the Dean of Windsor, Resident Chaplain to the
Queen • the Rev. Lord Wriothesley Russell, Deputy
Clerk of the Closet in Waiting ; and the Rev. H. J. Elli-
son, Vicar of Windsor ; took their seats within the rails
of the communion-table shortly before 12 o'clock.
The ministers and other company invited to witness the
ceremony assembled in the Green Drawing-room at a
quarter before 12 o'clock, the Ladies and Gentlemen in
Waiting on the Queen and the Royal Family assembling
in the ccrridor. The company were then conducted to
seats in the chapel.
About 12 o'clock the Princess Royal entered the chapel
with her father, the Prince Consort, who placed her in a
chair in front of the communion .table. The Queen and
the King of the Belgians followed, together with the rest
of the royal and illustrious personages.
The King of the Belgians, the godfather of the Prin-
cess Royal, was conducted to a.seat near the Princess,
under the pulpit, and in a line with the King were the
Duchess of Kent, godmother of the Princess Royal, the
Duchess of Cambridge, the Princess Mary of Cambridge,
the Duke of Cambridge, Prince Edward of Saxe Weimar,
Prince Ernest of Leiuingen, and Prince Victor of Ho-
henlohe.

The Queen was seated opposite to the King of the Bel-
gians; while Prince Albert, the Prince of Wales, the
Princess Alice, Prince Alfred, Princess Helena, and the
Princess Louisa, occupied seats opposite to the other
members of the Royal Family. The great officers of state
and the Ladies and Gentlemen in Waiting took their
seats immediately behind the Royal Family.
The remainder of company invited were placed in
pews on either side of the chapel.
The Princess Royal wore a rich white silk glace gown,
with five flounces pinked, the body richly trimmed with
white ribbon and Mechlin lace.
The King of the Belgians, the Prince Consort, and the
Duke of Cambridge appeared in the Windsor uniform,
and each wore the Riband, Badge, and Star of the Most
Noble Order of the Garter.
The Gentlemen of the Queen's and the Prince Con-
sort's household wore the Windsor uniform, the members
of Orders of Knighthood wearing their respective insignia.
The ceremony commenced by a hymn, sung by the
gentlemen and boys of the Royal Chapel of St. George.
Mr. W. G. Cusins, the organist of her Majesty's Private
Chapel, presided at the organ.
The Bishop of Oxford read the Preface, and the Arch-
ifishop of Canterbury p!rformed the ceremony, and con-
, eluded the service, the Princess kneeling before his Grace.
The Archbishop, at the close delivered an exhortation,
and parr of the 268th hymn was then sung by the choir.
The ceremony being ended, the Queen and the King
of the Belgians, the Princess Royal, and the Prince Con-
sort, with the Royal Family, quitted the Chapel, and en-
tered the green Drawing-room, where her Majesty re-
ceived the congratulations of the distinguished company
present. •

The following were the royal and distinguished per-
sons present : The Queen, the King of the Belgians,
Prince Albert, the Duchess of Kent, the Princess Royal,
the Duchess of Cambridge, the Prince of Wales, the Duke
of Cambridge, the Princess Alice, the Princess Mary of
Cambridge, Prince Alfred, Prince E iward of Saxe Wei-
mar, the Princess Helena, Prince Ernest of Leiningen,
the Princess Louisa, Prince Victor of Hohenlohe Lang-
enburg, the Most Rev. Dr. Sumner, Archbisbop'of Can-
terbury ; Earl Granville, Lord President of the Privy
Council ' • the Duchess of Sutherland, Mistrebs of the
Robes ; Monsieur Van de Weyer, Belgian Minister,
and Madame Van de Weyer; Earl Spencer, K.G., Lord
Steward ; the Marquis of Breadalbane ; Lord Chamber-
lain ; the Duke cf Wellington, Master of the Horse ; the
Marquis of Abercorn, K.G., Groom of the Stole to the
Prince Consort ; the Marquis of Lansdowne, K.G.,
the Earl of Aberdeen, K.G. ; Viscount Palmerston,
G.C.8., First Lord of the Treasury ; the Right Hon.
'Sir George Grey, G.C.8., Secretary of State for the
Home Department ; the Countess of Desert, Lady
in Waiting to the Queen ; the Hon. Flora Mac-
donald and the lion. Caroline Cavendish, Maids of
Honour ; Lady Caroline Barrington, Lady Superintend-
ent ; Lord Camoys, the Lord in Waiting to the Queen ;
Lieut.-Colonel F. Cav-endish, Groom in Waiting to the
Queen ; Major-General Buckley, Equerry in Waiting to
the Queen ; Viscount Torrington, Lord in Waiting to
the Prince ; Col. Frantis Seymour, Groom in Waiting
to the Prince ; Capt. the Hon. Dudley de Ros, Equerry
in Waiting to the Prince ; Lady Fanny Howard, the
Lady in Waiting ti the Duchess of Kent ; Lady Geor-
giana Bathurst, Lady in Waiting to the Duchess of Cam-
bridge ; Baroness de Speth ; Lady Caroline Murray,
of the household of the Duchess of Gloucester ; the
Bishop of Oxford, Lord High Almoner ; the Bishop of
Chester, Clerk of the . Closet ; the Dean of Windsor,
Resident Chaplaibito the Queen ; Rev. Lord Wriothesley
Russell, Deputy-Clerk of the Closet in Waiting ; the
Rev. H. J. Ellison, Vicar of Windsor • the Dowager
Lady Lyttleton, General Sir Robert and Lady Gardi-
ner, Colonel the Hon. C. 8., Mrs., and Miss Phippe,
Major-General the Hon. Charles Grey, Mrs. Grey, and
Miss Barrington, Sir James Clark, Col, the Hon. Alex-
ander N. Hood and Lady Mary Hood, C,.lonel and Lady
Emily Seymour, Sir George Couper, Equerry to the
Duchess of Kent, and Lady Couper ; Major Purves,
Equerry to the Duchess of Cambridge ; Colonel Tyr.
vrhitt, Equerry to the Duke of Cambridge ; Colonel de
kloerkerke, Captain Prisse and Dr. Ricken, the Gentls.
men in Waiting on tho Kinv, of the Belgians ; Mr,
Gibbs, Mr. Becker, Mr. Glover, Miss Mild,yezd,
Madame Rollande, Mdlle. Illhardt, and the allster of
the Household. . •

Luncheon was served to the royal fatally in the white-
room, and to the general company in the dining-room.
The Duchess of Cambridge, the Princess Mary, and
the Duke of Cambridge took leave of the Queen and tae
Prince in the afternoon, the Duchess and the Princess
Mary proceeding to Kew, and the Duke returning to
London. Prince E I ward of Saxe Weimar and Prince
Victor of Hohenlohe also took leave and quitted the
Castle.
The Ministers, Officers of State, and other visitors in-
vited to attend the cere:,,ony, took their departure.
The dinner part;
of the Be.lgis,
the rouchess of Kent, Serene Itir.h.
ness
, Ernest of Leiningen, y
anny Reward,
I3a dims de Speth, M. VAU Weyer. the Belgian
in the evening included.
o, kir
Minister, and Col, de kteerkerke, Capt. Prisse and Dr.
Ricken (in attendance on the King of the Belgia'is).
The Queen had a dinner party yesterday (Wednesday)
evening. The company ine.ncled the King of the B-. -
gins, the Duchess of Kent, the Princess Mary- and the
Duke of Cambridge, Prince
ward of ake Weimar,
Prince Ernest of LP;
.airtiZo-fsnit rrttlUe Victor of Hoben-
"le, the .A-"`.;clishop of Oanterbury, the Duchess of
ill
Lad—i -the Earl of Aberdeen, Viscount Palmerston,
Sut he r ar :i
t'snny
Howard, Lady Georgiana Bathurst, taro-
',fess de Speth, Sir J. Clark, Col. de Moerkerke, Capt.
Prigs° and Dr. Ricken (in waiting on the King of the
Belgians), Major Purves, and Col. Tyrwhitt.
Her Majesty's Royal Minor Bounties and Gate Alms
were distributed on Friday and Saturday in the past
week, and on.Mondayand Tuesday last, to the usual num-
ber of aged and meritorious poor in the various parishes
and districts. in and rotted London, at the Almonry, at
Whitehall, under the direction of the Lord High Almo-
ner, assisted ley the Sub-Almoner. The recipients in-
cluded numerous cases of blindness and other infirmities,
and had been recommended by the clergy of the various
parishes,

LATEST NEWS.

BERLIN, MARCH 19.

Letters from St. Petersburg announce that after
the conclusion of peace, conferences will be held
to examine and discuss plans of reform in com-
mercial policy. The journey of the Emperor into
Poland is postponed until after his coronation.

There aro indications of a bad feeling between
Russia and Austria.

CONSTANTINOPLE, MARCH 18.

Yesterday the guns of the French and allied
batteries, military as well as naval, announced to
Constantinople the happy event of the accouehe-
ment of the Empress and of the birth of a Prince.
All the vessels in port wore decked with flags.

MADRID, MARCH 19.

A slight disturbance has taken place at Lorca,
but the movement was not of any importance.
Differences of opinion continue to exist among
the democratic party. The Statutes of the Credit
Mobilier Company will soon be officially ap.
proved of.

OUR ARMY IN THE CRIMEA.
(From the Times Correspondent of this day.)
CAMP BEFORE SERASTOPOL, March have
more than once had to remark that there is a much
larger proportion of sickness in the Land Transport
Corps than in the rest of the army. lam not ac-
quainted with the exact number of men in the
corps, but, taking it at 7,000, which is probably
rather over than under the mark, the amount of
sickness must have been very considerable for there
to be, as there was a short time ago, a difference of
nearly, or quite, one per cent. in the average mor-
tality of the whole army according as the Land
Transport was included or excluded. The mortality
of the army has been 4 per cent., and of the army
including the Land Transport Corps 5 per cent., or
thereabouts. It is evident that, owing to the na-
ture of their duties, the Land Transport men are
likely to be less healthy at this season than the sol-
diers of infantry regiments. The latter have little
to do, except take care of themselves. Their turn
of guard comes once in 15 or 20 days. They have
a pleasant and healthful amount of exercise ; when
put upon fatigue duty they by no means exhaust
themselves by the violence of their exertions. The
Land Transport men, on the other hand, have con-
stant and hard work, and, no matter how bitter
the cold, how heavy the rain, it must be done, for
the supply of the army depends upon it. In the
worst weather you see them following their toil-
some vocation, going down to Balaklava for stores,
into the Redan for wood, across to Kasatch for
something else. They are particularly liable to
frost-bite when harnessing, driving, and riding,
and often wet through for hours together, or
plunged to their knees in mud while extricating
their carts from some piece of deep ground. strong,
hardy men are required to bear tip against such
exposures and fatigue. Unfortunately, little pains
appear to have been taken to secure such. One
is struck by the youth and apparently feeble
frames of many of the Land. Transport men
one meets in camp and on the roads, and it is well
known to the surgeons that a bad class of men (bad
as regards their physical strength and condition)
has obtained admittance into the corps—men who
would not be accepted as recruits in an infantry
regiment of the line. Mere lads, of weakly consti-
tution, aredoing work which would tat the strength
and powers of endurance rt: robust adults—at-
tempting to do it, I ebottla rather say,•for most of
them soon sicken tinder the effort. I know of in-
stances of recruits of this class, who, having come
out in. November and December, have been nearly
the whole time in hospitals and are now at Scutari,
whence they will very probably be invalided home.
Other causes toncur to fill the hospitals with men
belonging to this branch of the service. The sites
of some of the camps are ill-chosen and difficult to
drain ; in others the drainage has not been mufti-
• ciently attended to ; heaps of manure are allowed
ymst theibfleeti
eche
ni
that
pmthsl
has
sde
00:•,n ea
aimpi
nts iedel ti
cats
sinceaeecnicl :hga
tvrConsideri
ng the
to accumulate ; some of the baits are overcrowded
organisa-
tionesaehnrodtrat
enti
fnli
epenrogarcehsisevheads
only by zealous and constant exertion on the part
of Colonel Wallet-an And his officers ; but the ut-
most exertions of the best officers, most desirous to
get theft own corps into good working condition,
must be unavailing to correct the original bad qua
lity of the recruits, the evil of which, while the
army is stationary bore, is trifling compared to
what it might become on the march or in the field.
Most serious results might ensue in a campaign
from an ill-manned Land Transport, sickened by
dozens thiiy. This matter of recruits should be
10:iced to at home. As rends required improve-
' ment of ventilation, drainage, removal of manure,
Am, these points will doubtless be attended to as
soon as possible by the Director-General of the
corps and the comreanclants of divisions. The
Land Transport Corps will probably be
among the last to leave the Crimea, should
peace be made ; and it is not too much to suppose
that, in any case, it will be here all spring, and
perhaps part of the summer. The sun has already
acquired considerable power, and a very few weeks,
or even days, may bring on weather in which the
evils of crowded huts, damp, and dung-heaps will
be far more sensibly felt than iu the present com-
paratively wintry season. Every effort should be
made to guard against fever, which otherwise will
assuredly supervene.
Accounts from Kertch from trustworthy and im-
partial sources are highly satisfactory. Healthy as
this army has been during the winter, the Turkish
Contingent has far surpassed it in that important
particular, and this is attributed mainly to the
great sobriety of the men. They have been hard-
worked ; the amount of fortification they have
thrown up is described to me by eye-witnesses as
quite surprising ; but not a man was invalided in
three mouths, and up to the end of 1855 the average
of sickness was barely 1 per cent. There has been
no cholera at all. During the last three months of
1855 there were but 92 deaths in the Contingent,
' which is upwards of 16,000 men strong, exclusively
of the cavalry and of the depots on the Bosphorus.
This year scurvy has appeared among the Turks,
attributable to an insufficient supply of vegetables,
lime juice, dr.o., but although widely spread, it is
not seveze, and measures were promptly taken
on the discovery of its existence to give the men
the sort of food the deficiency of which had
brought it on. Among the British troops et
Kertch there has been no scurvy. The Contin-
gent's hospitals are very good, and the Turks
have the most perfect confidence in their English
doctors—a confidence dating from last summer,
when the cholera was among them at Bujukdere
camp. The soldiers of the Contingent are generally
large, muscular, robust men ' • their temperance is
remarkable. They are contented, docile, and seem
to like their officers. There are about 150 Turkish
cavalry'at Kertch, whose appearance is good and
their condition efficient. It is well known that in
the unfortunate skirmish in which Major Sherwood
lost his life they behaved most gallantly against
very superior numbers. Not withstanding all the
calumnies that have been propagated against the
Turkish Contingent, its General, and its officers,
there can be RO question that the experiment, as
far as it has yet gone, has been completely success-
ful. And there can hardly be a doubt that if they
had to take the field these 16,000 Turks, well led,
would fight as gallantly as did their countrymen at
Silistria and Kars.

Including English officers of the Contingent,
clerks, servants, the detachment ofthe 10 th Hussars,
&c., there is a Protestant congregation at Kertch of
about 500 souls. Service is performed in the oft-
mentioned building, which was a ladies' school, and
is now a cavalry barrack: By way of experiment,
it was once performed in the Kertch Cathedral.
The Russian priest's permission was asked, and he
made not the slightest difficulty, and attended him-
self, as did a large number of the inhabitants, to
witness the service, The building, however, was
not found convenient, and the barracks were re-
turned to. The Russian_ priest is an amiable and
enlightened man, and his heart was won bythe esta-
blishment by the Rev. Mr. Bendier, who for two
months officiated as chaplain at Kertch, of a school
for the Russian children. The expenses of this
establishment are defrayed out of a fund raised by
rates levied on canteenmen and certain classes of
shopkeepers, and the favourable impression it has
made upon the people is remarkable.
The good understanding between the English
chaplain and the Russian priest was perfect, and
when the former left, about a month ago, the latter
presented him with a bell, having their names
inscribed on it, which now swings in the little
wooden belfry of the church of the Second Division,
where its owner does duty. These are pleasing
and humanising incidents in the history of a war
which abounds in bloody and desperate episodes.
It is with the sincerest regret that I record the
deatli of a most amiable young man and gallant

officer—Major George Ranken, of the Royal Engi-
neers, who was killed in the zealous discharge of
his duty at the explosion of the White Buildings
on Thursday evening last. The accident occurred
at the south-western corner of the edifice, and has
been related to the As follows :—A mine having
failed to explode, and some minutes having elapsed
Major Ranken sent his men to a distance and him-
selt entered the place to renew the train, scattering
loose powder over it. From the position in which
his corpse was found it is supposed that he had
completed his perilous task and was about getting
through a window when the explosion took place
and the building fell in. His arm was broken,
and there were injuries to the skull and spine which
must have occasioned instant death. Army Works
Corps men dug for his body until midnight on
Thursday ; they were then relieved by Sappers.
The body was not extracted until past 8 o'clock on
Friday morning. The unfortunate officer was
buried yesterday, with military honours, at the
Engineers' Cemetery, Left Attach. • He was fol-
lowed to the grave by General Eyre, commanding
the Third Division ; by Colonel Lloyd, command-
ing the Royal Engineers ; and by a large number
of officers of his own corps and of other arms.
Major Ranken, as you will doubtless remember,
commanded the ladder party in the attack on the
Redan. He was a most promising officer, a great
favourite with his comrades, and his loss is de-
plored by all who knew him. It was hard to
have escaped the murderous fire of the Bth of
October only to die, legs than five mouth's
later, crushed beneath a shattered wall. If
peace be now definitively made, Major Ranken
will, perhaps, have the melancholy distinction
of being the last Englishman killed in the
Crimea. The last Frenchman killed here, up-
to this date, fell in a duel. Two French officers,
who have gone through the whole war unwounded,
quarrelled the other day and fought with sabres ;
one was killed, and the other was so badly hurt
that he is not expected to live.

It was reporteaincaiitpiiia another, conference
was about to take place at Traktir-bridge, and the
British subaltern had his spurs polished and his
baggager's shoes looked to, in anticipation of the
pleasant gallop over the valley of the Tchernaya,
which on Friday last was 'enjoyed but by a very
select few. Yesterday the belief was strong that
the meet was for this morning, but such proved not
the case ; and, indeed, it is possible that no other
meeting will take place on the subject of the armis-
tice. The Russians, having taken copy of our pro-
positions ou Friday, have sent in counter-proposi-
tions ; and, perhaps, the matter may be arranged
by writing. Meanwhile, a General After-order
issued last night forbids firing on the Russians.
Yesterday, a lovely afternoon, a large number of
officers rode down to the Tchernaya, a short dis-
tance from Sebastopol, and had much confabulation
with the enemy. 'Some joking went on, and some
shillings were thrown over to Russian soldiers. I
suppose we shall end by becoming the best friends
of our recent deadly foes.

Colonels Wetherell and Mackenzie are about to
proceed to England. Their departure. is under-
stood to be occasioned by the digchsiien to which
Sir John M'Neill's report has given rise.
The White Buildings destroyed on Thursday were
very extensive. One side of the square was 1,200
feet long, the other 600. Altogether about 1,800
feet of wall were blown down. Six bombproof
powder-magazines behind the clock tower were
destroyed. I am assured there were no less than
374 mines, the charges varying in quantity from
211 b. to 3001 b. of powder. _ _

MARCH 4.
Snow, rain, and wind all night. A very dirty
morning.

M-4 RCIE 7.

The week has been as eventless as the weather
has been detestable. Sunday was so bright and
pleasant a day that people forgot last year's expe-
rience, flattered themselves winter had departed,
and formed pleasant projects of rides to Baidar
and Urkusta, of rambles to the Tchernaya to talk
to the Russians, of wandering in French Sebasto-
pol. All these small Crimean castles quickly
crumbled. The heavy rain on Monday made most
abominable roads on Tuesday ; then round went
the wind and down went the quicksilver, snow fell
in abundance, and at eight o'clock on Wednesday
morning the thermometer stood at 12 deg. Fahren-
heit. It is difficult to estimate the exact depth of
snow on this elevated plateau, because the wind
drifts it, but there cannot have been less than 12
inches, and in some places men sank up to their
thighs ; and the ssow continued to fall at intervals
(luring the whole of Wednesday, agreeably varied
by sharp hail. The camp presented the old winter
picture, dingy huts and grey tents rising out of the
dazzingly white surface. The glare was blinding,
paths and landmarks were obliterated, and even
familiar spots were difficult to find. None rode or
walked more than they could help, and there was
much plunging into ditches and stumbling into
holes. The day, however, was really pleasant, com-
pared with yesterday, which brought a gale from
the south and a rapid thaw, with all their agree-
able concomitants in the camp before Sebastopol.
The wind was at times so violent that it seemed
miraculous the tents and huts should resist, and not
be swept away and unroofed ; and the rain fell in
torrents, quickly divesting the earth of its white
mantle, and leaving, in lieu thereof, the customary
brown surface of heavy mud. Great dismay in the
Crimean Jockey Club ; spring meetings postponed
sine die. The customary duties of the camp became
more toilsome than usual. Fatigue parties slipped
and staggered through the deep greasy clay under
the load of the daily rations. Huge pieces of timber
for fireword.—fragments of masts from the
Redan, which might have served for the biggest of
the big ships now submerged in Sebastopol harbour
—were borne away from stores to camp on the
shoulders of 20 or 25 men, walking two abreast.
Unfortunate Land Transport mules and ponies
struggled desperately to escape the lash, and drag
the heavily-loaded cart through the slough, which
each moment deepened. Commissariatofficers and
others having quill-work to do shut themselves in
their quarters and toiled at states and accounts ;
all drills and parade being, of course, put a stop to
by the weather, regimental officers sat by stove and
chimney, heaping maledictions on the rain and the
far-niente, talking what is commonly called "shop,"
and labouring earnestly to produce the desired de-
gree of blackness in the bowl of clay or meerschaum
pipe. Leaks, previously unsuspected revealed them-
selves under the pressure of the deluge ; there was
much swabbing of hut-floors, and horses shook their
ears and looked dismal as the heavy drops oozed
through the ill-joined stable roofs and soaked
through their blankets. For that day, at lesst,
the general order prohibiting gossip with the Rus-
sians across the Tchernaya was unnecessary. On
Sunday and Monday there had been considerable
intercourse of that kind, knives and pipes were
bought as relics of the Crimean campaign, and coin,
of the respective countries were enclosed in balls of
earth and exchanged across the river. Indeed, there
was every appearance that, if a stop was not put to
the growing amity, Cossacks would be coming over
to dine in camp, and English paying visits to the
North Forts, or Mackenzie plateau. The wet, raw
cold of the thaw seemed to throw a damp even on
the imagination, and there was scarcely a well-
concocted fiction current to raise a laugh or rouse
interest, save one, to the effect that the Third Di-
vision was immediately to embark for Asia—rather
an improbable tale, considering the armistice and
the incomplete state of the Land Transport Corps,
11 whose director, Colonel Wetherall, is to leave for
England on Saturday. We hear that Colonel
M`Murdo is coming out. Mules are arriving from
Sinope and elsewhere for the use of this corps.
To-day there is another change in this most in-
constant climate. All last night the wind howled
furiously, and the rain fell in torrents. Towards
morning the wind again shifted ; the rain became
snow, and the plateau is once more white. It is now
about noon ; the thermometer stands at 22 deg.,
but the frost has not lasted long enough to form
more than a thin crisp upper crust, through which
the foot sinks into fathomless mud. It is quite
possible that to-morrow may bring us balmy
breezes, a brilliant aun, and rivers of mud for
roads. Such are Crimean caprices.
A large number of boxes, containing voluntary
contributions of books, games, &sc., intended for
the instruction and amusement of this army, have
lately been received from England. They include
a vast collection of excellent and valuable books,
and, thanks to the generous donors, every division
has now a good and daily increasing library.
Through the exertions of Miss Nightingale a con-
siderable quantity of school materials—such as
maps and slates—has been supplied to the schools ;
but it is desirable that well-meaning persons in
England should reflect as to the probable utility
of what they send out. Some of the boxes recently
received have been filled with theinost inconceiv-
able rubbish, fit only to be burnt. Persons in
possession of a stock of waste paper might surely
get rid of it at home, without incurring the
trouble and putting Government to the expense
of sending it to be destroyed in the Crimea.
Old Evangelical Magazines, Directories 40 years of
age, Italian Pharmacopceias dated 1806, venerable
Greek Nrammars, a collection of manuscript Italian
exercises in young ladies' handwriting, missionary
periodicals half a century ,old, form, incredible as
it may appear, no inconsiderable portion of recent
literary shipments to the Crimea. Such absurdity
needs no comment, and it is to be accounted for
only by the supposition that servants have been
told to seek forgotten rubbish, long lost sight of in
garrets, to pack it in boxes, and forward it to
Messrs. Ilayter and Howell for the use of the army.
People should understand that soldiers are as great
epicures in their literary tastes as any other cass,

and that if they are to be tempted to prefer a boot
to idleness or dissipation it must-be by offering them
something pleasing to their palate. No reason-
able person can expect to rouse a feeble appetite
into vigour by placing before the patient dry
and unpalatable fool. Hay and horsebeans would
he about as reascn ible an oar to a convalescent as
Greek Grammars, stale Directories, and Italian
Pharmacopecias to soldiers.
10 p.m.—Last night's gale seems generally con-
sidered, by persons who have been out here since
the first landing in the Crimea, as violent as any
that has been experienced since the disastrous tem-
est of the 14th of November, 1854. It is to be
feared that we shall shortly hear of wrecks and
misfortunes at sea. A cattle-ship came into
Balaklava to-day with half its cargo dead from the
pitching and rolling of the vessel. The boom
broke away and fractured the captain's leg in two
places.
The latest report is that the Third and Fourth
Divisions are to move down to Inkerman and the
Tchernaya to relieve the French, who suffer gt eatly
from sickness. The mortality in the French army
is said to amount to 170 men a-day, and, although
the exact number cannot be positively ascertained,
there is strong reason to believe that the above
statement is near the truth. lam assured that iu
three days 570 men died. There may be exaggera-
tion in this, but it is certain that the number of
sick is very large, and that the French Commissariat
is badly off. This severe and fickle weather must
he trying to an army which is chiefly under can-
vass, and, as I believe, insufficiently rationed.
MARCH 8.

We have had a bitter cold night, and the earth
is iron-bound with frost. The mail due on Thurs-
day has not yet arrived.

TURKEY.

CONgTANTINOPLE, March 10.—This is a time of
respite for the Turkish Government. The open-
ing of the conferences has rivetted public attention,
and party spirit is, if not silent, at least less active
than usual ; it is gathering strength and waiting
for the result of the conferences. Meanwhile the
Ministry is employing its time in councils and dis-
cussions about the establishment of a bank. I told
you in one of my former letters that there are nu-
merous projects proposed daily.
With such a large field for commercial enterprise
as Turkey will offer after the war, the greater the
number of private banks, the more rapidly her re-
sources will be developed. But the first step in
Turkey, as well as in every other country which is
only beginning to develope its material resources,
is to concentrate all its efforts by creating a na-
tional establishment of this kind.
This is, I think, the object of the councils and
discussions held at present. Several of the leading
merchants and bankers have been summoned by
the Minister of Finance to give their opinion on
the subject.
The chief danger to be incurred in the creation
of such an establishment is, that it might become
a good job for the benefit of a few individuals, like
the attempt made some years ago when the Go-
vet nment granted privileges to a few houses who
geve only their names and shared the profits,
while the whole expenses and risks were borne by
the Government. The object of this bank was to
keep the rate of exchange down, and, like all such
forced financial operations, it ended in failure.
The only safeguard against this danger is to
make such a bank of credit a national and not a
Government establishment, and to afford the
greatest possible facilities for native capital to have
lan interest in it. I alluded some time ago to the
large amount of dead capital in Turkey which
could be thus made profitable. The death of Halil
Pasha, the Sultan's brother-in-law, which took
place Imt, week, may serve as a proof of this. He
had been repeatedly employed in high offices, espe-
cially as Minister of Marine, which affords, per-
haps more than any other post, facilities for mak-
ing a fortune, and he has left behind him 18 mil-
- of piastres in ready money alone ; and yet
Haiti Pasha was more anxious than any other
Turk not to let his money lie idle, as one may see
from the circumstance that his daily revenue front
houses in Galata and landed property is valued at
9,000 piastres.
I told you in my last of the endeavours made by
the English and, I hear, by the French Ambassa-
dor also, to get Omer Pasha, the Governor of Rote-
melia, removed from his post on the charge of pecu-
lation. I have since inquired into the antecedents
of this gentleman, which throw a curious light on
the administrative system of Turkey. He was
recently governor of the province of Kurdistan,
where, together with the Defterdar, he pursued
wholesale system of enaction and robbery, which
did at least as much as Russian intrigue to drive
the Kurds into open rebellion against the Porte.
In spite of the powerful protection which he
enjoyed at Constantinople he was recalled, as well
as the Defterdar and Arz Odassi. The highest
tribunal took steps to prosecute him for his mis-
conduct. Ail the papers were ready when his
powerful protectors succeeded in having him ap-
pointed to the governship of Routnelia which put
practically an end to the inquiry arid enabled him
to follow up his former disreputable career.
What is the use of proclaiming every year that
corrupt officials will be punished if the Government
itsMprotects the offenders in the face of the most
glaring facts ? It is a simple mockery. Examples
are required, and not in the usual style, when men
convicted of having committed the grossest; abuses
are sent for a short time into some pleasant spot
;n the Archipelago, or to the baths of Broussa, until
the storm has blown over, and then are recalled
and placed in a better situation than before. A.
criminal who is guilty of murder has a chance even
now to be condemned to death or to rot in prison,
but the Pasha who has biought dew' misery on a
whole province, and caused, as in the case of Omer
Pasha, the deaths of hundreds, is sure to escape.
In all things the Turks go into extremes. For-
merly too many heads were cut off ; now there are
too few ; -eerily, if one sees the consequences of
this system of false and interested philanthropy,
one would be inclined to wish back the times when
pashas' heads were no uncommon sight on the gates
of the seraglio, and dishonest bakers ran a fair
chance of having their ears nailed to their own
doors.

The divided command which seems to follow the
Eastern war like an evil genius makes itself felt in
the smallest things as well as in the largest. The
port of Constantinople forms no exception. What
with a Turkish harbour-master, several admirals,
and as many military authorities, everybody does
as he likes. That the police regulations of the
port are, under these circumstances, wretched need
scarcely be mentioned. Lately a gang of sailors
have begun to avail themselves of this state of
things, and carried off systematically bales and
cases from the quays. Three nights ago three of
the peg, having taken away from the Custom-
house quay a bale of goods, tried to carry it off in
a boat, which was likewise not theirs. They were,
however, seen by the Turkish guard and pursued.
Wnen they saw that they could not escape they
alongsi le the Vestal—a steamer lately bought
by the Thessalian Mining Company—and, leaving
bale and b)at lehind, they scrambled on board.
The Turkish gu,, rd was soon after them, but when
they tried to get up, one of the fugitives took up
a trioken grindstone and threw it down into the
bcat, killing one of the Turkish boatmen. The
chief officer of the steamer, who heard the noise,
came on deck, with the steward, both armed with
revolvers, and asked the intruders what they
wanted. They pretended to be pursued by some
Turkish soldiers, who had threatened to kill them,
and asked the chief officer to assist them. The
latter, although he knew nothing of what had hap-
pened, thought the thing rather suspicious at that
hour of the night (aiont 11 o'clock), and ordered
them to be gone, threatening to shoot them if they
refused. At this the fugitives ran up on the paddle-
boxes, whence they jumped on board another
steamer alongside, and thence to a third—the
Austrian Lloyd steamer ; there they found a boat
lowered, got into it, and went off.
The chief officer of the Vestal having got rid of
the intruders, aid not hearing any further noise,
went down to his cabin, and it was only next day
that the whole thing was explained, when he was
summoned to give his evidence, and was informed
that a Turkish boatman had been killed. The
strangest thing seems to be that the companions
of the killed man did not attempt to come on board
the steamer ; they were afraid as it was an English
steamer. This is just the curse of the separate juris-
diction in the port. The Turkish guard is afraid
to interfere, in order not to come in collision with
the foreign authorities.
A great movement of troops has taken place here
lately. Several thousand men have passed through
from Malta, and all the convalescents have been
sent up likewise from Scutari, so that the Crimean
army has got a considerable addition.
A regiment of Bashi-Bazouks has arrived here
from Adrianople ; four others from Shumla are
likewise expected.
The two Crimean mails arrived at the same time.
The last mail was detained toy bad weather at
Kamiesh.

The telegraphic wire across to Scutari has been
broken lately ; the necessary orders have been,
however, given for its reparation, and a boat put
at the disposal of Capt. Spurvey, ILA., for the
purpose. The accident has been caused by a yes
sel's anchor.

I wrote in my last that Ismail Pasha (of Kalafat
celebrity) has been appointed Commander-in-Chief
of the army of Anatolia. General Kmety will ac:
company him; it is, I think, not yet decided whe-
ther as Chef d'Etat Major or as commander of a
a division. The choice is very good. Ismail Pasha
is one of the few Turkish commanders who is