The Sun.
London, England, 1856-02-16 00:00:00

DESTRUCTION OF THE DOCKS AT

SEBASTOPOL.

(From the Gazette of lag Making.)
WAR DEPARTMENT, FEB. 15.
Lord Pane:lure has this day received a despatch and its
enclosure, of which the following are copies. addr to
.;ordebi by General Sir Wm. Codriugton s •
4.I4WAUTigrtS, aztusinedu,-: •
" My Lord,—The destruction of the docks of Sebastopol
is now completed ; the sides of the last dock were Wert
in yesterday morning, small parts of the wall here and
there only remaining. Thus the whorri-of the canal of en•
trance and north docks in charge of the French, .the basin
in our mutual charge, and the south docks in English
charge are separate but shapeless masses of dirt ; heavY
broken atones,. split beamsnf timber, and shattered gates
protruding from the heap of confdsion.
" The labour of destruction has been difficult; those
fine works were formed in the middle ravine at its outlet
in an inner and sheltered part of the harbour, one of the
natural watercourses from the plateau on which we amen-
camped. This end of the ravine, about 700 yards from its
mouth, seems to have been filled in, so as to create a great
artificial dam of earth, which, with the steep banks oft
each side, form three sides of a rltised enclosure looking
down upon the docks. A solid stone wall, much struck
by shot, crowns this sort of natural square • the fine but
shattered barracks standing shill higher on the left, with
the sheds and dockyard buildings, the mastiug &Jeers, and
a long quay to Fort Paul in front jutting into the harbour,
show how well adapted all was for its purpose. It is now
a picture of destruction, desolation, and silence; thereli.e
against the quay the half sunken hull of a_vessel, and lie
the harbour beyond the only things breaking the su face
of the water are the lower masts of sunken ships of war.
" The drainage of the water of the middle ravine must,
however, pass through to the harbour somewhere, and it,
was this that so 'Dual impeded the shafts : for the water
from rains often stood two feet high over the filer of the
docks, and thus of course filled the shafts themselves.
Some details of the execution of these are given in the en-
closed summary from Colonel Lloyd, Commanding the
Royal Engineers, the immediate ciecutive officers being
Colonel Gordon and Major Nicholson.
" Amid great difficulties of cold and wet, very severe
frost at one time, and perpetually recurring pressure at
another, the work went steadily on ; and great praise is
duo to all those concerned—the Engineers and Sappers,
parties of the Royal Artillery, the 18th Regiment, and
latterly of the 48th Regiment. These parties return to
their duty to-morrow after constant and laborious work.
" The casualties have been but :ix, of which two only
have been fatal, and one man of the 44th Regiment was
lost by foul air in a shaft ; after several vain attempts by
Major Nicholson, other officers, and mon—themselves de-
scending at groat risk—the poor fellow's body Was brought
up, but life was gone.
Your Lordship will see that Colonel Lloyd expresses
his obligation to Mr. Deane and the chief engineer of her
Majesty's ship Royal Albert for their assistance.
" The voltaic battery, we must confess, did not always •
succeed ; it seems to require groat nicety in preparation ;
but in those cases in which I saw it succeed the effect was
perfect—ignition and its result, the shake of the ground,
the heaving up of the mass seemed to be instantaneous.
" The destruction of other things will continue.
" I have, &c.,
" W. J. CODRINGTON, General Commanding.
" The Lord Pawner°, &c."

Bead-Qnarters, Camp, Sebaatopol, Feb. 1, 1856.

Sir,— After a period of three months' unceasing labour
in the dockyard, for tho destruction of the docks, in com-
pliance with Lord Panmuro's orders, it affords me very
great satisfaction to ref oit, for your -Excellency's infor-
mation, the termination of our exertions in the demolition
of that portion allotted to the Engli4h, which consisted-a
the threo docks on the so,ith side, and one-half of the vast
and west sides of the basin,

The result of our operations has been the perfect destruc-
tion of the whole, the foundations being: completely torn
up. The length of time occirpied in 'effecting the above
object has, I. regret; far exceeded what had been antici-
pated, owing to many circtunst‘nces over which no human
being could have any control. Your Excellency, I be-
lieve, is aware that on the morning of the I.ith December,
P 55, after a very heavy end continuous fall of rain, all
the shafts which had been s.unk behind the revetment
walls of the docks were found to have twenty feet of
water in them, the shafts being thirty feet deep; and the
shafts along the bottoms of the docks, which had been
sank to a depth of 11 feet, were not only -quite full of
water, but had 2 feet 6 inches of water above the floors of
the docks themselves.

A very large party was employed day and night enderi=
vouring to reduce the water, and effected this object Vitt.
slowly, as the water continued to find its way in by
percolation. At this stage of the work, the wet weather
was suddenly succeeded by intense frost, which for ileum
days rendered our pumps useless, thus causing a further
delay, and obliged us to bale the water out oftlte shafts,
resuming the pumping as soon as the pumps would work
again, which has been continued to the very last.
It was the intention to have destroyed one entire dock
at a time, but owing to the influx of water such an ar-
rangement was obliged to be abandoned, and such charges
only as could from time to time be prepared were fired, the
pumping in very many cases being kept up day and night
until the last moment. The bottoms and sites were blown
up before the sides were destroyed, which enabled us to
bo satisfied that the former were thoroughly demolished.
I must observe that, as the demolition of the northern
portion was carried out by the French, it is incumbent on
me to explain why their operationsr were not subjected
to as many difficulties as fell to our lot. Their docks
were four feet higher in level than ours, and in no
instance had they, L understand, any water to contend
against, or at least so small a quantity as to be scarcely ap-
preciable. Their charges in the bottoms were not more
than 6 ft. deep, whereas ours averaged 10 ft. 6 in depth.
Though the external effect of some of our explosions may
not appear great, I am happy to say that every portion of
the masonry is either absolutely torn. down or left in so
dangerous a condition that it will add very much to the
difficulties of rebuilding.
I was extremely anxious that the facilities afforded ley
her Majesty's Government for the, employment of voltaic
batteries on a large scale, as sent out by the Admiralty
under Mr. Doane, should be fairly tested under the most
favourable circumstances. I applied toNice-Admiral Sir
E. Lyons, who kindly offered the services of Mr. Deane,
Submarine Engineer, to carry out the voltaic operations,
and this gentleman had every assistance in skilled labour
afforded him from the Royal Sappers and Miners.
Many failures having taken place in firing the charges
of the lath and 48th
by electricity, owing to different clauses, I am inclined to
ds
sent
t
doubt its advantages as appleceble generally to military
purposes. „.
desttuctien of the gooks, though
work, for the greater part of the time, day
in praise of the exertions both of
difficulty,
ill:
trophies
pbl
otpairbolts, nuts,
ote ndgo k(s g
England,e. veryws hoNirvedah massiveer ordered eaddt.
removed
edheeos
t:ra ookwnergni
uti downstrongly
yp.o
considerablet n
:ether
h
I cannot say too much
and Miners,-
minenattlitioundituogthaepßaortyyal Sappers
and night during the severest weather, and for having
officersta,neoy Regiments,
uhaat
tiainnt
ICI3
brought this sery to a successful issue, after so many
drawbacks, which, instead of causing despair and dispirit-
ing those employed, only stimulated them to renewed
exertions...
to 85, in the

I should be remiss in my duty were I to omit acknow-
ledging the very valuable assistance I have received
throughout, from Colonel Gordon, C.B , the Executive
Officer, Major Nicholson, who was the resident Engineer,
and Limits. Cumberland, Graham, and C. Gordon, Royal
Engineers ; their unremitting zeal, attention, and devo-
tion to the work, in accomplishing this troublesome task,
under difficulties of no ordinary nature, claim my warmest
thanks. lam also much indebted to dr. Deane, Subma-
rine Engineer, whose valuable services in preparing and
firing most of the mines by voltaic action, werekindly placed
at ray disposal by his Excellency Vice-Admiral Sir E.
Lyons.
I must not omit to acknowledge the professional aid re-
ceived from the Chief and Assistant Engineer of her Ma-
jesty's ship Royal Albert (until that ship sailed for Malta),
in the taking to pieces of the dock gates. In connection
with this service, the assistance afforded by a large party
.
of the Royal Artillery, placed at my disposal b Liennt
General Sir Richard Dacres, and. under the snpennte
deuce and direction of Lieutenant-Colonel Bent, Royal
Engineers, I cannot but greatly appreciate.—I have, ate.,
EDWD. T. LLOYD,
Lieut.-Colonel Commanding Royal Engineers.
His Excellency General Sir Wm. Cod risgton,
Commander of the Forgo.

Tavern, East Surrey,
vern,
THE BURGLAR Y AND DEH AT THE BELL TAVERN,
CHURCH-STREET, LAMBETH.AT—On Thursday morning at
lengthened
i.aCquarirtyer,atthtehecor.
Bell
lr
hneldo'ck
aloc,
Church-
street, Lambeth, respecting the circumstances attending
the death of Mr. Joseph Banks, aged 88, the proprietor
of the same premises, which were burglariously entered
on Sunday morning last, and serious damage done, some
particulars of which appeared in this journal of Wednes-
day last. The jury returned the following verdict :--•
6. Natural death, produced from apoplexy, caused by
emitipat inn 3 burglary lea *peed'. liousei".
_ _ ___ .

OUND AND REFRESHING SLEEP at
0 WILL—To B s. d., or not to be'—in
place " that's the Q'uestion."-Span'sh,—under its " Metropoli-
tan S.'dula trn 'ch'sc," notwithstanding, the upper X.'s of New
York .!. or'? Y., of 16 Feb. 1814., for a Belize Indian
King G••• F. i. e., on H. Vll.'s, Hanse 'banker, precedent in
Dublin. Hor-0 'mere Hark'ye = 'Duct'r:—" Canst thou
sot minister to a mind" di;-seiz'd Y'es'. WRAT—" Pluck'
from the memory a rooted s'n'ow P' Ye's. .4. SWEAR t rrr?
—" O'pooh. ! 0 'ye's ! Ja.—yaw ! " Oui ! 'w'i,
Oh, yes.-4y 'God's Aeriferra process "a la Nineveh quill-
counter-poise," as in effect, space-shielding our fabric from
all weight; e'en the 'Air 15 lb. square inch—outer pressure
—; whereby the inward fluid circulation, becomes thinned
by the lightsome inter-medium of wax-flame spirit, co-induct
—by our nasal hydraulic-punip action, for an onward flow
"to a bon'ey full tidal" vertebraic expansion. This
wished for " Zero'phfan forgetfulness" is attained in ten
minutes; for elasticity under thq
analogy; to a vacuum-rest of the Midriff-fan, in the sickly;
for ease, appetite, and sleep at will. Personal instruction
only, by letter to the Agent-factor (with the Metaphysician's
A'reg'inea-fee 21e.). for " Captain " Ackerley, as the pa-
tentee's " Ofilift," No. 5, Swallow-street, Piccadilly,
London.

CLERICAL, MEDICAL, and GENERAL
LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY.
The ANNUAL GENERAI, MEETING of PROPRIETORS will
be hell at the Office of the Society; Son TIIURSDA.Y, the Sixth day
of March next, at I o'clock precisely, at which meeting Six Direc-
tors will be elected.
♦ny proprietor desirous of proposing a candidate for the office of
director, must send the name of such candidate to the secretary,
at least fourteen days before the day of meeting. The ballot will
commence at Eleven and close at Two o clock.
An election of an Auditor (on the part of the Asnired) will also
take place on WEDNESDAY. the sth day of March, between
the hours of Eleven and Two o'cloa..
BONUS.

The Sixth Division of Proict-s- will bo made in jannary, 1857.
Th who complete Policies before the end of June next will par.
ticipste.
GEORGE U. PINCTURD, Resident Secretary.
t 9, Greit Russell-street, Bloomsbury, London, Ilth Feb., 1856.

THEATRE ROYAL, COVENT-GARDEN.
Lessee, Mr. J. H. Anderson.

TEIS EVENING

ROB ROY.

Principal character by Profeasor Anderson.
To conclude with the gorgeons Pantomime of
YE BELLE ALLIANCE.
flown, Mr. Flexmore ; Pantaloon, Mr. Barnes ;liarlequin, Mr. C.

Brown; and Coltuni;inn. Miss E. horne.

THEATRE ROYAL, DRURY-LANE.
Lessee, Mr. E. T. Smith.

THIS EVENDIO,

THE GREAT GUN TRICK.
After which.
NET DIDDLE DIDDLE; or. !lartectutn King Nonsense and the
Seven Ages of Man.

THEATRE ROYAL, HA.YMARKET.
Undo! the Management ofNlr. Encketone.
THIS EVENING,
THE ritsy 'BODY.
Followed by
TILE LITTLE T\aEASITEE.

After which the New Comm Christmas Pantomime, entitled
Tim BUTTERFLY'S BALL AND THE GRASSHOPPER'S
FE &ST; or, Harlequin and the Genius of the Spring.

ROYAL, PRISCP:39'3 rIIEkTRq. OXFO%D-STrtn CT.
Under the Msnalement of tfr. Cakiras
TM 3 EVENLY(3.

THE corNmvs BROTHERS.

After-which,

iIAttLEQUIN AND THE. At kin
_AZD THE MAGPEE ; or, the
Fairy Paradlsa anti Hanky Panky, flib Enchanter.
flarlequint Mr. Corraack ; Clown, Kr. !Latina; Pantaloon, Mr.
rattle ; and Colnmhine, Miss Caroline Adam.

TWZATI2 ROYAL IDELPIIT.
Proprietor, Mr. B. WOster.—Dire:tress, Madame Celeste.

THIS EVENING.
THE BOOTS 0? T!TH HOLLY TREE INN.

After which,
BETSY BA! EE.

To ba fo;lowei by
TauT BLESSED BABY.

To conclude with

ACK AND THE BE k.N STALX; or, Harlequin and Mother
Goose at Homo Again.

which Mews. J. Bland, P. Redford, Xfadame Celeste, Miss
Wyndham, itnd Miss E, Arden will ap3ear.

IMAL OLY ,ITIC THEATRE.

Lessee and Manazer. Mr. Alfre4 Wigan.
THUS vF,L,IT'aa.

STAY AT HOME.

After which Will be produced a New ant denbly-moral, tholgh
exceasively old, MelodrarnAtie Fairy. Extravaganza, entitled
VIE DISCREET PRIV:Mg:3; o tile Throe Gl,pe o!stafl.
in which 111.risrl. Emery, F. TIoi);on, 11. Cooper, Miss Ifarstol,
And Miss Maskoll will appelr.

ROYAL 4U33FY THEATRE.

Lessees, Messra. ,:heplierd and Creswick.