The Sun.
London, England, 1856-02-19 00:00:00

LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 19, 1856.

Spirit of the Public Journals.

(From, the Times of this day.)

The importance of regular and rapid communication be-
tween our Australian colonies and the mother country is
every day becoming more apparent ; and if anything were
required to demonstrate it, the late commercial crisis
would suffice, when it may be said that the whole mer-
cantile interest looked with breathless anxiety for the :sr-
rival of even a single ship laden with the precious metal
which was to relieve, were it ever so little, the pressure
on the money market. While we at home were, perhaps,
anxiously waiting the arrival of the costly freight; it was,
through our own mismanagement, tossing for so many
weeks upon the ocean that the mere interest of the hun-
dreds of thousauds of ounces of gold thus for the time sunk
would have more than covered the price of a steamer to
cenvy it. In the same way, for the want of a speedy in-
terchange of letters, the Australian markets have been al-
ternately starved and surfeited, so that at ens time an ar-
ticle has been sold at more than ten times its value, while
a few months later there has been such a glut of imports
that traders were only too happy to dispose of the very same
article at Irilf its value--at less than the cost price in Eng-
land. We thus ourselves suffer very considerably; the
colonies are still greater sufferers; and our mutual injw ies
act and react upon each other. It will be remembered
that the General Screw Steam Navigation Company con-
tracted to carry a mail by the Cape of Good Hope, and the
Peninsular and Oriental Company by Singapore, in every
month alternately. The former company has abandoned
the contract ; the latter has been temporarily released
from it ; and the mails are now carried by sailing ships-
the fast sailing clippers, which may possibly be the best
means of conveyance for passengers and ordinary goods,
but which certainly do not afford so rapid a transmission
of letters and general intelligence as the Australian colonies
in these days of steam have a right to expect. They have,
in fact, been rather hardly treated in this matter, large
subsidies being given to the companies that carry the Atue-
rican, West Indian, and East Indian mails, while a mere
pittance in comparison is offered for the conveyance of the
Australian letter-bags. Our Post-office gives 240,0001. for
the conveyance of mails to the West Indies, and 30,0001.
more for their further conveyance to Brazil. Nearly
100,0001: is given to the American line of steamers.
The mail to India has a subsidy of more than
210,0001., of which the East India Company
pays only about one-fifth. And what is given for
the conveyance of the Australian mails ? The sum is
not to be found in the estimates of the packet service,
where it might be brought into eomparison with these im-
mense rewards; but in those of the Post-office, where it
looks very respectable as 14,0001. Why, we give more
than that for the conveyance of the mails across the Chan-
nel. That sum is little more than three times what wo
give for the carriage of letters between Southampton and
the Channel Islands, where the communication en other
grounds must necessarily be very frequent, and the mails
can be carried at a very trifling cost.
The inconvenience has been so great, the loss has been so
enormous, that the Australian colonies are willing at
length to go to any definite expense rather than undergo
the hardships of slow and the risks of uncertain communi-
cation. Victoria alone is willing to pay 50,000./. as its
share of the burden. Almost •all the colonies, indeed,
have separately offered rewards for the establishment of a
line of steamers under certain conditions ; but, from not
acting in concert, the stipulations of one are at utter
variance with those of another. The Legislative Council
of New South Wales offers a reward for steam commu-
nication by the Indian route, through Torres Straits,
the distance from Sydney to England and back be-
ing performed in 120 days. South Australia will be
content if the distance to England be accomplished in
70 days, but then it demands a line by way of the
Cape. Western Australia, on the other hand, is the most
inconsistent of all—is quite willing that the mails should
go by Torres Straits, that is round the north-eastern cor-
ner of the continent to Sydney, but on condition that they
first touch at Fremantle, at the very opposite corner,
almost on the line of the Cape steamers. Then Victoria
hay a scheme of its own, by which it is proposed that the
mails may go either by the Cape or by the Red Sea—it
don't much matter; only in any case they must go round
the south-west corner, that is by King George's Sound, so
as to reach Melbourne in not less than 55 days from the
date of leaving London. The contradictory character of
those stipulations is evident, but we believe that, even if
the matter rested entirely with the colonies, they are too
much in earnest to let local rivalries interfere with the
general good. They have shown this desire so strongly,
and have appealed to the home Government in so liberal a
spirit, that, although the contract cannot ultimately bo
decided until we hear definitely from all the colonial Go-
vernments, the Lords of the Treasury have come forward
with a scheme which they propose for the acceptance of
Australian Legislatures, and in which they have so much
confidence that they do not hesitate at once to invite ten-
ders, in order that the contracts may be completed and
the service commenced at the earliest possible period.
With regard to a route they make no selection. They
have wisely left that to the contractors. Let it bo by
Panama, by the Cape, or by the Red Sea, —the coutrac-
tors are most likely to fix upon the most expeditious, con-
venient and profitable highway. The Treasury, by its
recent minute, however, has decided that the points at
which the steamers of the main line shall touch shall be
restricted to three—namely, King George's Sound, Mel-
bourne, and Sydney, and that branch lines shall be estab-
lished at the general expense for the other colonies—for '
South Australia, for Van Diemen's Land, for New Zealand.
With regard to expense, the Governor of New South
Wales has calculated that the maximum, cost of the service
would be 100,0001., or about half what we give to the
American steamers. The Peninsular and Oriental Com-
pany has, in fact, already offered -to convey the mails in
connection with their Indian boats for a sun of 84,000/. ;
and, subtracting from this sum 24,0001., or two-thirds of
the postal revenue, the portion of it applicable to the sea
service, the surplus required to meet the expense would be
60,0001. But whatever be the amount required for the
contract, the home Government proposes that the colonies
shall divide with us the loss, and shall share with us the
profit. This will be effected by rendering the pre-payment
of all letters compulsory ; the colonies will retain their
own postal receipts, and we ours, it being presumed that
the number of letters to and fro is about equal. The num-
ber of letters which each colony receives will also afford
a pretty fair test of the proportion of tire expense which
each ought to bear. The arrangement is very simple ; the
need is very urgent; the colonies are very willing ;
the contract ought to be made very soon ; and it is to be
hoped that after all our delays and disappointments the
service will at last be very effective.

(Front the Times of this day.)

There aro two parties very much aggrieved by the pre-
sent condition of Church rates. Their grievances, however,
are by no means the same. The clergy and churchwardens,
backed by the more zealous members of the Church, have
au ancient customary right to levy rates for the repair of
the church and for the maintenance of divine service; but
while flattered with the pretence of this right, they can
only enforce it with the assistance of a majority in the
vestry. It frequently happens, therefore, that they cannot
enforce the right, and have not done so for many years—
in some parishes never at all in the memory of man.
Having, however, a legal maintenance, they find it all the
harder to collect voluntary subscriptions, or to put the
church on the same footing as religious and charitable in-
stitutions of a minor character. They find it difficult to get
either the one or the other, and between the two stools of
law and goodwill the church often falls to the ground.
This grievance rankles in the mind of many a clergyman
and many an earnest Churchman. They do not like to sur-
render the rights of the church, and give up the bat-
tle for Church rates so long as the shadow of a right
remains. Hence the most venerable and august institution
in the country, the very edifices of which are many of
them as old as the Conqueror, and far older than Parlia-
ment, subsists in many places in a state of proud poverty,
or a medium between despotic pretensions and actual
squalor. Such is the hardship of the Church. That of
Dissenters is also considerable. They are liable to be
called on to pay to an institution which they think little
better than the Popery that Churchmen, in common with
themselves, have long ago renounced, and to support a
rival at the demand of a tyrant majority. Notwithstand-
ing all that the bolder class of Church advocates choose to
hay about rates being an obligation, not on parishioners,
but on houses and lands, they certainly aro felt to be a
burden on the conscience and an insult to independence.
Nor are those the only classes aggrieved. They who pay
rates for the support of a church two or three miles off,
they who have built churches for themselves without the
power of levying rates, they who find nearly the whole
area of the church monopolised by largo pews, and they
who have the pleasure of hearing the sermons preached
and the service conducted in a manner which grates against
all their warmest feelings and profoundest convictions, do
not like to pay a tribute which, besides its cost, is the
symbol of an abject subjection.
When this is the state of things, and when a civil
war actually rages on the subject of Church rates through.
out the whole of the kingdom, so that it is only a question
of time how long they will be collected in any given parish,
it is a wonder that no decent plan has been hit upon for
putting an end to a scandal and a nuisance. The only re-
sult, besides the civil war itself, with such superciliousness
on the one side and rudeness on the other, has been a series
of bids on both sides. Now it is the advocates of the Dia-
sunting interest, now the friends of the Church, that come
forward with a plan for putting the Church out of its
pain by determining the question one Way or another.
Nothing shows so ill for the sense and temper of the Church
as that it has not ere this settled upon Borne scheme for
the satisfaction of all reasonable people. The Church of
England at this moment does not possess any extraordinary
amount of eloquence; it hardly professes to be learned;
it eschews philosophy, and lays little claim to those
austere virtues which won the reverence of a simpler
It ought, at least, to exhibit some of that
sense
poetry,
nd o
withagowdrhoi:an co opchamie:.o srttlnn:tey to exhi-
bitpp
lyn supply
no matter
pthraecwtiacnal go
want
of genius,
c
bastihtissoognreeraetdaeeemalilnagngdrasce as in devising some plan for
settling a wretched pecuniary squabble. So long as it
simply looks on the breach widens, parish after parish
falls a victim to the epidemic resistance, the rates, once
refused, are never more granted, and there is an end of
the question as far as that parish is concerned.
qMean-
while, every session is producing schemes from other
quarters, all coming with the immense recommendation
that, at all events, they settle the question. Many a man
has acquiesced in a very strong reree:ly because he could
not stand the worry, and fret, and discussion about a mild
one. In like manner even quiet Church noople will soon
consent to the amputation of Church rates altogether in
order to save the perpetual blistering, plaisteriug, lancing,
probing, cutting, and hacking, that goes on at present.
Indeed overy year that the Church declines to come for-
ward with a remedy wo are drifting nearer to the most
summary possible treatment of the disorder.
The bill just introduced by Sir William Clay, Mr. Hutt,
and Mr. Miall to abolish Church rates, and to make other
provision in lieu thereof, will probably not be very accept-
able to those Church people who have stood out for the
Church's common law right to a maintenance by rates. It
proposes to substitute for the rates voluntary subscrip-
tions, to be spent, as the rates are now, by the church-
wardens, subject to five auditors, to bo nominated, olio by
the clergyman. the other four by the congregation. This
part of the bill is of the less importance, inasmuch as tin
auditors would not he wanted if there were no subscrip-
tions, and, if there were, the subscribers would probably

take their own measures for the proper employment of their
money. The real gist of the bill is the substitution of a
voluntary collection for a forced rate, and, though this
may seem to give up the whole question as regards the
Church, yet we cannot help suspecting it will come
to this in the long run. It certainly will if the Church
does nothing. Had the Church in the metropolis not
followed bad counsels, and resisted the extramural
interment bills, ono and all, for so many years, it
would probably have made a much better bargain than it
has now. The same result may be expected from the
tenacity with which the Church clings to its rates. If it
sets its face against all accommodation and all adjustment
of claims, it will find that one day it will have to swallow
as best it can some such simple and final measure as that
now before us.

THE ARMY IN THE BAST.-LORD

CARDIGAN.

THE EARL OF CARDIGAN TO L')RD PANMURE.

Portman-square, Feb. 13, 1856.
My Lord,—ln consequence of the allusions which have
been made to me in the report of the commissioners of in-
quiry into matters connected with the British army in the
Crimea, I consider it my duty to express to your lordship,
as Secretary Of State for War, an explanation of my con-
duct as therein auitnadverted upon.
The reflections upon me are conveyed in these words :
•• When the supply began to fail the commissariat officer
referred to, who appears to have done everything in his
power to meet the difficulties of the case, proposed, as he
know there was plenty of barley at Balaklava, that if a de-
tachment of the horses were allowed to go down daily, he
would engage to bringup enough for the rest of the brigade.
This proposition appears to have been brought specially
under the notice of Lord Cardigan by Lieut.-Col: llilayow,
assistant quartermaster general of cavalry, whastates that
his lordship declined to accede to it, as he had previously
done when a similar proposition was made to him to send
the horses down for hay before that supply failed."
I will now, my lord, proceed to show upon wilA,Axidenoe
it is that this statement is made with regard to my con-
duct.

I will commence by stating that the 14th of November is
the earliest date referred to in these accusations, and that I
resigaed the command of the Light Cavalry Brigade, owing
to extreme bad health, on the 28th of the same month.
I beg to transmit a copy of my official resignation.
Tne f )110 wing is an extract from Lieut.=Colonel
evid,nce, then brigade major of the Light Cavalry Bri-
gade :

" For some time after the 14th of November no hay was
supplied to the brigade, but a full ration of barley, After
some days the issue of barley fell off, in consequence, it
was understood, of the deficiency of transport. The
commissariat officer applied to Lord Cardigan to have the
troop horses sent down for forage. When that application
was first made the brigade was receiving full rations of
barley, and he understood from the commissariat officer
that no hay could be got at Balaklava. It did not, there-
fore, appear to him at that time that it was expedient to
send the troop horses. When the ration of barley fell off
the application to send troop hoiscs for forage was re-
newed by the commissariat officer, and brought by him
(Colonel Alayow) under the notice of Lord Cardigan ' • but
his lordship declined to send them, and they were not sent
so long as the regiment remained in front."
I beg hors to observe that Colonel Mayow does not state
what the exact date was of his change of opinion as to the
expediency or inexpediency of sending down the troop
horses for forage. But that I must consider it of great im-
portance, when evidence is given four months after events
have occurred, and that evidence /effects upon the conduct
of an absent commanding-officer, that dates should be an-
curatoly adhered to ; and the necessity for this is particu-
larly demonstrated by the inaccuracy of Lieut.-Colonel
Douglas's evidence as to dates. Before I state in detail that
officer's evidence, it is right I should point out that I have
Colonel Mayow's own official reports to me up to the 20th,
2181, and 22d November ; and on the 20th he reports—
" The troops have a supply of barley not quite the full
amount ; there is no bay." On the 21st he reports—" The
horses got barley last night, not quite the full quantity,
but no hay. The men had their rations." And on the 22d
of November—" There was as near as possible a full ration
of barley came up last night, but no hay. The men are well
off for rations." On Nov. 18 Col. Mayow previously made
the following report—" The horses had hay and corn yester-
day, but nut their full allowance ; by some mistake the ar-
tillery got some intended for us. I had spoken to Mr.-
Cruickshank, who is now gone to Balaklava, and said he
hoped to be able to supply full rations this eveniug."
I scud your lordship Colonel Mayow's official reports to
me, that you may see that my statement is correct ; and I
beg to point out to you that the full ration of barley was
all the cavalry horses got daily, except for short periods,
since they landed in the East ; there was very little hay iu
Bulgaria, and the only substitute for it, viz., chopped
straw, was supplied with great uncertainty.
Lieutenant-Colonel Douglas in his evidence states as fol.
lows, viz. :—" For about a fortnight after the 14th of No-
vember the horses were without hay or straw, and had
only ou average 2?-ilb. of barley per day. * *
"While things were in this state, I made a representa-
tion to the officer commanding the Light Brigade, through
•the brigade major, proposing that a certain number of the
horses should be sent down daily to bring up forage from
Balaklava, where it was understood that it could be ob-
tained, but the proposal was rejected:"
This statement is supported in Appendix, page 19, by a
letter dated Balaklava, Dec. 3, 1854, four days after I had
resigned the command of the Light Brigade, and dated
from the camp near Balaklava, and not from that on the
heights of Inkerman. _ _

"Balakleva, Dec. 5, 1854.
"Sir,—l have the honour to report that the 11th Hus-
sey, under my command, have only received the quantity
of barley specified in the margin, from the 28th November
to Ist December, 1854 (both days inclusive) and no hay.
" I have, ttc.,
(Signed) "J. DOUGLAS,
Lieut.-Colonel Commanding 11th Hussars."

I beg to state that I could have furnished some addi-
tional information to the board, and I do so now for your
lordship's perusal, viz., a letter from Lieutenant-Colonel
Douglae, of the 28th of November, 1854, the evening before
I resigned the command of the brigade, in which, although
the great deficiency of forage is complained of, not one
weed is said in the way of recommending, that troop horses
should be sent for the forage.
I beg leave to direct your attention to the manner in
which this evidence is given, viz.:—" For about a fort-
night after the 14th of November the horses were without
hay or straw, and had only on an average 21 pounds •f
barley per day ;" whereas the commissariat reports sent to
me daily by Col. Mayow go to prove that very near full
rations were lulled on the 20th, 21st, and 22d of the mouth;
and Col. Mayow himself states in evidence that for some
time after the 14th of November full rations of barley
wore supplied.
Colmel Shewell states that he learned from Colonel De
Salis, then in command of the regiment, that " towards
the end of November a representation was made to Lord
Cardigan, of the expediency of sending down a certain
number of horses to Balaklava to procure forage, but his
proposal was rejected."

I have already pointed out the nature of the representa-
tion made to me by Col. Douglas, and in addition I have
to state that the commissariat officer of the brigade pro•
posed verbally to Colonel Mayow, for soy information, on
the 24th of November, that troop horses should be sent
down for forage to Balaklava. This I objected to, upon
the grounds that the horses were totally unfit to march
seven or eight miles (the distance as stated in the report of
the commissioners) from the camp to Balaklava, and then
return heavily laden with forage, and without a greater
loss of horses to the brigade and the service than that
which occurred by the deficiency of forage.
The commissary-general never applied to me officially to
send down troop herscs, nor was any representation made
to Lord Raglan by that department. It may here be ob-
served, too, that the greater part of the correspondence by
the deputy-assistant commissary-general, relative to the
Light Cavalry Brigade, WitS addressed to the lieutenant-
general commanding the division (vide pages 48 and 49 of
the commissioners' report).

...... _.... . •
I beg to add, that no proposal was ever made to me to
send clown troop horses either by Col. Douglas, Col. Do
Selig' or any officer of the brigade ; and I world here ask
why Co]. Showell, who in his evidence named me as the
responsible person, did not, on the 18th of Nov., when the
lieutenant-general of the Cavalry Division gave a variety
of orders to the commanding officers of regiments as to the
details of the duties of the brigade, and wen he (Colonel
Showell) personally asked for and obtained leave of absence
to go on board ship, why he did not, if the case was so
pressing, apply to the lieutenant-general for permission to
send the troop horses for forage? But this omission of
profiting by such an opportunity, on the part of Colonel
Showell, and the fact that no other commending officer in
the Light Brigade, when they were assembled to receive
the lieutenant-general on the 18th of Nov., needs auy
similar suggestion, confirms nay conviction that what-
ever opinions those officers may have expressed in the
month of March before the commissioners, they all eon-
" °a:
wellg s
a are, againstmade'
curred with me in opinion in the month of November,
1854, that the troop horses were unfit to perform the duty
of carrying the forage.
Another opportunity was afforded to the commanding
officersa
ny o f regimentsrepresentations
tooliththee l2iBetuhteonfaNnto-gve"nelrBas4l Woitfhnijaegkaiurgd
to the transport of forage, when an order was sent direct
to them with regard to encampment, a copy of which is
now transmitted.
With regard to Col. Shewell's evidence, that officer states
that, " if the horses had received their lull rations they
would not have suffered so much, notwithstanding their
1 exposure to the weather,"—whereas it is notorious that
the mortality amongst the horses in the heavy brigade
1 during the month of November, 1854, was greater than
that of the light brigade, although they wore so much
better supplied with forage.
Reference is made by Colonel Showell " to the deficiency
of nosebags, in consequence of which the grain was laid on
the ground and a great part of it lost." I have to state
that every endeavour was made by me to obtain nosebags
for the brigade, without huceess.; so that at last I applied
to Sir E. Lyons to assist me, which was the cause of 400
nosebags being supplied to the Light Brigade, by the kind-
ness of the gallant admiral.
I received the following letter on the subject from Sir
E. Lyons :
" Her Majesty's ship Agamemnon, off Sebastopol,
Jan. 3, 1855.
" My dear Lord,—At length the n
but your lordship is gone, and I think I am doing as you
would wish in sending them to your successor in command
of the Light Division.
aga"inlstaitnhesoerfiry.ecttos
ohfeairmtihiestcaymoupahigandinbge7 obliged to leave
this army—obliged you certainly were ; for no roan fought
the enemy, wore manfully than your lordehio—to wit, the
heat and privations on the Danube, the cold and exposure
before S-bastopol, and the glorious charge before Bala-
klava.—l have, &c.,

(Signed) " EDMUND LYONS."
And I will here state that I feel proud of the good opi-
nion of so distinguished a man as Admiral Sir E. Lyons.
Colonel Doherty gives similar evidence to that of Col.
Douglas before the commissioners—viz., that the horses
only had an average of two pounds and a half of barley
after the 12th of November, but which statement cannot
be sustained against the evidence I have adduced to the
contrary. Ile also states that El troop horses fell dead, al-
though led, marching flow ono encampment to the other.

Although this occurred four days after I had resigned the
I command of the brigade, I cannot but think that
that number 'has been unintentionally exaggerated ;
but if otherwise, it only tends to prove that for any rea-
sonable number of days previous the horses could not have
been fit to go the distance, and carry the burdens I have
already alluded to.
I have now to advert to a very important point—viz.,
that on the 16th of November I suggested to the officers
commanding the regiments of the Light Brigade the ne-
cessity of their furnishing me with reports of the state of
their regiments with regard to their men and horses, noti-
fying all deficiencies and grievances which they might wish
to represent, in order that I might transmit them through
the lieutenant-general commanding the division to Lord
Raglan, knowing the hardships and inconveniences to
which they were all exposed, and hoping that the com-
mander-in-chief would order the brigade to be removed to
a more convenient place of encampment.
I herewith transmit to your lordship copies of the re-
ports famished by officers commanding regiments in the
Light Brigade ; and you will no doubt be surprised to see
that scareely.any allusion is made to the state of the horses,
and no suggestion whatever made as to the advisability of
troop horses being sent for forage.' Not having received
after the 16th of November any acknowledgment of those
reports, I addressed a letter to the tdedstaut adjutant-gene-
ral, Lord Wm. Paulet, to which I received a reply, an ex-
tract of which I now forward a copy.
" Camp near Sebastopol, Nov. 18, 1851.
"My dear Lord Cardigan,—l submitted your letter; and
those of the five commanding officers, to Lord Lucan, who
has them now in his possession, and, I think, does not in-
tend forwarding them for Lord Raglan's consideration.
" I have, Sr.e.,
(Signed) " W. PAULET."
To prove further my constant attention to the details of
the brigade, I beg to transmit a letter which I addressed
to the lieutenant-general commanding-the division on the
16th November, 1354, relative to the state of the sick in
the hospitals of the camp (iu which, after making some
slight complaints as to-the details of duties of the brigade),
I strongly urged that immediate means might be adopted
for them-tile neat" on ship. ' In this, negret to
state, a long delay occurred, consequent, no doubt, upon
the unavoidable absence of the means of transport.
I have only further to add, that taking advantage of the
private friendship with which. Lord Raglan honoured me, I
several times urged upon his lordship the benefit that would
be derived by removing the Light Cavalry Brigade to a more
convenient encampment; and the brigade was removed to
the valley near Balaklava on the 3d of December, four days
after I had resigned the command of it, Colonel Doherty
having been instantly on my resignation put in orders as
my successor in command of the Light Cavalry Brigade.
Havingthus, my lord, given a plain statement of all which
occurred during the last days of my command of the Light
Cavalry Brigade in the Crimea, and feeling that in conse-
quence of the report of the commissioners a great deal of
obloquy has been heaped upon me, and my military cha-
racter has been severely and unsparingly reflected upon, I
must beg leave in a few words to state what my humble
services were whilst serving with the army of the East,
and the opinion of the commander-in-chief of the army as
to the manner in which I performed the duties which de-
volved upon me. On the 24th of June, 1851, I received
the following orders :
"Head-quarters, Varna, June 24, 1854, 11 p.m.
" The Earl of Cardigan will proceed in person early to-
morrow to Bagnrdjik with two squadrons of cavalry, carry-
ing with him three days' provision and forage, take with
him from thence the whole of the Turkish cavalry stationed
there, and proceed with the least possible delay towards
Karasou in order to ascertain the movements of the enemy.
"Forage and provision will be sent for his party, in-
cluding the Turkish cavalry, from hence to Bagurdjik by
the direct route early to-morrow. Await his arrival and
follow his movements. " I have, &c.,

(Signed) , " II AGLAN."
" Varna, 24, 1854.
" My dear Lord Cardigan,—Accounts have just been re-
ceived that the enemy have raised the siege of Silistria and
retreated behind the Dauuba, but as there seems to ba
reason to believe that a portion—probably a large portion
—have gone down the right bank into tho Dobrudseha, Lord
Raglan is desirous that you should in person push a patrol
through Bagurdjik, in the direction of Karasou, in order
to ascertain the fact. From Bagurdjik you will carry with
you the whole of the Turkish cavalry stationed there, and
the commissarial, have been instructed to posh on forage
and provisions for the whole three squadrons for three or
four days to that place. Arrived at Karasou, you will
patrol with small parties to the left towards the Danube
until you either fall in with the enemy's poste, or ascer-
tain the direction of his march, and you will send back
reports direct to Varna by means of Turkish dragoons,
which you had better leave at Bagurdjik and drop on the
road for that purpose. The patrol will, of course, leave
their tents in oamp, and take nothing with them that is
not carried on their horses.

" You will observe that by this arrangement you will
have forage and provisions for six or seven days, as the
mules will be able to follow y*ur motions at such safe dis-
tance in the rear of the troops as you may direct.
" It is unnecessary for me to remind your lordship of the
necessity of caution anti circumspection in the performance
of this important duty, or to assure you of Lord Raglan's
full confidence that you will conduct it with judgment,
intelligence, and success. " I have, &c.,
(Signed) " G. BROWN."
I received the following letter from Lord Raglan, dated
Varna, 3d July, 1854 :-
1 "My 'dear Lord Cardigan,—Mr. 3faxe delivered to me
your report of the 30th, early oa the afternoon of the Ist
instant.

" You had then been at Karasou, and were on the point
of patroling to Rossova,. where I understood yesterday,
from an indirect source, you did not find anyof the enemy.
You have thus fulfiled your mission, and are now, I con-
clude, on your return.

" I am very much obliged to you for the pains you have
taken to carry out my instructions. By so doing you have
ascertained for me that the Russians have withdrawn from
this end of the Dobruilscha, and that the country between
this and Trajan's Wall is not only clear of the enemy, but is
totally deserted by the inhabitants.
" These are important facts, which it was very desirable
I should be made acquainted with, and I hope that the
fatigue that you and the squadrons have undergone in ob-
taining the information will not prove injurious to your
health and that of the officers and men under your orders.
" I have endeavoured, I hope successfully, to keep you
supplied with provisions and forage corn.
Yours, &c.,
(Signed) " RAGLAN."
In the performance of this duty the squadrons under my
coir mend marched nearly 300 miles, bivouacking for 1.7
nights in the open air.
I afterwards had the Light Cavalry Brigade, the troop
of Horse Artillery, and two regiments of Heavy Dragoons,
under my command and superintendence, at a distance
from head-quarters, in Bulgaria, during the period when
the cholera, fevers, were raging, and I received his
lordship's appreval of my arrangements and services in a pri-
vate letter, which I transmit for your lordship's perusal.
The commander-in-chief of the army wrote the following
despatch with regard to the cavalry affair at Bulgarnack
the evening before the battle of the Alma :

EXTRACTS PROM GENERAL LORD RAGLAN'S DESPATCH,
DATED HEAD-QUARTERS, KATCHKA. RIVER, SEPT. 23, 1854.
" The English and French armies moved out of their
first encampment in the Crimea on the 19th, and bivouacked
for the night on the left bank of the Bulgarnack, theformer
having previously supported the advance of a part of the
Earl of Cardigan's brigade of Light Cavalry, which had the
effect of inducing the enemy to movo up a large body of
Dragoons and Cossacks, with artillery.

" Oa this first occasion of the English encounteritp, the
Russian force it was impossible for any troops to exhibit
more steadiness than did this portion of her Majesty's
cavalry. It fell back upon its supports with the most per-
fect regularity under the fire of the artillery, which was
quickly silenced by that of the batteries I caused to be
brought into action."
Secondly :

" Iu tho afternoon of the previous day, Major General
the Earl of Cardigan exhibited the utmost spirit and cool-
ness, and kept the brigade under perfect command."
Lord Raglan again wrote the following despatch with re-
gard to the battle of Balaklava

(Extract.) " Before Sebastopol, Oct. 28, 1854.
"Major-General the Earl of Cardigan was ordered to
move forward with the Light Brigade. This order was
obeyed in the most spirited and gallant manner. Lord Car-
digan charged with the utmost vigour, attacked a battery
which was firing upon the advancing squadrons, and having
passed beyond it engaged the Russian cavalry in its rear ;
but there his troops were assailed by artillery and infantry
as well as cavalry, and necessarily returned after having
committed much havoc upon the enemy.
" They effected this movement without haste or confu-
sion, but the loss they have sustained has, I deeply lament,
been very severe in officers, men, and horses, only coun-
terbalanced by the brilliancy of the attack, and the gallan-
try, order, and discipline which distinguished it." * * *
The lieutenant-general of the cavalry division, who was
a witness to the transaction, wrote the following report of
the charge of the Light Cavalry Brigade against the Rus-
sian batteries on the 25th of October, 1854 :
(Extract.) " Balaklava Oct. 27, 1854.

,
" The attack of the Light Cavalry was very brilliant
and daring; exposed to a fire from heavy batteries on their
front and two flanks, they advanced unchecked until they
reached the batteries of the enemy, and cleared them of
their gunners, and only returned when they found them-
selves engaged with a very superior force of cavalry in the
rear. Major-General the Earl of Cardigan led this attack
in the most gallant and intrepid manner, and his lordship
too expressed himself to me as admiring in the highest de-
gree the courage and zeal of every officer, non-commis-
sioned-offlcer, and man who assisted."

Having made this statement I now fearlessly leave the
case in the hands of your lordship and the public, trusting
that you will do me the favour to give it tho greatest pos.
sible publicity. I have, &c.
(Signed) CARDIGAN,
Major-General and Inspecting-General of Cavalry.

A FUGITIVE SLAVE IN LIVERPOOL.—A. female slave
was brought to the port of Liverpool on Saturday night
last by the American ship Asterion, Captain Day, un-
der the following peculiar circumstances :—lt appears
that while the ship was loading at New Orleans the
poor creature made her escape, whereupon her master
offered a reward of 500 dollars to any person who would
restore his " property." The police, as is usual in such
a race, made strict search throughout the city and on
board the vessels in the harbour, but she eluded their
vigilance, and found a friend in the ship's boatswain,
who secretly conveyed her on borird ar.d kept her in
.his
berth during the whole of the passage, which occupied
25 days. A remarkable fact is, that with the exception
of the boatswain, who liberated her, her presence in
the ship was unknown to all on board, even the cal•
tain ; and when the vesel anchored in the river she
was discovered by the Custom-house officers, searching
for contraband tobacco, concealed amongst the hed.
clothes in the boatswain's berth. She was taken ot,
shore and placed in lodgings iu Queen-street, a fro o
woman. She is a Mulatto, about 20 or 23 years of
age, appeared tidily attired, and stated she was well
treated since her departure from " the laud of liberty."

Naval and Military Intelligence.

Rear-Admiral the Hon. Sir R.. S. Dundee, the late
Commander-in-Chief of the Battle fleet, was yesterday re.
appointed to that command by the Board of Admiralty,
and Captain the Hon. F. Pelham, C.8.,' was appointed
Captain of the Fleet, having also held that appointment
last year in the Baltic.
Rear-Admiral R. L. Bayne3, C. 8., who was third in
command in the Baltic fleet last year, was yesterday
also appointed to hoist his flag, for service in the Baltic.
Rear-Admiral Sir M. Seymour, K.C.8., who was
second in command of the Baltic flefet during the last
year, is appointed to succeed Rear-Admiral Stirling as
Commander-in-Chief in the East Indies. Her Majesty's
ship Calcutta, sailing 84, will leave Portsmouth this
day for Plymouth, to be fitted for the flag of Rear-Ad-
miral Seymour. Sir Michael 'will not wait for the Cal-
cutta, but will proceed to relieve Sir James by the
overland route.

Orders have been received at Portsmouth Dockyard
for the authorities tdexpedite with all despatch the refit.
ment of the three steam troop-ships Vulcan, Commander
itowyear ; the Perseverance, Commander Crang ; and
the Urgent, Commander Phillips, as they may be
vantedi suddenly to embark troops for colonial' service.
Her Majesty's steam-frigate Dragon, 6, Captain
Stewart, C. 8., will leave Portsmouth harbour for Spit-
head to-morrow. She was tried in the steam basin
after a refit yesterday. _ _

The Flying Fish, 6, screw-sloop, Commander Dew,
has received her boilers at Portsmouth, and is otherwise
being equipped rapidly for service.
The 13Ienheirn, 60, screw block-ship, Captain W. H.
Hall, bent sails yesterday afternoon at Portsmouth, and
will join the fleet at Spithead on Friday. She is ordered
to prepare for sea, and it is rumoured
.that she goes to
Lisbon, and will send home the St. George, sailing, 120.
,

The steam-tender Alban, 4, Lieut. Fisher, -arrived at
Spithead yesterday tilorning from the eaststarl, with
supernumeraries and left again in the afternoon.
The Algiers, 91, Captain Codringtou, C. 8., went into
Portsmouth harbour yesterday to refit.
The Falcon, 17, screw sloop, Commander Pullen, corn:
pleted the adjustment of her compasses in Portsmouth
harbour yesterday.
The steam-transport Cleopatra, No. 136, will embark
this day at Portsmouth about ma of the Lancashire and
Oxford Militia for Corfu.

The Sovereign steam transport, No. 68, went into
Portsmouth harbour yesterday aftene
The Royal Mail Company have received orders from
the Admiralty to immediately prepare their steam-ships
Orinoco and Great Western, now lying at Southampton,
for the transport service. The Thames is also to be got
ready for the purpose of conveying to Malta from Ports-
mouth on Saturday next 500 men and 22 officers, de-
tachments of various regiments.
The General Screw Company have received an intima'
tion that the Government might require the use of their
four large ships now lying in Southampton Docks—
viz., the Calcutta, Argo, Ilydaspes, and Queen of the
South, for the transport service. The company are act-
ing upon the intimation, and the vessels are being pre-
pared for sea.
The screw freight-ship Gottenberg, with a cargo of
Ordnance stores from the Tower, for the use of the troops
in the East, arrived at Woolwich yesterday morning,
and after shipping 20 tons of ammunition there will sail,
without delay, for her destination.
The Dee, with boilers and steam machinery, left Wool-
wich yesterday for Portsmouth.
The steam gun-boats Forester and Fervent were yes-
terday morning taken into Woolwich basin to be rigged
and fitted for service.

The following appointments were made yesterday at
the Admiralty :—Lord E. H. Cecil, Lieutenant (flag), to
the Duke of Wellington ; Lieut. Lionel Lambert, to the
Retribution ; Lieut. W. M. Sanctuary, to the Cmsar ;
Lieut. R. H. Swinton, to the Cressy ; Lieut. John B.
Barwett, to the Desperate; Lieut. T. L. Pearson, to the
Lapwing; Lieut. A. 11. Welch, to the Hogue.
Lieutenants appointed to the command of gun-boats:
—Lieut. W. B. Pauli, to the Louisa ; Lieut. E. A. T.
Stubbs, to the Fervent; Lieut. A. T. Key, to the Nettle;
Lieut. W. B. Stubbs, to the Pet ; T. W. Stephens,
Mate, to the Mohawk ; E. C. Hawarth, navel cadet, to
the Cre:tsy ; H.S. Kelly, Second Master, to the Victory;
T. Coates, Master's Assistant, to the Salamander ; H.
Gilpin, Paymaster, to the Nile.
Recruits joined the Royal Marine corps at Woolwich
in great numbers, in consequence of which orders have
been issued to withdraw the recruiting parties from
various stations—namely, Stamford, Ip iwich, Oxford,
Bradford, and some other places. The Royal Marine
battalions now number more than 16,0300. The number
of invalids discharged from Woolwich per week amounts
to about 20. The Woolwich and Chatham divisions
have each 200 supernumeraries, and Portsmouth 74.
Captain Walter B. Persse, 00th Light Infantry, will
proceed from the provisional battalion this day for Ports-
; mouth, in charge of a large draught of the Medical Staff
Corps, under orders to embark in the Cleopatra for
Scutari.

Yesterday afternoon invalids to the number of. 67,
from almost every regiment now in the Crimea, arrived
at Chatham, having disembarked from the Thames
steam-transport at Portsmouth. They left the hospital
at Balakiava on the 26th of January last, and sailed the
following day, in charge of Lieutenant William Daunt,
of the 9th Regiment. Captain H. Foster, 95th Regi-
ment, and Lieutenant H. J. De Carteret, 79th High-
landers, also arrived with the detachment, having been
invalided home., Most of the invalids who arrived had
received their wounds at the attack on the Redan.
Dr. Andrew Smith, the Director-General of the
Medical Department of the Army, paid a visit of inspec-
tion to the hospitals at Chatham yesterday. After hav-
ing minutely inspected the Garrison and Brompton
Hospitals, which were considered by Dr. Smith to be,
as to their general cleanliness, all he could desire, he
drove to the General Hospital, Fort Pitt. After passing
through the various wards, which were scrupulously
clean, Dr. Smith inspected the new building now erecting
for the insane soldiers, and before leaving expressed his
entire satisfaction with the whole of the arrangements
under Dr. Dartnell, the principal medical officer.