The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-05-09 00:00:00

service.

THE SUPPLEMENTAL ESTIMATES.
Supplemental estimates were laid before parliament on
Wednesday for the navy, army, and ordnance.
The sum required for the naval expenditure of the year
which has just commenced, beyond the amount already
voted, is no less than 4;4,553,731 ; but two-thirds of this
amount (R3,096;100) are for the expense of transporting
troops and horses, an item of expenditure which it is the
practise to charge to the navy, and not to the army de-
partment. Of the remaining portion of this estimate,
£1,457,031, which is for the effective naval service, one of
the first items is £220,000, required for a year's wages for
an additional 5,000 seamen ; and it is proposed also to take
a vote of £llO,OOO, for pay for six months additional, for
5,000 seamen (of the 41,000 already voted), for. whom six
months' wages only were voted in the original navy esti-
mates. Corresponding charges follow for victuals and
medicines, and one of £47,000 for additional expense in
in wages to artificers at home. There are also items of
£160,000 for fuel for steam-vessels, £252,674 for the pur-
chase and repair of steam machinery, and £244,657 for the
purchase of steam-vessels, gunboats, &c. The supple-
mental estimate also includes £BO,OOO to provide for the
balance of pay due to the representatives of the officers
and crews of the Erebus and Terror up to the 31st March
last.

The supplemental army estimate is for a further addi-
tion of 14,799 (of all ranks) to the land forces, raising
their numbers to 142,766, or 40,493 more than were voted
at this time last year. The additional charge to be now
voted is only £300,000 ; but the total additional charge,
as compared with the army estimate voted at this time
last year, will thereby be raised to £1,132,470.
The supplemental ordnance estimate is for £742,132.
The larger portion of the amount is required for stores
and :barrack supplies—£44,62l for great coats, £22,113 for
boots imdshoes for troops in the field, £30,000 for horses,

The estimates for the three services, as originally
framed and voted, amounted to £17,621,312, being an
increase of £2,257,236 upon the votes of last year. A
supplemental army tstimate of £570,000 has since been
voted. The supplemental estimates to be now voted are
Navy—Effective service £1,457,041
Transport of troops and
horses

Army
Ordnance

.. 3,096,700

£4,553,731
• 300,000
• 742,132

.. £5,595,863

REVEL AND CRONSTADT.

Tim following description of the Russian ports in the
Baltic, which may probably soon form the scene of
encounters with the allied fleets, will, no doubt, be read
with much interest. We are indebted for it to our
able London contemporary, The Press :
At the entrance to the Gulf of Finland, after the navi-
gator has doubled the isle and lighthouse of Odensholm,
the first points of interest are the fort of Rogervich and
the great harbour called Port Baltic. Before Russia pos-
sessed the splendid harbours of Finland vast works were
began by Peter the Great, and continued by the Empresses
Elizabeth and Catherine, for the purpose of shutting in the
port of Rogervich by a dyke and rendering it fit for a naval
station. But the operations required were not less formi-
dable than those of Cherbourg, and the government ulti-
mately abandoned them. Revel, which lies eight leagues
from Rogervich, has .thus become the first or westernmost
military harbour on the gulf. The city of that name is
the capital of Esthonia, contains some 25,000 inhabitants,
and is situated about 130 leagues from St. Petersburg.
The harbour of Revel is extensive, with a great depth
of water. Around it,are building-docks, a naval arsenal,
a cannon foundry, and all other works requisite for a mili-
tary port. The town stands on an elevation, and is
strongly fortified, especially on the side towards the sea.
The guns of the citadel command the harbour, althoUgh
from some distance. The channel leading into the port
winds amongst islands and sandbanks, which render the
navigation extremely difficult, especially when, as at pre-
sent, the buoys and landmarks are removed. But, in spite
of these difficulties, the Russians themselves have never
' considered Revel impregnable, as they do Cronstadt or
Sveaborg. The government has, however, taken vigorous
measures to strengthen its defences. New 'batteries have
been constructed; its suburbs razed within the radius of
a cannon shot; the women, children, and infirm sent out
of the town ; and the civic and judicial authorities trans-
ferred to Veissenstein, a little town ten leagues inland.
Finally, a corps of 30,000 men has been despatched to
protect the city and its environs.
Penetratinc, deeper into the Gulf of Finland, we arrive
at Cronstadt, which may be considered at once the out-
work, the arsenal, and the commercial entrepot of St.
Petersburg. Eight leagues of water separate the two
localities ; but that water is seldom more than eight feet
deep, so that all large vessels, and even the packet steam-
ers, are obliged to stop and unload at Cronstadt. Ships-
of-war are indeed built at St. Petersburg, where there are
excellent building and graving docks, but they are always
sent to Cronstadt to be rigged and armed; and even the
bare hulls of the larger vessels are transported down the
shallow waters of the Neva on " camels." Some years
since the Emperor Nicholas ordered a gigantic ship-of-the-
line, intended to carry 140 guns, to be built in his capital;
but the proportions were so badly calculated that, when
finished, it was found impossible to convey it to the sea,
and the marine colossus was perforce taken to pieces
without ever being launched. Cronstadt itself contains
three ports—one used for commercial purposes, another
for the repair and outfit of ships-of-war, the third as a
station for the Russian navy.
Cronstadt lies upon the island of Kottline, three leagues
in length by half a league in breadth. Its western point
is, however, much narrower. Sandbanks surround it on
e iery side except at the south-east extremity, where the
t)wn and harbour are situated. Opposite to the island
oa the south lies Oranienbaum, on the coast of Ingria.
Along this shore another sandbank stretches, and extends
so far into the sea as to leave but a narrow and winding
channel by way of entrance to Cronstadt harbour. Within
the port, moreover, the water is from six to seven fathoms
deep, but the channel in places is barely four—a depth by
no means sufficient for huge 131 gun ships like the Duke
of Wellington, for whose passage even the Sound was not
considered safe. Beyond this channel and the harbour,
on the side towards St. Petersburg, there is a roadstead,
but too shallow for ships-of-war, and only imperfectly
sheltered by the island of Cronstadt and the heights of
Oranienbaum. Farther on, as we have mentioned, the
water shoals to eight feet. All this part of the gulf is
brackish, the proportion of salt in the water diminishing
as we approach the eastern extremity, where it degenerates
into a series of lagoons leading up to Lake Ladoga.
In its double character of fortress and trading town,
Cronstadt boasts a fluctuating population amounting
sometimes to 50,000 souls, if we include some 20,000 gar-
rison, and the commercial and maritime residents. The
town is built of wood. Except the Admiralty, the great
hospital, and the military works of all sorts, there are no
edifices either of strength or importance in the place. The
batteries, the forts, and the vast moles which surround its
three harbours, are indeed of the most imposing magnifi-
cence. Russia has always been addicted to a kind of thea-
trical display in her public performances of all kinds.
There is much of this developed in the fortifications at
Cronstadt, although they also possess the reality of strength
to a serious degree.
Approaching Cronstadt from the west, we have on the
left the western angle of the island forming a sharp
point, extended into the sea by a line of rocks, of which
the last is crowned by the lighthouse of Talboukin. After-
wards we pass the south coast of the isle, lined with batte-
ries, and in front a series of five forts, placed chequerwise,
on rocks or banks, between which winds the deep water
channel leading into the harbour. On the right, about
two leagues off, are the heights of Oranienbaum, with its
imperial park and chateau. In the distance, when the fogs
permit, may be traced the outlines of St. Petersburg, whose
lofty edifices, and the gilded dome of the Church of St.
Isaac, stand out in bold relief against the sky.
The, most formidable defences which Cronstadt possesses
are those that guard the entrance to its trirl^ harbour.
There are five forts in the sea and seven on th= shore or
the moles. These forts are furnished with casemated bat-
teries, each of two or three stages, and the greater part of
them built of huge squared blocks of granite, whereon it
is said shot can make no impression. The position of
these batteries has been carefully adjusted so as to enfilade
the different sinuosities of the channel, so that.every ship
approaching Cronstadt must be exposed to a series of
raking fires in front, without having a chance of bringing
her broadside to bear until she has arrived actually be-
tween the forts. A single vessel also sunk in mid-channel
would efiectually choke up the passage.
A technical description of this mass of fortifications
would be very uninteresting and altogether unintelligible
without a plan. We must, therefore, content ourselves
with a brief enumeration of the series of cannon-crowded
piles of masonry which an intruding fleet will have suc-
cessively to confront. On the coast of the island, and
lying to the west of the channel, there are—l. The Peters
fort, presenting 'to 'the sea a rounded curtain, flanked by
two casemated bastions. These bastions have a double
tier of guns, of which the upper is an "en barbette," i.e.,
uncovered from above. The fort mounts altogether
seventy-six pieces of large calibre. 11. The Kesel battery,
mounting eight cannon on the water level. 111. A bat-
tery commanding the landing place, situated outside
the walls of the town,' on a projecting cape, comprising
ten guns. IV. The great mole, covering the commercial
harbour on the west, and presenting an immense battery
of seventy cannon and twelve mortars right in front of all
entering vessels. V. Fort Menschikoff, constructed op-
posite the mole on the other side of the harbour. This
fort constitutes a parallelogram, pierced with forty-four
embrasures, and mounted with cannon of ten and twelve
inches calibre. VI. A battery, which commands the
second or outfitting harbour. VII. Another battery, on
the mole of the military harbour at the soutb-east of the
island and the town. The moles which we have men-
tioned are not mere jetties thrown forward into the sea,
but continuous works surrounding and dividing the three
harbours. They are formed of double ranges of piles,
whose surface is broad enough both for the passage of
vehicles and the manoeuvring of the guns. The three
ports have two entrances apiece, each of the six openings
being masked by a large demi-lune formed of piles, which
are crowned with cannon, and flank the curtains of the
moles.

These land batteries mount about 250 large guns. In
addition, there are a series of forts built in the sea, and
containing about 400 more. The first of these, reckoning
from seawards, consists of a pair of forts called Alexander
and Risbank, between which all vessels must pass at a dis-
tance from each of about eight hundred yards, for the
channel, which narrows afterwards, is nearly a mile wide
at its entrance. Fort Alexander is, in its ground plan, of
an elliptical shape—an enormous granite pate, it has been
called—consisting of a front with four tiers of cannon, two
flanks with thr4e tiers, and a rear wall mounted with guns
en barbette. It is built of granite, on piles driven through
eighteen feet of water. Ships rounding this fort are com-
manded by 116 eight and ten inch guns. Risbank, which
lies to the right, is also built of granite, on a foundation of
piles in sixteen feet water. It contains sixty-two heavy
guns in two tiers, the lowest of which is on the water level.
Then comes Fort Constantine, nearly facing the Petersfort
already mentioned, and containing twenty-five guns in a
single tier ; and afterwards we approach the Fort St.
Peter, facing the battery on the landing-place, and armed
with fifty cannon, twenty-eight of which are in casemates.
Last is the grand fort of Crpnslott, at once the
ismost an-
cient and the nearest to the harbour. Its form. that of
an irregular pentagon, flanked by five small bastions atits
angles. The armament consists of fifty-six guns in case-
mated embrasures, and thirty-two inopen batteries. Crons-
lott forms the Menschikoff fort, the former to the right,
the latter to the left, of the deep water channel, whichat
that point is barely two hundred yards in width. Passing
ships must, therefore, approach within one hundreds yards
of one or other of these formidable batteries. The total
number of guns, mortars, &c., mounted upon all the forts
we have enumerated is nearly six hundred, and their fire
crosses at almost every point. Their combined strength
doubtless prompted the Emperor Nicholas when recently
saying, with a smile of irony, " I am curious to learn by
which end they will lay hold of Cronstadt."
Many of the forts above described are assailable from
the ,rear ; but their rear never could be assailed until
Cronstadt itself had fallen. There is, no doubt, a northern
shore to the island. But the channel on this side is com-
paratively shallow, and has been carefully obstructed by
the Russians, who have driven in a double row of piles six
miles in length, and filled up with massive blocks of stone,
It is, however, in this quarter that an attacking force
itwould, is stated, find its best chance of success. A
powerful fleet to keep the command at sea, a flotilla of
gun-boats for the shallow waters, and a strong body of
land forces, comprising 26, or 30,000 men, well supplied
with engineering tools and materials, might, it is believed,
overcome all obstacles and effect a lodgment on the north
west point of the island. There they might cover their
position with intrenchments in the course of a couple of
nights, and thence besiege the town and fortifications from
the rear, or shell them from a distance. None of the sea
forts, except perhaps Forts Costantine and St. Peter, are
near enough to do any damage to the invaders on that
side. And though the higher guns of the great forts on
the channel command the surface of the ground, the
enemy may speedily place themselves in the shelter of en-

TUESDAY, MAY 9,18 M

-- 4
trenchments, where nothing but bombs could ear
_och
If once masters of the batteries along
not only diminish by one-half the danger 0 be ell„tet
by the attacking fleet, but might silence the gre',ltev
if not all, of the sea forts. The capture, from t`o
side, of Petersfort and the Kesel battery is gat -di!:
no means impracticable, the chief strength of tho,
being turned towards the sea. Even their capturept!
not enable the assailing fleet to force the narr°slbe 11
tween Cronslott and Fort Menschikoff; but t
would win their way into positions whence tin;DO
effectually bombard the harbour of Cronstadt,
shore, the3o?
operate with the land siege of the fortress.
From another weapon of assault— famine--r° at v
protected by its 'climate: During four months,
of every year, the waters are frozen between tbe.,oll,
and St. Petersburg, and a constant communicabue'oijf
means of sledges is opened with the capital. 0° tif 0
hand, if the blockading squadron should allow itsesteti
caught in the ice, every ship would inevitably be cti,e,/,
by cannon brought over the frozen surface into ''ll,
tageous positions, if not surrendered before ban"; 00;
taking of Cronstadt," says the Dibats, in an jet!
which we are indebted for many of the foregoing td
" would inflict a blow on the Russian empire more
than the loss of ten provinces, since it would ther.e,
its navy. St. Petersburg would soon find itself fi
at the entrance of the Neva, and bombarded bY
which would be supported by the fleet in es,.v
ell;
Cronstadt. This danger is not, perhaps, ininfron'il
for this reason that the Russian Government has CO
together round that port the most formidable ;L.',
defence. Peter the Great, in founding his MI"
founded Cronstadt, in which his genius must be 8d b
for it must be seen that, without Cronstadt, retell tit
the superb, with its eight feet of water, would codft,
small coasting port, that might be blockaded an
barded by gun-boats."

COURT AND FASHIOIV•

LORD COLBORNE died on the 2d inst., in the rstb;
of his age. The deceased, who was elevated to the r.,4
in 1839, was the second son of Sir Matthew White
si;jl.
Bart., by the heiress of Benjamin Colborne, Esq''
sumed the latter name on succeeding to the estate'
maternal uncle.
MR. HENRY TUFNELL, WllO for 15 years has represe:;(6
Devonport in the House of Commons, has vacated 1104
in consequence of ill-health. The names of 31'.;,01
Grenfell and Sir Erskine Perry have been meat"
probable successors of Mr. Tufnell. t tY
CANADIAN BANQUET IN LONDON.—On
day before the departure from Loudon of the
Rinks, Prime Minister of Canada, he and Mr. Gait fie{
dinner at the Albion Hotel, Aldersgate, to a party `6Ol
seventy gentlemen, composed either of residents of
mere
or of persons connected with the province, by CO4
and other ties. The arrangements were of a ra°•,,.,
character, and the banquet was everything that to
recherehe'taste could suggest.
THE NUPTIALS of Lord Suffield and Miss Cecilia
of
ing, of Berkley-square, were solemnized on Tharp
St. George's, Hanover-square, by the Rev. Charles opt
in the presence of a distinguished circle of friends 1,
quaintances. The bride was attired in a rich wo.1,1,;0111,
dress, over a white taffeta skirt, and wore a rark,'"roa.,_,
Brussels lace veil, which reached completely to the rof
She was attended to the altar by twelve bride's
similarly attired in white taffeta dresses, with 5',"
sashes and white crape bonnets, trimmed with blue flog
and blue mantles.
.0e
THE COURT.—On Monday, Her Majest
ball at Buckingham Palace ; about 260invitations
~ I
sent out. The royal princesses wore drecses of wh"erestO
over white silk, trimmed with apple blossoms, and;do4l,
of the same. The Prince of Wales and Prince
of t'
the Highland dress. The young sons of sever'" „
Scottish aristocracy wore the Highland unifollei,ot
Wednesday, the Queen held a levee at St. James s 01„?
Her Majesty wore a train of gold cloth, trinlboe
white blonde and white bugles, and bows of white ri„,e,if
The Queen's head-dress was a diadem of diamonds•
terdav, the Queen gave a concert at Buckinghata,
Her Majesty's guests including the diplomatic Corpthe
select party of the principal nobility. To-rateo pect,,i,
Queen, acompanied bythe elder royal children, is e,
to to visit St. Paul's Cathedral, on the occasion of
of tr 4
centenary anniversary of the festival of the Soliaje3
Clergy. On the following day, Thursday, Her :Of
will hold her third drawing-room this season in St• tats'
Palace. This will be the last reception for preseclirohl
before the birthday. On Friday, the Queen an • •en
Albert will be present at the grand bat costume
His Excellency Count Walewski, the French Aolue6so;
at his new residence, Albert-gate-house. TherAesti
first state ball this season will be given by Her 3"
Wednesday, the 17th inst., at Buckingham Palace' tio:
THE FUNERAL of the late Marquis of Ang'lel4
place on Saturday, when the remains were interred iti`tf
family vault in Lichfield Cathedral. The body " „of
lowed by eight carriages, containing thirty.threeXf
relatives and friends of the deceased. The folloivielf.e,P,
inscription on the coffin plate :—" The Most Nobilevil.e
William, first Marquis of Anglesey, Earl of L'ejoi..d. •
Baron Paget of Beaudesert, Field-Marshal, Colon
Royal Horse Guards, Lord Lieutenant and Castgrele
forum of the Counties of Stafford and Anglesey,
of Carnorvan Castle, Ranger of Snowdon FaTi,e6y•
Admiral of the coast of North Wales and Camar,rP
Captain of Cowes Castle, Privy Councillor, ICriAr•
Knight of St. Patrick, G.C.H., Knight of Maria
Austria, Knight of St. George of Russia, &c.
1708. Died April 22, 1851."

EMIGRANT SHIPS.

04.1 S
THE Select Committee on Emigration sat
Thursday, when Captain Schomberg was further es' `o,el
and first, with reference to the Fingal. She Was 0 V
of 990 tons, and carried 290 passengers, which:
I,steat,:
many for her size. Her cargo, partly iron, ani°-0'
772 tons, but was carefully stowed ; her passenge , bet
divided into three sections, separated by bulkh° the'
ventilation was good from one end of the ship to the°e
to
there was a good height between decks ; there ‘-fer 0 11'.te.
hospitals on board; and she carried two life-1/°!,s, after
buoys, &c. Last year she was rated A 1 at -1-AY
,der,
a rigid scrutiny; and Captain Black, her c0ni15,31.,1-04 '113;00
ef
been twenty years in the passenger trade, ano ' esPity
ceptionable testimonials. This information of if
Schomberg gave from a letter from the owne,'"oo)
vessel, Messrs. Brook and Worthington. i'',lolty
never passed at Liverpool without solid el to
effectually separating the sexes ; in the -riliod
single men were berthed before the cargo, or
married people abaft. A letter was read from to
Black declaring Mr. Finch, a former witness, c
dissipated character, and wholly unworthy °'`
his statement as to castor-oil and Epsom 5,11":.,,i 11'01
been given to cholera patients aboard the 15
utterly false. Mr. J. O'Connell called the attet tberlp
the witness to the statement of Dr. Douglas, tha • el3fit
els
no separation of the sexes in the Liverpool vess • ° oro
Captain Schomberg denied, with the qualificaUe4 cloer,
the bulkheads can be, and frequently are, kneci‘
after the vessel is at sea. But vessels never lesvroce,t,
pool without bulkheads. They are lowered to iln4.l,)ecl rieeie
ventilation; but, as the single women are her," lit L1412e
aft, and the single men right forward, he ths7eiglipcs
could be no objection to this. The water-closets.
_.‘t p
improVed by being made stronger ; but the Ln tl
for them was on deck. One objection to havivrrssll:o
between decks is the fact that the medical re„Pernt3,lio
that the chief portion of the sickness in g-gers tl
emigration ships occurs among those Passe°,
no it
ditile
are berthed near them. There is always grea.
in keeping water-closets clean aboard shill', deci°_,44o
his firm opinion that, if they are put betivee°
c lass's, &pie
the vessels carrying emigrants of the lowest
•ons
will be immensely augmented. The preelioutigry,sjoi
in the vessels dispatched to Australia by the , te ext,re-iits°
Commissioners are very good, and their comp the ios
to the vessels leaving-Liverpool for Canada e9.a€4loPitijer•
States would be an advantage. It was his dql
,a ms „.70;
that the apprenticeship clause ought to be reciv of 0;1 oer
wise there would ere long be a great deficiency 3t yd
and he would recommend the training of boys roYP
ports, in order to meet the exegencies of both t
mercantile services. The wages of merchanti
advancing ; in many of the ships he has latiel4A
tolerable sailors have got E 5 per month, for v„l,,et)an•
ought to be first-rate seamen. He thoughtrieb'ts WS,
wanting to induce persons in the midland dist_ „fiteniil
their boys to sea. With regard to the licensing s2d the rive,
gested by Mrs. Chisholm, he thought the bon!!!..!,l'eut proles
examination that is made of the vessels a sal,ln Any LLiTor,
tion. His experience had not shown him 11'..0 ebje°ooo
guarantee was necessary. There would be J;L
he thought, to the extension of the bond to rn cetf,
and charterers. He thought it desirable tb.tt:ouviref
carrying steerage passengers, however few • noroi.je
should be brought within the act, as persons 1g
asseng.,
the difference between vessels which are p
within the meaning of the act, and what ar.e n4jat _
ships, take their passage in the latter, believl,o_7, deccivotit
will be protected by the act, and findthemselv_l:,3,jog oe'
There would probably be some difficulty ilaTsi;ip to
this extension of the system, and some be-7,". but no.
owners, and he knew not how to legislate fore!'),_asea,74.
had occurred in which persons had taken tbnifras t rte
fAerrodelcaatina
sahnoertmni
receive them. They did not know that
aoti_ifd it o'
protected in the second ship until they I tw
their cost. gortai notice, toh 13ait
another were
totally after
i:re „Ire t°,,t

Dublin Court of Chancery. .i, befog
I.A Vila, CASE, of some interest, came last we
Mrs. Esther Whelan, andbyit h The the
s e , ar I,
qw.litgra gdoblaoif
mint stock, exceeding £3OOO, to her son ratriCK,
stock to nearly the same amount to her son Will,.rwo e!
he survived Patrick, William was to have the gaf,fic it
'stock; but in case William died first, the bank s'Enthoit
to become the property of " Daniel Murray, the
case" be
Archbishop of Dublin, or his successors." In of ti)4,
William and Patrick died without issue, the wholeurree-
stock was directed to be applied to educational i 11,,. 17f,:,
Mr. Murray died, and subsequently William Whetiie OP'
Murray's successor, Dr. Cullen, could not, under 0 egleti-
ration of the Ecclesiastical Titles Act, take the behr4
Arguments were heard on the present occasion 0 _cato
of Patrick Whelan and of Dr. Cullen, and the. e,,:',t 01
of Dr. Murray. The Lord Chancellor decide,israppliZ
hank stock possessed by William 'Whelan shoula "
ordered 1
to Romanist education, and the Master Wan
frame a scheme with that view. If iiIL.SI;
FATAL ACCIDENT.—On Sunday weelc, as I.' 1,0- 0
worth, of the Grand-parade, was proceed' lug fovi;g Ing1:41.
c
Mahon, in a small boat, in company with they obsers,,r
named Radley, and a boy, named Warren!_ rod app
a yacht tacking against a very strong'...wn,: few nI,ILn of
rently in a very dangerous position. In ` keswornbef
they missed her, and shortly after Mr. Iraw.„3oo it, to
a hat floating on the water, and on rowing .t. 71, areent'irod
discovered the body of a man, named I, theYBft tlie
whom, it appeared, the yacht belonged, wine those sit
and brought to the strand. It appeared Into on .-
boat that there had been six or seven Pers
the yacht.—Cork Reporter.