The Liverpool Standard, and General Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-12-26 00:00:00

the Highland Brigade near the town of Balaklava. Lieut.-
Colonel de Bathe, and his recently arrived draughts for the

adce-of brushwood in the neighbourhood
ment is about eight miles from the head-quarters of the

Guards, on our right.
While the army is in such a state of prostration from

iad not a reserve of able and experienced men of
every grade at home, it is matter of great congratulation
that a general so distinguished, energetic, and skilful as
Major-General Pennefather has every chance of recovering

from the serious illness under which he has been labouring.
He has been brought down to Balaklava from the camp, and
I am told his medical men think there is nothing to appre-
hend, and that he will before long be restored to the division
he so ably commands. The number of applications sent
to Lord Raglan for leave to retire, to sell out, or to go on
half-pay, is said to be very great. The Duke of 'Welling-
ton had to contend against the same evil in Spain. It is
said—but I do not know whether there is any good ground
for the assertion, and lam inclined to think there is none
—that after Lord George Paget's name appeared in orders
as having received permission to retire no less than 180
applications to sell out or go on half-pay were sent in to
the Commander of the Forces. Some of these have, it is
stated, been acceded to—that is, Lord Raglan has sent
them to the Commander-in-Chief of the army, with rather
sarcastic recommendations that the permission sought for
be granted ; others have been refused, inasmuch as the
Colonels of the regiments to which the applicants belonged
did not approve the application. If report be true, in-
, deed, some of these gentlemen were "no great loss," and
the army is well rid of them. One young person, who
recently retired, and who belongs to the nobility, to
whose gallant conduct here he offered a striking con-

tract, had been publicly rebuked by his commanding
officer for his disorderly and pusillanimous behaviour
before he retired.

in Balaiiliva for some timTe past, are in great dudgeon al
being ordered out with their regiments, and they aver,
with great show of reason, that it will be quite impos-
sible for them to keep their books and accounts in tents
in weather like the present. Our commissiariat officers,
who are furnished with marquees and considerable corn-
. .

forts, such as tables, chairs, and pigeonholes for papers,
&c., complain nevertheless of the difficulties they expe-
rience in going through their duties. Shortly after the
storm of the 14th, I met one of these gentlemen coming
out of Balaklava, his face radient with joy which could
not be easily accounted for at the time, seeing that it was
cold, wet, and the roads were knee-deep. " Congratulate
me, I beg of you," said he ; every blessed paper, return,
book, or account I had in the world was blown away yes-
terday into Sebastopol, and I am happy."

DECEMBER 6.
Last night, at twelve o'clock, there was a great stir
down in the valley of Balaklava. The hoarse hum of
great crowds of men was heard by the pickets, and they
reported the circumstance to the officers of the French
regiments on the heights, Lights were seen moving about
in the redoubts occupied by the Russians since the affair
of the 25th of October. It was supposed that the enemy
had received reinforcements, or were about to make a dash
at our position before Balaklava. The Hospital Guards
and the invalid battalion were at once turned out, and the
French, shrouded in their capotes, grimly waited in the
lines the first decisive movement of the enemy. The
night was cold, but not clear, and after a time the noise
of wheels and the tramp of men ceased, and the alarm
was ever. Ere morning, however, we knew the cause of
it, for about five o'clock a.m., an outburst of flames from
the redoubts in which the Russians had hutted themselves
illuminated the sky, and at the same time the fire broke
nnt in the cottages on the alone of the hill before Kamara.

When morning came,
heaven, and the Russians were visible in much-diminished
numbers on the higher plateaux of the hills near Tchergom
and Kamara. The faint rays of the morning sun played on
the bayonets of another portion of the force as they wound
up the road towards Mackenzie's Farm, and passed through
the wood over the right bank of the Tchernaya. The reason
of this retreat remains unknown to us as yet. Perhaps
the Russian general was informed by his spies that the
French had landed at the north side of Sebastopol and
were marching on his flank, for the story of the landing
is universally believed, and is utterly untrue. It is more
probable, however, that the severity of the weather and
want of shelter forced him to abandon the position in the.

was seer

iures, the RAssian

aavinicarriedOir all their artillery
pieces.

the number of 85 r

DECEMBER '2

At 3 o'clock three s
Id Division, consisti

battalions of infantry of the

,seur regiments

week t
the ere

they will

charter
Crimea.
AN I

Reine I

been ap

ance of t
ton with
the Crin

our Fre
the war

safety a

green I
respectir

1854, w
thins fi

expendit

both tt

subject

captured
in specit
their car

of the c
of May

was, that of

t of Jar

lerstood to be chid
ut trunk and brans

the date hate

Ires, minerals,
ticles, whether

state, will be subject4i—o-;.

The advance will
to the quality of

7eyed. Th
I to the

Lrmnge-

s have bee- rt

Shrewsbury

e short journeys, the

iNDON CATTLE MARKE

) 5s 4(1 I \real
) 5s 4.i Pork

LcColn, and N

48 6d to 58 6dL
3s Sd to 46 4.1

hundred
it ended

A small decrease is observed on the mor-
) previous weeks, in which the deaths were

comes 1,374

1 amount by

roportion to the increase oE
This mortality is less than.

WAR AT MELBOURN

=Melbourne

itened from its propriety in a ludicrous
Great Britain Britain had been placed in quaras-
n's Bay; when she was released, the com-
a feu-de-joie of rockets and cannon. The
bourne and other places had been a little
a visit from the Muscovite cruisers -a cry
The Russians have come !" it is said that a.

good resulted

Jared they were to repel a war—

K ON TICE GOODWIN SANDS —During the
id gale on Monday evening a fearful wreck
the Goodwin Sands, to the bark Deronia,

ly 500 tons burden, Capt. Lawson, master,
way making for the Channel, on a voyage to

ds, with a cargo of coke.

Two of the.

,ed from exhaustion an

'he remainder

dentially sighted from the Lord Warden steamer,
incess Helen steamer, which instantly bore down
and after a great deal of trouble succeeded. in.
:m off and landing them at Folkstone.

T SLEEPERS FOE TICE CRlMEA.—During laSt,
vorks of Messrs. Reed and Co., proprietors of
t works at the North Dock, Monkwearmouth,
employed night and day cutting and preparing:

or ale- intended new railway in the Crimea--
,800 of these are now ready, and will be con-
he North Eastern Railway to the Tyne, where
)e loaded on board several large screw steamers,
by the Government, and sail direct for the

PE RI AL Si PAM-Trr G.—The Imperial steam-yacht
dense, belonging to the Emperor Napoleon, has

.ench Goveinment to the assiA-'

le large merchant ships to be loaded at Soutbamp—
stores and wooden houses for the French army its
a, and it is said the Raine Hortense will tow the
The fact that the Imperial
emperor is to be employed its
;ender or tug to a merchant

to Balaklava

as a mere

ship, is a strong evidence of the energy which
ch neighbours are infusing into the operations of
and of their earnest desire to provide for the
1 comfort of their suffering soldiers.

Lon be

T Majesty and the Rmperor of the French_
prisoners of war, signed at London on May 10,
laid before Parliament a few days ago. It eon-

articles. The first article provides that the
made in the course of the present war shall be
Lually between the two countries ; and that,

_
r one of the two countries shall have maintained
• number of prisoners, an account of the excess of
ure shall be rendered every three mouths, and
ut be made of the half of the amount by the Go-
tof the other country. Depbts established for
in any foreign country are to be supported by-
Governments. As regards the exchange of pd—
io distinction is made between the respective
of the two Governments who may have been
; but their liberation is to be stipulated, except
cases, according to the priority of the date of
ture. The fifth article refers to the ratification
avention which took place in London on the 20t1r.

RINGS IN THE CRIMEA.—The correspondent. of
icing Herald tells a sad tale of the hardships:

suffered by our soldiers. Writing on the 3rd instant, he
says :—" Seriously speaking, the miserios and discomforts
of camp .life are now beyond all powers of description-
There is no comfort or necessary which in England woukl
be thought essential to a man's safety which we have not
to do without. Tolerable shelter from the weather, or
sufficient health to bear its depressing influences with im-
punity, are luxuries which few in our camp possess. We
thought we were always sure of rations, but even the
supply of those is becoming precarious. In the gale
which destroyed so many of our vessels immense supplies
of stores of all kinds for the army were lost. The defi-
ciency of biscuit has now been made up by ship-loads of
Turkish biscuit from Constantinople; but it has only 1114-
_

arrived, and the roads are in such a condition that it ift
almost impossible to get any up to camp : consequently,
several of the divisions have been on half-rations of bread
one day, and on half-rations of biscuit the next, and so,
alternately, for the last five days. The whole camp have
been on half-rations of rum, though there never was a.
time when it was more required. Of course, when it has
been so difficult to get up food for the men, the horses
have been but badly fed, and are dying off fast, and our
chances of getting up supplies diminish in exact propor-
tion with the number of horses. Very few are in a. con-
dition to work, and those must, of necessity, be kept far
the use of the artillery. If the weather keeps on as it is
at present, and we get no supplies of mules and hem;
the whole camp will be on half-rations, and brigades must
be employed even to carry up these. When troops in.
winter quarters have double work and half food, it re-
quires no prophet to say what will become of them ; and-
the position of the allies will be really hazardous in the
extreme, unless we receive immediate reinforcements. We-
want large and quick suppliesofeverything which an army
can wan t, an d cannotdo without—men, horses,ammnnition,
warm clothing, carts, &c. Don't for a moment let your
readers imagine that I am purposely drawing a disheart-
ening picture. I have always striven to avoid such a.
chaige ; but now the truth must be told. It is better that
the public should learn the true state of the case through.
the press, than suddenly discover it by some terrible re-
verse to our arms out here. With the allied generals to
command and a proper amount of troops, we could sweep the
Crimea in three months; but while the nations and Go-
vernments at home are besotted and drunk with the vain
notion that we have only to show ourselves in order to
overcome immense forts and armies, we shall do nothing—
not even hold our own." He also adds that the cholera is
showing itself in much virulence in the Naval Brigade,.
and the newly-arrived drafts and regiments, such as the
men for the Guards and Light Division, the 46th, 97th,
and 9th Regiments.

A PARISIAN SWINDLER..--A wealthy Lyons merchanE
arrived in Paris about a fortnight ago on a pleasure trip.
Chance threw him in the way of a charming young man,
named, according to his own account, Count de Sillery,
who offered to show him all the curiosities. The count pro-
posed to begin operations by visiting the Bois de Bologne,
and the merchant suggested that they should take an mi-
nibus to go there. "An omnibus !my dear sir, you must
not think of such a thing. I will hire a coupe !" " But
the expense —" "Oh ! I must beg that you will have
nothing at nll to say to the coachman !" An offer sa
could not be refused, and the two friends
wood for several hours. "ram getting-
le merchant at last, " suppose we go to the
likf
breakfastforat
souncehol
sum the
cbeaapn you
uauthraal
No, my
"Not a word—l beg of
urself about that. ! "But, monsieur
Ilk of encroaching ''vines
yexdpeeansr
efri;,?n,d, I will take you to

graciously

drove abc

of such a
better ph
you not t

r made
mt the

ae you
of thin
The
the

In your k
1 by tak

count on
rst-rate re
The bill ca
La rushed

anxious

ly replie

:staurants,

which hail