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

the Guards,

Colonel- de

anCe-of brushwood in the neighbourhood. This detach-
ment is about eight miles from the head-quarters of the
Guards, on our right
While the
the wa

arms is in such a state of

if we had not a reserve of able and experienced
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
1' ill out or go on half-my --

men of

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 voune person. who

of
the
r "
recently retired, and who belongs to the nobility, to
whose gallant conduct here he offered a striking con-
trast, had been publicly rebuked by his commanding
officer for his disorderly and pusillanimous behaviour
before he retired.

The paymasters of regiments, who have been living
in Balaklava for some time past, are in great dudgeon at
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 com-
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 Rnssians 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
out in the cottages on the slope of the hill before Kamara.
When morning came, the smoke was seen ascending to

heaven, and the Russians were visible in much-diminished
numbers on the higher plateaux of the hills near Tchergom
The faint rays of the morning sun played on
unets 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
valley. The French pushed down their cavalry and seized
the plain. T lummies (mock guns) in the en'

and Kama.

..uey found L
brazures, the Russians having carried off all their
to the number of 85 pieces.

DECEMI

At 3 o'clock three strong bx
2nd Division, consisting of Cl

Turkish redoubts.. 'They halted' at the base of the hill
enerallv held by our vedettes, and threw forward a very
which spread all over the plain,
The main body of

and adv
infantry

h canto,
guns fol

hemselv

above he summit of No. 4 redoul

anced a body of

ars ago by one
tiler. A final
)y the London

The disc

ussion was n
)Ods traffic ui

)etween Bin

Air, acc

South S

the dat

ding to the quality of
mveyed. The arrange-

nunerais,
articles, whether
be subjected to a
The advance will

o the arrangement
irneys, the

of Jan'

x cnieny
1 branch

the she

N CATTLE MARKS

passenger
have been

Shrewsbury

I to 5s 4rl I Veal
I to Is 41 Pork

cent.; and

I to 5s 6

3s Sd to 4s 441

ARRIVALS

Olu, awl North-

Calves

teen hundred

k that ended

A small de

s observed on the mor-
vious weeks, in which the deaths were

In 1852-53, the average number ww
is raised in proportion to the

s 1,374

increase of

'his mortality is

less than

ALARM OP W.

mount by 74 deaths.
in AT MELDOURNE.—MeIbourne
ed from its propriety in a ludicrous way-
Great Britain had been placed in quaran-
a's Bav ; when she was released, the coin-

I othe

places had been a little
I visit from the Muscovite cruisers —a cry
'he Russians have come!" it is said that a

how 11

repared they were to repel a war—

lECK ON THE GOODWIN SANDS.-
1 and gale on Monday evenin

During the
a fearful wreck

on the Goodwin Sands, to the bark Devonia, of
ion, nearly 500 tons burden, Capt. Lawson, master,
way making for the Channel, on a voyage to
;.o of coke. Two of the

while on

I from exhaustion and cold

The remainder

were providentially sighted from the Lord Warden steamer,
and the Princess Helen steamer, which instantly bore down
and after a great deal of trouble succeeded in

a off and landing them at Folkstone,

—During last
_ etors of
kwearmouth,

RAILWAY SLEEPERS FOR THE CRIMEA
week the works of Messrs. Reed and Co., propri
L 1

have been employed night and day cutting and preparing
sleepers for the intended new railway in the Crimea..
About 20.800 of these are now ready, and will be con-
veyed by the North Eastern Railway to the Tyne, where
they will be loaded on board several large screw steamers,
chartered by the Government, and sail direct for the
Crimea.
AN IMPERIAL STEAM

-Tu G.—The Imperial steam-yacht
belonging to the Emperor Napoleon, has

overnment to the assist—
o be loaded at Southamp—
ton with stores and wooden houses for the French army in
the Crimea, and it is said the Reine Hortense will tow the
Sumroo to Balaklava. The fact that the Imperial
n-yacht used by the Emperor is to be employed ire
Is a mere tender or tug to a merchant
he enemy which

been appropriate

such a

our Fr
+howa

[lours are infusing into the operations of
earnest desire to provide for the
lir suffering soldiers. '
k copy of the Convention be-
- y

r Majesty and the Emperor of the rench
prisoners or war, signed at London on May 1(7,
laid before Parliament a few days ago. It con-
rticles. The first article provides that the
'arse of the present war shall be
he two countries ; and that,

1854, w
tains fi

letween

ne of the two countries shall have maintained
1 greater number of prisoners, au account of the excess of
expenditure shall be rendered every three months, smut
repayment be made of the half of the amount by the Go-
vernment of the other country. Depots established for
prisoners in any foreign country are to be supported by
both the Governments. As regards the exchange of pri-
soners, no distinction is made between the respective
subjects of the two Governments who may have been
captured ; but their liberation is to be stipulated, except
in special cases, according to the priority of the date of
their capture. The fifth article refers to the ratification
of the convention which took place in London on the 20th.
of May last.

IN TIIE CRIMEA.—The correspondent of

orning 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 woukt
be thought essential to a man's safety which we have not

1 to do ii
sufficient

Tolerable shelter from the weather, or
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 np by ship-loads of

Turkish biscuit from Constantinople; bit ft has only just
arrived, and the roads are in such a condition that it is
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 Kt,
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 for
the use of the artillery. If the weather keeps on as it is
at present, and we get no supplies of mules and horses,
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 suudiesofererything which an army
can want,andcannotdo without—men, horses,ammlinition,
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

charge; 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 anda 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 for

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 merchant_
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 om-
nibus to go there. An omnibus !my dear sir, you must
not think of such a thing. I will hire a coupe 1" " But
the expense —" "Oh ! I must beg that you will have
nothing at all to say to the coachman !" An offer so
graciously made could not be refused, and the two friend
drove about the wood for several hours. "I am getting
hungry," said the merchant at last, " suppose we go .o the
Palais Royal, and breakfast at one of the cheap restaurants
for I.f. 25c." " Breakfast for such a sum ! Can you think
of such a thingNo my dear friend
I will take you to a.

hue expens..
)urself about that i" "But, monsieu
encroaching on your kindness

countonly r

rate restaurants,

rated, tI

The bill came to

lunt rushed

rixious to pay t

so, pray le

?any nu