The Liverpool Standard, and General Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-12-19 00:00:00

supplies

were due to inexperience in carrying on a war
of such magnitude after forty years of peace, but
after all the Government had lately done, they
would still send more,—more men, more ammu-
nition, and more supplies of all kinds, as far as
they could obtain ships to carry them. With re-
ference to the hospital supplies, he regretted the
delay which had taken place in their arrival, and

entered into details showing the enormous quan-
tities which had been frwarded, not only of lint,
~ which would cover thirty-eight acres, but plasters,
---1, this country owes to those gallant and de- bandages, wine, brandy, and sugar. He defended
oted men—(loud cheers)—but doubtless comfort and
satisfaction will be carried to many a gallant heart the retention 2f the commander of the steam-ship
when the assembled Parliament of England record
their admiration of the deeds and their gratitude for the Prince, (whom the Earl of DEBBY had accused of
services of our gallant troops. (Renewed cheers.) My incompetency,) from the certificates which they had.
lords, when I remember that, of that numerically small received of his abilit He roceeded to state' that
army which was sent out from this country a few months y. p
ago, probably not one in 100 of the privates, and probably the Government were' sending out a complete rail--
not one in 10 of the officers, had ever before heard a shot
fired in anger ; when I remember that they went forth, at road, with engines and other appliances, for the
the first outset of their campaign, to pine away in inaction, purpose of saving the physical exertions of the'
'and that their ranks were thinned by disease—morally men, and 'allowing guns- of large calibre to be'
depressing, if anything could depress their indomitable
courage ; when I remember that an army composed of carried to their positions k and complimented the
such materials, so weakened, so dispirited, was led to in- contractors, Messrs. PETO and BETTS, on the hand-
vade the dominions of a powerful enemy—having carried
with them nothing but what was absolutely necessary for some manner in which they had undertaken to
their march, and hardly sufficient for their equipment and perform this service without any profit to them-
provision ; when I remember that such a body of men,
under such circumstances, found themselves in front of a selves. After paying well-merited eulogy to the
force numerically superior, entrenched upon heights, forti- conduct of the British soldiers in the Crimea, under
fled with all the skill and all the power which the might
of Russia could supply, and fortified upon ground the every discouragement, he concluded: with a grace-
natural difficulties of which were•such as to impede even ful appeal to the House for forbearance under the
an active man in the ascent, although not checked by the
enemy ; when I remember that these-heights were bristling peculiar circumstances in which he- was placed.
with, batteries, from which shot and shell were poured With the single exception of Lord lIA4DINGB, all
which mowed down the ranks of our men as they ascended
that glorious but blood-stained hill;- when I remember our experienced Generals had gone to the seat of
that in the face of. numbers not inferior to their own, war, and he, a civilian, was left without experiences
against all the difficulties of position,. against all the
oppositiOn of the most powerful artillery,.they advanced, and so little opportunity of obtaining advice, to
weakened' in numbers, falling by scores, but the conduct a' contest which, for magnitude-and ire-
survivors, closing their ranks and pressing forward I
1
with indomitable courage ; when, under these circum-
portance, was almost unexampled.

I,oive in exten.se. He said :

Words must

stances, hand to hand, that bOdy of men, who had EARL GREY followed, and reiterated theobjec-
never before heard a shot fired, repulsed'a veteran army
tion which he entertained to the whole olio
from a position so fortified, from which it had been thep
p
boast of Russia that no army could dislodge-them in less which had la to the war; but he confessed; that,
than three weeks, while this great success was achieved having
embarked in it, he felt there was no alter-
by our raw army in the course of three hours; when we
remember that, within a fortnight afterwards, theposition native but to-carry it on with energy. He pro-
of our men being changed, they being the besieged instead
seeded to criticise the mode in which the
of the besiegers, they were assailed by an army seven
times their number;: when we recollect that our troops operations had • been conducted, and concluded by
were called to the conflict from successive and continuous recommendin to. the Government that the sets-
labour at the intrenchments, suffering from cold, from g
privation, from hunger, in some cases from all but naked- geants to be promoted to commissions should have'
ness ; when we remember that they were placed 'under the the rank and pay of captains.
disadvantage of a surprise in the darkness of' a foggy
morning; when I find that these men, who won the The Duke of 'A'RGYLL defended the conduct or
heights of Alma in the course of three hours from a name- Government, particularly with reference to the'
rically superior army, resisted the assault of an army
seven times stronger than themselves, and for eight hours operations in the Baltic: He said that the Russian'
maintained the unequal contest, sometimes even without fleet had been completely shut in their own.
ammunition, our troops on those bloodstained heights
being reinforced and supported by a portion of their harbours, and that, had• gun-boats been employed
gallant allies; when I remember these deeds of arms— in the first instance, they would most probably
aye, and even the unfortunate but astounding charge made
by our gallant cavalry,—l say that no words can do justice have been destroyed' by the Russian ships. He
when wed cad the
justified the sending of British troops to Varna,
to the merits of such brave an heroic soldiers.
of (Loud
that cheering.) I say that' r history
campaign--when we read it, not as Politicians, but as men before proceeding to the Crimea, as the Russians
had then forced the line of the Danube, and it was
and as Englishmen (cheers)—there cannot be a heart that
does not throb with honest and generous pride that these
much-enduring, all-daring, all-achieving men were - our advisable to give the Turks the moral support of
countrymen (renewed cheers); that they were British the presence of reinforcements. He regretted the
subjects like ourselves (loud cheers): and there is hardly
an eye from which a tear will not spring unbidden when suspicions entertained 'of Austria, and thought the
we reflect that so many of them are numbered with the course pursued by the Government a wise one ; for
dead. (Hear.) But I will only dwell upon that portion
of the subject which relates to the glory which that gallant though the policy of Austria might have been more
army achieved; I will not dwell upon the sacrifices they frank, we should let. other nations judge for
have made, or the sufferings they have endured. Their themselves
country will remember them. Their country will knowof their - interests. The war he
how to value those who still remain ; and, whatever may considered to be one of European interest, par-
be the honours and rewards by which this country can
ticularly of the Eastern nations, and their lagging
show its gratitude to those who, in such unequalled cir-
cumstances, and under such serious difficulties, main- behind was a proof of the overweening influence of
tained, upheld, increased the glory of the British flag
honours and certainly Russia.
_
those ho those rewards will be granted ... . .

with no niggard hand (loud cheers), but with universal
approbation, and with the cordial consent of a grateful
country. (Loud cheers.)

The Earl of HARDWICKE took up the debate in
defence of the Navy. He did not think that Sir

Having thus disposed of what may be called the
immediate topic under discussion, he proceeded, to
comment on the conduct of the Ministers in their
prosecution of the war.. He blamed the Govern-

CHAS. NAP/ER had been guilty of any misconduct,
or neglect, and the best answer to the charge of
his not having taken, Cronstadt was the failure of
the attack on Sebastopol.

ment for their proceedings since the commencement,
and said they appeared to live from day to day,
providing for each successive exigency after it
arose, and in all their actions were too late• for
them to be of real advantage. They were too,late
in declaring war—too late in deciding that. the

The Earl of CARLISLE made a few remarks, in
which he agreed in an'that had been said in
admiration of the valour of the army and navy.
He could not deny that the war was a just war,
but he was not equally convinced of its necessity.
The Earl of ABERDEEN, in concluding the die'
cussion, made the unexpected admission, that be
considered the destruction of Sebastopol of vital
importance to the safety and independence of the
Turkish empire. He believed that nothing could
contribute so much as their success in the Crimea,
to the probability of obtaining terms of peace, and
with reference to . the Treaty with Austria, be
denied that it contained any engagement to or
port that Power in Italy, Hungary, or Poland, or
that such an engagement had ever entered their
minds. The Address was them agreed to without

passage of the Pruth'was a cases belli—too late in
sending troops to the Black Sea—too late in inter-
fering for the protection of the Turkish fleet
destroyed at Sinopo—too late in providing t_►oops
and the necessary funds for the expenses : and-that,
until after the battle of Inkerman, no reinforce-
ments but mere driblets had been sent to. the
Crimea. He complained of the detention of" the
troops at Varna, where they suffered greatly from
disease, and commented on the want of proper
necessaries at the 'hospital at Scutari, which had
been supplied by.private benevolence. Ho made
these remarks with no wish to embarrass the
Government, but. he charged them with utter un-
consciousness of what they were about ,to do ; in
proof of which, he adduced the fact that, on the
14th of November, Parliament was prorogued to
the 14th of December ; and yet, on the• 20th of
November, it was summoned to meet on the 12th
of December,. Referring 'then to the -Baltic fleet,
he enlarged on.the magnificent preparations, which
he compared with the poverty of the - results, and
alluded to the self-laudation with which the expe-
dition set out,.and the order of the Reform Admiral
to his men to sharpen their cutlasses, &c. He
then passed. in review the conduct: of Austria,

a dissentient voice.
In the House of Commons,. after the Address
had been moved and secondediby Mr. H. HERBEVr
and Mr. LEvitsoN GOWER, the debate was cony
menced by Sir J. PAKINGTON, who, in a speech Of
considerable length, criticised the course pursued
by the Government in carrying on the war. tic
blamed the Government for want of foresight in
almost all their operations, compared the results of
the magnificent fleet dispatched to the Baltic With;
the great promises with which it set out, quote"
former speeches of Lord JOHN RUSSELL and the
Earl of ABERDEEN, and severely censured the neg-
lect in leaving the troops in the Crimea without
adequate supplies. He promised the Government`
the Parliamentary support of the Conservative'
party, but it should be on the condition that the
war was conducted with vigour, wisdom, and fore-
sight greater than that which had hitherto bee'
displayed.
Sir ROBERT Pizim disputed the correctness of
the opinions expressed by Sir J. PAKINGTON,
at the same time, he would himself ask the ae:
verment to show a little more spirit. He cautioned
them to put a stop to the miserable attempts ,
foreign refugees in this country to raise a pretended
sympathy for Poland. With reference to the
fleets, he thought that some explanation was peel:
sary in order to clear up the dissatisfaction Which
existed as to the conduct both of Admiral 14015,,11
and Admiral DUNDAS, who had not shown all the
vigour that might have been desirable.
_a
EMPEROR seemed determined to carry on. the
to the last extremity, and, as we knew that ha
valued no friendship and respected no rights, el't
seemed contented to live without faith, with°
pity, and almost without respect, our, Govertoe t
il.,
in connexion with that of France, should teach ulOO
to feel that his lawless ambition mid his aggre's's
aspirations his o would add neither dignity to co
crown, nor imperil the liberty or the independell
of Europe.

whose co-operation had proved rather injurious
than otherwise, inasmuch as it covered the retreat
of the Russians after raising the siege of Silistria
and enabled them to send reinforcements against
our own troops in the Crimea; and, he concluded
his speech with the following animated address to
our gallant soldiers now engaged, in, the war :

To those gallant men who are now, under circumstances of
considerable difficulty, and with diminished numbers, gal-
lantly. fighting the battles of thiscountry,reinforced as they
have, been to a certain degree, calculating as I do upon
their indomitable perseverance and courage under all
circumstances of difficulty and discouragement, to them I
would say, " Yet a little more patience, yet a little more
perseverance. The end is not yet, but the end is approach-
ing you, when you shall reap the reward of your labours.
The eyes of your countrymen are upon you ; the hearts of
your countrymen are with. you. The sympathies of your
countrymen are in support of your unparalleled exer-
tions. Men, women, and children are exhausting their
stores for the purpose of relieving your distresses, and
ministering to your comforts, and assuaging your suffer
ings. Fresh reinforcements are at hand. Your courage,
your daring, your steady and obstinate resistance, and
your unflinching perseverance, shall not only be acknow-
ledged, but shall serve as a moral and an example to the
country, which is proud of having you for soldiers. Go
on in the gallant course which you have begun. Have yet
a little more patience to struggle against the unavoidable
difficulties which arc opposed to you, and believe that the
hearts of your countrymen are with you. There are laurels
for those who have fallen, and when you return from an
expedition 'which, with all its harassing difficulties, with
all its dangers and its labours, will be and must be suc-
cessful, because your example will inspire your country-

maintained the h

w of your flag

you will be the met

After some pause, which led to the hiferelle:
1— to the charge

who have delivered I
and you will deserve

.ope from the powe

that Minis

s-wo!

made against their

The Duke

NEWCASTLE, in I

reply, coi

Oi
lERBER rT commenced an explanation of the 'O
All

dilated the House on the un

referrec

,nd gay(

I with refere

detail of thc

vents of the war from the comma;
5
House of tor"
ed. he
a that

entered into a leng

anation of the cours

ment, similar to that giv

Te gave th

taker

by the Duke of NEWC
losses experienced by tl

He lame

hut deni,

hieh had been experienced,

they w(

✓u
,„..
o great as had beep
and Albuera, Englo4

;ertaint

luccee(

,000 killed, whereas in the WllOl

deterr

it On VI