The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1854-12-20

Il fortnight; and that was anything Out IaVoTaDit
to the early successful termination Of the siege
of that place. t. which the whole attention Of tht
allies has latterly been directed. So far from
the result so much desired and 50 confidently
anticipated BY the French and English, being
hand, present appearances render it probable
that the allies will be compelled toraise the segt
and retire from the Crimea, shattered, dispirit
ed, and without having gained single decided
advantage. a glance at the map Of Sebasto
pol, will show that it is unusually well fortified
and that to silence the formidable batteries tina
would pour destruction upon an assalllng force
is no HOLIDAY affair. The Russian troops a
Eylau sustained, in open field for upwards Q
fourteen hours, unbroken ranks against tn
fercest assaults of the flower of the French ar
my, with the then invincibe Napoleon at it
those defending Sebastopol are no less intrepid
, obstinate and enduring than their predecessors
Such men, fighting behind strong entrench
ments, are not likely to be easily speedily dis
lodged under any circumstances, and the havoc
they have recently made in the ranks Of the in
vaders will not be apt to render them now 3
more easy prey or less faithful defenders of the
soil and, as they believe, of theirreligous faith
The following compilation will give some idea
Of the capacity Of a well fortified placeto stand
a siege: .""
r. "a
40 days; Saragossa, in 1903, sustained close siege
of nearly 2 months, and again in 1909 for months
Verona, in 1902 sustained siege and blockade of
months, Of them being of open trench; Cuidad
] Rodrigo, in 1910, months; Tortona, in the same
year, 6 months; Badaos, in 1911, sustained siege
of than 40 days, open trench; st. Sebastian, In
lsl3 sustained siege and blockade of nearly three
months, with over SO days of open trenches; Pam
paluna in 1919, 4 months; Monyon, in lSl3-l4 also
months.
Whether sebastopol is likely to yield more
readily than the foregoing towns, the reader
can Judge from the history ofthe Crimea expe
dition thus far. What is to be the effect of the
recent reverses and the demand for fresh troops
on the popular mind in England, when dissatis-
faction at the delay iii capturing Sebastopol, and
to the loss of life and money already expend
ed, was expressed before any knowledge of the
desperate battles of the 9Th and 6Sh, which so
swelled the list Of the dead?
The Liverpool Times, journal that reflects
the popular and the mercantile voice. as far
back as the 28th October, said, stof the 80, 900
troops who left England for the Black sea, up
wards of 900 have been lost by war, disease
or other calamityr' 1t is said, 1900 marines,
1000 infantry, artillery, sappers and miners, had
been sent to reinforce the army, and 1000 ad-
ditional troops were to have left England on the
25th ult.; thus augmenting the British force in
the Crmea to q, 900 men. The London Times
then said:
We require an allied army of 100000 men in the
east and it is vain longer to deny the fact endea
to give favorable coloring to the position
we really in. France can supply her contingent,
and England must find her moiety. We were in
hopes that diplomacy backed by formdably
like demonstration the part Of Che two great mill
tary and naval powers of Europe would have brought
the car to some equitable terms. This vision has
passed away, and the idea of playing at war any
longer must be totally exploded.
If the leading English papers could speak
thus in October, what will they say in view of
the more recent and terrible losses of the allies?
what will they think of the fresh and urgent call
to supply the thinning ranks of the allied army?
If it cost so much treasure and so many lives at
the commencement of the conflict, who shall es-
innate the burdens that will be imposed upon the
people of France and England before the war is
ended? Some idea of the character and ex
pense of the operations before Sebastopol may
be derived from the following official facts:-
The total weight of the materiel de siege is
4, 591,234 klogrammes, which is lO,o42, $50
lbs. avoirdupois. This enormous materlel is
divided thus: cannon, 265, $50 kilogrammes;
gun carriages, ammunition, and baggage wa
CONS, 583, ATS; projecdes, $50, 442; pow
der, 5000. The remainderis composed ola
multitude of objects too numerous to detail
It's to be remarked that in this enumeration is
not included marine artillery, weighing $500
kilogrammes each gun. When we remember
that sebastopol is defended by 1900 guns, it
ceases to be matter of wonder that such ex-
tensive preparations for attack were needed, or
that SO slow progress has been made by the
allies. 1t may yet be long before the town and
forts surrender.
The know nothings are clearing the Piercites
out of Alabama. The municipal election was
held in Montgomery, on Monday week. The
democrats nominated Mr. Britain for mayor,
who was defeated by Mr. Hansford the know
nothing candidate. The vote stood: for Brit
tan, 1885, Hansford, $780, The know nothings
also elected all the aldermen.
~~-~>~N~---~~~~~~-~~~~-~
John Calhoun, surveyor general of Kansas
territory, has began his labors, and has fixed
the base line on parallel of 4oo-the dividing
line between Nebraska and Kansas-and will
run it forthwith. If the season will permit,
guide meridian line will be run some 80 or 40
miles west Of the east end Of the base line
through Kansas and Nebraska, and standard or
correction lines at distance Of "a or 80 miles
anart will he r,,n east from the guidr merdi-