Washington sentinel., 1855-03-17

he severe frosts had closed the canals, and the
workmen dependent on traffic were compelled
10 apply to the workhouse. Some hundred
railway porters had been discharged from lack
Of work. The mills are beginning to work on
short time"
At Birmingham the state of the poor is very
distressing. Nine thousand workmen are out
Of employment in the town of Birmingham
alone, and q proportionate number in the
neghboring parishes. Notice has been given
10 the iron-workers that a reduction Of wages
can be no longer delayed.
The Advices from Sebastopol.
The Paris correspondent of the Morning
Chronicle writing on the 25th of February
says General Mel, whom the Emperor sent
to the Crimea to report on the state Of the siege
operations, only returned to Paris on Friday
The result of his visit has been change of
tactics. Sebastopol is to be invested another
point of attack has been chosen. -Four bate
res are to be erected at distance of 600 me-
tres from Fort Malakhof, which will unite the
French and English works, and enable them to
concentrate an overwhelming force against the
place and render it untenable; their works will
be completed between the 10th and 10th of
March The Allies will then open fire with
400 guns. 1t is calculated that if the Emperor
leaves Paris on the 7th, he can reach the Crimea
by the 18th of March.
Admiral Bruat telegraphed, under date of
February l3, that the works of the besiegers
90 on slowly in consequence of the bad weather.
The Russians were tortifying their right and
getting new guns into position on the Quaran-
tine side.
The Cunard steamer Arabia, at Malta, in 63
hours from Constantinople, reports, on the l4th,
that some thousand Russians, who accompa-
MED the Arch-duke Michael to Sebastopol, has
been frozen to death. This report is probably
an exaggeration.
Correspondence from the camp, of February
9th and 7th, states that the snow had almost
entirely disappeared, for the time, the ther-
mometer, about noon, reached 52o. Fuel for
cookery was still scarce-indeed almost want
ing. A kind of low fever was rather prevalent
in both camps. The provost marshal had all
his energies at work seeking out gang of ma
rauders who had murdered and robbed an Off
GERS servant. Continual skirmishes took place
between the French and Russians.
The Russians in sinking countermine had
come into the gallery of French mine and
blown it up, killing the French officers OF engi-
neers and some Of his men. Next day the
French took their revenge by opening mask
ed battery OF grape upon Russian sortie
party, killing and wounding 200 to 800. The
English railway "navies' (laborefs) are busy
breaking gronnd. Russian deserters report
that there is abundance of provisions and am
in want of "raki.n During the night OF Feb.
ruary the 9Th, tremendous cannonade was
made along the whole Russian lines, but no at
tack.
The following is the latest dispatch from
Lord Raglan:
BEFORE SEBAsToPoL, February 10, 1856
Nv Lord Duke: have nothing material or
important TO report to your grace since | ad-
dressed you on the 9th. There was rain yes
terday and the day before, and in the course Of
last night, there was considerable fall of snow
which remains on the ground, but II does not
freeze, and the country is again saturated with
wet. 1t is reported from the front that consd-
cradle activity prevails in the town and harbor
of Sebastopol; large conveys Of apparently
sick men were observed to be moving out of
the place, and numerous carts with one horse
coming in.
The enemy appear to be breaking up hulks
in the arsenal creek, and to be using the mate.
rials for platforms and cherau1-de- frise at the
Battery-du-mat. We are proceeding with the
armament of the works on the right. The
health of the troops continues to improve in a
slight degree; they are amply supplied with
warm clothing and provisions. Forage is our
only want and this arises chiefly from the COM
missary generals not receiving from England
the supplies of hay upon which they have
reckoned. | have, &c,
RAGLAN.
His Grace the Duke Of Newcastle.
On the 18th, General Pelisser lis reported
to have telegraphed to Paris that no success
full attempt could be made on Sebastopol for
month to come. On the same date, Prince
Menschikof telegraphed to St. Petersburg
report of the explosion Of the French mine, as
above mentioned, and adds At night, de-
tachments of volunteers continually harass the
enemy in their trenches, and by oblging them
to beat to arms, compel them to suspend their
works.
The British infantry only are withdrawn
from the siege lines; the artillery and sailors
remain in charge of Aeir batteries.
State Of the British Army I'm the Crimcs.
To rectify the various and daily misstate
ments that are put forth on the state Of the
army in the Crimea would be an endless task
| Now and then, however, some striking misrep-
resentaton appears to which it is impossible
to permit uncontradicted circulation For in
stance, it was asserted that, on the lst January
Lord Raglan had barely $4,000 men capable
Of being brought into the field. Even less
number was mentioned. But what was the
| fact2
We are enabled to state on authority to
which we challenge contradiction, that on the
day specified, the total number Of our army
before Sebastopol was 1892 men Of all arms,
from whom must be deducted for sick, absent,
and present, 1895, and l96 for prisoners in
the hands Of the enemy, and the number &C.
tually available for duty viii be found to have
been 24,62l men, or upward Of 10000 more
than was publicly but most falsely stated, and
| this inclusive Of the Naval Brigade.
During the month Of January, there was un.
fortunately large mortality, but notwithstand.
ing this unfavorable circumstance there still
remained on the 9th Of the present month Of
February Il 900 men fit for service again, ex.
elusive Of the Naval Brigade. Another point
that has been carefully kept out Of view is the
number of convalescent at Scutari; these are
1 Ii = n - 4