New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-03-28
THE ceInEAN INQUEST.


On article of ours on the NATURALIZATION Of the
Briti,h Army. and the Encouragement OF the
Criuean campaign acknowledging the
Justice of cur remarks. We have nov the greater
satisfaction of eiog their truth confirmed by the
reiul,s Of the Parliamentary inqa'ry itself The
statements Of the witnesses examined on the 6rst
four days completely bear out everything we have
said with regard to the military bunders, dating
| from Gsllibori down to Bilaklava, to the syste-
matte failure OF aIl the departments, and to the
sacrifice of the Transports in the storm of Nov IA.
As tie ,ubject Is ole Of great interest, we will,
for the inform stion Of cur resdsrs sum up the
evidence given before the Commistee under these
three beads
Captain wrottesley, Of the Royal Engineers,
whore duty it was to assist Mr. Calvert, the
English Consul at Gallipoli in the preparation of
quarters for the army, tells us that great incoa-
venience was felt there already for want Of con
veyabces, both for the transport Of tents and Of
engineering tools from G,llipoli; and that there
too the en- we're already badly supplied with
rationr. General Sir De Lacy Evans, on hi.
arrival at Malta, which was the depot, ascsr-
tased that no purchases Of mules had been
thought Of At Gaiipoli, he found fault with the
absence of the same arrangements as complained
Of by the previous witness. As they went on to
scutari. and as the troops began to accumulate,
difficulties of all manner accumulated in the sir,e
ratio, both with regard to the feeding Of the
troops and horses. and to tie means Of transport.
"The men had, frequently, to wait four or FIVE
"houIs for their rations. Tnere was only one
"smsll store OF forage for several thousand
"htrses. During the whole Of this tins very
little was done toward increasipg the number
"of trsnsport-car'isges. As the country, at that
"time, was fell Of provisions, ttsre would have
sheen no difficulty in obtaining plentiihi sup
"plies" At Scutsyi it was msnifest that
the Treasury regulations were caccl.ted to- ruin
the army, regulations directly originating with
Lord Aberdeen. On tts whole, the Evidence Of
Gen. Evans is remarkable for tracing the conduct
OF the army in Bulgaria home to the Government.
"At Yarna," he ssys, Every little preparation
twas made for the sich, because the war WIS
" commenced, with an impress zion at kcne, thst
" there would be no sicksess or W ,uuds at al!.
"The war was commenced under the delusioE
that matters would be se.tled wi .hout al eS-
"plosion of guBpowder, and that there was no
" necessity for any magazines at all Il was true
" that the Commissariat was under the Com
''mander in. Chief bit aeve ,theless it was close
'iy connected also with the Treasury, 10 the
"w,itiDg of letters to whom the clerks OF the
"OonnisariAt had been much employed. The
"Tressury and their officer, must have hed the
"impression that laying. out the money required
"was extravaganza. Arrangements were not
"msds to ensble them to take the field at
"once. When the Eassisns had crossed the
'-Dsnabe, Omer PAsha applied for assistance,
and the answer was that the army had no! the
means of transport, which ought to have been
provided for long BEFORE" Ga this point the
evidence of Captain Trottesley is even more
complete. He says: Conner Pasba promised to
"fend US 500 bullock wagons, and they we're sent
Ito Us, but the Comussarias d, partment, when
they got them, did not knew what to do with
"then, for there was 30 organization among
"the bullocks mo, among the Commsssriat'
TO return TO General Evans: TIE Government"
saysbe, "wss constantly waiting for notes and
protocols from Wanna and no great e1ertions
"were made to pat the army in a condition to
"ESve. The Russians were carrying on the
=" siege of Sistria, aud still the army was no. In
"rssdiness to love, and still the Government
'.waitipg for no.es. For delay of this kind, the
''COmmissariat was no. responsible, but the
Government" Evans further tells US what
what were the cOnse slences Of those delays, not
to the Turks, out to the Brtish army: About
"month before thu army started, the cholera
"broke out. The general state of health Of the
"men had been good, but their ilnsss had arisen
"from depression, from their having been so long
inactive. Tho weather was very hot, and the
"men did not know wha. they were really to
"co.r
We ALTO learn from Captain Wrottesley's evil
dence, that, "tbe siege train was never landed
" 1t FsDa; it mas sent cut :cithoa any horses to
"drau it. 1t arrived at Vazna in the middle Of
"summer, In July" On the general condition
Of the army in Bulgaria, the came witness re-
marks: " No person WAC had no. seen Balgsr,,
"could imagine the utterly destitute state of it,
"and many Of the French officers said they had
"never seen anything like it, even in Algeria.
The Government which sends an army there
" must be supposed to know the wants Of the
" county"
We etc, thus, that during the period, inc'uiing
the landing at Gallipoli and the bvousc at varra,
tie defective state of the British army organize
ton wa chiefly aggravated BY the conduc. Of the
T,eatury or rather by TIE Government. st home
ard lis Io,icy. A peculiar instance of the good
will Of that Government. toward the army is given
BY the eyiderce of General Bentinck, who. let ne