New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-01-22


hardly spy recover. And out of the SO, 600 dead
or sick rot 1000 have been disabled by the direct
action of the enemy
When it first vas reported in England that the
army in tie Crimea wanted food. clothing. hous-
ing everything; that neither medical nor surgical
stores were on the spot thastke lick and wounded
bad either to lie on the cold wet ground exposed
to the weather, CT to be crowded on board saips
moored in an open roaistesd, without attendance
or the simplest requisites for medical treatment;
when it was reported that hundreds were dying
for wsLt of the first necessaries; everybody be-
leved that the Government had neglected Il send
proper supplies to the scene Of action. Bu'so)n
enough, it became known, that if this had beea
partially the Gaze in the beginning, it was not
30 now. Everything bad been sent there even in
profusion; but unfortunately, nothing ever
happened TO be where il was wanted The med
ical stores were at Varna while the sick aud
wounded we're either in the Crimea or at Scutiri;
the clothing and provisions arrived in sight OF the
Crimes, but there was nobody to land them.
Whatever by chance got landed was lefs to rot
on the beach. The necessary cooperation OF the
naval force brought fresh element Of dssenson
to bear upon the already distracted councils ofths
Departments whose conflicts were 70 insure tri-
umph to the British army. Incapacity, sheltered
BY regulations made for peace, reigoed supreme;
in one of the richest countries of Europe, on the
sheltered coas. of which hundreds Of transports
laden with stores lay at anchor, the British army
lived upon half ritions surrounded By numberess
herds OF cattle they had 10 suffer from .curvy, 10
consequence Of beirg restricted 70 salt meat; with
plenty of wood and coal on board ship, they lad
30 little Of il on shore that they had TO est their
mat rGr, end could never dry the clothes which
tie rain bad dreDched. Think Of sersing out the
coffee, hot only urground, but even unroasted.
There were stores of food, of drink, Of clothing,
Of tents, of ell munition, by tuDs and hundrtd of
tuss, slowed away On board the ships, whose
nais almost touched the tops of the cliffs, where
the camp was placed; and yet Tantaluslike, the
British troops could not get at them. Everybody
felt the evil, everybody ran about, cursing and
blaming every body else for neglect Of duty, but
nobody knew TO use the vernscular expression,
(Which was which," for everybody had his own
set of rel ulations carefully drawn up sanctioned
by Il e competent authority, and showing that the
very thing wanted was no par. of las duty, and
that he, for one had no power to set the matter
right.
Now, add to this state of things the increasing
inclemency Of TIE season, the heavy rains setting
in and transforming the whole Heracea ic Cher
sonese into one uninterrupted pool of mud and
slusb knee-deep if not more; imagine the sol
deIs, two lights at least out of four in the
trenches the other two sleeping, drenched aud
dirty, in the slush, wi;hou; boards under them,
and with hardly shy tents over them; the con-
stsnt alarms completing the imPossibility of any
thug Ike proper rest and adequate sleep; the
crswps diarrbes and other malsdie, arising from
constant wet and cold; the dispersion of ths
medical staff, weak though ii was from the be.
giDriDg over the camp; the hospital-tents, with
5000 sick almost in the open air and lying on the
vet earth, ard it will be easily believed that the
Britsb army in the Crimea is in a state Of com.
plete disOTg auization- rec uced to "a mob of
brave meD," as The London Times says, and
that the soldiers may well welcome the Russian
bullet which frees them from all their miseries.
But what is to be donel Why. unless you
prefer waiting till ba "a dozen acts of Parliament
sre, alter due consideration by the Gro IN law
yers discussed, amended, voted on and enscted-
tin, by this means, the whole business connected
with the army is concentrated in the hands of a
r.sl War Mnister-tll this new Minis.er-sup.
posing him to be the right msn-has organized
the service Of his Office, aud issued Fesh regu-
lations-in other words, unless you wait till the
last vs.tige of the Cnmean army has disappeared,
there IL only one remedy This is the assumption
by the General. IA Chief Of the expedition upon
bis own authority, and his own responsibility, OF
that dictatorship over oil the conflicting and con-
teDdirQ departments Of the military sdmiu'stra
ton which every other General h Chief pos
sesses, snd without which be cannot bring the er-
.trprise 20 any end but ruin That would soon
make matters smooth; but where is the British
General who would be prepared to act in this
Roman manner, and on his trial defend himself,
Ike the Roman with the words, :" Yes, plead
guilty to having saved my country :"
Finally We must inquire who is the founder
and preservtr of this beautiful system OF Amin.
istraiion No BODY but the old Duke of yelling
ton. He stuck to every detail of it as il he WAS
personally interested in making il as difficult as
possible to his successors to rival bin In wlrlke
glory. Wellington, a man Of eminent common
sense but Of no genius whatever w,s the more
sensible Of his own deficiencies In this respect,
from being the cotemporsry ani oppone ut Of the .
eminent genius OF Napoleon. Wellington, there
fore WIS full OF envy for the success of others.