The Sun. — 1856-01-22 (London, England)

JAN. 8.  To-day we have a gale from the south. The snow is rapidly melting away from the plateau, and the ground is in the transition state from the dry and crisp to the deep and muddy. To-day it is simply sloppy ; to-morrow—unless another shift of wind brings back the frost—it will doubtless be in that agreeably tenacious state so often described, but the abominations of which mock the most vivid description. I have received letters from Kertch up to the 4th inst. Nothing note-worthy had occurred since the cavalry skirmish in which Captain Sherwood lost his life. The severe frost which set in on the night of the 17th of December lasted up to the 3d inst., when there was a slight thaw. The Contingent and other troops were well supplied with warm clothing, and set tho cold at defiance. The Turks were contented, well-behaved, and in excellent health. I lately saw, by the by, in a London newspaper some very gross mis-statements respecting the Contingent, which my information, derived from various sources, enables me to contradict. The troops were said to be still under canvass when the snow set in. The truth is, that they were hutted almost immediately on arrival, and Ion; before the snow commeneed. Rape, robbery, and plunder were said to be the order of the day, and what remains of Kertch was represented to ;be in rapid process of destruction at the hands of General Vivian's soldiery. These assertions are completely false. One of that General's first acts on arrival was to put a stop to spoliation. The account of Major Guernsey's affair is also incorrect. The facts of that unpleasant business were as follow :—Major Guernsey was Provost Marshal ; he saw three men comin,, out of a house with empty bottles, and without inquiry attempted to take them prisoners. Two escaped ; the third he captured, and flogged him without further investigation. Flogging him at all was contrary to the express agreement with the Turkish Government, by which it is stipulated that the Turks shall be punished by their own laws and customs (much more severe, by the way, than those of the British service). The Turks shouted " Help to a Mussulman !" The cry was promptly responded to, and Major Guernsey would have been probably murdered had not assistance come. It was for his conduct in this affair that he was sent home. Capt. Hall, of the navy, is also dragged in for censure, and accused of riding Government horses. The horses Capt. Hall rides are his own. Gen. Vivian's staff is said to be inefficient, and to have been selected merely because the officers composing it belonged tothe Madras Presidency—Gen. Yi vian's old presidency. Ou the General's personal staff there is no Madras officer. On the Head-quarter's staff there are four Madras officers, three Queen's officers, one Bengal officer, and the highest posts are filled by the Queen's officers—General Michel, C. 8., who is Chief of the Staff ; Col. Graham, Military Secretary, and Colonel Morris, C. 8., Deputy-Quartermaster-General. I have not time, nor would it be worth while, to dissect minutely and disprove the mis-statements and distortions of truth of which the letter in question is composed. They are so numerous and systematic as to give the letter, which is entirely unworthy of consideration, the appearance of having been written by some disappointed or dismissed officer.  SHIPWRECK AND Loss OF