The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — 1855-09-11 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

THE BALTIC FLEET.  (FROM THE PRESS.)  IN the Baltic the fleet are beginning to shift their cruisingground. The bad wheather has commenced, the blockading squadron before Cronstadt has already experienced a heavy gale of wind, and has shifted its berth. The vacillation of the Government, and the imbecile management of Sir Charles Wood and his Board, seem to have metamorphosed all our fighting Admirals into the meekest and most timid of men. " Impossible," a word unknown in the vocabulary of the last war, appears to be imprinted on the mind of every Admiral in this. The Government have spent milions on this Baltic fleet; they had all the vast resources of the country at their disposal, and all the experience of '54 to guide them, and yet, in a whole summer, they can only achieve a single bombardment of an arsenal and capture a few paltry vessels ! Sir Charles Wood and his Board seem bent upon blunders. No sooner do they discover, in the last week of the season for active operations in the Baltic, that the contemptible supply of mortars which they originally sent out to demolish all the Russian fortresses have been used up in a partial bombardment of the first, than they immediately order a ship round to Woolwich, load her with mortars, and despatch her to the stction. Very admirable energy, under ordinary circumstances, but, in the face of their Admiral's declaration that the season was too far advanced for any further operations, and that the mortar-boats were en route for England, very questionable management. Arrived at Kiel, this ship, the Sanspareil, lay there for some days with the mortars in her hold, when, as might have been expected, came an order from Admiral Dundas for her to return home at once, as the mortarboats had left the station, and the weather was too boisterous for further operations. So, home comes the Sanspareil, no market for their mortars being found in the Baltic. This playing at cross purposes between Admiralty and Admiral betrays a want of unanimity of action and conformity of plan disgraceful to the administrative ability of "My Lords. The official " cat," in this case, clearly resides at Whitehall. Admiral Dundas, some weeks before, had stated that the season was over for operations ; but the Admiralty hoped, by this display of unwonted energy, to cover their primary discreditable mismanagement in not having supplied the fleet with an ample reserve of mortars in the first instance. This very "weak invention" is seen through at a glance. We never had a very high opinion of the administrative talents of the present Board of Admiralty; but their management of the home resources for the supply of the Baltic fleet this year inflicts more disgrace upon them than any of the previous many maladministrations they have been guilty of in their official career.  MR. CHARLES DICKENS is expected to give a reading for the benefit of the Mechanics' Institution at Sheffield, during the month of December. A BALLOON, sent up at Sheffield a few days ago, travelled as far as Chard, in Somersetshire, a distance of about 200 miles, and occupied only about two hours and three quarters in the voyage. THE Bristol Gazette states that a skeleton, supposed to be that of woman, has been discovered by some workmen, about a foot below the surface of the ground, at Banwell. Some suppose the person to have been murdered, but there is at present no evidence to warrant the conclusion. THE Paris Pointe says that the Czar is endeavouring to re-establish his former friendly relations with the Helvetic confederation, which have been estranged since 1848, when the Emperor Nicholas refused to recognise the new federal constitution..