CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY FROM Bequest of ROGER P. CLARK 1940 Date Due liMn!- '^2 I9b-S^ ■&— Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924091750467 f\7n^n *i 4r ^^Pt"^ - ^%^ \h^^.^y&.. mBSS^^m^ /'j^wjSj ^^m K' 'tSL m^^ ^' ■■'^'^^ f '< i. \ VICE ABMILK.A1L SIR J .W. © . ©UMBA ^nJO;^ JAMES s .virti.'T. c^tsQ^Xp oV^ SULTAN ABDUL ME DS CHID CHAH. e»i m m a .'^^/^-ta/i^y Jk G/^aM,a//. I, JAMKS 3. VIRTUE. m -4 i - j!i*^^pi|i »v ta __ -safptT ^^X-- -*%gl g| h^ml ■ t- _ wK/Lmam. "W S B2 id i L t^j ><*fe V \. } y . l^' i ^ 3 ..'Is G § 9 S'^ a g O-O CD^ H .sJ s" H 3 s S s 1 ""eh J; 3 3 „ a^S (1 w II Chap. LYIII.] HISTOEY 01" THE ^YAR AGAIIiST EUSSIA. 801 Perhaps no oiroumstauce during the whole war had shown the inoompetency of the govern- ment and the heads of departments more than this miserable conduct in regard to the arabulaaces. Dr. Smith had furnished to the country, as was shown in a former chapter, a di;tuiled and most particular accouat of the ambulances sent out; but these instruments of relief, if they ever existed, had not found their way to the Crimea up to an advanced date in January, 1855. Well might Mr. Macdonald say in one of his letters from Scutari, that what was wanting there and in the Crimea was a dictator, com- petent to grapple with the difficulties, to set aside routine, to sweep out from the hospitals and commissariat all incompetent persons, and to insist upon the immediate execution of every command. This was the obvious remedy for so profound an emergency, instead of sending out commissions of inquiry, to patch up, as Mr. Layard told the government in the house, the negligent nominees of the government, whose callousness and imbecility disgraced the nation and destroyed the troops. Letters from ofScers are in many respects more instructive as to the state of things than letters from soldiers. One, from an officer in the fourth division, will exemplify this : — Before Seias{opol, Jan. 15. "It is certainly dreadfully cold now; and fancy living in canvas tents, with the snow a foot deep on the plain, and of course in drifts much deeper ! The poor 63rd have at last almost disappeared, and we are to have the 18th up now to relieve them. The cavalry, to their great disgust, are now turned to the only possible use that can be found for them — namely, to bring up our food, though the cook- ing of it is a sad affair, there being very little fuel left. They also use the cavalry for ambu- lances, and a very ghastly procession of sick and dying men, perched on gaunt horses, goes away terribly often from up here ; it is a great thing getting them away at all, for they net'er seem to recover in our hospital here. The survivors of a six mile jolt on a rough road may benefit from change of air, and, at any rate, more attention can be paid to those left behind. I must tell you an insti^nce, while I think of it, of the clever way in which every- thing connected with the array is done at home as well as out here. "We got up at last about twenty pairs of boots per company — a great want, as the men were in a wretched state, and — would you believe? — they were all ton small, and except a very few pairs, utterly useless. How curiously the vein of incapacity seems to wind about through everything, not omitting even the humble boot! "With endless wealth, great popular enthu- .liasm, numberless ships, the best material for soldiers in the world, we are the worst clad, worst fed, worst housed ai-my that ever was read of. Our wealth may be seen rotting in different forms at Balaklava; our ships bring the wrong things to the wrong people, and generally leave them at the wrong places; our soldiers die of inanition, and our fine horses die for want of forage, which rots about the port. Let us hope in time to learn wisdom. It is an astonishing thing how long John Bull, who is in most things a business man, has sat quiet and got so little for his money. We do, indeed, thoroughly appreciate the feelings about us at home, whence every description of necessary and luxury is being sent to us; in fact, everything that can be got for love or money seems to be on its way ; and the people of England would, I am certain (if they could be procured), send us out at once what we so sadly want — a box or two of hermetically- sealed generals, commissaries, , quartermaster- generals, &c., all fit for immediate use in any climate (see the directions on the lid). Per- haps, in time, we may make some ourselves — who knows? " Janumy ,10th. A gentle thaw has set in. The health of the troops is much the same ; they fade away quite quietly and patiently, dying at the rate of 100 per diem, independently of the sick, who go oif to Balaklava or remain in the hospital here. I took a naval friend round the camp this morning, and he was terribly shocked at all he saw, as, living on board ship, he had not much idea of it. The truth is, people in England do not know half enough of our miseries. The post is going out, so adieu!" A regimental officer of rank wrote : — Before Sebastopol, Jan. 20. "May 1855 be more satisfactory to us than has been the gloomy termination of 1854! I have received two- newspapers and your letter without any apparent delay. Letters come regularly, but newspapers are not so sure, being in many instances, in my opinion, confiscated by unscrupulous persons after being landed from the mail steamer, but before reach- ing the heights of Sebastopol. " In the shape of news I can give you but little ; for days together the whole affair appears to be slumbering. Then, generalh'' about midnight, a furious cannonading match between the French and Russians will wake us up for about twenty minutes. Again the fire slackens, and again the monotonous boom — boom — boom every hour or so is resumed. Having now been 114 days within range, the whistle of a ball has lost its effect, unless, indeed, most dangerously near. The ear in- stantly detects French, English, or Russian shot, and of the last almost its course. " The sufferings of the troops are very great ; 5 K 802 HISTOEY OE THE 'WAll AGAINST RUSSIA. [CiTAP LVIII. death and disease on every side. Some of the regiments recently arrived, and principiiUy composed of young men, are reported to be nearly Iwrs de combat. I write this in a well- wom paijvas tent, the snow eight inches deep "without, the ink now half frozen, and totully so almost every night. That any exist asto- nishes me, for even the miserable tent must at least half the week be exchanged for the open trenches. However, no matter what we have to suffer, doubtless some will survive ; but very few who originally encamped before Sebastopol will, I am very much afraid, leave the ground. With regard to the raw reinforcements, they die three to one in proportion to the veterans. This is indeed a sad tale — but it is true. " In our happiest times, in dear old England, a brighter sun never looked down upon us than it did on Christmas-day, 1854. Standing that day on Green Hill, the yellow ruins of Sebastopol, and the white tents of the belea- guering armies, stretched on either side, caused many reflections — sad and solemn retrospec- tion for the brave men who slept the sleep of death around us — ^joyful and glorious perspec- tive, picturing to myself the ultimate fate of the formidable fortress. Perhaps I may have been too sanguine, but 'hope on, hope ever,' is a good motto. Such was Christmas-day, 1854, 4 P.M. ; yet to that hour the division to which I belong had not received an ounce of meat a man for dinner — in fact, dinner we had none. " In Turkey, with genial warmth, fuel for cookery, and no enemy to contend against, commissariat rations were to be had in abun- dance, besides tea, sugar, rice, potatoes, ale and porter, for comparatively nominal prices ; yet here, with cold, disease, and powerful enemies in front, flank, and rear, commissariat supplies are frequently ' short, ' and extras have totally disappeared. I do not blame the commissariat in the Crimea — I do not blame the people of England. I am well aware that England is willing to do her utmost for us, and I am also aware that she can do rnore for her defenders than any other nation ; but there must exist in our executive department some grossly incompetent functionaries, otherwise we certainly would not now be rotting amid the storms of a Crimean winter. " I have just read the foUovfing: — ' If the Crimean Army Eund progresses as it has begun, our brave fellows before Sebastopol will spend a jolly Christmas.' Ah me ! I made my dinner that day of a 2 lb. loaf, pur- chased in the French camp for two shillings and eight pence. We read of woodea houses, fur coats, caps, long boots, &o., but these sup- plies should have been forthcoming in Novem- ber, since which 2000 stalwart soldiers have been hurried to untimely graves for the lack of such provision." A remarkable letter appeared at this junc- ture from Colonel Napier to the Times, which deserved more notice from the public and the authorities than it at the time obtained : — " Sm, — Quoting from your correspondent in yesterday's leading article, on the state of the war, you say, ' There is no doubt, no despon- dency out here; no one feels diffident for an instant of ultimate success.' I must admit I would not have given credence to the above, had I not at the same time happened to have seen a letter, dated ' Camp before Sebastopol, January 15,' from a regimental officer of rank, which completely corroborates this fact. After describing the wretched state of our soldiers, still under canvas, the thermometer at 8° and 10° (which is 19° lower than it has been here • during the coldest weather we have had of late), with three feet of snow on the ground, starved, overworked, without fuel wherewith to cook the rations, their clothes in rags, and in many cases without soles to their shoes; he says, ' The poor fellows work, and starve, and freeze — and without a murmur die ! ' " Adverting next to your memorable article of the 23rd of December, on the state of affairs in the camp before Sebastopol, every word of which he says is true, this of&cer thus con- tinues, after alluding to a friend about to return home : — ■' Eor my part, I would not myself go home if I could ; I was always a hardy animal, and hope to pull through it and see the business out, for Sebastopol mnst fall ! ' And this noble fellow, a true specimen of indomitable endurance and real British pluck, belongs to that ' regimental ' class on whom it was' attempted to throw the whole onus of our failures during the war. They are at the camp most anxious for the assault; but, alas! it is like their wish for dry frosty weather during the lately prevailing rains. They appear little to foresee what the realisation of such a wish would bring. "Weeks and weeks ago I wrote and warned the 'authorities' (warnings based on personal experience) of what a Crimean winter was likely to be. Weeks and weeks ago, I recom- mended that large quantities of sheepskin clothing should be sent out to our troops ; I warned the authorities of the probably fatal consequences of their attempting to pass the winter under tents ; I recommended that sub- terranean habitations should be dug, and ex- cavations made for shelter in the sides of the hills. I did this at the risk of being called an officious meddler, but unexpectedly received most courteous replies to the suggestions which I made. However, in tliis aristocratic land, when was an opinion, unbacked by ' title, high position, parliamentary influence, or wealth,' ever thought worthy of the slightest regard? €hap. LVIII.] HISTORY OF THE WAll AGAINST EUSSIA. 803 Had my suggestions been attended to, even with the Balaklava road in its present state, a repetition of the Moscow tragedy might possibly not have ensued. " Our rulers have wantonly neglected, in the prosecution of the war, those appliances of mechanism and science which are at their command. I pointed out a means by which I imagined — and still imagine. — that the dock- yards, arsenal, and shipping of Sebastopol might be destroyed, without on our part the loss of a single man ; at all events, the trial might have been made — it might yet be made, and at very little cost, even were expense to be regarded with such an object in view. I could at this moment show how the efS.cienc}' of our troops, and their destructive powers, might be greatly increased ; but publicity in this case would prove of more advantage to the enemy than to ourselves, for they might condescend to avail themselves of a suggestion which our rulers would only ' pooh, pooh ! ' " The indifference and routine, the aristocratic coldness and contempt for all beneath their circle, which characterised the government and the officials, so as to provoke the severe stric- tures of Colonel Napier, continued, notwith- standing all the miseries recorded in letters similar to those which fill the foregoing pages. The people of England manifested their gene- rositj' and sympathy towards the sufferers, and their indignation with the government was universally expressed; but the popular deference to the great paralysed all plans which were suggested to make the government and the heads of departments feel that the country was roused to overthrow the system. This want of determined political energy at home to meet the crisis abroad, was the subject of a letter by the Honourable Sydney Osborne to the 2'imes, which produced, by its bold, energetic, and truthful tone, a very wide-spread effect : — " SiE, — Is England voiceless ? Are the days for ever gone in which public indignation can find for itself a vent? Does constitutional government consist in the mute submission of the masses to the neglect of their every interest and feeling? We hear the wail of discomfited, discouraged, and betrayed ' party ; ' we hear as yet no wail from the millions whose every feeling has been outraged, whose dearest inte- rests have been betrayed. Is there one of our so-called statesmen really so dull of 'apprehen- sion that he does not know what is stirring in ■the public mind, though — ^why I know not — its outburst is as yet smothered ? Is not society deluged with letters from the Crimea, all telling one tale — the utter incapacity of Lord Raglan; letters, not only of newspaper correspondents, not of mere civilian lookers-on, nor of inex- perienced ofiicers,- but the outpourings of the disappointed, disgusted hearts of experienced ofiicers, who, loving the man, stand amazed at his want of all that which, as a general, should make him respected? Yes, the Duke of Cam- bridge has spoken out the real truth — it has been a soldier's campaign. What has been won has been won by the pure bravery of the men and the ofiicers doing the physical work of the war. Sir E. B. Lytton says, ' Dismiss the ministry, and save the army.' Common sense declares that to be no army which has only the valour of its officers and soldiers to depend upon. Would the country speak out that which it really wants, it would be, not to visit the minister of war with the whole weight of all that has brought us to our present grief; but to crjr for the dismissal of that leader on the spot — those blind, obstinate, prejudiced men at home, whoso apathy and ignorance of modern warfare would make every effort of any minister abortive. " Is it a time for this yet great country to he mocked by the pettish actings of jealous, worn- out party leaders ? In ordinary seasons, these foolish contentions of the pets of party might amuse, and do no more. We are sacrificing an army to the power we treated with con- tempt ; we are nursed in our moial and ph}-- sical sickness by the power whose invasion of our land seemed but yesterday to be the bug- bear to fright us from our long, peaceful sleep. We are becoming weakened in every muscle of our national strength, and yet we are as though all this was a mere dream — the nation, the fund- holders, the taxpayers, the mourners are passive. " What do the public really care whether Lord J. Russell is the pitiable thing the Duke of Newcastle and his own speech seem to prove him to be ? It may be a serious ques- tion to those who, whig-bound by the fostered prejudices of years, think there can be no progress in liberality and freedom, unless this one lord is to lead, or at least to hold the power to diestroy those who won't move at his command. Does the country, using its own sober discretion, see its only safety in the rule of some one of half-a-dozen lords, who have been tried again and again, until the history of modern times is a mere kaleidoscope, show- ing the shaking of these aristocratic fragmenLs iuto different patterns, each the wonder of one day, the contempt of the next? " Poor England ! poor army ! Still sing thj' cherished national anthem; still shout, for its music's sake, 'Rule Britannia!' but do, with something like consistency, be up at this time to act, to save your queen from becoming the sovereign of a country that knows not how to afford her a ministry, save her an army, or employ for her a fleet. That cool, calculating discretion which in common hours of trial bids the land be quiet, lest talking to those 5k2 804 HISTOEY OP THE WAK AGAINST EUSSIA. [Chap. LYIIT. ■who steer the state's yessel should disturh them, is now treason. The worst feature of the worst democracy could show nothing worse, nothing more ominous, than the passive sub- mission of the subjects of a constitutional monarchy, for the sake of an aristocracy, to a tampering with every private principle, every j)ublic obligation, which should uphold the honour of the monarch." There is no doubt that this and similar letters, which were called forth by the tidings from the Crimea and the Bosphorus, prepared the public mind for the overthrow of the ministry, which will be noticed in a separate chapter. While the men were enduring so much in the Crimea, the horses were fast dying, so that by the end of January the cavalry horses were nearly altogether destroyed. When the surging discontent at home compelled the go- vernment to institute a commission of inquiry. Colonel TuUooh and Sir J. M'Neil were sent out to the Crimea to investigate on the spot the causes of so much disaster. It has been neces- sary frequently to refer to this commission, and to the report it made : this report criminated various authorities. Mr. Commissary Pilder incuiTed some censure, although it appears ■'hat he was much more "sinned against than sinning." The general commanding the light cavalry, the Earl of Cardigan, and the general- in-cbief of cavalry, the Earl of Luoan, were blamed for not having the horses hutted, or in any way placed under shelter until the incle- ment winter was far advanced (until the end of January, and in some cases until February), and for neglecting opportunity to bring up fodder to the cavah-y camp. Whatever may have been the amount of error chargeable upon these officers, it does not appear to have arisen fiom any indifference to the efficiency of the service, or of the preservation of the horses. These noblemen were at discord ; Lord Lucan was not a favourite at head-quarters in the Crimea, although possessing vast influence at the Horse Guards ; and these circumstances militated against such arrangements as might otherwise have been easily made. After the battle of Balaklava, the coolness between the commander-in-chief and the lieutenant-general of cavalry was obvious. W hatever Lord Lucan might have accomplished if he had acted more resolutelj^ on his own responsihility, it cannot bo denied by those most disposed to censure him (and many are disposed to do so to an un- just extent), tliat his representations to head- quarters, made early in the winter, were sensi- ble and necessarj', and that these representa- tions were treated with neglect. The report of the commissioners reflected much upon the quartermaster-general's department, and upon General Airey personally. The commander- in-chief, more by implication than directly, was comprised among the blame-worthy. The report attributed the destruction of the cavalry to the neglect and mismanagement of such of the generals as had to do with it. Lord Raglan, General Airey, Lord Lucan', Lord Cardigan, and Mr. Commissary-general Filder, were all held responsible for the loss of the horses. When their report was returned to the govern- ment, there was great reluctance to publish it. The commission was alleged to have been a private one, and the report to be for the in- formation of her majesty and her responsible advisers, not for parliament and tlie public — their business was to pay and confide. Par- liament and the people would not confide, and after a hubbub which alarmed the government, the report was permitted to see the light. Im- mediately the accused generals raised a cry that injustice had been done them, and all their powerful aristocr-atic connexions joined in the cry. The accused officers were courtiers and friends, or connexions, of the commander-in- chief. One of the most implicated, the Hon. Colonel Gordon, of the quartermaster-general's department, is son of the Earl of Aberdeen, the late premier, a much idolised personage at court. Such influences and connexions were not to be trifled with; these officers impugned the accuracy of the report, and, by implication, the honesty of the commissioners. A new investigation was demanded. The government and the Horse Guards hit upon the expedient of selecting a number of general officers, them- selves the vei'y types of routine — men who would be sure to do, in the same circumstances, the same things which the commissioners had denounced. This new commission sat in the hall of Chelsea Hospital, and examined wit- nesses. Sir John M'Neil refused to degrade himself by being present — he had accepted a commission from the crown, and had fulfilled it, and had no more to do with the business. Colonel Tulloch, his colleague, took a different view of his dut)'; be attended and addressed the court, summoned witnesses, and cross-ex- amined the witnesses of the accused generals, until he at last broke down phj'sically under his herculean exertions. The generals consti- tuting the court of inquisition made a report acquitting every one. The country laughed at the report; it all along ridiculed the ap- pointment of the board of inquiry itself; the mode in which it would proceed, and the judg- ment at which it would arrive, were as obvious as the motives for its appointment; and the whole metropolitan press denounced the affair as a "job," and predicted its issue. The issue was such as enabled the court and the Horso Guards to keep on their staff appointments tho men whom the Crimea commission had repre- sented as bunglers, or worse. Yet it is impos- Chap. LYIII.] HISTORY OF THE WAR AGAINST RUSSIA. 805 slble to deny that the inquiry brought to light a greatdeal more than was known before. If it acquitted the generals, and evaded as much as possible all admission of the disasters, or cen- sure of the military system which led to them, it brought into public view many exculpating circumstances so far as the cavalry generals were concerned. If the horses were not sheltered and fed, the fault did not lie 'wholly, or even principally with them — and this is made obvious by the Chelsea inquiry, whereas the Crimea report brought them under a dark cloud of im- peachment. The integrity of the Crimea com- mission was also made apparent. The way in which all- these contradictory things were brought about was by witnesses — " officers and gentlemen" — whose testimony was of one hue when given in the Crimea before commissioners invested with power by the crown, and of an- other hue when given in Chelsea Hospital, and the opinion and desires of " the Prince," the commander-in-chief, and the government, were well known. It was difficult, under the circumstances, for the commissioners in the Crimea to arrive at other conclusions than those at which they arrived ; equally difl&oult, ac- cepting the evidence of the same witnesses, for the Chelsea inquirers to arrive at a judgment much opposed to that which they promulgated, but which has been met by the ridicule of the press and the people, and the ill-suppressed sneers of the keen-witted premier himself. As a specimen of the mode in which the accused generals have run the gauntlet of the public and the press, let the following suffice as a sample. The Earl of Cardigan impugned the integrity of the Crimea report as to the amount of forage given to the horses in November; this his lord- ship did in a letter to the minister of war. His lordship's letter was thus subjected to the strictures of a military correspondent of a morn- ing journal : — ■ "In the explanatory letter which the Earl of Cardigan addressed to Lord Panmure, on the subject of the animadversions which he con- ceived had been cast upon him by the M'Neil- Tulloch report, his lordship attempted to prove, from documents to which he referred, that the cavalry horses of the Light Brigade had, during the month of November, 1854, received much more food than the commissioners' report, and the evidence of the colonels of the light cavalry regiments, had represented them to have received. He stated that the commissariat re- ports, sent to him daily by Colonel Mayow, showed that on the 17th of November the horses had hay and corn, ' but not their full allowance;' and that up to the 22d they had barley, 'but not quite their full rations.' His lordship also remarked that he believed Colonel Doherty's statement, that ten horses had dropped down dead while being led down from the encampment on the heights of Balaklava, to be an exaggeration. "We see, from a letter addressed to Lord Cardigan to the assistant adjutant-general of the cavahy division, dated the 29th of Novem- ber, 1854, that on that day his lordship re- signed his command, and by his own showing the horses of his brigade had, up to the 22d of November, been tolerably well fed. " Lord Cardigan, on his return from the Crimea, made a good many speeches in public. I wish to compare his account of the condition of the light cavalry brigade, which he had then just left, as delivered to the burgesses of Nor- thampton early in 1855, with that with which he has recently favoured Lord Panmure in Eebruary, 1856. In addressing the mayor, aldermen, and town- council of Northampton, the papers of the day reported Lord Cardigan to have said that — " 'Had it not been from circumstances, aris- ing partly from ill-health, over which he had no control, he should not have deemed it his duty to leave the seat of war at that time, although perhaps his remaining there would have been almost useless, for lie had nothing left to command In addition to other special reasons for losses incurred, hundreds of cavalry horses died through the commissariat failing to provide provisions or forage for them. Before he left the army, which was early in December, the horses of the brigade which he had the honour to command, had been eighteen days without hay, and but a very small portion of barley had been given them to keep them alive. The consequence was that the horses died daily in great numbers in the lines.' " How can Lord Cardigan reconcile these statements, made when the real facts of the case were fresh in his memory, with the de- fence of his conduct which he has now laid before Lord Panmure, in which he labours to prove, at the expense of the characters of the officers under his command, that at the time he resigned it, the condition of the horses of his brigade was not nearly so bad as those officers had represented it in their evidence before the commission to be?" The Chelsea Board maniiged to transfer the responsibility from one officer to another, so as at last to fix it upon " the system." Sir Richard Airey was exonerated from blame because Commissary-general Filder did not supply him with his requisitions ; the com- missary was freed from blame because he was hampered for want of transport ; the provision of transport was the work of the commander- in-chief — he depended upon the commander-in- chief at home; and his responsibility was so divided with the Board of Ordnance, the Ad- miralty, the 'War-offlce, and the Treasury, that the thing was dissipated and lost, eluding the S06 HISTOEY OE THE WAE AGAINST EUSSIA. [Chap. LYIIT. pursuit of wiser heads and quicker hands than those of the jury of generals who sat in the hall of Chelsea College. It is remarkable, that while among the Turks the loss of life far exceeded that of the British, they lost few horses — as they generally placed them for shelter under their own tents, which were better made than those of either the French or English. While matters were in this condition in the Crimea, but little hope was iiifiTsed by the arrival of reinforcements of either men or horses. Some Asiatic horses were imported, and also a considerable number of mules, many of them Spanish ; but the animals died off with great rapidity, being unable to endure the treatment of the camp any more than their predecessors. The new arrival of officers came out well prepared for the weather as they thought — they had an abundance of pea-coats, Makintoshes, leggings, freize over-alls, tastefully got up sheep- skms, long boots, and some, greatly to the amusement of the old hands, brought um- brellas ! The supply of fine soups and Martin's blacking, with wliich several of these gentlemen were furnished, was a source of much banter to them. The correspondent of the Morning Chronicle gave this humorous portraiture of these uninitiated gentry: — "It is curious to trace these fresh men through the phases of their acclimatisation to the campaign. I had the good fortune of meeting two of them the other day, j ust as, covered with dust and per- spiration after a long day's hard ride, I was galloping over the road from Kadikoi to Balak- lava. They stopped me, but if they had not done so I should certainly have stopped them. They were worth looking at ; it made me feel at home, and I had a great mind to ask them for the whereabouts of an omnibus, or the starting of the last "Woolwich train. They looked for all the world as if somebody had packed them carefully in a box, with plenty of v/adding and tissue-paper, and sent them down to St. Katherine's Wharf, with directions of ' This side up,' and ' Fragile — not to he roughly handled.' The men had fancy whips too, slight whalebone affairs, whose ephemeral existence half- an-h our' s ride on a Cossack horse would most assuredly terminate. And their bright silver spurs had actually round rowels — good-natured inoffensive rowels, that reminded one of park nags and a decent canter across Dulwich Common. And the men's faces were round andjoUy, red and white, and their chins as smooth as a real young lady's on her first coming out. While humbly replying to their stern questions, I looked at these men with undisguised astonishment, while they with a well-bred indifference, which it did my heart good to see, scanned and marked down my tarnished gold lace, rusty sword, and unblaokened boots, and slightly smiled at the haversack which dangled at my side, and th& rough Cossack pony which shook its long mane in their smooth faces. That was some days ago. I have seen the men since with half their shine taken out of them by a couple of nights under canvas, and a few meals on (not at) our camp mess-table, the ground. Their blue and velvet bore traces of dust, their metal sheaths had suspicious spots about them, and their chins were darkened with a beard of two days' growth. They rode rough Cossack ponies, and groaned under the weight of heavy haversacks, and, what is worse, their faces somewhat pale and jaundiced, gave indications of that terrible ' seediness' which affects new comers, which, if neglected, sends them either home on sick leave, or to some shunned spot outside the camp, where the turf is broken and tlie brown earth heaped in. little hillocks — where the weary of the army take their long rest, whither no bugle call reaches, and no alarm gun sends its booming sounds." There was hope however inspired, when, early in January, the camp heard that the railway expedition would certainly sail, and the accession of papers and letters from Eng- land was eagerly welcomed, in order to ascer- tain the progress of "the navvies." Thejr were preceded by some of Messrs. Peto and Brassy's officers, who at once secured a wharf for tlie especial use of "the squadron," so that it might not be involved in the common con- fusion upon its arrival. This was a wise and essential measure, for loss of material and great delay would have infallibly befallen the under- taking, if once it became mixed up with either the army or navy service, or came under the control of the harbour-master, quartermastei'- general, or any other head of anything there. Lord Kaglan ordered the troops to give any assistance that might be requisite, and accord- ingly fatigue parties were employed to pull down some old buildings, so that the "navvies" might have a separate locale for themselves and their appurtenances. Great was the de- light of these rough men when the vessel con- taining them weighed, and sailed from Black- wull. Captain Andrews had tlie ill-luck to. tell them, in one of his excellent and judi- cious addresses, that "the eyes of Europe were upon them." It never occurred to them untU. then that their importance was so great, and their vanity was inflated to any dimen- sions. As they wei-e all to be well armed with Colt's revolvers, they vowed marvellous things against the Eussians, whom they were to assail with pick and pistol, and to demolish along with their stronghold. They constantly reminded one another, if any exploit was projected, that " the eyes of Europe were upon them." Some such consciousness must have impelled them to- Chap. LVIII.] HISTOET OP THE WAH AGAINST EUSSIA. 807 play the conspicuous part they did on their arrival at Gibraltar : they literally " stormed the rock," as they proposed to do. Great was the surprise with which the sentinels and officers saw these strangely apparelled and stalwart men climbing up the almost perpen- dicular face of the rock, and pushing their way into every conceivable place, however improper, which Gibraltar contained. The astonishment was mutual ; the garrison and inhabitants in turn gazed at the novel visitors, who oifured to treat all they met, " if there was any tidy place nigh : " — officers, soldiers, and civi- lians, were without distinction the objects of their benevolent intentions. After doing a good deal of unintended mischief, and com- pleting a few fights among themselves, which did not appear to disturb their harmony much; and having offered various challenges to such persons as they met, Spaniards more particu- larly, to "try it on," they were collected on board again, > and seriously rebuked for tlieir wild behaviour. This took them more by sur- prise than the rook of Gibraltar itself, for they considered that they had performed all matters most handsomely; having given every one they met a friendly shake hands, and as friendly an offer to drink or fight with them as might best furnish their new acquaintances with an opportunity for pleasure. The Spanish resi- dents literally ran away from them ; the English were, on the whole, pleased with the harm- less manifestation of home eccentricities. The navvies gave assurances to their superiors that they would be quite different men at the next place where they should land. On tlieir arrival at Malta, however, they showed such tokens of excitement, that their superintendents would allow them to go ashore only upon the condition of taking no money with them. They acceded to this arrangement; but finding that at Malta, as well as everywhere else, money is a sine qud non, they consulted together how to get a little of it. They hit upon a novel expedient thoroughly characteristic, and as thoroughly successful. They dispersed them- selves about La Valetta, announcing that at a certain hour a magnificent display of the art of self-defence would be made, by real British pugilists, for the benefit of two distinguished professors of " the noble art." At the hour appointed the astonished people of Valetta and the garrison assembled in great numbers; the sparring came off with much eclat. The public were delighted, many of them never having seen the like before. Money was showered into the hats of the navvies by offi- cers, soldiers, and seamen, and by all classes of the English, who were rather proud of the physical display made by their countrymen in the presence of the Maltese. The Maltese were quite satisfied that they had their money's worth in the novel exhibition ; and the navvies, replenished in pocket, thus baffled the plans of their superintendents, and made Valetta ring with the sounds of their joUifioation. They were in high favour with the seamen and soldiers, the whole proceeding being entirely to their taste. At Constantinople it was ap- prehended that their oddities would be any- thing but amusing to the stolid Turks, and it required no small address to prevent them from, going on shore. They did not in the least appreciate the reason assigned for withholding the privilege, that "the place did not belong to the queen;" for they replied that " it ought to," and expressed their desire to lend a han-d to bring about a consummation which would favour her ambition and their own amusement. When they arrived at Balaklava tliey were fed and lodged on board ship until the huts for their reception were completed, but they set to work with their own peculiar vigour. Their principal pastime was boxing and sparring; sometimes there were serious battles among them. The military authorities were for very stringent measures, being apprehensive of mis- chievous disturbances ; but Mr. Peto's officers begged that the men would be left to them, and no inconvenience to the army should be experienced — and they were able to make good such an assurance. Notwithstanding the por- tentous efficiency of picks and revolvers, the Eussians did not suff'er at the hands of the navvies, otherwise than by the completion of the work which they had been sent out to per- form. It was not until the end of Januarj' and the beginning of February that the draughts of railway men and material arrived, but as soon as they were fairly hutted, the work began and went on with rapidity. Meanwhile, to supply the lack of horses — especially as the new importations died so fast — buffaloes were brought from Baltschick and Varna to the number of at least 200 ; some of them very soon died from the severity of the climate, and the irregularitjr and inadequacy of food, and soon after hard work killed more. A long row of sheds was erected for them be- tween Balaklava and Kadikoi, which obtained the name of "Buffalo Town." In this spot the fugitives from Balaklava located them- selves — Greeks, Jews, Maltese, Kurites, Tar- tars, and Turks, displayed a curious melange. of nationalities ; and cheated one another, and still more successfully cheated all the British visitors to Buffalo Town. There was no difficulty there, for either commissariat or transport service, in getting up huts and even houses. Mr. "Woods, in describing this place, gives the following amusing and life-like pic- ture : — "All the different branches of the English, Ereach, and Turkish services, with other foreigners innumerable, may be met here 808 HISTOEY OF THE WAR AGAINST ETJSSIA. [Ghap. LYIII. on Sunday, in every possible combination of ■winter costume, from the spruce, active, neat French soldier to our own men-of-war's men, with huge flowing beard and moustaches, greatcoats made of cow-hide, and trowsers of buffalo-skin ; resembling, in fact, great bears, ■with nothing to remind you of our blue-jackets but their bold, rollicking, defiant spirit, which four long months in the trenches have not been able to subdue. The Turks frequent the long, gaudy line of tents, where, under the crescent and sultan's cipher, gin, raki, coffee, sweet- meats, and tobacco, are vended at the most ex- orbitant prices, and from which seductions the followers of the prophet alwaj's come aWay either discontented or drunk. The English haunt more extensive stores, where everything but the article of which you are in search can be obtained; and where, if one asks for pre- served meats, he is sure to be told that they are all gone, but that some admirable tea- spoons, tin kettles, and pocket-combs still remain on hand. The Erench have peculiar places of their own, in which, after much vociferation and many threats of appealing to the authorities, they generally wind up by ex- pending to the amount of an English penny or so. Amid all this clamour and hurry,' little Greek and Maltese boys rush in and out, laden with eggs, bridles, thick boots, gloves, pipes, sausages, and all the other little creature-com- forts of which dwellers in the camp are sup- posed to stand so much in need, and generously offer them to passers-by for about one hundred times their actual value. Great was the aston- ishment and indignation of the ' navvies,' who were at Buffalo Town for the first time yester- day, to find the prices at which these things found eager purchasers here. Such was the scene at our new town on Sunday. Opposite the place where all the trade was going on, a large party of Turks were digging graves ; while, a little below them were a party of our own men engaged in a similar melancholy duty ; and along the road through the ' town ' a long file of sick men from camp, coming in on cavalry horses, wrapped in thtir blankets, and scarcely able to sit in the saddle, com- pleted the melancholy picture, and gave the ' navvies ' a good idea of a Sunday in the Crimea." " The long file of sick men," so touohingly described by Mr. Woods, continued to descend daily, until they reached the appalling num- ber of 120 per diem for dispatch to Scutari; while many, very many, died on board ship passing thither, in the horrid hospital at Balaklava, descending the bleak plateau from the camp, within the lines, and even in the trenches, they sunk from their work, weari- ness, and wretchedness, into the repose of death. The medical men bore unanimous testimony at the end of January, that the warm clothing had come " too late." Eor the reinforcements the Warm coats, strong boots, flannel shirts, and woollen hose, would be useful; but the ordeal of November, De- cember, and January, had been too severe for the ragged host that shivered and wasted away for a faithless government. Quietness, rest, nourishment, nursing, could alone restore the worn-out soldiers; these were not found; but they did find in the water or snow-filled dyke, misnamed a trench, or on the steep ac- clivities of the wind-beaten hill, or in battle with the foe — death. In a former chapter we treated upon the hospitals at Scutari, carrying our notices for- ward to January, and giving; a general view of their condition during that month. It is only necessarjr, therefore, in this place to refer to the fact that up to the month of February, from the rigours of tlie climate in the Crimea, and the causes which Dr. Lyons specified in his report already mentioned, those hospitals continued to receive new accessions of diseased and mu- tilated men ; and that in spite of Miss Night- ingale and her excellent coadjutors, male and female, the horrors of the lazar-houscs on the Bosphorus continued. A contemporary writer, who is anonymous, thus sums up the frightful history of these receptacles of the diseased : — " When the old year had' given place to the new, all alike found their prospects darkening. The horrors, although slightly, changed in kind, were greater in aggregate amount at the end of January than they had been in November. This arose from the enor- mous number of invalids seAt every week from the Crimea. At the end of January there were 5000 sick men at the camp alone ; and as these accumulated too rapidly for the surgeons to attend to them, they were sent off by sliip-loads to Scutari, where they added to a scene of confusion already overwhelming. Not only did the two hospitals at Scutari become filled almost to the doors, but seven other hospitals on different parts of the Turkish shores — that is, cavalry stables near the Barrack Hos- pital, fitted up with 150 beds; an hospital for 500 convalescents in the Sultan's Spring Palace, near the General Hospital ; an hoapittil for 400 convalescents at Abydos, on the Dardanelles ; another at Kulali, on the Bosphorus, at first appropriated to Russian prisoners, but after- wards made available for British sick by the removal of the Russians to the arsenal at Stam- boul; an hospital for convalescents at Smyrna; and two hospital ships in the Golden Horn; besides the Naval Hospital at Therapia — be- came almost equally crowded : and the open square of the Barrack Hospital was now fitted up with a structure for 1000 additional pa- tients. The total number was not less than CjAP. LVIII.] HISTORY OE THE WAE AGAINST IIUSSIA. 809 6000, superadded to the 5000 at tlie camp. The glory of the victories no longer cheered the enfeebled and sickened soldiers ; the wounded men, in November, had some prospect of re- covery ; but those wounded at a later date were kept down by dysentery and fever, and, the wounds refusing to heal, the grave speedily claimed its own ; or they arrived exhausted with chronic disease firmly rooted in their broken constitutions, and almost beyond the chance of successful treatment. An almost insupportable gloom now overspread the hos- pitals, multiplying the miseries already terrible enoiijjh. It may well be imagined that the position of Miss Nightingale and her com- panions became more trying as the difficulties accumulated in number." Early in 1855 the Civil Hospital at Smyrna was instituted, and it~ proved a great benefit. It was confined to medical patients, which relieved the hospitals in the Bosphorus from a large class of patients less likely to be attended to there than any other at that juncture. It was at the close of December, 1854, that a plan for establishing an hospital, chiefly or exclusively under the care of civilians, was mooted, and in January the government resolved to carry it out. On the 10th of Feb- ruary, 1855, the Duke of Newcastle announced in the House of Lords — "It will be neces- sary, in spite of all .opposition, and all profes- sional feeling to the contrary, to introduce into the army hospitals the civil element." The government of Lord Aberdeen having fallen, the Duke of Newcastle surrendered the War- office to Lord Panmure, who followed up the scheme of his predecessor; and directed the following circular to the heads of the London hospitals, and appended a form of agreement for the signatures of such physicians as would ' consent to go out in -the service of the govern- ment. "We are particular in laying before our readers this circular and the agreement, that they may better judge of the subsequent extraordinary conduct of the British govern- ment : — COri' OF LOKB r.VNMUEK's IKTTEE 10 THE GOVESNOES or LONDOIf HOSPITALS. War Department, lebruary 17. Gentl-embn-,— I am desired by Lord Panmure to request vour immediate and earnest consideration of a subject which at this moment engages his lordship's most a.-sioas attention— namely, the best means of ronderin" the vast professional resources of Great lintain, and more particularly of the metropolis, available for the medical relief of the British army at the seat of war Xord Panmure is well aware that members of the medical profession ever forward ia a cause of humanity, no less than of patriotism, would not be wanting to respond to any appeal which might be addressed to them by the government; but his lordship is of opinion that the present necessities of the army call for medical assistance if an order wliich can only be insured by selection from individuals who have already given proof of their posses- sion of the requisite skill, and whose antecedents gua- rantee tlieir experience ; such individuals must be looked for first in the medical establisimieuts of the great metropolitan hospitals. I lun directed by Lord Panmure to request your aid and concurrence in his organisation of a special civil medical staff to assist the military medical staff of the army at the seat of war. His lordship considers that this could be best effected by your selection of two or more medical gentlemen for the posts of physician and surgeon; of four or more other gentlemen, of a junior standing, as assistant physicians and surgeons ; and of such proportion of advanced medical pupils as you may deem necessary to perform the duty of dressers ; but his lordship con- siders that such an arrangement will fail to secure the services of the most highly qualified of your officers, unless you can at the same time, by an internal and private arrangement of your establishment, protect the gentlemen selected from a permanent professional loss resulting from their humane e.^ertions. This can probably be effected only by declaring that such offices as may be held by gentlemen volunteering to proceed to the seat of war, on temporary furloughs from the establishments to which they belong shall not be declared vacant during their absence ; but that their duties shall be provisionally performed by other gentlemen, especially appointed for the purpose, and that they shall be reinstated in such offices on their return. The remuneration which Lord Panmure would propose for these officers would be that already fixed for the civil medical officers at Smyrna, which is as follows, viz. ; physicians and surgeons, £2 2s. per diem ; assistant ditto, £1 OS. per diem. But his lordsiiip will be ready to con- sider any suggestions you may desire to make on that head ; and 1 am instructed to add, that to meet the case of gentlemen who may give up private practice to proceed to the East, it is his lordship's intention to propose that the salary to be paid by the government shall be con- tinued for one year from the termination of the engage- ment, which it is hoped will enable those who mjy find their private practice wholly or partly passed into other hands, to bear with less inconvenience the interval that may elapse before they can recover it. Lord Panmure proposes that the hospitals to be con- ducted by the civil staff shall be as much as possible distinct from and apart from those in charge of the military staff; nevertheless he proposes to give local medical rank to the gentlemen so engaged. Lord Panmure is well aware that in the present infected state of the great hospital at Scutari a local removal of the sick is greatly to be wished. This subject presents many practical difficulties; but his attention has been given to the means of overcoming thein ; and he trusts that the infection in question will not remain to augment the difficulty of the duty. COrr 03? AGUEEMEUT WITH THE GOVEKKMENT. Smyrna Sospital. Sir, — We, the undersigned physicians and surgeons appointed to the Smyrna Civil Hospital engage to enter upon the discharge of our duties, to be defined by the medical superintendent for the time being, upon the following conditions : — A free passage out and home, lodgings, or lodging-money, and free rations. To serve a year, and to be guaranteed a year's pay, and, upon our services being dispensed with after the period of twelve months' service, to receive on retirement a gratuity of half-a-year's pay. Officers to give three months' notice of tlieir intention to leave the service, the notice to be given on the first of any month. In the event of leaving within the first year of service, the pay to cease at the date of leaving, except in case of illness, when, upon report of a medical board, an officer shall be entitled to a free passage home, and three months' salary as a gratuity. In the event of death from disease contracted wheu- on duty, the representatives of such officer to be entitled to receive the same gratuity as would be granted under the above regulations to an officer on retirement. Salary to be £2 2s. per diem. To the Beputy Secretary at IVar. The result of this appeal was like that of every other which government made to the 810 HISTORY OF THE WAR AGAINST RUSSIA. [Chap. LVIII, patriotism of the people : gentlemen of supe- rior talents and attainments volunteered for the work, and bravely and nobly pei'l'ormed it ; little Bupposing that they were to expe- rience neglect, and be deprived of their just pecuniary claims at last. Among these gallant and generous-hearted men was Dr. Arthur Leared, of Finsbury Place South, a gentleman of scientific and literary acquirements, and high medical reputation, to whom these pages are indebted for the following brief notice : — " The Smyrna Civil Hospital was projected at a time when, owing to overtaxed energies, the army surgeons were unable to meet the immense increase of their duties. The senior part of the staff consisted of three physicians and five surgeons, selected from men in practice, and holding hospital appointments chiefly in Lon- don. Many of the assistant physicians and surgeons also were connected with public hos- pitals ; and great care was taken in the selec- tion of all to obtain the best possible men, inducements in the way of paj^ being held out. Sir John Forbes, physician to her majesty's household, was appointed chief of this efficient staff; owing .to illness, however, he resigned before leaving England, and was succeeded by Dr. Meyer, one of the physicians. Early in March, 1855, the civil staff arrived at Smyrna, and found that a great number of sick had been already sent from the Crimea, and were attended by military surgeons, who came with them. These gentlemen immediately handed over their charge. The hospital was a large Turkish barrack, erected for 2000 men, hut a very diminished number of sick could be accom- modated. It v.^as finely situated, at the foot of Mount Pagus, and on the edge of the beautiful ba)'. The climate was good — extremely agree- able during the greater part of the year, but too warm at times in summer. A wind pre- vails from the sea during the day, called by residents the inhat, ani this is of csoi^ntial service ; at night it fails, and it is then the heat is most oppressive. Supplies of all kinds were abundant at Smyrna. The Turkish population were very well disposed towards us, so that whenever any of the doctors appeared in the Turkish quarter they were sure to be greeted by the children with ' Inglis hono:' sometimes was added, 'Frances bono — Muscov no hono.' The Greeks evidently disliked us. The brigands were all Greeks ; and they were most anxious to get hold of some of our staff. They said the queen would give a liberal ransom, if not, our heads should pay for it; we having come to oppose their brethren, the Russians. An Eng- lish resident doctor, Dr. M'Gralh, was seized by these brigands while we were at Smyrna. They supposed him to be one of our staff, and demanded £3000 ransom, and proceeded to ill- use him, but as he underntood Greek he suc- ceeded in making better terms. After a week's captivity, during which he was almost worn out from constant travelling over rugged moun- tains during the night, he was released on payment of about £370 sterling. He witnessed some brutal acts. One old Turk — whose ass was seized for his use, as he was growing lame from fatigue — was shot dead in his presence. The interior of the country about Smyrna is 'ex"tremely mountainous, which favours the brigands. Before we left, the band referred to was broken up — the chief shot, and several of the others (there were ten originally) taken and executed. One morning five were be- headed in the street. I saw the body of a man that had been- brought in from the country, said to be that of a robber, but it was after- wards stated that he was a peasant shot by mistake. The Turks were by no means par- ticular in these matters. The country people, however, were largely involved in the system; they supplied the robbers with food, &c. Other bands sprung up as soon as previous ones had been extiipated. The Turkish government- repaid the ransom of Dr. M'Grath lately: I believe they have done that in the case of all Europeans. "The cases treated in the hospital were almost exclusively medical ; it was found inconvenient to send the wounded so far : a large proportion were fever and scurv}' cases. At first we were quite full of wcrk — and hard work; but as the health of the army improved, we luid much less to do. Fever proved veiy infectious ; and many of our orderlies and nurses, and one dis- penser, died. We had a number of lady nurses besides the paid nurses. These ladies devoted themselves to their work ; and some of tliem narrowly escaped from the fever with which they were attacked, as well as some of the medical staff'. The staff, consisting of three physicians, nve surgeons, six assisting phy- sicians, and eleven assistant surgeons, was at length too numerous for the wants of the hos- pital. Several were, therefore, sent to do duty iu the Crimea, so that the staff was reduced to four seniors, and juniors in proportion. At the end of November it was thought proper to break up the establishment altogether, to make room for tlie Anglo-Swiss Legion, just at the time when the hospital was in a high state of perfection — a curious instance of vacillaling policy. The experiment altogether was very costly. The hospital at Renqui was established subsequent to that of Smj'rna." Our readers cannot fail, on perusal of the above account, to observe how uniform the fate of everything which fell under government management. "When this hospital had reached its highest state of eflciency it was abandoned, and yet another was almost immediately estab- lished ! The hospital which had succeeded was Ceap. LYIII.] HISTOEY OP THE WAE AGAINST EUSSIA. 811 given up, to make room for a Swiss Legion, and the Osmanli horse, in British pay ! Im- mediately upon the breaking up of the hospital an attempt was made to get rid of the medical men, without giving them the compensation they had a light to expect. Men like Dr. Leared and his compeers, who had given up lucrative and important positions, ■which it might not be so easy to resume, in the active competition which now fills every profession, Bhould be honoured for their promptitude in going to a remote counti'y, and incurring the perils of pestilence and brigands ; and it should be the care of government to make such sacri- fices lightly felt. Our country is not so poor that it cannot recompense the brave and the humane, whose conduct proves that they wottld, if needs were, serve her without re- compence. But while millions are squandered upon the indolent, and the favourites of those who administer the high departments of the state, meiit is seldom requited, unless in de- ference to public feeling, or from fear of public displeasure. The heads of the military medi- cal staff in London were not favourable to these gentlemen— the civil hospital was regarded with envj', and even animosity. It was so superior to the Crimean and Scutari hospitals as to reproach tlie magnates of the army medi- cal staff in London. It was resolved by the clique which manages these things to get rid of the institution altogether, and of the men who made it what it was. Even those civilians who were engaged as assistants to the military medical officers at Scutari and the Crimea received a superior remuneration, as if the more plainly to mark the invidiousness with which the gentlemen of the civil hospital were treated. The following extract will show our readers what the feeling of these gentlemen were in August, 1856, nine months after the hospital was abandoned : — • On considering the circumstances under which we went out, the ariungements we had made for a twelvemonth's absence, the cxijectiitions we had been led to fonn, and the course adopted b_v government in other similar cases, we feel that we have suffered an injustice. It has alreadj- been shown that the original engage- ment seemed to ensure us at least eighteen months' pay, and that Lord Panmure's letter, which immediately fol- lowed, gave us, who had made all the sacrifices to which he alluded, strong grounds for e.xpecting; twelve months' gratuity subsequent to our twelve mouths' paid service. The following facts show that his lordship's intention has Been acted en in other cases. In consequence of his lordship's letter a number of civilians were sent to Scutari ; they served a year, and have received, in addition to tiieir year's pay, a twelve- month's gratuity, although some of them had not the claim founded on the sacrifice of private practice, inas- much as at the time of their appointment they were not thus engaged. Again, the militia surgeons and assistant surgeons, ■who did not give up practice, many of whom had not commenced practice, and had only just completed their medical studies, who have not even been out of the countr.v, have received a twelvemonth's gratuity in addi- tion to their pay. Lastly, we desire it to be understood that we found our claim for an enlargement of the gratuity awarded us, not on any special interpretation of the original agreement entered into with us by government, and which some of us did not sign, but on the general understanding created by Lord Paimiure's letter; on the obviously just princi- ple that all who made large sacrifices for .the public service should be liberally treated ; on the absolute loss we have suffered owing to our early dismissal from the hospital at Smyrna, which could not be anticipated ; and, lastly, ou the fact that the principle of remuneration for which we contend Itas been acted onhy government in regard togen- tlemen whose claims are certainly less strong than our own. Arthur Leared, M.D., late Fhysician to the Royal Infirmary for Diseases of the Chest, Sjc. John Barclay, M.D., late Fkysieian to the Leicester Infirmary. Septimus Gibbon, M.D., Assistant physician to the London Hospital, S^e. Carsten Holthouse, F.R.C.S., Assistant Sur- geon and Lecturer on Anatomy to the West- minster Hospital. One of the lady nurses of this institution has written a work entitled, Ismeer ; or, Smyrna and its British Hospital «; 1855. It is an ex- tremely interesting publication, and furnishes much useful information as to the spirit of the patients and the administrative habits of our government. She thus recoi'ds her own anxiety for one of her patients, and the tender- ness of a poor Irish soldier — a class who made by far the best male nurses in the army: — "Next day, at an early hour, I stood at the door of the ward. Hov/ my heart beat, I had seen no one who could tell me whether he was aliye or dead. At lust I summoned courage, and went in, when I saw two orderlies stand- ing by the bed, and D stretched on it, but whether alive or dead I could not tell, though he loosed more like the latter. There I stood at the door, literally unable to move, until the orderly, who hud been up all night, turned round and saw me ; a smile broke over his face, as he exclaimed, 'All right, ma'am; Jem 's alive ! ' I am very sorry I have forgotten this orderly's name ; he was an Irishman and a soldier — one -whose gentleness and attention equalled, indeed, almost surpassed, any woman's I ever saw." Keviewingher life in the Smyrna Civil Hos- pital, she thus estimates her own labours and those of her benevolent sisterhood : — "I believe we were of use. Not in the way many people had a vague idea of at first — i.e. that we were constantly going about with a pocketful of lint and plaister, and a case of surgical instruments, perpetually dressing wounds (and I confess that I had a faint vision of this kind myself before I went to Smyrna), but in seeing the doctor's orders carried out with discretion, in the spirit as well as the letter ; that nothing was dune out of time, overdone, or neglected; in keeping a systematic regularity ; and, above all, in exercising a marvellous moral influence over the soldiers. That nurses — people from their own class — should be sent out to attend 812 HISTOET OF THE WAK AGAINST IIUSSIA. [Chap. LVIII. them seemed natiu-al enough ; but that ladies — 'real ladies,' as they used to say — should really come to see that they were taken good care of, filled them with surprise." Upon this extract the Medical Times and Gazette obserYes, " That moral influence was the great point gained we entirely admit. We believe that many a British soldier has en- duringly benefited from that influence. "We have reason to know that its effects upon the most reckless men, whose vicious propensities seemed to be excited rather than quelled by suffering, were, as stated, marvellous. "When we consider the aid thus afforded in maintain- ing order among men accustomed to the iron rule of military discipline, it must be admitted that the lady nurses played a useful part in the civil hospital system applied to sol- diers." Having devoted two chapters to the condi- tion of the men in the Crimea, their sickness and wants — the loss of their transport and cavalry horses, and the consequent aggravation of their miseries — the remedies devised for them, and the sorrowful failure of most of them, be- cause of the men and the measures adopted by the heads of departments, or the obstructions placed in the way of rational reform, — we shall bring the prosecution of the siege itself once more before the reader. Incidentally, it will be necessary again and again to refer to topics treated more largely in the last two chapters ; for so terrible, so all-pervading were the dis- tress, sickness, and suffering of our army, that whatever occurred in the way of military achievement was influenced by this disastrous condition of affairs. The siege itself, and the character of the combats waged around the barrier erected against us by Russian prompti- tude and energy, were fashioned by the ono great all-influencing fact — the physical misery of the British army. END OF YOL, I. J. a. VIRTUE, PRISTER, CITV BOAD, LO^iOOH. THE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY WAR AGAINST RUSSIA. CHAPTEE LIX. PKOGEESS OF THE SIEGE.— CHAEACTEEISTICS OE THE OPPOSING AEMIES.- SOETIES, COMBATS. -DESPATCHES, Alen^on. " One to ten. Lean raw-boned rascals. "WTio would e'er suppose They had such courage and audacity ?" Shakspere. Henry V. Havixg shown the state of the armies before Sebastopol — the manly endurance of " the raw- boned English" — the neglect to which, in the severe winter which opened 1855, they were ex- posed, and conducted our readers a second time to the hospitals and their dire scenes, we now proceed to relate the progress of the siege, its ob- stacles, successes, and the havoc which it made on all who shared its perils. Before entering upon any of the incidents of combat, we present to.our readers an admirable paper, published in the Constitutionel, upon the characteristics of the Russian atmy, and a comparative view of it and the armies of the allies. The paper was written about the middle of January, and was suggested by the aspect of aiFairs at the period of our narrative : — •" The battles of the Alma and Inkerman, and the siege of Sebastopol, have enabled us to study the Russian army employed in the Crimea. Although this arm)"- is partly composed of troops from the Danube and the Caucasus, it is clumsy, not easily handled, and manoeuvres badly in presence of an enter- prising enemy. Its generals always place it for bivouac, as in the field of battle, in great masses, and they do not know how to deploy it after an attack, nor when to make it resist in a thin line. The Eussian infantry is very badly armed. Some cpmpanies only have carbines made at Liege ; the muskets — but recently transformed — badly kept, and with but-ends in white wood, do not last long in a campaign. This infantry will never attain the level of the French infantry, which is really the first in the world for making war in woody or hilly countries, where the general-in-chief leaves a great deal to the initiative of the soldiers and to the chiefs of corps and bat- talions. In the defensive, the preference must vol. II. be given to the English infantry, who, under the fire of the enemy, rest immovable as a rampart. In a level and exposed country our infantry will have to modify its manner of combatting, and to resume its old one. This consists in employing compact or thin order {epais ou mince), but it can only be employed with intelligent and experienced troops. Its superiority in arms and intelligence will, how- ever, always give to our infantry the advantage over the Eussian infantry, which will always lose half its value when obliged to change its place rapidly. On the Alma, entire Eussian battalions took to flight in surprise at the Zouaves way of fighting, they having advanced on them in large bodies, deployed, having taken advantage of all the accidents of the ground to shelter themselves and to rally, and having made against the masses a terrible use of tlie peculiar arms confided to their skill. At Inkerman, in the upper part of the battle field, and on. the line of the English, the Eussian infantry bravely attacked the enemy, but did not know how to deploy its masses so as to bring more muskets into play, and when the Erenoh attacked their left flank entire battalions did not know how to obange their position. The first ranks bravely resisted, but the follow- ing ranks fired in presenting arms. Surprised afterwards by the sharp attack of the Chasseurs d'Aftique, masses of men, instead of .eff'ecting their retreat by the crests of tlie hills, descended slowly to the lower parts of the ground and the ravines, where they allowed themselves to be crushed almost without defence by from 1000 to 1200 French. The English have so well understood the advantages whicli troops would have in attacking either artillery or masses of infantry in woody or hilly countries, HISTORY OF THE WAR AGAINST RUSSIA. [Chap. LIX. ■whilst preserving the order deployed by the first line, that at Inkerman they did not employ the order in columns, which caused them to lose so great a number of men on the Alma. On the Alma the Russian cavalry was worse than timid, not a charge did it attempt. At Inkerman the nature of the ground prevented it fi-om taking part ia the affair. AtBalaklava, it did not dare to await the charge of two squadrons of Chasseurs d'Afrique. The famous Cossacks have, in fact, never attempted, even in the plain, to carry off our advanced posts, or the marauders who pass our lines ; but it is said that this cavalry is but little esteemed even in Russia. As a set off to this, the Russians really possess great superiority, both over the Prenoh and the English, and especially over the French, in their artillery. The Emperor Nicholas, in, no doubt, the expectation of a war against all the nations of the south of Europe, occupied himself a good deal with that arm, which has made great progress since the wars at tlie beginning of the century. The cannon are of a large calibre, the carriages and caissons well made and easily moved ; the artillerymen are brave and accustomed to their service ; the officers know perfectly well how to choose offensive and defensive positions ; they occupy them with boldness, hold them a long time, and know how to leave them without leaving their guns. You will now understand why we are still before the walls of Sebastopol, and why that place would cost us so much blood if we were to make an assault before its unextinguished batteries. But we hope that the town will surrender in consequence of the difficulty it is under of obtaining supplies of provisions, or that we shall obtain its keys by giving a grand battle to the army in the field. The stores of ammunition in Sebastopol are inexhaustible, and as the investment is not complete, the garrison can be relieved and increased every day. Without being initiated in the secrets of the generals-in-chief, everything causes us to believe that they are waiting the arrival of the reinforcements which are on their way, in order to resume the attacks which, so to speak, have been suspended since the day of the battle at Inkerman. We shall have in the French and English trenches at least 300 pieces, which will open their fire, and it is more than pro- bable that in the meantime the army of obser- vation will destroy in a battle the Russian army in the field." At this juncture the condition of the army was an all important consideration. Its state, and the state of the harbour and of the camp, we shall therefore present to our readers from a source upon which they may rely. A relative of the lafa', and of the present, Sir Andrew Agnew visited the Crimea in January, 1855, and addressed the following letter to some friends at home. It may be •well matter of astonishment to the reader how, in the condition of harbour, camp, hospital-tents, trenches, and troops, the siege could be conducted at all, so far as the English were concerned. The expli- cation consists in their indomitable self-relianco and heroic courage: — "Now for a description, if possible, though I fear I shall fail in the attempt. Until you almost touch the rocks you can hardly perceive an opening, and, when you at last reach the mouth of the harbour of Balaklava, it is not above sixty yards wide ; and, after passing several men-of-war, trans- ports, &o., all with the ends of their bowsprits nearly touching you, you get into rank, and add another to the number ; and now the scene changes, about forty yards from our stern is the landing-place. The town — ' did you say town ? ' — no, I mean a scattered number of wretched hovels — say 150. In the rear and in the front high precipitous rocks ; on the face of the latter several tents with marines and a body of Highlanders ; in fact, suppose a basin one quarter full of water placed on the table, and drop a wafer into it, and then 3-ou have a good idea of the position of a ship in the harbour of Balaklava. Yesterday being a beautiful day, I thought it a good opportunity to pay a visit to the camp, and as I had understood that the light division of the army occupied, together with the French, the nearest point to Sebastopol, to that place I determined to set out. An officer of the 19th, belonging to the division, who had come on board amongst a host of others 'foraging,' purchasing geese and turkeys, a guinea a-piece, and fowls 12s. 6d. a couple, kindly offered to put me in the right road, and invited me to dine with him in his tent. Now for it — I landed — my first step up to the very knees in mud; French, Turks, English, and camp-sutlers in glorious confusion ; such swear- ing, shouting, and row you never heai'd in your life; artillery waggons, six and twelve horses attached to each ; others with half- starved camels ; cavalry horses whose riders and hard-worked steeds have probably not seen a comb or a brush for a month together ; with Turks every here and there bearing the dead upon stretchers, all wading through a sea of mud, complete this picture until you emerge from the town. The crowd appears then to deploy over an interminable" space. In the distance, on the right, are the mountains of the Crimea, covered with snow ; at the foot several Russian encampments ; nearer to us, the Balak- lava battle-ground ; on one of the slopes you see the remains of our light cavaliy and their horse-hospital, not 100 effective animals left. The Scots Greys nearly as bad. How can it be otherwise? The poor creatures are worked all day with the artillery in dragging heavy loads to the trenches and camps, fastened up Chap. LIX.] HISTORY OF THE WAU AGAINST EUSSIA. to posts driven into the ground, and scarcely a morning breaks but the troopers drag out four- teen or fifteen out of the ' slush,' as they term it. On the left you see Lord Eaglan's quarters, though all agree in saying they have not seen him for the last month ; and, having proceeded over destroyed vineyards, every here and there dotted with dead horses emitting a most delightful perfume, you at last get upon higher ground and approach the Erench camp, ex- tending miles on the left, having the Turks between them, and the British skirting tlie latter. I thought I would have a look at the French, so having paid a visit to several of the huts, and been very hospitably invited to par- take of their contents, I passed on towards the light division. A little on the left of the French is the Picket-house, about a mile and a half from Sebastopol, into which a shell often drops, to the danger of all who are in it — and being a good look-out place, is seldom un- occupied by the curious endeavouring to get a glimpse at what is going on in the far-famed fortress in the distance. Being determined on exploring I still proceeded, and presently I heard firing right below me. The French were pitching their shot into the town, and the Eussians returning three to one. Within 300 j'ards is the 40-gun battery, and directly opposite is the Eussian, mounting much heavier metal. From this spot I first saw what they call the 'trenches' — I mean the actual working trenches. Now, suppose a soldier six feet high in the trench, in some places, if he stands upright, he gets shot at — his head appearing over the parapet, and then he is obliged to kneel down, with the mud and water up to his middle, to avoid the danger. This state of the trenches and laborious work that the poor soldiers undergo, being sometimes thirty hours thus employed, badly fed, badly clothed, and, I fear, much dispirited, tends to engender disease. "We are losing on an average 160 men a-day, not including those who fall from the enemy's guns. I now had an oppor- tunity of a good view into Sebastopol. Its appearance is both picturesque and beautiful, and, though I was within half a mile of it, and had a capital seven-guinea glass, I could not perceive any damage that had as yet occurred. On the contrary, I could see no marks of the cannonade that has now been going on for upwards of two months, though I believe that the portion directly opposite the French bat- teries is much out up. After satisfying my cu- riosity, I returned to the light division camp ; and now for a description of Mr. Gorham's tent (19th regiment). The tent inside is eight feet diameter, round the circumferences were a medley of boots, caps, kettles, empty bottles, and many other things of general daily utility ; next was a soldier's bayonet stuck into the ground for the purpose of a candlestick ;^ next two beds, or rather hard-stuffed straw mat- tresses with a scanty coverlid, each on the bare ground. Dinner at length was brought in — two tin panikins with soupe-niaigre that would frighten S , followed by two pieces of hard salt beef of about half a pound each, a little rice (this was good), and a very, very hard biscuit. However, exercise sharpens appetite, so I set to, and having as a finale taken a glass of bad rum with my entertainers, I bid good-by to the officers of the light division, and taking a building in the distance as my landmark, I started for Balaklava. The sun had melted the hitherto execrable roads, and, together with the traffic, I shall never, to the longest day of my life, forget the walk back ; suffice it to say that, having passed several fellows who were endeavouring to urge their worn-out horses to get up out of the mud where they had dropped down for the last time, I reached the Charity." The numerical force of the troops in the British army actually able to serve at this time was variously computed ; perhaps the es- timate of Colonel, afterwards Major-general Windham, is as likely to receive credit as any other. In a speech delivered by him after the termination of his services in the Crimea, he made the following reference to the muster-roll at this period : — " Look too at what the troops had to go through. In the middle of the winter — and I see many officers here who can confirm what I say — we had not more than 12,000 bayonets to do duty, which would properly have required 36,000. Why, gentlemen, you might as well try in Norfolk to farm 1000 acres with capital for 300. Throughout tlie whole of the winter, however, notwithstanding the hardships to which they were exposed, the men discharged their duties without grumbling, and with a cheerful readiness which has justly elicited the admiration of the country." Small as their numbers were, they were not all adequately, armed, the Minie musket not having been universally distributed to the in- fantry; the fourth division, to some extent, still carrying the old " brown bess." Not only were they inadequately armed, but they were often obliged to turn out hungry, and literally totter- ing from weakness. The men sought death from the enemy as a relief. The early despatches of Lord Eaglan were at this time mere records of the weather, so that his lordship was sneeringly called at home the " weather-glass of the army." But there could be scarcely any subject of deeper interest to the commander or the troops committed to his care than the state of the weather ; for on it not only depended the' health of his ill-clad soldiers, but also the state of the road or rather rut from Balaklava, and the prospect of getting up food, ammuhition, or, in fact, any- HISTOKY 0? THE "WAE AGAINST KTJSSIA. [Chap. LIX. thing that was ■wanting in the camp. On the 2nd of January, his lordship's despatch referred to the weather ; on the 6tb, a similar communi- cation was made to the British war minister. Everything looked more gloomy as the over- whelmingly severe weather of January set in. The stale, opinion, and feeling of the English soldiery may be gathered from the following letter from a non-commissioned ofBcer to his friends in Glasgow : — " To tell you the truth, the beggar that wanders about the streets is better off than the British soldier in the Crimea. Winter has set in, the snow is about four feet deep, and we have received none of the winter clothing the papers say we have got, except four extra greatcoats for a company, instead of one to each man; and as for rations, we are on half — that is, half a pound of meat and biscuit, and half a gill of rum, per diem, and a little raw coffee. That is the British soldier's fare for a day, and even that we can't get cooked — no wood to be got. I cannot describe our miseries. When we are off duty we have nothing to shelter us but the tent, wliich lets in everj'thing — wind, rain, and snow — often knee deep in mud, in which to lie down and rest our weaiy bonea, after doing duty in the trenche.s, with only twelve hours off at a time. Our regiment left Dublin 800 strong, and, with deaths and sickness, we are now only 230. Other regiments are worse. Still, those who are left of us bear up bravely ; we try to keep our spirits up, hoping for better daj-s to come. Our neighbours, the French, are much better off than we are ; they get their paj', and have can- teens in all their camps, where they sell brand}', tea, sugar, bread, tobacco, &o. We could pur- chase of them too, but, unfortunately, we have no money, so we are dune. The battle of Inker- man was fought on our side of the Tchernnya, about two miles from where our regiment is en- camped. There are a number of dead Russians still lying about, but nobody take^ notice of them. As for Lord Raglan, I have certainly seen him since I came here ; but I suppose if 3'ou were to ask some of the soldiers how they liked him, they would ask you who he was. Sebastopol stands as strong as ever, and will do till we take it by storm, . which ought to be done long ago. We have got scarcely a battery. On our 21-gun battery there are only three available guns. I must stop, as I have no more paper." Thus, ill-fed, ill-clothed, with- out fire-wood or coala, which we could have easily sent them — without good tents, or with roofless huts — with three endemic diseases, and great liability to dysentery, the brave soldiers of our army were pining and dying before Sebastopol, tlie victims of official inefficiency at home and in the camp, wlien called on to meet the various combats now about to ensue. It was of no avail fur the government at liomo to plead inexperience on their own behalf, or that of the officials ; for, in the first place, it was not true as to the officials in all ca.'^es — many of them having, during other campaigns, served in the commissariat, or in the govern- ment offices at home; and the very men then at the helm of affairs were those who had composed, in greater or less proportions, most cabinets since the peace of 1815. When they pretended that the commons was the culprit, the replj- was, that they held office knowing the commons were enfeebling the country by refusing such supplies as were adequate to the effective material of the army. The mere threat of a resignation or a dissolution would, on scores of occasions during that long period, have caused the commons to vote any supplies necessary for the full efficiency of the fleet and army. Under these circumstances, many at home were in favour of raising the siege; and though personally fearing no danger, and quailing before no difficulty, there were officers in the Crimea who felt that, unless larger re- inforcements arrived, and the army was im- mediately and amply supplied with the instru- mentalities of warfare, the enterprise must he abandoned. The general feeling, however, in the camp was liopeful; and all were ardent to meet the enemy, despite sickness and neglect. In this feeling the French partook; they were full of confidence; many reinforcements were on the way, and, flushed with high hope, there existed throughout the French host the utmost eagerness for a bombardment which should prove the certain preliminary to an assault. The impression in the French camp was, that no good would come of delay;, that Russia would only grow stronger by the arrival of new succours; and that as soon as the next cannonade should partially disable the bat- teries, they should be led to the assault. They addressed one another in the spirit of the lan- guage of Brutus to Cassius : — '* Our legions are brimful, oai- cause is ripe. There is a tide in the affairs of men, "Which, taken at tlie flood, leads on to fortune ; Omitted, all the vojagc of our life Is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current as it serves, Or lose our ventures." The French troops were much gratified with the acknowledgment of their services by their allies generally, but especially with that of the British queen, government, and people for their aid at Inkerman. General Canrobert opened the new year by the following "general order : " Head-quarters before Seiastopol, Dec. 28. The commander-in-chief is happy to have to communi- cate to the troops the expressions, most honourable for our arms, in which her Majesty the Queen of England appre- ciates their conduct at the battle of Inkerman. Chai'. LIX.] IIISTOEY OF THE WAS AGAINST EUSSIA. The queen has remarked, witli grateful satisfaction, on the vigour with which the troops of her ally, the Emperor of the French, came to the assistance of the divisions of the English army engaged in so unequal combat. Her majesty is profoundly sensible of the cordial co-operation of the commander-in-chief. General Canrobert, and of the valiant conduct of that distinguished officer, General Bosquet. She beholds in the eheei's with which the sol- diers of the two nations mutually encourage each other during the action proofs of the reciprocal esteem which this campaign, and the traits of bravery it has produced, have given rise to on both sides. Her JIajesty the Queen of England could not praise in a more flattering manner the attitude of the army at the battle of Inkerman. In marching to the aid of our brave allies, we fulfilled a duty which they themselves would fulfil towards us with that valour we know they possess, and so many pi-oofs of which we have witnessed, with our own eyes. The Commander-in-chief, Cankoeeht. His excellency signalised the opening of the year by another order less to his credit and to the interest of the army. All the correspond- ents of the French press were ordered out of the Crimea; even one gentleman, who was said to have an introduction from the emperor hira- Belf, was compelled to leave by a ship departing to Marseilles. The Turkish army in the Crimea began now also to assume some importance; the name of Omar Pasha had a magic effect upon the droop- ing Osmanli, and the allied army regarded his arrival with the old army of the Danube as an element of speedy success. It had been ru- moured that he was deposed, but the sultan took suitable opportunity of publicly proving that the great muschir was restored to favour, if ever he had been deprived of the light of the imperial countenance. By way of Constanti- nople, Paris, and London, in rapid succession, the following imposing documents arrived, and showed, beyond all doubt, that the sirdar was not only a great man, but a great power in the Ottoman empire : — (Hatti HuiIAYOrK). TO MT SUPREME GENERAL AND ZEALOUS MUSCHIE, OMAR PASHA. As you will see by the annexed imperial firman, the laudable efforts you have made hitherto deserve the greatest praise and general approbation, and have raised you in my favour, as also the faithful and courageous conduct of the generals, officers, and soldiers of the im- perial armies which have been placed under your com- mand — couduct which gives proof of the zeal, fidelity, and valour which is natural to them, and which has given us unlimited satisfaction, and met with our approval. On this occasion also make every effort in ihe Crimea, as your zeal and fidelity require you to do, and placing full faith in the mercy and aid of the Lord Almighty of the universe to render great services, in order doubly to strengthen our favour towards you, endeavouring with great care to enter- tain a friendly intercourse with the generals, officers, and soldiers of the high powers my allies in this question, in which the good rights of my empire have by all been ac- knowledged, so that I may have fresh proofs of your inborn valour, and of your constant attention to the execution, under all circumstances, of the fundamental military laws, and of your sincere sentiments towards us. VOL. II. [^Trajislation of the Firman.'] TO THE MUSCHIR OF THE IMPERIAL ARMY OF EOUMELIA, TO MT GENERAL-IN-CHIEF OMAR PASHA, &o. As soon as ray high imperial signet will have reached thee, know that the principal and most respectable tiling for me, and for every sage and intelligent person who faithfully loves his government, is to defend the power and independence of my empire, of my trusty subjects, and to maintain their prosperity and tranquillity ; and in like way, that the laudable care that ever since the com- mencement of this war, of happy issue, which has been undertaken with that good intention, thou hast given, by thy intelligence, to the high administration of the army which thou commandest, having merited my praise and approval, have increased my imperial favour towards thee. In like manner, my victorious imperial troops, which are under thy orders, having displayed before the whole world a faithful conduct, and that abnegation which is part of the zeal, fidelity, and valour which are natural to them, and have again proved before friend and foe that they are the valorous descendants of those brave men, who, in the times of our glorious ancestors, and in their service, spilt their blood and sacrificed their lives in order to strenglhen the foundations of the empire, and cause the country to prosper, equally shows that the confidence which we place in them with regard to the privations and fatigues of every kind, which they will bear with pride for the defence of the independence and glory of our empire and our father- land, is based upon* the truth of existing facts, and as they^ have completely and afresh regained the country high military glory, that conduct has obtained our extreme satisfaction, our goodwill, and our praise. It is certain that, in our prayers, we constantly re- member thy intelligent person, as also all the generals, officers, and soldiers, high and low, of our imperial army ; that we never for a moment cease personally to occupy ourselves with solicitude, with what can solace the pains and increase the felicity and welfare of them all ; and, finally, that wherever my imperial army may be, my favour and high attention for its welfare will accompany it. It now happens that the service of my empire indis- pensably requires that a sufficient portion of the troops belonging to my imperial army of Roumelia should pro- ceed witti thee to the Crimea, rejoin thy victorious troops which have preceded them and the armies of the high powers, sincere and intimate allies of my empire, in order to combat the enemy. My eyes rest upon you. Place confidence in the help and mercy of the Lord "Almighty of the' universe, and add to your glorious precedents, by worthily serving the cause of the honour of the empire and nation. Take the greatest care to behave amicably and in harmony with the generals, officers, and the sol- diers of the two high powers above-mentioned, my allies in the cause in which the good right of my empire is re- cognised by the whole world. Fortify thus doubly my imperial favour towards you. Give fresh proof of your inborn valour, of your well-known respect for the funda- mental military laws, and of your sincere devotion to my imperial person. My present all mighty firman has been expressly given by my imperial Divan, and graciously headed by my Hatti Humayoun, to command what precedes, and to honour thee and my imperial troops under thy command. 'J'o convey to you, and also verbally to declare to you my lively satisfaction and my high imperial will, one of the high functionaries of ray empire, Mahmoud 'Bey, mustiehar of the ministry of foreign affairs, has been sent to you. . On his arrival, hasten to make known to, and proclaim my high will and my lively imperial satisfaction to all the generals, officers, and soldiers who stand under thy orders, and take eare, day and night, as hitherto, of their welfare in every respect. Know it thus, and believe in my noble sign. Given in the 1st decade of the month of Rubiul Akhir, 1271. In pursuance of the above, the dispatch of the redoubtable Omar find his gallant followers, as auxiliaries to the Western allies, was ef- c HISTORY OF THE WAE AGAINST EUSSIA. [Chap. LIX. feoted. In a previous chapter the departure of this expedition was noticed; in a future page its efficiency will be recorded. On the arrival of Omar at Varna, he re- quested the British commissioner to forward to the commander-in-chief the following hand- some acknowledgment of the services rendered to the sultan by various British officers. This politic and just measure bespoke for the Turkish commander a greater measure of popularity ■with the English. Varna, January 8 came in front in an imposing column, as their dark figures appeared, looming and gigantic, amidst the whiteness which covered the earth, and partly covered, and for a time concealed, the column. Two more columns (as our French neighbours style large detachments) issued forth from the ravine where the extreme of the second French parallel rested. Fortunately the "scouts" who, had as the weather was, were lying upon the ground in front and amidst the stunted brushwood of the ravine, discovered the approach of the enemy in time to raise the alarm. As the scouts fell back upon the trenches the enemy were dose upon them, and ascended the parapets with them. The French were well on the watch, every one musket in hand and the trigger abeady touched, so that the first line of assailants fell under a fire murderously close, but the Russians pressed on, bayoneting the defenders of a small lateral trench which they entered in great force. Every Frenchman fell there, except three grenadiers and a corporal who Chap. LIX.] HISTORY OF THE WAE AGAINST ETJSSIA. 15 headed them, named Guillemin. The corporal and his three men fought witli desperate tena- city against a host; but this side trench was so narrow that a few men could hold it against th& attempts of many, and on this spot the gallant Guillemin made a miniature Thermo- pylae. The strongest portion of the column threw itself into another branch of the trench, defended by Captain Castleraan (an Irish officer in the Erench service), who fell pierced with thirteen bayonet wounds ; having killed with his own hand a number of the Russians, he lite- rally fell dead upon a pile of enemies sacrificed to his swordsmanship and valour. He was a great favourite with his company, who, made furious by his loss, precipitated themselves on the enemy led by Lieutenant Eegaud, who cried, "Avenge our captain!" and setting the example, seconded by Commandant Koume- Joux, in ten minutes cleared the trench. Poor Roume-Joux fell mortally wounded by a bayonet thrust below the heart. The trench and tlie glacis were literally piled with dead. The French, as customary, pursued the foe too hotly ; the Russians, as usual, left nothing to chance, but had a grand reserve of nearly 1200 men — a force with which they might have speedily recaptured the trench, and done incomputable mischief. This reserve opened a well-directed fire of musketry upon the pur- suers, by which many fell, and which com- pletely covered the retreat of the vanquished. Several brave officers fell on both sides. Of almost the first shots fired by the assaulting force two entered the heart of Captain Bouton, who had the honour of being the first officer to receive the enemy and the first to fall. One Russian officer showed great courage and capa- city to handle his sword; he encountered Sub-lieutenant Brochet in a narrow trench, wounding him in the sword-arm arid bringing him to his knee, but recovering himself speedily, Brochet gave point, and pierced his enemy's heart. The loss on both sides washeav)^ especially in officers and non-commissioned officers. One Russian officer carried no weapon hut a hammer, he had the other hand filled ■with nails ; his object was to spike the cannon ; he fell dead into the trench under the first fire from its defenders, and the next morning his hands were stiffened upon the hammer and nails he had carried with so eager a purpose. The loss inflicted upon our allies by the cannonade in the works and by these nightly sorties and combats was very heavy. In three months 23 officers were killed, 171 wounded, 3_ were missing; 464 men were killed, 128 missing, and 3392 wounded. This was independent of contusions, accidents from tools, magazines, and falls, andexclusiveof all cases of sickness. Thus, on an average, every night two or three officers and about 50 men were put hors de combat. It was observed that the column which attacked the works on the 14th was attended by platoons of sailors and workmen, who carried boat-hooks and drag-hooks. These men literally harpooned many of ihe Fi-ench soldiers, sometimes dragging away only their knapsacks or caps, sometimes lacerating them, and in several instances making them prisoners. Long ropes were ingeniously stretched across in certain directions, to trip up the French soldiers in pursuit. These means of ofience had been employed before on a very limited scale, but on the night of the 14th and 15th they were extensively and effectually used. A curious correspondence arose out of this cii'cum- stanoe between Generals Canrobert and Osten- Sacken : — " Permit me. Monsieur le Governeur, to direct your attention to a fact of which you are doubtless not aware. It has been reported to me that in the combats which have taken place before our trenches, officers and soldiers have been dragged down by means of ropes or hooked poles. Our soldiers have no other arms than the musket, the bayonet, and the sword; and without wishing to affirm that the employ- ment of these means is contrary to the rules of war, I may be allowed to say, in the words of an old French expression, ' that those are cer- tainly not the arms of courtesy.' It is for you to judge of this. " Cakeobeht." To this rather puerile effusion the Russian made the following artful rejoinder: — " Our soldiers are recommended to make prisoners rather than to kill unnecessarily. As to the instruments which you mention, it is very possible that the labourers who usually accompany the sorties have emploj^ed their tools to defend themselves. Beyond this, the letters which I have forwarded to the staff of the French army, from your own officers who are now prisoners with us, must sufficiently attest the manner in which they are treated in their captivity. It is for you, in turn, to judge of this. " OsTJiN Sacken." On the 19th and 20th the French parallels were attacked on two different points. One of these attacks was on the left of the most advanced trench of ciroumvallation, which descended to the Quarantine Bay: the other on that part of the left of the French works called the "X" from its shape. On both points the enemy, in spile of "scouts," reached the trenches, and on both points were at once driven out by the bayonet with considerable slaughter, pursued hotly by the French, who, as in other combats, fell fast under the fire of the Russian guns and of the musketry of their reserve infantry detachments. These hot pur- suits, although causing sacrifices to the French, 10 HISTOET OE THE WAK AGAINST EUSSIA. [Chap. LIX. compelled tlie enemy to send out strong reserves to support the assailing parties, and thus increased the harassing effect of service upon their own troops. On occasion of the attack of the 19th and 20th the snow was very heavy in the front ; the Russians, who lay on the ground a long time watching for a favourable moment of attack, suffered intensely — some never rose again, the cold sleep of the benumbed crept over them, and they answered the bugle- call no more ; many could not fire off their muskets, their hands were rendered incapable by the frost — hence the attack was one of bayonets. The loss of the Muscovites was sore. Although hardier than either the French or the English, they did not bear the cold as well as might be expected fiom the severity of the climate in which they were born, and to which it was expected they would have been sufficiently inured. Notwithstanding the fri- gid weather, night after night the " Muscovs" crouched like leopards waiting for the spring. On one occasion they entered the French works so stealthily that not a shot was fired — the bayonet decided the contest against them after a short and decisive trial of battle at its point; the traverse of the trench assailed was choked with the slain. Generally the " volunteer scouts " descried the couchant enemy before they came on to the assault, the eyes of these watchers became preternaturally capable of seeing objects in deep shadow. Their painful vigilance through long dark nights gave them an experience which the Eussians found it difficult to elude. On the 21st the troops in front observed many demonstrations of some unusual excite- ment in the city. The bells were rung, guns ■were fired — not this time at the allies, but on the northern heights ; musketry repeatedljf gave a, feu de joie ; blue lights were burned; and rockets startled the quiet and sullen air. A deserter coming in before daylight circulated a report that the czar had arrived, which, however, was soon found to have no foundation; another of the same class diffused the joyful intelligence that a treaty of peace was signed, and Sebastopol was to be delivered up to the allies — news too good to be so soon true. The excitement in the city remained unaccounted for. On the 22nd the correspondent of the Daily News gave the following sketch of affairs : — Hala'klnva^ Januavij 21tid. " On the evening of Friday, the 19th inst., we had another intimation that we are not in the midst of peace. For a newcomer might imagine we were at peace, if he landed at Balaklava in the dark, on one of the usual nights, when nothing is heard but the occa- sional 'All's well,' or the challenge of a sentinel. On Friday evening the inhabitants of Balaklava, and the early sleepers in the camps arotind, were alarmed by what appeared to be a heavy cannonade, and a near one too, followed by loud, frequent, and heavy volleys of musketry. The day had been mild and muddy beyond all imaginings ; and so peculiar was the state of the air that even old soldiers, grown grey in the wars of India, believed that the firing was from our Marine Battery, which commands the plain close to Balaklava. Each shot was heard with a distinctness which made the most experienced campaigners swear that the piece must have gone off within a mile or two from the place where they stood. "Windows rattled, and the motion of the air was plainly felt by all who, in hot haste, rushed to the stables and picketing grounds to saddle their nags and be off to the scene of the contest. But those who rode out in the darkest night I ever saw, or rather in which I could not see, got nothing but a few ugly tumbles and splashes for their pains, — for the firing, though seemingly so near, was far off, and the whole affair was in fact a sortie against the French lines, which some time ago were_ so frequent that one hardly thought of men- tioning them. And the more so as, thanks to the vigilance and gallantry of our allies, the Eussians have always to go back fewer in numbers and in worse condition than when they came out. In all the attacks upon the French lines, it always comes to the same result. The Eussians, rather the worse for liquor, come out and meet with a very hot reception ; and, not liking this, and thoroughly sobered down, they go back. " Our allies, who have long felt that our numbers are too small for the extent of ground we occupj-, and that our men are overworked, have for the last few days come to relieve us in part of our lines. The edge of Sebastopol plateau overlooking the plain has been occupied by them, and they now furnish the pickets which guard the rear of our Sebastopol front. In this manner they relieve a considerable number of our men, whom we were hitherto obliged to lay out in our rear. French troops are also preparing to occupy the Inkerman position on our extreme right, thus relieving the second division, who are to remove their camp to the rear of the third division. Tliis relief too will do much to lighten the work of our troops in the trenches, for the second division, instead of guarding the extreme right, will now assist the third and fourth divisions in furnishing guards for the trenches. The whole of our army will benefit by the change, and the greatest satisfaction is felt at this very timely and friendly relief. The French, too, are again making strenuous efforts to improve the condition of the roads between Balaklava and the front. For the last two or ClTAP. LIX.] HISTOEY OF THE "WAE AGAINST KTISSIA. 17 throe days large fatigue parties have been at work, and the roads, which were out of all condition, are soon likely to be, if not good, at least tolerable. General Bosquet mustered our light division on the 19th inst. Both men and officers were highly elated with the interest the Trench general took in their condition and prospects. " On the 20th a council of war was held at Lord Raglan's quarters, in consequence, it was said, of important despatches which had arrived from home. Nothing whatever is known of the subject of the despatches, or the result of the council of war, but, as usual, the camp is full of the wildest rumours. A change in the chief command of the army, an armistice, a resumption of active operations, and the dona- tion of a year's pay to the troops, have been successively mentioned — and all, I make bold to say, with equal truth and reason. Dark whispers fly about the camp, that Sir Edmund Lyons is going to attempt something wonderful and unheard-of, and gt;neral oflBlcers have been kno^v^^ to say that marvels will come to light in the next few days. In short, curiosity is on the alert — invention is active, and begets the most monstrous reports. In the meantime the mild weather is reviving our troops, who suffered severely from the late frosts.. Now that their work is lighter, if they could be but properly rationed, even the 'seedy' among them might possibly pull through. But what with the heaviness of the roads, and the want of suflSoient transport, and the disorder in Balaklava harbour, provisions in camp are still scarce, nor is their quality of such a kind as to restore and strengthen the suffering. A ration of tea has however, with some corps, been substituted for that- of coffee, which, in the green berry, is almost useless to the troops in front. Another supply of fresh vegetables too came lately in the Albatross, to be given away to such of the troops as could manage to send down for them. Great was the joy in the camp when the good news became known. There is really no reason why every vessel sent down to Constantinople should not bring up a supply of vegetables for our men. They want them, and as they can be got, they should have them. " Among the goods lately unshipped from the harbour is an enormous wooden house, the property of Mr. Oppenheim, a merchant from Paris, who for a long time past has conferred a great boon on the army, and who, between October and December, cleared a sum of about £10,000 by keeping a store of necessaries and 'luxuries in Balaklava. Mr. Oppenheim's wooden house is to be put up in Kadikoi, and the rumour goes that it will contain a store, an hotel, and a coffee and reading-room for ofiLcers. Mr. Oppenheim deserves public thanks for his well-timed enterprise. " Some days ago an incident came to my notice which strongly illustrates the difficulty of gaining information in a camp where, as in ours, each corps is very hard worked, while there is but very little communication between the various branches of the service. Captain Mitchell, of the Grenadier Guards, and some brother officers, saw one day in the commence- ment of last week a Russian steamer leaving the harbour and standing out for the open sea. One of the allied ships — whether Erench or English Captain Mitchell could not tell — went in chase, and after some hard steaming came within range of the Russian. A cannonade ensued, the Russian all the while endeavouring to escape. The chase was watched with intense interest, but the result remained a mystery, for the two ships, steaming hard and exchanging shots, disappeai'ed at last on the verge of the horizon. The officers who saw the affair made all inquiries as to the facts and the final result of the engagement, but to no purpose. I too have since endeavoured to learn the particulars of the matter, but I too could gain no positive information. The fact is, we have all got so accustomed to hard knocks, that a partial affair makes no impression and usually excites no curiosity whatever, and it is only by chancing to fall in with one of the men actually engaged that a vague account of particulars can be obtained. The fact is/ our troops are preco- ciously hlase as to the general incidents of the campaign, and the final result alone is what is steadily and hopefully looked for. "Whether that final result be the capture of Sebastopol, or the very doubtful adhesion of the German powers to the alliance against Russia, it is sure to excite interest, and to be canvassed with all the warmth and the smashing phrases natural to people who do the roughest of work in the roughest of weathers. But all minor details are looked upon with profound indifference." It will be seen from the above that the coffee was still distributed to the troops in the green berry. It was generally believed that Mr. Commissary Filder was responsible for this; but the Chelsea Commission (referred to in a previous page), in its decision or report pub- lished after the war terminated, exonerated Mr. Eilder, and most justly; for on the evi- dence it was palpable that the pedantic med- dling of certain officials at home connected with the Treasury caused that misehievous error. The secretary of one office, the clerk of another, et id genus omne, interfered perpetually in matters beyond their proper cognisance, while the strict business of their departments was neglected or inadequately performed. Deserters from the enemy came in pretty numerously the remainder of January, and although these men were generally very igno- 18 HISTOET OF THE WAE AGAINST ETJSSIA. [Chap. LIX. rant, their information was occasionally avail- able. Some of these men made their way from the army in the rear, scrambling along the cliffs from Baidar; tliey generally aiTtved cut, bruised, and exhausted, and had to be sent to hospital. They for the most part professed to he Poles, but nearly all Russian soldiers, whether deserters or prisoners, did so, under the impression that they would receive better treatment. The deserters informed our en- gineers and artillery tbat the part of Sebastopol built on the ground sloping to the sea had suf- fered but little from our projectiles, which did not reach the top of the hiU. whence the slope descended to the water. The houses and works upon the slope descending toward)? the allies was battered and burned in every direc- tion. The ships found shelter close in, under tlie former slope, and the sailors and part of the troops found security in the fine strong houses and public edifices by which it was covered. Mr. Eussell for several days successively at this period made what he calls " reconnais- sances of the siege," by ascending the heights most convenient for that purpose, and using an excellent glass : the following are extracts from his descriptions of what he saw : — " The riagstaif Fort was knocked to atoms long ago, and the large buildings around it are all in ruins; but, on looking towards the ridge behind it, from which the streets of the town descend rapidly towards Fort Nicholas, and which shelters that part of the place from our fire, I could see but little difference between its present appearance and that which it pre- sented on the 26th of September last year. People were walking about the streets, and relief parties were coming up from the sea-side towards the front carrying baskets of pro- visions. Between the rear of the Flagstaff Battery and this ridge, the presence of earth- works, covered ways, and various defensive works could be detected in the openings along the lines of streets; and immediately behind the first PbUssian intrenohment is a formidable •vvork armed with guns, which at two o'clock convinced us they had pretty good range and were vcrj' well laid, by thundering forth an astounding broadside in answer to some in- sulting fire from the French lines. The balls tore up the ground in piles of earth and dust, and dashed into the parapets, or, ploughing over their top, went roaring across the works in the rear. In an instant there was a rattling fire of rifles from the French enfans perdus directed at the embrasures, and the Russians slackened their fire in a iew minutes, and replied to the sharp-shooters only. When the smoke cleared awaj-, I could see the enemy and the French carrying away a lew bodies on each side to the rear. The Eussians not only use 'cohorns' against the advanced French line, but they annoy our allies very consider- ably by a constant fire of grenades — a projectile which seems rather neglected in our service, though there are great authorities in favour of its use when the enemy has approached very closely." " Our own batteries were silent. The Eedan and Garden Batteries, our old enemies, were silent also. The houses near them, as well as those in front of the right attack and in the rear of the Malakoff, are in ruins. The part of the city beyond them seems untouched. To the rear of the Eound Tower of Malakoff, which is still split up and rent from top to bottom, as it was the first day of our fire, there is a perfect miracle of engineering. It is impossible to speak too higlily of the apparent solidity, work- . manship, and finish of the lines of formidable earthworks, armed with about eighty heavy guns, which the Eussians have thrown up to enfilade our attack and to defend this position, which is, indeed, the key of their works in front of us. One .line of battery is neatly revetted with tin boxes, supposed to be empty powder-cases. This is mere wantonness and surplusage of abundant labour. Behind this work I could see about 2000 soldiers and work- men labouring with the greatest zeal at a new line of batteries, and labouring undisturbedly. " There is a camp at the rear of Malakoff; and another camp is visible at the other side of the creek, close to the citadel, on the north side. Most of the men-of-war and steamers were lying with topgallantmasts and j-ards down, under the spot of land inside Fort Con- stantino. Our third parallel, which is within a few hundred yards of the enemy's advanced works, seems unoccupied, except by riflemen and sharp-shooters, who keep up a constant fire in the place, but from my position over the British lines, I could not see so well into our approaches as I could look upon those of the French from the mounds in front of their picket-house. On the whole the suburbs are destroyed, though still susceptible of being used by the enemy to check our advance." On the 22nd and 24th, General Canrobert directed despatches to Marshal Vaillunt, in- forming him of the repulse given to the enemy's sortie on the 19th, and expressing his hope in the future. The first of these shows how particular the coromander-in-chief of our ally was, to record every action of the brave : — Bead-quarters before Seiastopol, Jan. 22, 18.55. During the night of the 19th the enemy assailed our parallele on two different points. On the left tlie attack was received by tlie 2nd hattiilion of the 2nd regiment of the Foreign Legion, vigorously commanded h\ tlie Chef de Biituillon I'Heriller. 'J'he impetuosity of the attack, favomed by the bad weather, was broken by the rnergv dispUijed by the Grenadiers of the Ist company, the Vof- tigeurs, and the 6th company. Captain Arnoux and Kos- seau, Lieutenants Chare aad Saussier, Sergeant Devalo, Chap. LIX.] HISTORY OF THE WAR AGAINST RUSSIA. 19 Crenadiers Hogelucht and Seigmund, Voltigeur Riechard, Fusilier Degliii, conducted themselves very valiiintly, and the colours of the 2nd regiment of the Foreign Legion figured with honour in this lively and brilliant combat. On the right was the 46th, which I found facing the enemy ■with its accustomed energy. At the call of its commander, Captain Thomas, the 2nd battalion of the 46th cast itself impetuously on the enemy, and repulsed them to a con- siderable distance. Captain Dufour, the Sub-lieutenant Comhoud, the Voltigeurs Antexier, Commel, and Bruscan, the Fusiliers Monnes, Benzet, and Boyer, gave the moat honourable proof of their valour. The general commanding-in-chief, Cankobeet. Before Sevastopol, Jan. 24. The weather has become much milder and finer. The Troops have supported the trying days we have just gone through with admirable courage. Their confidence was never shaken for one moment by the extreme severity of the temperature. "We have reason to hope that the depth of winter in the Crimea is passed. We resume our work before the town with renewed activity. Canrobekt. The Courier de Marseille (which, often con- tained important and early intelligence fi'om the East), published a letter from a French ofiicer in the Crimea, dated the 25th, who thus narrates events then passing : — "I have only one fact worth communicating to j-ou : General Canrobert is going to lend our friends, the English, two of our divisions to strengthen them in their positions. It is an excellent measure, which will have the double effect of reinforcing our allies and a\igmenting the general security. Our regiments of Chasseurs d'Afrique are already installed on the right of the English intrenohments. I have not yet heard where the regiments of infuntr^' are to he stationed. On the morning of the 21st the weather was so mild that the bands of the Chasseurs played several French airs, which seemed greatly to please the English, who had been a long time deprived of that recreation. The sound of our instruments must have been heard in Sebastopol. The Russians were, no doubt, surprised to find us so merry, and re- plying to their infernal uproar by melodious symphonies. Our regiment has suffered little. "W^e are lodged in subterranean excavations, from which we contrive to keep out the cold. "We sleep little, but smoke a great deal. Our cookery fills with its vapours our uncivilised and primitive abode, and our physical appear- ance is quite in keeping with it. Our beards have grown freely, and acquired a development ■calculated to excite the envy of the oldest iwpeur. As for our accoutrements, thanks to the distribution of furs, they have become as comfortable as possible. Cleanliness, however, is out of the question. One of our sergeants, who had received the military medal for his ■first exploits in the Crimea, has been named Chevalier of the Legion of Honour. This brave soldier has been wounded thirteen times, and is as ready as ever to meet the Cossacks. He wiU soon have that satisfaction, for we occupy the most advanced position. The plan of our generals evidently tends to invest the city as completely as possible. It is indispensable, if we wish to obtain at last a result, to isolate the garrison, which has hithei'to been able to renew its personnel and supplies of every description." To the same source we are indebted for a letter written from the French camp a day later: — "General Canrobert visited yesterday the works thrown up by the navy along the coast. He appeared greatly satisfied with the promptitude and skill with which those works were constructed, and addressed to our men his warmest congratulations for the devotedness and activity they displayed there, and on every other point 'where their services were required. Our seamen were electrified by the soul-stirring language of the general-in-chief, and loudly cheered him. 1 must do Canrobert the justice to say that he takes every opportunity of rendering justice to our navy, whose immense services he duly appreciates. On that account, whenever he gives an order it is immediately executed by our sailors with inconceivable alacrity. I have just returned from a visit to the camps, where I felt quite overpowered by the inexpressible feeling of pride and emotion excited in me by the manner in which our soldiers supported their suiferings. At the first ray of the magnificent sun we have enjoyed during the last day, all seemed to have for- gotten the past misery, and, like the swans shaking off the rain that has fallen on their feathers, our brave feUows shook off the cold, the rain, and the snow, and they now laugh, sing, and await with eagerness an opportunity to cross bayonets with the enemy. Everybody will tell you also that if Admiral Bruat watches day and night with the utmost solicitude over the welfare of his seamen. General Canrobert exercises the same vigilance, iind attends with equal care to the health and comfort of his soldiers. Those two men wish to see every- thing with their own eyes, and nothing escapes them. Thus, General Canrobert issued an order on the 23rd, expelling from the coast of E!"a- miesch, and sending back to France, the sutlers who had the infamy to sell to our men adulte- rated and unwholesome beverages. Everybody lauded that wise measure, which was instantly carried into effect." The extreme concern for his troops, and the active personal superintendence of everything- by the French general, is borne out by the testimony of the imperial agent in attendance upon his army, who describes General Can- robert and his lieutenants as often distributing apparel and various comforts with their own hands. He thus writes of the French com- mander-in-chief assembling his soldiers to bestow upon them the rewards and honours 20 HISTOllY OP THE WAE AGAIJSTST KUSSIA. [Chap. LIX. decreed by the emperor for their good conduct and valour : — " It was a grand and noble solem- nity. The troops in their dress of every day, stained and sullied, but not unworthily, by their life in the trenches, were assembled upon that soil, torn up by balls, amid the wrecks of battle, and close beside the ground where those whom death had struck down slept their last sleep. General Canrobert passed them in review, to the roar of cannon and of musketry; pausing frequently before the soldiers, speak- ing with them, and smiling upon them grate- fully and kinily. The review ended, the officers formed in circle, and the general ad- dressed them with that manly energy and sincere feeling which are proper to his cha- racter. He told them, that which was his belief and hope — that success ■would soon crown courage so noble and so persistent. He spoke of their absent country, of the justifiable pride of their return, of the grand spectacle presented by the army of the Crimea to the world ; and, raising his voice that his words might reach the listening soldiers, he said — ' I thank you all, in the name of France and of the emperor! '" It will be perceived that a great change took place in the weather towards the latter end of January, which was favourable to the troops in every way, and to the progress of the siege. The enemy also profited by the change ; they had been greatly impeded by the frost, snow, and all-penetrating north winds, but as soon as the sun exercised some genial power, the}'' set to work with their accustomed industry and promptitude upon the defence. It was a singular circumstance, that deserters to the enemy rather increased in number when the weather improved. On the 20th, one of these saowed singular hardihood. Leading a bat-horse, he coolly went over to the Rus- sian lines. He was perceived by the men in No. 4 battery, who fiTred several musket shots at him without effect. At last a gun was "laid on," and a ball bounding near him drove the earth about his person. He then altered his slow pace to a trot; another shot went equally near to liim, but he escaped, amidst the cheers of the enemy who looked on. Among the grievances of the army, the irregu- larities of the po.st-office were very harassing. The passion of the men to hear from home was intense, but the disgraceful neglect of the letters by the post- office officials tried the officers and men, as well as their relations at home, to the quick. Remonstrances were use- less; the most respectable persons were sub- jected to the coarsest insult, as is so commonly the case at home, by these post-office magnates. Mr. il'Cormick, Mr. RusseU, Mr. Woods, and many other civilians then in the Crimea, bear a bitter testimony against the ■whole post-office management. Remonstrances to the home authorities were as useless as to those on the spot. The warm weather which characterised the close of January, not only revived the exertions of the besiegers and besieged, but infused activity also into the Russian field force, and the teoops of Bosquet and Sir Colin Campbell, by whom they were so vigilantly watched and skilfully thwarted. The Russians brought vast quantities of stores into the be- leaguered place. Lord Raglan thus described the eflfbrts of the English : — Before Sebastopol, Jan. 27, 1855. My Lokd Duke, — I have the satisfaction to acquaint your grace that the weather continues fine. There are severe frosts at night ; but the sun shines brightly through the day, and there is an absence of wind, which, whilst it continued, added considerably to the sufferings of the troops. Every exertion is making by public transport, and indi- vidually, in getting huts up ; but this is a most difficult operation, and the ground is still so rotten that it is a most arduous labour to pass along it. The extremely confined space of Balaklava, and the vast accumulation of stores, lias obliged me to erect huts at some distance outside the town for their reception. I enclose the list of casualities to the 25th instant inclusive. I have, &c., E.IGLAN. His Grace the Buke of Nciv castle, Sjc, ^c. At the same date Admiral Lyons sent homo a despatch, which, relating to the state of the army, is appropriate here : — Ac/amemnon, off Seiastopol, Jan. 11, 1855. Sir, — I have the honour to report, for the information of the lords commissioners of the Admiralty, that since my last general letter of the 23rd inst, (No. 60) the weather has been particularly fine. The health of the army has been much benefited by the change. A good deal of progress has been made in hutting the troops and distributing the clothing which has been so liberally sent out from England — so that the men express themselves as being comfortable. 2. The health of the Fleet and of the Naval Brigade is excellent. The men are well supplied with fresh meat and vegetables, and also with oranges sent from Malta by Eear-admiral Stewart. 3. The fire from the batteries of the allies has increased during the last week, and that of the enemy has not slackened. New 'guns have been mounted in our batteries during the hist four days. 4. On the 24th instant I passed the day at Balaklava, to make inquiries and examine into matters connected with the duties of the port and the transport service. I met Lord Eaglan there, by appointment, and we made some arrangements which will, I trust, have a beneficial effect. I have, &c., E. C. Lyons, Hear-Admiral and Commander-in-Chief. To the Seoretary of the Admiralty. In the renewed toil of the trenches, the English, always labouring under some impedi- ment which the least order or foresight might have prevented, were much hindered by want of tools, and by the inferior quality of those they possessed. In one company, Mr. Russell declares there were but tlu-ee " pick heads," no handles; two spades, "one broken in two;" no bill-hooks ; and that requisitions for these essential matters were returned scratched Chap. LIX.J HISTORY OF THE WAR AGAINST RUSSIA. 21 out ! No -wonder that slow progress was made in the English trenches. It was a joyful an- nouncement to the men at this time that the coffee would be served to them roasted — how much greater the boon had they received it in this condition during the cold weather, which for a time had passed away! The following curious story was related by Mr. Russell, as illustrating the tales current in the camp at this period: — "Some time ago an English officer, who is now a prisoner at Simpheropol, received letters from his friends in England, who were at that time ignorant of his fate. It is a rule to forward all letters to prisoners after they have been opened and read. One of those sent to the gentleman in question was from a young lady. She requested the officer to take Sebastopol as soon as possible, and to be sure and capture Prince Menschikoff in person, adding that she expected to receive a button off the prince's coat, as a proof of the young gentleman's prowess. When this letter was delivered to the officer, it was accompanied by another from the prince, enclosing a button, and stating that he had read the young lady's letter, and regretted he could not accede to her views as regarded the taking of Sebastopol or himself, but that he was happy to be enabled to meet her wishes on a third point, and that he begged to enclose a button from his coat, which he requested the gentleman to forward to the lady who was so anxious to possess it." Although the British authorities discouraged the presence of the soldiers' wives, some of them had been of great service not only to their husbands, but to the corps with which their husbands were connected. In the Crimea they had a better opportunity of rendering useful aid, which was not afforded them when the troops were quartered at Scutari, and they were free from the temptations which abounded in the latter place. There were very few who went to the CrimcLi, but their good conduct justified the predictions which under such cir- cumstances were written concerning them in a smart little book by the wife of a field- officer: — -"Mrs. "Wilding, wife of a corporal of the Royal Artillery, was one of three women who were allowed to land with her husband's corps at Old Eort, in the Crimea. She was present with her husband at the battle of the Alma, marched by his side across the country to Balaklava, and was present at the battle of "Balaklava, where she took a horse from a Russian officer. During her residence in the camp she earned by washing an average amount of 20s. per diem, and saved a con- siderable sum. Her invariable companion during the war was an excellent revolver, which she much prizes. Corporal Wilding, with his brave wife, survived the chances of disease and battle, and after the war were in TOI. II. garrison together in England." The lady of an officer of cavalry showed equal spirit and as devoted affection. Alas! how often is the de- votion of woman, even by the gallant soldier, too little prized ! Fidelity and affection under all circumstances, however adverse, are ex- pected from her as a matter of course, and her virtues and her endurance receive not the honour and reverence they deserve. The virtues of man are paraded forth before the world, and the trumpet summons its attention to his glory; but woman, unnoticed, offers her little strength a willing sacrifice, and lives and dies, stricken at home by disconsolate loss, or falling in the brave attempt — beyond her powers — to share the loved one's bitterest for- tunes. She too often suffers unknown, un- noticed, and almost forgot. On the 28th there was another desperate sortie against the French works. The fight- ing in the trenches was long and furious, but too much like the encounters previously re- corded to require a particular account. Among the dead was an officer of the Russian navy, splendidly attired, and his breast glittering with many orders. His body was sent back to the town. A deserter announced that the ringing of bells, and firing of rockets, wliich took place some nights before, was caused by the return of the grand dukes. On the heights of the Tchernaya the in- creasing numbers of watchfires which lit up tlie whole heavens, proved that reinforcements had arrived to the enemy, and that fresh opera- tions ia the field might be expected if the weather allowed. No one who knew the climate of the Crimea hoped for a continu- ance of the mild season. " General February" was regarded by the czar as one of his most reliable auxiliaries; and he might have con- sidered March as no enemj', if characterised by his usual roughness in that climate. The last day of January was signalised by a desperate attempt to spike the French cannon. A body of men volunteered for this service to the amount of 400. They were all men of many combats, and their leader. Captain Biru- leff, of the nav)', was a bold and enterprising man. They came along a track which had been recently opened by their engineers close to the third French parallel. A body of "volunteer scouts" had taken possession of an ambuscade which the Russians had abandoned a few nights before, and this spot gave an excellent opportunity to its occupants for firing upon the attacking party by surprise. Accord- ingly, as the men of the assault came on, a prompt and galling fire met them when they least expected it; reinforced from their re- serves, they pushed boldly on at the charge — the scouts fell back, the French trumpets brayed the alarm, the signal rockets shot up 22 HISTOEY OE THE WAR AGAINST ETJSSIA. [Chap. LX. in columns of fire, and fell in sparkling showers over the dark camp, and the tramp of men hurrpng to the defence shook the earth. On came the Kussians again and again, supported hy fresh troops, the intrepid Biruleff at their head ; he knew every inch of the ground, having repeatedly stolen up alone to reconnoitre the Prenoh lines. His influence over the men, many of whom were sailors, was great; he urged them on with eloquent words, and his own sword waved in the van. Before they reached the trenches the Erench, shoulder to shoulder, were drawn up to receive them, their muskets double car- tridged, and 'shot and slugs shaken in upon the double charge. The volley from their muskets was terribl? ; the enemy went down in crowds before it. The parapet, however, was low, and BirulelF, unharmed, cleared it sword in hand, bravely followed by his volun- teers — those who could not get in hurled heavy pieces of rock upon the Erench, for they came on with unloaded muskets, trusting to the ba5''onet for their work. Biruleff and his immediate followers drove back the defenders. Captain Eourcade, of the Erench engineers, had by this time collected his workmen, and led them on, sword in hand, against the flank of the assailants ; but at that moment his thigh was broken by a ball from his retreating friends. The major of the night attack, Sarlat, of the engineers, placed himself at the head of the workmen, and shouting " Vive TEmpe- reur!" — the cry which had so often rallied Erenchmen to victory — he hurled his party upon the enemy. He was fortunately sup- ported by several companies of the first bat- talion of the 42nd, and the foe was swept from the trenches upon their reserves. Instead of pursuing them in the usual way, and being decimated by grape from the Russian batteries, they fell back upon the trenches firing, while two fieldpieces coming up, opened upon the Russian reserves, scattering death among the column, and changing the retreat into precipi- tate flight. A stray shot from the retreating foe entered the brain of the gallant Sarlat, who fell dead across the parapet of the trench he had so skilfully and bravely won. Many Erench ofScers fell that night, but none more regretted than Eourcade. He was a veteran in experience, although but thirty-five years- of ago. He had distinguished himself at the Polytechnic as a student, and in Africa as a warrior, especially under " Chef de hataillon" Pelissier, at the caves of Heah. His thigh was amputated on the night he was wounded, but the blow was mortal. Thus terminated the first month of 1855 before Sebastopol. The men of the British army rejoiced in returning sunshine, but they did not then know that fickle climate. Eeb- ruary was at hand with its cold, snows, sudden penetrating thaws, and bleak winds sweeping over steppe and hill to the desolated plateau. Before the brave invading armies thei'e yet re- mained an herculean task — labours, perils, pri- vations, still awaited them ; there was work for the most vigorous to conquer, and dangers for the bravest to dare. In the gallant armies of the allies were found the men for all that was to be endured or attempted. CHAPTER LX. HOME EYENTS IN ENGLAND AND FRANCE BEARING UPON THE "WAR DURING THE EARLIER MONTHS OF 1855.— RUMOURS OF NEGOTIATIONS, AND JEALOUSY OF THE ENGLISH PEOPLE IN REGARD TO THEM.— PUBLIC INDIGNATION IN ENGLAND AGAINST THE ABERDEEN MINISTRY.— ITS FALL.— INQUIRIES CONCERNING THE SUFFERING OF THE TROOPS IN THE CRIMEA. " On all sides, from innumer.ible tongues, A dismal, universal hiss, the sound Of publio scorn." Milton, The year 1855 opened upon the Western nations gloomily. A deep distrust of their government had sunk into the heart of the English people, and the expressions of discon- tent were loud and universal. Rumours of negotiations about to be opened at Vienna filled the public mind; and it was suspected that the government was about to make peace at any price. Everything published concerning the peace and the designs of Russia was eagerly bought up by the multitude; and a desire to prosecute the war, despite the government, animated all ranks, except perhaps the very highest. Negotiations were indeed about to open in Vienna, superior in gravity to any that had yet taken place in that capital of proto- cols and procrastination ; and, notwithstanding ministerial revolutions at home, and treaties of warlike alliance all over Europe, speculations upon the prospects of -peace were naturally rife in London, Paris, Vienna, and Berlin. There were formidable obstacles in the way of such a hope j but still peace was more likely in the existing conjuncture of affairs than it had been at any past period of diplomatic labour, since the haughty demands of Prince Menschikoff led the Turk to stroke his beard, and touch his scimitar, and call on Allah to €hap. LX.] HISTOEY OE THE WAE AGAINST EUSSIA. 23 aid Mm in the conflict. Looking at other signs of the times, War seemed still likely to stand proudly in his chariot, and oast his bolt, and wing the arrow of his vengeance around the confines of that strange empire which had invoked the demon from his sleep of years. The czar had summoned tlie whole population to arms; he was erecting fortifications of great strength upon the Volga, along the shores of the Baltic, and in certain other positions judioi-, ously selected for the obstruction of invading forces from Southern and "Western Europe. Wherever an assailing army might push its way, either from the Austrian frontier, across the Turkish line of the Danube, or through Prussia, in case of a Western alliance with that kingdom, or even in spite of its resistance, every point was made as secure as engineering skill and vast military means could effect. Whatever might be the naval preparations of England and Prance for the Baltic, Kussia was also preparing for defence. From Tornea to Abo, around the Gulf of Finland to Eevel, and to the Prussian frontier, fortifications bristled ; new works were also erected to meet our gun- boats in the shallow waters, where their effect, during the last naval expedition, w'ould have been decisive, but where they would now be met by well adapted and formidable means of resistance. Watchful of what might be expected from our Austrian alliance, Eussia was well prepared to resist an- invasion from that frontier, from Cracow to Galatz and Eeni on the Danube ; while from Galatz to the mouth of the Danube no Turkish force, such as the sultan was able to send, could penetrate to that line of attack ; and as long as Odessa remained a point d'ofppwi for the defence of her frontier upon the prin- cipalities, she could resist any aggression which it was possible for the allies to direct against her in that quarter. From Tornea, in the Gulf of Bothnia, to the entrance to the Sea of Azoff, her whole European frontier Avas in a condition of defence ; and on the line of the Caucasus, and on her entire Asiatic frontier, she was protected by well-provisioned forts and garrisons, 'or by partizan tribes attached to her by pay or fanaticism. Add to all this that her people were as one man : not indeed the newly- conquered provinces, but all Eussia proper, comprising a population of fifty millions of persons, was as one body, of which the czar was the vigorous and directing head. The de- lusion which the English press helped to pro- pagute at the beginning of the war, and against which we have protested in this His- tory, that the Eussian people were dissatisfied with their condition, and would revolt, had been dispelled, and England at last knew that she had to fight against an empire of zealots, by whom the czar himself was quickened to the energy he displayed. It had often been said " the finance of Eussia will not hold out, it is not to be compared to that of the allies." This is true, but the resources of Eussia had been husbanded during forty years, for such an occasion as at length offered for their employment. While England had been spending in works of peace and tlie ex- travagance of bad government — while Austria had been wasting herself in financial folljr and provincial oppression — while France had been squandering her supplies upon revolutions, and a false , commercial policy, — Eussia had gathered all her disposable productions for this struggle. We had to contend against all her ordinary resources, such as they were, and forty years of her accumulated militarj' strength, aided by that of every nation that she had within that time conquered and drained of its wealth. Mr. Cobden was not so far wrong in saying that we could " crumple up " Eussia, in the sense in which he used the expression ; but it was not the Eussia of one year's growth, nor of two, with which we waged this contest — but one having the treasures of forty years stored up in the forms most available for her purpose. Even with all these advantages, it was plain to the thinking public she could be repelled, unless -some great revolution took place in Europe, or a disagreement among the allies, or some other unaccountable dis- aster, should give her a chance, by a sud- den swoop, to strike Eastern Europe down before help could be mustered by her discon- certed and temporarily defeated allies. Upon some such chance the emperor calculated; he thought not at that time of making the con- quest of Europe, but he did think, ere the vast stores of so many laborious years were ex- pended, to seize a great prey, give up some portion as the price of peace, and hold the rest until fresh stores of material and strength of men enabled him to plaj^ over again the same game. Eussia cannot expend men so freely as other powers; she can call out a greater number for an emergency, but at a heavier ultimate expense. In the recent ukase for embodying a militia of the whole population, the emperor declared that he had no desire for bloodshed ! Likely enough, unless it be as at' Sinope, that of a defenceless fleet, or of some vanquished province overrun by his savage hordes. Such bloodshed as that of Alma, Inkerman, and Balaklava, and within Sebastopol itself, was not welcome to him : neither had he a desire to see his forces carried off captives by thousands, as at Bomarsund, or as they would be if Sebastopol should be in- vested or stormed. Spring too was approach- ing, when he must cover with troops his whole frontier, which, strong as it was, if attacked on all points by the "covenanted nations, would 24 HISTOET OF THE "WAK AGAINST KUSSIA. [Chap. LX. require such an amount of men, munitions, and provisions, as would speedily draw out the heart of Eussian strength and resources. Prussia had not wholly slipped through the fingers of the diplomatist. ]3rought more im- mediately into negotiations with the "Western powers, she soon found it a different thing Irom playing fast and loose with Austria at rival German capitals. If Prussia failed t'o fulfil her newly-incurred obligations, she would incur the risk of having to stand to her arms on the Ehine — and she knew weU that her whole Ehenish provinces would declare for France ; while in the Baltic she must suffer, whether Eiga, Eevel, or Cronstadt stood or fell. It was the hope of sanguine politicians, that by engaging the alliance of Prussia and the minor German states, the allies would menace the Eussian frontier, from Merael on the Baltic to the southern point of Silesia, and thus complete the circle of steel and fire by which vengeance would flash upon the robber of neighbouring nations, and the dis- turber of the world. If recruits were slowly obtained at home, England could get men — Turks, Sardinians, and Swiss, recruited on the French and Sar- dinian frontiers, in spite of government pro- hibitions in Switzerland ; and ultimately Por- tuguese, if she insisted upon them, and all, under her auspices, equal at least to Eussian soldiers. France, Austria, and Prussia, could pour upon the Eussian confines swarming legions, to which she might indeed oft'er a pro- tracted resistance, because everywhere so well prepared; but the more protracted that resist- ance, the more prostrated must be her power in the inevitable result. Thus numbers rea- soned in England, and the whole people felt that if this war should foster a public opinion that to invade the territories of other nations is not glory but plunder — that conquest has no prerogatives, and is a crime — that every nation has a right to arrange its own govern- ment, and the relations of its sects and citizens, as it pleases, — there would be a great achieve- ment wrought for the cause of human liberty, of which national independence is an impor- tant element. The war was regarded through- out Great Britain as a war of freedom, even though despots waged it, or professed alliance with the powers actually in the contest. 'The French and Austrian despotic governments were, by a mysterious providential force, con- strained to give expression to this great first principle of national relationship, and free nations hailed the sign. It was as plainly a war of national independence, founded in necessity and right, as if it were so written upon the clouds, and the awakened nations, looking up to heaven, beheld it and rejoiced. Hence every diplomatic movement was closely watched by the people, and the mind of the nation was prepared to insist upon the firm policy pur- sued in reference to the Vienna conferences. These hopes and views, and the jealousy ex- cited by the rumours of a disposition on the part of the Western governments to make peace too cheaply, entered with other elements into the force of public opinion, which was so soon to overwhelm the Aberdeen government. Such was the state of feeling in England, when, on the 23rd of Januai-y, the parliament reassembled after the Christmas recess. Mr. Layard questioned the government as to the state of the peace negotiations, about which the mind of the nation was so much disturbed. Lord John Eussell replied in the name of the cabinet, referring to the conduct of Austria in very peculiar terms, which were quoted in our last chapter on diplomacy. Mr. Eoebuck gave notice of a motion for inquiry into the number and condition of the army before Sebastopol, and into the conduct of those departments of government which were responsible for the efiicienoy of that army. This notice produced the gravest consequences; the house was thrown into a high state of excitement, and the trea- sux-y benches especially partook of it. It is marvellous that the government did not pre- pare itself for some such occurrence, but, as in the management of the war, so in the manage- ment of the house, they were always " too late" — so that the nickname of "the late ministry" was bestowed upon them while yet they held, with whatever firmness they at any- time possessed, the reins of power. On Monday evening, the 25th of January, it was announced in both houses that Lord John Eussell had resigned liis connection with the ministry. Both houses adjourned to the next evening, in order to learn the grounds upon which Lord John had come to that determina- tion. Eumours on Thursday evening prevailed extensively that Lord John Eussell had re- signed his connection with the ministry, and on grounds of the most startling and alarming nature. The evening papers came out earlier than usual, acknowledging the fact, and com- menting upon it according to the spirit of their respective party bias. Having the entree of the houses, the author of this History hurried to the Palace at Westminster. A''ast crowds surrounded it, and public excitement and ex- pectation were at a very high pitch. It will no doubt interest the distant readers of this History to have a peep, as it were, into both houses, as far as a sketch of what the author saw and heard on those two eventful evenings can afford it. Even the mannerisms of the place, and its frequenters, must to those remote from the metropolis have a certain interest, especially as they are brought out by remark- able occasions. It wiU not therefore be con- Chap. LX.] HISTOET OF THE WAR AGAINST EUSSIA. 25 sidered beneath the dignity of history to glance at what -we witnessed, and the mode in which the events passed off, while we record the grave issues of the scene. The first notability that caught our eye on the Monday evening was the Earl of Shaftesbury. He sauntered carelessly in front of the reporters' entrance, and seemed, from the expression of his counten- ance, to be more busied with some theological or moral reflection than with the fate of em- pires, the conduct of war, and the downfall of a ministry. Upon entering the House of Com- mons, we observed that Mr. Brotherton, the member for Salford, was. by far the most fussey gentleman on the ministerial benches, although many members were fldgetty and restless. Mr. Brotherton's rubicund face was whirling about like a globe on fire, as if all his wonted pla- cidity was turned into inextinguishable excite- ment. He popped up and down between the Speaker and the secretary of the Treasury ; now whispering to the one, and anon to the other, as though he were the connecting medium between them, and between the ministry and the house. Be it known to our readers, that no member of the House of Commons out of the ministry — we had almost said out of the cabinet — has more influence with the secretary of the Treasury than Mr. Brotherton ; his influence with the Speaker too is very potent. With all his apparent plainness of mind and manners he is, like the rest of human nature, a little vain. To be seen dodging about the Speaker's chair, and in familiar converse with "Hayter," is his great ambition, and he is very useful to both ; he assists in arranging private bills — pro- poses them in a sort of ofi'hand wholesale way ; and as his enunciation has a muffled sound, and he speaks in a somewhat broad Lancashire accent, few can hear what bill it is that is on the tapis, which is often a great convenience , to the ministry, to the managers of private bills, and to quiet transactions in general. Mr. Brotherton is less indisposed to a little ma- noeuvring than is generally thought. "Honest Joe," as his constituents very sincerely and very justly call him, has with an assumption of directness which is rather bluntly main- tained, a cautious, knowing look, which is a true index to his inner man— for he is up to every little scrap of ministerial management which in a small way may be required. Wot that the idea of government patronising him ever occurs to the honourable member — he patronises them. On the memorable evening of our visit he was in his glory ; he fussed as if the business of the country was left to him, while all the rest of the house was engaged in the mere work of looking after the fragments of a broken cabinet. Mr. Hayter, the reposi- tory of so much substantial patronage, looked most rueful, especially when, he rose and made the announcement of Lord John's resignation. The muster of members was not as great as was expected; and not maintaining their usual strictness in the order of sitting, some droll juxtapositions took place. Amongst these was one in the gallery on the opposition side of the house. Mr. Wilson Patten, of Warring- ton, the respected conservative member for North Lancashire, got somehow seated alone by the side of "King Hudson," who looked as jolly and simple as if he had never learned anything but the old song, — " I prythee tegone dull care, I prytliee begone from me." He was in this respect a great contrast to his neighbour, Mr. Patten. One would think that Wilson Patten had managed all the railway boards, and cooked all the railway accounts, and that such things lay heavy upon his con- science; whil(3 his neighbour appeared as if an angel — one of those chubby cherubs in the pictures, grown old — had been sent down to keep watch over him, lest he should commit suicide. The house was soon " up," and the M.P.'s crowded to the Lords, but tlie chan- cellor not having taken his place upon tlie woolsack, the lobby was a lounge for awhile, and many eager and animated discussions took place there, under the influence of the general excitement. Here a reporter and an. M.P. were engaged in confidential converse, the senator evidently making a request which he did not want to be Overheard. There Colonel Forrester is resisting the hopeless appeals of a clerical-looking gentleman for a pass to enter the House of Lords. In that corner. Captain Gossett assures somebody that Lord Charles Russell, the sergeant- at-arms, will do no such thing. Close by the passage leading to one of the rooms for the reporters, a notable member of the press is laying down matters in a vein of fun and wit, which greatly delights an old conservative member, and a judge of an insol- vent debtors' court. He leaves that group, and tells an ex-editor of the Leader some news, which the other communicates to a barrister, and an honourable Mr. we could not catch either names. There by the door leading to "the house" is Mr. Knox, the editor of the ITerald, standing with the chief reporter of the Times, who has lately succeeded Mr. Dodd, the leader of the reporters' gallery, and the author of Dodd's Peerage, &o. ; they converse very eagerly, and Mr. Knox, with a grave and gentlemanly air, disposes of the matter. That large man, evidently from York- shire, says its the " hoit of impudence for their member to do it," and the member's friend is using his best persuasives to appease the indig- nant Yorkshireman ; the member's friend is an occupant himself of the liberal benches, and 26 HISTOKY or THE WAR AGAINST RUSSIA. [Chap. LX. has a fellow-feeling. Amongst all the excited throng who crowded the lobby, there was one very conspicuous for his uneasy hearing; he moved to and fro, as if eager to force an entrance to the lords. This unhappy wight was her majesty's solicitor-general. He afforded some amusement to a commoner, the most gentlemanly-looking man we observed amongst the waftderers of the lobby, Fitzstephen French, the member for Eoscommon. While observing some young men from Westminster School, apparently bent upon mischief, and who were fluttering their caps and gowns about, the deputy sergeant-at-arms keeping an eye on them, our time came for entering the House of Lords. The chancellor took his place on the woolsack, and the House of Lords, with a dull gravity, began its business. The pro- ceedings were important, from the announce- ment made and the explanation given by the Duke of Newcastle, the minister of war. His bearing was gentlemanly, and there was an air of conciliation about it which bespoke the thoroughbred gentleman. His voice was low, and his manner in speaking ungainly; an awkward and finicking gesture with the right hand belo.w the table, to which he advanced when speaking, gave an idea of pettiness of thought, which his .manner in other re- spects aided. The Earls of Winchelsea and .Eitzwilliam seemed very desirous to have something to say; no one seemed willing to listen, and at last, by Lord Derby's interposi- tion, they were " quieted down." Lord Ellen- horough manifested most activity on the oppo- sition side of the house, and what he said was ^ spoken with energy, self-confidence, and com- m.anding manner. Lord Lansdowne was the most active person on the ministerial benches, he moved about wifth a grace and afi'ability T/hioh account for his great popularity in the house. His mode of putting down the perti- nacity of Lord PitzwUliam and Lord Winchel- sea was authoritative, yet courteous, and in a few epigrammatic sentences he disposed of them. The most interesting sight was, how- ever, old Lord Lyndhurst, who rose to give notice of his already famous motion concerning the conduct of the war. The house was very full of spectators. When his lordship rose, the silence was profound, and his venerable years, the magnitude of the question which his notice involved, bis vast reputation, and his dignified and judicial manner, inspired a respect which manifestly pervaded every part of the house. The crowd around the throne seemed especially solicitous to observe his lordship when he rose. We could not avoid contrasting the intellectual features of the old ex-chaneellor with the con- tracted expression of the present occupant of the woolsack, and wondering what the latter would be like at the age of eighty-four, to which Lord Lyndhurst has arrived. The im- portant event of Lord John Russell's resigna- tion, announced by the Duke of Newcastle, prevented the discussion of Lord Lyndhurst's motion, and caused the house to break up early. On the next evening. Lord Aberdeen's state- ment in the peers was almost as eagerly looked for as Lord John Russell's statement in the commons. The earl declared that he hardly knew why the noble president of the council retired from his colleagues, on the eve of a discussion concerning events in connection with which he fully shared their responsibility. He read to the house a letter which he had received a few days before from the noble lord : — Cheslmm Place, Jan. 23, 1855. "Mt beae Loed Abeebeen,- — Mr. Roebuck has given notice of a motion for a committee to inquire into the conduct of the war. I do not see how this motion is to be resisted ; but, as it involves a censure upon the war departments conducted by my colleagues, my only course is to tender my resignation. I have therefore to request that j'ou will lay my humble resigna- tion of the office whichT I have the honour to hold before the queen, with the expression of my gratitude for her majesty's kindness for Many years past. "I remain, my dear Lord Aberdeen, " Yours very truly, "J. RirSSELL." The premier admitted that he had been aware that the noble president of the council had been dissatisfied with the conduct of the war; that he had expressed that dissatisfaction, and had made certain proposals concerning the occu- pation of the War-office, with which he (Lord Aberdeen) did not think it his duty to comply ; that he, and the government of which he was the head, would resist Mr. Roebuck's motion, which he considered a vote of censure upon the ministry. The premier's address was cold, stiff, haughty, and quietly defiant, but did not appear to make the least impression upon the peers, who we're, like the rest of the public, burning with impatience to know the terms and result of Lord John's explanation in the commons. We did not remain in the House of Peers, being more anxious, like their lordships, about what was announced to occur in the other house. A chance business gave us an opportunity of speaking with Lord William Russell, "the sergeant," and his deputy. Colonel Forrester. The former is a thorough gentleman, with many years upon his head, and a quiet but rather aristocratic manner. Colonel Forrester is the hemt, ideal oi an off-hand, gentlemanly, agreeable man, and does his part of deputy to admiration. There was a great crowd assembled, so as to almost obstruct the Speaker's passage — the mace-bearer was certainly interrupted in CHiP. LX.] HISTOET OF THE WAE AGAINST EUSSIA. 27 his course. The Speaker is a fine specimen of a man, and of the chairman of a popular as- sembly. His personal appearance, his urbane manner, and his apparent interest in all that goes on, are much to his advantage. After the preliminary business of Mr. Brotiierton's atten- tions to the Speaker, and Mr. Hayter's routine. Lord John Eussell made his famous statement. Perhaps no statement was ever made in parlia- ment which excited so profound an interest. Every nook in the house was full, except a small portion of the ministerial gallery. The most conspicuous persons were two Parsee merchants, dressed in a showy oriental cos- tume, who occupied the first bench in the Speaker's gallery, and who, the previous even- ing, were admitted behind tlie throne in the lords. Lord John was nearly inaudible at first, his elocution throughout the speech was infe- rior, and utterly unworthy of his great name as a speaker. He was listened to with evident partialit}'', and every period which told at all against the conduct of the war elicited cheers from the opposition, and the ministerial benches were far from silent on these occasions. After his lordship sat down. Lord Palmerston arose, on behalf of the government, amidst breathless expectations. His adroitness was extraordinary, and his intellectual superiority to his notable compeer obvious ; hut it was equally obvious that Lord John's moral influence was in the ascendant, and the latter part of Lord Palmer- ston's statement was heard with impatience, which extended to the galleries, although the order of the house was more than once invaded by expressions of approbation to the anti- ministerial remarks of Lord John. It became evident from Lord Ptilmerston's address, that his lordship would be installed in the War-office, if the motion of Mr. Eoebuck failed. Mr. Eoe- buck did not speak with his usual energy, but although illness incapacitated him, his voice rang out as clear as a bell, and every tone told upon the whole house. His speech was devoid of that acrimony which pervades so generally the matter and the manner of the honourable mem- ber for Sheffield. The government seemed in- disposed to reply ; but loud calls from all sides for Sidney Herbert, provoked the right hon- ourable secretary to one of his best elocutionary efforts. We were certainly most unfavourably impressed with his deportment all through the evening. There was a bitterness of expression in his countenance while Lord John was speak- ing, and a sneer and a whisper to his colleagues whenever Lord John made a good hit, which argued a consciousness of error, and a bad spirit with it. His speech was mere clap-trap, and was torn to shreds by Mr. Drummond, who, with that strange mixture of common sense, apt repartee, classical taste, sound argu- ment, and irresistible fun, for which the speeches of this gentleman have obfained celebrit}', confuted and ridiculed, by turns, all that Sidney Herbert, with so much self-suffi- ciency and red-tapist mannerism, advanced. But Mr. La)-ard utterly demolished the case of Mr. Herbert, and with a gravity of purpose, fulness of information, discreet distribution of subject, and logical cogency, which mark that gentleman as one of the most rising men in the commons, and in the country. The government were literally overwhelmned with his speech. The impressions of the oldest ob- servers of parliamentary proceedings whom we met, declared that they had never witnessed such a moral defeat. Of course, the first interest of the proceedings in the House of Commons turned upon the validity of Lord John Eussell's explanations. A few passages from his speech are essential to a proper understanding of the gist of his lord- ship's conduct, and of the character of the im- pression produced upon the house and the country. " On Tuesday last," said the noble lord, "when I was present in this house, the honourable and learned gentleman, the member for Sheffield, gave notice of a motion for ' a select committee to inquire into the condition of our army before Sebastopol, and into the conduct of those departments of the government whose duty it has been to minister to the wants of that army.' Sir, I of course thought that it would be probable some member might move for an inquiry of this kind. I had not, however, fully made up my mind what course to pursue." His lordship then entered into an examination and statement of the various kinds of procedure open under such circum- stances to a person in his situation. He thought that either the government should be prepared with a bold and honest denial of the allegations concerning the sufferings of the army, or ad- mitting them, they should be prepared to account for them in a way honourable to the administration. His lordship, being unable to do either of these things, had only the alter- native of resigning his office of president of the council. He then used the following remark- able words : — " No one can deny the melan- choly condition of our army before Sebastopol. The accounts which arrive from that quarter every week are not only painful, hut horriile and heart-rendinff ; and I am sure no one would oppose for a moment any measure that would be likely not only to cure, but to do anything to mitigate those evils. Sir, I must say that there is something, tvitk all the official hnowledge to which I have had access, that to me is inexpli- cable in the state of our army. If I had been told as a reason against the expedition to the Crimea last year that your troops would be seven miles from the sea, seven miles from a secure port — which at that time, when we had HISTOET OF THE WAR AGAINST RUSSIA. [Chap. LX. in contemplation the expedition, we hardly hoped to possess — and that at that seven miles' distance they would be in want of food, of clothes, and of shelter, to such a degree that they would perish at the rate of from ninety to a hundred a day, I should have considered such a predioiion as utterly preposterous, and such a picture of the expedition as entirely fanciful and absurd. We are all, however, free to confess the notoriety of that melancholy state of things. It was not, therefore, by denying the existence of the evils that I could hope to induce this house to reject the proposition of the honourable and learned gentleman ; but I had further to reflect that I was in a position not to give a faint ' No ' to the proposal, not to express in vague and equivocal language a wish that the motion should not be carried, or to use any evasion with respect to the letter of its terms with a view to defeat it." The two sentences printed in italics in tha foregoing extract produced an extraordinary sensation in the house. The elocution and delivery of his lordship were very inferior, but there was a tone of seriousness and deep emotion in his enunciation of the words " horrible and heart-rending " which thrilled through the house. Eut when with obvious sincerity, and in a manner expressive of his own surprise and indignation, he added the other sentence given in italic letters, a mur- mur of amazement and sympathy with the speaker floated around the benches, both minis- terial and opposition. His lordship, after dwelling upon various matters more interesting to himself personally, and to the party concerns of the hour, than to history, gave the following account of the cabinet movements and dis- cussions which, step by step, placed him at last in the position which he then occupied : — " When the office of secretary of state for war was separated from the ofl&ce of secretary of state for the colonies. Lord Aberdeen thought it right to propose to the Duke of Newcastle to keep which of the two oflfices he should most desire. The Duke of Newcastle, with a commendable ambition, as I think, replied that having exerted himself in fitting out a very large expedition, he should, of course, like to remain at the head of the department which should have the direction of the orders for that expedition and the general management of the war. Lord Aberdeen consented to that arrangement, and I was a consenting party to the appointment. At the end of the session the various members of the government, espe- cially those who are members of this house, dispersed, as they usually do ; and it appears to me that that dispersion, after the excessive labours of this house, is necessary to the due performance of their duties ; and no one, unless he has to discharge very urgent duties, is to blame for resorting, for purposes of health, to distant parts of the country. I was not iu any office which obliged me to take any part in the conduct of the war; but, during my absence, there was scarcely a day in which I did not both receive from and write a letter to my noble friend the secretary of state for foreign affairs with respect to the occurrences that were daily taking place." Having digressed to explain various matters, personal to himself as to the way his time had been occupied while holding the presidency of the council, he resumed his narrative of cabinet transactions, from which it appeared that during the parliamentary recess the whole cabinet was dispersed throughout the country (excepting the minister of war), and that Lord John Russell urged their reas- sembling to consider the affairs of the cam- paign, the premier interposing some delay. On the 17th of October, however, a cabinet meeting was at last held. During October misgiving gradually crept over the mind of the noble lord as to the war management, and from the beginning of November he was appre- hensive and uneasy. A correspondence ensued between the premier and the president as to whether the Duke of Newcastle was suitable for the oflSce of secretary of war. In this corre- spondence the noble commoner urged upon the premier the appointment of a person with the rank of a privy councillor, upon whom should devolve the duty of proposing the war estimates, and who should be an authority when difficult questions should be put in the commons as to the expenditure, and as to the supplies of all the materials of war to the army in the field. The noble lord then addressed the house as follows, reading the correspondence which took place between him and the Earl of Aberdeen, which is essential to a clear comprehension by the reader of the state of the cabinet, and their utter incompetency to conduct the vast under- taking -upon Which they had entered, and to which they had committed the country: — " In a letter addressed to the Earl of Aber- deen on the 17th of November, 1854, I said, ' Erom the other point of view the prospect is equally clear. Wo are in the midst of a great war. In order to carry on that war with efficiency, either the prime-minister must be constantly urging, hastening, completing the military preparations, or the minister of war must be strong enough to control other de- partments. Every objection of other ministers — the lilea of foreign interests to be attended to, of naval preparations not yet complete, and a thousand others, justifiable in the separate heads of departments, must be forced to yield to the paramount necessity of carrying on the ■ war with efficiency of each service, and com- pleteness of means to the end in view Cjiap LX.] HISTOEY OF THE WXR AGAIJS'ST EUSSIA. 29 If, therefore, the first considerations here pre- sented lead to the conclusion that the secretary of state for the war department must be in the House of Commons, the latter considerations point to the necessity of having in that office a man who, from experience of military details, from inherent vigour of mind, and from weight with the House of Commons, can be expected to guide the great operations of war with au- thority and success. There is only one person belonging to the government who combines these advantages — my conclusion is, that before parliament meets Lord Palmerston should be intrusted with the seals of the war department.' That is the opinion I gave, confidentially, to the Earl of Aberdeen. Before I read the Earl of Aberdeen's answer, I have to say that, the Earl of Aberdeen having requested some days to consider a matter of such importance, I wrote to him again on the 18th of November, stating that I concurred in that delay, adding — ' I wish however that, before j^ou decide, you would show my letter to the Duke of New- castle. It was my intention in writing the letter to avoid throwing any blame upon him. Indeed, I think he deserves very great credit for the exertions he has made. But he has not had the authority requisite for so great a sphere, and has not been able to do all that might have been done with larger powers of control.' To my letter Lord Aberdeen replied — misstating my proposition I must say — that he could not acquiesce in the proposal I had made. On the 21st of November he writes thus:—' Your pro- posal being founded on the supposed impro- priety of Herbert moving the estimates, and the consequent necessity of the secretary of state for war being in the House of Commons, renders the removal of the Duke of Newcastle from his present office unavoidable. But, al- though you would regard this as the inevitable result of an official arrangement, it is not to be supposed that it would be considered in this light by the public, or indeed by any impartial person. The dislocation of the government would be so great, and the reason assigned for it apparently so inadej][uate, that it could only be considered as a mode of substituting one man for another. Although you may be far from entertaining any such desire, the trans- action could receive no other interpretation. In justice to the duke, I do not think that his colleagues, without very strong grounds, would wish to place him in such a position.' In the other parts of his letter, Lord Aberdeen stated that he did not think any man would under- take the duties -\vhich I proposed should be undertaken by one person — viz., those of secre- tary of state "for the war department, and, at the same time, secretary at war. He con- sidered it to be necessary that a privy coun- cillor's office should be maintained, and that VOL. II. that office should be held in connection with the finances of the army, independently of the secretary of state for the war department. He stated also — a consideration well deserving of attention — that it might be desirable that here- after some military chief who was in the House of Lords should have the office, and therefore it could not be always held by a member of the House of Commons. I considered the various objections of Lord Aberdeen, and on the 28th of November I wrote as follows: — 'I come, therefore, having cleared the ground of all these obstructions, to the real question — What are the requirements of the great war in which we are engaged ? Setting aside all historical references, both on your part and mine, I think it is clear either that the prime-minister must be himself the active and moving spirit of the whole machine, or the minister of war must have delegated authority to control other de- partments. Neither is the case under the present arrangement.' I went on to give some instances of errors that had been com- mitted owing to that want of power and con- trol. I then said, ' The cabinet has, it is true, in its recent meetings, done much to repair omissions; but a cabinet is a cumbrous and unwieldy instrument for carrying on war. It can furnish suggestions, or make a decision upon a measure submitted to it, but it cannot administer. "What you want, therefore, I repeat, is a minister of war of vigour and au- thority. As the welfare of the empire and the success of our present conflict are concerned, I have no scruple in saying so. Eeep up, if you think right, as a temporary arrangement, a secretar}- at war. Make it clear that it is tem- porary — that is to say, only to last till more complete consolidation can take place; but let parliament and the country ba assured that j-ou have placed the conduct of the war in the hands of the fittest man who can be found for that duty.' In answer to this, I received a long letter from Lord Aberdeen, which I shall read to the house. It is dated November 30th, 1854, and is as follows : — ' After all, I think your letter plainly reduces the question to the simple issue of a personal preference, and the substitution of one man for another. In answer to my suggestion that some consideration was due to the duke on the part of his colleagues, you say that you understood the administration was founded on the principle of doing what was best for the public service, without regard to the self-love or even the acquired position of individuals. Undoubtedly this was the case ; and I fully agree in thinking that the Duke of Newcastle would be the last man to wish for any exception to this rule in his favour. But I must observe that at the formation of the government, no such office as the war depart- ment was contemplated ; and when, subse- 1' 80 HISTOEY OF THE WAll AGAINST IIUSSIA. [Ci«p. LX. quenth", tlie Colonial-offloe was divided, do objection whatever was made to the choico of the war department by the dulte; nor, as far as I am aware up to this moment, to his manage- ment of the oiHoe. ISTow, I think yon will admit tliat, although another person might perhaps have been preferred on the iirst con- stitution of an office, it is a very different thing to displace a man who has discharged its duties ablj' and honourably, mereljf in the belief that anothtr might be found still more efficient. Undoubtedly the public service must be the first object; but, in the absence of any proved defect, or alleged incapacity, I can see no suf- ficient reason for such a chaDge, which, in- deed, I think is forbidden by a sense of justice and good faith On the whole, then, believing that any change like that proposed would be of doubtful advantage to the pubUo, feeling very strongly that it would be an act of unfairness and injustice towards a colleague, and thinking, also, that all such changes, unless absolutely necessary, only tend to weaken a government, I must repeat that I could not honestly recommend it to the queen.' Lord Aberdeen spoke to mo afterwards on this sub- ject, and asked me when I intended to bring the question before the cabinet; and I, cer- tainly after a good deal of hesitation, told him that, as he had said he could not honestly recommend that change to the queen, and as I did not wish to do anything which might tend to disturb his government and remove him from office, I should not press the matter further. I should Say that my hesitation arose very much in consequence of the opinion of other high authorities, with whom I for years — dur- ing the whole of my political life perhaps — have been living in the closest intimacy, who told me they thought the change unadvisable, and that it would weaken that which I meant to strengthen, and who advised that I should not press it. JSTow, when I stand here to justify my resignation, and when I am told, as I have been, that I have acted prematurely, I own that the doubt that presses on my mind is Avhether I ought not, at that time, to have brought the question of this change to an issue. But among those who urged me not .to do so was the noble lord himself, the secretary of state for the home department, who at the time when the correspondence took place was absent, and to Avhom I afterwards read it. He urged me, considering the objection v\-hich had been made, not to press the m.attcr any further. However, that being tlic case with respect to men, I have further to consider what was the case with respect to measures. I have reminded the house that last year a pledge was given that a new arrangement would be made of the military departments, with a view of rendering them more efficient. I myself had the honour of serving on two commissions having for their object the con- solidation and improvement of those depart- ments. Various commissions reported from time to time, and it is now, I think, twenty- two years since the first of them was appointed. At the commencement of the war then, that which before had been expedient, became urgent and necessary, and that consideration to which I have referred was due to the interests of the public and to the expectations of this house. The only change I was able to announce in the session before Christmas was, that the commissariat was placed under the war minis- ter. With respect to any further change, I heard no mention, until a proposal was made in the cabinet — I think on Saturday last. I reflected on that proposal, and then I went to my noble friend at the head of the government, and told him that, after considering the proposal, I thought it incomplete and inefficient. I gave him also a paper containing my own views on the subject. This, the house will observe, was very lately ; but I had no reason to expect that my views would be adopted. I had therefore to consider, when I came to reflect upon the Tuesday evening, on the course to be taken on the following Thursday, whether I could fairly and honestly say, ' It is true that evils have arisen ; it is true that the brave men who fought at the Alma, at Inkerman, and at Balaklava, are perishing many of them from neglect; it is true that the heart of the wliole of England throbs with anxiety and sympathy on this subject ; but I can tell you that such arrangements have been made — that a man of such vigour and efficiency has taken the con- duct of the war department, with such a consoli- dation of offices aa^enable him to have the entire and instant control of the whole of the war- offices, so that any supply may be immediately furnished, and any abuse instantly remedied!' I felt I could not honestly make such a de- claration. I could not say, after what I had written, that there was a person with such power and control, and of sufficient energy of mind and acquaintance with details, at the head of the war department. I could not say either that the arrangement which had been proposed on Saturday last — that the consolidation of the- military departments had either been carried into effect, or was in prospect in such a way that I could pledge the faith of government to- the efficiency of the arrangement. "Well, feeling this — giving the matter the most painful atten- tion — feeling also, as I have already said, that I could give no faint or faltering opposition to the proposition of the honourable and learned member for Sheffield, and that I must get up, if I opposed it at all, and stand in the way of that which many would think might afford a remedy for those sufferings and distres.«es which Chap. LX.] HISTORY OF THE WAR AGAINST RUSSIA. 31 had been complained of, or, at least, if it failed in doing that, might point out a way for their correction and remedj' — feeling, too, that many members of this house -would look for an a,ssurance on my part which they would be ready to act upon, as they did so far honour me ■with their confidence, that efficient alterations had been made, I was conscious that I should be repaying that confidence with treachery if I gave an assurance of the kind, knowing it not to be true. "Well, it appeared to me, no doubt, that the members of the government could hardly remain in office if such a com- mittee as, the one proposed were appointed ; that it would not be, I will not say dignified, but consistent with the practical good working of our institutions, that there should be a minister sitting on that bench to govern the war, and that the military departments should be at the same time constantly overlooked and checked by a committee sitting upstairs ; and that the minister for war should have not only" to consider what he was to do in order to pro- vide for the ordinary necessities of the war, and to attend to applications from day to day, but must also consider the evidence to be adduced with respect to his conduct five or six months ago. Such a state of things could not be con-, fiistent with the efficiency of our administrative system. I therefore felt that I could come only to one conclusion, and that, as I could not resist inquiry, by giving the only assurances ■which I thought sufficient to prevent it, my duty was not to remain any longer a member of the government. It would be competent for others, if they thought either that everything necessary had already been done, or would be done, consistently to oppose the motion for inquiry; but for my own part I felt that I could not do so, and I therefore wrote in very short terms, not quite accurately stating the terms of Mr. Roebuck's motion, a note to the following effect" — (the note read by Lord Aberdeen in the House of Lords was then read). His lordship then gave his opinions upon the prospects of the war in a very pro- tracted speech. There was nothing original or remarkable in the views expressed by his lordship. " The general impression in the house was undoubtedly in favour of Lord John after his explanation, but out of doors it was otherwise. He was regarded by many as having slyly abandoned his colleagues, when he saw, from his knowledge of the state of feeling in the house as a parliamentary leader, that the go- vernment was doomed. By another large class his whole conduct was considered an intrigue for the premiership. It may be that there was truth in both surmises; there was certainly sufficient in Lord John's conduct to justify ^itlier. It cannot be denied, however, that there was a sense of responsibility displayed by him as to the way in which the war was carried on, which did not appear in the con- duct of any of his colleagues. Lord Aberdeen was plainly told by his correspondent, that either the war minister must have more power, energy, and experience, or the War-office have a difierent occupant; or Lord Aberdeen, as chief of the government, must bestir himself to control all the departments, and wield the nation's instrumentaUties for conducting war with a prompt and firm hand. The easy-going earl would not propose measures in the cabinet or in the parliament, to enable the minister of war to exercise the authority demanded for him by Lord John, nor would he hand over the War-office to any more competent person than the Duke of Newcastle. He refused either arrangement, and auj- modification of either arrangement. He took no notice of Lord John's hints, suggestions, and even entreaties, that he would, as premier, look more after matters himself. Inert, haughty, indisposed to change— -jealous of the' whig section of the cabinet, and anxious to keep the whole manage- ment of the war in the hands of his own — the Peelite section of it — he did nothing ; and it must be plain to every observant man that he was not likely to do anything but temporise, trim, and patch up in a way unworthy of a statesman, and still more unworthy of a statesman occupying the most responsible post known to the British constitution. What the duty of Lord John Russell was in October or November, is not so easily determined as his censors supposed. The ministry did not act like the ministry of a country engaged in a vast and complicated war. They resorted to their marine lodges and country seats ; never meeting for cabinet councils, but literally abandoning the war to chance. Lord Aber- deen, it is true, did not go to a distance from London, but satisfied himself with a breezy residence at Blackheath, so that he might be at hand if wanted.* His lordship might as well have been in the Black Hole of Calcutta, as at Blackheath, for any use he was — unless to sign a pubKc document, or play the part of a courtier. The truth is, he was a victim, and made the country a victim, to the doctrinaire conceit of the little clique of Peelite red-tapists — the petty satellites of the late Sir Robert Peel, who believed that tliey only could govern the country; that they alone understood the princi- ples of government; and that all governments looked to them as at once practical reformers and conservatives of order — the teacliers of politics and political economy to all nations. The fact that these men held many enlightened views, and had acquired under Sir Robert the habit of dextrously copying and appropri- ating the practical views of more enlightened, 32 HISTOET OF THE WAR AGAINST EUSSIA. [Chap. LX. libera], and experienced men, only exasperated their self-esteem, and made them more intoler- ably arrogant, without being proportionately useful. Lord Aberdeen was quite sure that his Peelite lieutenants -were equal to the duties of their departments ; that they were the chief men of their school; and that the school, narrow as its circle was, comprehended the political philosophers of the age — the English juste milieu party — the small but enlightened sec- tion of politicians, without whose support no government could conduct the business of the country. He felt quite sure that his friend, the Emperor Nicholas, and all other foreign poten- tates whatsoever — unless indeed the incorrigi- ble King of Naples — kept their eye upon Lord Aberdeen's sage circle, to stud}' their policy, and to nrofit by it as far as circumstances would admit ; and that by-and-by, when he had gained a great battle or two, and his dig- nity would admit of the like, the czar would return to the intellectual loyalty which he owed to the great English party, to whom it was reserved to solve the problem of govern- ment, which required that as little as possible should be conceded to the public good, and yet as much as was necessary to keep the public quiet. This party had, undoubtedly, the merit of profiting under the guidance of their astute founder, and they had the folly of mistaking their attainments in this direction for great political capacity and high states- manship. While Lord Aberdeen thus leaned upon the broken reed of the philosophical and practical aptitude of his Peelite coadjutors, none of them was much occupied about what was going on except the Duke of Newcastle. He laboured with assiduity at the War-office, in work of which he had no experience; for which, although possessed of both industry and business capacity, he was not qualified — at a juncture when energies and endow- ments were required by a man in his posi- tion to which he had no pretension; and to all these difficulties was added a profound ignorance on his part of what was required, and what was amiss. The army in the Crimea was commanded so lazil)', and such reserve was practised by all at head-quarters, that the minister of war was not duly informed of what took place; he could not, therefore, inform Lord Aberdeen of the destitution and misery of the army; and so little did either know about the condition of camp or hospitals, that the latter confessed, in his examination before the Sebastopol Committee, that his first intimation of the awful condition of affairs was obtained through the newspapers! Had Lord John resigned earlier he would liave served his country better ; but it is doubt- ful whether in doing so in October or Novem- ber, he would have received such support from the country as would enable him to rectif}' the abuses of which he complained. At all events he had not faith in the country. He resorted naturally enough to old colleagues for advice. Lord Panmure agreed with him in the main, but advised him to do nothing rashly; Lord Palmerston advised him to do nothing at all. Whether that sagacious man suspected the purity of Lord John's motives, or looked for- ward with certainty to the defeat of the Aber- deen ministry, and foresaw his own advent to power, it is impossible to determine; but he had no ambition to direct Lord John's move- ments, and evidently thought the "pear was not ripe" for any action of his own. It is difficult to account for Lord Palmerston's ac- quiescence in the conduct of the Aberdeen cabinet, and the spirit of the Aberdeen policy, — except upon the ground, that as it was pro- fessedly a coalition cabinet, with the consent of parliament and the countrj^ he confined himself to his own ministerial department, the Home-office, and knew still less of the con- dition of the army than eitheT the president of the council, the minister of war, the secretary at war, or the premier. Many believed, and with good reason, that while Lord John Eussell and Lord Palmerston were dissatisfied with the management of the war, they saw no hope of remedying the mischief until events should strengthen their hands, and no prospect of re- ceiving support in parliament, or in the country, by which they could form a government on their own views if the Aberdeen cabinet were overthrown. The well-known jealousy of the two whig magnates themselves formed a fur- ther obstacle to any consentaneous action. It may be readily believed that Lord John Eussell's speech prepared the way for Mr. Koe- buck's motion. The "honourable and learned member" was in bad health, but although un- able to express all he had intended to la}"- before the commons, he produced a decided impression upon the house. The fact of being unable to continue his speech from weakness rather added to the eff'cct; so that Mr. Disraeli truly said that, were not the house aware of the learned member's illness, the abrupt termi- nation of his address on such a plea, and at such a moment, might appear an ingenious and rhetorical artifice. In his argument, Mr. Eocbuck charged the government the officials at home, and those in command abroad, with incapacitj-, conceit, and indlfer- ence to the welfare of the soldiery. When at last the house divided, the motion was sup- ported by 305 members, and opposed by only 148, leaving a majority of 157 — one of the largest, on a great public question involving the fate of a government, ever known in the House of Commons. The announcement was Chap. LX.] HISTORY OF THE WAR AGAINST RUSSIA. 33 received with exultant cheers from both sides of the house. The extinction of the ministry was decided; the house and the country ac- cepted the vote, not merely as an expression of want of confidence politically, hut as a vote of censure morall)- and politically. Yet in this grave emergency the house adjourned, in order to observe the anniversary of "King Charles the Martyr!" Incredible as this may ajipear, while the countrj'' was in the most im- minent peril, such was the fact. A cabinet council was called, and the mi- nistry, of course, resolved to resign. The queen and court were in great suspense and excite- ment, being very imwilling to accept the re- signation of the cabinet. They were the prince's friends and favourites, and her majesty therefore was disinclined to their forfeiture of ofiice, and was prepared for any constitutional measure which would give back to them the possession of place and power. When the noble earl at the head of the government re- signed the seals of office, he recommended her majesty to seek advice from the Earl of Derby. This noble earl had made some of the best speeches he had ever delivei'ed, during the war debates, and his views on the subject showed superior information and superior judgment to what the ministry, in their aggregate capacity, possessed in connection with foreign politics and war. "Wiien the lords again assembled, the premier, in a poor and vapid speech, in- formed them of the occurrences recorded above. The Duke of Newcastle, in a speech of some vehemence, but more dignity, assailed Lord John Russell, and replied generally to "the break up speech" (as it was called) of the illus- trious commoner. The duke had asked and obtained her majesty's permission to make known the state secrets of the occasion ; but nothing very particular was elicited from Ids grace's explication, except a statement as to the cabinet plan for aiding the War-office. He, however, gave most satisfactory proof to the house and to the country that, to the uttermost extent of his capacity and power, he had laboured indefatigably in the performance of his duty. There appeared in the speech of the duke a desire to fix a personal quarrel upon Lord John, and to brand him with motives and inconsistencies, which the facts of the case did not warrant. The courtesy of Lord Russell was not preserved in the oration of Lord New- castle. He endeavoured to convince the peers that the leader of the commons was actuated by ambition, by party spirit, by envy of the duke himself, and other probable feelings, but of which there was really no evidence. Lord John wanted, according to his grace's repre- sentations, to get rid of him, and therefore was so urgent upon the preinier is' siutnter; si non, quocunque modo. In the course of the duke's speech, however, the nature of the proposed measures for cor- recting the disorder of the departments was communicated to the house and the country, and when our readers attentively peruse it, they will, from all it makes known and all it im- plies, be at no loss to account for the confusion and impromptitude which pervaded all our martial procedure : — " Now, my lords, having thus disposed of the personal part of the ques- tion, the noble lord proceeded to discuss in his place in the house the question of measures, and he said that he should have been glad to have opposed the motion of the honourable member for Sheffield, but that he was unable to do so, because he could not say that ' mea- sures had been taken, or that arrangements were in progress by which those evils would be remedied, and by which the administration of the war would be vigorously prosecuted.' I think that the fair and just inference from that statement is, that the noble lord had pro- posed to his colleagues measures and arrange- ments which we had been unwilling to adopt. My lords, I know of no measures ever pro- posed by the noble lord which were rejected; I know of no proposals which he made which were not accepted, unless it be one. That pro- posal he refers to himself, in this form. He said that, at a cabinet which was held on the Saturday before the day of Mr. Roebuck's no- tice and the noble lord's resignation, arrange- ments were made by which the mode in which the business of the war department had been for some time conducted, viz., by calling to- gether the heads of the military departments to my office, and conducting the business some- what in the form of a board, though not with the formalities and strict rules of a board, was to be altered. A discussion having taken place in the cabinet that day, and an agreement having been made that greater formality should be given to those boards, and that they should be regularly constituted, either by a minute or by an order in council, I stated that I differed from the noble lord as to the propriety of such boards. His opinion, however, prevailed, and it was agreed that, either by a minute or an order in council, those boards should be consti- tuted, consisting of the secretary of state for war, the secretary at war, the commander-in- chief, and the master-general of the ordnance. The noble lord said that that question had been brought before the cabinet, and he im- plied that it had been decided upon adversely to his opinion. That was not exactly expressed by the noble lord, but it is, I think, the infer- ence which is to be drawn. Instead of that, however, the proposal was brought forward by the noble lord himself, it was agreed to after a discussion, and I had every reason to believe that the noble lord was entirely a consenting 34 HISTORY OE THE ^YAU AGAINST EUSSIA. [Chap. LX. partj- ; but ia the course of that meeting he sent to my noble friend at the head of the government a proposal to which he also re- ferred, but which he did not quote. As it is of some importance to my case, however, I fear that I must read it. It is as follows : — AEMY BErAHTJIEITTS. January 22nd^ 1855. " ' The committee of the House of Commons on army and navy expenditure recommended that the array departments should be simplified and consolidated. What is now proposed is, that there should be a board consisting of — 1, secretary of state; 2, secretary at war; 3, master- general of ordnance ; 4, comraander-in- chief; 5, inspector-general of fortifications. " ' It is contemplated that there shall exist at the same time a board of ordnance, consist- ing of — 1, the master-general ; 2, the store- keeper-general ; 3, the surveyor-general ; 4, the clerk of the ordnance ; under whose direc- tions the inspector-general of fortifications will remain. It seems obvious that these two boards, acting at one and the same time, in- stead of consolidation and simplification, would produce complication, disorder, and delaj-. There are but two modes by which unity of direction and rapidity of action can be procured. The one is to give the secretary of state the entire direction of all existing ofiices and boards connected with the army ; the other is to make a board, with the secretary of state at the head, -absorbing the board of ordnance, and controll- ing the whole civil management of our military force. The constitution of this board and its functions would be — " ' 1. The secretary of state, to preside over the board and be responsible to parliament. " ' 2. The secretary at war, to pay the army and control its finances. '• ' 3. The master-general of the ordnance, fo arm the army and the navy. " ' 4. The commander-in-chief, to command the army. "'5. The clerk, storekeeper, and surveyor of the ordnance, all in one, to lodge the army. " ' 6. The commissary-general, to clothe and feed the army. " ' This is nearly the Duke of Pdchmond's plan. '"J. EUSSELL.' The noble lord said in his statement in the other house that he had no reason to think that his views would be adopted. Now, I can only .say most positively, in answer to that state- ment from the noble lord, that I had no reason to think that his views would be rejected ; be- cause the first step which my noble friend took, upon receiving the communication which I have read, accompanied by an intimation from the noble lord that he should propose it on a subse- quent day — on the evening of which he cven- tuallj^ resigned— was, after having shown it, I think, to the secretary at war, to send it to me for my opinion. My answer was, that tliere were but two proposals in that paper which differed from the arrangements in the cabinet of Saturday — one was to do away with the board of ordnance, in consequence of the constitution of a superior board; and the other was to add two more members to the board beyond those which were proposed in the cabinet. I said, as regarded the first proposal, that I thought that it was manifestly right. It was in accordance with my own views, and I added that, if it were proposed to constitute a superior board for the purpose of doing away with an inferior one, I would support it. With regard to the second proposal, for placing two additional members on the board, I said that I thought that it would be unadvisable. I did not think two of the ofiieers named to be necessary ; and, as regarded the sixth member — the commissary-general— no such oflBcer existed, the office having been abolished some years ago. Therefore, so far as the main and principal portion of the noble lord's proposition was concerned, it met with entire approval ; and, as regarded the second portion, the only reason against its being carried into effect with respect to one of the appointments was, that it was impracticable. My lords, upon such an important question as the conduct of the war, differences of opinion on incidental matters of course took place ; but if I were to point out that member of the cabi- net from whom I have received the most gene- ral assent to my views, it would be the noble lord. I received the most kind and generous support from all my colleagues upon all occa- sions; bu t, as regards identity of views, I should be inclined to say that-upon all questions which were raised there was a more complete identity between the noble lord and myself than between. any other members of the cabinet." At the close of his speech the duke admitted that he had come to the conclusion, previous to the propositions of Mr. Roebuck, that the war department of the government had lost the public confidence ; and he had in consequence resolved, whether the government succeeded in resisting an adverse vote, or were covered with censure and obloquy, to resign the post which, to the best of his ability, he had occu- pied. At length the parliamentary debates came to an end, and public interest was con- centrated upon the efforts to form a ministry which various parties were exerting. The Earl of Derby was obliged to decline the task, as he had no hope of commanding a majority in the commons. Lord Derby, it was repre- sented, and generally believed, advised her majesty to send for Lord Palmerston as the most likely person to secure the confidence of Chap. LX.] HISTOEY OE THE WAR AGAINST ETJSSIA. 35 the cotmtry. To this her majesty, it was alleged, was energetically opposed; her own will, and the influence of the prince, being alike adverse to Lis lordship's direction of public affairs. Tiie reasons assigned for this were Tarious, but they all resolved themselves into this, that tlie prince consort, and Lord Palmer- ston, when foreign minister, gave the queen the most opposite advice on foreign policy, and her majesty preferred that of the prince. On all questions connected with Austria, and the re- lations of that power — more especially to Italy — their opinions were said to be diverse. His royal highness sympathised with Austria, and the conservative foreign policy so well repre- sented by Lord Aberdeen ; while Lord Palmer- stou regarded that power with distrust, and considered its proceedings inimical to English influence in Europe, to Europe itself, and to constitutional liberty everywhere. In regard' to Kussia, also, it was said that the court dis- agreed with the noble viscount; the impe- rial I'ucholas being personally regarded by the queen as " a marvellously proper man," and being the object of cordial esteem and re- spect by the prince. It was supposed that the premier in perspective was desirous to abridge the czar's power, and was- troubled by a sort of Eussophobia ; while the English court had no ■wish to see that of Eussia humbled, nor to abridge substantially Eussian influence. It ■was also represented that the court feared, in case of the advent of Lord Palmerston to power, that a rupture would take place between Eng- land and the German governments, who might be driven by the too energetic Englishman into hostilities on the side of Eussia. All these apprehensions, if entertained, were groundless ; that they existed to some extent there can be but Kttle doubt — at all events, such was the universal impression of the public. The prince was said to be very favourable to a Derby admi- nistration, if only the noble earl would pledge himself to a free-trade policy— Sir Eobert Peel, when in office, having thoroughly inocu- lated the mind of the prince with his free-trade opinions. Her majesty was said to have a de- cided preference for the old whig party — that of her august sire ; of her uncle, the Duke of Sussex; and of her faithful friend and servant. Lord Melbourne, under whose auspicious min- istry government affairs were conducted during the early years of her reign ; and who safely guided the bark of her majesty's royal interests through troubled waters, steering clear of many a rock, and doubling many a dangerous cape. She, accordingly, of her own judgment it was al- leged, sent for Lord Lansdowne, who most fitly represented the whig party on this occasion. After many exertions and much fruitless delay, during which the country was passing through a perilous crisis, Lord Lansdowne recommended her majesty to send for Lord John Eusstll. It had been Avell known that Lord Lansdowne sympathised with him through the complica- tions which brought the marquis into her majesty's presence as an especial adviser. His opinion was that Lord John should have the opportunit]^ of forming a ministry — an opinion which did not meet -with public favour, but which was represented to bo not unacceptable to the court, although the news of Lord John's recent conduct had not been well received there. His lordship soon found that none of his previous colleagues would co-operate with him, and he abandoned the attempt. Her ma,iesty then sent for Lord Palmerston, who undertook the onerous task of constructing a ministr)^ Her majesty's mode of procedure was regarded as strictly constitutioncd in every step of these diflloult proceedings; and, whatever her private feelings, she acted to the new premier with her well-known honour and good faith. Lord Palmerston, after some difficulty, succeeded in forming a government, which was in fact but a reconstruction of the old one. Lord Aberdeen, the Duke of Newcastle, and Lord John E,usse!l, were left out; and the only accession was Lord Pun- mure, who was nominated secretary of war. This nobleman was better known to the country, and perhaps to other countries, as the Honour- able Eox Maule. He had considerable expe- rience in ministerial matters, and was regarded both by statesmen and by the public as an upright and amiable man. Erom 1846 to 1852 he served in the Eussell administration as secretary at war: he afterwards served as president of the Board of Control, until the breaking up of the Eussell ministry. On Tuesday, the 8th of Eebruary, the new mi- nistry was completed, and was thus arranged: — First Lord of the Treasury . : . Vtsoount Palmerston. Lord Chancellor Lord Cranworth. President of the Council . . . . Earl Granville. Privy Seal Uuke of Argyle. Foreign Secretary Earl of Clarendon. Home Secretai-y Kt. Hon. S. Herbert, Colonial Secretary Sir George Grey. Minister of War Lord Panmurc. ,,.,,,,, I lU. Hon. W. E. Glad- Chancellor of the E.ichequer . | ^^^^^^ First Lord of the Admiralty . . Sir James Graham. Public 'Works Sir "W. Molesworth. In. the Cabinet, but without ofSce { '^fjif,'^''^ '^ ^^°=- President of the Board of Control Sir Charles Wood. On the 16th of Eebruary the house met for the transaction of business, and very eager was the public ear for the words that should fall from the lips of the new premier. He informed the house, with brevity and clearness, of the circumstances which placed him in the situa- tion he then held ; and bespoke in energetic, self-reliant, and courteous terms, the confidence of the commons of England. The suaviter m 36 HISTOEY OF THE WAR AaAINST EUSSIA. [CiiAP. LX. modo and thefortifer in re -n-ere blended in the tone, style, and substance of the premier's speech, as they are in his character. The house and the public were solicitous to hear his opinion and purpose concerning the appoint- ment of Mr. E-oebuck's committee, the resolu- tion for the necessity of -which had been so triumphantly carried. On this subject his lordship's words were — " I will not attempt to disguise that I feel the same objection to the appointment of the committee of which he has given notice as I expressed when the subject was first under discussion. My opinion is, that such a committee would, in its action, not be in accordance with the true and just prin- ciples of the constitution, and tliat it would not be, for the effectual accoraplfsliment of its purpose, a sufficient instrument." He pro- posed to institute a strict government investi- gation, which, Tinder the new regime, he con- cluded would satisfy the country. But it did not satisfy the country; and all the efforts of the premier and the cabinet to evade the searching and public scrutiny of a select com- mittee of the people's representatives were in vain. The premier presented a long list of contemplated improvements in the management of warlike matters; among others, he announced the commission of Sir JohnM'Neil and Colonel Tulloch, to which anticipatory reference has been made in this book. His lordship declared that this commission should have not only the right to inquire into the facts and causes of commissariat deficiencies, but also the power to appl)' remedies. Faith was hardly kept with the public in this particular, for no power to correct abuses was delegated, and the right to inquire was so vaguely given, that the commis- sioners were met with an undisguised disre- spect by the quartermaster-general's depart- ment. It was also stated that Major-general Simpson would be sent out as chief of the staff, and iu the exercise of the functions of that office relieve Lord Eaglan of multiform inconveniences connected with detail, — from which the French general-in-chief was exempt, and from which every general-in-chief ought to be exempt. The selection of General Simp- son was, however, so well understood to be a matter of favouritism on the part of Lord Panmure, that unpleasant impressions about the new administration of the War-office were prevalent. Lord Panmure was, however, in- capable of selecting an incompetent man, not- withstanding any prepossession he might have for him; and there could be no doubt that General Simpson was a man of integrity and diligence, whatever his military parts might prove to bo on so extensive a field of opera- tions. Many of the improvements, indeed most of them, which redeemed the position and gave efficiency to the army in the Crimea, were shadowed forth in the militar}- programme of the new premier. It was generally known that negotiations were about to be opened in Vienna, with a view to a treaty of peace. Lord Palmerston took the country, if not the house, by surprise in announcing that he had chosen Lord John Eussell as the representative of England at the conference about to ensue. This gave public satisfaction, as Lord John Kussell's recent con- duct, and the general disclosure upon the break- ing up of the cabinet, showed that his lordship had been a veiy warlike member of it. It was also well known that Lord John had chosen the appointment of president of the council when he was designated to that office, because he was dissatisfi.ed with the Peelite section of the cabinet as to their war polic}', or, at all events, as to their war practice ; and that he might have an opportunity, such as no other office could give him, of expressing freeh' his opinion as to the conduct of the War-office. The speeches of Lord John were also the most martial delivered by any civilian of the day, reminding people of Sidney Smith's remark about him, that he would not hesitate to take the command of the channel fleet. It seemed also wise of Lord Palmerston to neutralise the opposition of (perhaps to enlist) the section of the liberal party that adhered to Lord John Russell ^«r/ffs et nefas. On the whole, there- fore, the appointment was well received. Yet men of intelligence had great misgivings. These arose from two causes : one was the in- experience of Lord John in diplomatic engage- ments ; the other, the tendency which appeared so constantly in his conduct to " out-general" himself. That he meant well by his country was not doubted, but that he would take the most direct way to attain Her objects was doubted; while any other, with a man not a professed diplomatist, was not likely to be successful in the presence of the faithless and well-practised agents of Bussia and Austria. Thus in the more reflecting circles of English society the feeling about Lord John's appointment was chequered. The premier concluded his statements by the following appeal, which was received by the house, and by the people, with hope : — "If we succeed in obtaining peace on terms which afford security for the future against the recurrence of those disturbances of the peace of Europe which have led to the war, we shall feel that our first desire in under- taking the government at this moment has been accomplished in a manner as satisfactory to the country as to ourselves. But if, on the other hand, we fail, then the country will feel that we have no alternative but to go on with the war; and I am convinced that the country will, with greater zeal than ever, give its sup- port to a government which, having made CaAP. LX.] HISTOEY OF THE WAE AGAINST RUSSIA. 37 eTery possible^ attempt to obtain peace, and having failed in doing so, lias been compelled to carry on the war for the purpose of obtain- ing those results -which the sense and judg- ment of the country have approved. "We shall, then, throw ourselves upon the generous sup- port of parliament and the country, and that generous support I am confident we shall not ask in vain. I feel sure, that in such a state of things all minor differences, all mere party shades of distinction, will vanish ; and that men of all sides will feel that they ought to support the government of this country, and show the world the noble and glorious spectacle that a free people and a constitutional government can exhibit a life, a spirit, and an energy, a power of endtirance, and a vigour of action, that would be vainly sought for under despotic rule and arbitrary sway." Never was political speculation so rife in reference to the probable fortunes of a new ministry. At no period, hitherto, was public confidence in the capacity of a minister more complete; it was never more the interest of the nation to be unanimous, and to strengthen the hands of a competent minister ; mere party was never so much out of fashion, and never before altogether impracticable; and yet doubts, misgivings, and forebodings in reference to the intentions of the minister, the stability of the ministry, and the management of the public business, haunted the heart of the whole peo- ple. This was a state of things which ought to have been speedily removed by him, who, humanly speaking, alone could remove it — Henry John Temple, Viscount Palmerston. Let us analyse this state of mingled hesitancy, faith, and expectation. It is evident that the basis of it all was the view universally taken by men of the premier. His intellectual reputation was higher than his moral. No one can be sur- prised at that who is acquainted with his poli- tical history, or even watches him in a party debate. During the ministerial crisis, when he rose, on the part of the ministry, to reply to Lord John Hussell, there was a sang fr aid about his air and demeanour very pecuhar, and calcu- lated to leave the impression that he "knew all about it;" that what had happened was only what he had expected ; that it had aU entered into his calculations, and he knew how to. turn it to account. He seemed to regard Lord John as a very clever little thing, who was able to outwit himself; and who, without any sort of acknowledgment from the noble viscount, was to be allowed latitude enough to serve the expectant premier's purposes. The author of these pages listened earnestly to that debate, and he felt that there was a want of serious intent, and of earnest belief of things, in all Lord Palmerston's speech, which it appeared to him the house perceived. Yet this air of VOL. II. nonchalance vanishes, and the smile of intelli- gent and light intrigue which plays upon his face disappears, as soon as he takes a part in any great question where the national dignity is to be maintained in the face of foreign inso- lence or assumption. Only let the subject of his speech be England and her greatness and her glory, and he rises to the dignity of a glowing patriotism and an epic eloquence. If he have to act as well as speak, his deeds are as prompt as his words are heroic, and the bolt of English power flies from his hand with true aim and terrible certainty. There is no escape from his piercing perception of the emergency, and of the thing that ought to be done ; and no way of diplomatic wriggling from his masterly exposi of motive and object, however subtle the antagonist with whom he has to deal. No aristocratic sympathies, or diplomatic confraternity, will tempt him aside from a manly expression of opinion, and a direct English action, when the honour or in- terests of an English subject is invaded by a foreign state. This creates for him two classes of opponents at home — one is " the-peace-at- all-price" people. Messrs. Cobden and Bright, and all their immediate party, preach down and write down Lord Palmerston as a reckless politician, with a passion for war. They know that if an Englishman be injured in Austria, or Russia, or elsewhere, with the speed of lightning Lord Palmerston searches out the real character of the aggression, and demands redress ; whereas this party is for handing over such matters to the ordinary tribunals of the country where they occur, or of hushing them up altogether, leaving the individual to suffer, or at most to receive a money settlement of the matter. In this the Peelites agree with the Brightites, and both are heart and soul opposed to the foreign policy of Lord Palmerston in matters of individual redress, as well as where great principles of national honour and cha- racter are at stake. The other party opposed to him in these respects is the high tory. The Derbyites will never inconvenience an absolute government to redress the wrongs of a British subject. The minister and consuls chosen from among that party are too pleasantly situated at absolute courts to disturb themselves, or allow the embroilment of their despotic friends — with whom in heart they sympathise — because of any Bible-distributing young lady, or liberty- loving Englishman — at all events if their rank be beneath that of the aristocracy. With Lord Palmerston it matters not who offers the insult, or how insignificant the object of it, or in what remote portion of British territory he was born — the affront must be atoned for, and the hon- our of England, in the humblest of her subjects, be maintained. With a party who regards no British' subject unless he be rich or well 38 HISTOEY OE THE WAR AGAINST RUSSIA. ; Chap. LX. born, suob a mode of dealing with incidents and questions of that order is " dangerous to the in- terests of peace," and of good fellowship with foreign tyrants. "We have had of late years some striking exemplifications of the opposite mode of dealing in these matters — of Lord Pal- merston on the one hand, and both the Peelite and Derhyite sections of the conservatives on the other. Contrast the energy, justice, and national spirit of Lord Palmerston, in the case of Don Pacifico, with the tameness, timidity, and indifference to national honour of Lord Aberdeen in his transactions with M. Guizot, the Erenoh foreign minister of Louis Phillippe, in the case of Mr. Pritchard, our consul at Tahiti. Never, in a time of peace, did one nation offer such gross outrage to another as did Erance through her minister, M. Guizot, offer to England then; and never did a great nation peddle and cringe to avoid a resort to arms as did England, through her then minister for foreign affairs, Lord Aberdeen. Probably Lord Aberdeen was iniiuenced by his religious peculiarities, in the indifference he then dis- played to the wrongs of Mr. Pritchard, the murder of the Rev. Mr. M'Kean, and the in- vasion of a country whose only offence was loving England, and looking to her for religious instruction and protection. "With Lord Pal- merston it makes no difference what the religion of the wronged Englishman may be — an Irish I^oman Catholic, a Hindoo Brahmin, or an English bishop, would be protected with the same spirit. Again, contrast the conduct of Lords Palmerston and Malmesbury in the case of the Austrian outrage which was perpetrated a few years ago in Elorence. A young gentle- man, named Mather, was cut down in the streets by the sabre of an Austrian officer, be- cause he was an Englishman — as Englishmen were then presumed to favour Italian liberty. Mr. Mather was a youth of some seventeen years of age, perfectly inoffensive, and, as was afterwards admitted on all hands, offering in no way the slightest grounds for suspicion that he meddled with anything, or mixed with any persons, or did any action calculated to give umbrage to Austria. He was a peaceable Eng- lish gentleman, and was an object of Austrian revenge and resentment, because his country sympathised with the nationalities which Aus- tria oppressed. Mr. Mather's father, a gentle- man known to the writer of these pages to be a man of unblemished honour, a patriot, a philanthropist, and a most public-spirited, useful English citizen, hastened to the scene of the outrage; and instead of finding Mr. Scarlett, our charge d'affadres, protecting the English youth and affirming English honour, he was using his best exertions to induce young Mr. Mather to surrender his national rights and dignity, and attempting to suppress the whole case by transferring it to the local tri- bunals, where he knew no redress would be obtained. So sure was he of effecting this, that he wrote so to Lord Malmesbury, and it was triumphantly announced by the ministry in parliament that the matter was taken out of their hands. This of course had to be con- tradicted. Mr. Mather demanded investigation and redress on behalf of his son, and that the honour of his country should be vindicated. Pecuniary compensation was offered him, which he refused to accept, unless an apology on the part of the Austrian government, and the punishment of the officer, were ensured. The result was that Lord Malmesbury, who was more the minister of Austria than of Eng- land in the transaction, informed parliament that an apology was made, but of what sort, or in what terms, no information was given. The Austrian officer who perpetrated the cowardly outrage was never punished, but petted and supported hy Ms government, while Mr. Mather was deserted ly his. The wounded youth, as he slowly recovered, might see any day the epauletted ruffian who aimed at his life, swaggering about Elorence in the uniform he dishonoured, but to the more open dis- honour of the English name. As this occurred just upon the change of government at home, Lord Palmerston had to do with a part of the transaction, and, as usual, his part was full of English spirit and honour. He expressed, in terms of unmistakeable censure, his views of the conduct of our Eoreign- office and our minister in Tuscany. To use his own words, the "Messrs. Mather were the only persons- who acted properly in the whole transaction." Einally, Mr. Mather was again offered a money compensation, which he indignantly spurned, on the principle that the outrage was upon his country, and unless her honour was vindicated, he could not accept a personal amend of any sort. Such instances of the superiority of Lord Palmerston to the usual school of foreign ministers, secretaries, and employees accounted for the confidence entertained in his vigour and patriotism. But there was an impression that he would be hampered by his colleagues, and that he would trust too much to time- serving and expertness in managing them him- self. The employment of Mr. Frederick Peel was generally regarded as boding no good. Already Lord Palmerston's colleagues had overruled him in several matters ; and there were not wanting symptoms of officialism, routine, and delay^ calculated to damage his ministry at the very outset. The country was involved in a con- flict of terrible omen, and surrounded \)y perils that met not the popular eye, and it required all the vigilance and activity on her part, pos- sessed by her foe, to come with safety and honour through the crisis. Unless Lord Palmer- Chap. LXI.] HISTOET OP THE WAS, AGAINST ETJSSIA. 39 stoa OYerruled the obstructions of his cabinet, and the pro-Kussian feeling that lingered there, it was feared that his government must perish, or^ the nation stand upon the verge of ruin. ' His selection of Lord John Eussell as her majesty's plenipotentiary at Vienna, vi^as con- sidered at all events adroit, as a piece of government and parliamentary address; but his resistance of Mr. Eoebuck's motion, how- ever necessary to the protection of the mem- bers of his cabinet, and therefore necessary to his position, weakened public confidence. The expectation of the people was that he would trust to them; and borne to power already by their moral force, they were able to bear him back again in case of his dismission, if he would only be true to them, and surround himself by men entitled to the esteem of the country. CHAPTEE LXI. HOME EVENTS CONTINUED.— CLASS JEALOUSIES IN ENGLAND.— SECESSION OP THE PEELITES FEOM THE PALMEESTON CABINET. — AGITATION BY THE PEACE PARTY. — EFFORTS OF KOSSUTH, MAZZINI, AND THE FRIENDS OF THE NATIONALITIES TO INDUCE ENGLAND TO "WIDEN THE OBJECTS OF THE "WAE.— DISPATCH OF REINFORCEMENTS TO THE ARMIES OF THE ALLIES, ETC. *' There is a secret socialism — a ^ood, a pure, a sacred thing — constantly at work for the advantage of the nation, and its recognition by all would speedily destroy that anti-sooial error which has split society into fragments, and diffused the pernicious fallacy that the degradation and bondage of one class are necessary to the elevation and freedom of another.'' — Ruv. Wm. Leask, D.D. How happy would it be for our England, if the truth of this motto were felt and under- stood throughout her empire ! It was not so during the opening months of the year 1856. The populace in England were intensely jealous of the influence of the aristocracy; and the latter were alarmed lest the mismanage- ment of the war should set the people upon depriving them of the almost exclusive pos- session of the government. There was a general disposition to merge mere party for the public good, but the spirit of class would make no concession. Dr. Leask has eloquently written : — "Visi- ble socialism — a confederacy which should destroy the natural and artificial classifications of society, would do violence to the very idea of the social compact. This kind of socialism has failed wherever it has been tried. It deserved to fail. It was chaotic. It sought the world's sufiurage without maturing its claims. It bounded to conclusions without an examination of the intermediate steps. It pretended to renovate society before it had tested the influences at its disposal. It assumed the existence of a material in human nature which experience said was not forthcoming. It propounded doctrines which had no practical counterpart. It announced a path through the dark forests of habit, custom, and tradition, whilst it rejected the clearest light within the reach of man to guide it to the poetic paradise on the other side. "With the light of Chris- tianity, which is the best exponent of humanity as it is, we may go far to develop the true ideas of socialism, to see what are our indi- vidual and what are our- social interests, to what extent they are identified and where they are separable, wherein they take shape and colouring from the great community, and wherein they are sacred and individual. Eut without this light we shall fail, and go back to the age of feudalism, and confound might with right, and powerlessness with criminality. A community whose members look upon each other as equally privileged citizens of a free state, and hail each other as partakers of the same humanity, whilst the honestly reached successes of one imply no injitry to the inte- rests of another, comes up to the idea of this true theory. But a community demanding uniformity as one of its leading characteristics, in the position of men differently endowed and of diverse character, has to contend with diffi- culties, both mental and moral, which it cannot surmount." The spirit commended and the policy pro- claimed to be necessary in these words did not animate the governing septs in England ; they regarded the war from a selfish, home point of view. Their constant apprehension was, how far its course would bring the middle and lower classes into power. On the other hand, every unhappy circumstance which occurred in the Crimea, or in connection with the expedition — if it were ever so plainly attributable to indi- vidual failing, or unforeseen and fortuitous antecedents — was set down to the influence of the aristocracy ; although none could deny that they were prodigal alike of their blood and treasure for the nation's glory. It cannot be matter of surprise if, with such a pulse in the public heart, the motion of Mr. Eoebuck, referred to in the last chapter, should affect all the exigencies of party, and fire all the jealousy of class. The efforts of the Palmerston govern- ment to stave off the inquiry, to humour the house, and cajole Mr. Eoebuck, were all futile. He would have his committee appointed, and the house would appoint it ; and Lord Palmer- 40 HISTOllY OF THE WAR AGAIITST RUSSIA. [Chap. LXL ston had no alternative to submission to the fiat of the commons, except resignation of office. He was too patriotic, and yet too am- bitious, to adopt that alternative. He resolved to fall in with the appointment of a com- mittee, hut at the same time to modify its com- position, so as to avert, if possible, any strong resolutions or report against his late and present colleagues. He was himself exempt from danger, as every one know that Lord Aberdeen and his clique had studiously kept Lord Pal- merston from all active connection, either with the management of foreign affairs or of the war. On the 22nd February the House of Commons was astounded to learn from the premier that several of the leading members of his cabinet had resigned : these were Sir James Graham, Mr. Gladstone, and Mr. Sidney Herbert, and it was announced that the next evening they would assign their reasons for that step. On the 23rd, accordingly, these gentlemen again appeared before the house as ex-ministers, offering explanations which were in substance, that they supposed their joining a new ministry cancelled the old responsibility ; that the com- mittee of inquiry was unconstitutional ; it was the business of the queen and her government to look into abuses, and not the representatives of the people, who were thus impinging upon the rights of the crown and the dignity of office. Sir James Graham threw out something like a menace that the French emperor would be offended, as no inquiry could take place which would not bring out certain matters connected with our ally tending to disturb the entente cordiale. The speech of Sir James Gra- ham was cunning and clear ; that of Mr. Sidney Herbert, proud and impudent ; that of Mr. Glad- stone, casuistical and sophistical: all failed to produce any moral influence upon the house. The committee was appointed ; the original list of Mr. Roebuck having been opposed by the premier as ex parte, another was substituted, which consisted of Mr. Roebuck, Mr. Drum- mond, Sir J. Pakington, Mr. Layard, Colonel Lindsay, Mr. EUiee, Lord Seymour, Sir G. C. Lewis, Mr. Ball, and Mr. Branston. Lord Palmerston obtained Sir Charles "Wood in place of Sir G. Graham, a man of inferior talents, but superior moral weight. Sir G. Corn- wall Lewis became chancellor of the exchequer, who was much inferior to Mr. Gladstone in that post, but a man of more direct mind and reliable opinions. Mr. Yernon Smith vas made president of the Board of Control. Lord John Russell, who was (as before noticed) nominated to the Vienna conference, accepted the Colonial- office, which Sir George Grey occupied ad mterim, as well as the Home- office, which he accepted en permanence. The secession of those men from the cabinet, to whom our mili- tary disasters were mainly attributable, was a great moral gain to the administration, and in the long run saved the premiership of Lord Palmerston. "We admit to a certain extent the administrative abilities of Sir James Graham, but he is not the man in this respect which he formerly was; he never merited all the eulogy for his administration of the navy which, by common consent, was conceded to him. He was showy and dextrous as an administrator, just as he is in debate and in the cabinet; but his agility, like that of the elephant, is counter- balanced by a certain heaviness. In the cabinet he is more crafty than wise, more to be con- sulted in reference to party tactics than the fate of nations. In parliament his oratory is flowerj', and has a certain specious persuasive- ness and trick of debate ; whUe his manner is heavy, his features dull, and no lofty concep- tion, or original thought, or sound and settled principle, ever characterises his displays. At the Admiralty his administration was in character with the man elsewhere. There was a want of principle in his promotions, a want of far- sightedness in his plans, and of late there had been a want of general efficiency ; while all that he did was very showy, and with a certain slight-of-hand air of performance which has gained him credit for other qualities — such as promptitude and readiness, to which he never had much claim. With all his cunning, he is a rash man — rash often in his parliamentary and party speeches, and in his administrative capacity. The imprudence of his celebrated Education Bill, which he brought forward with such ostentatious vigour, and which, after disturbing the whole country by its means, he was obliged ignominiously to with- draw, is an exemplification. In character with this was his speech at the dinner of the Reform Club, when Sir C. Napier was enter- tained previous to taking command of the Baltic fleet — a speech as imprudent as ever was delivered by any English statesman, ex- cepting Sir James Graham himself. If the charges of Sir Charles Napier be true, the secession of Sir James Graham was no loss to the cabinet or the Admiralty. No man was more addicted to official insolence than Sir James (unless it be Mr. Herbert), and we believe him, therefore, quite capable of the affronts and the tyranny attributed to him by Sir C. Napier. No reliance can be placed on Sir James. During the discussion of the corn laws, the provost of a certain city, whom he professed greatly to respect, received from him a letter in which he admitted that the city and town population of Great Britain were in favour of the repeal, but that he did not recognise theirs as public opinion; when, however, he advocated the entire abolition of the com duties, one of the arguments most insisted upon by him was, the opinion of the great Chap. LXI.] HISTOEY OF THE WAR AGAINST EUSSIA. 41 cities, as the public opinion of the nation. He has been in politics a radical, a whig, a conservative -whig, radical whig, conservative, democrat, and an aristocrat, and spoke with the same invidious and rancorous personality as the advocate of each. In political economy- he has been a free-trader and a protectionist, a whig fixed-duty man, a Peelite sliding-scale man, and an absolute repealer of all taxes on corn. Who can forget his descriptions of rural life and of rustic happiness in England, in his speeches for the "country party," at the very time he was plotting to undermine their mono- poly ? His monetary schemes comprehend all systems, and the destruction of every system. He was a champion of the Birmingham school, and of its antagonist the Manchester school ; has defended bank monopoly, and thundered for free-banking ; has denounced "rag-money," and pleaded for an extension of a paper system. In religion his versatility has been equally evident. He has favoured free-thinking, and denounced infidelity; has made speeches against the high church party, and yet drew up a plan for placing the system of education entirely in their hands ; has spoken for the rights of dissent, and put a clause in his Education Bill empowering a policeman to enter the educa- tional premises of dissenters, and report con- cerning them. Mr. Herbert was too pert an official, and his insolent defiance of the House of Commons was the most contemptuous and insulting thing ever ofiered to that house. Instead of bemoaning the fact which he alleged, that the mismanagement of the war was beyond investigation, ho, in a tone of triumph, " defied " the house to find it out. The house was at last on its mettle, and its prestige must have followed that of the military and civil departments, if the aristocratic inso- lence of Mr. Herbert had failed to rouse its members to a sense of their dignity and power as tlie people's representatives. Mr. Gladstone was, with all his peculiarities, a loss to the government. He was not a bad chancellor of the exchequer, and although he shared with Sir James Graham and Mr. Hayter the odium of the wretched transport mis- management, — the Treasury, and the cliancellor of the exchequer, partaking with the Admiralty in that matter, — yet he had attended with ability to that which was more properly his own department. Lord Palmerston had a high opinion of Mr. Gladstone's parts, ; yet after all he went on better without his aid, for the country no longer trusted him. The premier took a wise course. He knew well when forming his cabinet that it would be weeded for him by Mr. Eoebuok's motion, and with his usual foresight and inimitable tact he acted accordingly. The country now had a more homogeneous ministry, while the seceders could have no just excuse for opposing Lord Palmerston, To get rid of them on such terms was the very perfection of management, and the noble premier stood before the country in a more popular position, associated with more popular men. These ministerial changes, and the dis- cussions to which they led, greatly disturbed the country, and injured its moral influence abroad. The reputations of public men in Eng- land, both as to capacity and integrity', became much impaired, both at home, in our extensive colonies, and beyond the limits of the empire. It would have been strange if the two parties at home opposed to the war did not take advan- tage of the ministerial interregnum, and the difficulties of forming a cabinet, to press their views upon the public ; possibly expecting that the political tinge of the new administration, before quite settled down in office, might be taken from their light, in which they exhibited the national interests and honour. The peace party made excessive exertions to show that the real evil was the war itself, that for its existence we were as a nation responsible, and that whatever ministry obtained peace for us ought to be supported. The other party was that which was in- fluenced by Kossuth, Mazzini, and their Eng- lish copyists. They did not denounce a war with Eussia, but rather the object for which it was waged. They would have . the British people forget altogether the original cause of the quarrel, and to wage battle on new moral and political grounds, demanding the recog- nition of the nationalities from all invaders and despots, and allowing of no peace until Poland, Hungary, and Italj', were independent. The result of these agitations was that a con- fused notion began to creep among the lower orders of the people that the contest was with- out definite aim, and it was no uncommon thing to hear the inquiry among thinking men among the working classes, "Why have we gone to war?" It is necessary to notice tho operation of these parties, because all through the conflict they tried to embarrass the govern- ment, and those by whom the government was morally and politically sustained ; and their action will explain the course Avhich debates frequently took in the House of Com- mons, which would otherwise be scarcely intelligible to persons abroad, or in the colonies. It was not surprising that much ignorance and delusion existed, when the nonsense talKed at public meetings by men who considci'ed themselves politicians, and the absurdities pro- pounded by a portion of the press — from which better sense might be expected — concerning the nationalities, were taken into account. Eussia is a despotic state ; her ruler is an autocrat her people are slaves; and the orators and 42 HISTOET OF THE WAE AGAINST EUSSIA. [Chap. LXI, writers we refer to, imagined that our object OTiglit to have beea to abridge the power of EuBsia because of her despotism. As well might we go to war with the Pope, because there is an absolute ecclesiastical authority represented by the triple crown ; or with the TJnited States, because one-seventh of her population are slaves. Every state has a right to regulate its own social and political condition, irrespec- tive of other states ; and it would be as much a violation of the true principles of freedom to force upon any country our ideas of govern- ment, as it would to enslave a portion of our own citizens. If the principle of interference with the internal regulations of independent states be allowed at all, the absolute govern- ments of Europe have clearly as good a relative right to interfere for absolutism as the Ameri- can ITnion for republicanism, or the United Kingdom for constitutionalism. Our only justi- fication for interference is, where some other foreign state lends force to one of the parties in an internecine struggle, and we, justly jea- lous for the security of our own principles of government, prove by arms our friendship for the other contending party, or prevent the aid of the foreign element opposed to our own sympathies. It was the violation of this clear rule of national relations, on the part of both Eussia and France towards Turkey, that con- strained our interposition after every method conceivable was used to avoid the dernier res- sort. "We had nothing to do with the forms of government or religious belief of our enemies or allies in the war. It was not the less just, because we were allied with despots, heretics, or infidels; nor the more just, because our opponent governed with a ruthless tyranny the nations ranged beneath his sway. It has become popular of late years, through the exertions of the peace party, to sneer at the "balance of power," as if it were one of the exploded motives of national conflict, or only existed in the used-up brains of jaded diplo- matists, and English foreign secretaries. But if war can be justified on any ground, the preservation of this balance must ever be the concern of nations, even with the alternative of the sword. England was herself the object of European jealousy, because of her great maritime ascendancy, until the loss of her American provinces reassured the mind of Europe — it being (erroneously) supposed that the independence of those provinces would be a deadly blow to England's empire of the seas. Eude a state as is Persia, and barbarous as are the petty despotisms of Central Asia, they have all sagacity enough to see that the adjustment of this very balance, where England, through her Indian empire, or Eussia, may kick the beam, must be the all-influencing consideration of their national existence. All the vacillations of Persia, during this war and this century, were attributable to a cunning perception of this fact, and a feeble dealing with it, and not to the mere ignorance and fickleness which it is the fashion of many political writers to ascribe to her. Tippoo Saib perished in a daring attempt to turn the scale against Eng- land; and no thoughtful man can judge other- wise than in favour of the sagacity, as well as courage, of that politic and powerful prince. He foresaw that French influence in India must retire step by step before the superior resources of England, and it was more to his interest to aid the former — for if with his assistance the greater force were expelled, he might ultimately assaU the weaker in turn with better prospect of success. In the conduct and spirit of the Americans, we see how even free nations wiU be jealous of one another, with a rational and well-founded jealousy, which identity of language, religion, and blood can only mollify, but not heal. The United States sympathised to some extent with Eussia in the war, and necessarily. The union of the great naval powers for the regulation of political boundary on this continent, may be followed by a similar action on that. In the union of these two proud and potent powers, one of them an American as well as a European power, the United States must see danger, and she would strengthen herself as she best can against any prospect of dictation to herself from such a source. "Were the United States forced into a war with allied England and France, her whole sea-board would be crushed by the thunder of their fleets, her coasts ravaged, her commerce destroyed, and her progress im- mensely retarded. That these so great rivals, as she deems them, should be occupied nearer home, secures her from such peril. "Would that we could say that her government did not, in a selfish and ambitious policy, desire the occupation of France and England in a European war, that she might have freer scope for the designs of aggrandisement entertained by a certain portion of her citizens. If then our statesmen armed the country against the encroachments of a formidable military and naval nation, they did not plunge it into an unnecessary or even avoidable con- flict — unless all the motives for war, even self- defence, be unchristian. Assuming, for argu- ment's sake at least, that defensive war is de- fensible, then it was politic to conduct it rather on the banks of the Pruth than of the Thames, on the shores of the Crimea rather than in the Channel. Allowing that here there was a general con- ~ currence, yet the popular feeling as to the objects that should be held in view needed cor- rection. It was urged that, being at war with Eussia, we ought to settle every question, pre- Chap. LXI.] HISTOEY OE THE WAR AGAINST KUSSIA. 43 Bent and possible, before we concede a peaces— tbe liberation of Poland, tbe surrender of Fin- land to Sweden, tbe abrogation of the Eusso- Danisb treaty, tbe cession of the provinces lately torn from Persia, the surrender of all tbe conquests made within this century from Turkey, and that Eussia should retire a thou- sand mUes along her eastern boundaries, so that she might be placed far remote from the possible invasion at any time of our Eastern dominions. Such arguments were urged with the more vehemence as it was supposed that Lord John Eussell ought to receive from the premier such directions in reference to the conference at Yienna as conform to this spirit. The Kossuth and Mazzini agitators forgot that although all these things might be admitted to be desideratihy our statesmen, they were not all possible. If aU the powers in Europe should stand by, and leave us to fight it out with Eussia, we could not hope to efi'ect such changes unaided in this generation, if the like could ever be efiected by us. If the other powers of Europe would not be mere spectators, it is plain that they would take a part in common with their own interest, and perhaps their sense of justice in some cases. Had we demanded the liberation of Poland, the demand would have been tantamount to a declaration of war against Austria and Prussia as well as Eussia ; and however well able to defeat aU three, if our assailants, we could never accomplish such an object as their assailants. For defence, we can defy a world in arms ; for attack our power is limited by the nature of our demand, and the vul- nerability of that which is attacked. "We could not have conquered Poland from the Northern powers — Louis Kossuth's own speeches fur- nished proof of this ; and it was hardly conside- rate of that noble and generous man to look at such a question from a Hungarian point of view only or chiefly. We must, when so loudly called upon to act, regard it both from a British point of view, and in the comprehensiveness of Euro- pean policy and universal principles. We can- not demand the cession of Finland, while the Swede hesitates to join us in the demand ; we cannot proclaim the independence of a people who cannot maintain it ; we cannot make Finland a province of our own empire without a war with Northern Europe. As to the Eusso-Danish treaty of dynasty, the most we could in justice attempt would be the protec- tion of the people of Denmark in repudiating it, or attack Eussia whenever she essays to enter upon possession. As to the limitation of ■ Russian power in the East, our demands should be measured by the will of the countries which Eussia has plundered, by the disposition of the provinces she has appropriated, by the relative strength this war might reveal, and by the policy of our allies. We cannot do everything everywhere just as we like, from Petropaulovski to St. Petersburg; and it is unfortunate that the egotism of our people expends so much time upon such injurious bravado. What our statesmen and allies really aimed at in this war should have been understood by our people from the beginning. The independ- ence of Turkey, as far as Eussian protection and spepial treaties were concerned, and the free navigation of the Danube and the Euxine, com- prised the objects of the contest on our part. Upon these the unanimity of allies and the good wishes of the governments and citizens of Europe were secured. If our demands had been widened before new events clearly and in- disputably required, division among the allies would have resulted, and among such parties at home as, for the purpose of the war actually waged, were united. The great duty was to prosecute the enterprise upon which the nation had set out with singleness of eye, until Eussia was made to feel that the day of her encroach- ments was over, and that upon any attempt to widen her bounds, confederated Europe would demand fresh guarantees, by contracting her territory, or permanently weakening her offen- sive position. During the early part of March some further changes took place in the ministry. Sir Eobert Peel, Bart., accepted the office of a lord of the Admiralty, rendered vacant by the Hon. W. Cooper, who was appointed to the under-secre- taryship of the Home department. The other appointments were subsidiary to these. It was very gratifying to the country that Sir Eobert Peel accepted office. He was regarded as the most able man of the Peel family, and not a mere copyist of his father, or an adherent to the Peelite faction, but an independent thinker and a liberal politician. One of the last acts of the Aberdeen ministry was very popular, but it was not followed up zealously and generously by the new adminis- tration. It was the institution of a cross for military merit, and the badge was to be be- stowed upon the judgment of the peers of the candidate for the honour. Having described the political and parlia- mentary agitations, and the ministerial changes by which the mode of carrying on the war was undoubtedly affected, the reader's attention can be more easily directed to various other home matters influencing the war, or arising out of it. Yery warm discussions arose in connection with the religious views of Miss Nightingale and "the sisters." WhUe all admired their self-denial, there was a numerous class who supposed them to be influenced by what is called Puseyite opinions, in their zeal for spread- ing which in the army they were led to incur so many hardships, privations, and risks. A lady under these apprehensions having writteu 44 HISTOEY or THE WAE AGAIlSrST ETJSSIA. [Crav. LXL to Mrs. Herbert on the subject, received from her the following reply : — "Madam, — By this post I send you a Chris- tian Times of Friday week last, by which you will sec how cruel and unjust are the reports you mention about Miss Nightingale and her noble work. Since then we have sent forty- seven more nurses, of which I enclose you a list. " It is melancholy to think that in Christian England no one can undertake anything with- out these most uncharitable aii,d sectarian at- tacks ; and, had you not told me so, I should scarcely have believed that a clergyman of the Established Church could have been the mouth- piece of slander. " Miss Nightingale is a member of the Esta- blished Church of England, and what is called Low-Church. But ever since she went to Scu- tari her religious opinions and character have been assailed on all points ; one person writes to upbraid us for having sent her, 'under- standing she is a Unitarian,' another, ' that she is a Eoman Catholic,' and so on. It is a cruel return to make towards one to whom all England owes so much. "As to the charge of no Protestant nurses being sent, the subjoined list will convince you of its fallacy. We made no distinctions of creed ; any one who was a good and skilful nurse, and understood the practice in surgical wards, was accepted — provided, of course, that we had their friends' consent, and that in other respects, as far as one could judge, they were of unexceptionable character. "A large proportion of the wounded being Eoman Catholics, we accepted the services of some of the Sisters of Charity from St. Ste- phen's Hospital, in Dublin. " I have now told you all, and feel sure that you will do your utmost to set these facts plainly before those whose minds have been disquieted by these unfair and false accusations. "I should have thought that the names of Mr. and Mrs. Bracebridge, who accompanied and are remaining with Miss Nightingale, would have been sufficient guarantees of the evangelical nature of the work. But it seems nothing can stop the stream of sectarian bitter- ness. I remain, madam, yours very faithful, "Elizabeth Hekbeet." " If you wish for any more numbers of the Christian Times, I can send them to you. LIST. " The first party of nurses sent out on the 23rd of October, were Miss Nightingale and 38, viz. :— Erom St. John's House .... 6 Erom Miss Sellon's 8 Selected hospital nurses .... 14 Eoman Catholic Sisters of Charity 10 —38 " The second party of nurses, sent out on the 2nd of December, were 47, viz. : — Erom St. John's House .... 2 Protestant ladies 10 Selected hcspital nurses (Protestant) 20 Eoman Catholic Sisters of Charity 15 —47 "Total, 86 nurses; of whom CO are Pro- testants, and 26 Eoman Catholics." Another of the discussions which engaged the public mind at home was one raised by the Earl of Dundonald. His lordship pro- fessed to be in possession of a secret, by which he could blow up the fortresses of Sebastopol, Cronstadt, or any other, however stupendous. It would be impossible to lay the merits of his lordship's proposals before the reader except in his own words. The following communica- tion of the gallant and noble sailor was made to a London daily journal : — March 10, 1855. " SiE, — Peace being desirable not only for the interests of our country, but for those of the world at large, and the negotiations now pending being doubtless injuriously influenced by the obstinate resistance of Sebastopol (which could be overcome in a day), and by the impossibility of successfully attacking Cron- stadt by naval means (which might be as speedily reduced), I have drawn up a petition to parliament, in order that secrecy and silence on my part, and deficiency of information on that of the public, may no longer prove inju- rious to the success of our arms. Hostilities having proceeded so far, assuredly it is more expedient to reduce a restless nation to a third or fourth-rate power than be ourselves reduced. "Let not my motive be mistaken. I have no wish to command a fleet of lOO-gun ships, or to attack first-rate fortresses by encased batteries or steam gun-boats ; that which .1 desire is, first, secretly to demonstrate to com- petent persons the efficiency of my plans, and then to obtain authority (during eight or ten days of fine weather) to put them in execution. "The means I contemplate are simple, cheap, and safe in execution. They would spare thou- sands of lives, millions of monej-, great havoc, and uncertainty of results. Their consequences might, and probably would, effect the emanci- pation of Poland and give freedom to the usurped territories of Sweden. " Those who judge unfavourably of all aged naval commanders assuredly do not reflect that the useful employment of the energies of thou- sands and tens of thousands of men can best be developed and directed by a mind instructed by long observation, matured by reflection; an advantage to which physical power — that could clear its way by a broadsword — can bear no comparison. My unsupported opinion, Chap. LXI.] HISTORY OF THE WAR AGAINST RUSSIA. 45 in regard to a naval enterprise in 1809, proved to be correct. Every other undertaking in the British service, in which I was concerned, and as commander-in-chief in Chili, Peru, Brazil, and Greece, -was successful, and so would the protracted and unaccomplished undertaking, so injurious to the result of negotiation, have succeeded, had I possessed sufficient influence to he patiently listened to. " I am, sir, " Tour obliged and obedient servant, " DtrUDOlfAlD." \Presented March 9, 1855,] TO THE ■SOS. THE COMUOKS IN" PAELIAMENT ASSEMBLED. The Fetition of Thomas Sari of Simdonald, Admiral of the WJtite, HujiBLY showeth, — That in the year 1811 your peti- tioner discovered, and after deliberate consideration had the honour, in the year 1812, to disclose to his Koyal Highness the Prince Eegent a simple, yet irresistible means, -whereby ordinary implements in war might be dispensed with, and speedy and successful results ensured. That his royal highness was pleased to appoint a com- mission to investigate the subject, consisting of the most competent persons of that period, whose report was so favourable that his royal highness ordered the attendance of your petitioner, and commanded secrecy, which had been imposed on Lord Keith, Lord Exmouth, and on General and Colonel Congreve, his Eoyal Highness the Duke of Tovk being president of the commission. That with this injunction your petitioner faithfully complied, although l^e could have put his plans in exe- cution in foreign service to his own great personal advan- tage. That after your petitioner's return from abroad, and when an apprehension of war had again arisen at home, your petitioner presented his plans to his majesty King William (who had honoured your petitioner in early life with favour), and whose professional knowledge en- abled him to judge of their applicability. That his majesty, satisfied therewith, was pleased, in the most flattering manner, to manifest the high estima- tion in which he held the loyalty and disinterested con- duet of your petitioner. That on a subsequent threat of war since the accession of her present majesty, the question of the merits of your petitioner's plan was on a similar occasion submitted to the most honourable the cabinet council, wherein ingenuous and expanded minds, impressed with sentiments similar to those which actuated his late mojt-stj^, recommended and obtained a gracious manifestation of royal justice. That in February and in July, last year, your petitioner again offered his said plans, and sanctioned their reference to a secret commission of naval officers, in order that a professional report might be made as to their practic- ability and efficiency, which report, however, was confined to an opinion as to their expediency, perhaps originating in an erroneous impression as to the endurance of iron- bound floating batteries, all of which your petitioner will engage to subdue, even were they added to the defences of Cronstadt. That your petitioner, foreseeing the impracticability of capturing numerous and powerful fortifications by the means now in preparation, again most respectfully offers his plans and his services to accomplish these objects, reserving the encased batteries and steam gun-boats entire, and ready for the brief and easy task of destroying the hostile fleet. That your petitioner begs that, should these premises and the prayer hereunto annexed seem to your honour- able house exaggerated or unreasonable, you will be pleased to take into your consideration that, had electric communication and photographic delineation been pri- vately known and publicly announced, these incontest- able realities would have been received as an insult to the understanding. Therefore your petitioner humbly prays, that your VOL. H. honourable house will be pleased, by a searching inquiry, to ascertain wliether the aforesaid secret plans are capable, speedily, certainly, and cheaply to surmount obstacles which "our gallant, persevering, and costly armies and fleets have failed to accomplish. DUNDONALD. Another discussion, which produced consi- derable excitement, was as to the state of our fortifications. Some years before, the Duke of "Wellington and Sir John Burgoyne had called attention to the fact, that our country was almost defenceless against any, sudden invasion by a great military power such as France. These distinguished men were opposed vehe- mently by the peace party, as urging upon the nation an unnecessary cost, and provoking a spirit of aggression on the part of France by the disposition to distrust her. Parliament also received coldly these propositions. The disasters in the Crimea awakened the national anxiety, and the discussion assumed new force. Earl Grey brought the subject before the House of Lords, and strongly urged upon the govern- ment that all works of fortification should be suspended until a general committee of scien- tific and military men should inspect them, and pronounce upon their efficiency. A remarkable letter was published by Mr. Fergusson, whose writings on earthworks in fortifications had attracted so much attention. This letter startled the public, and gave a new stimulus to the discussions prevailing on the subject : — Langham Flace, March 1 7. "... . The Royal Engineers have the privilege of keeping their works secret till it is too late to remedy them, and even then no documents are published which would enable the general public to judge for itself of the correctness of any assertion, or to refute or support any argument which may be adduced. "It is probable that Earl Grey, from his position, is fully aware of the facts of the case, and spoke from intimate knowledge of the sub- ject, at least from personal inspection of nearly all the works now being erected for the defence of our coasts; I can vouch for the accuracy of every word he said. With scarcely an excep- tion, they are masonry buildings, and in plan and profile belong to the atitiquated systems of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. "The fort, for instance, recently erected for the defence of Liverpool is a little stone castle, with a battery of ten or twelve guns, so closely jammed together in masonry embrasures, that one broadside from a line-of-battle ship would dismount the whole ; or, if the ship chose to pass the fort — which she could easily do at the distance of 1200 or 1500 yards — at the rate of ten or twelve knots an liour, the chances are very much against a single shot striking her. Our recent experience in the Black Sea and Baltic, has proved that she might safely calcu- late on doing this with scarcely the loss of a 46 HISTOEY or THE WAE. AGAINST EUSSIA. [Chap. LXI. single man, and, having done it, Liverpool 'is at her mercy; yet, for a very small sum of money, properly applied, this town might be made perfectly secure against such attacks. The forts recently erected in the Isle of Wight are even worse than this. Fort Victoria is so placed that a ship may easily pass it out of effective range of its guns, or, if attacking it, there is deep water within 150 yards of its guns, and they are so badly placed that only one out of its principal battery of twenty-one guns can see, or fire at, the attacking vessel. Like another small fort erecting at the cliif's end, it is wholly of brickwork, and both are so constructed that they would crumble to pieces far more rapidly than the towers of Bomarsund. Tet this is not the worst. These forts are' utterly incapable of defence on the land side, and, in consequence, a strong re- doubt is now being erected at Freshwater to protect their rear, and every bay in the Isle of Wight must have its redoubt, or all our pains will be thrown away — for the enemy would certainly choose those places which are undefended in preference to those which are more or less fortified. The same system is being pursued at Portsmouth and along the Sussex coast. Small forts incapable of defend- ing themselves are erected on certain spots, and then other forts are erected to protect them, and these must be multiplied ai infini- ttim before we get to the end of the chain. " If these forts were merely ' shell-traps,' as Earl Grey most properly termed them, it would be a small evil ; but they are also, unfortunately, 'man- traps,' and as each will require scientific and thoroughly trained sol- diers to defend it, we shall find when the.y are all garrisoned, as they must be, that nearly the whole available strength of the regiment of artillery is parcelled out into bodies of 50, 100, or 200 men, and when once they are safely looked up in these innumerable fortlets the country is open to the enemy. " If the military history of Europe has proved one thing during the last three cen- turies, it is that this parcelling out of an army into small detached garrisons is the surest way of facilitating the invasion of a country ; yet we are pursuing this course on a more Lilli- putian scale than ever was adopted before, and if we continue in the same path, we shall render the invasion of this country one of the easiest problems -imaginable. " It is only by works on the scale of in- trenched camps, which your correspondent asserts have never been taken since the Thirty Tears' war, that such a country as this can be defended. " It is certainly incorrect, however, to call Sebastopol an intrenched camp, unless we ap- ply the same term to Portsmouth, Devonport, Chatham, or any other fortified town of the same extent. The fortifications of Sebastopol are drawn as closely round the houses as in any of these places, and are, in fact, both in form and extent, very similar to those of Ports- mouth and its dependencies ; yet if the armies now engaged in the defence and attack of Sebastopol were playing the same parts at Portsmouth, nothing could have saved that town after three weeks or a month of open trenches, notwithstanding the enormous sums spent on its fortifications. After five months of open trenches the unfortified town of Sebas- topol still resists, and, though it may fall by assault, it cannot be taken by all the boasted resources of the science of attack before which every regular fortification inevitably falls within its prescribed time. " The truth is, and it cannot be known and appreciated too soon, that the Russian engi- neers have adopted a new system of defence ; they have thrown aside routine, and all the antiquated systems of the schools, and have applied to the defence of places all those prin- ciples which have been hitherto so invariably successful for the attack ; and they have done this with such success as to prove beyond the shadow of doubt the possibility of rendering the science of defence superior to that of attack, especially when the defence is carefully pre- pared for beforehand, in time of peace. " The one question that remains is, — Will our engineers admit this view of the case, and are they prepared to act upon it } I fear not ; at least I can assert from my own personal ex- perience how unwillingly this will be done — inasmuch as for the last ten years I have been earnestly endeavouring, by every means in my power, to press these identical views on their attention, with singularly little success. And now that the Russians have proved by experi- ence all that I said or wrote, will they confess their error and be content to be taught by their enemies ? If the public and the press take up the subject they must do so ; but if they do not, it is to be feared that routine will still sleep on in happy ignorance of the existence of the nineteenth century. "At all events, they have not shown any appreciation of the facts hitherto, but every Eoyal Engineer has, probablj', something to say in defence of the old system: and while the Russians are pulling down with their own hands the Malakoif Tower, the last remnant of their masonry defences, to replace it with earthworks, our engineers are buUding expen- sive masonry forts whenever they can find money and a site — and this in spite of all the experience and information daily arriving from the seat of war. " Until these new discoveries are thoroughly investigated by the light of the experience we Chap. LXI.J HISTORY OF THE WAll AGAINST RUSSIA. 47 are gaining, I -woTild earnestly pray, with Lord Orey, that all works of fortification he sus- pended — feeling conrinced that the whole sys- tem must be altered; and not only that all new works will have to he designed on totally different principles, but all that has been done lately must be undone again, and im- mense delay and expense be incurred in con- sequence. " Tour obedient servant, " James Feegusson." The navy and army estimates for the year 1855, showed that the cabinet was alive to the importance of the crisis ; but stUl the proposed strength of both the navy and army was be- neath the requirements of the country. It is to be regretted that the amount of men thus proposed was never raised for the military branch of the service. In peace and war the number of men actually engaged for the ser- vice is always greatly beneath that authorised by the votes. The estimates proposed this year, as compared with those previous to the war for' many years, were very large, and showed the country the cost of real active warfare. The naval and military estimates were usually, in the aggregate, between 15,000,000?. and 16,000,000Z. The propor- tion was about equal to the army and navy, 6,000,000?. to each, and about half the amount of either for the ordnance. Yet in the begin- ning of February, after a twelvemonth's war only, the increase was from 6,000,000 to 15,897,803?. for the navy, and from the same amount to 13,721,158?. for the army, amount- ing together to 29,618,961?. The excess of expenditure above estimates in government outlay is always, as in the case of architects and builders, very considerable. It was gene- rally calculated that the excess on both services would not be much less than 20,000,000?. The increase of expenditure from the peace to the war estimates, may best be seen by a comparison of the years 1854 and 1855. In the former year the land force cost 4,723,288?. ; for the latter it was estimated at 7,353,804?. In 1854 the troops provided were 142,776; in 1855, 193,595. There were likewise 136,323 of the militia force, making a total increase in our military strength numerically of about 200,000 men. The force maintained in India at the expense of the Company was 29,629, constituting a grand total of 359,547 men. If to this number the amount of native and European troops in the service of the Com- pany, and of certain colonial regiments, be added, it will bring the numerical force of the army available for the honour and interests of England to an amount considerably exceeding half a million. The mode in which the English government had proceeded in the augmenta- tion of its forces, showed the want of earnest- ness on the part of the Aberdeen government in conducting the war. The first vote in the palmy days of the Aberdeen government, in answer to the Russian invasion of the Danu- bian provinces, was for 10,000 men, the next was for 15,000. Then the militia was called out, and ultimately foreign enlistment was re- sorted to, with jealousy and reluctance on the part of the nation. It was but too truly said at the time: — "We have neither been going too far nor too fast in this increase ; on the contrary, we now see by the light of experi- ence, that these additions would have been wisely made this time last year, and that a good reserve might have saved us more than its cost, both in men and money. It cannot be said indeed, that, like the foolish king, we did not count the cost before going to war, for we made our reckoning accurately enough ; but we altogether miscalculated the dimensions and exigencies of the struggle. We were not crippled for means or for men ; there was both a win and a way if we had turned them to ac- count, but the true nature of the emergency was not discerned." It was the business of the government to have discerned it — per- haps even to have foreseen its approach, and to have been prepared to meet it. They had been well warned. All persons conversant with Russian policy and principles, and with the signs of the times in Russia, had predicted what happened, and many persons of influence besought the government to prepare, hut in vain : nursed in their own pride and self- sufficiency, and having confidence in a govern- ment with whose principles they sympathised, they were blind to every movement of Russia, and duped by even her most transparent artifices. The minor items of the votes were very instructive. For the staff of the army in the field, a large portion of which had proved itself to be so little competent, there was a vote of 76,226?. For the public departments connected with the army at home, 153,588?. For the military college, 17,795?. A leading journal which did much for military reform, made the following comment upon these minor votes : — " Now, what, we beg to inquire, is to be the return to the country for this outlay ? We presume the estimates are liberally framed, and we are sure that if more was wanted it would be cheerfully given. But what is the use of our military school or our staff allow- ances ? On paper, and in the public accounts, we are represented as possessing those very things of whiBh we so acutely feel the want, and which we regard with envy when we see them in the possession of others. Why should our array not have a good staff at this moment? We are paying for it — paying not only for the men themselves, but for the means of making 48 HISTORY OF THE "WAE AGAINST EUSSIA. [Chap. LXL them. "What can be the meaning of a minister rising in his place and regretting that the army wanted officers acquainted with something more than mere routine and regimental duties, when Totes like these are brought before par- liament? What becomes of the ' 180 gentle- men cadets' maintained under the special care and instruction of an able staff of governors and instructors." The votes for the ordnance were proposed in order soon after the foregoing. The total amount for the effective service required was 7,610,385?. The total amount for the non- effective service, 197,657?. The increase upon the previous year was 1,822,380?. The items of the estimates of the sum required for the effective service were as follows, viz, : — 1,117,833?. for the pay allow- ances, and contingencies of 22,346 officers, non-commissioned ofiicers, and men, com- posing the several ordnance military corps ; 1,406,883?. for commissariat and barrack sup- plies for her majesty's forces, greatcoats for the army, and clothing for the militia ; 75,604?. for the Ordnance- office ; 303,149?. for ordnance establishments at home and abroad; 368,872?. for the wages of artificers, &c., at home and abroad; 2,792,348?. for ordnance stores for land and sea services ; 1,387,500?. for works, buildings, and repairs at home and abroad; and 158,196?. for the scientific branch. The item of 1,117,833?. for pay and allowances is thus subdivided, viz. : — • 776,240?. for pay; 97,535?. for additional pay (for length of service and good conduct) ; 37,716?. for allowances; 54,028?. for clothing; 3204?. for hospital expenses; 751?. for divine service ; 1632?. for libraries and schools ; 20,637?. for movement of troops; 116,32?. for recruiting; 8326?. for agency; 500?. for regi- mental savings-banks; and 1232?. for miscel- laneous charges. The charge for each corp, exclusive of heads of service, which cannot be apportioned, is as follows, viz. : — Eoyal Engi- neers, 123,007?.; Royal Sappers and Miners, 81,170?.; Regiment of Artillery, 684,803?.; Royal Horse Artillery, 58,884?.; Riding-house Troop, 2107?.; master gunners, 4102?.; field- train department, 9167?.; and medical depart- ment, 12,737?. The charge for clothing amounts to 523,030?., andincludes the following items, viz., 215,000?. for greatcoats for the army; 80,000?. for "fa- tigue" clothing for militia; 90,000?. for the clothing of the " Eoreign Legion;" and 120,000?. for warm and waterproof clothing, and articles for the troops, and for summer clothing. The charges for commissariat and barrack supplies amounted to 123,093?. and 760,760?. respectively. The charge of 2,792,348?. for "stores" in- cluded 800,000 for the supply and repair of small arms ; 40,000?. for the small arm factory at Enfield; 235,134?. for iron ordnance, shot, and shell; l,4d!8,247?. for the purchase of ordnance stores of all kinds at the Tower and Woolwich ; 125,000?. to complete the huts for 50,000 men to be erected in garrisons at Alder- shot; 36,270?. for accoutrements and colours for militia; 50,000?. for accoutrements and knap.sacks for the Eoreign Legion; 42,300?. for packing, freight, and carriage of arms and stores, &o. ; and 11,234?. for the building and repair of ordnance vessels, boats, and the supply of sails. The charge for works and buildings included an item of 30,000?. for the defences of Dover and the coast of Kent; 60,000?. for a new barrack at the western heights of Dover ; 48,170?. for improving the fortifications of the Channel Islands; 24,163?. for new barracks at Devonport; 39,047?. for additional barracks at Cambridge; 61,000?. for barracks at Gosport; 10,000?. for the defences of the coast of Sussex ; 48,597?. for the defence of commercial harbours; and 250,000?. for new barracks at Aldershot. These sums were only those required for the year. There were numerous items of sums required for the erection of forts and batteries. The amount required for works and buildings at home is thus divided, viz.: — 295,215?. for fortifications, 109,999?. for civil buildings, and 623,624?. for barracks. The charge for the scientific branch includes 122,000?. for surveys in the United Kingdom ; 27,975?. for the Military Academy at Wool- wich ; and 6109?. for the establishment at Chatham for instructing engineers, &c. The expense of unforeseen and urgent ser- vices unprovided by parliament, but authorised by the Treasury, up to the 31st of December last, amounted to 100,819?. It will now be seen that the grand total amount of the army, navy, ordnance, and transport estimates for the ensuing year was estimated at 37,427,003?., viz. :— 13,721,158?. for the army, 10,716,388?, for the navy, 5,181,465?. for the transport service, and 7,808,042?. for the ordnance department. The navy estimates offered many details interesting to the nation. The augmentation of our sea forces proposed was 6000 seamen and 500 marines. This was much too small for the requirements of the service, especially as to marines — a force which, from their capa- city to serve by sea or land, may be made especially valuable to a country like England, which maintains a comparatively small stand- ing army. Sir James Graham, however, stated the important fact, in explanation, that while steam-ships were more costly than sailing ships, they were worked by fewer hands, and consequently at less expense. At tho close CHAr. LXI.] HISTOET OF THE WAK AGAINST RUSSIA. 49 of the previous war there had been 100 ships of the line in commission, manned by 147,000 seamen. One third the number could now man a fleet of greater power. It appeared that the expenses of the navy veere greatly augmented by the high price of provisions and clothing, and that more wages must in future be paid. A new rating was also instituted; a class of " leading seamen" were to be selected on higher pay. Men were to be employed for ten years' service at an increased allowance, instead of the short service system, caused by the plan of "paying oif " ships. Sir James informed the house that the fleet for the Baltic would consist entirely of steamers, and that 100 vessels should be speedily in the •waters of the czar. A debate arose, on presenting the naval estimates, concerning the sparing of Odessa, which evoked from Mr. Layard one of his most able and severe addresses. Sir James Graham's replies were equivocating and deceptive on the subject of Odessa, as events ultimately proved. The house and the country were indignant with the tone which the " first lord " adopted concerning the Baltic expedition. His gratu- lations as to what was accomplished were immeasurably impudent, when it was recol- lected that vessels of a character calculated to inflict damage upon the fortifications of the czar were not sent out in 1854, nor were any adequate preparations then making to send out in 1855 the sort of vessels, without which the proud fleet of England could merely sail in sight of the enemy's batteries. While the estimates were under discussion in the commons, and in society, a very remark- able letter was addressed to the Times by Sir Francis Head, which excited some attention: — Uxendon, Nort/ianijiton. " In 1834, on my return to England from the Brunnens of Nassau, I called on Lord Fitzroy Somerset at the Horse Guards with some notes I had just made iu the camp of instruction of the Prussian army, and although as an officer of Engineers I did not belong to his department, he nevertheless, apparently with great interest, listened to the brief account I gave him of tlie mode in which the Prussian army was studyiag the art of war in canton- ments, en iivouac, and under canvas ; how their artillery and pontoon-train were learning to transport guns and boats across rough country, ravines, streams, &o. ; how the cavalry were learning to swim their horses, with other accomplishments equally useful on active service; how the infantry were in- structed in making fascines, gabions, &c., and in rapidly throwing up field-works of various sorts, the defensive advantages of which they were made clearly to understand ; how oflScers and soldiers of every service, not only, as in real war, were practised in field-of-battle ma- noeuvres, but, under the direction of a well- educated staff and of admirably appointed field departments, were taught the far more im- portant acquirements necessary for moving large masses of cavalry, infantry, and artillery many miles across a country, so as to reach given points at given times with the whole force, and in proper order. After having given the above outline of the system under which the great nations of Europe scientifically and at great cost provide themselves not only with young skilful generals, but with subor- dinate officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates, all more or less proficient in the higher branches of their profession, as well as in the minutest details necessary for the sub- sistence and movement of an army in the field, I emphatically asked Lord Fitzroy Somerset (with whom I was but very little acquainted) what objection could possiblj'- exist to the British army, by a similar course of instruction, learning the practical duties of their profession? For some seconds he appeared either un- willing or unable to answer my plain question ; at last, calmly shrugging up his left shoulder and the stump of his right arm, he replied, with a look of dutiful submission, 'Joseph Hume.' " Twenty-one years afterwards — namely, on Saturday last— you inserted in the Times the following paragraph : — " ' We are concerned to learn that Mr. Hume is 60 seriously indisposed as to be unable to leave his seat in Norfolk. The absence of Mr. Hume is the more to be regretted when army reform is under consideration. Few men have given so much attention to the subject, and his practical experience would now be in- valuable.' "Now, Lord Raglan and the Duke of New- castle may be guilty of the numerous acts of omission which in your columns have been so graphically described. Lord Raglan may be destitute of forethought and contrivance, and in every way incompetent to contend with the extraordinary difficulties that have assailed him ; but, -as it is undeniable, first, that Mr. Hume's well-intentioned measures of economy, which have been enforced by the House of Commons, have, bit by bit, and limb by limb, gradually dismembered the British army of all its field-departments; and, secondly, that it has been for want of a well-educated staff and of well organised field departments that our army in the Crimea of 54,000 brave men have, by hunger and cold, been starved down to about 12,000 effective bayonets. I submit to the judgment of the country that it is unjust to shield the House of Commons from, and to 50 HISTOET OF THE VVAE AGAINST KUSSIA. [Chap. LXI. place wholly upon the Duke of Newcastle and Lord Eaglan, the consequences of those fatal parliamentary measures of retrenchment which Lord Eaglan and the Duke of Wellington ohediently hut most seriously disapproved. " Confident that the nation will, sooner or later, come to a just conclusion on this lament- ahle suhjeot, "I am, sir, your ohedient servant, "P. B. Head." If Lord Eaglan spoke and acted as Sir Fran- cis represents, it is only another proof that he was never fit for the position to which he was selected. The country actually did vote vast sums annually, which were seldom put to an economical or efScient use. That circumstance gave to Mr. Hume his power; but the com- mons were always ready to vote what was required, if only convinced that the object for which the vote was demanded was really of value. Mr. Hume himself, with all his strin- gent lectures on the necessity of economy, did not resist estimates when the govern- ment showed a disposition to employ the money for the necessary requisites of efficient forces. Both Lord Eaglan and Sir F. Head ought to have known that had not the country resisted the extravagant outlay which it was the interest of the officials to promote, and which the Horse Guards never restrained, the nation would not have been able to sustain the career of improvement and retrenchment it was able to pursue during the peace, nor to bear with such ease the strains and pressure of war. To be prepared for war, it is neces- sary to remit taxes, remove the fetters from industry which taxes impose, and husband the national wealth, while peace admits of such economical processes. It was not Joseph Hume, as Lord Eaglan ignorantly alleged, or alleged under the influence of a party spirit, who caused the public service to be inefficient ; but it was the want of confidence which the nation felt in the government, the heads of the army, the whole tribe of officials, and the whole system of management in military affairs, which in any degree restrained tlie liberality of the commons. Enough was always voted to have provided an efficient army; and Lord Eaglan, and Sir F. Head, were the calumniators of the people, and abettors of abuse and extravagance, in thus reflecting upon the men who strug- gled to save the country from the consequences of the reckless extravagance into which the chiefs of military departments were always ready to plunge it. While all these votes were prepared and passed, and all these discussions were sifting the public mind, supplies and reinforcements were directed to the seats of war. Mr. Mac- lean, of Manchester, built iron vessels of the order commonly called lighters, of a new and useful type, for the purpose of landing commis- sariat stores in the Black Sea. Troops were ordered from India to the Crimea, via Egypt. The 10th Hussars, and the 80th regiment of infantry proceeded from Bombay to Suez, marched from Suez to Cairo, and proceeded, down the Nile, remaining some weeks at Alex- andria. The efforts to send out supplies, espe- cially where those efforts depended on indi- vidual enterprise, were very great; but the want of good organisation in the departments continually exposed the country to loss. The following appeared in the papers at that time : — "On Saturday the Pioneer, a handsome new clipper-built screw-steamer, of about 800 tons burthen, and fitted with an engine of 120-horse power, took her departure from the Irongate Wharf near the Tower of London, freighted with a cargo of almost inestimable value, consisting of warm clothing, comforts, and conveniences of almost every description, intended to mitigate the privations and to sus- tain the courage and spirit of our brave army before Sebastopol, and collected or purchased under the auspices of the committee for man- aging the Crimean Army Fund, of which the Earl of Ellesmere is at the head. The dona- tions presented to them for this object by a grateful and a generous country, including all ranks of the people, from royalty to the -pea- sant, in addition to their own, have gone on accumulating in the short period which has since elapsed, until they amount to £20,000, exclusive of other acts of munificence, the worth of which is scarcely to be estimated in money. It may be interesting to our readers, and still more to the intended recipients in the Crimea, to note some of the principal articles of which the Pioneer's cargo is composed. There are, first of all, 400 cases of potted pro- visions, including venison and other articles, and a quantity of ale, generously presented by his grace the Duke of Portland; 37 cases of potted deer from Taymouth, and 800 gallons of whisky, the equally munificent gift of the Marquis of Breadalbane ; a hogshead of whisky from each of the distillers of Campbeltown, packed in cases of two dozen each, for easy transit from Balaklava to the camp, and a hogshead of port wine from each of the prin- cipal distillers in London, similarl)' packed; 400 patent stoves, peculiarly adapted for use in the Crimea, and an immense quantity of candles and lamps — in all about 740 cases — the handsome donation of Price's Patent Candle Company, whose workmen, by the way, have given £150 to the fund, Iseing one-half of a day's pay ; great quantities of Gloucestershire cheese, the gift of residents in that county; and other donations, amounting to several hun- dred bales of wooUen goods, blankets, je seys, Chap. LXI.'] HISTOEY OF THE WAR AGAINST EUSSIA. 51 drawers, shirts, stockings, together with as many muffatees as will furnish two or three pairs to each officer and s&ldier in the army ; and contributions of game preserved at Gun- ter's and Batty's. Besides these donations, the committee themselves have purchased a large quantity of provisions, comforts, and useful implements and utensils, which also form part of the freight. These include, among other things, regimental boots, shoes, leather, and shoemakers' tools; £150 worth of tobacco and clay pipes, cocoa-nut fibre matting for the floors of tents, blankets, railway-rugs, Aus- tralian jackets, waterproof clothing, stationery, oatmeal, pearl-barley, half-salt butter, essence of coffee, cocoa, chocolate, Parmesan cheese, turnery, brushes and combs, gridirons, • sauce- pans, frying-pans, conical beer-warmers, milk- men's pails and yokes for carrying water, water-filters, saws, hatchets, hammers, six gross of iron spoons, 200 tea-pots, Welsh wigs, portable fuel, a great number of interesting books, 250,000 rations of patent, compressed vegetable soup (French), an exceedingly agree- able and nutritious article ; a large quantity of preserved vegetables, and last, but perhaps not least useful, one street baked-potato machine, more of which would have been sent, but the idea of forwarding them did not occur to the committee until the eve of the vessel's sailing, when time did not permit of their being pro- cured. The ship, on touching at Malta, will also take on board a number of oranges and lemons. — Such are the principal articles, weighing in the aggregate between 600 and 700 tons. " We have since learned that on going down the river, oif Cuckold's Point, the Pioneer came in contact with a large barque, with such force that her foremast went by the board, her bowsprit and jib-boom were carried away, and she was obliged to be taken into the East India Dock for repair, which will have the effect of delaying the vessel's departure for several days." Courtesies between France and England tended to strengthen the alHanoe by fostering its spirit. The ambassadoir of France at Lon- don, having communicated to Lord Clarendon the speech of the president of the Legislative Corps to the emperor, on the occasion of the vote of the bill on the loan, as also the reply of his majesty, the following letter from the principal secretary of state of her Britannic majesty was addressed to the ambassador : — Foreign Office, Jan. 2. MoNSiEUK l' AMBASSADEt'K, — I have received the letter ■which your excellency did me the honour to address to me on the 30th of December last, transmitting to me, by order of his majestv the Emperor of the French, a copy of the Monitem; containing the speech pronounced by the president of the Legislative Corps on the occasion of | the unanimous vote of that assembly on the Loan Bill, as well as the reply of his majesty. I have placed your excellency's communication before the queen, and her majesty orders me to make known to you how much she appreciates the terms, full of cordiality, in which the speech of the president of the Legislative Corps, and the reply of his imperial majesty express themselves on the concurrence of the English land and sea forces, who share the hardships and dangers of the soldiers and sailors of France. May I also be allowed to address to your excellency the thanks of the members of the government of her majesty for the communication of which you have been the interpreter? Tour excellency knows with what per- fect reciprocity the British parliament and nation enter- tain towards the French army and navy the sentiments of sympathy and gratitude which the speech of the pre- sident of the Legislative Corps, and the reply of the emperor, have so happily expressed towards the land and sea forces of the queen. I have the honour, &c. Claeendon. The French Canadians, who, like other in- habitants of the British colonies, contributed liberally to the Patriotic Fund, desired one-half of their contribution to be appropriated to the aid of the soldiers of France. "When the Eng- lish minister communicated this to the French emperor, it excited in the French court and in France most pleasurable feelings, and was responded to in the following manner. The letter was addressed to the Earl of Clarendon : — Falaee of the Tuileries, Feb. 27. My Lord, — I thank you for having communicated to me the address of the legislative council and legislative assembly of Canada to the queen of England. It would be difficult for them to associate themselves in a more patriotic or touching manner with the success of our arras in the East, and with the disasters inseparable from this great struggle. Moved like myself, believe me, by the eloquent testimony of so vivid a sympathy, our countiy will not see without gratitude that to the memory of its French origin the population of Canada has not wished to separate, in its eongi-atulations and in its offerings, those who are so nobly united by a community of danger. I beg of you to be the interpreter to the legislative council, and to the legislative assembly of Canada of my senti- ments, as I believe I am of those of France. Eeceive, my lord, the assurance of my high esteem. Napoleon. During February, immediately after the change of government, much solicitude was manifested concerning the more rapid commu- nications of intelligence from the seat of war. The government was mortified by the circum- stance that they were so frequently indebted to the correspondents of the press for their first intelligence of the most important events, and they determined upon establishing a tele- graphic commimication. The screw steamer BlacJc Sea, which had been detained in the South Dock of Sunderland harbour by the heavy sea caused by a strong north-east wind, which blew for a considerable time in the early spring, left the Wear with " the Balak- lava and Tama submarine telegraph cable" on board, and Messrs. Newall and Co.'s staff of workpeople, who were employed to sub- merge it. She had every prospect of a quick run out. She was ordered to call at Malta to take up Mr. Liddell, C.E., and Captain Dun- 52 HISTORY OE THE WAR AGAINST RUSSIA. [Chap. LXI. caa of the Royal Engineers, and then to pro- ceed to the Crimea, or Varna^ as might be most convenient, to submerge the cable. The managers made due precaution not to be dela3'ed by government officials, as they took everything out with them — carts, huts, &c., for their use while laying down the land por- tion of their work, and had four non-commis- sioned officers of the Sappers and Miners with them aboard the steamer, who were instructed how to work the apparatus when completed. The weight of the 400 miles of cable was 100 tons, and the contract was stated to be £20,000. The system upon which the Black Sea telegraph was intended to be wrought was Morse's, but with an important modifica- tion by Mr. Carl Frisohen, of Hanover, which was patented by Messrs. Newall and Co. Morse's apparatus prints messages upon long slips of paper as they are received into the office, and thus avoids the slow process of copy- ing by pencil into slips : Mr. Frisohen's in- vention further extends the usefulness of the system, by making it possible for messages to be sent along one wire from both ends at the same instant of time. Thus a clerk telegraph- ing at Varna can be receiving by the same wire by which he is sending his communication, and at the same instant, a message from Balak- lava. The single wire by Mr. Erischen's pro- cess conveys several messages from either end at the same moment; and a clerk can he en- gaged telegraphing at the time that he is receiving a message. Messrs. Newall and Co., the contractors for the Black Sea telegraph, have laid down every submarine telegraph in service in the world. The Mediterranean tele- graph, which remains incomplete, was not made by them. The more important lines of submarine cables manufactured by this firm are — the Dover and Calais, the Belgian, the Hague, the Portpatrick, the Holyhead and Queenstown, the Zuyder Zee, the Great and Little Belt, the Cronstadt, the Perth and Dundee, the New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, the Funen and Zealand, the St. Lawrence, and the Missisippi, which are all now at work. The circumstances under which the Black Sea telegraph was put on board a first-class steam-vessel, in its passage out, are strikingly illustrative of the energy of the English character when under wise and able direction. The contractors only re- ceived final instructions from the government, to make the 400 miles of cable on the 15 th of December. The vessel that received it on board was on the stocks at Yarrow, in February, not half finished ; but by the middle of the week previous to sailing she had been launched, her engines put on board, and she had steamed round to Sunderland, and before the Saturday night's bell had rung in the Monkwearmouth "Works, for closing the week, she had her coals and stores on board, her crew shipped and ready for sea, and 400 miles of telegraph cable stowed away in her hold ; with a vast number of packages and bales of clothing, thrust into every available corner, for the use of the soldiers in the Crimea ; and was in time to be swung for the purpose of having her compasses ad- justed. It is to be regretted, for the honour of our country, that a practice which in the early months of the war required official notice, and, finally, official interference, was resorted to in 1855 also, by which private advantage was sought at the expense of the public good. Machinery adapted to navigation was fitted out for the enemy in English ports. The authors of this crime alleged that thej' de- signed the work for certain neutral powers ; there was no doubt, however, that it was intended ultimately for the service of the enem}-. The following proclamation at once checked the proceeding, and awed the perpe- trators. By the Queen. A PROCLAMATION. Victoria. E. Whereas information has been received that certain acts of a highly treasonable nature have been, or are about to be done or attempted by certain British subjects adhering to the queen's enemies, either within her ma- jesty's dominions, or in parts beyond the seas ; such as building, or aiding and .qssisting in building or equipping, ships of war, providing stores or tackling, arms and ammu- nition, for such ships, or manufacturing, or fitting, or aiding or assisting in manufacturing or fitting steam machinery, either for such ships or for other warlike pur- poses; or by entering into contracts, engagements or agreements for some of the aforesaid purposes, or other- wise adhering to, aiding, assisting-, or abetting the queen's enemies in parts beyond seas, in levying or carrying on war against ner majesty ; now her majesty, by this her royal proclamation, doth warn all such persons engaging in any such treasonable designs or attempts as aforesaid, or otherwise adhering to, assisting, aiding or abetting, the queen's enemies, that they will be liable to be appre- hended and dealt with as traitors, and will be proceeded against with the utmost rigour of the law. Given at our court, at Windsor, this eighth day of February, in the year of our Lord one thou- sand eight hundred and fifty-five, and in the eighteenth year of our reign. God save the Queen. During the first three months of 185.5, in- valids and wounded soldiers from the Crimea and Scutari returned in considerable numbers, and, so far as depended upon the generosity of the public, they were most kindly received; but however bitter the confession when made by an English citizen, it is unhappily true that in the government hospitals to which they were consigned, their treatment was thoroughly and utterly discreditable. Her majesty took a deep interest in the wounded soldiers, and visited the hospitals repeatedly. For these occasions matters were got up, so that her majesty might be satisfied with the treatment of her brave troops. The state of things at Chap. LXI.] HISTORY OF THE WAR AGAINST RUSSIA. 53 Chatliam, in this reapect, was such as to merit public reprobation in some departments, al- though in others too much praise to the hos- pital authorities could hardly be accorded. The following communication places the whole matter in a light more instructive than agree- able : — " The Queen of England has lately paid a visit of womanly solicitude and maternal sym- pathy to the brave men whose mutilated limbs, and shattered but still noble frames, show with melancholy clearness how they have fought and suffered for their country and her crown. To most, if not all, of them, from her woman's heart, and with her winning voice, were spoken — for so they love to tell — words which are now repeated with honest pride in the sick-ward to the listening stranger, and will be told again and again to wife and chil- dren for many a year in many a cottage home of England. Nay, on returning to her palace her thoughts were still on the brave she had left, and her order was forthwith dispatched for a nominal return of all the wounded in the Chatham hospitals, with details, so far as pos- sible, of each case. Nor were the medical authorities forgotten, for not only did her majesty personally express, as well she might, her satisfaction at all she saw, but they were further honoured, as indeed they deserved, with a written communication, expressing how much the queen was gratified by the care be- stowed upon their patients, and the condition of the hospitals in Eort Pitt and the Brompton Barracks. "It is simply an act of justice to add, that the state in which her majesty found these hospitals was their every-day condition, and that one of the surgeons at Fort Pitt may well congratulate himself on not having lost a man of his numerous charge. But here is an ob- scure, if not a dark, side to this picture, as well as a bright one. Her majesty did not see all ; she did not see what she ought to have seen above all. She did not see what she could not have seen with any other feeling than sorrow, if not indignation ; and yet she was within eight minutes' drive of the build- ings where it may be seen ! There, sir, are the casemate, or St. Mary's Barracks, about a mile from the Brompton, at the south-east extremity of a marshy level on the banks of the Medway, significantly called ' Tom-all-alones.' Their atmospheric fitness for invalids may be judged of from the fact that the cold on the upper story, with boarded floors, is so great that the clerks of the pay-ofiioe petitioned to be re- moved from it, and had their request granted. As for water, it is supplied to the officers there from cisterns which serve a twofold purpose in the cheapest and shortest, but filthiest, and foul- est way possible. For the men there is, indeed, TOL. II. a pump near, but then ' it is no good,' and so with their weak bodies and disabled limbs they had to fetch all they wanted in the late frost and snow from another pump or well some 300 yards off. It is asserted, too, that these bar- racks have already been condemned by more than one board as altogether unfit for invalids, and men of ordinary humanity would declare that the vaults — rooms they cannot be called — which are now occupied by the Crimean con- valescents are not fit habitations even for robust health. Indeed, it is not at all improbable that the cells of the military prison at Fort Clarence are much more comfortable and whole- some than the lodgings of the men whom the queen delights to honour; for the latter are from sixty to seventy feet long by about thirteen broad, banked up at the back with earth above the level of the ceiling, with only one fireplace in each, and this not in the middle, but at the extreme end, and no ventilation at all except by the door and windows, conveniently front- ing the north-west, for the exhalations from the mud of the Medway. The floors are paved with Yorkshire stone up the middle, and bricks at the sides, laid on the natural earth, on which stand the iron bedsteads about thirteen inches high, with straw mattresses to match, and not a bit of straw or matting anywhere else. Into these cold clammy caves are put invalids — con- valescents perhaps they are called — men, wo- men, and children, from Gibraltar, or even a warmer climate. In them may now be found men pierced and cut all over, who have escaped with lifo from Alma, - Balaklava, and Inker- man, and are fresh from the exhaustions of Scutari, or just recovering from wounds and fever through the care and comfort which they had enjoyed in the hospitals of Fort Pitt and Brompton. In one of them especially may he found, by night and by day, five or six families of married couples with their children. All this her majesty should have seen ; and a local reply to an observation to this effect was, •They would not let her!' Whether this be true or not, it is impossible to say, although it is a fact that the inmates of these places were removed from them for inspection elsewhere ; but whatever ' the reason why,' the public may be unanimous in thinking that the nation is disgraced by such a state of things, and that if humanity and gi-atitnde are of no avail to pre- vent such treatment of her bravest sons in their ' hour of need,' still the health and the lives of her soldiers are far too precious and costly to be endangered, if not destroyed, in the miser- able caves of a bombproof powder magazine." As public attention and indignation were roused these matters were rectified. It was the desire of Lord Palmerston, and, in some measure, of his government, to satisfy the de- mands of the country, and to do justice for 54 HISTOET OP THE WAE AGAINST ETJSSIA. [Chap. LXI. its own sake. All these things, in the home events which here upon the war, confirm the sentiments of an able public writer : — " The country must be governed not only for, but hy the public ; and that not merely at certain crises, by outbreaks of national feeling, having the character almost of an insurrection, but con- stantly, regularly, and in detail." Among the efforts for the more satisfactory treatment of the wounded and invalids was the mission of Mr. W. S. Lindsay, M.P., to the East. In February he visited France, and held frequent communications with the French government, the object of which was to obtain its co-opera- ^ tion for the organisation of a regular service of transports for the sick from the Crimea direct to Marseilles, and to establish hospitals along , the coast. The French ministers of marine and foreign affairs lent a very favourable ear to his projects. From some cause these excellent ideas did not find the practical appli- cation intended. The return of the Duke of Cambridge was prominent among the home incidents connected with the war which interested the English peo- ple. His gallant conduct gave great satisfac- tion to the country ; and his arrival at home, after so many perils and such distinguished services, was met with acclaim. He landed at Dover on the 30th of January, and proceeded to the Ship Hotel, the populace cheering with hearty enthusiasm. He was soon waited upon by the mayor and corporation, for the purpose of presenting him with an address congratu- lating him on his safe return. The address was frank and pertinent, and received from his royal highness a reply of a very remarkable character, in which some notable opinions were expressed of the generalship under which the army suffered so much, notwithstanding the courage and skUl of ihe generals of division and brigade. His royal highness also expressed himself concerning the common soldiery in a way which the army and the country felt to be as true as it was tersely and strikingly ex- pressed : — "Mr. Mayor and Gentlemen, — I thank you for the gratification you have ren- dered me in presenting me with the present address. I assure you that any inconvenience or discomfort which I have experienced in the Crimea has been amply repaid by the bravery of the troops. All a general can do is to lead, and my humble services have been given cheer- fully ; but it has not been a war of generalship — the campaign has been a soldier's, and nothing but a soldier's, campaign. Led on as they have been by their indomitable courage, these troops have performed prodigies of valour ; and I can assure you a finer set of fellows do not exist in the world than the men who are fight- ing the battles of Britain in the Crimea, and ■who have done everything in their power to sustain the honour of their country. Mr. Mayor and gentlemen, I again thank you." The same evening his royal highness arrived in London, where there were but few persons aware of his having landed in England, but nevertheless a considerable crowd collected at the terminus, and welcomed him with lively demonstrations of satisfaction. When the know- ledge of his safe arrival at Kew Lodge spread through London and its vicinity, pubHe ad- dresses to him and to her Eoyal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge (his mother), were very loyally and promptly presented. The recep- tion met with by the royal duke from her majesty and the court, was most grateful to his feelings. The exertions of our neighbours and allies were on a scale commensurate with the great undertaking. Men and arms were sent away during January and February for the Crimea, and preparations during the first three months of the year were put forth for the ensuing naval campaign in the Baltic, which showed the earnestness of the emperor in prosecuting the war. In France there was but little popular en- thusiasm for the contest as compared with England, but there was nevertheless a resolute will to bring down the pride of the foe. In the early part of January the port of the Joliette (Marseilles) was crowded with ships of war and large English steamers awaiting men and munitions; by the end of January the port was nearly empty: all these naval leviathans had departed laden with soldiers, stores, ammunition, &c. Among the troops sailed Generals Pelissier, Eivet, and Desvilliers. The first of these officers was destined to play a brilliant part in the great drama before Sebastopol. A letter written from Marseilles, at the time, thus described the personnel of that remarkable man : — " General Pelissier landed here from Oran on the preceding Mon- day. He is of the middle size, with broad shoulders, a rather care-worn countenance, and appears to be about sixty years of age. He is remarkably neat in his dress, and expects his officers to imitate his example. He has passed the greater part of his life in Algeria, and has earned there a reputation of extra- ordinary energy. His friends say that his appointment to a command in the army in the Crimea was communicated to him by the minister of war in the most flattering terms. He was told that the command offered to him was not equal to his merits, but that, by his acceptance of it, he will have imposed an additional debt on his country, of which the government will not be forgetful. He looks like a man who wdU either bring back a mar- shal's baton from the Crimea, or find a soldier's grave there. General Eivet is chief of the staff CHAP. LXI.] HISTORY OF THE WAR AGAINST RUSSIA. 55 of the first division, and General DesvUliers is to command a brigade in the ninth division of the army of the East. Some of the letters received here from the Erenoh camp before Sebastopol, dated the 12th instant, speak of the condition, of the French army in terms almost as discouraging as those published ir. the London papers with regard to the English." Some idea may be formed of the activity in the French arsenals in January, by the follow- ing paragraph from the Sentindle Toulonnaise : — " The loading of materiel of war, a moment suspended, recommenced to-day with consider- able activity. On the 1st and 2nd the artillery- waggons brought to the arsenal of the navy up- wards of 1100 shells, which were immediately conveyed on board the liner, Buperri. The Labrador, steam -frigate, is now undergoing repair. The construction of the gun-boats on the uew system is progressing rapidly. They will be launched in February, and completely armed and ready to put to sea towards the 15th of April. A portion of them will join the squadron in the Black Sea, and another that of the Baltic, next May, when grand and definite operations by sea and land will recom- mence with redoubled vigour, should peace not be concluded." Amongst other troops dispatched during that month, were 1200 men of the Imperial Cruard. To these the emperor delivered an address characteristic of the war and of the epoch : — " The French nation, by its sovereign will, has resuscitated many things which they thought for ever dead, and to-day the empire is reconstituted ; an intimate alliance exists with our ancient enemies ; the flag of France waves with honour on those distant shores where the bold flight of our eagles had not before ventured; the Imperial Guard, the heroic representation of military glory and Tionour, is now before me, surrounding the emperor as formerly, wearing the same uni- form, carrying the same standards, and having especially in their hearts the same sentiments of devotion to their countrj'. Receive then these standards, which will lead you to victory as they led your fathers, as they have just led your comrades. Go, and take your share of what BtiU. remains of danger to be overcome and glory to be earned; you will soon have received the noble baptism which is your am- bition, and you wiU have lent your assistance to plant our eagles upon the walls of Sebas- topol." During February these exertions continued as if no such vast transactions had taken place the previous month. The Moniteur of February the 4th thus describes the opening of the month in this particular : — " Within the last few days there have been forwarded to the Crimea, for the army of the East, 150 officers' huts and 950 privates' huts, for 30,000 men, made at Toulon and Marseilles; 450 oificers' huts and 1500 privates' huts, for 39,000 men, ordered from England; and 210 hut-stables, for 10,000 horses, ordered in Paris." The activity of the French dockyard arsenals for a month after were of the same character : ships, stores, men, munitions of war, were sent out ; and addresses were delivered to the soldiers by persons of eminence, calling on them, in the name of French glory, to terminate the war by victory. The monetary exertions of the people were on a scale proportional to these military enter- prises. A loan of great magnitude was raised, and so rapid were the offlere, that the only dif- culty was, how to receive the proifered sums. The 'Credit of the French government, and the resources of the French people, were greatly elevated in Europe; and the tidings of the ready and abundant supply of such vast funds by the people of France carried dismay to the court of St. Petersburg, while they were hailed in England with triumph. A Paris correspondent thus describes the issue of this financial victory: — "The subscription to the new loan terminated yesterday at five in the afternoon. The anxiety to subscribe was, if possible, greater during the last few days than previously. At the Treasury, in the Rue de Rivoli, many persons passed the night under the arcades, and before daybreak they were queues at all the Mairies, at the Recette Cen- trale. Rue Neuve des Mathurins, and at the Caisse d'Amortissement. It was deemed ne- cessary to send detachments of infantry to all these places to preserve order. A number of persons, despairing of having their subscrip- tions accepted at Paris, went by railway to difierent towns in the provinces. But in all parts of the country the desire to subscribe was just as great as at Paris. In fact, the eagerness of the public to take part in this national operation was far greater than on the preceding occasion in March last. Fifteen hundred millions have already been subscribed, and it is estimated that four times that amount could be provided if it were required. If it be necessary, therefore, to continue the war, the sinews will not be wanting." Besides this indication of the prosperity of France, there was another also very decisive — the increase of the ordinary revenue, over the expenditure of the year, was several millions of franca. The loan and the budget alike showed that France was able to go to war, and even if she had not counted the cost was able to meet it. It was remarkable how every incident which took place in England relating to military things was noticed by the French press. Gene- ral Evans having been received in the British 56 HISTOEY or THE WAE AGAINST EUSSIA. [Chap. LXII. parliament with the homage due to his bravery and military genius, the Sicole, so often accus- tomed to find fault with England, thus com- mented upon the scene: — "England, indeed, has a right to be proud of a man who, entitled to such homage, receives it from his fellow- citizens in the full plenitude of their consti- tutional prerogative. General Evans neither gave way to a sentiment of extravagant pride, nor to expressions of satisfaction confined to himself. Covered with honour himself, he vindicated the right of his division — the second — to a still greater share of the national grati- tude, from the fact of its having lost one half of its number in repulsing the Eussians in three different engagements. He called to the recollection of the house that at Inkerman this heroic division had supported alone, for several hours, the united attack of 50,000 of the enemy. And if it be permitted to us to mingle our humble voice in so magnificent a scene, we would say that even in the misfortunes it has undergone, the English army has proved itself as worthy as ever to share the crown of glory with the army of France." Tlie spirit of Eranoe to her enemy was as worthy as that which she cherished to her all)'. There was an absence of all animosity to Eussia ia the national spirit, and the pri- soners were treated not only with kindness but with hospitality. The following is an extract from a letter on this subject in February : — "There are at present 300 Eussian prisoners confined in Port La Malgue ; sixty of them are now employed in constructing huts for the army in the East. Amongst the prisoners is a sergeant-major, decorated with a Eussian order, whom they treat with great respect, and blindly obey. The prisoners receive daily a ration of bread and twopence for their food, which they are allowed to purchase in town, under the surveillance of some French soldiers. They appear to be well pleased with their treat- ment, and not to regret their position. The Poles would wiUingly enter the French service." In the St. Petersburg press, and in that of Germany and Belgium under the influence of Eussian pay, it was alleged that the Turks treated the Eussian prisoners more generously than the French ; and that the latter refused to the poor prisoners the consolations of their religion, while the former provided Greek chaplains to attend them. The Moniteur replied to these calumnies in the following terms: — "As far as regards their spiritual affairs, the Eussian prisoners, since their ar- rival at Ais, have been allowed — those of the Greek communion — the visits of the Arch- pretre Wassilleff ; and the Catholics, those of the Abbe Jeloweki. These two ministers exercised their mission without any impedi- ment, until it was ascertained that Jhey attended less to religion than to politics. The minister of war, in order to secure the com- fort of the Eussian prisoners, decided that in addition to their pay they should have the complete ration of provisions, as given to the French soldier, namely, white bread, 1000 grammes ; fresh meat, 250 grammes ; dry vegetables, 60 grammes ; and salt, 1 6 grammes. These arrangements extended to all the Eus- sian prisoners, both in France and at Constan- tinople. The pay of the offloers has been increased nearly one-half more than regulated by former ordinances, and is now 333f. 33c. per month for a general of division, 250f. for a general of brigade, 200f. for superior officers; captains, lieutenants, and sub - lieutenants, lOOf ; the wife of an officer, 50f By order of the emperor, the officers have been allowed to retain their arms, and to choose their place of residence. Tours has been chosen by them, and they are authorised to remove thither on the 2nd instant. They are allowed to take their orderlies with them." Thus France stood beside her great ally, great also for this contest ; great in skiU, resources, valour, and magnanimity. Such was the attitude of the AVestern nations at home in the first months of 1855. CHAPTEE LXII. EUSSLi AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF 1855— HER POWERFUL POSITION— INCREASED INFLU- ENCE, AND ACCESSION OF TERRITORY IX ASIA— UNSUBDUED BY THE EVENTS OF 18o4r- PREPARATIONS TO KESIST THE ALLIES— ARROGANT AND FANATICAL SPIRIT OF HER PEOPLE INCREASED BY THE WAR. " Sio Tolo sic jubeo." Much as public alarm had been awakened, and public effort stimulated by that alarm, previous to the war, in the contemplation of Eussian aggression, and by her dogged and stubborn resistance to the allies, a very vague notion was all that existed in the general mind in Europe as to the terrible extent of her military preparations and resources, and the advantageous military position she had acquired. We call it tei'rible for no purpose of " strong writing," and for no party project of peace or war, but because that such was the actual fact, as proved by her resistance to a coalition of such magnitude and power, and because Chap. LXII.] HISTORY OE THE WAE AGAINST RUSSIA. 57 her aggressive facilities -vrere to a great extent , unnoticed in. England. Russia had been de- veloping herself upon all contiguous territory, and with an energy, Tigilanoe, and intrigue never surpassed— never equalled— in the history of the world. If Russia had encouraged the arts of peace, it was only to subserve the pur- poses of war ; if she had welcomed science, it was only that the military art might flourish ; if she had brought out her own natural re- sources, the main object was to store up appli- ances of strength for arsenals the most colossal. Eor this the labour of her serfs, the timber of her forests, the corn, and flax, and hemp, the products of her fields, the arms, and cordage, and clothing of her foundries and her factories, and the gold of the Ural mountains had, since the peace of 1815, been collecting. In this way her wars with the Persians, Circassians, Georgians, Daghestans, Turks, Poles, had been sustained, and still from the resources of so vast an empire these armouries and depositories of strength were replenished with an energy and prodigality that spared nothing. Proud of her enormous military means, she had fre- quently displayed her strength by magnificent reviews, dazzling even to the other first-rate military governments, and adopted a haughty tone unknown to diplomacy even in seasons of triumphant conquest. Sic volo sicjuheo had been the spirit of all Russia's dealings with Austria, Prussia, Turkey, Persia, the nations of Central Asia, and the once proud and fear- less Scandinavian states. Even now, when resisted by the greatest empires, she was an assailant in some directions, and preparing, by vast arrangements and numbers, to resist on all theatres of action the powerful assaults directed against her. In the Crimea she had held her own with tenacity, and drawn upon her resources of men and material like an empire that did not fear to spend itself pro- fusely in the outpourings of war. Through seas of mud, over steppes covered with snow, hungered, frost-struck, and way-worn, legions followed legions to the field of her defeat around Sebastopol ; and as they fell in numbers upon its ramparts thej' were succeeded by others, as if from without men were innumer- able, while within munitions were exhaustless. Such was the attitude of Russia at the be- ginning of 1855. It became evident that if, beneath the bursting shell, the red-hot baU, and the heavy shock, the beleaguered city should be rent, consumed, and broken, and over the piles of her slaughtered defenders the soldiers of England and France should press to the conquest, it would be at an ex- pense of blood and money which was appal- ling to contemplate. "Without noticing here the progress of this, or the result of former wars as affected Turkey, it may be with cer- tainty said, that, end how this war might for Russia as to her relation with the alUes, Turkey must be permanently weakened, and Russia relatively strengthened, unless the allies should deprive her of a Turkish boundary, and raise between the two empires the ramparts of independent states. The Asiatic scene of the war especially exemplified this : Georgia had already become Russian; Circassia and Da- ghestan had been all but subjugated ; from Persia a territory as large as England had been torn; from the Black Sea, and the Caspian, Rus- sia had pushed on her influence and her armies, until the King of Bokhara in his remote regions became either a trembling ally or a submissive tributary. The Khan of Khiva was forced into reluctant treaties; victories were gained by a handful of Russian troops over the ir- regular forces of Kohan, and the khan of that country was actually recruiting at Peshawur, with the consent of the East India Company. No person acquainted with the public senti- ment in India, and the fears and feelings upon its frontier, had any doubt that a Russian force had penetrated far into Central Asia, and was forming alliances and attaching to it large bodies of irregular troops. Her ascendancy was again felt in the Persian capital, and Cabul heard, as it were, the footsteps of her approach. Numbers in England and India thought it not impossible that the forces of the Company and the czar might measure swords at last. Perhaps the most gigantic preparations of Russia were those which she directed to the Baltic. She organised in that direction the best equipped army she ever produced, and its morale was as much above the average of her armies as its material. Finland, that so lately had been a Swedish province, was studded with Russian fortresses; and Denmark, which had so often sent its sea-kiligs as conquerors to these islands, and which has kept a name of independence and renown ever since, became a piece of reversionary property which, by a treaty England recognises, may one day fall to the house of Romanoff. But beyond all these fields of action, Russia, with ever-widening circle, had spread her presence and her power. The repulse of the allied squadron at Petro- paulovski, and in the Arctic Sea, filled her with hope and pride. On every frontier, from every shore to which her confines reach, she had stretched out the arm of grasping ambi- tion and vigorous attack. Within the last year she had appropriated the Northern Man- chou Province, a territory larger than New England, and watered by the Seghalian, a river scarcely inferior in extent and volume to the Mississippi. By this means she had not only secured a rich country but new resources in men. She can pour from thence hordes of Tartars into China, and when opportunity 58 HISTOKT OE THE WAE AGAINST KTJSSIA. [Chav. LXII, allows, carry her conqueats to Pekin. She, in tliis appropriation, obtained a military and naval position on the eastern shores of the Pacific, which will be felt by English commerce over a vast extent where our trade prospers, and our power is respected and feared. After nine months of war with the Western powers, Eussia was not humbled, she had even gained territory. Her influence seemed felt everywhere — her eagle was planted upon the snows of the frigid zones, and it basked in . the light of the sunniest lands. It spreads its Avings over the sandy plains where the Tartar and the Cossack roam wildly through endless solitudes, and it looked forth, from the mast and the arsenal, over many and far-spreading seas. It became obvious to all men that the time had come when England must step back from her foremost position of power, or Eussia must recede before the brave old flag which for a thousand years had floated over the breeze and the battle, the ensign of civilisation, free- dom, and victory. ' Some recent publications have revealed in minute detail the territorial accessions of Eussia, even since the ofiensive mission of Prince Men- sohikoff to Constantinople, and represent them as increasing her power to a vast extent. In the sixth number of Dr. Petermann's Mitthei- lungen iiber wichtige neue Erforsohwngen auf dem Qesammtgebiete der Geographic, there is an interesting article on "West Siberia, its physical nature, industrial products, and geographico- political importance. According to this descrip- tion, the Siberia of now-a-days, in consequence of the constant advance of the Eussians towards the south, contains regions that may be called the Italy of Siberia, and in climatic respects do in fact equal the Italy of Europe. The territory that the Eussians have taken posses- sion of during the last ten years, between the Caspian Sea and the empire of China, in the direction of our Indian possessions, is more extensive than Great Britain, Eranoe, Turkey, and all Germany, including Prussia and Aus- tria, put together, and gives into their hands the keys of the fluvial territory of the Jaxartes and the Oxus, within the confines of which the ancient realms of Bokhara and Kokan lie. Petermann's description of the extent, popula- tion, and political importance of West Siberia is rendered more graphic by two maps of the seven gubernia, or governments, into which it is dirided. The first exhibits the density of the population by a systematic gradation of the colouring of the maps; the second divides "West Siberia, also by its varied colouring, into four separate regions, which he distinguishes as the regions of agriculture, of mining, of fishing, or the chase, and of cattle-breeding, or the region of steppes : to these is added a fifth region — that of the salt lakes. The czar's determination to prosecute the war with vigour animated all Eussia. At the beginning of the year 1855, the people of Western Europe were made acquainted with a manifesto published by the autocrat, in an extraordinary supplement of the Journal of St. Petersburg shortly before, and quoted in p. 694 of our first volume. It is characterised by the usual assumption of piety, and the usual pride and arrogance of such documents. Its real object was to preserve the courage of the people by pretending to thank God for successes not vouchsafed, and by exaggerating even in the expressions of gratitude to the Almighty any advantages reaUy gained. "When the combats of January had caused heavy losses to the defenders of Sebastopol, the ire of the czar was intensely roused, and his determination to drive the allies into the sea was expressed with passionate energy to those most immediately in his confidence. Accord- ingly, all Eussia was called to arms, and the court expected that this would fill the allies with dismay. At the close of January the emperor put forth a new manifesto, demanding the armed services of all Eussians : — OuB. loyal- and beloTed eubjects well know how ardently wc desired and desire to obtain, without force of arras and without farther eifusion of blood, the end we have constantly proposed : namely, to defend the rights of our co-religionists, indeed those of Christianity throughout the East. That wish is known to all who have impartially watched the march of events, and the invariable tendency of our acts. TVe remain, as ever, stranger to every other motive than this, and to any other view in the matter of faith and conscience. Faithful to these principles, we announced our assent to the opening of negotiations with the Western powers, who had formed with the Ottoman government a hostile alliance against us. We believe that our moderation and justice entitled us to expect from them the same sincerity and dis- interested intentions. We have not yet lost hope of a restoration of that peace which is so desirable and so valuable to the whole Christian world. However, in the face of the forces they themselves have gathered, other preparations are making for the struggle against us, which, despite pending negotiations, are not suspended, nayj daily acquire more vast proportions. We are con- strained to think that the increase of means which God has given us to defend our native country, will oppose an impassable barrier to hostile attempts against Eussia, to. projects threatening her security and gi'eatness. We fulfil the first of our duties by invoking the support of the Almighty, with entire faith in his grace, and full confi- dence in the love of our subjects, animated by the same feelings of devotion to our creed, to our orthodox church, and to our dear country. We, therefore, address this new appeal to all classes of our subjects, ordaining that the formation of the general arming of the population of the empire be proceeded with. More than once have we experienced painful trials. Tet, menaced Kussia always found her salvation in her humble reliance on Heaven, in the ties uniting the sovereign to his beloved subjects ; and, as formerly, so- it will be now. God, who reads hearts, blesses your intention, and will grant you his aid. Nicholas. Given at St. Fetersiurg, Jan. 29 (Feb. 9), 1855. The following ukase was addressed to the directing senate, requiring it to proceed with the general arming ordered in the manifesto : — Chap. LXII.] HISTOET OF THE "WAE AGAINST ETJSSIA. 59 Whektsas, by our proclamation of this day, we have called out all ranks of the empire for the defence of the orthodox faith, the throne, and the country, we command you firstly, to carry out and organise the general arming of the country according to the accompanying regulation confirmed by us ; and secondly, to take steps for com- pleting the e(iuipment and arming of the combatants in the goYernments, that will be designated by us to that end in special ukases. The directing senate will not fail to make the necessary arrangements for carrying the above into execution. St. Petersburg, Jan. 29, 1855. Nicholas. Shortly after the issue of these documents, the Invalide Russe published the regulation, prepared by the directing senate, and ratified by the czar, for the orgajiisation of " the Im- perial Mobile Militia," as the new corps decreed in the recent manifesto was called. The ordi- nance was divided into nine sections and ninety- two paragraphs ; and in the original filled seven foUo columns. The first clause declared that the corps was raised for the immediate necessities of the defence of the empire, of the throne, and of the faith. It enacted that military exemptions allowed formerly should not apply in the pre- sent case; but that all men liable to the capita- tion tax, or its equivalent, should be liable to be called upon to serve. Tet there were these es- pecial exemptions appended ; merchants, Jews, and foreign colonists, who had been invited to settle on Eussian territory, and had conse- quently received grants of land. The new corps were ordered to be divided into bat- talions of drusohines, each consisting of four companies. Each druschine was to be com- manded by a stafi'-of&cer, and to comprise four captains, a staff-captain, a proportionate number of subalterns, eighteen musicians, and 1000 rank and file. In order to hasten the formation of these battalions, a governing militia committee was formed in every government, and within four- teen days after the receipt of the manifesto the nobles were to assemble and appoint the rendez- vous of the several battalions, and to make arrangements for their supply and equip- ment. The expenses of raising, arming, and equipping the new corps, were to be defrayed by voluntary subscriptions, and all persons were called upon to contribute, in terms that admitted of no doubt that the subscription was to be made nolens volens. The prescribed age of the soldiers was to be within twenty and forty-five, but on no account to be under the former age. This was a wise provision, as it was found by the English in the Crimea, that all youths under twenty-one or twenty- two years of age died off very fast from the effects of the climate, and the sudden change in their manner of living. Inhabitants of the same village were as much as possible to be kept together in the formation of companies. The men were requested to procure each a stand of arms at their own cost. The employ- ment of this militia was to be primarily to defend the soil of Eussia ; but, at the pleasure of the czar, they were to ' be launched across the boundaries of the empire to attack its enemies. At the termination of the war all persons were to be allowed to go back to their homes. Should any fall in battle, their families would obtain a certificate absolving them from the obligation to furnish a recruit at the next levy. Every conceivable effort was made that the levies, new and old, should be supplied with the materials of war. Nor were these efforts unsuccessful: uniforms, accoutrements, and arms, were manufactured on a vast scale, and distributed throughout the empire. The correspondent of the Berlin National wrote as follows from St. Petersburg, under date of the 19th of January: — "The military administration has ordered enormous quan- tities of warlike stores. The arsenals, work- shops, and depots, have received fresh orders, and the commissariat has been directed to proceed with rigour against all contractors and purveyors who are not punctual. The severity with which some authorities have proceeded against such persons has rather damped their spirit of enterprise, and thus raised prices for want of competition. The dockyard administration has made a demand for 50,000 pud of hemp for rigging, and 1000 tons of suet. The arsenal of Briansk has fur- nished 22,000 pud of artiUery stores; and 45,000 pud of cannon have been sent from Dubow to Eostoff, on the Don, as the frost facilitates the transport. Tula has furnished about 300,000 pud of arms, which have been conveyed to difierent depots. Enormous quan- tities of hospital stores have been sent to Brjesc-Liteffski, on the Bug, to Kiyeff, "Wilna, Minsk, Grodno, &c. In short, the most rest- less military activity prevails throughout the whole empire." A letter from St. Petersburg of the Srd of February, published in the Constitutionel, made the following statements : — " The preparations for defence which are being made on aU the strategical points of our frontiers show that, up to the present time, the Eussian cabinet does not fiatter itself with the hope of obtain- ing a pacific solution at Vienna. I can assure you that at Gatsohina the court is convinced that the attitude of Austria. towaMs Eussia is less the result of necessity -than, the consequence of the warlike sentiments- which animate the young emperor, Francis Joseph. The govern- ment continues to do all it can to render the war popular. The czar himself does not allow any opportunity to escape of encouraging voluntary contributions, and of making himself agreeable to the donors. Only ten days ago, he addressed the following rescript of thanks to the community of Eiga : — 60 HISTOET or THE WAK AGAINST EUSSIA. [Chap. LXII. TO OTTE WELL-BELOTED COltinjNITT OF BIGA. The governor-general, Prince Suwavoff, has announced to us thdt the community of Iliga offered him, on the 18th of December last, a sum of 50,000 roubles (the rouble is upwards of 4f.) towards the expenses of the Tvar. In accepting this gift as a proof of the devotedness of the community of Riga, it is extremely agreeable to us to express to it on this occasion our warm and sincere gratitude. Nicholas. A Prussian subject, who has long been estab- lished here as a jeweller, has, in his love for Eussia, placed at the disposal of the empress jewels to the value of 2768 roubles. The empress gave that sum to her sons, charging them to distribute it to the garrison of Sebasto- pol. Addresses expressive of devotedness have been received from Smolonsko and Kharkoff. The minister of the interior has just issued two decrees, which are not without importance ; the first is for the improvement of the naviga- tion of the Volga, from Astracan to the Cas- pian Sea, and the second forms a new joint- stock company, under the name of the Golden Pleece, for working the gold mines of Siberia." Early in January three Belgian manufac- turers imdertook to found a rifle manufactory at "Warsaw. The Belgians throughout the war showed a marked sympathy with Eussia against the allies, arising from the favour in which despotic principles is held by a large and bigoted section of the Belgian people. The activity of the emperor during this month was extraordinary. Attended by Prince Paskie- witch, he made a tour of inspection, which was intended to include all the head-quarters of the active army corps, and which did comprise many. General von Dehn was deputed to inspect all the fortifications of the kingdom of Poland, and to make an especial report. The emperor and his suite, as well as the engineer- general. Von Dehn, were checked in their pro- gress by the heavy snowstorms which, during January and part of February, fell all over Eussia, and which was felt in the south of that empire with unusual severity. The Finns and Volhynians received very especial attentions from the imperial court, in order to animate their zeal against the allied fleets, expected in the spring to appear once more in the Baltic. The emperor formed regiments of reserve for his Life Guards from the Volhynians and Finns, and at their head attended divine worship, having personally inspected them in the minutest manner, thanked officers and men for their attention and discipline, and bestowed a silver rouble upon every private soldier. The emperor not only showed the greatest activity and industry, he also preserved the most imperturbed coolness and courage on all public occasions, although he was frequently irritable to the last degree in private. "When called upon to transact public business, he especially manifested self-possession. On a de- spatch arriving from Vienna, announcing that an Austrian general had been sent to Paris on a military mission, he was engaged with his private secretary and Prince Paskiewitch. The emperor ordered the aide-de-camp who brought the despatch to read it-^a very unusual pro- ceeding, and in this case probably intended to show his coolness, and set an example to his officers. As the aide-de-camp read, the prince manifested considerable uneasiness, when the emperor turned to him (as the reading of the despatch closed), and asked, "Is that all? — there is nothing changed in the situation." The imperial impassibility produced great sur- prise in those present. All this, however self- possessed and resolute it appeared, must have been assumed, for the worm of remorse and disappointment already preyed upon his heart. The most absurd falsehoods were resorted to by the pro-Eussian press in Europe to magnify the new levies. One of these organs of de- spotism made known that the crown serfs had ofiered the emperor a contingent of 60,000 men, to be employed as sharp-shooters, " among them aE the ermine hunters, estimated at 20,000, who pass their whole lives on the banks of the Oura, or the Oby, in the chase of the fox and the beaver as well as the ermine, they must be skilful marksmen, as this animal (the ermine) can only be aimed at from a con- siderable distance, and must be hit on the nose to avoid injuring the skin. The whole -of these are to be immediately organised, and sent to the Crimea, armed with the Minie rifle." It is needless to say the ermine hunters never made their appearance — the contingent of 60,000 sharp-shooters only existing in the form of the falsehood in which the story was couched. These bravadoes were disregarded by Europe, and when the emperor, himself their chief author and abettor, perceived that they were laughed at, he was filled with mortification and chagrin. All the gigantic efibrts put forth by Eussia were necessary to make up for the drain of men. A report in the Journal of St. Petersburg, pub- lished in January, 1855, stated that from the 5th of October to the 17th of November, the naval loss sustained in Sebastopol was — killed, 4 superior officers, 14 subalterns, 789 sub-offi- cers and sailors ; wounded, 24 superior officers, 104 subalterns, and 2934 sub-officers and sailors. At the same period the Cologne Ga- zette published a letter written from Warsaw, alleging that "the grand active army engaged upon the Danube and in Bessarabia in 1854, lost in killed, 29,204 men; wounded, 55,304; deserters, 6420; disease, 16,156; making a total of 111,132 men." The letter gave no inti- mation whether these numbers included officers, which it is most probable they did not. If this Chap. LXII.J HISTORY OF THE TVAE AGAINST RUSSIA. 61 computation be correct, it will be seen that the Russian army of Prince Paskiewitoh lost heavily by desertion: only a small number of these joined the allied armies, they must, therefore, have mingled with the people of Bulgaria, "Wallachia, and Moldavia, and have been shel- tered and concealed by them. Sickness also must have pressed heavily upon the ranks of the army of the material guarantee, while within the confines of the territory usurped. This account did not include the numbers lost in the i-epeated razzias across the borders after the Austrian occupation. The Russians kept to the end of the war a very firm front on the Danubian frontier of Bessarabia. Thus, on the 13th of January, this state of things was thus described : — " The Danube learns from Akerman that Prince Gort- sohakoif was at this place on the 13th, in the course of a tour of inspection. The Russians retain possession of the Ute de pont at the KiLia arms, and have two batteries there. The Russian steamers cruise uninterruptedly on the river near Isatchka and Tultscha." On the 23rd of the same month the Journal of St. Petersburg gave an account of a re- connaissance by Russian troops across the Danube: — "The troops were commanded by General Ouschakoff, and consisted of four bat- talions, two squadrons, six sotnias of Don Cos- sacks, four pieces of cannon, and a Cossack battery of horse artillery. The Turkish de- tachment was driven out of Babadagh, with a loss of 263 killed, and 83 prisoners. A flag and an ammunition train were also captured. ' On our side,' continues the report, ' one Cossack was wounded ! '" Of course no person believed the perpetually recurring story of the "one Cossack" killed or wounded. The Russian loss on these predatory excursions was fre- quently severe. It is likely that the accounts given above of the numbers sacrificed in the Danubian warfare are much below the truth. The January number of the Russian Marine Magazine contained a report drawn up by the etat-major of the Russian Baltic fleet, which reveals a sacrifice of human life, and an occur- rence of human suffering, which could not have been believed in England on any but a Russian authority : — " The fitting out of the first and second division of the fleet commenced in March, and lasted till the end of April, at which time there was still one foot deep of ice in every ship's hold; the weather had been extremely wretched the whole time of getting ready for sea, accompanied by violent E. and 'E.W. winds. On the 5th of May, ihe Em- peror Peter I. got under weigh, and was fol- lowed within the next three days by all the rest of the vessels, but their evolutions were confined in all to two reconnaissances. Never- theless, in spite of careful treatment, such as VOL. II. fresh meat and vegetables, new bread and warm tea three times a week, the severities of the weather and the exhalations from the frozen bilge-water thawing in the hold, pro- duced inflamed eyes, cholera, typhus, diarrhoea, catarrhal and gastric fevers. Scrofula showed itself in very few vessels, but inflammation of the eyes forms twenty per cent, of the whole number of oases, and they were almost exclu- sively on board ships that remained in the harbour : on board the sailing vessels the cases of illness, in proportion to the number of the crew, were as follows, viz. : — on board the Smolensh, 206 per cent. ; Krasnoi, 108 per cent.; Empress Alexandra, 104 per cent.; Valagos, 103 per cent.; Beresina and Netron Mena, 102 per cent.; with the rest the pro- portion gradually decreased to 40 per cent., which was the rate of sickness on board a vessel that was only eight weeks altogether at sea. On board the steamers the proportion was, on board the Craton, 202 per cent. ; Gro- saschtschi, 170 per cent.; Owasohni, 140 per cent. ; Rurich, 149 per cent. ; Palkan, 98 per • cent. ; and Kamtschatka, 60 per cent. The cases of inflammation of the eyes amounted, on board the Smolensh alone, to 104 per cent, of the crew; the whole number of cases of sickness amounted to 60 per cent, of the whole force. And yet the one squadron was only at sea from the 9th to the 15th of July; the other from the 2l8t to the 27th of August (o.s.) The author of the report recommends that in future the vessels shall not be fitted out so early, nor manned until they are quite free from ice; it is suggested also that the new hands should not be put on board until they have been a little acclimatized. The newly organised marine force, which did not, properly speaking, come into active service, lost 7 per cent, by death during the summer." Throughout January, February, and part of March, the reliable intelligence from nearly every province of the Russian empire exhibited an amount of hardship and suffering shocking to humanity. The Russian army in the field in the Crimea shivered under threadbare tents, and were often tentless, and sorely stricken with disease. The recruiting, or rather con- scription, was felt all over the empire ; but more particularly in Poland, from which more than 60,000 men had been torn away from their families to serve in the Crimea, in Asia, or on the shores of the Baltic. The streets of the towns and villages of Poland were filled with lamentation and woe — mothers weeping, and beyond aU comfort, ran shrieking through the streets, until dragged to prison or struck down by the Russian soldiery ; fathers selling everything they possessed to buy off their sons were robbed of their "smart money," and of their children as well. In the neigh- 62 HISTORY OF THE WAE AGAINST RUSSIA. [Chap. LXII. bonrhood of Kielce, a man of respectable position was deprived by the conscription of his eldest son, who was engaged that day to be married; a younger brother nobly volun- teered to serve in his stead. The father brought the lad to the chief authority, and offered him as the substitute of the betrothed one : being a fine healthy yoang man, he was the fitter of the two for the severities of a soldier's life, so the authorities thought — they accepted him and retained the other, robbing the altar and the parental home at one stroke. The father died in three days, and was speedily followed by the bereaved mother. The accounts furnish no intelligence of her agonies, or her fate, who was widowed on the altar's steps. No feeling, no compassion was shown by the ruthless authorities who wielded the conscription in Poland — they delighted to be barbarous. The conscripts were treated with the uttermost contumely and severity at Kielce ; while the glass was below zero, these poor fellows were placed quite naked in rows in the streets to be examined by the medical men. The requisitions for supplies of all kinds were grinding and oppressive to the last degree, particularly in Poland, Podolia, and the Ukraine. Podolia suffered exactions to the amount of four millions of silver roubles, while several thou- sands of vehicles were provided upon requisi- tion, besides horses and drivers for the convey- ance of troops, luggage, and stores : many of these never returned — the carts were broken up for fire-wood, the horses seized for the artillery, the men drawn into the conscription. In every frontier-town, several hundreds of vehicles were constantly kept in readiness to carry, at a moment's notice into the interior, the public treasuries, garrison, stores, employh, &o. One of the greatest hardships was connected with the military colleges; these were drained of their students, who were sent to join various corps of the army garrisoning the interior, and their places were supplied to a great extent by Jewish children, torn from their parents at the tender age of ten and even of eight years. Sometimes a large ransom, or a considerable bribe to the officials, enabled the poor Jew to gain exemption for his children ; but generally this resort was useless, as another swoop was made by the hand of power to bear their offspring from them. No honour, honesty, sympathy, or compassion, guided the conduct of the Russian authorities, or even mollified the stem discipline of their oflScial acts. The spuit manifested by the Russian govern- ment and nation, in reference to the war, was unworthy of any civilised people. Early in January it was resolved, by a decree at War- saw, that every Frenchman and Englishman who had taken service with Russia during the peace, within the kingdom of Poland, should be forthwith dismissed from his employment, and conducted with contumely to the Austrian and French frontiers. All natives of France or England engaged in any forge, factory, workshop, or domestic service, were to be brought under this proscription. The grooms employed by Russians of rank were generally English ; these were all to be dismissed, to the great inconvenience of their owners. It was intended to extend the decree to all Russia; circumstances arose, however, to modify this proscription; but there was no modification of the angry spirit of czar, soldier, priest, or peasant—all united in grim hatred against whatever thwarted in the least the designs of Russian bigotry and ambition. The government stimulated the military spirit of the nation by liberal rewards to aU by whom any martial service was rendered. Rear- admiral Savoyko received the order of St. George, third class, for the defence of Petro- paulovski. Rewards in the Crimean aimy, and to the navy quartered there, were lavish, and scarcely less so upon the shores of the Baltic. Even the army of reserve, which had no opportunity of winning laurels, partook of the promotions and honours so profusely scat- tered. General Sauskoi, in command of the cavalry of reserve formed at the beginning of the year, and Generals Paweiskoff, Golowine, Germer, and Krause, commanding divisions or brigades, were promoted as an encouragement to the reserve troops to desire removal to the active armies on the frontiers. Hope was also held out to the friends of soldiers in the active armies that commimication with them by letter would be made more cheap and fre- quent; a service of malles-postes from St. Peters- burg to Simpheropol was organised in January, and commenced running as soon as the weather allowed. The animosity cherished to England through- out the Russian empire would pass all belief, if not so well authenticated. Some pretence was made of a better feeling to France, although in reality the hostile animus was little less to that country. England was, however, believed by the government to be the more powerful antagonist, and hence the attempts to excite a fanatical enthusiasm against her were the more constant. The efforts of the press in this way are very amusing to an English reader, revealing the extreme- ignorance and credulity of even the newspaper-reading popula- tion of Russia. The following is a specimen from a paper professing to be an authority on commercial matters — in fact, a journal of com- merce. It affords some indication from its remarks, where France is concerned, of being wiser than it cared to appear to its readers : — "The crop of corn has been insufficient through- out all the states of Europe, and 8,000,000 of Chap. LXIl.] HISTORY OF THE VAE AGAINST EUSSIA, 63 quarters of wheat not being forthcoming in consequence of its export being prohibited — a prohibition which appears to threaten the Prus- sian government itself — no doubt can be enter- tained that England must sue for peace in order to obtain bread. Eut if Europe is to feel dif- ficulties and sufferings, we in our turn shall have to support the privation of aU articles of luxuries, particularly Erenoh wines, which we have been in the habit of purchasing with the proceeds of our corn. It is true that a Eussian writer, M. Boulgarine, has endeavoured to prove that the wines of the Crimea are at least as valuable as those of France, Spain, Hungary, and the Ehine. That, however, wiU. not pre- vent foreign wines from holding the first rank on the tables of St. Petersburg and Moscow. Even at Tobolsk, the wines ef the Crimea will not replace champagne or claret. !Notwith- standing the efibrts of persons in office to revive our hatred against France, it was seen that, during the fetes of Christmas, the productions of that country were so sought after that the dealers completely exhausted all their various stocks of French articles. How can it be reason- ably expected that M. Boulgarine should ever succeed in causing the wines of the Crimea to replace those of France?" A correspondent of a Paris paper, writing from Eussia, remarked: — "Among the other extravagancies of the Eussian press, I will mention the publication of a kind of dialogue between the shade of JSTapoleon I. and France. The illustrious shade asks France whether she madly flatters herself that she can dictate con- ditions to Eussia, now- so differently situated as regards her power from what she was in 1812? As to England, she is represented as being irresistibly led away on the tracks of the followers of Kossuth and Mazzini, and as having entered into an alliance with France with a view to commercial speculations," The general tone of the Eussian people to- wards England diiring the war has been admir- ably sketched in a work entitled the JEkglish- woman in Russia. This lady seems to have been introduced to the ilite of St. Petersburg society, and she represents the English — even ladies — as the objects of rage and hatred on the part of persons who held with them close intimacies, and of long standing : — " I was well acquainted," says the Englishwoman, with a lady who resided in one of the institutes in St. Petersburg, and I was in the habit of fre- quently calling to see her. Before the declara- tion of war I was always met with smiles, and, according to the established custom, the young persons used to bow as they passed us ; but as soon as they knew the war had commenced, we heard them continually make the remark one to another, ' Ne la sahe^pas, ma chire, e'est une Anglaise.' " The following were some of the common, expressions used by persons in the best society : ■ — " ' There will be plenty of English blood shed this year, thank God ! ' ' We must have some new hospitals built for the wounded when the British fleet is destroyed ! ' ' Count Besborodku has made a present of cannon to the emperor, to shoot those swine when they approach us!' 'There won't be many of the British fleet that will ever return home again !'" The real design of Eussia in her conduct to Turkey was often candidly admitted in the hearing of the Englishwoman, and even boast- ingly avowed. They would say : — " ' Quant d Constantinople nous I'aurons, sogez tranquilleJ ' Turkey is ours.' ' There is no such country as Turkey now, and no longer a sultan ; for, henceforward, the game will be played by France and England.' "...." They will never," says the authoress, " forgive us for the check they have received." The spirit of idle gasconade in which the nobility and officers of the army indulged she thus depicts. "While at Odessa she met a select company on one occasion, — "During the whole dinner (at which were some generals, other officers, and ladies of rank), nothing was talked of but the wonderful triumph of the Eussian arms. I am convinced that there was not one single person there who behoved it; but who could venture to doubt the imperial words? Evil would have befallen him who had dared to do so." The following curious exemplification of the mixed feeling to England which the populace entertained is given by this lady: — " The Eus- sians expressed great friendship for Lord Aberdeen, and intense hatred of Lord Palmer- ston, whom they blamed as the prime mover of public affairs, and as the author indirectly of all their misfortunes. I may mention, en, passant, that the names of Napier and Palmer- ston inspired the lower classes with so great a terror, that the women used to frighten the children by saying that the English admiral was coming ! And among the common men, after exhausting all the opprobrious terms they could think of (and the Eussian language is singularly rich in that respect), one would turn to the other and say, ' You are an English dog ! ' Then followed a few more civilities, which they would finish by calling each other ' Palmer- ston ! ' without having the remotest idea of what the word meant; but, as the climax of hatred and revenge, they would bawl out ' Napier ! ' as if he were fifty times worse than Satan himself. From .being favourites in St. Petersburg, the English are now especial ob- jects of hatred, and from our stupid bombard- ment of Odessa, also of contempt. Notwith- standing their antipathy to us, it appears that 64 HISTORY OF THE WAll AGAINST BUSSIA. [Chap. LXII. tte lower classes of Eussia have an idea that if ■we take St. Petersburg they will be no longer slaves, and will have no more poll-tax to pay. This is an opinion that ought to be encouraged, as it might be turned to good account." The main hope of the Russian government, for sustaining the enthusiasm of the people, was in religious fanaticism. Never was the religious feeling of a people made so basely the subject of political speculation. The following letter, dated the 6th of January, 1855, will throw some light upon this conduct : — " The festivities have taken their customary phy- siognomy, and religious ceremonies, visits, gul- janie, and dinner-parties, are the order of the day and night. A. Christmas tree of unusual magnificence has been dispatched to Prince Menschikoff. The town of Sebastopol has also received a gift. Scarfs, embroidered with lau- rels, are at present the fashion, and eVen chil- dren's playthings show the prevailing warlike mania. In these games, all representing mili- tary scenes, the English and French, as you may imagine, get much the worst of it— a Cossack is, for instance, represented in full charge, with half-a-dozen red-coats and French- men transfixed by his lance ! Can what is reported to-day be true — that the court is inclined towards peace? Or is it a brLUiant but hollow glass bubble, to be hung on the Christmas tree of the people ? If we merely obtain time by peace conferences, whereby Austria is of course prevented from action, and must for months sacrifice her pecuniary resources to the support of the array, the gain for us will be immense. Both here and in Gat- schina church parades have taken place. In the following year a universal war tax is to be collected, but in what manner has not been decided in the ministry of war." The members of the royal family seldom visited any government or garrison without making a present of religious relics or pictures : the following brief announcement in a St. Petersburg paper illustrates this : — " The Commandant of 'Woronege, Rubzoff, made a present to the Grand-dukes Nicholas and Mi- chael of two images of saints for Fort Alexander, at Sebastopol." The insurrections in Greece, the discontents in Servia, and the marauding expeditions of Montenegro, were all kept up in a similar manner : bells, pictures, and baubles, associated ■with religion, were profusely bestowed; and the emperor of all the Russias was made to appear as a tender and watchful father over the interests of the only orthodox church (the Greek), destined by heaven to fill the earth, and erect Constantinople as the capital of its holy and glorious empire. This is the secret of the Russian soldier's dogged indifference to life or death in the service of the czar whom he believes to be the minister of heaven, and the avenger of the one, true, holy, orthodox and catholic church — the Greek. The condi- tion and spirit of the Russian soldiery, in this respect, and of the masses of the Russian people from among whom they are taken, may be judged of by an incident among the prisoners captured at Bomarsund, and held in custody in England. The Rev. Mr. StaUybrass, a native of Siberia, of Euglish parents, visited the prisoners at Plymouth. He gave this account of his visit: — "I proceeded to some of the wards, and held conversation with many of the men, aU of whom seemed pleased to see me. I felt the advantage of having spent twenty- four years in Russia, and endeavoured to speak to their hearts, and hope that in some good mea- sure I succeeded. I found that all who can read have copies of the New Testament, either in Russ, or in some other language which they know, and that they received these on their first arrival at Sheerness. This afforded me an opportunity for speaking of the privilege of possessing the New Testament, and their duty and interest in making themselves acquainted with its contents, and obtaining an interest in the blessings it reveals. One man wished to raise a discussion as to the cause of the war, asserting that whereas the English rely on the French, the French on the English, and the Turks on both, their czar relies on God alone, and is fighting only in the cause of religion — -a delusion into which these poor fellows have been cheated. I declined to discuss the point with them, but reminded them of the fact that, by the providence of God, they are here, and have important time and opportunities afforded them, which I besought them diligently and faithfully to improve. I repeated my visit to them in the afternoon, with similar results." This little narrative strikingly portrays the temper of the Russian army and people. These soldiers, although possessing the New Testa- ment, and men of a much superior class to the average soldiery of Russia, yet clung to the idea of the divine mission of their czar; lost sight of their own sufferings and wrongs in loyalty to that mission ; and regarded the oceans of blood shed, and the countless horrors perpe- trated, as only accidents to the great process of. making the world orthodox by the sword of St. Petersburg, and as too trivial to be taken into account when the glorious conquest of the world by the Greek church — through the arms of its chief and representative, the czar — was the object to be attained. The wiU of the autocrat was the law and the religion of the people, reminding one of the indignant and awful language of the prophet of old — " The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means, and my people will have it so, saith the Lord of Hosts." Chap. L.XIII.] HISTOEY OF THE WAE AGAINST KUSSIA. 6S CHAPTEK LXIII. TUEKET DURING THE EARLY MONTHS OF 1853.— SUFFERINGS FROM SCARCITY OF FOOD, AND FROM SICKNESS IN THE CAPITAL.— BAD CONDUCT OF THE SAILORS ASHORE.- ASSASSINA- TIONS OF ENGLISH AND FRENCHMEN BY GREEKS.— THE TURKISH CONTINGENT.— SKIR- MISHES ON THE DANUBE.- EARTHQUAKE AT BROUSSA.— RELUCTANCE OF THE TURKISH GOVERNMENT TO NEGOTIATE. " Alack ! what mischief might be set abroad In shadow of such greatness." — Shakspeke. Henry IV, over-crowded state of the population, Con- stantinople was unhealthy. A new and very fatal disease made its appearance, which it was generally believed was imported from the Crimea. The body of the patient after death, and even before death, became livid ; this led many to call it cholera, but it was proved to be a different disease, although at Balaklava many who died of it were said to have been struck, down by cholera. The suddenness of de- cease was another resemblance to that disease, which led to the mistake. Many of the Turkish and Greek population of the capital were car- ried away during the winter by this mysterious complaint. The state of society at Constantinople was not the best during this period. The French and English naval and military officers who happened to be there on their way to the Crimea, or with the reserves, or in charge of stores and materiel of war, no doubt found opportunities of agreeable intercourse ; bat the general condition of the place, physically, morally, and socially, was utterly bad. The English and Erench sailors contributed, by their intemperance, to disturb the tranquillity of the city; and the lower classes of the Greeks — a vile herd of robbers and assassins, yet despe- rately bigoted in religion — lost no chance that was afforded them of assassinating and plunder- ing the rude mariners, or indeed whoever ex- posed himself to the chance of insult, personal injury, or depredation. Tlie special correspondent of the Daily News, a gentleman of candour and abilit)-, thus de- scribes the state of things as he witnessed it : — "It is to be hoped that the authorities here will take some means for the protection of our men-of-warsmen while on shore, otherwise I fear something very fearful will be the result. There are now a great many vessels — in fact, I believe all the sailing vessels from the fleet — lying here, or within a few miles. Occasionally these men get leave of absence, and, when on shore, scarcely a day passes without some serious disturbance. Many of the men have been stabbed by the Greeks, and I fear many more will share the same fate unless something is done to check these rows. There are a num- ber of low drinking shops kept by the Greeks in and about Galata, where they sell the worst The winter of 1854-5 pressed heavily on Turkey, European and Asiatic; the waste of war was universally felt. Corn, which was six piastres a measure on the northern shores of the Danube, was sixty at Constantinople. There was scarcity of food in the capital of the great empire of the sultan, and . hunger began to pinch both Osmanli and Christians. The Rus- sians were unaccountably permitted to hold the frontier fortresses, and the Bessarabian bank of the Danube ; and they would not per- mit the exportation of corn, which became a drug in the provinces, while the inhabitants of the sultan's capital were in peril of starva- tion. The winter, too, was a severe one — much like that in the Crimea; alternate snow and mud tormented the lazy dwellers in Stamboul, and offered no small obstacles to the transac- tion of business by the officers and agents of the allies. One who experienced the winter of 1854-5 on the Bosphorus, thus wrote in January : — " The dreary winter at Constanti- nople has at length set in, and the streets are a mass of snow and mud. Erom the crowds of strangers who have lately been collected from all parts of the world within the limits of the European quarter, there is an air of animation in the narrow and dirty streets, but an anima- tion without gaiety, and more resembling the bustle of some dingy and populous neighbour- hood of London. The great street of Pera is a dirty lane, formed by high irregular houses, and destitute of all pavement for foot pas- sengers, who miist clamber and slip over the pointed blocks of stone, among horses and asses, porters carrying heavy weights by means of long poles, and crowds of the rabble of the Levant smelling of garlic, and meditating theft. Without large boots or goloshes no one ven- tures to quit his home, and as rain may be expected at intervals of about two hours, each traveller is armed with an umbrella. "When the whole of these are extended at the approach of a shower, the collisions are incessant, and the pathway almost choked. The most con- spicuous figures are the Erench officers, who are met at every turn. The British are almost entirely confined to the Asiatic shore of the Bosphorus." It will surprise none, that with a variable and severe winter, scarcity of food, and an 66 HISTOllY or THE "WAE AGAINST RUSSIA. [Chap. LXIII. description of intoxicating beverages. These fellows entice the sailors in, getting them to drink till they become in a state of helpless intoxication. They are then turned out into the street, these rascals having taken care to clear their pockets first ol all their money. The consequence is, that when they come to their senses, they accuse the man of having robbed them; this he indignantly denies ; how- ever. Jack is not to be put off in that way, so away he goes and collects a number of his companions, and they make a fearful assault upon the house, breaking the windows and trying to force the doors. The Greeks watch their opportunity and sally out in large num- bers with clubs and knives, and make a furious attack on the sailors. The consequence is, that these men being unprovided with any weapons are literally mowed down, and when on the ground three or four of these cowardly ruffians set upon one man. Last Sunday night there were three of these men killed just opposite to the house in which I was. A representation of the fact was made to the consul here by some civilians; but whether he has reported to the admiral of the port I am not aware. There is scarcely a day passes without a similar disturbance. It is said, and I believe with some truth, that these fellows drug the drink, in order to afford them a better opportunity to rob their victims. Another instance of this kind occurred on Saturday last. A sailor from the Britannia came on shore and went into one of these low Greek houses. He was a man described as being a most sober, steady fellow. After he had been there a short time, and par- taken of two or three glasses of grog, he fell down dead. His companions arriving, suspi- cion naturally arose that he had been poisoned ; one of the oflcers of the ship came, and the Greeks were taken into custody by the Turkish police. Everybody thought that under such circumstances there would be a post-mortem examination ; but this morning I learnt that, instead of such being the case, they merely buried the man without any inquiry whatever. One very suspicious fact was that the man had received a month's pay the day before, and on searching his pockets not a shilling was to be found. These or similar affairs are almost of daUy occurrence. If the men are to be allowed leave there ought undoubtedly to be some means adopted for seeming their safety from these fellows while on shore. It may be said that if a man gets intoxicated he must pay the penalty of his folly; but one would imagine that it would be very easy to have a patrol of half English and half Erenoh in these streets to preserve order when these men were on shore, and this would operate as a safeguard against the designs of these harpies, and pro- tect the men ; t^o to placing any reliance on the Turkish police, that is out of the question. If they were to take a man into custody charged with any offence, no matter how serious the charges are, he would be at large in a few days. I have heard several instances, from captains of sailing transports, of the men, after having been on shore, coming off to the vessels in a state of insensibility, evidently produced by drugging." The correspondent of the Morning Chronicle describes the outrages of the English in such terms, that it is marvellous the Turks did not fly to arms to resent such insult. "When it is recollected the sacredness with which Turks, and all orientals, invest the decorum of females, and the sternness with which they insist upon a deferential and modest deportment to them, no person can wonder that the presence of the " infidels," as they might well call us, was hateful to them: — "Just at present the local interest here is limited to the daily and nightly brawls of British and French sailors, amongst themselves and with the peaceable inhabitants. These freaks have frightened away the Turkish women from the Christian portions of Constan- tinople. Formerly they might be seen, espe- cially on Fridays (the Turkish Sunday), in great numbers, crowding about the shops at Pera, or gathering in groups round any object that by its novelty excited their curiosity; whilst those of the upper classes used to make a drive through Pera streets quite the Sunday excursion. They have now almost wholly dis- appeared from the Christian suburbs — and no wonder. It Avas only last week that four sailors hoisted an unfortunate Turkish lady upon their brawny shoulders, and carried her in great glee and triumph from the centre of Galata to the great wooden bridge that spans the Golden Horn, in spite of her most earnest entreaties to be released. Finally, they let her fall, and fortunately she was not hurt. These kind of practical jokes are not relished. The Turks are furious at these proceedings, but swallow their wrath, in the knowledge of their helpless position. There is some talk of establishing a European police at Pera; it would be very well, as the Turkish oavasses do not much like interfering with their allies when the worse for liquor. There was a row at the theatre the other night, and several heads were broken." As the winter advanced, the pranks of the "Western sailors, and assassinations by Greeks increased ; although the French, always supe- rior to us in organisation, made arrangements to check excesses, and to bring to light the criminals whose daggers were so often steeped in the blood of the rough brave hearts that trusted to the treacherous race. Even when considerably repressed, the evils existed sufB.- ciently to endanger life, disturb the tranquillity CuAP. LXIII.] HISTOET OF THE WAE AGAINST EUSSIA. 67 of the city, and shock every principle and pre- judice of the Osman race. A gentleman, whose mission to Turkey was of a religious nature, thus descvihes the moral aspect of the place when winter was expiring, and there was hope that the dark nights would not much longer afford obscurity to the wrong-doers : — ' ' Our intemperate habits are procuring contempt and hatred for us in the Turkish capital. British and Erench war vessels are there under repair, and the English and French sailors are drunken and riotous to such a degree, as proves not merely horrifying but dangerous to the sober and peaceful Turks. In their drunken quarrels heads are broken and windows smashed, and every feeling of decent propriety completely outraged. The Turkish women have been frightened away by their mad freaks from every quarter where the Christian populations abound. The old men shake their heads, and invoke explanations from Allah. The Turks are goaded to fury by their conduct, but are unwilling to deal hardly by their allies. The French and English authorities ought instantly to interfere. How dreadful ! The Cross, as represented by our blue jackets, must be exe- crated by the men of the Crescent." These things contributed much to the loss of that respect which had undoubtedly attended tie English name in the capital of the Turkish empire. The blunders and disorganisation which occurred before the eyes of the Turks, the treatment of the wounded and sick, the irreverent burial of the dead, the sufferings of the troops in the Crimea, the condition of ne- glect and misery iu which British ships brought the invalided thence to the Bosphorus, the tidings of government abuse in England, and, finally, of the fall of the Aberdeen cabinet amidst the execrations of the English people, led the inhabitants of Stamboul to believe that the days of England's greatness were numbered, and the last struggling light of her glory fast fading away. All eyes were turned to France ; the war was called the battle of the two em- perors — Napoleon and Nicholas : the Turks had ceased to hope for any advantage for them- selves ; whichever won — French or Euss, Latin or Greek — there seemed in their eyes only humiliation for the faith and the land of the prophet. England was considered as drawn into the war by the superior skill and power of the French emperor, who needed the assist- ance of her fleet. The prestige of her ambas- sador still continued, because his official power had become something like an institution of the country ; but his misconduct in reference to the Asiatic campaign, and his neglect of the sick in the hospitals of Scutari, lowered his personal influence. The Turks could not un- derstand how, after such things, he could con- tinue to represent the majesty of Great Britain, unless there were some new and inexplicable evil working at the root of English government and English greatness. The proposal for a Turkish contingent to increase the British army acted in opposite ways upon English influence. On the one hand, it was accepted as a proof of cordiality; and as the soldiers of England occupied the ' first place in the lists of valour in the esteem of the Turk, he felt honoured by the proposal to rank with such. On the other hand, it was asked how could England be a great nation, and men be scarce ? Were not men the pride and wealth of an empire ? How could Eng- land be rich if poor in warriors ? France had not to resort to such means of gaining numbers for her legions ; was she not then greater than England ? Throughout all Asiatic, as well as European, Turkey, this train of reflection pre- sented itself to the minds of the Osmans. "Whatever the feelings excited, the sultan's government entered into a convention with that of Great Britain, empowering it to raise a military force of 20,000 men, to be employed in conjunction with the British army in the Crimea, or elsewhere, in the prosecution of the war to which the sultan was committed. It was intended to ofiicer these troops to some extent with experienced foreigners, and to a greater extent with gentlemen holding the commission of the Hon. East India Company. The work of raising these troops was not pro- secuted with good order, or an energetic spirit. DifS.oulties, some of which were foreseen, im- peded the object; but these were slowly but finally overcome, and the Turkish contingent was at last organised. The troops, however, were not, as at first proposed, entirely Turkish : Poles, Hungarians, Italians, and men of other nations joined the force; and in England it was openly recruited for, and a regular depot for recruits established at "Woolwich. The writer of these pages visited "Woolwich, from the in- terest he took in the undertaking, and felt in every respect disappointed in the character of the accessions there embodied. Mere " raw lads," taken from the lowest possible condition in life, and without much physical vigour, con- stituted the bulk of the gathering for the con- tingent at "Woolwich. Their conduct there was such as their appearance would lead a visitor to expect — brawls and outrages abounded, and some cowardly assaults were perpetrated by the stronger and bolder of the party upon the others. The foreign recruits for the contingent were generally morally and physically superior, although many of these also were not to be made a subject of boasting. On other pages of this History further notices of the Turkish contingent will be appropriately made. "While England was enlisting the Moham- medan subjects of the sultan, Eussia was enlist- 68 HISTOET OF THE WAE AGAINST RUSSIA. [Chap. LXIII. inghis Christian subjects. A Greek contingent was much more eagerly sought by Eussia than the Mussulman corps by Great Britain. Many Greeks found their way to Eussia, and en- tered tlie czar's service. Most of these were drafted off to the Crimea, according to their own desire — as they almost to a man volun- teered to be led at once against " the allies of Mohammed;" they could see the war only as one for their faith. About 4000 of these Greek volunteers were numbered among the rein- forcements which arrived for the defence of Sebastopol, during the severe weather which marked the opening of the year 1855. At Sebastopol they fought bravely. Among the volunteers for the sorties, Greeks were always prominent ; and many fell, both in the French and English trenches, fighting with all the desperation of a fanatical contempt of death. Armenians also entered into the czar's service, especially in Asia ; but they were for the most part serviceable as spies, commissaries, and civil agents, rather than soldiers, — seldom ex- hibiting the Crreek alacrity to meet the enemy. A deep depression marked the minds of the more thoughtful Turks, while rage and a burn- ing desire for revenge animated the more fanati- cal followers of " the prophet" — in consequence of the efforts made by the ministers of the Western powers to obtain concessions for the Christians, whose tone was insolent and offen- sive to the last degree. ITor could it be said that the Christians of any creed felt grateful to the West for interposition in their favour. They attributed any advantages which they derived, or were likely to derive, to Eussia ; because, had not Eussia gone to war for the disenthralment of the Greek church from the Mohammedan yoke, the Western nations would have made no efforts for their redemption. The French were especially urgent that "the Greek Catholics," and Franks, and Armenian proselytes to " the Western church," should have certain liberties guaranteed ; and our allies did not appear to be very particular as to the tone and temper in which their requests, or rather requisitions, were urged. A leading paper in Constantinople surprised and scan- dalised the adherents of " the prophet," by the following announcement in one of its issues : — " It is known that the construction of a new Christian church at Scutari, in Al- bania, has been authorised by a recent reso- lution of the Ottoman Porte. The following are the principal passages of the firman ad- dressed on this occasion to the Mussulman functionaries of the pashalio : — ' The Catholic population of the town of Scutari having implored my imperial permission to build a church in the interior of the city, in which they might perform divine service, I have issued in writing this sacred order granting that permission. It is useless to call to mind that the tranquillity and welfare of the sub- jects of my sublime Porte are one of the dearest objects of my imperial solicitude. I have, therefore, issued an order emanating from my imperial grace to all concerned, to afford due help and assistance in this work.' " It was not only on the subject of concession to the Christians that the Porte manifested an unwillingness to negotiate — this reluctance extended to the proposed conferences at Vienna for a treaty of peace. The Turks felt that all negotiations had somehow envied, of late years, in new concessions to the enemies of their religious ascendancy in their own empire, and territorial loss to the encroaching power which now waged a causeless war upon them. They also constantly referred to the case of the cele- brated Vienna note, when France and England fell into the Austrian trap, or else united with Austria to ensnare Turkey. They cherished vividly the recollection, that to the firmness of their own divan was to be attributed the escape of the empire from what would have proved a virtual surrender to Eussia. These memories and feelings so worked upon the mind of the Ottoman people, that public opinion was very adverse to any negotiations at all. They de- sired the allies not to interfere with the inter- nal affairs of the empire in any way ; and they expected that if the integrity of the Turkish empire was an affair of European policy, that the war should be urged on, until Eussia, baffled and beaten, should sue for peace on the conditions which the allies were willing to vouchsafe. That these feelings should prevail was the more to be expected as the Danubian frontier was still in an unsatisfactory condition. Aus- tria held an armed occupation of Moldavia and Wallachia, but oppressed and plundered the people, and did not prevent the Eussian troops from making infamous razzias across the Pruth. The Turkish troops had been prevented by Austria from pursuing the fugitive Eussians, and capturing, as they then would have been able to do, the strong positions on the Danube, where that river separates Bessarabia and the Dobrudscha. The Eussians made incur- sions across the Danube as well as the Pruth, and the Turkish territory of Bulgaria was harassed; while the sultan's provinces of Wal- lachia and Moldavia were harried by Eussian bands, and plundered in legal form, and under pretence of protection, by Austrian generals. The Turkish authorities, meanwhile, took measures for maintaining a line of observation along the banks of the Danube. Troops were quartered at Sutcha, Matschin, Silistria, Eust- ■ chuk, Giurgevo, and Widdin, amounting to twenty- throe battalions of infantry, -while twenty-eight battalions were held in reserve Ottip. LXIIL] HISTOEY OF THE WAK AGAINST EUSSIA. 69 at Stumla; eleven batteries of artillery, and eiglit regiments of cavalry were allotted to this observation. Ismail Pasha, the hero of Kalafat, received the command of the army in Koumelia, assisted by Merze Said Pasha and Kel Hassan Pasha. Yaya Pasha and Achmet Pasha held the command in Bulgaria, at Shumla, and on the river frontier of Bessa- rabia. These arrangements were very effec- tual, as the Eussians were severely punished in several of their forays, called by themselves reconnaissances. The Journal de Constantinople published early in February several paragraphs similar to the following, showing the penalty paid by the Eussians for their temerity on the Danube, and proving the loyalty of the Danu- bian provinces to the sultan's throne : — " News has reached us by way of Matsohin and Braila, that the Eussian expeditionary corps in the Dobrudscha, wishing to force the passage of a river, has been beaten, with heavy loss, after a combat of some hours, by the rearguard of Yaya Pasha, and that it has already crossed the Danube at Tultscha and Ismail. For the last four or five days all the Turkish forces at Braila and the neighbourhood, under the com- mand of Achmet Pasha, have been leaving, in order to cross the Danube at Gouva-Yalonitza over to the right bank. At the very pressing request of Yaya Pasha, Prince Stirbey has caused to be purchased and sent on to Eust- cliuk and Silistria 650 draught osen and buf- faloes for conveying the baggage of the Turkish army. This is a great saorifioe in the present exhausted state of the country, which has lost 100,000 head of horned cattle through the forced exactions of the Eussians. Prince Stirbej', de- sirous as ever of proving Ids devotion to the cause of his sovereign, acceded without the least hesitation to the demand of Yaya Pasha." The Turkish expedition to Eupatoria, under the command of Omar Pasha, produced a good effect upon the military spirit of the country. The insults to which the Tunisian and other Islam soldiery were subjected in the Crimea, over since the battle of Balaklava, had stung the heart of the whole people ; for the strangest exaggerations of the ill-usage visited upon them by the Giaours, were circulated through Eu- ropean and Asiatic Turkey. General expec- tation was now entertained, that, under the auspices of Omar, in the new expedition, feats of arms redounding to the glory of the old Osmanli name would be performed. Among the incidents which created much uneasiness at Constantinople, was the fire at the French hospital. Some of the patients, it was alleged, were buried or suffocated ; and the French authorities, by hushing the matter up, stimulated public curiosity, and caused many exaggerated rumours to be put into cir- culation. The truth was, no loss of life took TOl. II. place, although severe injuries were received. It was an exciting scene when the flames, gaining ascendancy, enveloped the building, and the Turkish and French soldiers exposed themselves bravely to danger in order to secure the invalids, who had to be borne away during a night of piercing cold, and deep darkness, to the asj'lums opened to receive them. The Turks, ever mindful of the dead, bent their way fearlessly through the flames, and carried off some bodies of French soldiers who had recently died. This circumstance gave rise to the report of more than twenty invalids hav- ing been burned in their beds. There were 500 sick unable to do anything for their own removal when the fire burst forth — a know- ledge of this fact carried a thrill of horror through the whole population, Turk and Frank, and stimulated the energies of all who took part in the rescue. It was very generally remarked as singular, that the French, so orderly and accustomed to precise method in their organisations, should have been the cause and the chief victims of three great fires since the landing at Gallipoli : namely, the fire at Varna, which nearly destroyed the town where were the allied head-quarters; that at the arsenal, in which a vast store of provi- sions for the French army were consumed; and this at the hospital. Our allies did not allow these losses to incommode them, their habits of organisation and dispatch in all military matters came to their aid : wherever an open space could be found at Constantinople sheds were run up, and converted into stores or hospitals, and the strictest economy was united with perfect subordination and exten- sive efiioiency. In these respects the English suffered in Constantinople, as everywhere else during the campaign; a correspondent of the Times, writing at the beginning of March, ob- serves : — " This capital has few large build- ings, except those belonging to the government, and those are required more than ever by the Turks themselves. "VYe have had for months a ship of 1100 tons in harbour used as a naval store, at a cost of nearly SOs. per ton per month, or about £16,000 a-year. This sum would pay for the erection of iron stores large enough to contain a hundred times as much beef and pork as can be held by the Canterbury. The ground might easily be obtained from the Turks, and the materials used, after serving all purposes during the war, would be worth nearly their original price after it is over. Constantinople must be the heart of the great system of war- fare in the East, and, unless preparations be made for the convenient and effective trans- action of business and reception of troops and supplies here, it cannot be doubted but that confusion will prevail at every spot where the war may be actually carried on." 70 HISTOET OP THE "WAE AGAINST RUSSIA. [Chap. LXIII. The Erencli obtained better sites for their stores, hospitals, and camps throughout the war. This seems especially to have been the case in reference to hospitals. A writer, cognisant of the facts, thus discussed it in a leading Lon- don periodical : — " The two stations of Scutari and Kulali are most conyeniently situate for the transport of wounded and sick from the vessels to the hospital, and are also far removed from the close and tobacco-laden atmosphere of Pera. But the inconvenience which results from their being placed on the opposite shore of an arm of the sea, liable to sudden squalls at all times, and in winter almost impassable, is more than equivalent to these advantages. The officers who have the management of our hospitals are obliged to have recourse to a miserable caique whenever they wish to con- sult with the authorities on this side of the water; for, though a steamer has been esta- blished to ply across, it is not suited to the necessities of men who may be detained for an unlimited time, or summoned at a moment's notice to make the journey. The consequence is, that the British authorities are accustomed to do as much business as possible in a single visit, and, with the exception of the naval oflBcers and a few belonging to regiments just arrived, very few of our countrymen are to be met with within the limits of the capital. The Erenoh, however, are to be found every- where, and their tasteful uniforms add much to the liveliness of the streets on a fine day, which, in this changeful climate, may be expected occasionally even in the depth of winter." As it is necessary to give some information concerning our hospitals, in addition to what our last chapters on that subject contained, it can no where be more appropriately introduced than in a chapter on Turkey. The following letter was written by a medical officer, and it is interesting, as affording not only additional light as to the state of the sick and wounded, but as to the spirit subsisting in the early months of 1855 between the Turks and British. The letter is dated Constantinople, the 14th of Eebruary, 1855 : — "I came down here with sick and wounded. I was asked to take charge of some of them. I consented, and 110 cases of fever, cholera, and dysentery, in every stage of weakness or prostration, were placed in my hands. Tou have no conception of the horrors of a ship full of such cases. We throw overboard daily three or four dead bodies. We have sick and dead in every regi- ment, particularly the unfortunate 63rd. I recognised many of them as Dublin carmen. Often have I given them sixpence for a set down, or threepence to bring me to Sandy- mount. 'Do you want a car, your honour?' and ' One seat here, sir,' are to them now for- gotten words. The regiment is quite broken up. Nine hundred came to the Crimea, but when we left only forty could muster — 660 gone for ever — fine brave fellows ! These forty have been ordered to leave the camp, and it is said that the officers will be drafted into other regiments. It is extraordinary how one be- comes accustomed to horrid sights and dread- ful stories. Everywhere one goes dead or djdng horses offend the eyes and nose. Such also is the case at Varna, where the camp was. The dogs and vultures are busy at- work, tear- ing away at the carcasses, revelling in their revolting carnival ; but I wish we had more of them with sharp appetites, that they might eat up the horses as quickly as they die. I saw William Eussell, the Times' correspondent; he is a very agreeable fellow, full of fun, wit, and manliness. We brought here some Turks and some Eussians who had deserted ; our men could not endure the Turks. They would not allow them to sleep in the room in which they slept ; but they at once fraternised with the Eussians. This feeling against the Turk is countenanced by the officers, many of whom act in a very unkind manner to the poor creatures. I saw Omar Pasha at Yarna. When he came to Balaklava he was greatly enraged at seeing the Turkish soldiers com- pelled by the allies to act as beasts of bur- den. I have always found the Turks civil and obliging. Do not credit the opinion that they are not brave. The crescent has waved as boldly and triumphantly in the battle as the banner of France or England." A week later Miss Nightingale wrote to the London Times, and Mrs. Bracebridge to the Messrs. Cuthbert, in connection with the sup- plies sent to the hospitals. Both letters are dated Scutari. " Miss Nightingale presents her compliments to the editor of the Times, and begs that he will allow her to acknowledge, in its columns, a few of the presents from the benevolent which she has received. The greater number have been sent anonymously, or referred to in letters which it is not possible to connect with letters received months previously. Messrs. Cuthbert have announced sixty-eight tons of goods by the Harlequin, not yet arrived, and goods are invoiced by the Grmsus, Ka/rnac, Le- lanon, Chester, Snoiodon, Sollander, Amity, Stately, &c. — vessels not yet in the harbour of Constantinople. "Packages have been received from Mrs. Portal, 3, Wilton Place; Mrs. Eice, High Street, Croydon, shirts and old linen; Mrs. Williams, Eue de Pont Neuf, Nice Maritime, list shoes and linen ; Mrs. Eindley, Easterhill, and Mrs. Maolath, Daldown, Lanarkshire; Lady Manners, Dowager Lady Napier, Mrs. Chap, LXIII.] HISTOEY OF THE WAE AGAINST EUSSIA. 71 Jodsell, Mrs. Gundry, of Hyde; collection — Miss Capell, Eloore, near "Weedon ; friends of Captain May, of the brig Star of Sunderland ; the ladies round Wakefield, and Mr. Smyth, Heath HaU ; Eaton Eectory ; Coleshill, "VVar- wickshire; Atherstone, "Warwickshire; Colo- nel Napier, Portsmouth; H. Baker & Co., Ill, New Bond Street; Mrs. De Berfor and Mrs. Billings, 16, St. Germains Place, Black- heath ; collected by Captain and Mrs. Balfour, Blaokheath, books, linen, shirts, stockings, and bandages; ladies of Needham Market, collected by/ Miss E. Diggins, linen, tracts, sundries ; Brighton, one piece of flannel, pillows, jerseys, linen, &c. ; Mrs. Dennett, Worthing, shirts and sheets, fifty pocket-handkerchiefs, books, tapes, thread and pins, &c. ; Eichmond, Surrey ; Dr. Bullar, warm clothing, contributed by the ladies of Southampton, thirty-six pUlows, cam- phor, and five parcels of lozenges; Edward May, Esq., Mrs. 'William White, Newport; Mrs. Pennington, books; J. Danks, Esq., Sher- wood Hall, Nottingham ; Dr. Beddingfleld, lint and bandages ; Mrs. Eawlinson ; Eoyal Hotel, Bodmin, Cornwall; Miss Catt, West Street, Brighton; D. G. Douglass, South- ampton, a tin of arrowroot ; collection by Mr. Bell and Mrs. Baillie ; two dozen old Marsala, London, anonymous ; Mrs. Eoot, Alderbury House, Salisbury ; two bales from Bonchurch ; X. Y. Z., 45, Baker Street, Portman Square, a box containing shirts, stockings, a cheese, preserves, potatoes, onions, stationery, books, camphor, &c. ; Shurmacher, pillows, preserves, flannel shirts, sheets, shirts, comforters, &c." Scutari Hospital, Feb. 22. "Deab Sirs, — ^Will you be so kind as to announce that the Uoffle, Army and Navy, Burham, Teneriffe, and other ships have arrived here, with numerous packages and gifts of the benevolent for Scutari ? "Her majesty's gifts came in the Eagle. Mr. Gamble sent a large assortment of potted meat. A celebrated wine-merchant (name con- cealed) thirty dozen of port. Messrs. Gardener and Co., of Palermo, fifty boxes of lemons and fifty boxes of oranges, for the sick and wounded, and the same to the Prenoh. "We must tax our friends' patience as to acknowledging particular cases. Many have lately been found by Mr. Barber in Custom House and merchants' stores, and sent over, but some are gone to Bordeaux, and some are lost. By another post I wUl acknowledge a large number. Many cannot be acknowledged, as we have no means of comparing packages with letters received long ago. " Yours obediently, " H. Beacebeidse." " Messrs,