Papurau Newydd Cymru

Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru

Cuddio Rhestr Erthyglau

10 erthygl ar y dudalen hon

THE BRITISH EXPEDITION.

Newyddion
Dyfynnu
Rhannu

THE BRITISH EXPEDITION. BEFORE SEBASTOPOL, Jan. 19. There have been severe and isuddeii alternations of f brnperature within these last few days, but the frost and  have enabled the men to get up considerable sup- P?s of warm clothing, though the means at our disposal 0 not permit of the wood for huts being got up to the (ront. Men have been frozen in their tents, and several soldiers on duty in the trenches have been removed to bospital with severe frost bites, and suffering from the f ec's of the bitter cold winds and frost. When a path h as once been trodden through the snow, men and horses Can get along j much more easily than if they had to wade through mud or across a country in a state of semisolu- tlon; but temperature in such weather is very trying in a tent, particularly when there is a scanty supply of charcoal nd no wood- Many thousands of fine coats, lined with Ur and skins, of long boots, and of gloves, mits, and sacks have been served out to the men, but I know of regimental hospitals in the front where the sick men in Wet marquees have only one blanket to lie upon at this very date, if the word of the regimental surgeons and the evidence of one's eyesight are to be believed. The report Of the commissioners who have been sitting here will atonish the world if it be founded on the testimony of the "'Itnesses examined by them, and it is likely, from the Character of the gentlemen employed by the Duke of New- elltle on this inquiry, that he will receive ample and tltlstvrorthwy information respecting the condition of our Slck and wounded men and the working of our medical ad- tnirl istration. The supplies of clothing distributed up to II. date do not suffice by any means for the requirements VI 'he troops. A few days more well employed may, how- ever, enable our troops to clothe themselves. One cannot but regret that the articles which arrived in Balaklava in the beginning of January were not sent from England so as to reach us in the month of November. "herever the troops went these articles would have been required in a winter campaign, and we are almost inclined to regret the victory of the Alma, which bred in us such overweening confidence and blinded us to the necessity of aking the most ordinary precautions to save the lives of the men who won it from the effects of a Crimean winter. or myself, I must say one of the most melancholy sub- j. ects for reflection in the world, is the sight of our present army. It consists of officers, men, and regiments almost new to this campaign. The generation of six months ago has passed away; generals, brigadiers, colonels, captains, and men, the well-known faces of Galiipoli, of Bulair, of Scutari, of Varna, of Aladyn, of Devna, of Monastir-aye, even of the bivouac at Bouljanak, have changed; and there is scarce one of the regiments once so familiar to me which I can recognize now save by its well-known Ilurnber. What a harvest Death has reaped, and yet how many more are ripe for the sickle of the Great Farmer It is sad to meet an old acquaintance, for all one's re- miniscences are of noble hearts now cold for ever, and of friend after friend departed. And then comes,—" Poor fellow he might have been saved, if- Except Lord Raglan, Lord Lucan, and Sir R. England, not one of our Generals now remains of those who came Out here originally; the changes among our brigadiers colonels have been almost as great. Sir George ]Browne, the Duke of Cambridge, the Earl of Cardigan, Sir George Cathcart, Sir De Lacy Evans, General Tylden, General Strangways, Brigadier Bentinck, Brigadier Goldie, 13rigadier Buller, Brigadier Adams, Brigadier Torrens, ^r,gadier Cator, Lord de Ro-aU have been removed from ."e army by wounds, by sickness, or by death. And so it js the men themselves. Regiments which served th ?ough the cholera campaign of Bulgaria, and which have not been renewed by strong draughts, are now re- d ced to the number of strong companies, and every day war lasts under its present conditions has its own engthy obituary. ?On the 16th the thermometer was at 14 degrees in the corning and at 10 degrees on the heights over Balaklava. lrhe snow fell all night, and covered the ground to the ?epth of three feet; but the cold and violent wind drifted  m places to the depth of five or six feet. In the morn- 8 1,200 French soldiers came down to Balaklava for not andshell, and the agility, good spirits, and energy "Ith which they ploughed through the snow were alike Admirable. The wind blew almost a gale, and the native horses refused to face it, but our poor fellows came trudg- Ing along in the same dreary string, and there was some- thing mournful in the very aspect of the long lines of "lack dots moving across the vast expanse of glittering snow between Sebastopol and Balaklava. When these dots came up you saw they had very red noses and very ?h'te faces and very bleared eyes; and as to their clothes, p a *taff would have thought his famous levy a corps d'?lite if he could have beheld our gallant soldiery. Many of as ragged and as reckless in dress. The qJ6 nera'8 make appeals to their subalterns to wear their 81 8>  there is now no other way of telling them from the"?° It is 'nexPressihly odd to see Captain Smith, of th -i? Of tt? Foot, ?'th a pair of red Russian leather boots Un tn i/ '8 middle, a cap probably made out of the tops of h:« v, i »a" white skin coat tastefully embroidered all Tfi £ u a, with Sowers of many-colound silk, topoJedfA v « la dustman of London, stalking wcahpy ture XT* A mud of B?klava, intent on the capture of a Dot of jam or marmalade. Do you wonder ?hy ? are a? M??? nF ?-- "? TBlecause it is portable  me??e ? • ? substitude for butter and butter uumeataKlo \aJ 18 .a substitude for butter, an d butter is Only Spnt °! e casks and giant crocks, one of which nni,u us* the transport resources of a regiment, Captain Ith is m?ch ore like his great namesake of theAd?] ? ? ?' ? ?""?? gone by, he made up for a ar"handit, than the pride of the High-street than the pride of the High-street Porf or than that hero of the Phoenix-park, with a ?'"gs like an angel, before the redness of ^hose Presence little boys and young ladies trembled. All this would be rather facetious and laughable, were not Poor f ?P?. ? Smith a famished wretch, with bad chilblains, annr °??ating to frost bites, a touch of scurvy, and a ? t? rheumatism.' Many of our men have been crippled by th cold, and of our officers, Captain Strong, of the QOldstrean, Guards, has been obliged to go down on leave, *ith0ne ?ot badly frostbitten. Our men have been seen about in the trenches and in the camps bare- foote d, Ind yet ankle-deep in snow. They could not get their f f611 oots and shoes on their swollen feet. Cap- tai0 O'e°rman, of the 90th (to whose case I alluded in letter), has been sent down here on a mule litter tt )? Excellent as the mule litters are, some accidents ha?a ??edfrom their use this frosty weather; for if a !tt? ?"'o?s the patient is thrown out, and is very pro- b?] '"Jured severely. A sick man was killed in that tt)' ??? other day, and two or three serious casualties have rl8en from the same cause. Th1,8 ?°? weather has brought great quantities of wild fowl °*? the camp, but it is rather too busy a spot for them to alight in. They can scarcely recognize their old ha Ots in the Chersonese, and fly about disconsolately ??"eir much metamorphosed feeding grounds. Solemn dlgnts of "'? geese, noisy streams of barnacles, curlew, lick,ieon I dippers, dappers, divers, and cormorants i over the harbour, and stimulate the sporting pro- Pen ^• .e* of the seamen and boys, who keep up a constant fusi ?°*? the decks at the bewildered bipeds. Balls ?d ??"shot and No. 1 whistle unpleasantly close to 0Qe» 8 ears, and yesterday a man on shore was disagreeably t?? ed by receiving a rifle bullet slap through his arm. }j0 ever> the sport is not to be interfered with, and as !on&  Powder and shot last and the cold weather endures ?e v8 aM have this war against the Russian wildfowl. ? ? flocks of larks and finches congregate about the and the cavalry camps, and are eagerly sought 4fter our allies, who much admire this petite e?<MM, ^hi h furnishes them with such delicate reliefs to the tn °'?y of ration dinners. They are rather reckless in Pur of their quarry, and as a flight of pellets rattle terlnst a tent the enthusiastic Zouave in chase of a flut- ter! ? bunting is frequently greeted by sounds which his ij? ance of English alone prevents him from considering 4 #-errima causa belli. Qn the 17th there was a diminution of the cold early in t?n "?orning? though the wind blew strongly and keenly 111 n'8ht. The Adelaide arrived in Balaklava after a <Dl nd? td passage from England, and the passengers must ha Ve been a little astonished at the truly Christmas aspect Presented by the Crimea; somewhat more real and less j ??' they would find it had made the army than the plea- 6*nt Pictures which represents florid young gentlemen 8lo ? S over imaginary puddings and Christmas presents >!l ),, 'u te to, and ready, in snug coats and gorgeous ep *1 '° partake of the fare that England has, in facti8enl to ??** dear boys in the Crimea, but which none Ofehave got as yet, and which none of them will ever Cat I such comfort and with such appliances of luxury. Th jre ?? a wind that would effectually deprive, if wind 4\ U do it, bny number of rats of their whiskers to-day, An *10"8 to ??? what things were like up on the heights ?bo? B?aklava, I started, with my gun on my shoulder, tahr ?Sh the pasfS across the hill, knee-deep in snow, and after a futile shot or two at great, rawnecked vultures, stately eagles, and some more fortunate cracks at hi ?-ock8," scraping the snow off the points of the c)-J ?"? in the camp of the Highlanders, several eet b 1 <> .fl b 'Ie fe?"?ow the elevated position of the Rines, but quite Ijj enough to induce me to accept a hearty invitation to stop to dinner, and rest for the night. Oh, could Cale- olne. t'" r any "?c?. -'3/eMt?raM!'?? ???," or any of e h'gh-spirited Celtic gentlemen who are fightIng ??,. °? rampant and Scottish rights, and the garb of tha? respectable person, Auld Gael but see for oue mo- m what their countrymen are like as they fare this C- eat winter, h ow shamed they woul d be of their ktlrnean wit.er," how shamed they would be" of their ?ilt and philibeg and stocking declamation! All such thin ? are clean gone, and if the gallant Highlanders ever ?Ci  kilt ?°? '? "or Punishment! Breeks—low-lived tee ks d 1 .I' d (I s ?eek t??? blanket gaiters, and any kind o( leggings O'ert' are the wear of our Scottish Zouaves, though, in  ?°?h, they are no more like Zouaves, except in PoDU ?'?ern legendary, than they are like Dutchmen o;, P- Van Winkle. The fact is, that in fine weather the f °,'?o? the kilt over the loins are oppressively hot and __?'"?' cold weather, as long as a man is taking actiT* exercise, the kilt is bearable, because it keeps the st°  thighs and hips warm, and the small space Letw fall of ?he kilt and beginning of the stocking nr?t?t .f 18 protected HV FK ?orous circulation but if a man in a kilt bivouacked  a hillside a cold night he wou'd be an object for th H 1 sIde of a cold mght I' wou e an Object for the Hurtialie Society next morning. Over the   the wT Oklng down from the heights towards the valley of the c ernaya, I could see those indefatigable Cossacke ridiae???? th'? row the snow over their picket- ground, Md 'ew waSson. were ete?Uog &lons from BB—BMBM—KBI^—^———B— Mackenzie's Farm towards the heights of Inkermann. A vidette or two were trotting up and down along a ridge, keeping a bright look-out on our movements, and through the glass we could see them flapping their hands under their arm-pits, as London cabmen do of a cold night when waiting for a fare. Towards Baidar pickets of the same active but cowardly gentry were moving along to keep themselves waim. We had no cavalry posts advanced towards them. Why not ? Because we could not send any out conveniently. Those rugged ruffians, in sheepskin coats and fur caps, mounted on ragged ponies, with deal lances and coarse iron tips, are able to hold ground in drifting snow and biting wind which our cavalry, such as they are, could not face. I could see the Russians quietly rebuilding their huts near Tchorgoun. The reconnissance had done them little harm in military point of view but, as we have now shut them out from the Inkermann road, they must have a difficult route to get over to the city. By cutting off the aqueduct, we gave them an excellent road. It does not seem to have occurred to any one that by turning on the water again, and by rebuilding the com- munication, we could deprive them of the same mode of communication. Of course our generals and engineers have thought of the plan, but there must be some good reason not known to a civilian for not carrying it into ef- fect We hear that Lord Lucan has addressed a strong letter to Lord Raglan on the subject of the employment of the cavalry, which has already eventuated" in the loss of about E40,000 in horse-flesh. The horses have been used as commissariat hacks, and, though they must be considered as representing upwards of Eloo each be- fore they can be replaced, the work has been allotted to them unsparingly. JANUARY 18. Lord Raglan came down to-day to Balaklava. General Airey also came down and inspected an attempt to pre- pare sleighs for carrying up shot to the front. Lord Raglan visited Lord Lucan, and went over the cavalry camp, which he had not seen since it was formed here, and I believe the result of the visit is that his Lordship will not allow the few remaining cavalry horses to be employed henceforth as commissariat ponies. The cavalry officers will be greatly pleased at this, as they were rather hurt at the ground on which they were employed on this service, which was in effect that they were of no further use in the war. Lord Raglan gave several orders calculated to pro- mote the comfort of the troops, and his unusual presence among the officers and men has been attended with the best effects, and has assimulated every branch of the service at Balaklava and at the depots. A thaw has set in. There is a great want of fuel and charcoal, and regiments which have sent down for charcoal have not been able to get any. The Emue arrived with the 14th Reginient. The roads to the camp are very bad owing to the thaw. As I write there is a heavy cannonade going on from the Russian against the French lines. It is understood that the verdict of the general court-martial on the man who was found out near the Russian lines, and away from his party, is favourable. It is not now necessary to allude any further to the circumstance. A man trying to desert the other day was shot by his comrade. Captain Macdonald, of the 93d Regiment, who up to this time has acted in the onerous and disagreeable posi- tion of Provost-Marshal, has been sent down to Scutari as Deputy-Assistant Adjutant-General. He is succeeded by Captain Johnstone, 41st Regiment. Colonel Haines has retired from the post, still more onerous and disagreeable, of Commandant of Balaklava. He is succeeded by Major Harding. Major Fellowes, Duputy-Assistant Quartermaster- General of Cavalry, has been despatched to Constantinople to buy horses for the transport department, and I believe it is intended to organize a field-train corps. He will be accompanied by Mr. Gloag, veterinary surgeon. This is a step taken rather late in the day, but still it is in the right direction. The instant the difficulties which we ex- perienced in Bulgaria presented themselves we should have foreseen the positive ruin of trusting our army in an enemy's country without proper transport. A few miles of bad ground and the want of means to get over it have cost us thousands of li ves.

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I REVIEW OF THE BRITISH CORN…

REVIEW OF THE FOREIGN CORN…

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I RAILWAY TIME TABLE.

LLANELLY AND LLANDILO RAILWAY.I

I CARMARTHEN CORN RETURNS.

WEEKLY CALENDAR.

LONDON GIZETTE.