PROGRESS OF THE SIEGE OF SEVASTOPOL.

Lyttelton Times, Volume V, Issue 324, 8 December 1855, Page 7

PROGRESS OF THE SIEGE OF SEVASTOPOL.

Lord Panmnre has received the following intelligence from General Simpson, dated Crimea, 16th August: — " The steamship Vesuvius is in the sea of ' soy, and has destroyed an immense quantity of stores. <!te.' Despatches received from St. Petersburg, dated the 2<ith luly (August Sth), state that Prince Gortsehakoft'had received orders to destroy the Russian ships in the harbour of Sebastopol in the event of the fall of the MalakhofTTower. On the Kith Au«ust, Lord Panmure received the following despatch from General Simpson : — Before Sevastopol, August 4, 1555. My Lord, —I have the h< nour to acquaint your Lordship that on the night of the 2nd instant,-be-

tween ten and eleven o'clock, the enemy made a sortie in considerable force by the Worouzoff road. The strength of the enemy is computed to be about 2.000. Their object was to destroy a heavy iron chevaux tie frize, made across the the Woronzoff road, between our right and left attacks, and being further supported by heavy columns in rear, to inke advantage of such circumstances as might present themselvts. They came on with loud cheers and bugling, and were received with great gallantry by our advanced picket, tinder the command of Lieutenant K. E. Carr, of the S9th Regiment, who withdrew his men firing at the came time upon the enemy, to the main body, under the command of Captain Leckie. 39th Regiment A heavy and «cii directed fire was opened upon the enemy by the party under Captain Leckie on the Woronzoff road, as also by the guard of the trenches on she right of the fourth parallel, under the command of Captain Boyle of the S9th Regiment and Captain Turner of the Ist Royals, which, in about ten minutes, caused the enemy to retire from an attack which, if it hud not been so well met, might have been a serious affair. The enemy left four men killed, and some wounded were carried away. We had only one slightly ■wounded in this affair. I have the honour to transmit the return of casualties from the 30th July to the 2nd AugustI have the satisfaction of informing your Lordship of the return to this army of Captain Montagu, of the .loyal Engineers, from bein_r a prisoner of war. He expresses himself highly grateful for the kindness with which he was treated by the Russians during his captivity. It is with deep regret that I have to communicate to your Lordship that Lieutenaut-General Sir It. England, G.C.B, has been compelled, upon the recommendation of a Medical Board to return to England. Sir R. JBnfiand is the last of the general officers who lest the Unitad Kingdom in command of a division : he has remained at his post throughout the trying heats of Bulgaria, and the severities and hardships of the winter's campaign in the Crimea; and great credit is due to this officer for the constancy and untiring zea! he has exhibited in carrying out arduous and difficult duties on all occasions I have, &c, James Simpson', General Commanding The Lord Panmuts. Jtc. &c. We give Genera! PeHwier's despatch of July 31. " M. le Marechal—The besieged have ;igain made an attempt against our works opposite the Malakoff, and with no better success than on previous occasions. In the night of July 24, 25, about 12 o'clock, the enemy, after keeping up a violent fire of artillery, executed a soriie with about 150 men to the left of-he little Redan, and reached our ambuscades on the extreme right. At this point we are very near the place; the night was very dark, and the Russians were on our gabionnade in an instant General Bisson, who commanded the advanced brigade, had given detailed and precise^ orders on every point, and had confided the defence to the right to Lieutenant-Colonel de Taxis, an officer of ! considerable merit. " Although the enemy came upon the line where '■ our working party was, iie was received very vigo- j rousiy, and was cut up by the musketry of our Chassfur-a-pied, ami some companies of the 10th of the line, who were placed right and left of our workers, thus taking ' d'echarpe' al! who might come to molest them. The men working in the trenches took part in the action, and behaved exc^ediiiily well, under the direction of Capt. Lecucq. " The Russians retreated, leaving one man wounded, who died before we couid get him to the ambulance, and eight dead, who i'eli between our amijujcadfca and the fence of the place. It is reasonable to suppose t'-.at our fire reached a large number of the enemy .seeing that these were left on the ground, notwithstanding there were two dark hours of the night for removing the fallen. This little night action, in which we had only a dozen men hurt, does greut honour to the »ener 1 a.:(i superior officers who commanded on t.iis side of our attack, as well as to the brave oiricers, sub o!iictr<; and soldiers, among wiiom i desire to call your attention to Sergeant C-tsaux, nf the 10th, 'who kiil-ifl several Ru-sians with Ins bayonet, and the font chasseur Eye, of the Imperial" Guard, who kilW two. " Working was recommenced directly after the enemy had been driven back to the place. Your Excellency is aware that on every side the works are pushed forward with activity, aiid that fhitherto the besieged have made no new attempt to interfere with them. T,,e Russians continue their artillery against our parties, and its fire becomes especially active at night ; but we nevertheless advance, and make progress. .. p E ,. IhSIER ... The allies are demolishing the fortification of Anapa, contrary to the wishes of tf.e Circassians win are, however, unable to oppose the fleet. ' General Vivian has gone ro the Black Sea to choose a landing place for troops somewhere near jjituum.

We iinti in the Home News, of the 4lh of August, the follow ing reference to the position how taken by Austria :— '• Fioui the Continent of Eoiopc we have two or three significant fads pregnant with auguries of she future. Tiie F-enoh military commissioner has been withdrawn from Vienna,and the Austrian military commissioner fiom Paris. If the cniumisMouers may be metaphorically concerted into straws, their movements may be accepted as deteitnining the direction of the adverse winds. The differences between Austria and the Western Powers are visibly growing wider and wider.' 5