MEMORANDA ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE WAR.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume XIV, Issue 66, 14 November 1855, Page 1

MEMORANDA ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE WAR.

[From the Some News, July 19.] Condition op the Soldiebs in the Cbikba. — The following passage is taken from a soldier's letter, dated 14th :—": — " "We are getting worse rations than we had sometimes in the winter, and now they have every conveyance to get it up, and the railway is completed to within two mileß of Sebastapol. We get our pay regular, and it takes the whole of it to get us a bit to eat, for we cannot eat salt meat this hot weather ; and here it is very' hot I assure; you. The fever is nothing so bad as it was in Turkey la&t year. Dear Brother, I cannot conclude this epistle without making you acquainted with how we are served, and with the different things our good and kind friends in England were good enough to send out for the troops in the Crimea ; but do not think me dissatisfied, for every one is so ; for of what has been gent to us & greater portion our officers take for themselves, such as brandy, wines, pale ale, preserved meats of every kind, tea, coffee, &c. They have the pick of all ; and what they do not want themselves they put into the' stores and sell it out to us at English prices. They have even taken several large cases of different things that have been labelled 'for the non-commissioned officers of the Scots Fusilier Guards;' and every thing- they have taken, had been tabled 'for Ist Battalion Scots Fusilier Guards,' presented to them ; and the small portion we have been allowed to have we have had to pay for, and that dearly, and they have the presumption to call themselves gentlemen. It ought to be exposed to the country. The working soldier gets nothing but hard work and hard living ; but I am in health, thank God, and am 'where I can get a small loaf for lOd. about a pound and a half." An Instance op Bbavbby. — The following is & portion of a letter from Lieutenant-Colonel Borton, who led 'on the 9th regiment, which succeeded in penetrating Sebastapol on the 18th ult.: — " When I wanted to send a report to the general, I had no difficulty in finding volunteers to take it. The knowledge that they would get a drink of water was sufficient inducement, though certain to have some fifty rifle balls fired at them during their transit both. ways. Many escaped through this ordeal almost miraculously, but one of my messengers came to -grief. He was laden with commissions for water, and reached the general in safety ; at length he reappeared, loaded with his precious freight, and broke cover, cheered on by the thirsty crowd. As usual, he was twigged in a moment, a volley of balls cut up the dust around him, and, when within fifty yards or so of the goal, the poor fellow was winged and dropped heavily. For a time he was so still that we feared he had got his quietus, but shortly the arms began to move, and he Boon appeared dragging with him his wounded leg — two tins of the precious water, and my note between his teeth, like a good retriever. I found the poor fellow's wound was slight, the ball having only grazed the knee joint; and you may imagine my sorrow when part of the wall afterwards fell upon liim, and hurt him a good deal. You will hardly credit that numbers begged of me immediately afterwards to be allowed to go and bring in the water which he left on the ground when he began to travel on all fours. A positive veto alone stopped them;

for my homily to the text, that water was not worth blood, was not much thought of. . This is a long tale, but fourteen - hours might furnish, many such anecdotes. To conclude my story : at nightfall* when the riflemen fired wide, we gradually got our wretched wounded to the rear, scorched and parched by a burning sun ; my men filed off, and at 10, p.m:, choked with the dust of ages which had arisen from the mini, and bespattered from head to foot with blood and brains, it was with a sense, of Ho slight thwAfiimesa that I again reached my hut." The Dbfbnoes ot ths Rkdas asD Malaiow. — A letter from Odessa of, tho 26th ult., i* the Fremden Slatt of -Vienna, sa"vs :~ M General Chruleff, who is charged with the defence* of Karabelnaia, has removed his best guns from the rfbrth Fdrf into the batteries of the great and little Redan, and into those of the Malakhoff Tower, which, ' with the Bastion No. 2, forms a crownwork called Fort Korniloff. These guns are replaced in the northern forts by guns which have recently arrived, for out of 2,300 guns with which Sebastapol was armed at first, there only remain 1,400 fit for service." The SANiTABnnr.-^A very considerable number of officers hate left camp lately, either to go to England, at the recommendation of medical boards, or, for shorter periods, to the Bosphorous, on board ship. It has been a subject of great surprise that the Sanitarium, which .was commenced long ago, near the monastery .of St. George, has never been completed ; and, judging from present appearances, it will continue to be a subject of surprise for another month or more. Some of the huts have been erected, ' but they are as yet destitute of bedsteads and all other provision Tor the reception of convalescents. The advantages of the position and convenience for seabathing promised to render this a very valuable addition to* the sanitary resources of the army. Timely removal to tins site, from the thickly covered ground of the camps before Sebastapol, in many instancees might have speedily restored health, and obviated the necessity of removal to a distance and more lengthened periods of absence. Bat the summer is passing, and with it almost the only season when the Sanitarium can be of use to the convalescents for whom it- is destined.

Last Houbs of Lobd Raglan.— A letter from before Sebastapol of the 30th ult., in the Semaphore of Marseilles, give* the following details of Lord Raglan's illness and death: — "His Lordship was several days labouring under the influence of that singular malady which nearly resembles cholera, with, out having all the symptoms of it, but the physicians on the morning of his death had given it as their opinion that he was better, and that his fltate no longer caused uneasiness. His voice had regained its strength, he had been able to eat, and during the whole of the day hopes had been entertained that all vestiges of his indisposition -would soon disappear. Lord Raglan himself said that he felt nearly well, but about half-past six in the evening he was seized with a sudden faintness, and, without suffering the slightest pain, gradually sank, and in two hours after this crisis resigned his soul to God with a calmness and a tranquillity which it is impossible to describe. When the religious ceremonies have been, performed, his body will be removed from head-quarters and conveyed to England by a war-steamer, in charge of bit aid* de-camp, Lord Burgher»h,Lieutenant.Goldnel Somerset, Major King9cote, and Lieutenant Calthorpe." Russian Spies in the Camp.— We have had more than one visit from curious observers from within the town. . On Monday, one of these gentlemen was exercising hia faculties within the French lines with s degree of earnestness which appears to have worked its own defeat ; for ke was arrested, tried, «nd shot at daylight on the following morning. On the after* noon of the sama clay (Tuesday^ another also 'fell into the hand 3of a couple of patrolling gendarmes ; but as he was dressed in plain clothes, spoke English fluently, and assured ht» captors he was an English amateur, they unfortunately permitted him to slip through their fingers. Half-an-hour later, however, the real- character of. their soi-disant Englishman by some means became known, and a hot pursuit was started throughout the French camp, after him and a companion, who was ascertained- to be on* the joint tour of inspection, the latter dressed in- a French undress uniform, and both mounted. At sunset I happened to be in the camp of the 31th Regiment, in the Light Division, listening to the band playing our old national antheiji, when a couple of horsemen rode past, apparently from the direction of the Fremeh Second Division. Hearing the air, one of them reined up, and rode over taihe dote neighbourhood of the band, where he .remained till the music was finished, and then rode off to join his companion, who had pulled Mp some mmdered yards - sVhead. They then cantered on into the crowd of tents, and were soon out of sight. Twenty minuteß aftetwarda a minute description of the two gentleman- came down from head-quarters, accompanied by strict injunctions to look out for and arrest them as Russian spies ; but the birds had flown, and wen probably by that time cantering into Sebastapol, as they have not since been heard oft They were both excellently mounted ; and the admirer of " God save (the Qjieen looked on and listened to the pcrfbrmanca with as much cool nonchalance as any of the' fifty or. more idlers that surrounded him- Tricks of- ink. sort, ho-vever, may be played much more easily an u# than on the French ; indeed, I have been- often Btopped within their liner air tha rate o£ half-a.-db.zen times to as many hundred yards, and compelled to give' & betfectly clear- account of myvelf before- being- allowed t*> .proceed. Still the more spies the menaw— -this aHfei camp presents a spectacle of crowded, lively, and generally healthy men, which must he anything tv"; gratifying to the Russia© optics* and a, knowledge of our strength and condition can, do us- no harm in. tike minds of she garrison. Russia* Losses iNtHi Cbimia.-—TheCtonacakn-of State de Kotzebus upon his acrival at. Warn*, from Sebastapol, immediately had an audience <rf Prince Pasiiewiteeb, to whom ha delivered lettera from General Gorteohakoff. The pioture which M. de Kotzebue draws of the state pf the Crimea i* &r from satisfactory. General Gortsohalaff, ifc ift lia, nrywniaijy) fhqi^thft hvth vf nftTatry ajr& infantry, and supplies of provision* passing through Perekop, were advancing bat very slowly, but in cbti* sequence of the want or water in the steppes, %^-are the thermometer at times stood at 34 R&tiQi3tt (£3 Fahrenheit), it was neoeuary to have tile tjoops followed by an immense number of vehicle* {taming water. These reinforcements were decnr&tid by disease on their march, and the remainder, ost arriving at Sebastapol* only sorted to fflL the hospitals. Simpheropol and Bakschiserai are so full of sick that, it has been found necessary to establish ambulances under tents. The mortality,, owing to the extreme heat, is. described as frighted. The totra of Sebastapol is said to be in a desperate state, not a house but has. suffered from the shot' and shell of the allies. The Russian army at Sebwtagol has hteh weakened by 10,000 men by the affairs of the 7fh and 18th of June, without reckoning those, who have died from cholera and ether' diseases. The aUiA hare rendered their position between Balaklkva and Inkermaim impregnable, so that in case of an assault General Gortecbakoff cannot assist the 'garrison by making any diversion on that side. It is supposed that the garrison will blow up all Jhe public bttUoWs, and only leave to the assailants a heap off raips. All the articles of value belonging to the crown' have been removed to Perekop. The- account of the ;£ejtfh. of Lord Raglan was given oh the sth in the official journal. Another journal points but the lames of the .Russian army. Its beet Generals — Iternilefly Goto Imp, Timoflejeff, SohnonofP, 'Schi^der, Orfaelian, and several others have been killed ;* and Woronzos Meneehikoff, and Dannenburg have, retired. .Mori* than 500 officers' of all ranks have been already lost by tliia war. • * •