A FLEET UNDER COURTMARTIAL.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 5, Issue 1277, 13 January 1883, Page 4

A FLEET UNDER COURTMARTIAL.

General Tchernageff, who is now making bis way across the steppes that intervene between Orenburg and tH# Sea of Aral, has a nice little job await, ing him on his arrival at',.Kazal£""M the officers of the' Aral--fleet without exception, have been ordered to' be tried by court-martial for corruption, negligence in the discharge of. their duties, and other misdemeanours, ,s6m® of the charges throw a ; curious light upon Russian life in Central Asia, The Aval fleet is mainly used as 1 a. 1 means 1 of transporting Orenburg ; reliefs,', 1 and stores from Kazala up the. Syr. Dana to the various river forts and Tashkend, The river, however, i^'very'shallow, the currant is very strong, and the gun-, boats that tow the barges are so weakly constructed that the naval -servicein Turkeystan is altogether against the taste of officers ..arriving -from'the Baltic and Black Sea.. On the departure of the gunboats from .Kazala the! officers would accompany them a few miles from the fort,-where postearts would bo in readiness to carry them the rest of the journey on land;' • Leaving the vessels in charge'of the stokers and natives the officers would journey on to within a miles of their destination, where - they would go aboard again and gallantly' convey their gunboats into port, Thismode of discharging duties was only recognised last autumn, when the Samarcand, the finest vessel of the fleet was struck with, floating ice and disappeared to the bottom of the Syr. On this occasion all the officers were on hoard 'thttveselat the time of the accident,' and it would appear to have; been'this r6matk4ble phenomenon which first aroused the suspicions of the authorities. ; Investigations then' elicfed I ''that' ! thci vessel' had been purposely surik-off Fort Perovsky by opening' the valves,' : 'in 'order that the task of. raising the wreck might'enable the officers .to, pass .the winter pleasantly at tliaf military iiia J tion instead of in .thei midst ofitlie howling wastes at Eazala,