HASZAR.D’S GAZETTE, JANUARY 16.

Progress of the War. ‘I'll sstrtsu sxrsnrﬂort Ill ‘I'll csiain.

(ﬁom the Special Corn-tpoadsnl qftlte Times.) Curr serous sllsl‘I'0POL, Nov. 3o._—Tlie needy knife-grinder would not he in possession of more abundant materials for anecdote, had he lived out here for the last week, than he was when he met Mr. Canning several years ago in the neighbourhood of ten. We are all sncle deep in mud. No, that would be nothing.‘ It’ would be no great matter of complaint or griev- ence if we had to deal with ordinary material, so familiar to all Londoners after a few wet days, are the scavengers remove the formidable soft parapets which line the kerhstones. That can be scraped oﬂ', cleaned, rubbed away, or washed out. This nothing but long and persevering efforts, continually renwed, and combining all the former operations, can remove. It sticks in asty elods to the shoes, and will insist on being brought into clean huts and tents to visit your friends. It has a great aﬂisction for straws, with which it succeeds in working itself into a kind of gigantic brick. somewhat underdone, in which condition it threatens to build your legs into the ground, if you stand long enough in one place to give it a chance ; and it mightily affects horse- shoes also, and sticks them off with a loud smack

ofrelish in those little ravines between rocky hill sides in which it exercises the greatest inﬂuence. Literally and truly it is like glue half boiled and spread over the face of the earth for the depth of several feet. It is no joke for a soldier to see his sleeping place, in htit or tent covered with this nasty slime ; but they cannot bekept clean. One step outside and you are done for. 'l‘he riiud is lying in wait for you. and you just carry back as touch on your feet as if yeu walked a mile. Carts stick immovtibly in

the ground, or the wheels and axles fly into y.P°

pieces from the strain of the horses and mules. wliich hrite ted a wretched existence. irirleed, ever sinco this weather began. As I write. the air resounds with the noise ofthe blows inflicted on ‘he head.’ sides and logs of the miserable qtlittlrllprtls dr-it~:iug fuel and stores front the comniiss.-ri-it tl"put ofthc division. lint then, it willbo sail. that huts can In swept out and 319;”.-d. lluuhtiuo the fact i-oitsitlcrahly. from ltt_‘y’ personal experience. l tiiust he [ti't‘ll‘.l1'i‘1l to teilour good lfv8lttls,ll!u public, that they are l.iiimi.irtg utt Ier ;_-teat «l(‘.'t.'S!I:lI.\' rt.‘s;tiu-tin; t|..-so Etltlu huts. Now what, for c.\atiiylc,du toe» to tilt of the Guards ln-,:u;_r at this present writing under canvass, and likely to be so, till the miihlle ol Jauuarv or lltercalrtiittsl ltta of course no great privation in 0l’dlll'l:y weatlier to have to live in.a suuml, ttoll-pi-citt:il to-ut, but it is well to let the truth be ltnotvn. The new lIlIl.S7tl’(.‘i much cuinplaincd of. nntl it is said they are fr;-il, ill inatlt‘, tizll of chinks, and’ knots. \\lIl(‘ll drop out, and leave iuiiiiical little cnibrasurcs for the wind to shoot through. During a mmleratt-ly strung breeze of \\ln4l, it short tiuie ago, the roof of one of the hospital huts :it the monastery‘ weutt-.ffon a mission of its utvn,aml left thel poor inmates shivering in the cold, llll they were l removed to auotucr biiilding. 'l'h- hut in ques-1 tion, however, was built before the new ones came. The tents now issued to the army are. Qw and good, and most of the war and timc- I wont f'ahric.~t. inside tvhicli our gallantaiii-cs. tore I‘t5J)USCll in Itlgypt or Spain, liavc bccn cun- 1 dctnnc , and are used as outsidcs for the new ' tents, or as covers for huts, officers’ t]llftl'tt!l't!,l stables, and fabrics of that kind. The autho- rities of home, you already know, refused the application of the comrnissariat, for more tur- paulins to covc_r the stores, “because they were so expensive.” Well the wet weather comes on—hny began to smoke, corn and bar- ley to heat; and the commissariat officers were obliged to purchase canvas wherever they could to prevent the loss of thousands of

ounds’ worth of property. not to speak of the mischief to the army. flat the “holders of the canvas stood firm ;” they saw their oppor- tunity, and they refused to sell it for less than 2s it yard; at whic sum many hundred yards wore urchased for the commissariat store of this ivision. But even now the stores are badly protected, for there is no pitch or tar to cover the canvas. although there is avessel reported to be in Balttklava with 300 tons of those useful articles on board for the use of the army.

Tussnsr, Dec. 4.—Thcrc has been its complete dearth of incident since I last wrote. We are in the um: gun, ‘possibly the mud is deeper, and the Russians re more than usual upon the town. There is no change in the attitude of the enemy. The storm of Saturday morning taxed the new huts severely, and they are by no means highly spoken of ; they are too frail, and lightly bui t, and the rain and wind use through with uncomfortable facility. The tits constructed in the sides of the iills by the French and Sardinians are iiiuch more comfort- able, and do not cost a titho of the money. The are reofed with wettles, covered with and earth, and if they are rather dark they are at all events warm and water-tight. It is now said, that the men would have done much better, if the authorities had sent out nails, hammers, planks, old canvas, and some glass. The " races” were the great obyect of

jockey cl « wlicrcvcr troops may be

dream. _ _ rain fell in torrents ; as the camp is intersected

avoidable.

attraction and of hlk during the week, and the stewards can only wonder at their goo fortune in the weather, which was such as permitted all who could get awa from duty togo the course, if thgy pleased. onday was like a reeay English ctober day, with just enough of cold to make exercise 5 cssant; the ground dried up amazingly, an the course was altogether in a very sound and excellent condition. The spot where the races took place was in a valle between the French head- uarters and the ltfonostery, about two miles rcm the shore, and the distance from camp was too rest to permit the attendance of many

of the so diers,—a circumstance which General Codrin ton regretted, as the cheering effects 0 sue assemblages among English soldiers are undoubted; but no other piece of ground equally was avai The races were well attended. Marshal Pe is- sier drove over in an opencarriage, preceded by a solitary Spahi (who seems the last of the bright-eyed, wild-looking, warriors who formed St. Arnaud's escort). followed of his sta cers were also lively interest in the races.

ed and large enough for the urpose ﬁzble within easy reach of thepcain s.

and picturesque and lay a guard of regular cavalr . Several

an a large number of reach oﬂi-

resent, and seemed to take a General della Marmora. and many Sardinian oﬁicprs, paid us the compliment of coming over from the neigh-

bourhood of Tchorgoun ; and Sir VVm. Codring-

ton, attended b a. single orderly, rode across from the English head-quarters, and remained on the ground, till the principal races were over. The divisional generals, brigadicrs, colonels, and staff officers, were lentiful as blackberries ; and though the only representa- tive of the fair sex was Mrs. Seacole, who pre- sided over a sorely-invested tent full of creature comforts, the course had a very animated ap- arance, owing to the number and variety of uniforms; and at the same time, the domestic character of the scene was preserved by the efforts of a band of Etliiopian serenaders, fur- nishcd by nnintcurs from the Guards, who favoured us with abundance of the peculiar vocal and instruiucntal music in vogue among that interesting race. The course was over 2} miles long. and uboundvd with “ famous obstacles“ in tho slmpc of banks and stone walls close on four feet high, hurdles, an

it brook 1:3 fcut tvidu. The lloyal Artillci'_v came out in an :istonisl.ing iuttnncr; all the races were won by " the giinncrs." No acci- dents occurred during the races. Geurral Law- rcnson, when riding in admirable style a good second, gota “ purlcr.” owing to the stvcrving of his horse, but he received no greater injury than ii. sliglit shaking and a scratch on the nosc ; and there was the usual number of spills on the course. One ol'fic;r was ridden down in the ritsli front one point of the course to the other, and was taken away in a state 0finscn- siliility. These rushes wcro trctncndous: not less than 4000 horses at it to-gctlier; and no small amount of kicking, biting, and tuiublin-,: going on at the same time. , In the evening 110 of the olliccrsintercsted in the sports of the day, and their friends, dined at the restaurant of the 3d Division, Colonel l)aubeny in the cliair ; and the foundation was laid for an army ub, with a permanent fund for races cncainped. l‘hc din- ncr would have astonished those who knew the camp this time twclvcmonth. The tables, the rooiu itself, the lights, the songs, would seem to him the effect of cii~.-liaintinciit, and more than once one shut his eyes as he thought of last year, and asked himself could it all be a The night was pitch dark, and the

full of all kinds of unplea-

by deep drains. and many of the company hi-

sant trous de loup,

vouackcd on the floor of the shed, and only left at down. The rain has now ccased,but the

wind blows strongly from the eastward,nnd the sea is high. The mudis deep all over the camp,

and the road has settled so much in various

places as to require considerable repairs. The weather looks exceedingly threatening, and the gala increases every moment. The waste of property as of life in war is prodigious and un- I firmly believe that for three feet deep, the whole of the quay of Balaklavn. near the cornmissariat landing place, is a concrete ofbarlcy and corn. The sacks are often badly ticd or rotten, and full of holes. It is no un- common thing to see a Croat or Turkish la- bourer tvnddling slowly along with a sack on his back from which the corn is descending in streams against the back of his legs, till he arrives from the ship at the store, and then to behold him depositing the collapsed and ﬂaccid bag on the heap with the greatest gravity and satisfaction at his success in diminishing his load at every step. In the various divisional commissarint depots, there is also an enorriious loss of grain from similar causes, and from shifting the sacks and the distribution of the rations. But it seems to be impossible to pre- vent these losses, which are regarded as inci- dental to it state of war.

The snttirnalia in which the army seems to have indulged whilst the expedition was at Kinburn have terminated, and wise, ju- dicious, and feeling rnctistires have been

taken by the commander-in-chief to prevent their recurrence by pointing out to the soldiers the mischief they do themselves. their families, the army, and the country by such excesses. The fact is, that Major Powys has pointed out some of the main causes of the evil in his ‘letter, and those causes will be removed in a great measure by the orders which General Codrington has issued respecting the transmission of soldiers’ money to home. There will be drunken soldiers ever, just as there are drunken cobhlers and drunken gentlemen —but the ﬁgure ofpara pro tale is not just. The men had more money than they knew what to do with; they cottld not get rid of it in any way but by drinking it or throwing it away, and some of them selected the former plan, while many more escaped the alternative by wisely keeping it. The other day a man came to me and begged of me to take care of30 sovereigns for him, as "' he did not know what to do with it till he could get leave to purcliaso his dis- charge, and it was not safe to carry it about with him.” VVotild it not be prac- ticable to establish ambulatory regimental savings banks’ in the ﬁeld at triﬂing trouble and small expense. The French are by no means free from evil, bntthc extent of it is less apparent, inasmuch as the men are not permitted to stagger about the country in it state of drunkenness, nlthotigli an occasion- al bacchanalinn may be seen singing chan- sns from between his blankets of mud anywhere between Kamicsli and the loft parc desitge. As to our otvn ntitliorities they are waging a war of extoriniuatioii against spirit vendors and, nbuvt: all, against rtiki importers. This villanous spirit inflamcs mcn’s brains and sets them mad; it has all the nboniinal.-lc properties of fresh raw rtiin or new wliiskv, but it affects the nervous .~‘_t sytcni iuorc llllSt‘ltit-\'- ously, and pimliiccs pro.-‘trzition, which frequently curls in tlcntli. It is drctidlitllv cheap, it is white like gin, with a taste «if bud anisrtttc and a fiery buiiiirig .\‘ltl:tt'.l( on the tongue, and is alcohol, all but purc, with the exception of the ntlultcrntioii, which contributes to give it the flavour. (fuptniii Slicrvintoti, thc provo.<t-iixarshal at llalakllvn, has it woinlr-rftil knack of fol- lowing out the or-itcoalt.-tl depot of this by the smell, and the process of pItlll::llllt(‘lll is simple. The owners are coinpt-llt-tl to start the poison into the sen, lllltl they are then ortlcred to leave the (}i'iinca iii:-tantcr. Cantccn keepers who keep it are lined licavily, their canteens are shut tip, and themselves deported at their own expense to Constantinople. No less than three nativo vessels were seized the other day by Captain Slicrvinton full of raki; the car- grits were conﬁscated, and the ships sent away never to he let into Brilaklnva more. Every cnntccn keeper or storckccpcr, on whose premises :1 drunken soldier is seen, no matter what the excuse rnny ho, is ﬁned £5 for each, rind the pmvost-mat-slinl has more money than he knows what to do tvitli from this source alone. But they area wealthy race, these social vulturcs—m:iny of them king vultures—respectnble birds of prey, with kempt plumage and decent dc- mcanour—othcrs rncrc adjutants, dirty and predacious. The settlers care little for £5 lines while they can get 6d. a dozen for tricks and ‘.2s. it pound for lard (subnominc butter,) and they pay their taxcslikc lords, or rather much more willingly now, that the income tax is pressing on them. Tnxcs!-— V\'Iint is the man talking about? It is quite true nevertheless. There is an unchttrtet'- cd corporation in the town of Kndckoi, with a mayor and alderinen, or town councillors, and a vigorous administrative staff that would nstonisli the elder brethren about Guildhall. Tlsey have n machinery of scavengers and sewer men, and they pay about £I§ll a month for keeping their city in order. This weather, however, does not contribute to their comforts, and diminishes their proﬁts, and the condition of the roads makes the chariot wheels drive lienvily. As to these roads, on which so much dc- pcnds, it is not possible to express an opinion yet; but it portion of the section below the Col. is in a very bad state, as I can attest, and I am told, that the portion in

uestion is just the very part where the military engineers interfered with the civil

engineers.

*° . C CV8 and Kadekoi, to carry the whole traffic between those oints and also to repair the old French redid be: tween Ksdeltoi and the stationary engine l"“"“8 up the Vinoy Ravine for sun 1 793*‘. while the car track round the es; side of Frenchman's Hill was to be imp..°,._ ed and used as a down road between thong two latter points. Mr. Doyne reported on “'9 "h°l° “"9. and after careful examinati- on, found that it would require much lea. labor to make a new and good road heme”, Balaltlavs and Kadekoi by a different route than to attempt to repair the old one while’ the traffic waspassing over it. According- ly, a main drain.was.cut down the centre of "'9 Wine)’. running into the head of Bala- lrlava harbour, to intercept all water flow- ing from the east of it, and free the road and railway drains rapidly from the rain water. The road was made parallel to the railway, the material over which it passes b°"?g d°f3P_. Bpongy, vegetable soil, easily drained in its natural state, but very rctcn- tivc, if worked up under wet; drain; four fcct deep were cttt at 40 feet apart, and the surface between rounded to a foot lllrrher at the centre. Cross drains were ciit at every 44 yards, connecting main drains and the large stone pitching, ‘:28 feet wide’ W118 filled in with sintillt-r stories, rind after: w_nrds inacadamiscd. Before luyinw on me pitching, the whole traflic of the c:iinp was turned over the formed surfucc foi- five days to beat it down, and to consoliduic it a strong force of navvics being cirtplovcrfin the morning and evening to kcop iipthe proper form. This course provcrl pcrfcctly succ-cssful—thc ‘surface wns quite smooth when the iuctalling was laid on, and, con- sequrntly, the rain runs freely oil‘ wiilmui pciictrtttiiig the soil. On this S(‘('llt)ll there has lwrri laid down about l:),(ltlll ions of lllll‘(l liincstonc pitcliing, nntl irit-tatlliim 0;, ,1 lcngtli of one mile. 1*‘:-out l\’(l(lCltiIll-l0 the stationary engine, the tiltl road up the Vino). liuviiic was so st:-cp (I in 12), nntl so lia- ble to lit‘, waslictl away, and the rrrnund over which the down line was l,,Cl,:,cd to pass was so bad in (some places I in 7), that Mr. ' lloyiic ilr-toriitiiivtl to nlmndon both, and inakc at new road round the cast- crii btisc of l"i'i*iit'liiii:iii’:t Hill, rtozirly pm-- allcl with the railwiiy, and Sir lticliartl Ai- rcy gave his tisst-ii! to the (‘llilfl'_’(‘. Here for it l.‘0llSltlt‘I"ill)lC tlistuiicc the rrind is 39,-. raced out on the hill side, f'oi'iiit~d oflinrrl cni~lioriift-ruin: linir~.~'tonc rock, and at clcar lllt.‘l1lllt,'tl i-oatltvuy is obtaining from ‘.20 to ‘25 feet wide tlirouglioiit. In the next scciion to Mrs. St.-acolc’s litit, the old French road is witlt-iii.-tl, tlccp drains cut, the centre raised. and it deep coat oflinicstonc nictnl- ling llltl on. in the next section up to the Col, the ground again slopt-s very rapidly, and the road is terraced out for it mile, partly in rock, saiitl stone, and clay, and is then furiiied utitl inetallcd as before. From Balnklnva to the Col tlic cliicf‘(litliculty to be contt-ndcd with in mniritriining ii road is the numerous bodies of writer that come dotvn the hill-sides. 'l‘o protect the mad against this enemy trenches are cut on the ripper side, zig-zagging according to the line of the ground so as to intercept the wa- ter. and convey it into large culverts con- structed under the road at every dip in the undiilntion of the bill, so that no water can get upon the road except what ncttiully falls upon the surface, nnd that small quart- tity, from the rounded form, of its surface. is rapidly carried away into the side drains, To relieve a road in every way from the destructive action of water, both by sub and surface drainage, is the first principle of road-making; without attention to this, any amount oflabour will prove fruitless. From Bnlalrlava to the Col, about three miles and a half, the works throughout are of a very heavy character, and the provisions for drainage are upon it very extensive scale; besides about 10 miles of open ditching, there are between 150 and 200 culverts constructed; lrotn the great want of materi- als these are formed in every variety of way-—msuy with Army Works Corps’ wa-

ter barrels, some with commissariiit pork caska, others with royal engineers’ fnscines and green platform timber. But the work which required the greatest amount of la- bor was the metalling, there having been over this 3} miles. nearly 40,000 tons of hard limestone rock quarried, collected, and