e 
     
    
   
   
    
     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 
     
    
   
   
    
     l 
     
    
   
   
    
     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