kins, tomatas, and cabbages. Palmy days those, when we had just routed the enemy at the Alma, caught a glimpse of him as he scampered off at Mackenzie's Farm, and marched into that fertile valley, bathed in sunshine, and filled with the murmur of rivulets, where we recovered the communication with our fleet. Thick and dark was the curtain that descended between us and those scenes of rose-tinted warfare. About four days in the month, during December, January, and February, the army dined on fresh meat. But the British housekeeper, who rejects a haunch because there is too much fat on it, and who sees that the sirloin is duly intermingled with red and white, must remember that the fresh meat brought to the army was of quite a different order. A herd of small and under-fed oxen, more like calves that had outgrown their strength than beeves, after staggering on the deck of a storm-driven steamer for two or three days, and after lying off the harbour of Balaklava for another interval, would be driven through the mire to the different divisions. The survivors of this journey were shot by musketry as if they had been deserters, cut up immediately, and the warm beef transferred at once to the pot. Between the third and fourth division camps and that of the sailors was a valley, which, less romantic in its name than the Valley of the Shadow of Death, was known as the Valley of Bowels, because of the number of cattle slaughtered and dismembered there. Riding of a morning through that dreary defile, the destined victims, lean and weary, might be seen awaiting their doom. A soldier close in front would fire a ball into the head of each, and the bullock, whose death was rather grotesque than tragic, would fall over with its four legs stiff and unbent, like those of a cow in a child's ark. The frequenters of Leadenhall market will easily believe that this was not the way in which prime beef is procured. Bread is the subject which next attracts the attention of the Commissioners. The French army had been regularly supplied with fresh bread. The cravings of our sick induced 66 them to purchase it from private bakeries at Balaklava, which, like all other private enterprises in that place, used the necessities of the army as a means of extortion. Colonel Tulloch states, in a memorandum in the Appendix, that, on going round the town of Balaklava I found in operation three or four large ovens, formerly belonging to the Russians, and which were then occupied by private bakers, who supplied bread, at an enormous profit, to such persons as could afford to buy it at about eightpence a pound-during the winter about double that price had been charged." On the 15th March he suggested a plan for setting some ovens to work; the same idea already occupied the attention of Lieutenant-Colonel Hardinge, the commandant at Balaklava, and "on the 25th March bread was at length supplied to the hospitals at Balaklava, at the public expense, for the first time." Finally, after some controversy, about the end of May a floating bakery arrived in a ship called the Abundance, and was put in operation. Meantime several devices were tried to vary the monotony of the biscuit, such as soaking, toasting, or frying it in grease. But there was another deficiency which, during the winter, would have neutralised in great measure the advantage of supplies had they existed that of fuel. Meat, vegetables, flour, are uneatable till cooked, and the means of cooking scarcely existed. "On the march from Old Fort to the Alma, most of the men threw away or lost their camp-kettles," and the result of that proceeding was, that "each man had to cook for himself in his small mess-tin or canteen, to procure his own fuel and to light his own fire." A mess-tin is a small vessel, flat on one side and circular on the other, about six inches deep, and capable of holding about three pints, and in this meat or vegetables may be stewed or made into broth, provided you can light a fire under it-otherwise it is not very useful. But where was fuel to be got? The thick coppice in the neighbourhood of the army was cut down, and the roots grubbed up in a few weeks. Some groups of trees of large size, inter mixed with thorns and bushes, stood " But," the Commissioners remark, "the circumstances of the army before Sebastopol were obviously exceptional, and an appeal to precedent was out of place." Exceptional enough, certainly, and no amount of quotation from the rules of the service will enable a soldier to find fuel on a bare plain. At the same time, the position of purveyor to a starving army, amid such difficulties as our commissaries laboured under, was one where a man, unless he would go mad at once, must needs have some precedent or authority to support him. So far things seem bad enoughno fresh bread, no fresh meat, no vegetables, no coffee-and if these had existed, no fuel to cook them. But now comes a new feature. Had all these supplies, and fuel besides, existed at Balaklava, still matters would have been as bad as ever. The want of transport was the worst deficiency of all. Between the army and its port lay a swamp seven miles broad, and no accumulation of stores in Balaklava would benefit the camp, while the problem of how supplies were to be sent across this swamp remained unsolved. Hear the Com missioners : officers, who are, however, authorised to draw rations for them. Public bat animals appear to have been provided for such corps as were in Bulgaria, and most of the officers of those corps also provided themselves; but when the all of both descriptions were left behind, army embarked for the Crimea, nearly and it was not till the end of October that about half the regulated number was landed in the Crimea. A second and smaller detachment arrived in January, but by that time a great part of those received in October were dead, or no longer effective, and, in consequence of the continued deficiency of forage, and the exposure and fatigue, most of those received in January shared the same fate. When the commissariat transport failed, this deficiency of regimental transport, which otherwise would have been of comparatively little moment in a standing camp, was severely felt. "All the witnesses examined upon the subject are of opinion that the duties which the men had to perform under arms, in the trenches, and on pickets and guards, involved an amount of labour and exposure as great or greater than they could bear, without injury to their health. It was, therefore, of the utmost importance that they should be saved all additional labour and exposure, but, owing to the deficiency of land transport, they had to perform a large amount of the work that ought to have been done by horses and mules. The roads, or tracks, were so deep in mud, that the journey which the men had to perform from the camp on the heights to Balaklava and back, carrying up rations, warm clothing, huts, or ammunition, frequently occupied twelve hours, during the whole of which time they were without food, shelter, or rest-unless standing in deep mud, drenched and cold, instead of struggling through it, can be called rest. It was in consequence of the want of transport that, even after fire-wood had been provided at Balaklava, the men had to undergo the labour and exposure of digging up roots to cook their food, without always being able to procure enough for that purpose. It was in consequence of the want of transport that the men were repeatedly on short rations, and that they were deprived, for about six or seven weeks, of their rations of rice, which would have been so beneficial at that precise time, when hardly any vegetables were supplied to them, and hardly a man in the army escaped the prevailing diseases. overworked in the The men were trenches, and on "The most disastrous of the deficiencies to which we have referred was the deficiency of land transport. This was not confined to the transport more properly belonging to the Commissariat, but extended also to the public and private bat animals, the former being such as, previous to the formation of the Land Transport Corps, were provided by the Commissariat, and handed over to each corps in regulated proportions for the carriage of the field equipment, the lat ter being the private property of the pickets and guards; and they suffered in health from the excessive fatigue, watching, and exposure which those duties involved. To these, in consequence of the want of transport animals, were superadded other duties, involving an amount of fatigue and exposure which alone would have been trying to their constitutions. Several of the officers stated that the drafts for their corps, which were excused duty in the trenches for the first ten days after their arrival, were sent, during that interval, on fatigue to Balaklava, but that it became necessary to relinquish the practice, because a fatigue party to Balaklava sent so many of the young soldiers into hospital." Let us look then at this question of transport. "From a return prepared by the Commissariat, there appears the startling fact, that in January 1855 the whole number of effective animals belonging to that department was 333 pack-horses and mules, and twelve camels. The CommissaryGeneral had considered it necessary, before the army should move from Varna, to have transport at his disposal equal to about fourteen thousand pack animals. A much less number than fourteen thousand would, however, have sufficed at present. The numbers of the army were greatly diminished; the standing camp did not require the same accumulation of supplies on the spot as a moving army, and the artillery and cavalry horses were to some extent available for procuring their own forage. Had the depôt which the Commissary-General attempted to form near headquarters been completed, the task of supplying the troops would have been rendered comparatively easy. But the formation of the depôt, which was to have afforded future supplies, as well as the conveyance of those necessary for daily and present use, was interrupted for want of transport. In rear of each division a scanty group of miserable ponies and mules, whose backs never knew what it was to be quit of the saddle, shivered and starved, and daily died; and these were the means of transport on which the army depended for subsistence. In such a state of things the Commissioners might well ask why the means of transport were not increased from available sources. Plenty of horses existed in the surrounding countries; and the Report, after treating of the ships at the disposal of the Commissary-General, says, "The deficiency in the landtransport of the army cannot, therefore, be accounted for, on the ground that he could not obtain sufficient sea-transport to convey the animals he was desirous of conveying to camp." Why, then, were not a sufficient number of horses at once purchased, and conveyed to Balaklava, when, by so doing, mortal suffering would be reduced to hardship, privation to inconvenience, and, in fact, the state of the army so far ameliorated as to entail no tax on endurance beyond what men often voluntarily submit to for the sake of sport or adventure? In answer to this question, the Commissary-General says he had as many animals as he could feed. "The reason for not increasing the amount of transport was, not that a greater number of animals was unnecessary, but that a greater number could not be fed in the Crimea." Now, then, we have arrived at the primary cause of the sufferings of the Crimean army--the want of forage. Hay and barley would have enabled the Commissariat to maintain a land-transport sufficient to feed the troops and their horses, to shelter them with huts, to supply ammunition for the siege, and to form a depôt against contingencies. Shrewd men at home might have made many guesses before they hit on the right cause of the distresses, for the intelligence and foresight must have been rare indeed that conducted an inquirer through such a jumble of calamity to so unexpected a conclusion. Whence, then, this deficiency in forage? The hay and straw began to fail about the 14th of November, after the gale in which so many vessels were lost off the coast." That was one principal cause. About six hundred or seven hundred tons of hay was in the possession of our Commissariat in Turkey. This hay was of course in a loose state as it came from the fields, and therefore, as may be readily imagined, unfit for transport by sea, as a very small amount of it in weight would have occupied the whole stowage of a ship. When sent by sea, hay is pressed into a small compass, and hydraulic presses had been sent for the purpose from England. But these were by some mistake erected at a spot fifteen miles from the place where the hay was collected, "and it became necessary to carry the loose hay that distance either by land or water before it could be pressed. This operation could not be carried on in bad weather, and thus, by defective arrangements throughout the whole transaction, the only provision for supplying the army with hay which had been made in Turkey, was rendered nugatory at a time when six hundred or seven hundred tons in the Crimea would have been invaluable." The only branch of the service to which, in the first part of the Report, blame is imputed, is the Commissariat. We have not paused to insert the various instances of neglect set down in the Report, intending at this present point to take a general review of them, and then to see what the Commissary-General has to say in reply. the vicinity of Balaklava, as well as The excuse suggested by the Commissioners for these serious shortcomings, is not one which the Commissary-General would choose to adopt : "While we have considered it our duty to point out what appear to us to be serious defects in the arrangements of the Commissariat with the army in the Crimea, as well as the consequences that have resulted from these defects, we do not mean to infer that the Com missary-General, or the other officers of that Department, have failed to make any exertion of which they were capable to provide for the exigencies of the public service, according to the measure of their ability and foresight; and it is but just to direct attention to the unusual nature of the duties required of them, where a large army occupied, as it were, a barren island which furnishes nothing except water and a limited quantity of fire-wood. The Commissariat, which appears for some time to have been without a sufficient number of hands, had also serious difficulties to encounter which could not have been foreseen. The tempest of the 14th of November was a great disaster, and the peculiarities of the harbour of Balaklava, whatever may be its advantages, created constant difficulties, especially in landing the vast supplies required for the army. The breaking up of the road from Balaklava to the front, and the impossibility of sparing from their military duties a sufficient number of men to make it practicable for Commissariat carts, had not been anticipated or provided for, and the belief, apparently shared in by the Commissariat, that Sebastopol would 66 the The first charge not already noticed is, that a quantity of lime-juice lay in the harbour from the 10th of December to the first week in February, while its issue would have prevented a great deal of the scurvy by which the army was so severely afflicted. Next it appears a quantity of tea remained in store, when it might have been advantageously substituted for green coffee. Cattle were not procured in numbers corresponding with the resources of the Commissariat, for, says the Report, quantity might have been considerably increased during the months of December, January, and February, proper measures had been taken for that purpose. In short, it appears to us that fresh meat in much larger quantities might have been, and ought to have been, supplied to the army." Vegetables, both fresh and preserved, might, it would appear, have been procured and issued with great benefit to the troops. A large quantity of porter remained in store at Scutari, which (it is suggested in a note) might "have been issued to the troops in if . The Crimean Report and Chelsea Inquiry. 12 pickets and guards; and they suffered in health from the excessive fatigue, watching, and exposure which those duties involved. To these, in consequence of the want of transport animals, were superadded other duties, involving an amount of fatigue and exposure which alone would have been trying to their constitutions. Several of the officers stated that the drafts for their corps, which were excused duty in the trenches for the first ten days after their arrival, were sent, during that interval, on fatigue to Balaklava, but that it became necessary to relinquish the practice, because a fatigue party to Balaklava sent so many of the young soldiers into hospital." Let us look then at this question of transport. "From a return prepared by the Commissariat, there appears the startling fact, that in January 1855 the whole number of effective animals belonging to that department was 333 pack-horses and mules, and twelve camels. The CommissaryGeneral had considered it necessary, before the army should move from Varna, to have transport at his disposal equal to about fourteen thousand pack animals. [July, Plenty of horses existed in the surrounding countries; and the Report, after treating of the ships at the disposal of the Commissary-General, says, "The deficiency in the landtransport of the army cannot, therefore, be accounted for, on the ground that he could not obtain sufficient sea-transport to convey the animals he was desirous of conveying to camp." Why, then, were not a sufficient number of horses at once purchased, and conveyed to Balaklava, when, by so doing, mortal suffering would be reduced to hardship, privation to inconvenience, and, in fact, the state of the army so far ameliorated as to entail no tax on endurance beyond what men often voluntarily submit to for the sake of sport or adventure? A much less number than fourteen thousand would, however, have sufficed at present. The numbers of the army were greatly diminished; the standing camp did not require the same accumulation of supplies on the spot as a moving army, and the artillery and cavalry horses were to some extent available for procuring their own forage. Had the depot which the Commissary-General attempted to form near headquarters been completed, the task of supplying the troops would have been rendered comparatively easy. But the formation of the depôt, which was to have afforded future supplies, as well as the conveyance of those necessary for daily and present use, was interrupted for want of transport. In rear of each division a scanty group of miserable ponies and mules, whose backs never knew what it was to be quit of the saddle, shivered and starved, and daily died; and these were the means of transport on which the army depended for subsistence. In such a state of things the Commissioners might well ask why the means of transport were not increased from available sources. In answer to this question, the Commissary-General says he had as many animals as he could feed. "The reason for not increasing the amount of transport was, not that a greater number of animals was unnecessary, but that a greater number could not be fed in the Crimea." Now, then, we have arrived at the primary cause of the sufferings of the Crimean army-the want of forage. Hay and barley would have enabled the Commissariat to maintain a land-transport sufficient to feed the troops and their horses, to shelter them with huts, to supply ammunition for the siege, and to form a depôt against contingencies. Shrewd men at home might have made many guesses before they hit on the right cause of the distresses, for the intelligence and foresight must have been rare indeed that conducted an inquirer through such a jumble of calamity to so unexpected a conclusion. Whence, then, this deficiency in forage? "The hay and straw began to fail about the 14th of November, after the gale in which so many vessels were lost off the coast." That was one principal cause. About six hundred or seven hundred tons of hay was in the possession of our Commissariat in Turkey. This hay was of course in a loose state as it came from the fields, and therefore, as may be readily imagined, unfit for transport by sea, as a very small amount of it in weight would have |