to victory as they would be to follow any gen- formed, and I should say, still more strongly, eral who possesses the commission of the queen. that those who thought that the expedition was Such has already become the feeling of affec-undertaken with inadequate means, and that tion and of concord which subsists between the two armies. I would also add that I propose to your lordships to vote thanks to the French navy, as I propose to do to our own navy, for the distinguished services they have rendered, and for the assistance they have afforded in all the operations of the war. The French army and the French navy, allied in the same efforts with ourselves, have, I rejoice to know, participated in the same triumphs; and I am confident you will as readily accord your thanks to these foreign corps as to our own. I feel, my lords, how inadequately I have submitted these resolutions to your lordships. Were it not that I am certain he is prepared to undertake the duty, I should invite the noble earl opposite (the Earl of Derby) to second the motion which I have had the honour to submit to your lordships. It has been my fate, during the few years for which I have occupied a seat in this house, to be frequently in collision-impare congressu-with the noble earl, but I feel certain that upon this occasion we shall be as completely agreed as any two peers on this side of the house. I invite-with confidence that it will be afforded-his fervid eloquence to strengthen my feeble voice in appealing to your lordships to give this vote the sanction of your unanimous approval. I am certain that your lordships will unanimously record your approbation and gratitude for the brilliant services rendered by the united armies, which have added fresh lustre to the military fame of England and of France." The duke then moved the thanks of the house formally, mentioning by name each officer of distinction. The motion was supported by the Earl of Derby, by the Earls of Hardwicke and Malmesbury, Viscounts Hardinge and Gough, and Lord Colchester, and finally carried by acclama tion. In the House of Commons it fell to Lord John Russell to propose the thanks of the representatives of the people of England to their brave and suffering soldiers in the Crimea. We append the speech in a somewhat abbreviated form : "In rising to perform the task which I have undertaken, I have the satisfaction of knowing that, however feebly or incompletely that task may be performed, I shall have the sympathy of this house. I cannot doubt that all those who are concerned in and who approve the expedition that has been sent to the Crimea, will cordially join in acknowledging the deeds of valour, constancy, and fortitude, which have been, and which they had a right to expect, would be per our army was exposed to unequal odds, will still more be inclined to admire the superhuman efforts that have been made by that army. I therefore proceed with this task in full confidence that the house will heartily approve the motions which I am about to submit to them. In performing that task, I may, perhaps, say at the outset that I shall endeavour, as far as possible, to avoid repeating the details of actions, a narrative of which has been given by Lord Raglan in his own clear and admirable language. I shall also endeavour to avoid entering into any question of tactics, or of military criticism. I hold that we are none of us well qualified to perform that task-one which can only be adequately performed by those who are not only perfectly familiar with the art of war, but also who know all the circumstances of the operations which have been undertaken, and of the manner in which those operations have been conducted. If I were to give an illustration of my meaning, I would mention that in a History of the French Empire, the historian, in recounting the operations which occurred at the battle of Wagram, states that the First Napoleon, having carried the battle to a certain extent, and seeing the victory was inclined in his favour, ordered certain manoeuvres to be performed, but that he said afterwards that there was another manoeuvre which would have been far more decisive and would have led to far more splendid results, but that his army was not at that time composed of those veterans who were accustomed to war; that many of his troops were young and inexperienced, and that he could not rely upon their steadiness, or be certain that the manœuvre, which be effected by them. Now, sir, a military critic was of a difficult nature to be performed, would having discovered that such a manœuvre might have been performed, might have easily blamed the great commander for not having undertaken it; but he, knowing all the circumstances, and being aware of his position, the ground he occupied, and the temper and disposition of his troops, was no doubt very correct in the tactics which he adopted. So, likewise, in regard to every military operation: unless you know exactly the nature of the ground on which the general is placed, and unless you can count exactly upon the force which he has at command, and likewise upon the state and temper of his army, it is impossible for you to judge accurately with respect to the operations that are by him performed. Now, I say this, because it is my intention only to state what are the operations which have been performed, without making any comment upon them. I have no doubt that they were performed with very great ability. I have no doubt they were decision of what was to be done in the field, but that it was likewise by other and no less necessary circumstances which he had to think of and decide upon, that Lord Raglan has been of service to his country. And now, sir, I will proceed to notice that expedition and those contests in which the best blood of this country has been shed; and when I say the best blood of this country, I by no means intend to refer to any particular rank, military or social; for I feel that among the best blood of this country is the blood of those sons of labour who, having entered the military profession, have devoted their whole hearts to their duties-men who have stood in the field of battle without the hope or expectation of being distinguished by those rewards by which men in higher stations are often swayed, but who have performed their duty nobly, reckless even of their lives, at the same time with a feeling of religious obligation that all must admire. For while they have endured, with the greatest firmness, the assaults of their enemies, they have shrunk with the utmost avoidance from committing the slightest outrage upon any one. I am confident that these children of the peasantry of England are of no less worth in blood and courage than the sons of the highest and the noblest of the land. The embarkation of the British troops took place towards the end of August, and in a despatch of the 29th of that month, Lord Raglan mentions the acknowledgments that he thinks are due to the officers of the British navy (of which I shall take notice hereafter, when I come to that part of the vote) for the assistance they had given in order to procure the embarkation of so great a number. The performed according to the best judgment that | country will see that it was not only by his could be arrived at under the circumstances. But I do not intend on this occasion to meet any objections which may be made as to any particular course of conduct taken by our army on any particular day. Let me proceed to state the position of Lord Raglan. Lord Raglan was chosen by her majesty to command the expedition which was sent to the East. That choice was dictated by the reflection of the services which he had already performed both in the army and in other capacities. Lord Raglan, when he was a young man, might, under the influence of a very powerful family connexion, have obtained any position he might have aspired to; but the only thing he asked of the government of that day was to be attached to the staff of Sir Arthur Wellesley. He was attached to that staff, and from that time every step that he has gained in rank in the army has been due to his merit, and to his merit alone. I remember him perfectly well, on several occasions, when I had the honour of being at the head-quarters of the Duke of Wellington in the Peninsula, performing all the duties of military secretary to that great captain, at a time when he had not only to conduct the military correspondence of the army, but also the correspondence with the government at home, with the secretary of state, with the secretary at war, and with the Portuguese and Spanish governments. This was business amply sufficient to employ any office in this country, and yet it was all performed by Lord Raglan, owing to the clear head and facility of dispatch which he possessed, amid the hurry of arms; and that without for a moment allowing his attention to be diverted from his duties in the field. After accompany-expedition proceeded to the Crimea. There ing the Duke of Wellington in his long career, he was at length appointed to a position in the service in which he was called upon to perform other and more important duties to his country. And if the character of the army of this country has been in any degree exalted, and if the selection for promotion that has been made shows how much desert has been attended to, it is in a great degree to Lord Raglan that the country has been indebted for these results. Such was the man, therefore, who was appointed by her majesty to command the army in the Crimea; and let me say, further, that having been so appointed, he at once commanded the confidence and affection of the British army, and in a very short time he obtained the entire confidence and the hearty co-operations of the generals of our ally, the Emperor of the French. When we have to consider that our operations were to be conducted in common, and that they were to be conducted in common with the forces of an ally with whom we had not been accustomed to co-operate in the field, the house and the was some question with respect to the place of disembarkation. Lord Raglan himself preceded the fleet in a swift steamer, surveyed the coast, and found that some points which had been thought of as landing-places for the troops were guarded by numerous redoubts and fortifications, and at length fixed upon a place for disembarkation, to which he obtained the assent of Marshal St. Arnaud, the commander of the French army. This selection was so judicious that the whole army was disembarked without opposition, and the important operation was effected safely and completely in the course of two days. Having landed on the 14th of September, the army proceeded, and effected a march of considerable length on the 19th. On the 20th of the month, they marched two miles further, and finding the Russian army intrenched on the heights above the Alma, they attacked it, and in the course of two hours made themselves masters of those heights, the Russian army making no further attempt to retake and occupy that position. It was a position well chosen and of great natural strength-so strong that the right of the Russian position was quite unassailable from the nature of the ground; and it is generally believed that Prince Mentschikoff, who there commanded, said it was a position in which the allied army might be kept at bay for three weeks, and be thereby prevented from proceeding to the siege of Sebastopol. Yet such was the brilliant valour of the British and French troops that they carried those heights. The light division of the British army having encountered a heavy shower of musketry and grape which, for a time, thinned their ranks, the brigade of the guards and the highlanders came up and attacked the position with such vigour and determination, that the Russians yielded the heights, never again to attempt their occupation. I have already said that, with regard to the details of this action, Lord Raglan has told them in the clearest and fullest manner. I may mention, however, some circumstances relating to that noble lord himself. Marshal St. Arnaud carried at the same time the left of the Russian position. The charge of the French was so impetuous and so vigorous that the Russians yielded the ground, and the French army was established on the heights which they had occupied. On the British side great masses of troops were collected. Lord Raglan, seeing the great force with which he had to contend, desired an officer of his staff to go to a height which he pointed out, and see if there was any chance of approaching it with our guns. The officer returned and said he thought it was possible, and Lord Raglan immediately directed two guns to be carried to the height. The Russian artillery was so powerful and so incessant that many of the artillerymen who manned those guns were killed in scaling the height; but the guns were placed where Lord Raglan had desired, and an officer of his own staff fired the first shots that were discharged from them. They were not effective, but presently they got the range, and other shots were so well directed against the masses of the Russian infantry, and made such chasms in their ranks, that after a time the whole mass began to move, the columns were shaken, and the Russians compelled to retreat. This was a proof, as I think, conclusive of his skill as a general-his seeing with so much accuracy in what point the enemy could be assailed, and directing with that coolness which belonged to him, and with that decision which is likewise his characteristic, the mode in which the vast forces of the enemy might be most successfully opposed. While I speak of the coolness of Lord Raglan, I may perhaps be permitted to mention what has been named by an officer of his own staff-that, thinking he exposed himself too much-that he had gone too near a place where the Russian fire was exceedingly hot, and that the life of a commander ought not to be so risked-one of his staff said to him that he thought he was exposing himself too much, when Lord Raglan's answer was, 'Don't speak to me now, I am busy.' There is nothing of epigrammatic wit, there is nothing perhaps of heroic sentiment in these words, but they were the words of an English gentleman, attentive to his duty and quite regardless of any danger while he was discharging it. After the battle of the Alma, the army halted for a time while both the military and the seamen of the fleet were employed in assisting the wounded, in carrying the wounded to the ships, and in burying the dead. The English and French army then proceeded, and the river Katcha was crossed without any difficulty, the Russians having given up all defence of that river; but when they came to the Belbek, they found on the course of that river certain works of defence which the Russians had constructed. A fresh consultation was accordingly necessary, when it was considered whether those works should be attacked-whether the army should proceed as originally intended to attack the north side of Sebastopol, or whether some other course should not be taken? It was decided that, instead of occupying themselves in reducing these works, the army should at once and at all risks, march across the woods to the south of Sebastopol, and endeavour to make themselves masters of Balaklava. That march was accomplished on the 25th of September with great skill, the army being exposed, of course, to the dangers of a flank attack while they were performing it; but it was successfully performed to the surprise of the Russian commander. The rear-guard of the Russian force was surprised on the right of Sebastopol, between Bakshiserai and that place, and the English and French army proceeded, without difficulty, to make themselves masters of the heights between Balaklava and Sebastopol-an operation which was performed with great skill and success. But immediately after this operation, Lord Raglan had to lament that the officer with whom he had co-operated, with whom he had consulted both as to the original decision and the undertaking of the expedition, the means of embarkation and disembarkation, and the fight of the Alma, was so reduced by illness that he could no longer continue the command. Marshal St. Arnaud, with that heroic spirit which distinguished him, determined to persevere to the last in performing his duty to his sovereign and his country. He was determined that, though in a few weeks, perhaps in a few days, nothing but his cold dust might remain, that dust should be covered with laurels. He retired from the field, went on board the fleet, and in a day afterwards expired. We must all lament an officer who showed so much gallantry and so much heroism, and with whom our own army had so much reason to be satisfied, and we shall always acknowledge him | duced very considerable effect. Many of the as an officer who, to the last day of his life, performed his duty. The command of the French army then fell into the hands of General Canrobert, and it is with great satisfaction I can state that, both in previous concert, and ever since he has had that command, Lord Raglan and General Canrobert have acted together with the rivalry only who should best serve the common cause- -with no other rivalry, with no species of jealousy, but each admiring and applauding the character and actions of the other. On the 28th of September, the army occupied the heights in the neighbourhood of Sebastopol; and ten days had elapsed when, after a full examination of the ground, the impression of Sir John Burgoyne and other eminent officers was, that the task would be far more difficult than had been supposed. It had been imagined that, the regular fortifications of Sebastopol on the land side never having been perfected, the army might approach close to the town, destroy those defences with such artillery as they had ready, and that the capture of the town might be very soon accomplished. When I look back to the letters that were written at that time by various officers and transmitted to us, I find a confident anticipation that Sebastopol would soon fall. Sir J. Burgoyne, however, on examining the ground, found that, as the hills where they parted and fell towards Sebastopol, opened into wide ravines separated from each other, the troops that were placed on one part of a hill could not co-operate with those on the other; he therefore found that it would be very difficult to carry on the operations in the way originally intended, and that it would be dangerous to lead any part of the English forces unsupported on such ground as I have described this part of the neighbourhood of Sebastopol to be. It was accordingly resolved to bring as much heavy artillery into the batteries as could be brought, and our soldiers, day after day, and night after night, laboured with singular perseverance in order to place a sufficiently large amount of heavy guns to destroy the defences of Sebastopol. But it was obvious that, from the moment that determination, that necessary determination was taken, the prospect became one of a very distant kind; for the Russians, having a great quantity of heavy artillery in Sebastopol, having likewise all the guns of their large fleet which lay in the harbour, and having a considerable garrison, without counting the population of Sebastopol, would have a force equal to, if not superior, to that of the allies. From that moment, therefore, the task became one of very great labour and difficulty; but both on the French side and on the side of the British force, nothing was left undone in order to hasten on the works, and to open a formidable fire on the Russian fortifications. On the 17th of October that fire was opened, and pro guns in the Russian batteries were dismounted, and some of their works were for a time nearly destroyed. At the same time the fleet, both English and French, came near the forts towards the sea-side, and opened a most formidable fire for some hours against those defences; but, that fire not having produced the effect of leaving the place open to the immediate assault of the allies, the Russians occupied the night always in repairing the defences which had been destroyed, and in replacing other guns as substitutes for those which had been destroyed. In this manner, therefore, the siege went on till the 25th of October; the Russians, coming round by the valley of the Tchernaya, made an attack on our outposts, and succeeded in making themselves masters of one or two redoubts. They had a great force of cavalry; but the heavy cavalry of the British, not regarding their superiority of numbers, attacked them with great gallantry, and forced them to retire. On the same day, by the misconstruction of an order that had been given by Lord Raglan, an attack was made by the light cavalry upon the line of the Russians, comprehending their batteries, which were guarded by other batteries in flank and a large body of mounted troops. Nothing could be more distinguished than the bravery of the British troops on this occasion. I believe at no time in the annals of the British army has courage been more displayed. We all lament the misconstruction that occurred, and the want of the effect which might have been produced had the charge been directed in a different manner; but that cannot be the least disparagement to the valour of the men who were thus ready at any risk to charge the enemy that lay before them. The works of the siege continued, those works being in themselves very laborious, occupying a far more than ordinary proportion of the besieging force, and the more fatiguing because a great portion of the men had been taken away by sickness. It was in this state of things that an immense effort was made by the commanders of the Russian forces in order to overwhelm the forces of the allies, which remained, on the one side, besieging a great fortified place with a numerous garrison and intrenchments, defended by a prodigious artillery, and, on the other, confronted by a Russian army. That attempt was made, it has been said, by 60,000 men, but I think it probable that the number was not less than 80,000. They were troops who had not been present at the battle of the Alma-troops who did not know the enemy they had to encounter. These troops, raised to the utmost pitch of fanaticism, and, it is said, their courage animated by other means, came in vast columns to the attack of the British position on the 5th of November. Lord Raglan has related the events of that battle. He has stated how, in the darkness of the night and in the fog of the morning, the Russians were able to place a very large artillery force and to advance vast columns close to the English position. In that darkness and thickness of the fog it was impossible to exercise the powers and the discrimination of a commander. It was impossible to survey the field or to direct operations. There were only about 8,000 British soldiers in that field; but though their numbers were few-though they had been weakened by sickness and battle though they presented themselves ragged from the labours and privations they had gone through-though, amid the darkness, they got ready with the companions and comrades of their own regiments-though a great portion of them came after twenty-four hours' hard work in the trenches-though they had not time even to take a scanty meal before they met this powerful enemy, yet there remained unquenched and unquenchable the spirit of British soldiers, and that spirit bore them on to victory. It was, as my right honourable friend the secretary at war truly said, the battle of the soldiers. But yet that band of heroes, exposed as they were to an artillery against which nothing for a very long time could have stood, might have been, not driven from the field or defeated, but forced to lay down their lives on the heights, which the enemy, in consequence of their overwhelming numbers, might then have occupied, had there not at this very moment arrived, after the English had for hours withstood a most determined attack, a reinforcement of our French allies, commanded by General Bosquet, one of the most distinguished chiefs in the French army, and who directed with great skill and valour the troops he led to the spot. The French soldiers rushed on with such impetuosity that they saved the day, and preserved both armies from the disasters that might have occurred to them had the Russians gained any part of the position, and from that had been able to continue the attack against the allied forces. Still, including these French troops, there were but 14,000 men of the allies engaged in this famous action; and I believe, in respect to the destruction of the enemy, scarcely any battle has been equal to it. More than 5,000 dead were left on the field of battle by the Russians, and it would be a moderate estimate to say that three times as many must have been wounded; so that these 14,000 allied troops caused a loss to the enemy of far more than their own number. I believe that no modern annals contain the history of a battle more to the honour of those who gained it than the one I am now alluding to. It has cost, indeed, the loss of many a gallant man, and brought misery and affliction to many families, but I am persuaded that the renown of that battle will last, and its effects will be appreciated, for generations to come. In the course of it there were some vicissitudes, but the heroism which the brave allied troops displayed is indisputable; and they who had to meet such troops-they who have to give an account of what it is to attack such troops-will be slow to think that Russia can ever gain the advantage in the war she is now waging against soldiers so indomitable. I will now advert only to the general operations of the siege, and to the assistance we have received from the navy. The general operations of the siege, as I have stated, have been conducted by officers of great experience, and have been of the most laborious kind. The sufferings and privations of our troops have been such as never before were equalled; and, in alluding to the losses we have sustained, I cannot omit mentioning one name-the name of a general who fell at the battle of Inkermannbecause, from his character, his talents, and his former services, the country had every reason to expect to see in him a complete military commander. I allude to Sir George Cathcart. I remember witnessing last year, after he had just returned to this country, the joy and exultation with which he hailed his appointment to a command in the Crimea. To the last hour of his life that feeling seems to have continued, and he appears to have had no other ambition and no other wish than to devote his life to his country, and to spend the last drop of his blood in her service. Such are the men who do honour to this country, and by this the name of Sir George Cathcart never will be forgotten. Having said thus much with respect to the army, I now have to state that it will also be my duty to propose a vote of thanks to the navy for their co-operation. I have mentioned that Lord Raglan, at the commencement of the operations, said that the zeal and efficiency of the navy in performing the service of landing the troops was beyond all praise, and that from Admiral Dundas down to the lowest sailor there were exhibited the same zeal and the same eagerness to discharge the duty efficiently. He notices especially the conduct of Sir E. Lyons. I am glad he mentions that distinguished officer, who is an honour to the profession to which he belongs, and from whom, we may expect, in the course of the war in which we are now engaged, great and brilliant services. A man of greater ability, in whatever duty he may be employed, I scarcely ever met with, and his meritorious conduct is well known to his country. I believe that every officer engaged on that service performed his duty most excellently. moving these votes, I shall next venture to propose one of an unusual character-one, perhaps, without precedent, but, considering the feeling of the country, one to which this house will no doubt readily agree. I mean to propose a vote of thanks to General Canrobert, and to the French officers and men who have co-operated with her majesty's forces. Such has been the feeling After |