All agi-ee that nothing will be done on this part of the position, and that the real point of attack will be the Malakhoff works, the capture of which will render the Redan untenable, and make the surrender of the south side of the place merely a question of a few weeks. July le. Heavy firing last night and this morning. Never since the beginning of the siege were both parties so thoroughly in earnest as at present. The exchange of shot and shell is almost incessant. The French can, of course, be supplied with these munitions of war to any extent, but to the resources of their adversaries there must be, one would think, some limit. That foundries exist in Sebastopol there can be little doubt; some of the shot thrown at tis is perfectly smooth and new, and seems as if it had just been cast; moreover, it is impossible to believe that a great naval arsenal can be without the means of manufacturing its own munitions.
Powder-mills probably also exist; but in regard both to powder and shot one naturally wonders where the material for the manufacture is to come from. A small quantity of iron may be obtained by re-casting our shot and the pieces of shell, but probably a great part of the former goes into the harbour, and the supply is too small and precai'ious for a Government like the Eussian to depend upon it. It seems more lilvcly that an organized system of transport feeds Sebastopol with munitions as well as corn, and that durini^ the summer every endeavour has been and will for the future be mado to supply the garrison with sutlicient resources to hold out during the winter, when the ti'ansport of heavy articles upon the roads of the Crimea wiU be a matter of considerable difficulty.
As long ago as August, 1853, two or three houses of Odessa entered into a joint contract to supply the Government with 14,000 military carts: although these were, no doubt, destined for the campaign in the Priucipalities, yet they Avere afterwards transferred, with thousands moi"e, to the defence of Sebastopol; and the fact of such contracts having been made is suiMcient to show the scale on which the late Emperor was ready to carry out his viev/s, and the facilities which the Crimean fortress still enjoys for continuing a defence that may seem wonderful to those who do not consider how long it had been foreseen and prepared for. The French are very sanguine about their ability to reach the shipping from the new battery they are erecting at the White Works.
That the Russians also have some misgivings on the subject is evident from the assiduity with which they foe into the newly constructed work. The long GS-pounders with which it is to be armed seem sufficiently formidable to destroy the vessels even at the distance of three thousand yards, but as yet the ships remain moored in two lines across the harbour, while boats flit along on all sides of them in ceaseless activity. Our battery near the Quarries is almost ready, and in less than a week this matter will be decided. Our casualties of late have not been heavy. No officer has fallen since Lieutenant Mansell, of the 39fch. There is little sickness, considering that a force of 150,000 men is concentrated in front of Sebastopol.
Complaints are again current respecting the want of mattresses for the wounded in camp. The care or the terror of Government has provided these articles in abundance at Scutari, but in the hospital marquees there is a great want of theni; and the men are lying in discomfort. The Sick and Wounded Fund has been applied to in order to remedy this want; but, while stores are lying useless in the half-empty hospitals of the Bosphorus, it seems a waste of money to buy fresh articles which could be supplied by a little arrangement between the medical officers ot the two places. The following letter fell into my hands a day or two since wLen I was up on a visit to a deserted village about twelve miles from BaUiklava.
It is in a female hand, and is dated the very day of the capture of the Mamelon Vert, from a village to the north of Sebastopol. Omitting the domestic details, I cannot forbear giving the political and military contents, which may be considered public property: — JMay 2G {June 7). " You are not, my dear sister, in a very safe position; according to my judgment, the enemy is cnlj?^ a few steps from you at Toross. The Uaidar road is broken up. We have alread}"^ sent pioneers to the coast to break up the roads in case of the arrival of the enemy; they have taken a sufficient quantity of powder. In your letter of the 12th of May, (24th,) you said all was quiet about you, but it cannot be so now.