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 CONFERENCES ON THE PLAN. 291 allied Commanders were again brought together chap. "V*T in Conference, they agreed to make a forward movement from their right, and Lord Raglan Lord Ragiau brought Canrobert to engage that, instead of ad- Element vancing from Aloushta upon Simferopol, he would ^ fl°^ lai1 place his extreme right at Baidar, and thence P erationa ; move on Baktchi Serai.* In such case, the task of Lord Eaglan would be to advance on Can- robert's left, and storm the Mackenzie Heights. So far, therefore, the Commanders agreed ; but but no their hope of ever really engaging in this projected campaign was conditional on their making it har- monise with the still greater object for which they had not yet provided — the vital, the paramount object of maintaining the position of the Allies in front of Sebastopol and securing their ports of supply. This condition they did not fulfil. Adverting to the detailed arrangements by which the Imperial plan sought to meet this great exigency, and in particular to the agree- ment of Buckingham Palace, which stipulated that the positions held by the English army in front of Sebastopol should be occupied by French and Turkish troops, Lord Eaglan asked General Canrobert and Omar Pasha how they meant to provide for the defence of our siege- works. The General Canrobert did not admit to his Emperor that he had so far yielded.— Rousset, vol. ii. p. 173 et seq. ; but that he did in fact so yield is not only shown by the above despatch of the 15th, but also — and more pointedly — by the secret despatch of the 19th.
 * Lord Raglan to Secretary of State, Secret, May 15, 1855.