Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol 7.djvu/469

 APPENDIX. 425 could not have been employed for the purpose. Without pro- fessing in tei-nis to give its own opinion, the .Selmstopol Committee reports: ' Sir J. Burgoyue, the chief engineer oliicer on the staff, ' and other military authorities, state that the soldiers could not ' be withdrawn from the trenches for the repair of the road.' — E.ep., p. 14. The Conmiissioners, Sir John M'Neill and Colonel Tulloch were not indisposed to be critical of the military author- ities; but upon the subject of the road, they fairly reported thus: 'The officers commanding divisions who were examined ' upon the subject are unanimous in then- opinion that it would ' have been impossible to employ a sufficient number of men to ' make the road, and at the same time to caiTy on the military ' operations in which the ai'my was engaged.' — Rep., p. 18. The Chelsea Commissioners quote the whole of the above passage and corroborate it hj words of their own. — Rep., p. 14. The Sebas- topol Committee threw out a suggestion that hired labour might have been obtained ; but this idea, after a great deal of inquiry, was negatived by Sir Jclm M'Neill and Colonel Tulloch, who re- ported that ' hired labour could not be obtained. ' — Rep., p. 33. The Chelsea Commissioners quote that decision, and proceed to use it as a part of the ground on which they base their report. — Rep. ,p. 14. These conclusive decisions rendered it comparatively unimportant to inquu-e as to the responsibility of any particular department for the state of the road ; but as a caution against falling into some of the errors which obtained at the time of the controversy, I add what follows : — The Road. Until the troubles of the winter campaign had been subjected to the close exammation which ultimately brought all to light, there was an idea that, because the marching of troops constituted one of the operations superintended by the Quartermaster-Gen- eral's Department, therefore General Airey might be held respon- sible for the state of the communications between Balaclava and the camp ; but a serious glance at the question soon showed that the Quartermaster-General's Department, consisting entirely of officers, and not liaving within it or under it any artificers or workmen, or any right or power of making purchases or entering into pecuniary engagements, was not, and could not be, charged with responsibility for the execution of any ' army works. ' For such purposes, it was only by survey, suggestion, and requisition that the chief of the department could act. Now, as regards ' sm-vey ' and ' suggestion,' the business of metalling the road passed far beyond those stages ; for, as is above shown, the work was begun and continued, failing only for want of sufficient ' hands. ' As to ' requisition ' for tools, all the tools I'equired for the purpose were not only ' requisitioned ' but by that process