BRITISH GRAVES IN THE CRIMEA.
March 10th, 1883.
Attention had from time to time been directed, by reports of travellers and others, to the neglected state of the burial-places in the Crimea, and the ruinous condition of monumental memorials over the graves. An allowance of £90 a year had been made by the Government for maintaining the different cemeteries, but this was utterly insufficient for the purpose. The Consul-General at Odessa had recently reported that there were at least eleven graveyards or cemeteries scattered between Balaclava and Sebastopol, and there were many others in different places where the dead had been laid. The scandal of neglect was so great that the Duke of Cambridge called a meeting at the United Service Institution, Whitehall, to consider what ought to be done. A large number of distinguished men, including many of those who had passed through the Crimean War, responded to the invitation, and letters were received from others throughout the country who were unable to be present.
The Duke of Cambridge made a clear statement of the condition of affairs, and mentioned various suggestions for putting a stop to the desecration of the burial-places, and for preserving the memorials from further injury. The Prince of Wales had come to the meeting, and as he had seen the places referred to, during his Eastern travels, he was asked by the Chairman to move the first resolution, which was to the effect that immediate steps should be taken to remedy the existing state of the Crimean graves.
The Prince, who was warmly received, rose, and said:
"Your Royal Highness, my Lords, and Gentlemen,—I was not aware until I arrived in this room that I should be called upon to move the first resolution. But I need hardly tell you the great interest the subject we are discussing here to-day has for me, and the great pleasure it gives me to propose the following resolution:—'That the present condition of the British cemeteries in the Crimea is not creditable to this country, and that endeavours should be made to raise the necessary funds to have them restored, and to preserve them from further desecration.' In 1869 I had occasion to visit the Crimea, and to go over all those spots so familiar to most of the gentlemen I see opposite me, who took a part in the campaign. And it was a matter of particular interest to me to visit those different spots where our brave soldiers were buried. I confess that it was with deep regret that I saw the manner in which the tombs were kept. The condition of the graves was not creditable to us, and not creditable to a great country like ours, for I am sure we are the very first to do honour to the dead who fought in the name of their country.
"It struck me at the time that one of the great faults lay in there being so many different cemeteries. The French had a much simpler and a better system—that which they call the ossuaire. I was told at the time that to the feelings of Englishmen—on religious, and possibly, I may also say, on sentimental grounds—it was repugnant to disturb the remains of those who were interred in the Crimea as was done by the French, and that to collect them and put them into one large building was not what was consonant with our feelings generally. But I cannot help thinking, as considerable time has elapsed since our comrades fell, and also as we are, in every sense of the word, a thoroughly practical nation—I feel myself strongly, although I cannot say how far that feeling may be shared by the meeting to-day—that it would be far better, and in the long run far cheaper, if we were to build a kind of mausoleum, collecting the remains of our comrades who fell in the Crimean War, and putting them into such a mausoleum. It was really sad to see the neglected condition of the tombs. There was one especially with which I was struck—that of Sir Robert Newman, who was in the Grenadier Guards, and fell in the Battle of Inkerman. His tomb was a most elaborate and expensive one, and was built with a dark stone, a kind of porphyry. This was broken almost entirely to pieces. Upon inquiry of some Russian authorities who accompanied me on that occasion, I discovered a curious fact. The idea was not merely that of disturbing and breaking open the tombs; but, as most of you are aware, the Crim Tartars—who are Mohammedans by religion—had an idea that treasures were to be found in the tombs. Therefore, the disturbing of them was not merely for the sake of disturbing the dead, but with the hope of finding some treasures there. It is needless to say that their investigations were not satisfied in that respect.
"Of course, gentlemen, with regard to the pecuniary part of the question, it is not for me to go into that; but I hope that, as so many distinguished military and naval men are present, they cannot but have a strong feeling with me that it will ever be a living disgrace to us unless we adopt some means to-day by which the tombs of our comrades who fell in the Crimea are kept in a proper state of preservation. I have merely suggested the idea of an ossuaire, because it seems to me the simplest form to adopt. But it would involve, what many object to, disturbing the remains of some who fell. I only hope that before the meeting separates to-day we may have arrived at some satisfactory conclusion that the graves of our comrades shall in some way be respected and maintained in a manner creditable to ourselves and to our country. Therefore, it is with the greatest pleasure that I move the first resolution."
The resolution was seconded by General Sir W. Codrington, who said that the Russian Government had given additional land at Cathcart's Hill; and that the grave-stones and other memorials should be removed there. He did not think there should be any removal of the remains of the dead.
The Prince of Wales again rose, and said—
"I wish to add that when I went over the different places of interest in the Crimea, and inspected all our burial-places, I was accompanied by one of the most courteous gentlemen, General Kotzebue, the Governor-General of Odessa; and I need only say that, as far as the Russian Government represented by him was concerned, everything was done to keep the graves from desecration. But he told me that, unfortunately, they were powerless to prevent it; and it was his opinion, and he strongly advised me, that the only way in which to prevent a repetition of a desecration of the tombs would be, as I mentioned before, to collect the remains and place them in a mausoleum—in the same way, in fact, as the French had done. I wish also to say that, on my return in the summer from my visit to the Crimea, I brought the whole matter most strongly before the late Lord Clarendon, who was then Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs."
After conversation and remarks by Admiral Sir H. Keppel, General Sir L. A. Simmons, Lord Wolseley, and others, resolutions were carried for the concentration of the memorials in one central place, without removing the remains of the dead; and for applying to the Government and to the nation for larger funds to pay additional guardians of the cemeteries. The Duke of Cambridge was warmly commended for having called the meeting, which was justified by the large attendance, and the Prince of Wales for his advocacy of the object in view. Tho interest of their Royal Highnesses was practically attested by the gift of £50 from the Prince of Wales and £25 from the Duke of Cambridge toward the necessary funds. It was stated in the course of the proceedings that the French Government granted yearly more than double what the British Government did, for protecting the Crimean graves.