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Lyttelton Times, Volume V, Issue 235, 31 January 1855, Page 3

[The following; interesting description of;the Crimea appeared in the " Guardian" before the news of the landing of the Allied Forces had !.cached England.] .",.", ," THE CRIMEA. (From the London Guardian.) As the interest of the war is about to be concentrated fnpon the expedition which has, we trust, by this time made good its landing upon the shores of the Crimea, we think it desirable, with a view to the better understanding of the military movements which it may hereafter become our duty to report, to lay before our readers such particulars as we have been able to gather concerning the general features, geographical and other, of the region where our troops arc first to be brought to the ordeal of actual warfare. The Crimea, or Tauric Chersonese of the ancients, is a quadrangular peninsula, attached comcrwise to the coast of Southern Russia by the Isthmus of Pcerecop, which is a narrow neck of land very slightly elevated above the sealevel, about eight miles in length, and barely, iive in width. The sides of the square are from 90 to 100 miles long, and the entire area is estimated at about 11,000 square miles, or about one-third that of Ireland. From the eastern angle of the square projects a second peninsula, that of Kerlch, winch is joined to the Crimean main by the isthmus of Arabnt, a hilly ! tract, at its.narrowest part about ten miles from I sea to sea, This peninsula, the area of which ! has been included in the estimate above given, ; is, in its greatest length, about fifty, in its •; greatest width about thirty miles. It formed ' in ancient times the celebrated kingdom of the Bosphorus. f The entire Crimean peninsula may be coni sidered as composed of three distinct tracts. The first of these, and the least important in connection with any attack on Sebastopol, is the peninsula of Kertch. At the opposite extremity of the Crimea from the seat of the llussian naval power, and detached by its position from the rest of the territory, whatever part it may play hereafter in the war, when operations are commenced against the Russian fortresses upon the Circassian coast —Anapa and Soujouk Kaleh—ifc will scarcely be touched by the allied armies in their present expedition. Still, its general characteristics may be mentioned. It differs greatly [from the rest of the Crimea, being hilly, yet not mountainous. It has not a single tolerable harbour, even that of Kertch being indifferent. It possesses no town of the slightest consequence but Kertch. It is sterile, and very thinly populated. It has one fortress, that of Jenikaleh, which is a place of no great strength, about six miles east of Kertch, commanding the entrance of the Sea of Azof. We have seen this peninsula recommended to be taken as the basis of our operations against Sebastopol, but Marshal St. Arnaud and Lord Raglan are not likely to commit so gross a blunder. The mainland of the Crimea consists of two distinct and highly contrasted districts, the northern and the southern. On the north, from Perecop to Akmedschet or Simferopol, the capital, the entire country is a dead flat, a few feet only above the level of the sea, unbroken by any tree or house; without cultivation, illwatered, and covered in autumn with a scanty and burnt-up turf. Below Simpheropol there extends along the south-eastern coast, a chain of limestone mountains, ninety-five miles in length, from Balaklava to Kaffa, and with a mean breadth of from twelve to sixteen miles. The elevation of this chain is not great. TchetirDagh, the highest summit, is said to exceed a little iive thousand feet. According to the universal law in mountains of this direction, the steepest ascent is towards the south. Here the general character of the coast is precipitous, excepting that at the base of the limestone rocks, a narrow slip of detritus, seldom half a league.in width, intervenes between the hills and the shore, resembling on a large scale the Underdid' of the Isle of Wight. This is a most picturesque and delightful region. A luxuriant vegetation descends to the water's edge. Chestnut trees, mulberries, -almonds, laurels, olives, and cypresses, grow along its whole extent. Numbers of rivulets of the clearest water pomdown from the clifls, which effectually keep off all cold and stormy winds. Thickly studded with villages, and adorned with the villas and palaces of the richest Russian nobles, this tract offers a most striking contrast to the remainder of the peninsula, or indeed to any other part of Russia. One of our old travellers—a mun of

no great poetry or warmth of feeing—is moved .to call it a'• terrestrial paradise.1' All accounts agree that it is by for the most beautiful tract oj .country which owns the dominion of the Czar. It is also remarkably healthy, and possesses several very fair harbours. The best of these is.JKaffa; but Soiidak, Yourzuf, and xaHa afford also very decent shelter. Near" T = the north-western extremity of the mountain district lie the fortress and harbour of Scbastopol. The latter is one of the most reinarkabJe in Europe. At the south-eastern corner of a vast bay, with which the western side of tlie Crimea is indented, a noble inlet penetrates from the open sea inland, in a direction somewhat south of east, to a distance of nearly five miles from its mouth. This inlet is from half to three quarters of a mile broad, and is seldom less than twenty feet deep. Its northern shore piesents nothing remarkable. One or two points only have been (fortified, the most important being that directly opposite to Sebastopol, which is occupied by Fort Constantine. It is on the south side of the great inlet that nature and art have combined to form a perfect harbour, and a very strong fortress. The southern shore of the great inlet is penetrated by two lessor inlets, running into the land nearly at right angles to the greater one ; the first from the sea, which is called Artillery Bay, bearing about south-west, and the second, which is ca£ led South Bay, lying north and south. The latter, which is the present retreat of the Ilussiau Black Sea fleet, is more than a mile and a half in length, somewhat sinuous in its course, and sheltered throughout by high limestone cliffs. Near its mouth a small side-creek indents its eastern shore, which has been formed by imrrense labour into a gigantic dockyard. The town of Sebastopol stands on a tongue of land between Artillery Bay and South Bay. Its forts are built so as to command at once the main inlet, and the entrances of the two bays between which the town stands. It is said to be weakly defended towards the south, where the limestone hills rise in all directions above the town and principal fortifications. Between the mouth of the great inlet and Cape Chersonese, which bounds the grand western bay of the Crimea to the South, are a series of indentations resembling Artillery and South Bay, affording excellent harbourage, and. we believe, entirely undefended, in any one of which a landing might probably be effected without difficulty. We believe there are, within the space of eight or ten miles, no fewer than five such inlets. There is also in this neigh- : bourhood, a little smith of Cape Chersonese, the excellent harbour of Balaklava, landlocked, and surrounded by precipices; but from its natural features very easily defended, and now probably sufficiently prepared against an attack. Northward of the mouth of the great inlet the coast trends to the north-east and north. Here are no harbours ; but at the mouths of the streams which flow from the north side of the great mountain range into the western bay, the coast is low, while there is said to be a deep sea within a short distance of the shore. On this coast, at the mouth of the river Katchk, the second stream from the Sebastopol inlet, according to s semi-official statements, both in the Times and in the Monileur, the landing is to be made. The army will then be distant about eight or nine miles from the northern shore of the inlet, and fifteen or sixteen from Sebastopol itself, owing to the deviation from the direct route which the greajt inlet will necessitate. The intervening country is hilly, but not difficult for troops. There are no roads, except one which leads from the northern shore of the great inlet to Simferopol; but the turf at this season of the year is dry and bard, and there will not be any great difficulty in the transport even of heavy artillery. The Russian army, whose amount is unknown to our generals, will, no doubt, dispute step by step the advance of our troops. We will not speculate upon the result. A few da)rs must bring us authentic tidings of events, which these remarks upon the local characteristics of the scene of action may help to elucidate.

West "Indies. —The United States frigate " Columbia," with a Commodore's flag,attended by two other American vessels, a corvette and steamer, have arrived at the port of San Domingo, and have formally demanded the cession to the United States of" the port of Samana with certain adjacent territovy. ■' A general ofii-ceri-'wiih one or more oUiccis of engineers, ar e

also reported to be on board the * Columbia.' On the demand having been made on the Government of the Dominican Pvepublic,tbe English and French consuls immediately despatched, express messengers to Port-au-Prince.