"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.