The Press.
London, England, 1857-02-07 00:00:00

PASSING TOLLS.

The house having gone into committee,
Mr. T,olve: obtained leave to bring in a bill to abolish the
" passing tolls" levied on shipping for the profit of 1/over,
Whitby, Burlington, and namagate harbours.
The house adjourned at twelve o'clock.

LORD CARDIGAN AND MAJOR
CALTHORPE.
TO THE EDITOR OF "THE PRESS."
Sir,—ln reading over the speech of the
Earl of Cardigan, in the House of Lords last
evening, as reported in the public journals of
this day, I feel myself called upon to take
notice of a remark made by him on that occa-
sion. His lordship states that in a reply
received from the author of " Letters from
Head-Quarters," he " admitted that two out
of three of those allegations were entirely devoid
of truth." This I beg positively and entirely
to deny; and it is strange that the Earl of
Cardigan, in his place in the House of Lords,
should give vent to such a " preposterous
fabrication." I have before me copies of
all the letters I have ever written on this sub-
ject, and, after carefully looking over them,
I cannot discover a single sentence that
could possibly be tortured into an admission
that any statement of mine is " totally and
entirely devoid of truth." That I may have
been in error in certain instances, I am per-
fectly ready to admit, and I think any one
who reads my reply to Lord Cardigan's objec-
tions, as given in a notice in the second
edition of " Letters from Hea,l-Quarter," will
acknowledge my willingness to do so. As but
few persons have probably seen the second
edition, it would be doing me a great favour if
you would insert the following somewhat
lengthy extracts from the notice above
alluded to :
" The author has received a paper, drawn up
by Major-General the Earl of Cardigan, com-
plaining that every one of the Staff Officers'
statements with regard to himself are slan-
derous, and totally without any truth or
foundation' In answer to so grave a charge,
the author feels compelled to notice the points
alluded to in detail:—
" 1. His lordship asserts that during the
patrol in the Dobrudscha' (vol. i. p. 86), neither
men nor horses were unnecessarily harassed;
but he does not deny that ninety horses out
of 280 returned with sore backs.' This cir-
cumstance appears to the author to justify the

SATURDAY,

assertion that there was ' very bad manage-
ment somewhere ;' an opinion also held by
several cavalry officers present at the time.
"2. Lord Cardigan utterly denies that he
ordered an officer of the Bth Hussars to release
some Russian prisoners whom he had taken
with his troop after the battle of the Alma
(tel. i., p. 184). This fact was communicated
to the author, immediately after its occurrence,
by the officer alluded to ; but since then a
question has arisen as to the origin of the
order, which it would appear from the earl's
statement did not proceed from him.
"3. His lordship denies the whole of the
statement that Captain Morris, 17th Lancers
(vol. i., p 310), advised him to attack the
Russian cavalry in flank during the English
heavy cavalry charge at the battle of Bala-
kluva. He declares it to be totally without
foundation,' adding, ' that Captain Morris
never gave any advice or made any proposal
of the sort ;' that it was not his duty to do
so,' and that he did not commit such an
irregularity.' The conversation, however, has
been frequently related by Lieutenant-Colonel
Morris, in the presence of several officers, at
various times and places, and the matter
therefore appears to rest between the Earl of
Cardigan and Colonel Morris.
" 4. His lordship considers the account given
of the part taken by him in the light cavalry
charge (vol. i. p. 317) unworthy of any reply,
as it is well known' chat he led the light
brigade up to the Russian cavalry in rear of
the battery, and that the Bth Hussars did
not advance as far as the battery,' but became
engaged with the Russian cavalry ' short of
it.' The author could only rely on state-
ments furnished by officers present on the
occasion ; and as the excellence of Lord Car-
digan's horsemanship is unquestionable, the
idea that his horse ran away with him, is no
doubt erroneous. But it cannot be denied
that he retired between the 4th Light Dra-
goons and Bth Hussars as those regiments
were advancing, and it is confidently asserted
by the two senior officers of the Bth llussars,
who were present, that the latter regiment
was not halted until it had gone three hun-
dred yards beyond the battery, when it was
wheeled about for the purpose of attacking
the enemy's cavalry, which had assembled in
its rear.

",5. His lordship complains of the version
given (vol. ii., p. 5.) of the report made by the
medical board on the state of his health. The
author, feeling that the expression made use of
was uncalled for, begs to express his regret
for having inserted it, and with pleasure sub-
joins a true copy of the report, with which ho
has been furnished by his lordship :

" Lord Cardigan is much reduced in strength, and the
board, considering the serious character of his complaints,
recommend that he may be allowed to proceed to England
for the recovery of his health."

I leave your readers to judge from the fore-
going how far Lord Cardigan was justified in
his assertions in the House of Lords last
night. I wish only further to remark, that I
should not have troubled you with this long
letter, had I not been attacked in a place
whore I was unable to reply.—l beg to remain,
sir, your obedient servant,
SOMERSET GOIJOII CALTHORPE,
Major Unattached.
Army and Navy Club, Pall Mall, Feb. 6.