The Press.
London, England, 1857-09-05 00:00:00

merit and not a little acrimony. It will be remembered that the
" Staff Officer" made a statement to the effect that Sir DE LACY
EVANS'S real share in the Battle of Inkermann was not that which
it had been represented to be, and that Lord RAGLAN'S despatch
awarded him a tribute of praise to which he had no just title. Sir
1)E LACY EVANS, accepting the merit erroneously attributed to him
with tranquil complacency, and somewhat thrifty, moreover, in his
acknowledgments of the brilliant services of Sir J. PENNEFATHER on
that memorable day, broadly and flatly contradicted the assertion of
the " Staff Officer," referring in support of his denial to the official
repnrt of ,General PENNEFATHER himself, dated Bth November, 1854,
which described him as " arising from his sick-bed on hearing the can-
" nonade and riding to the field," and stated that " his countenance,
" advice, and directions were most valuable and cheering to him during
" the action." The " Staff Officer" upon this very properly withdrew the
remark in question from his second edition, adding at the same time
that as "his authority was indispilltable, he only did so, pending fur-
" ther inquiry into the matter." That further inquiry, it appears, has
now been made, and it has resulted in the substantiation of the Staff
Officer's original assertion. Sir J. PENNEFATHER has admitted that Sir
DE LACY EVANS did not appear on the field of Inkermann until the
battle was over ; that, although when his attention was called by his
aide-de-camp (who was copying the rough draft of his despatch) to the
inaccuracy of that portion of it which concerned Sir DE LACY EVANS'S
part in the engagement, he had directed him to write it as it stood ;
he did so, in a spirit of generosity and chivalry, feeling a sort of pride
in sustaining the reputation of so gallant an officer. An observation
Sir JOHN made shortly after this period, when he found by the news-
papers that Sir DE LACY EVANS allowed himself to enjoy an undisputed
monopoly of the credit of the eventful transactions of that day, was
the basis of the " Staff Officer's " statement. This observation we
have reason to believe Sir JOHN admits was actually made by
him. So that, if this be an accurate version of what has occurred—
and we believe it to be strictly authentic—we have two results to
notice. The one is, that the Staff Officer is relieved from the charge of
misrepresentation, seriously affecting the character of a veteran and
distinguished officer; the other result is, that the eminent
services of Sir J. PENNEFATHER in one of the most remarkable conflicts
in the history of warfare will no longer be overshadowed and obscured
by the undue exaltation of a general who, great as his reputation may
be, did little on this occasion to merit the praise so thoughtlessly
awarded him.

Reports are floating idly about that Mr. VERNON SMITH will
shortly retire from the post of President of the Board of Control. The
name of more than one Right Hon. Gentleman has been mentioned
by anticipation in connection with the event. We believe that there
is not the slightest foundation in fact for these statements. Lord
PALMERSTON appreciates the amiableness of Mr. SMITH too well to
supersede him by a less pliant and more dangerous successor.

A most scandalous libel on the people of Ireland has lately ap-
peared in one of the Dublin journals :

Sweeter than the voice of love is the news of English discomfiture in India to
the breasts of the Irish people. There is not a vessel of England which is wrecked,
there is not a general of hers who is slain, there is not a battalion in her service which
is routed and overthrown, that the people of Ireland do not gloat over with the greatest
satisfaction and delight. Wherever England draws the sword, or lights the match,
Ireland prays for her defeat.

And there is more to the same effect, which we have quoted elsewhere.
Such sentiments find no echo in any portion of respectable
or influential society in Ireland. Was it the case that during the
Crimean war Ireland held back in any way from bearing her full con-
tribution to the exigencies of the period, while her gallant sons won
their fair share of the laurels awarded to the brave? We observed with
pleasure the vigorous and united efforts made by the Roman Catholic
clergy to swell the amount of the " Patriotic Fund." In this present
crisis Irishmen will not forget that in every list of the massacred vic-
tims there are many Irish names, and their proper national pride will re-
member that Sir HENRY LAWRENCE was an Irishman. They are not likely
to be oblivious of the fame gained on Indian soil by Sir EYRE COOTE,
Lord MACARTNEY, the WELLESLEYS, the gallant GouoH, and many others.
In the time when JOHN MITCHELL wrote about " vitriol" and " glass
bottles," such distempered stuff might have been palatable to a few
lovers of strong words ; but that day has passed. Irishmen respect
the sex, and they are honourably proud of the women of their country.
Would it not be coarse calumny to assert that the manhood of Ireland
felt less keenly than English or Scotehmen the ferocious treatment of
women and children by the mutinous Sepoys? Those outrages have
deprived them of all sympathy. There was much feeling for the
French when the Bastille was destroyed. But the savagery of the
Jacobins in 1793 completely changed the current of opinion in Eng.
land and through Europe generally. So with the mutineers in India.
Their brutalities, their unmanly deeds, and their atrocious savagery,
would have stained

The holiest cause that tongue or sword
Of mortal ever lost or gained.
With such hateful acts and such odious cowardice no men worthy of
the name of Irishmen could ever sympathise.

The difference upon the question of title betwixt the Emperor of
Austria and the Emperor of all the Russias is somewhat. amusing As
it turns upon a matter of history and involves a principle it is also
instructive. For both parties the ground is dangerous. The Emperor
of AUSTRIA assumes that, being King of Hungary and of Bohemia as
well, he alone of all the potentates of Europe possesses the imperial
and royal prerogative in its duplex signification and honour, and by
this dogmatic assertion he claims to ignore the title of King of Poland