The Sun.
London, England, 1855-04-10 00:00:00

HANOVER.

A letter from Hanover of the sth, in the Cologne
Gazette, says :

" The report of the Committee of the Diet on-the ii-
ternal affairs of Germany, and which has proposed to
invest the. old nobility with its ancient rights for the
composition of our First Chamber; and of which they
had been deprived by the revolution of 1848, has caused
the greatest agitation throughout the country. The in-
habitants, who considered that the privileges of the
nobles had been for ever abolished, are quite in a state
of conbternation at the present revival. In every part
of the country petitions are being prepared and signed,
praying his Majesty to convoke as soon as possible the •
two Chambers having the, confluence of the country,
and which may be able to avert the evils with which the
country 'may be threatener! if the conclusions of the
Committee of the Diet in favour of the old privileges of
the nobility should be again introduced into klanover.
The pb,tition of the burgomasters and the "municipal'
council of the capital has already been presented to the
King, and wi'l be followed by others. All of ,them de-.
wand the mainte.nance of the present mode- of election,'
and the abolition fo; ever of all privileges to the nobles.'

The Wanderer of 7.l:,:nna of the sth says :
" The Consuls General of France and Eng!anci,
who have returned to Buchare.: t after a prolonged
absence, hoisted their flags on the 25th ult., and
thus indicated in official style that tt;e diplomatic.
relations between those powers and th.,o Govern-
ment of Wallachia were re-established."

LORD PALMERSTON AND THE COMMIS-

SARIAT SERVICE.

The following is a copy of the letter of remon-
sti ance forwarded by the Commissariat officers serv-
ing in the Crimea to Commissary-General Filder,
C. 8., for the purpose of being transmitted by the
last mail to Lord Panmure, the Minister for War •
Balaklava, March 17.
_ _

Sir,—lt is with great reluctance that we have decided
upon the course of addressing you these remarks, with a
request that you will lay them before his Lordship the
Secretary for War ; but we feel that it is due to the
department to which' we belong and to ourselves indivi-
dually to notice the following reflections cast upon the
commissariat officers by Lord Palmerston in bis speech
in the Ho use of Commons on the 19th of February, viz
" And I must say that there was great truth and great
force in the observations which fell from the hon. mem-
ber for North Warwickshire, in answer to the attacks
which have been made upon the aristocracy, along with
whom I suppose we must include the gentry of this
country, for I believe the term aristocracy' inctudes
the two. In reply to the charges that our army has not
been successful, as it ought to have been, in consequence
of the great number of gentlemen who are offiCers in it,
I think the hon. member made the moat triumphant
answer, by showing that where your system has broken
down—that where evil has arisen from want of capacity,
of energy, of intelligence, or of accurate and zealous per-
formance of duty—it was not that the gentry, not that
the aristocracy, not that the noblemen in the army were
at fault, but persons belonging to other classes of the
community. It is the medical department, the commis-
sariat department, and the transport department, which
nobody contends are filled with the sons of the aristo-
cracy or the gentry—it is there that your system has
broken down, it is,there that the service has failed, and
that it is`that has been the main pause of the suffering
of which we are all complaining."
We can .hardly imagine that Lord Palmerston could
have meant that the officers of the commissariat do not
belong to the class of society called "gentlemen ;" but
the expressions made use of by his lordship certainly
convey that meaning ; and it is plainly stated that the
officers of the commissariat have been "wanting in capa-
city, energy, intelligence, and in the accurate and zeal-
ous performance of duty." As these expressions emanate
not from a quarter which might be treated with indiffe-
rence, but from a Minister of the Crown, cognisant, it
may be presumed, of the merits of the question who thus
prejudges it, before any decision by the commission of
inquiry now pending is arrived at, their effect upon the
public mind cannot but be as injurious to the department
as they are offensive to the individuals of whom they are
composed.

It is not for us to point out the causes of the failures
in the various arra'ngeulents connected with the cam-
raign, but we trust that his Lordship, the Minister for
War, under whose orders we have the honour of being
placed, will afford us the protection to which we con-
ceive we are fairly entitled, that he will not withhold
from us a just appreciation of our rnosVstrenuous endea-
vours to perform our arduous and responsible duties, and
that he will afford us an opportunity of proving that we
have not been " wanting in capacity, energy, intelligence,
or zeal."

We have enjoyed none of the advantages consequent
upon war with respect to promotion, &c.; which have
been so liberally extended to every other branch of the
army. Our services and our exertions have not been re-
cognised in any public manner, and we cannot feel other-
wise than greatly aggrieved that we should be thus held
up to the public as having been "the main cause of the
evils tvhich have arisen."

We are invidiously designated as not belonging to the
class of society usually termed " gentlemen,"but as be-
longing to other classes of the community. While we
conduct ourselves honourably it matters little with what
families we are connected ; but we contend that the
officers of the commissariat, as a body, do belong to the
class termed " gentry," and that we are as well educated,
as well informed, and as honourable and upright in every
respect as any other body of officers in the army.
Our duties are of a most responsible nature, and there
are no officers in the service in whom such an amount
of trust is placed, which should surely entitle us to be
classed in the highest ranks of the public service.
If we have not acquitted ourselves to the satisfaction
of our superiors, we invite inquiry into our conduct ;
but as we are confident that we have at least exerted
ourselves to the utmost, we most respectfully beg that
his lordship will not disregard the honour of, or refuse to
do justice to, a department under his control, and de-
pendent upon him for official support.
If we have expressed ourselves with freedom, we trust
that his lordship will make due allowance ;or our feel-
ings under what we conceive a most unjust and un-
founded: imputation, and we beg to assure his lordship
that we shalt continue to perform our duties conscien-
tiously, and that no endeavours will bd. spared by us to
uphold the character of the department, and our indivi-
dual reputation, at the high standard to which, we trust,
his lordship will not fail to admit they have attained.
We have, &c.
G. ADAMS, D.C.G. H. J.BROWNRIG G, D. A.C. G.
W. H. DRAKE, D.C.G. f. MURRAY, D.A.C.G..
L. ROUTH, A.C.G. J. MARSH, D.A.C.G.
F. S. CARPENTER, A.C.G. R. Bootx, D.A.C.G.
W. S. ARCHER, A.C.G. A. CLERK, C.C.
E. J. M. MAHON, A.C.G. J. BAILEY, D.A.C.G.
M. W. DARLING, A.C.G.L.
W. .SUTHELAND,D.A.C.G.
A. F. COOKESLEY, D. A.C.G.
J. D. WILLAN, A.C.G. F. C. COLQUHOUN, D.A.C.G.
J. P. LUNDY, A.C.G. G. R. PRIMROSE, D.A.C.G.
W. T. POWER, A.C.G. J. B. BARLEE, D.A.C.G.
R. CUMMING, A.C.G. A. L. BAYNES, C.C.
G. J. WEBB, D. A.C.G. W. U. GREEN, C.C.
H. BARTLETT, D.A.C.G. A.. PETRIE, C.C.
G. S. BLANE, D.A.C.G. A. CHAPLIN, C.C.
C. B. SMITH, D.A.C.G. H. C. LEWIS, C.C.
.T. B. THOMPSON, D.A.C.G. W. F. G. SDRVANTES, C.C.
J. 11. SALE, D.A.C.G. J. MANNING, C.C.

The Moniteur of yesterday publishes an Imperial de-
creeconceding to the Great Central Company—first, the
section of the Clermont-Ferraud and Montauban
Railway, extending from Lempdes to the river Lot;
second, the two sections of the Bordeaux and Lyons
line, comprised, the one between St. Etienne and
the Clermont Ferraud and Montauban road, and the
other between the latter and Perigucnx ; and, third, the
Limoges and Agen Railway. The duration of the conces-
sion is fixed at 99 years from the date stipulated for the
completion of the works. The Government is to allow the
company a subvention of 76,000,000 E, payable in 18 half-
yearly in,t;,lrn fr, Tn the lso of J n., 1857, to the Ist of
.1 , u v. .1 c'l3 an (0 2,009 r E lie con-
siroct.on of a branch on Rcdez. Four other branches
are conceded to the company, on Cabers, Villeneuve
d'Agen, Bergerac, and Tillie, which are to be constructed
according to the clauses of the law of the 11th June,
1812.