The Sun.
London, England, 1855-04-02 00:00:00

_RUSSIAN EXCUSE FUR CRUELTY TO

THE WOUNDED.

The following despatch, addressed to the Danish
Minister in St. Petersburg, to whom the protection
of British interests in Russia has been confided,
will be read with surprise and indignation iu Eng-
land. It is dated St. Petersburg, 21st Feb., and
has reference to the documents handed to the Rus-
sian Government by the Danish Minister, contain-
ing the depositions taken at a species of court mar-
tial before Sebastopol with regard to the cruelties
practised by Russian soldiers on their wounded
prisoners
" Monsieur le Baron,—Previous to the receipt of the
letter, with which you honoured me on the 4th instant,
Prince Menschikoff had made the Lnperial Cabinet
aware of the steps taken by Lord Raglan and General
Canrobert after the battle of Inkerman. _ _

"I;;eply to that communication, the Commander-in-
Chief, Prince Menschikoff, had declared that an un-
armed enemy is and always will be under the protection
the Russian flag.
"This principle requires neither comment nor coc-
firrnation. Whilst referring to it, M. le Baron, I feel
called upon to remark, that if soldiers of the enemy
may unfortunately have on the field of battle become
the sacrifice of isolated acts of cruelty, information that
has subsequently raached us has brought to our know-
ledge a grave circumstance, which it is of importance to
recor - _ - - - .

"We have, in fact, learned, that on the day of Inker-
mann, English soldiers that were supposed wounded and
disabled, raised themselves from the ground and fired
upon our troops as they passed by them in their attlck
on the esieicy.
" Our soldiers, wounded by bullets coming from hands
they believed disarmed, may have thus allowed them-
selves in the, heat of action to be carried away by a
bloody revenge.
" Humanity blames this most undoubtedly ; but they
are in some degree provoked to it by an enemy whom
they certainly could not look on as unarmed, since he
still continued to make a murderous use of his weapons.
",The fortune of war is subjected to laws, which must
be upheld. among them is one that deserves to be men-
tioned here. That one—namely, that an enemy is not
at liberty to make use of his weapons at the moment of
laying them down for the purpose of killing those who
are giving him quarter. It is with great regrA that we
have heard the instance of an English officer quoted,
who, after having handed over his sword to a Russian
sub-officer with one hand, shot him with a pistol, aimed
quite close to him, with the ~ttier.
" Whilst acts of this nature sere to characterise the
fury of the struggle, they.at the same time suffice to ex-
plain the sad consequences which it has brought in its
train.
"If you read through again, with attention, the mi-
nutes appended to your lett:er of the 4tli inst., you will
observe that, in the majnrity of the cases mentioned, the
retaliation of the En.lisla soldiers was a bloody one. Fa:
removed from al! proneness to contention and revenge,
ue confine onrselves to drawing the conclusion that it
would be desirable for both armies that a strict obser-
vance of ttie la vs of humanlty on the field of battle
I should be introduced._

" Prince IlenichikCff has on his part ha-itened to fulfil
the duties in this respect that.the authority of his com-
mand, and the express will of the Emperor,-impose upon
him.

" We rc‘ckon with equal confidence on the honourable
sentiments of the commanders of the English army.
" I do not hesitate, M, le Baron, to exp:ess to you
this confidence, and return you herewith the documents
which you had the goodness to communcite to me.
I have not failed to bring them to the knowledge of
Prince Menbehikoff, and to request him to- take the
evidence contained. therein into serious cc nsider-
ation, in crier that he might contribute with
all his power to confer on the,present stripjgle the cha-
racter of moderation, from which two nations that re-
spect themselves shoulel never depart, even though in-
volved in a conflict, to which we should be happy to
put an end, if conciliatory views on the part of the Go-
vernment of her Britannic Majesty corresponded to our
own. Accept, &c., NESSELRODE.