The Sun.
London, England, 1855-01-23 00:00:00

GENERAL SIR DE LACY EVANS, K.O.D.

1 The first public recognition of this gallant offic,r's
services since Ins return -to England from the Crimea
. took place yesterday at Folkeston,, when a congiatu-
latory address, accompanied by a sword valued at 150
guineas, was presented to him by a deputation from the
inhabitants of the united Parliamentary boroughs of
Hythe, Folkestone, and Sandgate. The presentation
took place at one o'clock, in one of the large saloons of
the Pavilion Hotf 1. The deputation was headed by Mr.
Brockman, M.P. for the district, and included about 60
gentlemen, among whom were the Mayor of Hythe, the
Mayor of Folkestone, Colonel Sandi!ands, Mr. Lacon,
controller of Customs at Folkestone, the churchwardens
of the several parishes, and the aldermen and councillors
of Hythe and Folkestone, &c. The deputation, having
been introduced, were received with marked courtesy by
the gallant General.
Mr. BROCKMAN, addressing Sir De Lacy Evans, said,
—I have been requested, in the name of the inhabitants
of the united district of Hy the, Folkestone, and Sand-
gate, to present a congratulatory address to you upon
your return to your native country, after a career in a
foreign land which, although brief, has been brilliant and
patriotic. We have been anxious not to loge a moment
in doing honour to a gallant and distinguished officer,
and we confess ourselves gratified to find that the "Men
of Kent." are first in the field, as they certainly yield to
none in their adaniath a of your bravery and patriotism.
I have for years been your intimate friend, and it is a
subject of high gratification to me that, in every com-
pany of Englishmen, your name is received with expres.
:dons of honour and exultation. We venture to ask you
to honour us by accepting this sword, in testimony of
our admiration of the manner in which you have used
its. kindred weapons for more than half a century. After
apologising for his want of eloquence in performing the
task he had undertaken, Mr- Brockman read the ad-
dress as follows :

" TO GENERAL SIR DE LACY EVANS, K.C.8., 111. P., &C.

" Sir,—We, the inhabitants of Hythe, Folkestone, Sand-
gate, and adjacent parishes, forming the parliamentary
borough, take the opportunity your sojourn among us
affords, to express our satisfaction that your health is suffi-
ciently restored to allow of your receiving our congratula-
tions on this occasion.

" We welcome you back with heartfelt pleasure from
the seat of war—a war maintained for the cause of justice
and the independence of nations, accompanied, alas ! as it
has been, by disease and privations, but borne with con-
stancy and patience. It is with pride (mingled with deep
grief for the noble hearts that have throbbed their last in
the gallant actions of the Alma, the heights of Tchernaya,
and Inkerman) that we have traced the passages of danger
and death through which has shone conspicuously your
energetic mind, self-abandonment in sickness to attend the
call of duty, and generous self-denial in the hour of victory.-
"We gratefully thank the Almighty Dispenser of All
Good for your safe return toEnglend, to Lady Evans, your
family, and friends, and trust that many years of peace and
happiness (crowned as they must be by glorious recollec-
tions of difficulties and perils overcome during your
long and brilliant career, and the consciousness of having
deserved the gratitude of your country and the respect of
posterity) may still be in store for you, and may enable
that country_ still further to be indebted to you for the
•.councils' which experience, so hardly obtained, must enable
you to furnish in the continued prosecution of her battles.
" Honour us, Sir, by accepting this outward token of
our esteem. It represents not the nseasure of your de-
serts nor our appreciation of your worth.
" Folkestone, Jan. 22."
The address having been handed to Sir De Lacy
Evans,
The gallant GENERAL said he could assure the gentle-
men forming the deputation, and the inhabitants of the
district generally, that he felt most highly gratified at
the compliment which had been paid to him. He be-
lieved that; all men felt pleasure in visiting their homes
after an absence in foreign countries, particularly in cri-
tical times ; and it certainly could not fail to afford him
additionai satisfaction to receive such a cordial welcome
on the very spot where he had landed. Mr. Brockman
had spoken of his own want of eloquence. Now, he
thought a soldier like himself had a better excuse to put
forth on that head. One thing, however, he could say
Mr. Brockman possessed—high independence. He had
sat beside him in the House of Commons for many years,
and he had more opportunities of knowing his merits
than even his constituents possessed. For the mark of
attention which had been shown to him he was greatly
obliged; and its remembrance would be borne in mind
during his after life. He was self-complacent enough
to know that the compliment was not intended for
himself alone, but that it was also an exemplification
of feeling for the gallant army with which he' had
the honour of serving. He had observed that
great complaints were daily made of the manage-
ment of the war, and it was a,serted that the war
had made but slow progress. Now, he begged to differ
with many on that point. He did not consider, under
the circumstances, that the progress of the war had been
slow, and he was sure the result would show the cor-
rectness of his opinion. No such war as that in which
they were now engaged could possibly be finished in so
short a time as some were unreasonable enough to ex-
pect ; particularly where such a country as England,
with its small military strength, was not the aggressor.
England was not a military power, and the aggressor in
the present war was a very important military power,
possessed of vast resources—one which always main-
tained a very large army, and was always prepared for
war—if not, indeed, for aggression. Hence, at the sud-
den outbreak of the present hostilities, England had not
been prepared with a large standing army. It was im-
possible we could always have a perfect war establish-
ment on a military scale. We bad happily enjoyed 40
years of peace, and opinions would not admit of the con-
tinued mainterance of a large standing army. He would
recall to their minds the many wars in which this coun-
try Lad been engaged, and it would be found that the
ilritiah forces seldom attained decisive success until at
least a third campaign had sot in. He might instance-
the war which immediately followed the breaking out
of the French Revolution. England was great and
powerful as a commercial nation ; and he had no doubt
that the present contest would be brought to a termina-
tion as decisive in its results as it would be glorious to
British arms. The army sent to the Crimea, though
your:!, had vindicated the honour of its country. There
was no other army to send. It was. young, but it had
done its duty. Many mistakes in details had certain)y
occurred, but they had been the result of inexperience.
No want of judgment, in his mind, had been evinced
by any officer of that staff in which he had the honour
of holding an humble post. Some battles had been
fought in which our army had gathered glory, in
alliance with the armies of France—an alliance he
would pronounce the most devoted and loyal, and
which the spirit of this country fully appreciated. He
again begged to return them his best thanks ; and at the
present moment he almost wished he was not a soldier,
as be might then have been a better orator. Having re-
turned home, however, he was glad to find that his
humble exertions had been considered deserving of ac-
knowledge,ent, and again he thanked them from the
bottom of his heart.

Mr. H. HART, one of the deputation, after expressing
the great satisfaction he felt at once more seeing the
gallant General among them, asked permission to call
his attention to the present condition of our army in the
East. He was not desirous of drawing forth any ex-
pression of opinion which Sir De Lacy Evans, as an offi-
cer, might feel desirous of withholding, but the fact
could not be disguised that, notwithstanding the great
generosity of the people of these kingdoms, the army at
present in the Crimea was in a most wretched condition.
Be need only refer to accounts which daily appeared in
the public papers. Much anxiety existed in the public
mind on this subject, and lie trusted he was not out of
order in alluding to it in the presence of a gallant officer
who would, no doubt, at the proper time, take care that
the truth was elucidated.

Sir DE LACY EVANS observed that he bad of late read
many statements on the condition of the troops. It was
not his province on that occasion to enter into this ques-
tion, but he had no objection to say one thing, and that
was that when he left head-quarters the army was not in
the condition described in some reports. More he could
not say. He would again remind them that at the com-
mencement of a war many mistakes generally took place,
and after 40 years' peace such mistakes ought not to oc-
casion much surprise. He would take this opportunity
of saying that he fully appreciated the kind sympathy
now so generously evinced by all classes for the army ;
and he bad no doubt the conduct pursued by the people
would be the forerunner of great results.
The deputation then retired.
Sir De Lacy, though much improved since his arrival
at the Pavilion, is still in very imperfect health.
The sword presented to Sir De Lacy bears the follow-
ing inscription :
" Presented to Lieutenant-General Sir Du Lacy Evans,
K.C.11, M.P., by the inhabitants of the united borough
of Hythe, Folkestone, Sandgate, and adjacent parishes,
in commemoration of the courage, devotion, and•genero-
sity exhibited by him in the memorable action of the
Alma, the heights of the Tchernaya, and Inkerman."

Colonel James Robertson Cranford, of the Grenadier
Guards, is appointed to succeed the late General Du
Plat as Military Commissioner for Great Britain to the
head-quarters of the Austrian army, and will have the
brevet rank of Major-General while so employed.
THE MERCANTILE MARINE AcT.—Mr. John Cm,
late mate of the South Esk, having been convicted before
the magistrates at Liverpool, and sentenced to imprison-
ment for desertion, the Board of Trade have cancelled
his certificate.—Shipping Gazette.
DAVIES V. PRATT.—The Arbitrator in this •case, Mr.
Whately, Q.C., sat again yester3ay. Sergeant Wilkins
commenced a violent address on behalf of the defendant,
and had not concluded it when the proceedings were
adjourned.
THE CHARGE AGAINST LIVERPOOL BROYERS.—LIVER-
POOL, Jan. 22.—At the police court, before Mr. Mans-
field and Mr. J. C. Ewart, Messrs. Forth and Archer,-
brokers, were charged with pledging 10 barrels of tar,
belonging to Messrs. Laurie, Clark, and Co., to Messrs.
Firth and Sons, bankers, Northwich. After a brief in-
quiry it was elicited that a misapprehension had arisen
out of a mistake made by Mr. Joseph James Dodd, clerk
to Messrs. Watson and M'Donald, who had unwittingly
led Mr. Firth to believe his firm had ten barrels of tar
more in the warehouse of witness's employers than was
actually.the case. On this fact having been evolved in
the course of the evidence, the case was immediately
dismissed.

DOVER, Jan. 22.—The Belgian Government Com Mi-
ssion appointed to inspect and report on the English rail-
way system, consisting of the following gentlemen :
Baron de Mau, Le General Nsrenberger, Membre du
Conseil des Chemins de Fer ; Le General Delaunay, H.
Spitaels, Senateur ; F. de Brouwer de Hogendorp,
Membre de la Chambre des Eepresentants ; M. Masni,
and M. Belpaire, arrived at Hake's Lord Warden
Hotel from Calais yesterday, and left this morning by
the South-Eastern Railway tor Ashford. They were ac-
companied by Mr. Cook, secretary to the General
Manager of the South-Eastern, who would conduct
the mover the company's establishments at that place,