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

GENERAL SIR DE LACY EVANS, K.C.B.

DEPUTATION FROM THE CITY OF WEST-

MINSTER

Yesterday, at 1 o'clock, a deputation of electors :of
the city of Westminster waited npon General Sir de
Lacy Evans by appointment, at hie residence in Bryan-
ston-square, for the purpose of presenting that gallant
officer with an address expressive of their admiration of
the heroic services he has recently rendered to his coun-
try in the Crimea, and of their gratification at his safe
return to his native land.

The deputation, which included a very large number
of the most influential inhabitants of the city, assembled
at noon at the residence of Sir John Villiers Shelley,
M.P., in Park-lane, whence they proceeded in a body to
Sir De Lacy Evans' residence, in Bryaitston-square.
Among the gentlemen present we remarked Mr. Thomas
Prout, chairman of the committee appointed to draw up
the address ; Mr. B. Cox, Mr. D. Loureds, Mr. W. Gee-
sin, Mr. Walter Taylor, Mr. W. Tucker, Mr. Watkin,
Mr. Sainsbury, Mr. J. N. Bainbridge' M.D., Mr. W.
Lee Wright, Mr. Nelson, Mr. Lambert, Mr, Gawthorpe,
Mr. Labrum, Mr. Pouncey, Mr. Soames, Mr. Brown,
Mr. Mallock, Mr. Bidgood, Mr. George, Mr. Well-
spring, Mr. Noble, Mr. J. M. Appleton, M.D., Mr. G.
N. Epps, M.D., Mr. Adam Clarke, Mr. Thomson, and
Mr. George Huggett, the honorary secretary.
Sir J. Shelley accompanied the deputation, the mem-
bers of which were received by Sir De Lacy Evans in
his drawing room. There was no formal introduction,
almost all the gentlemen present being personally known
to the gallant General.

After an interchange of courtesies,
Mr. PROM', addressing Sir De Lacy Evans, said— '
Your friends assembled around you have voted an ad-
dress to you, and they have honoured me by requesting
that I should pray your acceptance of the same. The
heroic manner in which, sir, you led your gallant troops
to battle and victory and made an impression through-
out this country so highly in your favour, that from the
Palace to the cottage, I may say, one universal theme
of thankfulness to you would be found to prevail—(hear)
—and, air, there is no one knows better than myself the
vary great pride you have always felt in representing
Westminster, and in having been elected so many times,
you have continually expressed your gratitude for that
distinction ; but, sir, I am proud to say that, although
the sentiment may be very strongly impressed on your
mind, the citizens of Westminster themselves feel more
pride in having yen as one of its representatives. (Hear.)
Sir, it would be ungracious for me to detain you with
more than a fear introductory words before reading this
address to you, and I can only further express my full
concurrence in it, and I say at this late period of my
life that there has never been one moment mere gratify-
ing to me than that in which I am the medium of pre-
senting to yen an address in honour of your great and
important services and your high military character,
which has now been before the world for some 50 years.
(Cheers.) I will not detain you longer with any obser-
vations of mine, but, as well as my aged eyes will allow
me, I will read this address to you.
Mr. PrionT then read the address as follows :
"To General Sir De Lacy Evans, K.C.8., M.P., etc.
" Dear Sir,—We, the undersigned electors of Westmin-
ster, who have on many occasions taken an active part in
aiding your return as a representative of our city in Par-
liament, most respectfully beg to assure you of our great ad-
miration of your military service of our country, so promi-
nently before the world during the past and present wars.
" When, in April last, you assumed the command of a di-
vision of the British army in aid of Turkey against Russian
aggression, we were gratified that you had been again so
honourably called into action by the Government.
" We have from that time been most grateful observers of
the courage and success of the British troops in the Crimea,
aided by the gallant army of France.
" It is officially recorded that when disease so generally de-
cimated the Allied Armies at Varna the division under your
command exhibited the smallest amount of mortality, and
which was much attributed to the means which you so saga-
ciously adopted.
" In the attack on the enemy on the heights cf Alma you
nobly headed the brave men of your division to victory ; and
you maintained throughout that memorable conflict the self-
command and physical and moral courage which distinguish
an experienced and superior military commander.
"It was with just pride that we read the official record of
the repulse of the enemy in his sortie on the 26th of October,
when, leading your gallant division, the Russians were re-
pulsed with great slaughter.
"We read with pride the following marked and public a1)-
probation of your gallantry and Crimean services by our So-
vereign, recorded in the General Order of the Minister of the
War Department of the 27th of November, and which histo-
rically hands down to posterity the merits of your individual
conduct in the glorious battle of Inkerman of the sth of No-
vember, viz.:—
" ' To Major-General Bentinek, Major-General Codrington,
Brigadiers-General Adams, Torrens, and Buller, your lordship
will be pleased to convey the Queen's sympathy in their
wounds, and thanks for their services.
"To the other officers named by your lordship I am
directed to express her Majesty's approbation. The 'gallant
conduct of Lieutenant-General Sir De Lacy Evans has at-
tracted the Queen's especial thanks. Weak, from a bed of
sickness, he rose at the sound of the battle, not to claim his
share in prominent command, but to aid with his veteran
counsel and assistance the junior officer upon whom, in his
absence, had devolved the duty of leading his division.'
'" Praise from your constituents for these heroic and pa-
triotic deeds must bo comparatively little worthyyour accept-
anc,, when there is already thus accorded to you the thanks of
our illustrious Queen and of both Houses of Parliament ; but
we feel that our heartfelt gratitude is nevertheless interwoven
with a nation's thanks.
--
In
battle, and of your serious illness oceasionody aiiT.Yed
dents, aggravated by your natural anxiety day and night for
the equal sufferings of the noble soldiers of your division. We
regret that from these causes a sense of duty has compelled
you reluctantly to resign your command ; but we rejoice that
your valuable life has been spared to your constituents and
country, and that you have returned with the prospect of an
early restoration to health. We do not doubt that, with life
preserved to you, we shall at least retain your senatorial ser-
vice of us and of our common country.
" We aro, dear Sir, yours truly and faithfully,"
Here follows the signatures.
Sir DE LACY EVANS, having revived the address, said
—Mr. Prout and gentlemen—l can assure you it is im-
possible for me to express the feeling of thankfulness
and gratitude which the presentation of this address and
the sentiments it contains impresses on my mind. It
would be impossible for me to receive any compliment
more grateful to my feelings—[here the gallant General's
emotion for a moment overcame his utterance]—than
this address from gentlemen who have known me for
nearly a quarter of a century, and who supported me
during a long period, when I was as object of calumny.
[Here Sir De Lacy became again much affected.] Re-
covering himself, he continued—You will forgive my
weakness, because I certainly el• feel mere gratitude to
the people of Westminster than any man in this kingdom
can do to the constituents wha have sent him to Par-
liament. It was both under evil and good repent that I
have been supported by this great constituency for now
nearly, as I have said, a quarter of a century. I felt very
grateful indeed to you on various occasions for sending so
comparatively undistinguished a person as your repre-
sentative to Parliament. I was always impressed in the
highest degree with your consideration for me, but I felt
it still more on my return from a former service which I
thought was an honest and honourable service—(hear)—a
service in support of those principles which you profess
and act upon, and in support of the principles which
throughout my political life, at least, I have done my
best to promote. (Hear.) This service was represented
by various powerful persons as a dishonourable service,
but you by your verdict on my return home from that
campaign pronounced it an hononrable service. (Hear,
hear.) Your sentiments towards me were best evinced
before the country by the triumphant majority of 1,100
by which I was returned over a most distinguished gene-
ral officer of the Peninsular army. That was certainly
a proud test of your approval of my conduct, and I feel
to this hoar most grateful to you for it. (Hear, hear.)
But I remained under the ban of those high authorities
for 16 or 17 years, notwithstanding which you still con-
tinued to retain your good opinion of my humble
services and your approval of my professional career.
(Hear, hear.) Circumstances of a momentous cha-
racter required this country to send an army into
the field abort a year back, and on that occasion
also I found that generous good feeling again evinced
on your part by giving me leave of Marione° from
my Parliamentary duties. I believe there is hardly
an • instance on record of ei constituency giving a
sort of carte blanclee to its representative to absent him-
self on two separate occasions from the discharge of the
important duties devolving upon a member of Parlia-
ment. That leave you did me the honour to grant, I
recollect, in this very room ; a portion of those whom I
have now the pleasure of seeing around me, came to me
to express their satisfaction that I was going on a ser-
vice with which the best interests of the country and
humanity were identified. Gentlemen, I have had a
humble command during the operations that have subse-
quently taken place, and I confess I consider myself
most abundantly and unexpectedly fortunate in the re-
ception which you have kindly given me for any services
I may have rendered to my country. Ido not in any
manner wish to have the presumption to attribute to
myself this strong manifestation of your kindness. I be-
lieve in doing no you are not merely exemplifying your
kindness to me personally as your representative, but
also your strong feelings of sympathy for my comrades,
who are now struggling in that contest from which I
have recently returned. (Hear, hear.) Ido not hesitate
to say there is no instance on record of a young and in-
, experienced army having shown greater bravery and
devotion to their country than that which landed some
few months since in the Crimea. (Hear, hear.) I may
be permitted to say that of ray comrades, but it would
be presumptuous in me to attribute more than a very
small share to myself. This is not an occasion, and
really my feelings will not permit me to speak with en-
tire ease on this subject. We are, indeed, engaged in a
most arduous struggle. It is not for me to offer any
opinion on the conduct of the war. I had only a parti-
cular share in the transaction, and I do say for the portion
of the army placed under my control I shall never cease
to feel the greatest admiration for the officers, non-com-
missioned officers, and soldiers that belonged to the Se-
cond Division, which I had the honour of directing.
lain sorry to say that many of them are no more, but
such is the fate of war. I earnestly hope that the noble
sympathy evinced by our countrymen at home for the suf-
ferings and privations of the army will have the effect of
alleviating the hardships and difficulties they have been
enduring, and that such indeed, has already been the
result. (Hear, hear.) lam certain that that sympathy
must powerfully contribute to sustain the spirit and con-
rage of our army, evinced, as it has been, in every
public meeting and every social circle in this country.
I do not think anything that can be referred to in past
times can equal that fine generous, patriotic expression
of feeling that has prevailed throughout this country on
the present occasion. Whatever the difficulties we have
hail to contend with—whether we went to the r;ght",
place or not—or whether we v, t.nt Cie right time or
not—considering the power of this country, morally,
numerically, financially, military and naval, for my part
I have very little doubt, particularly with the alliance 0