The Sun.
London, England, 1855-05-19 00:00:00

liE PUBLIC JOI.7BIViILS,

SPI.RIT' OF T

• (Front the Times of this day.) _
The gentlemen of the House of Commons who amused their
leisure last night by screaming, and shouting against Mr.
Layard as an accessory to the death 'of Captain Christie com-
mitted a great error in tactics. Granted that it was entirely
right and proper to make a dead set against the member for
Aylesbury, to get rid of him by any means as an 'obnoxious
man; to keep his mistakes constantly before the public, and
to represent him as a -fiery and unsparing calumniator of all
that Englishmen hold most sacred—me will endeavour, as
a3arly as honest men can, to make the position of his ene-
mies our own, and to consider with them the best means of
effecting their purpose. Mr. Layard had already been proved
to be in error in a charge which be had brought--whether
directly or by implication matters not—against Lord Har-
dingo at a public dinner. There he' should have been left
until he had made another blunder 'of the like, or even of
greater, magnitude.' It was not wise to weaken the Impres-
sion of the first victory. Indeed, there was much to be re-
gretted in the way in which that victory was won. The whole
process resembled too closely the operation of hunting down
a bag fox, or pelting to death an obnoxious dog who had
been dropped into the lock of a canal. As one gallant gen-
tleman sat down another rose up to contribute his quota,
of angry "vociferation. The irritated placemen and mili-
tary mem"ber"s cheered on their own speakers, and groaned
at their unfortunate foe, in a manner which was
'suggestive of anything rather than calm deliberation or even-
handed justice. That Mr. Layard was wrong in his parti-
cular facts there can be no doubt, but that he was perfectly
right in his general charges against the system is equally
clear. Be this, however, 'as it may, in the opinion of most
people his own previous intemperance of speech was ,sur-
passed by that of his adversaries, and the result was that he
was pitied much more than he was condemned. Even so far,
and when his opponents had him at such palpable advantage,
they had by their own violence damaged an excellent case.
This being so, if the object was to discredit him in the eyes
of the country, the most delicate manipulation was necessary
until another equally good chance presented itself. An occa-
sional sneer—a little jocularity carefully pointed—a pathetic
allusion to the discredit brought upon the house by the
slanderoes propensities of one of its members, just 'enough to
indicate Mr. Layard without calling him up in reply, or, if
he did not reply, to hi upon him the character of a quarrel-
some and turbulent fellow—might, in the long run, have told
upon him with some effect. lago could have given hon. gen-
tlemen a hint or two which would have been of the highest
service to them in their laudable endeavour to muzzle a
troublesome opponent. As it is, by singling him out for attack
in season and out of season, by greeting him with an universal
howl wheneyer he endeavours to parry that attack, they
are simply enlisting in his favour every Englishman's loVe of
fair play. It is not to be tolerated that a member of Parlia-
ment, who in his general views upon military mismanagement
reprc snits the feelings of nine-tenths of the community, should
be exposed to unmannerly interruption and abuse.' After all,
Mr. Layard's chief sin is that he has attacked a system—they
attack a man.

A fresh battery was brought to bear upon him last night,
Mr. Layard, it appears, had spoken of poor Captain Christie,
who is just dead, as of a man unfit to discharge the „respon-
sible duties with which he was intrusted at Balaklava, by-
reason of his infirmity and his age. He said
.that Captain
Christie appeared to be about 70 years old. Since the time
when Mr. Layard spoke of Captain Christie iu such terms.
Sir James Graham, or the Board of Admiralty, desired that a
court-martial should be held upon his conduct. The two
points on which he was specially arraigned were the circum-
stances connected with the loss of the Prince, and the fact that
Captain Cl ristie upon one occasion desired'that some Turks
should be landed at Balaklava who should have been con—
veyed to Hupatoria. Captain Christie is since dead, as Sir
James Graham says, " brokenhearted." It secinsi, in the
first- place, to be no great proof of phi-ideal strength
sufficient to carry on the duties 'of an office such at
that with which Captain Christie was charged that
he should sink into 'the grave under the prospect 'of
a court-martial. But the charge against Mr. Layard,is, that'
this poor gentleman died. because he had been.accused
being 70 years of age and infi,.m, whereas the truth •is that
ho was a year or so on the favourable side oft 0. His friends
can scarcely, under the lamentable circumstance of his. death,
assert that he was not infirM, But was ever such stuff as.
this palmed off on reasonable men ? Dees any man; does any;
sea captain, die because a few years more are Assigned to him.
than he has actually lived .. A touchy old lady might feel
vexed and irritated to thelast degree by such am, accusation,
and she might in consequence lead her humble cot:ant:don a
cat and dog life of it for' a week or two,' but even she, though
the testiest and vduest of her soy, would scarcely ta#c to her
bed upsn such ppvocation—certainly not die. Mr. Layard re-
torts, and with much greater show of reason, upon his adver-
saries' that if indeed Captain Christie's death has been accelel,
rate I by recent events, it has been so in. consequenen of the,
court-martial—hot on account of the misrepresentation abOtit
his ,agi. Now,•with reference to the charge brought against
him .by the 'Admiralty, Mr. Layard.d, dares that he.alwayS
thoUght, ~and. has always said, that •Captain .
was.. perfectly . free from blame •in the affair of the'
,Prinee. About the landing.. of the Turks at Balaklava.
'Mr. Lai ard's answer is, that he never heard the point
mentioned—never knew that such an occurrence had
taken place', until Sir Jamei Graham spoke of it but the other
day in, the Sebastopol 'committee-room. It certainly does
appear h be the profoundest absurd,ity,under such circume
Layard
stances to charge Mr. as an accessory to Captain
Christie's death. From the time of his, acceptance of the
post at Balaklava he was, as all public men are,. (11)110S.1011i to
renaark,—and who Shall say that a member of thC• House of
. Commons who visited the spot was to blanie for saying that
~to appeared to labia infirm. ,and past work--in fact, 70 years
of age, if such were tho opinion his bearing and appearance,
wore calculated to excite? The hon. gentlemen-who screamed
and hooted at the member for Aylesbury with so much effect
last night have, unconsciously no doubt, rendered him a great
service.- One or two more such lield•nights, and Mr. Layard
is a martyr, with all the immunities of the class: • .

(Front the Times of this day.)
'The resignation of the chief command of the French army
by General Can.robert is an event
,likely to be followed "by
considerable advantage in the conduct of the. war. ; but we
hasten to add that the mannerin which this resignatioU ha*,
been tendered by that officer and accepted
,by.the .Emperor
is highly honourable to General Canrobert. and to the
spirit "of the French army. Conscious, as it, ?seems, that,
he had not the qualities required for the supreme com-
mand of ono
.of the, finest armies which ever took the
field, and- that the fortune:of war had plated. a man
of good second-rate abilities in a position which. :demands
the highest qualities of a General, the French Commander-in-
'Chief has not only laid down his command, but designated his
own successor to the Emperor from among the Generals
serving under his orders. At the same time, with true devo-
tion to his profession, and with unabated zeal for that great
enterprise in which the allied armies are engaged, Canrobert
his requested to be allowed to retain a divisional command'
in the Crimea, and, in short, to change places With one of his
'own. subordinates. This circumstance shows that the plea
of ill-health is a mere pretext ; but-so singular an. instance
of disinterested gallantry and genuine modesty does General
Canrobert as much honour as a victory over the'llassians, and
he has set a noble example t 3 both armies of that temper and
self-conimand which enables an officer to overlook all private
considerations for the sake of the public service. The late
General-in-Chief of the French army has 'many honourable
and meritorious qualities; he was always attentive to the
- welfare and preservation of his troops, he was' amiable and
honest in his relations with the staff of the allied armies,
and he is brave and resolute iu battle. But, although we
never presumed to discuss his character as a General while
he held•that high position at the head of the French army,
his retirement is an admission of the fact, which was already
well known, that his -abilities and power of enterprise
were not always equal to the • task imposed upon
him. At the present moment everything depends
on the skilful and energetic use 'or the ' numerous
and magnificent armies assembled in the Crimea.: Alt
the last accounts assure us that the condition of these troops
is everything that can be desired. General Bosquet's army of
observation consists of 30,000 infantry, 3,000 cavalry, and. 66
field guns ; General Pelissier's corps, which will now be trans-
ferred to-General Canrobert, consists of 20,000 picked troops,
also ready for field service ; the-reserves of the French army,
on their way from Constantinople to the . Crimea, amount to
at least 20,000 more men, and the available force of our allies
cannot be much below 100,000 men. Our own army is stated'
by all the latest accounts, which have been confirmed by Lord
Panmure in his place in Parliament, to be fully equal in num-
ber and efficiency to what it was on its arrival in the East.
The Sardinian contingent has arrived to the number of 10,00
or 12,000 men ; and a powerful Turkish army under Omar
Pasha occupies Eupatoria. There is every reason to believe
that these force. are amply sufficient to accomplish all we re-
quire or expect of them; and that, without abandoning.the
siege operations against' Sebastopol,lwhich necessarily absorb
a large portion of the troops and resources of the enemy; the
allies can take the field either_ on the western or the eastern
coast of the Crimea. ' That country , does, in fact, afford the
Russians but one line 'of positions north of the mountains,
along the roads passing from Kaffa to Karasu Bazaar,
Simpheropol, and Bi.ksi-serai, and thence to Etipa,
Unite, the whole extent of this line being inconsiderable, and
at no great distance from the true base of operations, the
sea. The allied Governments have provided very aniplc
'forces for a campaign in this region, and even the complete
means of transport which may still be deficient ^will speedily
be-supplied. This vast expenditure, these large resources,
this flower of the armies of Western ,Europe, needs nothing
more, we firmly believe, to insure success but 'a General
capable of handling and using with effect the weapons at his
disposal. If it has ever been supposed that the most perfect
machinery of armies, the hest troops, and the most ample
stores of -war, can supply the place of that guidinght impulseriott
genhis which ought to animate the whole mass with the he.sptihe
and the will of the commander, our present positionin. a
Crimea is a' proof that to success in war the authority of
commanding, intellect is above all things necessary- With
such a commander more .would bo accomplished, even el:liner.,
circumstances less favourable to our, enterprise ; without
all our sacrifices and exertions, not being directed to acodmia:
mon object by a eompeteirt autherity,.are.profitless and
appointing. - 2 .
As far as the French army is considered tntennenheonidceatoiLthoef
Emperor Napoleon, agreeing with- the_ re
Gen-Canrobert, has fallen upon.. Gle,lo.
eneh.army. possesses no
command,- and-we believe that the e
relissier for tho chief
Gon.
officer:of greater energy or of -"lngohie:iert,
as well as to -Ga.
mrlrtary
Pelissier ,seuier to-i. Gen. C
Bosqaet,.- vr! He is a soldier formed tindia•
ic-othe' r officers commanding
believe toreanti.
corps or dii-isions in the Vr
Marshal Bugekud of Africa, which he carried on
ltv afffaiiist the Arab tribes:. His:,
the- nuns
with more than ordinary CT'oe
tird,rAcinaut, but among , the
character is said to be stern
„eve G petrol p
i that school offri au
officers trained n
lissier 1 onsi
tel ' redone of the "nest eminent of those still-re-
sik
maining in e
heservxce of .Franco.., -He did not form part of
,
original army of the East, under Ista label St. Arnaud, but
thee joinedorlc.i in the course, of the :winter, and has. been ' emu,
mamlfor tho last tl.rce months of ane-sf-the principal French
corps engaged in the siege. We are, of course, unable to
form any opinion—probably ,none can be firmed even by
those acquainted with this officer-7,0f the talents he may di • •s
-
play in the 'command of ii_great 4rinY
~and thevoperat. lots of
what the' French call--"-great'war;" -NO man knows with
certainty till ho has triekwhether be possesses the
command calls forth
ing combination of faculties Tithielt a high astonish-
and demo& ;TbUt.there.ii niidniibt that Generalappointed- Pelissierit
high qualities-he is believed-14r military merit and for the
7:l9etlie.tlotY of the neoitomma 4.essess. will, otleoure
' junction with tOrdßaigaii.. e;-lii-ChiffSf to frame, in con-
the altevalitate:a-affaii
.1!1'411,9f. Operations adapted -to
•iit- and to-%e-enlarged means 'of-130th
armies. We hope that this arrangement
4 army to exmte a _„ may enable each
distinct operation, conducing to the same