The Sun.
London, England, 1855-08-08 00:00:00

REPLY OF ADMIRAL DUNDAS TO THE RUSSIAN MINISTER

OF WAR.
H.M.S. Duke of Wellington, at Nargen,
16th July, 1855.
" have the honour t ) acknowledge the receipt
of your letter-of the 12th inst., from which I learn, with
regret, that the Government of his Majesty the Emperor
of Russia has decided to decline releasing the prisoners
captured under a flag of truce at Hango Head from the
boat of her Majesty's ship Cossack.
I should be glad to be spared the pain of further die-
cussion upon the subject, ,but the statements contained
in your letters, and the reasons assigned for the decision,
render it proper that I should place on record the obser-
vations I have now to offer.
" I ens informed that three different versions of the
facts stated to have occurred have been presented to
your Excellency.
"The first is contained in the statements of the sea-
man Brown, whose original depositions were taken after
he had been severely wounded, and was in a state of
great suffering and exhaustion. The falsehood of the
testimony of this man is considered by you to be demon-
strated by the acknowledged errors into which he had
fallen, but no allowance appears to have been made for
unintentional mis-statements natural to a man under
such circumstances.

"The second version is contained in the letter from
Lieut. Geneste, which bas now been forwarded.
" I regret touch that this letter could not have been
despatched by General Moller, at an earlier period, as
requested by Lieut. Geneste ; much pain and anxiety on
account of those who were believed to have been killed
would have been spared, and some raisapprehen,don
might have been avoided ; but except as to the number
of the sufferers it contains nothing to shake the testi-
mony of the seaman Brown, and nothing materially to
alter the opinion I had myself formed of the general cha-
racter of the transaction as collected from the various
reports of Capt. Fanshawe.
"You can have have no reason whatever for calling
in question the accuracy of the report from Lieut. Ge?tes er
and still less to insinuate doubts as to his veraTnybeog
his honour. The main fact on which I moat a
leave to insist is the etistence of a flag
Cossack's boat, which is clearly assertedtthl.
relied on in the latter sentences of his letter.
by Brown,
fact was asserted, without previous
the known or-
. himself,tru
Tcgheae
sn
aatmnl
and
andt
ies wwereas distinctly
confused.
ders of Capt. Fanshawe, an
w ht int
e.hdissu.kspzitiaotettwetsetdde
attested
ftohree
very apc
reel
for whose benefit it was
point is thepossibility Excellency upon this
to your
SdeirneCCeteodf tthoebßeuusseda.n pTrihsenersj utmost that could be admitted
it might not have beesnsitbol.bses,nearenvceeddssbfaerrfoyonriteot haie.nnyscihsuoui rreeeb;
how
wumt
far
judging of what is
r.
possible,
pboeincto ncf
e d
landinge to which the btollaatt
have occurred.
waski d
ordered could
istinw,n,aTnsahpaerobable that an oversight of
to proceed was near a telegraph.station, from which the
Cossack herself must have been plainly observed. The
habitual vigilance at these tehleeghraepaths
uiisttekdnotwhen
sthoipthaet
officers under my orders. T
a considerable distance from the shore,g and was for a
long time in full view of the telegraph. It is impossible
tfia
g obewliaesvehethisatd
teh her a
motionsmile fromwere
fore clearly the duty of the printchipeaalhooffirec.er Ite
either to give timely nwasthethserot
warning to -the boat that her ap•