The Sun.
London, England, 1855-09-20 00:00:00

TESTIMONIAL TO SIR CHAS. NAPIER.

A numerous meeting of the friends and admirers of
Admiral Sir C. Napier was held on Monday evening,
at the Three Compasses Tavern, Silver-street, Golden-
square, to consider the best course to be adopted to
raise the necessary funds for a testimonial to the gallant
Admiral Sir C. Napier. Mr. James Homes took the
chair, and, several gentleman having addressed the
meeting, the following resolutions were passed, approv-
ing of a public subscription, and the following address :
" Fellow-countrymen,—ln the commencement of last
year, Admiral Sir Chi-wits Napier, a man well known for
deeds of naval daring, was appointed by the Govern-
ment to command the Baltic fleet on an expedition
against Russia. He accepted the command, stating
that he was about to try a new power in maritime-war-
fare, namely, steam, and that the country must not ex-
pect too much from bins. He found shallows, rocks, and
granite batteries to contend with, and soon became
aware that the enemy would not give battle on the open
sea, but skulked under cover of their fortifications, which
his ships were too large to approach with a chance of
success. He, therefore, quickly laid down a plan of ope-
rations requiring the services of gun-boats and mortars.
The Admiralty did not furnish him with these, but highly
approved of his sagacity and discretion—qualities which
they the more praised in him, since his valour bad been
called rash by the enemies of his appointment. Until
October he continued the blockade, in universal credit
amid honour. During this time he had disciplined a fleet
manned by raw sailors, surveyed more than 2,000 miles
of coast, had stopped the Russian Baltic trade by such
a blockade as in those seas had never been done be-
fore, had made charts of and buoyed all the intricate na-
vigation of the numerous gulfs and inlets, and bad taken
observations which w, uld have rendered success oertain
early this year bad his requirements been attended to.
At length, when the false news of the capture of Sebas-
topol arrived, he was goaded to expose her Majesty's
fleet to almost certain destruction. This he refused to
do, thereby showing a moral courage not less remark-
able than the other attributes of his name. It was sought
then, on the part of authorities wholly incompetent to
regulate the naval affairs of this nation, to crush an ad-
miral whom neither orders nor contradictory reports could
cause to swerve from his duty to his country. When he
brought borne the fleet, without a single loss, after doing
all that has been recounted, he was ordered peremptorily
to haul down his flag ; he was treated with indignity,
and assailed with reproach. Smarting under the unme-
rited censure, he asked for a court-martial, or at least
an inquiry into his conduct. This was refused, because
the authorities—having failed to satisfy ,the people,
through the results of their own ignorance, apathy, or
connivance with the advocates of non-injury to Russia_
—wished for a scapegoat, and selected Sir Charles Na-
pier. It was sought to prove that he had been the cause
of comparative inaction ; and this was attempted by the
unscrupulous perversion of his letters and reports, and
of the whole facts of the case. In the midst of this oc-
curred the disgraceful attempt to purchase his acquies-
cence in the sacrifice of his own name and reputation by
the offer of an empty and degraded order of merit.'
Sir Charles refused this. He waited until no injury
could be inflicted on his country by the publication of
documents, and then broke through the miserable
shackles of routine, and has earned thereby the ever-
lasting thanks of the nation, by showing how her in-
terests have been sacrificed.

" Fellow <lon n try men, Sir Charles Napier has al ways
shown himself the enemy of official incapacity ; there-
fore this sacrifice was doubly gratifying to those whose
acts constitute them the friends of Russia. To says the
stronghold of the enemy, and at the same time to blast
the reputation of one of our bravest and best admirals,
was a master-stroke of cunning. It shall fail, through
you. If the Admiralty could not furnish the requisite
materials lest year they might have done so early this.
But a second season's cruise has been less effective than
the first, since Napier succeeded in destroying Bomar-
suml, and Dundas has failed to destroy Sweahorg, the
only act of importance that was attempted. What was
done there was effaced by the adoption, on too contracted
a scale, of Sir Charles Napier's own plans and sugges-
tions, after the summer had been wasted in doing no
more than he had already done ; not only his experi-
ence, but that of his subordinates, Chads, Plumridge,
and other brave men, having been dispensed with.
"Fellow-countrymen,—Magna Charta has declared
that 'no man shall suffer wrong without redress.' The
wrong inflicted upon public men by unjust authority can
only be redressed by the people. Such wrong has been
inflicted upon Sir Charles Napier. Will you redress it ?
If not, you will leave a melancholy precedent to your
children ; for henceforth a brave and honest man shall
have far more fear to serve his country than ever any
Englishman felt in combating with her worst enemies.
" National honours should flow from the Crown, as
impartial justice should be rendered by the law. It is,
however, a constitutional right, as it is a natural duty of
Englishmen, to see that honours be fitly awarded, and
that, above all, injustice be not done to men who have
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the object in view ; and,
it was determined that
after
furtheraddress
and resolutions
discussion, thew
emeetingreextensively
separated.
amdde e circu-
lated throughout the metropolis yesterday, and it is
The some
stated that in many of the provincial
towns the subject
is warmly taken up, Sheerness alone
to contribute 2001. in furtherance having promised
of the object.

RUSSIAN REOPPTION OF THE NEWS OF
THE FALL OF SEBASTOPOL.

On the receipt of the intelligence of the fall of Sebas-
topol Mr. Gladstone retired into his bed-room, and
locked the door.
Sir James Grahatn wept.
Mr. Cobden, who was at tea, ordered the things to be
taken away. The honourable gentleman was taken very
ill in the course of the night.
Mr. Bright stopped his ears with cotton, that he
might not hear the ringing of the bells.
Lord J. Russell scratched his head.
King Otho, of Greece, shook in his shoes.
Bombs danced with rage for a few moments, and then
broke out into a violent perspiration.
The Emperor of Austria, who was writing an auto-
graph to the Czar Alexander, ground his teeth and tore
the letter to pieces.
The King of Prussia was seized with a vertigo. When
he recovered he expressed himself very unwell, and
i called for brandy and water, of which beverage his Ma-
i jesty drank several glasses, crying more and more pro-
fusely over each, and was ultimately carried to bed,--
I Punch.