The Sun.
London, England, 1852-03-18 00:00:00

EVENING,

EARL GREY AND SIR HARRY S'MITH.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

SIR,—I have heard it more than whispered that it
appears almost like persecuting Earl Grey, and hardly
fair to keep this subject so continually before the public,
under present circumstances.
This generous feeling in. and proposed forbearance
towards, the late Colonial Secretary, I can most fully
appreciate, and indeed, I believe, that it has been the
chief, if not the only, cause of the general silence of
the editors of all the papers; but, Sir, the taunting and
insolent language of your evening contemporary, the
Globe, under date the 25th of last month, renders it
necessary that the public attention should be kept alive
on this subject, and that his Lordship should be af-
forded that opportunity of rebutting the charge brought
against him the Globe so ostentatiously parades before
us as being his wish. Your contemporary is, however,
most anxious that the acts of former Governors and
Governments should be at the same time inquired into;
against this we must at once protest, and for this simple
reason, that the case we have to consider, the one we
have now to deal with, stands between Earl Grey and
Sir Harry Smith, and the public aro not to be led away
by a sweeping explanation of the general misgovernment
of our colonies, or even of the Cape. Earl Grey's charges
are clear and distinct against Sir Harry Smith—they
are just or unjust, true or false, real or imaginary—by
them Earl Grey must stand or fall, as a public man.
His Grace the Dake of Wellington has only spoken, and
could only speak, for he had no other right,as Sir Haney
Smith's commanding officer, and in that capacity his
Grace has approved of all his military operations. But
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Earl Grey's dispatch contains other and graver charges,
which, in my opinion, and, as far as I have been able
to judge, in the opinion of the public, must, sooner or
later, recoil upon his Lordship.
At the risk of being tedious I will proceed to quote
from the Globe, to satisfy your numerous readers that
we are challenged to the combat, and that, even did we
wish it, there is no retreat :
According to the votes and proceedings of the
House of Commons," says the editor of the Globe—mark
him—on the 25th of February, Earl Grey being out of
office, " we ought now to be in the midst of the debate
upon Cape affairs, instead of witnessing the marvellous
development of Lord Derby's Ministry—a grotesque
exhibition,in truth! Mr. Adderley's motion, it seems,
is not already a dropped notice,' but a notice to
be
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ludeed is it, Mr. Globe Editor? we shall see;
and, adds the Globe," it is quite in keeping with the tactics
of party that it should be so.Mr.Adderley will be speecha,
less, Lord Derby will be dumb, care will be taken to
burk alike explanation and defence—affairs at the Cape
will go on just as they did before, and Lord Grey's vin-
dication will be found only as time rolls on in the silent
end in the subjugation of the Kafirs and the establish-
his principles and his measures, which will
representative government."
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well, I think, Sir, for the Globe. This para-
graph shall be noticed one day.
",We most unfeignedly regret that Mr. Adderley,"adds
the Globe, " lost his opportunity; a little discussion,
oven though very stormy, very personal, very colonial,
in fact, would have cleared at least the Parliamentary
atmosphere.
dispatch which was unjustifiable. Well, if so, why not
fairly give Lord Grey an opportunity of vindicating his
dispatch?
a Cape debate even in the Commons; but if fair play
and a love of justice pervade so august an
assembly as that of the Peers of England, as strongly
as it does the English people, perhaps Lord Derby will
kindly furnish Earl Grey some day with an opportunity
of vindicating his policy in his place, and no longer
labour under the reproach that he encourages and aids
his lieutenants in the Lower House to attackthe Minister
who sits before him, whilst he himself flinches from the
contest."
Now, Sir, this is pretty well, and pretty insolent.
Lord Derby flinch I Well, it may be so, as the Globe
asserts it; but we have nothing to do with Earl Grey
vindicating his policy; it is beside the question. We
have nothing to do but with the unjustifiable dispatch,
and, with all due deference to the editor of the Globe,
we shall not travel out of record, but will endeavour to
prove out of Earl Gr'ey's own mouth that his dispatch of
the 14th of January was unjust, ungenerous, mutates_
manlike, and altogether unjustifiable. We have
already, I think, Sir, proved that it was most cruel
in its commencement, and it will be found most cunning
in the sequel. Now, Sir, let me beg of you to turn to
Earl Grey's dispatch of the 21st October, 1851. Ills
Lordship therein acknowledges to have heard from Sir
Harry Smith up to the 20th August; expresses his con-
cern, that less progress than he had hoped had been
made in the subjugation of the Kafirs, and that deser-
tion and disaffection continued to be shown by many of
the coloured inhabitants of the country. His Lordship
then proceeds—" Unfavourable as is the intelligence you
have transmitted to me, it suggests little or nothing that
I could add with advantage to the instructions I have
already addressed to you, • • • • and having taken
steps for sending to you reinforcements, which I do not
understand you to regard as insufficient, her Majesty's
Government can now only rely on your energy and
judgment for so using the force at your disposal as to
effect the subjugation of the enemy with the least pos-
sible delay." So then, Sir, up to the 21st October, 1851,
Earl Grey, having heard from Sir Harry Smith up to the
31st August, sees nothing to add in the way of instruc-
tions, has no fault to find with Sir Harry, but, on the
contrary, states that the Government relies on his
energy and judgment. Either, then, that energy had
been great up to the 20th. August, and that
judgment good, or her Majesty's Government were en-
during a most uncalled-for responsibility in sending
additional troops, and relying on what they did not
consider sound—relying in fact on a broken reed. How
the Government, or, rather, Earl Grey, is to get out of
this dilemma, I know not, but certainly up to the 21st
October, 1851, Sir Harry Smith stands fully and honour-
ably acquitted by his Lordship's own words, and from
the very head-quarters—Downing-street. In that very
dispatch, too, Earl Grey not only does not find any
Smith, but adds additional labours
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alarm to the danger which seems
to exist,"
says his Lordship; " but the tears very natu-
rallyuh fault
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Harry
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excited amongst the white inhabitants as to the
intentions of those of African descent, may induce the
former indiscriminately to treat as enemies all the co-
loured classes, and thus really create that general hos-
tility which is apprehended. I trust that you will use
your best exertions to avert such a result, and protect to
the utmost of your power those of her Majesty's coloured
subjects against whom no charge of disloyalty can be
supported."
Here, Sir, was a most important and difficult, and
very delicate duty to be performed, and for which
Sir Harry wag considered qualified. Now, Sir,
I think you will perceive that this case is drawing
into a nutshell size, a small compass for a large
blue book, but it will expand itself again as we show
off each particular item. This dispatch of the 21st of
October either most fully acquits; Sir Harry up to that
date, or condemns Earl Grey. In my opinion it does
both—it acquits Sir Harry Smith, because we must take
the dispatch as we find it, and as it is borne out by all
previous dispatches, but it equally condemns Earl Grey,
because I think it will be shown, not only by tho fatal
dispatch of the 14th of January, but by many others,
that when Earl Grey wrote that of the 21st of October
it was then in his heart and his head that he would su-
persede Sir Harry Smith, but the moment had not
arrived, the hour was not ripe—any great success on the
part of Sir Harry would render his removal not only un-
necessary, but impossible. Earl Grey was then ready
to claim all the merit, the meeting of Parliament was
then at some distance; so Earl Grey concludes on the
21st of October.—" The ultimate abandonment of the
Orange Sovereignty should be a settled point in our
policy." Poor Sir Harry, did he, indeed, believe that
Earl Grey would share the merit of any successful
policy? Did he offer to share the punishment of the error
of judgment, in permitting the troops to leave the Cape?
For this time, Sir, I have done.
YOUR CONSTANT READER.
March 8, 1852.