The Sun.
London, England, 1864-06-18 00:00:00

ariably mark the commencement of
savageitlen h
artyi°w hwVieahih l '7'
refahrae.
da Tfrehreded htahnet eee
esyinvaded
dt h eastrerrireici-
away or destroyed property, not, however, of' any
considerable amount. The matter might have ended.
here, but the Governor of the settlement, consi-
dering that the dignity of Great Britain was out-
raged by the invasion of territory acknowledging.'
protectorate, conceived the idea of punishing"
the aggressor. In a series of despatches written
by him to the Home Government in the early part
of last summer, Governor Pim broached this pro-
ject,
authorityand wineetglaievmenonhtihte
bo y
f theAu
to undertake offensive operations against the Ku
of Ashantee. The garrison ordinarily metals°ed
at Cape Coast not exceeding 400 men, Goverl!eC
Pim of course found it necessary to ask for re:lo.,
gCuoeltonai Secretarynitinal
forcements if an aggressive policy was to be RIO
sued, and this not unreasonable demand (aosneelni
that the vindication of British dignity by fore° of
arms was expedient) received the assent of the Het"
Government in the month of December. Instrrr
tions were sent to the authorities in the West Indies
to detach from the native regiments such a force as
was considered necessary to carry into effect the
policy of the Governor of Cape Coast, now claw_
tively ratified by the Imperial Government, and,
meantime, the Governor was authorised to inauf
rate those operations which, on the arrival of the
reinforcements, it was hoped he might be able t?
bring to a speedy and successful conclusion. Al
force of about 400 men was accordingly despatched
the interior, and a depot, which was to furnish
the base of future operations, was established close
to the Ashantee frontier. A considerable tune,
however, elapsed before the reinforcements from the
West Indies arrived; and when they at length
reached Cape Coast Castle the rainy season 11a'
begun, and the prosecution of offensive operations
was rendered impossible. Then commenced what
must unquestionably be admitted to have been a
series of disasters. Little preparation had been
made for the reception or the accommodation of the
newly-arrived troops at the settlement, mainly be'
cause it had been in contemplation to despatch tilielnd
forthwith to the interior, and, arriving as they ui
at the most unhealthy season of the year, large nnta,,,
bars died, and many more were prostrated by sir'
ness. Of the force which had been sent to the frees
tier within a few weeks one half had died or been
placed hors tic combat; out of 19 officers four alone
being left fit for service. Such was the state of thing'
brought under thenotice of Parliament in the coarl
of last month, and on the facts which it disclose('
Sir John Hay framed the motion which he sub-
mated to the House of Commons last evening. itis
her Majesty's Government had already resolved
on putting an end to hostilities commenced so
inauspiciously, and had despatched instructions
to that _ffect to the Governor of Cape Coast
Castle, the only issue raised by Sir John BO °
motion was whether the Government were deserving
of blame for the deplorable results of the expo'!"
tion. Into the discrepancies between Sir John HO
statement and that of the Marquis of Hartingtoe
it is not perhaps very material to inquire, at least
so far as they concern the policy which, in the first
instance, dictated offensive operations against the
King of Ashantee. But it is undoubtedly of lm"
portance to consider whether, when hostilities Were
resolved upon, the Government took proper Wea;
sures to preserve the health of the troops employe'
in Inch a dangerous service, and that they did not
adopt such measures constituted the gist of the
charges advanced against them. The exculpatl°.°
of the Government was based on the fact that, 1°
truth, every possible precaution had been taken, t°
secure the welfare of the troops, but that, owlet;
to a series of unlucky accidents, those precautiol?
were frustrated, and the men fell victims to a cli'
mate at all times notoriously pestilential. In the
first place, the transport conveying the reinforce'
ments from the West Indies was delayed, and did
not reach the settlement until the 9th April, instead
of two or three weeks sooner, whilst on the other
hand the rainy season, instead of beginning as it
.
usuelly does in May, set in this year in the middle
of March. To complicate matters further, an eV:,
demic of small-pox broke out in the colony a Au!"
time previous to the arrival of the troops, and 1°
consequence buildings which might otherwise have
been appropriated to their use were rendered unto"
habitable, and they were consequently obliged to
encamp under canvass. With respect to the charge
that the troops were badly provisioned and insuffi-
ciently provided with medical officers, the Under
Secretary for War showed that rations of fresh meat
were served to the men each alternate day, that no
complaints had at any time been made by the officers
in command of insufficiency in the supplies of pro-
visions or of medical stores, and that, though the
entire force in the settlement never exceeded four-
teen hundred me,,, the medical staff attached to it
had always numbered, at least, six officers. The
concurrent testimony of the principal officials en-
gaged in the conduct of the expedition equally
tended to acquit the Home Government of blame in
neglecting to provide for the wants of the troops.
It was, as we have already observed, a question,
not of sympathy, but of fact, which the House of
Commons was called upon to decide, and in the pre-
sence of the evidence adduced by the Government
it would have been much to be regretted if it had
arrived at a different conclusion from that which
the country is left to gather from the vote of last
night.