The Sun.
London, England, 1852-11-25 00:00:00

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Sir Charles Napier is a better general than he is
a lawyer, or he never would have suffered himself
to be matched, as he was yesterday, against the
Ameers of the Queen's Bench. Meeanee is nothing
to the, first day of term. The public will very
generally sympathise with the gallant officer's
indignation at the foul aspersions brought against
him for his conduct during the campaign of
Scinde, but, if he be wise, let him rather leave
the care of his defence to the justice of his contem-
p

[PRICE SD.

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.

We regret exceedingly to hear that Lieut. Francis
'Woke (1846), the only officer who was saved under the
most miraculous circumstances, from the wreck of the
Avenger steam-frigate, died at Ilaslar a few days since.
He was a gallant gentleman and a "great favourite, and
his death will be generally deplored by a large circle of
friends.

,oraries and of posterity than to lawyers and law
courts. Every one in this outspoken country who
has raised himself to any degree of civil or military
eminence has been exposed to like attacks, and has
in his proper person proved how little calumny can
avail against an honest man. Surely Sir Charles
Napier might call to mind the rule of action
invariably followed by his late illustrious com-
mander on like occasions. Is there one of us who
has not heard that the Duke of Wellington was
" surprised" at the Duchess of Richmond's ball at
Brussels, or that during the course of the subsequent
battle he ensconced himself snugly amid the friendly
leaves of a tall tree by way of avoiding the enemy's
bullets ? Only conceive the rage of any one that
bears the name of Napier on being told that
during the progress of a heady fight, he was only
to be found at the top of the highest poplar in the
neighbourhood ! We are not aware that the
Duke of Wellington ever instructed his solicitor to
take legal steps to defend his reputation against
calumnies of this kind. It may be said, however,
that some charges are so ridiculous that they fall to
the ground of themselves. An accomplished gene-
ral who has spent half a century in the service, and
has successfully fought pitched battle after pitched.
battle, may afford to laugh at charges of timidity
and mismanagement ; but it is otherwise if ho be
accused of harshness, of cruelty, of peculation.
Even in cases of this kind, we must recur to the
example of Sir Charles Napier's old commander.
There have been plenty of critics who have stated
that most of the great Peninsular victories might,
with prudence, have been avoided ; that they were
the acts of a man who was more studious of his
own personal elevation than solicitous for his coun-
try'S good. All who remember the history of the
time will be perfectly familiar with the accusations
of which we speak. The siege of Badajoz, for ex-
ample, was represented by some as an unnecessary
operation ; by others, who admitted its necessity,
it was considered to have been conducted with a
criminal disregard of human life, and all for the
purpose of furthering the Duke's ambitious views.
So, again, with regard to the storming of San Se-
bastian. Every obnoxious epithet was applied to
the Conqueror of the Peninsula, either for acts of
his own men, over which he had no control, or
for the acts of the enemy. It was said that the
Duke of Wellington ordered that the town should
be set on fire in order to wreak his wrath upon the
innabitants ; it is now known that the conflagra-
tion was the act of the French General, and that
the Duke's efforts were solely directed to getting a
mastery over the flames. Such is the way in which
Sir Charles Napier's old leader has been dealt with
by malignant or incompetent persons. From time
to time we are fully aware, when the occasion and
the audience were suitable, he uttered a few words
of stern and soldierlike denial—that was all. He
never went to law about the matter ; the chances
are, he never gave it a serious thought. He was
great enough—every man should be great enough
—to live down slander.
The mischief appears to be this in minds of a
particular class :—They are painfully sensitive to a
single voice of censure ; they pass over or seem
not to discern the approval of the thousands or
millions who would come forward. in their defence,
if defence were really necessary. The single
Mordecai at the gate gives more pain than all the
splendours of the palace can afford gratification.
Now, with regard to this very Review article which
has roused Sir Charles Napier to such mighty wrath,
did it ever enter his mind to consider what his pre-
sent position is ; and why it is what it is ? Is there
a name more honoured in the illustrious list of
British officers ? If any man, woman, or child in
the three kingdoms really and truly believed that
Sir Charles Napier is an admirable mixture of the
wholesale assassin and painstaking pickpocket—
that he caused the Scindian and British troops to
cut each other's throats for his own private ends,
and wound all up by filching the petticoats of the
ladies at Hyderabad, can he for a moment suppose
that, instead of being where he is, he would not
long since have been dismissed from the service,
and excluded from decent society ? Why, then,
this over-sensitiveness ?—why this superfluous at-
tempt at rectification and justification ? Sir Charles
Napier won a great battle and conquered a great
province ; his brother wrote a history of his opera-
tions that is nearly as good as the battle itself, and
there should be an end of the whole affair. Every
man's part is assigned to him already in the public
judgment. Sir Charles Napier may feel very con.
fident that his share in this achievement is not ac-
cepted as that of a cut-throat or peculator. We
cannot but wonder at the singular want of discre-
tion displayed by those who could advise the gallant
old soldier to bring such a case, upon a criminal in-
formation, before the Court of Queen's Bench. Ir-
respective of all legal considerations, of what benefit
would it have been to Sir Charles Napier, could
he have succeeded in causing poor Mr. Murray to
be impaled, or garotted, or whatever the appro-
priate punishment may be for the gentleman who
undertakes the commercial department of calumny ?
He would not have made Meeanee and Hyderabad
one whit clearer to the apprehension of those who
were determined not to be convinced ; all who
were open to conviction had received it long ago.
The best counsel we can give Sir Charles Napier--
and we offer it with every respect for his great
ability and glorious achievements—is for the future
to avoid legal polemics, as far as may be. If a
great man is too ready to hand over the care of his
reputation to the lawyers, the people—the natural
trustees in this respect—are apt to think them-
selves discharged of their trust. Let him be satis-
fied with the conviction that by the united voice of
his fellow-countrymen he has already been chosen
as the officer possessing the highest talents for com-
mand and the greatest military genius of any now
to be found in the British Army List. That
opinion remains unaltered. Surely this is a suffi-
cient compensation for a little transitory nonsense.
History readily distinguishes between a Tilly and
a Wellington, and history nowadays follows_ closely
on events.—Times.

PORTSMOUTH, Nov. 24

Her Majesty's brigantine Dolphin, 3, Lieutenant-
Commander Wood, arrived at Spithead this -morning
from the coast of Africa with mails, &c. She sailed
from Ascension on the 19th of October, at which date
her Majesty's ship Penelope (flag ship), Rear-Admiral
W. Bruce ; Teazer tender, Lieutenant Rich • and
Tortoise, 12, Captain Kitchen, were there. On the
south coast, her Majesty's ship Harlequin, 12, Com-
mander Wilmot ; Waterwitch, 6, Commander Gard-
ner ; Volcano, 4, Commander Coote ' • and Spy, 3; Lieu-
tenant Beresford. In the Bights, her Majesty's ship Pro-
metheus, 4, Commander Foote.; Cygnet, 8, Commander
White ; Britomart, 8, Commander Heseltine ; Myrmidon
iron steam-vessel, Lieutenant Joliffe ; and Polyphemus,
6, Commander Phillips. North division ; Her Majesty's
steam-sloop Firefly, 5, Commander G. A. Seymour (senior
officer), on her way from St. Paul de Loand' to Sierra
Leone ; Pluto, steam-vessel, Lieutenant West ; Ferret,
6, Commander Macdonald ; and Crane,. 6, Commander
Bonham. The slave-trade is reported "totally extinct."
Her Majesty's steam-sloop Firefly took the last prize on
the south coast, within a few miles of St. Paul de Loando.
The Dolphin has brought home Commander Henry
Harvey, from the Penelope ; Lieutenant G. C. Kerr,
from the Britomart ; Lieutenant John Webb, from the
Tortoise Land Dr. Molesworth, from the same ship.
She passed an English ship in lat:-48 N., long. 9 50 W-,
showing " No. 7,198, all well." She encountered a
heavy gale from the N.W., from the 15th to the 18th
inst. ; arrived off the Needles on Saturday night, but,
owing to contrary gales, could not make Spithead until
last night.
The Marlborough, 120, in frame on the stocks in this
dockyard, is ordered to be cut in two and lengthened a
la 'Windsor Castle, for adaptation to the screw principle.
The Firebrand, 6, steam-frigate, Captain Codd, sailed
from Spithead thii afternoon for Woolwich, to be paid
off, having previously been inspected by the Commander-
in-Chief.

:~.

The Victory, 101, Captain Martin, C. 8., flag of
Admiral Sir Thomas Briggs, G.C.M.G., has been paid
wages up to one month to-day.
The Leander, 50, Captain King, will be brought into
dock to have her bottom inspected, previous to her going
to Spithead.

The Cornelius Grinnell, American packet, sailed from
Spithead this morning for New York.

SHEERNESS, Nov. 24

Her Majesty's paddle-wheel steam-sloop, 'Driver, 6, of
280-horse power, having had her machinery thoroughly
repaired, arrived yesterday afternoon from Woolwich to
be stationed at this port as one of the advanced steam-
squadron of reserve.
Her Majesty's steam-vessel Monkey, acting Second
Master Mr Robert Sallinger, arrived yesterday at noon
from Woolwich with stores.

Her Majesty's advanced steamer Cuckoo, 1, chief engi-
neer Mr. Newton (acting), has had her tubular pipes re-
moved ; they are in such a defective state as to render
new ones necessary.
Her Majesty's iron paddle-wheel steam-vessel Lizard
has had her bottom cleaned, and is to be payed over with
Peacock's patent composition for the prevention of ex-
ternal oxydization.
Her Majesty's ship Phaeton, 50, Captain George
Elliott, is ordered on her arrival from the Mediterranean
to proceed to this port to be paid off. This fine frigate,
of 1,941 tons burden, was built from designs by Mr.
White, of Cowes, and launched at Deptford in 1848. She
was commissioned in December, 1849.
Messrs. Ward and Lewson, clerks in the office of the
Captain Superintendent, with servitudes of 40 and 37
years respectively, have been promoted, the former to
the first and the latter to the second class, through the
recommendations to the First Lord of the Admiralty of
Captain C. Hope.
The launching of her Majesty's screw steam-frigate
Tribune, 30, has been further postponed to the 11th of
January next.

WOOLWICH, Nov. 24.

The men employed upon the Royal Albert, 120, have
been placed on task work,- in order to expedite the con-
version of the splendid vessel into a screw steam-ship,
and that she may be ready for beinglaunched at as early
a period as possible in the ensuing year.

The Terrible steam-frigate was taken into dock this
afternoon, to undergo a thorough refit: The two boilers
with which she worked during her last period of commis-
sion, have been taken out, and she is to be sapplied with
four new boilers, the same number as she originally had
when employed on actual service after being built.
The Firebrand paddle-wheel steam-frigate, Captain
Codd, was in the river this afternoon, and delivering her
powder at Purfleet, previous to coming up to Woolwich,
where she is to be paid off, having been in commission
since October, 1849, and served her fall period on the
Mediterranean station.

THE SCREW FRIGATE IMPERIEUSE. - This 50-gun
frigate, now fitting at Woolwich, will be ready for hoist-
ing the pendant by about the Ist of January next. The
fitting of her machinery will be completed by the 23d of
December.

CORFU, OCT. 19.

To-day the squadron anchored here (having sailed
from Salamis on the 11th), consisting of the Britannia,
Trafalgar, Albion, Bellerophon, Vengeance, Phaeton,
Sampson, Firebrand, and Tiger. Found here the Are-
thusa, Modeste, Spiteful, and Scourge. The Sampson
goes to Constantinople—the Scourge and Spiteful to
England. Civilities were exchanged with the French
admiral, who had his flag on board a double-banked fri-
gate lying in the Piraeus. He (i.e., the admiral), visited
all the ships of our squadron, and made a minute inspec-
tion of some. The exercise of the squadron continues in
a uniform and regular manner, sufficient to fill up the
time without being irksome. The admiral sees that the
ships are efficient, and anything beyond the present rou-
tine would be but a mere wear and tear of rope and can-
vas, without an equivalent. The allowance of powder
and shot for great-gun exercise is duly expended, with
occasional night quarters. The pretensions of the dif-
ferent ships in sailing qualities remain as before. In-
deed, the winds have been so light that no trials could
be made, even if desired.
MALTA.—When within signal distance of Malta the
fleet were met by a steamer, by which the letters were
sent off for Gibraltar, from whence the Vengeance and
Phaeton proceed to Lisbon.

THE POOR-LAW BOARD'S PROHIBITORY

ORDER.

A large deputation, emanating from a meeting held in
Manchester on the 25th of October last, had an inter-
view by appointment with Sir John Trollope at the Poor-
law-office yesterday, the 24th of November, for
the purpose of requesting the total and immediate revo-
cation of the Prohibitory Order issued by the Poor-law
Board on the 25th of August last, on the ground, " that
it can only be carried out through the sacrifice of all
discretion and humanity by boards of guardians, and the
surrender of all right of control or opinion by the rate-
payers." The deputation represented unions containing
upwards of 2,000,000 of population.
Sir John Trollope replied at considerable length to the
observations of the deputation, and commenced by thank-
ing them for the courteous and candid manner in which
they had stated their objections, and asked the deputation
to give the Poor-law Board the same credit as to the
motives by which they were actuated as the members
of the deputation claimed for themselves. He called the
attention of the deputation to the fact that there are up-
wards of 600 unions in England and Wales under their
superintendence, and that this order is already in opera-
tion in 500 of them, and that, therefore, this order was
not anything new, and that in these 500 unions the order
was found to work beneficially both to the rate-payer
and rate receiver; that one great object of the order was
to teach the poor habits, of self-dependence, and that they
might learn to join benefit clubs and lay up small sums
of money in savings' banks, in order to provide against
temporary depression and other unforeseen casualties.
That Article 1, the Poor-law Board would be not unwil-
ling to relax in cases of hardship* and, as to Article 5,
Sir John Trollope spoke at some length, and referred to
the abuses existing, prior to the Poor-law Amendment
Act, of giving relief in aid of wages ; that it_waarls a
ia.
subject that had frequently been discussed in r
ment ; and that it was very hard to make a man a very
little better off than the person relieved pays towards
a wer to
a
support of the latter. Sir John Trollopepctiica blnes, stated
imp
that as to Article 6 being r
that the Poor-law Board did not inite_nPdhetuh:7competition
setting up
or that the
of pauper labour against inbdeependentghta into 1
former should in any waywas that it would
brou
with the latter ; and that their opinion
be more satisfactory to the peormaen employed and not, as well as to the
•
ratepayer, that the former should h
eat the bread of idleness; an_wdeetphantg of streets and
the most suitable
i
employment would be the b
the preparing of materials for rlaeipnaeidrs
thofat Articleroads. SirlO
John Trollope also further x
was intended to bring the Poor-law Board and boards of
guardians into more harmonious working, and to provide
flortriclpaers.ticular hardships that might arise under the other
That the Poor-law Board were always ready
to hear and consider applications of all kinds, and that
they always listened and attended to all complaints.
That the complaint of the lowest pauperwoulodpn en.ot be
unattended to, and that their door was always

In answer to a question from Mr. Cobbeti,
Sir John Trollope assured the deputation that boards
of guardians should be held harmless to the present time,
and that instructions should be given to the auditors ac-
cordingly.
And at the conclusion Sir John Trollope promised
that a written reply should be forwarded to the deputa-
tion in the course of a few days.