The Sun.
London, England, 1839-10-12 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF TILE MORNING CHRONICLE.

Sin,—The rancour, spleen, spite, malice, and envy,
evinced in the atrocious attack on Ministers, for appointing
Admiral Fleming to Greenwich Hospital, is made the
medium of villifying, under false colours, the character of
one of the bravest and most distinguished officers in the
British Navy. I know not who this self-called Benbow
may be ; but Benbow of old (HONEST Benbow) would
rather have blown his own brains out than endeavoured,
while sneaking and sculking under disgui,e, to blast the
reputation of a brother officer for party purposes. Sir,
Admiral Fleming is one of the most upright, uncompro-
mising, active, and enterprising officers in the service ; he
has held three commands as an Admiral, and his ability
and activity, whenever and wherever he has been employed,
have been acknowledged by his opponents in politics when
in power, by the whole of those who have served under
him, by foreign nations, and by the whole world. Let
those who, like myself, had the honour of serving under
him in the West Indies, declare whether through his ex-
ertions the \Vest India fleet was not in the most efficient
and complete order that a fleet was ever in ; let them say
whether merit was not rewarded and demerit disgraced;
whether the iniquitous slave.trade was not completely put
down on that station whilst be commanded. Let those
who served under him in the Egyptienne and Bulwark de-
clare whether his vigilance, his exer-watchful anxiety and
activity, did not command the respect and admiration of
his country's enemies. Let those who are aware of his
unceaing endeavours ; his untiring experiments in improv-
ing our naval architecture and gunnery ; the enter-
prise, the cool judgment, intrepidity, and presence of mind
which he possesses, say, whether he is not eminently quali-
tied to maintain the reputation of the service in the conspi-
cuous situation which he now holds ; but, Sir, it is false
that he has not seen service. It is true that his political
enemies contrived to keep him out of most of the general
actions; but if others were more fortunate, he does not
envy them ; they have received their reward. His services
are at least equal to those of Sir James Whitshed, who, it
seems, stands first in Bebow's estimation ; he does not
envy Sir Graham Moore and Sir George Martin their
prize money and their decorations; he does not envy any
of them, but especially Sir Wm. Hotham, the laurels, nor
Sir George Cockburn the immense patronage which he so
an ()gently exercised, avowedly for political purposes, during
his long stay in the Admiralty; but he has ever emulated
their zeal in his country's cause; and let it be remembered,
to his honour, that he served that country without receiving
a farthing of pay, until the Tory Navy Board caused an
enormous and ruinous bill of expenses to be brought
against him fer making improvements in the ship which
he commanded ; last, though not least, let it be remem-
bered by his grateful country, that be manfully and inde-
pendently withstood the corruptions of Toryism in ita high
and palmy days, and that, although not rich, he devoted
his purse as well as his time and talent to the support of
reform and independence. To conclude, let the matter
be put to the vote in the British navy, or amongst the
veterans at whose head he has been so judiciously placed,
and, my word fur it, there would not be found a single
detractor, including the " acrimonious Benbow," who
dare avow his name. Sir, although unknown to Admiral
Fleming, I know his public worth ; and although born and
educated amongst, and related to, the highest Tories, I
am his humble admirer,
Oct. 10. A TRUE BRITISH SAILOR.
The Times of to-day says—" It is not by fighting or
navigating ships that the Hon. Chas. Elphinstone Fleming
has got on." The following anecdote, 1 think, shows that
be was ever considered a zealous and able seaman, by coin-
potent judges of those qualities, not then so rife as at
the present time. When the Scaleby Castle, Captain
Patrick Gardner, was approaching Table Bay, in Octo-
ber, 1801, Captain Gardner, looking through his glass at
the ships at anchor there, long before their hulls wo e
distinctly seen, pronounced the Diomede to be one of
them, from the beautiful manner her rigging was set up.
This turned out to be the case, and Captain Gardner, as
we approached nearer, desired his officers to look at her,
observing there was not another ship in the navy in such
high order. That Captain Elphinstone Fleming was a
perfect pattern in the navy for discipline, beloved at the
same time by men and officers.
If the Editor of the Morning Chronicle thinks the above
anecdote of any use at the present moment, he may mould
lit as the thinks proper, and rely on its correctness. 1 lie