The Sun.
London, England, 1863-11-14 00:00:00

MEMO] AL TO LORD CLYDE.

A m eeting,, convened by advertisement, was yes-
terday afternoon held at Willis's Rooms, King-
stree., St. James's, for the purpose of taking mea-
sures for the erection of a memorial to the late Lord
Clyd s. His Royal Highness the Duke of Cams
brid; ;e presided, and among those who were present
ever a the Duke of Wellington, the Duke of Argyll,
Ear d. de Grey and Ripon, the Earl of Ellenborough,
th'a Earl of Cardigan, the Earl of Dononghmore,
the Earl of 3lalmesbury, the Marquis of Harting-
ton, Sir C. Wood, Lord Stanley, Sir R. Murchison,
Gen. Stir W. Gomm, Gen. Eyre, and several other
gallant officers who had been the companion in
arms of the deceased Field Marshal. There were
also several ladies in the body of the room.
The Duke of CAMBRIDGE, in introducing the
business of the meeting, said--My lords, ladies,
and gentlemen, I feel that in opening our proceed-
ings on this occasion I need offer to you no apo-
logy for assembling you here, because there is, I am
sure, nobody either in this room or throughout the
whole empire who will not agree with me and those
who have called this meeting in thinking that the
painful loss which the country has sustained in the
death of Lord Clyde ought to be commemorated in
a manner which should do honour and justice to the
services of that great and illustrious soldier. (Cheers.)
In honouring him, believe me, we do honour to our- I
selves, and I am sure you will be of opinion that it
is unnecessary for me to apologise for taking the
chair here to-day when you recollect that I enjoy the
privilege of bring at the head, through the favour of
my Sovereign, of the noble profession of which my
late lamented friend was so distinguished an
lahnuodrtnhae-
ment. I am happy to be able to boast
advantage, the gratification, the satisfaction,that and the
pleasure of being, I may say, the intimate friend and
associate of Field-Marshal Lord Clyde. (Cheers.)
In both a public and a private capacity, there•
• n
fore, I feel lam justified in appearing netore you
in order to ask you to join with me and those gen-
tlemen by whom I am surrounded in showing
honour to his memory. (Cheers.) The facts of this
case are so simple that I do not think it will be re-
quisite to say much to convince you of the advan-
tage and advisability—l might also add the neces-
sity—of doing honour to that great man. (Cheers.)
The feeling on the subject is so general that it per-
vades all classes, from the highest to the lowest;
and I am aware that her Majesty herself, even in
the distress and sorrow which has for so long a time
surrounded her, was the very first to express the
strongest desire that honour and justice
should be
done the illustrious soldier—(cheers)—who had
shown such devotion in herservice, and who, in de-
voting himself to the service of the Crown, had
perfoemed such signal services to the country at
large. Born a soldier, Lord Clyde from his earliest
years gave himself up to his profession, which he
ente red, I believe I am justified in stating, with-
out any friends or supporters, save his own good
rlligehLarm the
, his honest heart, and his noble bearing.
advantage of joining the army at a period
when a great continental war was being waged, at
the period when England first embarked on the
great Peninsular contest which terminated so glori-
ously for her and for that army with which Lord
Clyde was immediately connected. I find that in
the first engagements in which the troops under the
Duke of Wellington's command were concerned my
late noble friend took part. Following his career
eve find him at Vimiera, Corunna, Barossa, Vittoria,
and at San Sebastian,on which occasion he received
two severe wounds. He was again seriously wounded
at the passage of the Bidassoa, and learnt those ru-
diments of his profession which can only be
learnt on active service in that great contest which
eventuated in the advancement and prosperity of
his country, and in contributing to raise her
position, in the eyes of other nations. With that
contest the active career of my gallant friend for
the anoment ceased, and here it is, perhaps, well we
sho ald ask, why such was the case ? It did not cease
because there was any desire to keep back that dis-
tinguished officer, but from the fact of our having
:had a long peace, an event which we cannot de-
plore, however much we may regret that an oppor-
tunity was not in consequence afforded for men
like Lord Clyde to distinguish themselves for a
aeries of years. But when this country again be-
came again involved in war we find my gallant
friend once more in the field, taking part in the ex-
pedition to China. Now, the duties to be performed
in that country in 1842 may not be considered very
glorious, but they were, nevertheless, very arduous,
and my gallant friend showed then, as on all other
occasions, that he was made of the right stuff for
a soldier. (Cheers.) It is well:known that the care
and attention which he devoted to those under his
command were of a character which always brought
him prominently under the notice of his supe-
riors. I recollect well having seen the 98th Regi-
ment, previous to its going to China, in Dublin,
when it was pointed out to me—then quite a be-
ginner in the art of soldiering—as being peculiarly
well adapted for service, because of the able man-
ner in which it was commanded by Lord Clyde.
That regiment went from China to India, where my
noble friend was selected to command a division
under Lord Gough, and where he greatly distin-
guished himself at Ramnuggur, Chenab, Chillian-
wallah, and Goojerat. There are many of those
whom I see around me who could bear testimony to
the fact that at Chillianwallah no officer was more
greatly distinguished than my noble friend.
(Cheers.) But that great contest came to a close,
4,," Lord Clyde was placed in command of an im-
portant post in the North-Western Provinces, and
it is known that at Peshawar his exertions
were
of a nature the most important and valuable
Lo the eases
praise for and that he received the highest
brings me d his services on that occasion. This
to England ain
nito the period when he returned
5t.63, up to which time he was per-
fectly a stranger I
have mention:l me,
for, although I had seen, as
mended in Dublin, the regiment which he cora-
second in coinmaied' Ghis place was supplied by his
eneralEyre—who, I am sure,
will be the first to a
oltocondition in which thoewledge that the admirable
table not to him, but to Lo
table was attribu-
Clyde ; and, before I
enumeration of the services
proceed further in the
of
my noble and gallant friend,'
would observe that
it is supposed by many that the
upolittleir2cduties of an
officer are those which devolve
in time of
It
importance.
war, and that other matters are or beg:
That, however, is a great mistake.
Paid
to
details
mastering the
necessary that attention should be
and it is the power of geasping and :eatto ,
efficiently with those details while
one's
great principles of the profession, and doing
duty ably in the field, that constitutes the good
soldier. It is well known that when amen has got
his regiment into such a state of efficiency as
that
in which the 98th was under Lord Clyde, he will
be sure to distinguish himself whenever an oppor-
tunity might arise, and in my noble friend's own case
it may with truth be said that be never was placed
in a position of responsibility that he did not fully
answer the anticipations which had been formed
of his professional capacity. (Cheers.)
But to re-
turn to the history of his military career, find
that, when in 1854 the war with Russia broke out,
one of the first officers selected to go out in com-
mand of a brigade was my noble friend. It is un-
necessary for me, I am sure, to dwell on the great
service which, in the campaign that ensued, he
rendered his country. -Whether we look at his
conduct at the battle of the Alma, or when defend-
ing with a handful of men the important landing
port at Balaclava, or at any other period
thethrough-
out war, we always find him not only perform-
ing his duty, as I trust every British officer would
dareqw‘iihreenm s
called
upon, but exhibiting the talents and
a great commander. (Cheers.)
No long period
elapsed before an opportunity was
afforded him of justifying the anticipations which
were then formesof hisof he Crimean military abilities.
eiosgtreat
Shortly after the
r new
it
troubles in India broke out, andwas felt that
it would be a tedious work to restore order and
to that portion
tranquillity of our empire. Her
3L,..je,ty's Government felt called, upon, under the
circumstances, to send out a general officer who
should be well qualified to assume the eonanand of
our army in India, and I ern happy to say that,
holding then the position which I have now the
with right
honour to occup,y, I was associated