The Sun.
London, England, 1854-07-14 00:00:00

THE GORDON HIG.HLANDE.RS.

qwsliararer(nitsgerths Of
TO THE EDITOR OF THE ;IMES.
me the honour to insert a letter of mine in
Sir,—l think it is
Highlanders, had been induced more than two months since
your you
paper.did
At that time I had read that
as to be reduced to the band,
old regiment, the Gordon
to volunteer in such large
39
which
oard
recruits
were completeaand
its
depotin J an
willu-
netuamff,beerusdinootolooutrha.er
This
of a handful
was literally almost true. The
of 700 men -Under the establish-
ment. blish-
someuttits ; and, as I hayte.
been credibly informed that for
from theil pastlorse its zecr u 1
have recruited only for other 1 Guards,
u9ica rr2orl egY:ins: pti a.slatrrefit lisnehntdssoo, actingrthitesltyahulep- under orders
corps, fear that one of the
most distinguished regiments in the service is likely to be
kept in a condition which takes
fiaewllcaoly.st sight of —I mean
pros-
gcosreprvsi—ceaoind tlhheave
Sir, that a noble sentiment is thus tihefereelmaoo remotest
strongly,
thatpros-
pect'ma. misgivings as to
the effect of the volunteering system, that I am induced
t ofof
eistprs seeing
again to address you.
Let me give Lord Hardinge all credit, however, for the
speed with which at the last moment he collected and for-
warded to the scene of, war 25,000 men.
I have no wish
to throw any blame on his Lordship. There was proba-
bly little time to inquire if the volunteering system wns
likely to prove more expensive to the country in the long
run than the forwarding of the required number of men
without interfering with the establishment of regiments.
As the immediate presence of an English army in Turkey
was a matter of political importance, and it was thought
that each regiment should muster 500, •• I - can understand
that to select the first corps on the roster and to require
the others to complete them was thought the simplest and
best plan. In pointing to the vice of the volunteering
system I wish to cast blame on no one.
Nor will I dwell, though I may touch upon, the loss to
the Lieutenant-Colonel of the 92d of the fruits of his time,
patience, and labour. It is well known that recruits learn
at least as much from their elder comrades as from the ser-
geant-major or the non-commissioned officers, The duties
of guards, and pickets, and others which. I could name,
although they may be learnt in a few months, demand,
if we would rely on those who are to perform them, a self-
recollection which is the result only of experience. Again, i
it is a considerable time before a soldier becomes a good '
shot, nor does he within a few months learn to do things in
general with that method and despatch which are so essen-
tial. In losing, therefore, the pick and Prime of his regi-
ment, the Lieutenant-Colonel is deprived, if I may nn say, of
a great body of instruction ; while it cannot but be that of
the many who have left him some would have supplied the
places of the non .commissioned officers who will be from
time to time discharged. But Ido not wish to dwell upon
the loss or inconvenience to him. The same care and pa-
tience, no doubt, which made the Gordon Highlanders the
pride of every garrison in which they were ever quarters('
will soon rest re them if they be rightly dealt with. They
have still their famous tradition to appeal to ; they can still
remember the Pass of Maya, where their courage, writes
Napier, " would have graced Thermopylm," where, as at
Quatre Bras, they left 300 on the field ; they can call to
mind Sir Danis Pack's words at Waterloo, when, riding
up to them, he said, ~ 92d, the troops to your right and
left have given way; you must charge those fellows ; '
they can hear the echo of the cheers which answered
these words, and they can recall the after-speech of Sir
Denis—" You have saved the day, Highlanders, but you
must return, for there is more work to be done." All
this and more the 92d can remember. Aud, as the officers
and non-commissioned officers are learned in the constitu-
tion bequeathed to the regiment by its late lieutenant-
colonel, Lieutenant-General M`Donald, much as there re-
mains to be done, there is every encouragement to be doing