The Sun.
London, England, 1854-12-16 00:00:00

thers had invested the whole of their fortunes in the pur-
eltasn of their ease nlissions ; so that this family, to wiei.,l
the nation was row returning thanks, was left -.:it?:
ottiei itilicri',:Lssee, and no other means of suppit but Ulu
contributions of-the benevolent and the glory of the name
which they bore. He could assure his right hon. friend
the Secretary at War that he could not do better than
direct his2attention to the cases he had referred. He
trusted that this country would not, when next it had to
return thanks to the officers of the British army, be
troubled with the disgraceful reflection that no effectual
requital had been made to those families who had been
ruined by the fali of their relatives in the battle-field.
Mr. DRUMMOND was very glad to hear the noble lord
(Lord J. Russell) deliver a well-deserved rebuke to those
dilettanti civilians who, notwithstanding their utter incbm-
potency to the task, had ventured to criticise the tactics
of our military and naval chiefs in the Crimea. He (Mr.
Drummond's) own experience enabled him to give an illus-
tration of the folly of those incompetent critics. He
remembered dining at Paris with Sir George Murray at
-the close of the last; war. Count Nugent and several
other celebrated men were present. It was mentioned in
conversation that Marshal Soult had stated that the Duke
of Wellington had taken a false step with regard to Tou•
louse. He (Mr. Drummond) asked Sir George Murray his
opinion upon the matter. Sir George frankly replied that
Marshal Soult, according to the ordinary principles of
strategy, was right ; but the marshal was not aware of the
moral character of the troops with which he had to deal ;
that the whole success of the battle depended upon that,
and that, unless the marshal was thoroughly acquainted
with that moral character, he was totally incompetent to
form an opinion as to the plan adopted by the Duke of
Wellington. (Cheers.) He (Mr. Drummond) was aware
that something like a return to penitence had been mani-
fested by the hon. gentleman (Mr. Layard) behind him—
(laughter)—for he had thought it necessary to stand up
and vindicate the character of the Turkish troops, who not
only ran away from the battle-field, but also helped them-
selves to the dinners of the British officers. (Laughter.)
He hoped that the hon. gentleman would proceed in the
path of justice upon which he had lately entered.
Macte novd virtute peer. He hoped that they,
should have no more criticisms upon admirals from the
hon. gentleman. We owed many thanks to our brave
men in the army and navy. Above all, we had to thank
Admiral Dundas that, despising the criticisms of men
incompetent to judge of his conduct, despising ill-advised
diplomatists, despising " cur own special reporters"—
(laughter)—he had preserved his fleet in such a condition
that it might do good service to our forces, who were now
no longer the besiegers but the besieged, and enable them
to achieve a glorious victory. (Cheers.)
Mr. LAYARD trusted in justice ,to hie own character to
be permitted to say a few words. The bon. gentleman who
had just sat down no doubt alluded to a private letter of his
(Mr.i Layard's) which had been unfortunately made public
contrary to his (Mr. Layard's) wish, and in which the con-
duct of Admiral Dundas was censured. However, that
blame was justified by a letter which he had seen, and which
had been written by a gallant captain in her Majesty's ser-
vice. He had expected that the friends of Admiral Dundas
would not have been so indiscreet as to refer to the matter
in that house. He (Mr. Layard) bad long borne quietly the
odium that has been cast upon him in reference to that letter,
which was a private ono, and which had been unfortu-
nately published in the columns of a newspaper ; but as the
hon. gentleman (Mr. Drummond) had challenged him upon
the subject, he was quite ready to substantiate in his place
in that house the charges preferred in that letter against
Admiral Dundas. He should be able t 3 substantiate thee)
charges by despatches written by her Majesty's Govern-
ment, and upon the evidence of those who had served
under Admiral Dundas, and bad witnessed his conduct in
the present campaign. It was with regret that he (Mr.
Layard) expressed himself ready to take that course, because
he felt that the character of a British Admiral, and, indeed,
of the British navy itself, was at stake. He had hitherto
borne calmly the charge of being an anonymous slanderer, but
ho was now ready, if any one should dare him thereto, to
prove the charges which he had made.
The several votes of thanks, which were in the following
words, were unanimously agreed to :
" That the thanks of this house rho given to Field-Mar-
shal the Right Hon. Lord Raglan, Knight Grand Cross of the
Most Honourable Order of the Bath, for the energy and dis-
tinguished abilitity with which he has conducted the opera-
tions of her Majesty's forces in the Crimea, for the brilliant
and decisive victory obtained over the enemy's army on the
Alma, and the signal defeat of a force of vastly superior num-
bers on the heights of Inkorman.
" That the thanks of this house be given to Lieutenant-
General Sir John Fox Burgoyne, Knight Grand Cross of the
Most Honourable Order of the Bath.
" To Lieutenant-General Sir George Brown, Knight Com-
mander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath.
"To Lieutenant-General his Royal Highness the Duke of
Cambridge, Ku'ght of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.
" To Lieutenant-General Sir de Lacy Evans, Knight Com-
mancler of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath.
" To Lieutenant-General Sir Richard En4land, Knight Com-
mander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath.
" To Lieutenant-General the Earl of Lucan.
" To Major-Genes-al the Earl of Cardigan.
" To Brigadier-General, now Major-General the Hon. James
York Scarlett.
"To Major-General Henry John William Bentinck.
" To Major-General Sir Colin Campbell, Knight Comman-
der of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath.

"To Major-General John Lysaght Pennefather, Companion
of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath.
" To Major-General William John Codrington.
" To Brigadier-General, now Major-General Henry William
Adams, Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the
Bath.

" To Brigadier-General, now Major-General Sir John Camp-
bell, Bart. •
" To Brigadier-General, now Major-General George Buller,
Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath.

" To Brigadier-General, now _Major-General William Eyre,
Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath.
" To Brigadier-General, now Major-General Arthur Welles-
ley Torrens.
" And to the several other officers for their zeal, intrepi-
dity, and distinguished exertions in the several actions in
which her gaiestv's fnroAci - •

" That this house doth highly acknowledge the distinguished
discipline, valour, and exertions displayed by the non-com-
missioned officers and soldiers under tho command of Field-
Marshal Lord Raglan iu all the operations in the Crimea ; and
that the same be signified to them by the commanders of the
several corps, who aro desired to thank them for their dis-
tinguished and gallant behaviour.
" That the thanks of this house be given to Vice-Admiral
James Whitley Deans Duudas, Companion of the Most ,
Hon. Order of the Bath ; to Rear-Admiral Sir Edmund
Lyons, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Hon. Order of the
Bath ; and to the several captains and officers in the fleet un-
der the command of the said Vice-Admiral ' • and also to the
officers of the navy and marines employed on shore in the
siege of Sebastopol, for their indefatigable activity and
exertions in conveying her Majesty's land forces to the Crimea,
in effecting their disembarkation, and in co-operating with
them during the siege of Sebastopol.
" That this house cloth highly approve of and acknowledge
the services of the seamen and marines on board the ships
under the command of Vice-Admiral Dundas, and also of the
seamen and marines employed on shore in the siege of Sebas-
topol, in their indefatigable activity and exertions in convey-
ing her Majesty's land forces to the Crimea, in effecting their.
disembarkation, and iu co-operating with them during the
siege of Sebastopol ; and that the captains of the several ships
do signify the same to their respective crews, and do thank
them for their praiseworthy and gallant conduct.
" That this house acknowledges with admiration the dis-
tinguished valour and conduct of those who have perished
during the present struggle in the service of their country,
and feels deep sympathy with their relations and friends.
" That the thanks of this house be given to General Canro-
bert and the. French army, for their gallant and successful
co-operation with her Majesty's land forces in the attack on
the enemy's position at Alma, for their energetic and timely
assistance in repelling the enemy at lukerman, and for their
distinguished exertions, in common with her Majesty's troops,
in the siege of Sebastopol ; and that Field-Marshal Lord Rag-
lan be desired to convey to thorn the present resolution.
" That the thanks of this house be given to Admiral Hamelin
and the French navy for their cordial co-operation with her
Majesty's fleet in conveying the allied forces to the Crimea, in
effecting their disembarkation, and in the siege of Sebastopol,
and that Vice-Admiral Dundaa be desired to convey to them
the present resolution."
Captain DUNCOM BE born testimony to the gallant and
heroic character of Admiral Dundas, an officer whose abilities
and services were so distinguished that he was glad to see
that the Admiralty did nordeem it necessary to say anything
by way of defence to the unworthy charges that had been
brought against him.

Si' J. GRAHAM entirely concurred in what had fallen
from the gallant officer. Admiral Dundas's character and ser-
vices were so eminent and well known, that he should have
scarcely thought it necessary for any member of the Govern-
ment, much less for him (Sir J. Graham) to say a word in de,
fence of them. He would merely observe that, in his opinion.
and in that of her Majesty's Government, the thanks if Par-
liament were eminently duo to Admiral Dundas, and if at any
future period the hon. member for Aylesbury should think it
his duty to bring any specific charge against that gallant
officer, ho (Sir J. Graham) would be in his place to protect
him. At present, however, it would be most unseemly to
enter into any such defence. .

Sir T. BAILING, also bore testimony to the high profes.

sional merits of Admiral Dundas, and was confident that a
review of his gallant friend's conduct could not redound other-
wise than to his credit. He couldnot refrain from calling the
attention of the house to the painful °position in which
officers in command, at the present moment, were placed.
(Hear, hear.) The hon. member for Aylesbury had declared
that his letter had been published without his consent. He
(Sir T. Baring) had seen other letters also which ought never
to have been printed, but which had obtained publicity by
the conduct of officers who ought to have known bettor. It
was a deplorable thing to think that an officer in command,
serving his country on a distant station, was liable to such a
persecution as this, that the small talk and tittle-tattlo which
was ever rife in a fleet should be printed and published and
circulated through England, and received as though it repre-
sented the feelings and opinions of the whole service. (Hear,
hear.) It was indeed unfortunate that any man's reputation
should be at the mercy of such idle stories. But he appealed
to the justice and generosity both of the house and the nation
not to permit that while his gallant friend was serving his
country abroad his character should be frittered away at home.
(Hear, hear.)
Mr. LIYARD, in explanation, observed that there was
but one alternative—either Admiral Dundas was to blame, or
the Government were so. In the Duke of Newcastle's de-
spatch there was a special suppression of the name of Admiral
Dundas. The expression was, "their lordships cordially ac-
knowledge the valuable services rendered by .Sir E. Lyons
and the officers and seamen of the British oavy." Surely
when the Government, in this marked manner, mentioned
the name of the second in command, and omitted the name
of the first, it was a little too bad to accuse him (Mr. Layard)
of unfairness to Admiral Dundas.
Sir J. GRAHAM observed that the circumstance to which
the hon. gentleman alluded—gamely, the omission of Ad-
miral Duudas's name from the Duke of Newcastle's despatch
—was sucoptible of the most natural explanation. The rea-
son of it was simply that the thanks were intended to have a
special application to one particular service—the
every one ksenr:wic,ohal
his landing the troops, which service, a
been particularly assigned to Sir E. Lyosns. (Hear, hear.) If
there was one trait in Admiral Duna
an
s charactersother,it was h
and con-
duct more worthy of admiration than
'noble generosity with which, commanding-in-chief, htoe had
s
delegated so much of responsibility of honour
second in command. It was Admiral Dundas who had made
selection of Sir E. Lyons for the service of landing the troops;
and the excellence of the choice and the soundness of the
discretion- were sufficiently attested by the brilliant success of
the achievement. It was too hard that that which Admiral
Dundas did iu so fine a spirit, and with so sound ajmigment,
should be turned against him now:
Admiral WALCOTT, as a naval officer, felt wounded to the
quick by the aspersions that had been cast upon his gallant
friend, Admiral Dundas, an officer whose gallant conduct
was deserving of the highest honour. He rejoiced that the
First Lord of the Admiralty had in so courageous and manly
' a manner risen to do honour to his gallant friend's merit, Six
1 weeks 'ago he (Admiral Walcott) had received a letter from