The Sun.
London, England, 1854-10-03 00:00:00

No. 3.

" Windsor, Sept. 22.
"My Lord Duke,—l have th• honour to acknowlege
the receipt of your Grace's letter of the 20th instant,
written in reply to mine of the 18th. I will commence
by informing you that cool reflection has not made me
sorry for having so written, although your Grace tells
me I shall be.

" Ought I to be sorry for asking why you have passed
insulting remarks on me and my regiment ? Should not
rather your Grace feel sorrow at having Si) done, and
that, too, in a most public and, as it would appear from
the tenor of your letter to me, in a premeditated manner ?
" You tell me I have no right to ask you to detail to
me on paper your reasons for coming to the conclusion
that I am unfit to be a commanding officer, :if you were
merely a civilian ; but still less have I a right in a mid-
tary point of view, as being my superior offie er.'
" Does your Grace mean to say that any officer who
happens to be senior to me in the service is vy arrauted in
acting towards me as you have done, unless he has due
authority for so doing, and that I have not ight to ask
his reasons 1 I must take leave to repudiate such a
doctrine.

" Your Grace informs me that you thetrefore must
decline answering my question further than. to say I hat
the evidence, taken as a whole, justifies y our opinion,
that the interior discipline of the 46th Reginnent, as re-
gards young offioers, has been for some years in a most
disgraceful state, and that this is too not .o rious, from
what has transpired, to be denied.' I know- of nothing
that has transpired to justify so unwarrautat de an. asser-
tion.

"It is now more than 15 years (since the 'arly part of
1839) that I have uninterruptedly been is , command,
either as a major or a lieutenant-colonel of the service
companies, or the depot, or the whole batttalion of the
46th Regiment, at home and abroad. During that time
I have only been absent once from comma' :ding at the
confidential halfyearly inspections. I hay ii, therefore,
during that time had the interior economy ,of my com-
mand closely investigated and scrutinized so me 28 or 30
times by a succession of experienced and it npartial ge-
neral officers (to the number of 18), all of whom have
arrived at conclusions the very reverse of goose of your
Grace.

" Having set yourself up as my judge (self constituted).
and pronounced me unfit to be a CoMmandir, ;.g officer, it is
natural I should ask myself what opportuni ties you have
had of gaining military experience ? You b,ave informed
the public, in your letter of the 10th inst., that it is
derived. from having served in every regi mental ran:c.
from cornet to lieutenant-colonel, and that you served
in that latter capacity for two years in command of the
75th Regiment.' I believe your Grace entered the
service at the age of 27, in July, 1815 (tine war being
then over), and in nine years (in 1824), on obtained
the rank of lieutenant-colonel, which, w ith the two
years you were in command of the 75th R ugitnent, will
make your full-pay service amount to so me 11 years,
and, probably, from being in Parliament. Little, if any,
of it was on foreign service. As you ha ye unscrupu-
lously pronounced me unfit, and my iregiment for
years past, as regards young officers, t t. have been
in a disgraceful state, I think I may Le permitted
to doubt whether your military experie: ace imparts
any value to such opinions and assertions. What
weight ought they to have when cont rasted with
the reports of the numerous general officem , who, being
duly authorised, have pronounced my reeiment, in all
its branches, to have been in a most efil:ient state of
discipline'
" Your Grace, in your letter to me of the 20th inst.,
refers to the ' opinion of the public at large, which is
manifested by the numerous subscribers foie Mr. ferry's
fund, all in smell subscriptions, with the exception of
one from one other nobleman, and that af your own.'
Had your Grace manifested your opinion they have,
by simply offering :t donation, and had rained Iron,
insulting my regiment arid myself, it wo ild have been
matter of indifference to us whether your subscript ton
hzi I)e.eti for ten times is greater d,mount that it i, : tout;whitl and they voniphin ui is, that you have made t.,at
the•oceamion (ami you alone) of st;itii,g that ni.r re; iruent
had been pktl,llclv disgraced, and I that I Wet tl. use.
" in your seeondletter to the Mayor of ltii idsor,
dated the 14th inst., you mcntdoned a certairt 2,leuto-
randurn issued from the Horse Guards on a late occa-
sion as being most excellent. There is an aPPenlx re-
lating to duelling (a practice which, ten years ago,
would have brought such a matter as the one nnw at
issue to a speedy settlement), and
pages 16, 17, is. and
19, contain observations which merit your Grace's con-
sideration, viewing you in the light in which you have
desired to place yourself—viz., as a military officer.
In page 20 the 46th Article of War is [quoted,

which enacts that no Officer shall use reproaCbful or
provoking speeches' or gestures to another on pain of
being put in arrest. . _ _

"If provoking speeches are considered as tending to
cause a breach of the peace, how much greater is the
effect of provoking writings
The 17th Article, which immediately follow, runs thus
--` We hereby declare our approbation of the conduct of
those who, having had the misfortune of giving offence
to or of injuring, or of insulting others, shall frankly
explain, apologise, or offer redress for the same, or who,
having had the misfortune of receiving offence, injury,
or insult from another, shall cordially accept frank ex-
planations apology, or redress for the same ; or who, if
such explanations, apology, or redress are refused to
be made or accepted, and the friends of the parties
should have failed to adjust the difference, shall sub-
mit the matter to be dealt with by the commanding
officer, &c.'

" I am in the position of one who has received
offence, injury, and insult from your Grace, and I ask
for a frank explanation, apology, or redress, which I
trust on due consideration, as a nobleman and an
officer you will not withhold from me. I have, &c.,
" R. GAnnETT, Colonel 46th Regiment.
"His Grace the Duke of Cleveland, R 1.11., &c.