The Sun.
London, England, 1854-08-25 00:00:00

TO THR EDITOR OF THE SUN.

-------
Sin,—You observe, in one of your recent numbers of
your valuable journal, that " Lieutenant Nasmyth, who
distinguished himself at Sitistria, has not been promoted
to the rank of Major, his name being merely recorded
for that rank by brevet after he shall have attained the
regimental rank of captain in the ordinary course—an
event that may never happen ; so that, substantially,
this officer has not received any promotion for his heroic
conduct at that siege."
I am glad to find, Sir, that acts of injustice of this de-
scription are noticed by the press, as it 14 only by such
means that the authorities at the Horse Guards will be
compelled to extend those rewards to all ranks for meri-
torious services heretofore monopolised by privileged

classes.
A variety of complaints of this nature were made
during the late Peninsular war, where gallant officers,
leading even "forlorn hopes," or succeeding to the com-
mand of a regiment in action, could not obt tin promo-
tion by brevet if they held no higher rank than that of
lieutenant, however brilliant their services might have
been ; wldie so many of the "privileged classes," though
merely on the staff, and passive spectators (through their
telescopes) of those sanguinary conflicts, 'obtained the
brevet steps merited by the fighting men who decided
the fate of that war.
Lieutenant Mackie, for instance, of the 88th Regiment
(Coneaeght Rangers), who led the " forlorn hope " at
C udad Rodrigo, noticed by Napier and others, carried
the breach and made the governor a prisoner, but gat no
promotion until he obtained his company by seniority in
that regiment, and even then it was unaccompanied by
any brevet step. This gallant soldier retired from the
service in disgust ; and after the conclusion of the war
died in despair, without even a bit of riband to thcorate
his breast.
Another instance, in the case of Sir John Scott Lillie,
may be mentioned, who commanded a Portuguese regi-
ment in several engagements during that war, he being
a lieutenant in the British army, but could obtain no
brevet promotion in it, although the thanks of the Duke
of Wellington on several occasions had been conveyed
to him on the field for his distinguished services by a
living witness and most gallant officer, the present
Duke of Richmond, one of his Grace's aides-de-camp.
At Salamanca Lieutenant Dille commanded' a de-
tachment, which was named in the Duke's despatches
as having commenced the fight on that glorious occa-
sion, by contesting with the enemy the occupation of
the hills called Aripiles. The manner in which this was •
done I find described by Napier as " similar to that
which happened between Cmsar and Africanus at Le-
rida ; for the French, seeing this detachment approach,
broke down their own ranks, and, running without order te
the encounter, gained the first Aripiles, and kept it, but
were repulsed in an endeavour to seize the second."
In referring to the Duke's despatches on the various
fights in the Pyrenees, which continued for seven days
in succession, I find that be speaks of the 7th Cacadores
on the 30th of July, as having "led the attack on the
front of the enemy's main position, from which he was
driven, notwithstanding its having been one of the
strongest -and most difficult to cross that his Grace
had ever seen occupied by troops." This regi-
ment (the 7th Cacadores) was then commanded
by Sir John Lillie, as a British lieutenant, to whom
the Duke's thanks and approbation of his conduct were
again conveyed, as formerly, by his aide-de-camp, the
present Duke of Richmond ; but from his holding no
higher rank than lieutenant, he could obtain no promo-
tion, nor were the hopes held out to him (as in the case
you allude to of Lieutenant Nasmyth) of getting brevet
rank on obtaining his company ever realised, notwith-
standing his merits on four different occasions that he
commanded his regiment, which entitled him to it. This
assertion is proved by the fact of his having received the
Gold Cross (vide Army List), with a silver rued 1 and
s•Neral clasps, making, with the Order of the Bath, 12
decorations for distinguished services as a regimental
officer.

Among a variety of other instances I can state the
case of Lieutenant Power, of the 47th British Regiment,
upon whom devolved its common,' during the sanguinary
cot flict at the storming of San Sebastian, where this
officer particularly distinguishr'd himself, and for which
he received a gold medal; but his rank of lieutenant
precluded him from the more substantial reward of pro-

motion, which, to his mortification, he saw granted to
all others of higher rank, though of inferior merit.
What are empty honours, s;r, after a lap,e of 40 years,
when compared with the regiments and the thousands
a year now enjoyed by so many staff and other officers
who never even commanded a company in action in
their lives ?

Such acts of injustice, sir, that are not sanctioned by
any other Government in the world, should be put a
stop to. Now is the time, when we Ere engaged in im-
portant scenes of war, with the hopes of civilised
Europe concentrated on our efforts, in alliance with
troops accustomed to receive honours and promotions on
the field as rewards of merit, without waiting for such
contingencies as you justly remark " may ❑ever occur"
—now is the time, I repeat, S►r, to let the sparks of
heroism which shall blaze forth during this war, whether
from the ranks of subalterns, non-commissioned officers,
or soldiers, receive their due rneed of reward in promo-
tion, and not suffer their fire to be extitigui,died by .vet
blankets Ir-on head-quarters, while false lights are
.dis-
covered and frequently Magnified into brilliant stars in
more elevated grades.
You, Sir, and the press in general, have done good
service to the army in the fire opened upon the ca-es of
Lieutenant Perry and Lieutenant Nasinyth, and ifhope

_ .. .
to see that fire kept up until the advocates of Horse-
Guards' monopolies and persecutions, and prosecutions
of frien dem subalterns, shall be compelled to strike
their flags.—.l have the honour to be, Sir, your most
ot,edient servant. W. W.
Brighton, August 20.

COURT CIRCULAR.

OSBORNE, THURSDAY.

The Queen and Prince gave their annU 1 fete yester-
day, in honour of his Royal Highness's birthday, which
happens on Saturday next.
Dinner wds provided at three o'clock on the lawn
near the house, under marquees for upwards of 450 per-
sons, and shortly atter that hour the whole of the la-
bourers employed on the Osborne estate, the seamen and
marines of the Royal yachts, the detachment of infantry,
and the Trinity House and coast-guard men doing duty
at East Cowes, sat down. Her Majesty and his Royal
Highness Prince Albert, accompanied by the Royal
children and the Maharajah Duleep Singh, walked
through the different marquees, and gave orders for
dinner to commence. At half-past four dancing and
rustic games were begun, and were carried on with gre.t
spirit liii near dark, in the presence of the Queen an
Royal party, including the Duchess of Kent.
The band of the Royal Marines was tn the ground,
and played a variety of airs 'turnip.' the afternoon.
Among the company who had the honour of being
present were the Marquis of Ely, Lady Anna a
Dawson, Lady Frances Bruce, Baroness tie Speth,
Ge and Lady Cooper, Lady and the Mises Gr. ham
Lady C. and Miss Barrington, the Hon Colonel, Mrs.,
and Miss Phipps, the Hon. Captain and Mrs. Demean,
the officers of the Royal yachts, the officer counnan ling
the infantry detachment, the officers of the Trinity
Rouse and Coist Guard, the Rev. George and Mrs.
Prothero, Dr. Login, and the Ladies and Gentlemen
in Waiting on the Queen and Prince.

The Duchess of Kent chned with her Majesty in the
evening. Lady Anna Maria Dawson, B.ironess de Sped],
and Capt,in the Hun. J. Denman, hati the honour also
of being invited.

Viscount and Viscountess Palmerston left Brighton
yesterday, for his lordship's seat, Broadlands, Hants.

The Duchess of Cleveland and Lady Augusta Paulett
have been staying at Brighton for some time past.
The Earl of Doneugtimore has arrived at the family
Iseat, Knocklofty, from London. He proposes only re-
inabling for a short time, being a'iout to break up his
establishment there, and proceed to the Continent.
The Earl of Aberdeen, we understand, will be pre;
vented from visiting his patrimonial estates in the north
this autumn, in consequence of toe pressure of official
business. The noble Premier, who is staying at Argyll
House, will, we believe, leave town in a few days on a
visit to her Majesty, at Osborne. The Hon. Colonel
Alexander Gordon. second son of the noble Premier, .at
the date of the last letters from the gallant officer frpm,
the seat of war, was in good health. The Hon. Mrs.
Gordon is remaining in the country; '
The Count 'arid C•itintesS Flabauit, and the Hon. Miss
Elphinstone have arrived at Tullyhellan Castle from the
south. „ .. .
Lord and Lady Lyndhurst are entertaining a select
party of friends at Turville Park,' Henley-on-Thames.
Viscount and Viscountess Palmerston arrived at
Broadlands, Hampshire, yesterday, from the Bristol
Hotel, Brighton, where they have been staying since the.
lamented death of Lord J celyn.
Lady Wetherell Wardeford, widow of the late Sir C.
Wetherell, is at present staying at Brighton.
The Misses M'Donald have left Kilcreene for General
M`Donald's Highland estate, Dalchosnie.
The convocation of the prelates and clergy of the pro-
vince of Canterbury was yesterday prorogued at the
Jerusalem chamber by the Vicar-General, Dr. Twiss,
under a conimission from his Grace the Archbishop of
Canterbury, Primate and Metropolitan, to Friday,
October 20.
ENTERTAINMENT TO THE LORD MAYOR OF LONDON'.
—The Lord Mayor of London, in his civic capacity of
chief magistrate of the metropolis, was entertained on
Tuesday night at a dinner in the Shire Hall of Stafford,
hism r .
Thomas nativetow
Brh ul t T o
nh,e entertainmentthe ay o
Mayor
o t s twa
ffa so
Stafford.
theT hcost ocom-
panyf included, among others, the Earl of Harrowby,
Mr. Adderley, M.P., Mr. E. R. Littleton, M P., Mr.
o
S. Ciiild, M.P., :lir. Wise, M.P., Major Chetwynd, Se.e.
FATAL ACCIDENT AT RYE HOUSE.--O" Wednesday,
Mr. Payne held an inquest at Bartholomew's Hospital
on the body *of a chili!, aged three years, named
Eizabe, h Babb, whose parents reside in Baldwin-street,
City-road. From the evidence it appeared that on Mon-
day Week the deceased accompanied her friends to Rye
House, Herts, when she got on a form and was playing
with another child, swinging to and fro. In so doing
the deceased fell back against a, window, which she
drei:oevnesadryl:omaleid,
struck with her . bead so violently as to break the pane,
and a portion of the glass stuck in her head. She was
where she died on Sundatyhen
days, when severe pains came on. She was taken to a
aufrodmweut on apparently well for three
brain, caused, by a fracture of the skull. . verdict,
last,ce frt,o)mthinefiaambornv:tiohnosopfittahle,
Accideutal deitli:" - - • - _ - - - -

LATEST NEWS.

THE WAR.

IMPORTANT FROM CONSTANTINOPLE.
Accounts from Constantinople to the 14th inst.
state that a serious conflagration bad broken out
at Varna, by which one-third of the town was de-
stroyed.

These despatches state that the greatest part of
the munitions belonging to the'allied forces, in-
cluding the powder magazines, were saved.
Cholera and typhus fever are raging fearfully.
The French division under the command of Gene.
ral Canrobert has lost 3,000 men.

Prince Napoleon had returned to Constanti-
nople, sick.
Sir Edmund Lyons had sailed into the Black Sea
with his division. Ships of war and transports are
still proceeding there, but the object of the expedi
tion is kept strictly sgicret.
The cholera is raging at Adriariople. The
French furces intended for that city have been or-
dered to return to Gallipoli.

Forty thousand Russian troops are said to be
encamped round Sebastopol.
Letters from D. amascus to the 10th inst. state
that an armed insurrection of the Mussulmau
population ha 1 broken out ; but it was quelled by
the use of artillery.
There is news from Trebizonde to the 4th inst.
The accounts from the Asiatic army are bad.

The Presse contains the following announcement
from Constantinople, under the date of the 14th•'

nst. :

" Sixty thousand men have. embarked for Sebas-
topol.

" Everything was saved from the fire at Varna,
except the hay, wine, and some camp utensils."
Advices from Constantinople of the 17th August
state that the last ships destined for the expedition
to the Crimea left for Varna on the 15th, with
12,000 Turks, 2,000 French, horses, cannon, muni-
tions, and numerous flat-bottomed boats.
Prince Napoleon is. ill of the fever.

The cholera is abating at Constantinople and
Varna, increasing in the Dardanelles, and has dis-
appeared at Gallipoli.
Official advices from Varna, of the 14th, make
no mention of any conflagration there.
A despatch from Odessa, of Aug. 15, says :
" A band of Circassian mountaineers, commanded
by a son of Schamyl, have made a razzia into the
province of Tiflis. They have sacked several places,
put some people to death, and carried off a general's
wife and a Princess Orbelian, her sister. The news
caused a panic at Tiflis.
" Two Lancer regiments have been sent by forced
marches from Odessa to the west.

"According to Austrian advices, requiring con
firination, 45,00 J men, allies, had been embarked
at Varna up to the 13th.

Other telegraphic despatches from Constanti-
nople, received in London this day, say the fire at
Varna broke out ou the 10th inst., at seven o'clock
in the evening.

One hundred and eighty houses were totally de.
stroyed, with a great quantity of provisions be.
longing to the French army.

All the English and French transports hal lef,
for the Black Sea, with pontoons and other ma.
terials of war.

The fire is supposed to have been the work o
incendiaries, and several Greeks have been arrested

on suspicion.
Great preparations are in progress at Constanti-
nople and Varna for. the embarkation of troops.
The expedition was to sail on the 20th.
The Bay of Varna was filled with vessels of all
sorts, to the number of 500 ; and a large fleet of
transports had been assemjled at Baltehik.
Numerous flat-bottomed boats, for the landing of
troops and heavy guns, had arrived at both places.
Officers from nearly every regiment iu the service
have gone home invalided.
The incorporation of the Bashi-Bazouks into a
new corps had caused considerable disturbance at
G inrgevo and Nicopolis, but the malcontents were
overpowered.