The Sun.
London, England, 1853-08-31 00:00:00

out this remarkable career his actions were charac-
terised by traits long reputed to be common to all
the members of his family. Courage amounting
to recklessness, invincible energy, originality of
idea, and enthusiastic devotion to his profession,
distinguished his conduct on all occasions ; and,
on reading the hazards to which he exposed his
life, it seems difficult to conceive how it could have
been protracted so long. In the desperate battle
of Corunna, after receiving five wounds in the
action, he was only rescued from death by the
generosity of a French drummer and the marked
kindness of Marshal Soult—a circumstance which
contributed, no doubt, to the chivalrous partiality
with which the great enemy of England was after-
wards regarded by more than one soldier of the
name of Napier. At one conjuncture of the war
Soult dispatched a particular message to say that
he intended to pay Major Napier's regiment a visit.
The corps was drawn out accordingly in its best
array, and the French retired from the encounter
with little reason to think lightly of the interview
they had bespoken.
After such encomiums as these, it may seem hard
to imagine in what Sir Charles Napier's services
may have fallen short of absolute excellence, for a
soldier can scarcely be more than brave, ingenious,
and successful. Yet there are few officers in the
army whose achievements have been more acrimo-
niously controverted than his, or whose general
merits have been more frequently brought under
discussion, and the difficulty of reviewing these
incidents is increased by the fact that they are still
fresh in the minds of all. Sir Charles conquered,
administered, and settled- an Eastern province as
large as a European kingdom ; but his conquest
was decried, and even his justice called in ques-
tion. Later still he quitted an honourable retire-
ment to'accept a post of enormous responsibility at
an hour of extreme peril ; but his sacrifice even in
this respect was lightly esteemed and not gene-
rously rewarded. Among soldiers themselves there
may not impossibly be found two opinions upon
his deserts, though upon the whole it is in the
army that his merits will receive the fullest
acknowledgments, as it is there certainly that his
failings should be regarded with the greatest in-
dulgence. We may say, indeed, that his defects
became visible in proportion as he was called upon
to apply the talents and experience of a military
capacity to the more ordinary exigencies of
life. We do not mean to imply, as our own
opinion, that he was incapable of public adminis-
tration ; on the contrary, we think that both in
the lonian Islands and in Scinde he gave evidence
not only of vigorous resolution, but of clear and
comprehensive views. We doubt whether any
civilian could have been found to govern the coun-
try of the Ameers, as it came into his hands, with
greater economy or success than he exhibited him-
self. His fault was that he carried a military
spirit into every transaction, and conducted all
proceedings with the blunt decisive bearing of a
soldier. In the controversies which this habit could
not fail to create he was hasty and violent, extend-
ing little consideration to his opponents, and putting
few restrictions on his language. On many, per-
haps on most occasions, he had right on his side,
and that he always believed so is what may be
safely inferred from his known integrity and honour ;
but he rarely made allowance for those differences
of opinion which must necessarily exist, and was
too apt to regard disinterested opposition as a per-
sonal affront. The inevitable consequence was the
formation of two parties, one of which inflexibly
adhered to his side, while the other not only at-
tacked his admitted failings, but depreciated with-
out scruple his best services, and cast unwarrant-
able imputations on his motives.
A signal illustration of these remarks is found
in his Indian career. As a soldier, Sir Charles
Napier was not less successful in the East than
any of those commanders whose names have
been associated with Oriental triumphs. He
was proof against the influence of climate, the
seductions of luxury, the cajolery of native
courts, and the temptations of an Eastern cam-
paign. He not only won great victories, but
he suffered no reverses. He was never overreached,
outnumbered, or overcome, and he won his way
against numerical odds as great as those encoun-
tered by Lake or Wellesley. He did even more;
for, after destroying the enemy in pitched battles,
he succeeded in stifling the last sparks of insurrec-
tion among the scattered tribes of an almost inac-
cessible district. No foe once prostrated by his
sword has ever risen again. Yet, with all this mi-
litary excellence, Sir Charles wss exposed to re-
monstrances as serious as if he had been suffering
defeat or endangering the army committed to his
care. He could not keep on terms with his em-
ployers. Provoked, not unreasonably, by the pre-
tensions of civilians, he was induced to disparage
the entire civil service, and in the irritation occa-
sioned by opposition to his will he unhesitatingly
assailed the whole Government of India. The East
India Company was naturally indisposed to submit
to reprimands from a servant of its own, however
distinguished, and to such a height was the displea-
sure of the Directors carried, that when our whole
Indian empire appeared to be in jeopardy, and
when Sir Charles Napier was called upon by com-
mon consent as the man to save it, it was under-
stood that the Government of the Company ac-
tually hesitated at accepting so distasteful a de-
liverer.

On this occasion, as on some others of his life,
the course of events ran somewhat unfortunately.
The battle which he was dispatched to fight, and
which he would undoubtedly have won, was
fought and won before his arrival, and he found
before him nothing but a field of service in which,
whatever might have been his abstract capacities,
the risk of offence was too great to be escaped. At
neither of our struggles with the Sikhs was it Sir
Charles Napier's lot to be present, and he missed
therefore those opportunities which in the case of
others brought such honourable rewards. More
than one soldier has been raised to the peerage
whose services, on an impartial estimate, must
needs be pronounced inferior to those we have been
recording. The "fortune of war" is a phrase
which may be variously understood. In one sense
Sir Charles was unquestionably a fortunate soldier,
for he accomplised a distinguished career with
brilliant success, and with no disaster. In another
point of view, however, he was less favoured by
circumstances, for he never obtained one of those
critical chances which are held to culminate a life
of service. In 1846, while holding an independent
command, he missed the decisive battle of Sobraon ;
and, in 1849, a victory which might have crowned
his hopes was anticipated at G-oojerat by the Com-
mander he was sent to supersede.
Notwithstanding defects which it was impossible
to disguise, we cannot doubt that the general sen-
timents of the country and the army will be
honourable to the veteran now departed. He was,
beyond dispute, an excellent soldier and a rare
public servant. As a regimental officer, in spite
of occasional caprices, he was esteemed by his com-
rades in arms, respected by his men, and honoured
by all for those military accomplishments which
soldiers never fail to appreciate. That every force
under Sir Charles Napier's command would be led
straight to the enemy was perfectly known, and
that it would be conducted to victory was never
doubted. For a military reputation this was suf-
ficient ; and when it is added that his difficulties
were not unfrequently incurred in upholding
against all opposition what he believed to be the
rights of the service, it will be readily understood
how sincere a regard may now be paid to his
memory.

(From the Morning Chronicle.)

The hand of Time has done its work once more.
and another name has been added to the list of the
illustrious dead. There is something almost ap-
palling in the havoc which the present year is
making in the ranks of our great men.

" How fast has brother followed brother
From sunshine to the sunless land 1"

Scarcely a week ago we recorded the death of two
eminent military and naval captains, the com-
panions of Wellington and Nelson. We have now
to mourn the departure of a still greater man.
Napier sleeps by the side of Saltjun and
Cockburn. Born about the same year, the
deceased hero and Lord Saltoun, with many
others scarcely less distinguished, entered the
army at the same time, and fought under the
same banners ; and, having reached the natural
limit of life, they now fall, as they once stood—
together. Strange to say, the lives of many of our
great generals have been almost as measured as a
soldier's step. To the heroes of Waterioo and the
Peninsula, who have outlived the perils of the field,
death has come almost instantaneously—swift and
sudden as a musket ball. Few of them have
suffered any gradual breaking up of the physical
system—any painful or humiliating decay of the
faculties. This is as it should be. There is some-