The Sun.
London, England, 1853-05-21 00:00:00

TO THE E

WE SUN.

Sig,,—Having addressed the letter, of which I enclose
a copy, to Lord John Russell to-day, I look to your
sense of justice- in favouring me by giving it immediate
publicity, and I remain yours faithfully,
VANE LONDONDERRY.

•
Holdernesse House, May, 20, 1853.
My Lord,—l see in the diary of Mr. Thomas Moore,
recently edited by your Lordship, the following JJSS

sage :
Sm`itJhunaendl6h,islBfsa2mi. —ly,Blreuatkfta.esltle. Breakfasted
jgoershn's :(17,Var).
Sharpe, &c., highly amusing. ' Talked of Sir Robert
son,'—after the battle of Leipsic, to the gaining to
he was instrumental, Lord Castlereagh, in sending over
Lord Stewart the public document, containing the orl(,.
for thanks to Wilson, among others, on the occasion, a°,
companied it with a private one, desiring Lord Stelr,ar,!
(now Marquis of Londonderry) to avoid the thanks to rltoi
son as much as he could, in order not to give triumph
hinisstpeaadrtyof.
thLeoprdubSlitr
ovnaer,t,tobyvirmilissotank,e,wsihioolhvaesdbtah(iistbleetftoT;
bearance never to turn it against the Government since.
(Vol. IV., p. 291.)
walstpaupbpliseahlisngththaits actaltuhmenypeorniodtwv,o-hoefn
tyhoeurdiLooornitii.il:Pa,
servants of the country, and endeavouring to surii.
the share that they respectively had in the affairs
the
that glorious epoch, you had become one
a d
Queen's Ministers, and were especially at t 13e.-t
of that very department to which, in vindicatioa.
of my brother's memory, and of my own public char.°
ter, I should naturally have appealed for the refutati?i;
of such a slander. All the official correspondence of We
Foreign-office was open to your reference. Y°ll
not, I presume, so little acquainted with the public
and employment of my old friend (for 40 years) 3a,t
diplomatic colleague, but now your dear and excell,ebj.
ally, Lord Aberdeen, as not to know that he was "lie
channel through which any communication to Sir Robeu
Wilson must, at that time, have passed ; nor could 9° T;
I suppose, be ignorant that the gentleman who had beet°
attached to my military and diplomatic mission or
Prussia and Sweden as private secretary, bad risen be
his high talents, strict integrity and character,
chief clerk in your Lordship's office--I mean Mr. JO' v"
Bidwell. If your Lordship had exercised, I will not
the personal courtesy and candour, but even the 91°-n,
ordinary sense of justice and official discretion, 1-'9 e°,4'
suiting any of these legitimate and accessible soure:,
your Lordship would have found that this story rrPit
what I now proclaim it to be—a scandalous, malign%
falsehood in every point and particular. And Id°
not merely by placing my own authority in contif,:bic,,
tion to that of the inventor or propagator of the,", 11,
but on the clear and conclusive evidence of Mr. D'"„';ery,
who has given the following reply to my rliq-1(1
0
whether he had any recollection of anything that 1
have given even a colour to such a gross fabrication.
a Mlt
" May 16, 1853.—This is the first time I ever hear the
Sir Robert Wilson was instrumental to the gaining °' the
battle of Leipsic. He did his duty there, as well Ole
rest. But you will recollect ho was attached to the ber
trian army under the superintendence of the Earl r
deen ; therefore, if any order of thanks was sent bYr,r,
Castlereagh, it would have been addressed to Lord
deen, his (Wilson's) chief. I never saw or heard or 'c,"ed
order of thanks, or of the reservation, and low
read all your letters and dispatches.
" JOHN BIDWEL"'.
ottl
It adds not a little, in my mind, to the responsr°';,,o
which attaches to your Lordship in this affair,_ that),;„
were a party to the conversation which Mr. Moore 1)00
fesses to report ; so that, for aught that appears/2,1i
yourself may have been the person who told the swtle,
but, at all events, your presence on the occasioa,tbe
prives you of- the excuse (weak as it would be) °' •
paragraph being one which was likely to have in
3cl
vertently escaped your editorial notice.
The scene, Mr. Moore tells us, was "
amusing." Very likely ! and if Mr. Moore a!'
associates were alone concerned, I too should et
amused at the resemblance of his buffoon coterie to tbilde,
described by Gil Bias, "Nous passthnes une soiree,e
licieuse a clechirer le proch,ain ;" and the double 5P -to
your Lordship has had in this calumny obliges Die of
disturb the pleasant recollection you may entertainthe
it, and, above all, to call the serious attention °f ,v,
public to so scandalous an infraction of duty, dee!'
and truth. ese
our Lordship will please to observe I send, in tlrft
strange times of suspicion not a copy, but ; re.
John Bidwell's original, which I will beg to bair-tiii4
turned ; and I have only to add—inasmuch as and
publication of your Lordship's is going the r0;01.
of the world—it is my intention this letter to 9-te
Lordship shall follow it, and I have the honour t°
your obedient servant,
VANE LONDONDERRY
To the Right Hon. Lord John Russell, M.P.