The Sun.
London, England, 1853-10-20 00:00:00

THE LATE

'ES 'NAPIER

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
SlR,—The editor of the Morning Post having 8
declined to publish the following, amongst several
other letters on the above subject, and, in his no-
tice to correspondents, assigned no better reasons
for his refusal than, first, that " the discussion,"
provoked by his enemies, and mooted by some
anonymous and scurrilous writer, "is misplaced," ,
or ill judged, as he, probably, meant to say; and '
next, that " the memory of Sir Charles Napier is
competent to take care of itself ;" or, in other
words, that his illustrious name is a fair mark, or
butt, for all the envenomed shafts that envy, ca-
lumny, and malignity can level, and for all the
ribaldry and buffoonery which any tom-fool, or t
pettyfogging bookseller may indulge in, without 2
his friends or advocates being permitted even the 5
right or freedom of a reply : the sentiments of in- 2
dignation expressed by yourself, in generously 2
giving insertion to an admirable letter, signed 2
"An Indian Observer," against the base and des- 1,
picable traducers of Sir Charles, in your valuable 2
Journal of October 4th inst., do honour alike to S
your heart and judgment.
No honourable and upright person can peruse S
2i
the shameless article in Allan's Indian Mail of the si
20th September last, aspersing the private charac-
ter of the gallant and renowned General, and 5(
making an impudent, sweeping, and unwarrant- St
able attack upon Sir William Napier, individually,
st
and, to use the writer's own words, " the whole st
family of the Napiers" collectively, without feel- St
ings of intense indignation at the bitter and un- St
relenting malignity of those, who will not suffer St
the ashes of the illustrious dead, scarcely cold in
St
the grave, to repose in peace, or his bereaved 12
widow and relatives to mourn their irreparable 50
loss undisturbed. 16
Whoever the base hireling may be that has thus 280 t
ventured to prostitute his pen, and the liberty of 14
the Press, to the vain and futile attempt of tarnish- 50
ing with the foul breath of detraction, the unsul- 20
lied fame of the departed hero, which no such 11,
ignoble soul can ever hope to rival, the Court of 10t
Directors of the East India Company, whatever
St.
might have been the sentiments of some of their 20
number towards Sir Charles when living, are all of 10
them far too honourable and high-minded to sane- St.
tion, or approve of, this foul impeachment, now
that he is no longer in existence to defend himself. 25
Sir William Napier and his honoured family 25
may scorn to notice, otherwise than with silent and st.
profound contempt, this base and wanton attack 812 s
upon themselves and the memory of the illustrious c,s,t•
hero who rests enshrined in their hearts, secure
57
from the malice of his foes, and with the halo of 2255
glory irradiating and ennobling his name. Distin- 100
guished as " the whole family of Napiers" is by St.
learning and talents, no less than by virtue and 61
valour, they have no need of the feeble pen of any gg
such humble and obscure advocate to espouse their 20
cause : yet an old soldier, who laments having
never had the honour of knowing or serving under
that great general, and who is equally a stranger
to themselves, hopes he will be pardoned if he'
burns to vindicate, however feebly, their cruelly
aspersed name. -
Never had any public writer greater reason to
observe the maxim, "de mortuis nil nisi bonum
dicere ;" never has this sage and humane admoni-
tion been more wantonly violated.
Sir Charles Napier's brilliant career and splen-
did achievements, especially his rapid and com-
plete subjugation of Scinde, will continue to gild
and adorn the page of history long after the very
names of his base calumniators will have perished
and been forgotten. His Sovereign and country
have repeatedly acknowledged with gratitude his
invaluable services, and distinguished him with
honours ; and none but the envious and ma-
lignant, jealous of his prowess in arms and
wisdom in councils, and too impotent ever to emu-
late his noble deeds, or reach the proud pinnacle of
glory from which they basely seek to hurl him
down, could be guilty of such turpitude, or attempt
to sully and defame his name with such aspersions.
Now, however, that it is reflected in the luminous
pages of The Sun, and vindicated by the voice of
public opinion, it will only shine with renewed
lustre.

Faultless, undoubtedly, Sir Charles was not; and
who is ? Impetuous he might be, and daring to a
fault ; but never turbulent, headstrong, or vindic-
tive. His mind was cast in far too noble a mould
to be subject to the mean and grovelling passions
of revenge or avarice, with which he is now falsely
charged. It is a foul calumny to allege that he
was either avaricious or vindictive—the charge can-
not be substantiated by one authentic fact ; where-
as, on the other hand, numerous instances of his
magnanimity, disinterestedness, and generosity,
even to his foes, can be adduced.

The wild, barbarous, and unruly Beloochees,
numbering amongst them many bands of
murderers and robbers, whom Sir Charles ex-
terminated, were subdued more by his yisdom
and sagacity than by force of arms ; and
the blessings of peace and civilisation introduced
into their country by Sir Charles, and consolidated
on the enduring basis of sound political enact-
ments, entitle him to the lasting gratitude of the
natives, thousands and tens of thousands of whom
still ascribe these blessings, and the happiness they
enjoy, to his wise, liberal, and humane administra-
tion.

The scurrilous and defamatory article now under
review will, without doubt, rouse their indigna-
tion, as it has naturally incensed many Indian
gentlemen of rank and distinction now in London,
with whom I have the honour of being acquainted.
These have in my presence declared their firm re-
solution to write forthwith and obtain from their
countrymen such a testimonial of their veneration
for the very name of Napier—of him whom, living,
they might well regard as their greatest earthly
benefactor—as will serve to convince the British
public of the falsehood and malignity of such
charges—cover his enemies with shame and confu-
sion—and put to silence the foul tongue of slander.
" The whole family of the Napiers" may take
comfort from this assurance, whilst the audacious,
impertinent, and heartless remarks made upon Sir
William's most laudable, though unsuccessful,
effort to eulogise his inestimable brother, on his
precious relics being consigned to the tomb, and
when his feelings overpowdered him, and pre-
vented 'the accomplishment of his most natural,
amiable, and fraternal purpose, are too puerile and
contemptible to merit any farther comment.
I am, Sir, &c., MILES.
London, October 7, 1853.

TRANSATLANTIC SCREW STEAM COMPANY. The
Transatlantic Screw Steam Company at Dieppe have
contracted for 12 vessels of 1,200 tons, and 240-horse
the West
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Messrs. Mare and Co., of Blackwall, are to build the
ships, and Messrs. Maudslay are to supply the ma-
chinery.
FALL OF HOUSES IN LAMBETH. Yesterday after-
noon, about four o'clock, considerable alarm was caused
in the immediate vicinity of the Waterloo-road, in con
sequence of a report being raised that a couple of houses
had fallen in Tower-street, and that several lives had
been sacrificed. From the inquiries subsequently made,
it appeared that almost facing the police-station in
Tower-street, Lambeth, a house had been for some time
undergoing) repair. During the alterations made, the
house adjoining was found to be fast sinking, which
induced the landlord to request the occupants to leave
until such time as the improvements were finished. The
parties removed out of the house on Tuesday, which
proved exceedingly fortunate, for had they not done so
there is not the least doubt but !they would have been
all killed ; for whilst the various men were engaged in
one house the structure fell with a tremendous crash,
carrying along with it the principal portion of the other
building. The men, who were at work at the time,
having had their attention previously directed by a loud
cracking of timber, I,they found that the house was
"settling," and in an instant they made a precipitate
retreat by jumping out of window, and thereby saved
their lives. A great crowd soon assembled upon the
spot, but owing to the exertions of a body of police from
the opposite station they were kept out of danger. There
is not the slightest doubt but the men in removing the
roof of one of the houses had weakened the walls, and
by that means have caused the alarming, but fortu-
nately, not fatal accident.
DOCKS ON THE SURREY SIDE OF THE THAMES,—
A company has been announced for the construction of
capacious docks on the Surrey side of the Thames, close
to the Spa-road station of the Greenwich Railway. The
capital is to be 1,000,000/.ln 25/. shares, and the area
contemplated consists of 130 acres, of which 60 will be
water. They are to be called the Wellington Docks,
and are to be capable of admitting the largest steamers.
The promoters point to the fact that of 9,986 vessels
which entered inwards last year from foreign ports, not
above half received accommodation from the exist;
ing companies, while, in addition upwards of
28,000 coasters and fishing vessels discharged in the
river ; and they add that, although the want of facili-
ties thus demonstrated will he partially remedied by
the Victoria Docks, these will not supply what
is demanded on the Surrey side, where new docks
and warehouses close to London, and in immediate
connexion with all the important railway lines, have
become essential. The general level of the proposed
site is considerably below high-water mark, and, as the
neighbourhood is a poor one, and the land chiefly gar-
den-ground, a large extent of space is considered avail-
able at a small outlay. In the existing state of the
money market the issue of proposals for any fresh public
undertaking seems scarcely likely to attract much at-
tention, but in the present case the board of directors is
composedrade ofatmwe rocuhl
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fio tt ht
eedr s lbya rtgheel interestedywork, an
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ltohceiltinfluence awakened, including that of the connecting
is assumed to ha sufficient to warrant
the capital being subscribed without
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difficulty.aexpectation companies,
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