The Sun.
London, England, 1825-07-30 00:00:00

FOIL T 11E SUN.

Avranches, Norniandie, July 12, 1325.
MR. EDlTOR—Having formerly contributed
(I may say without the charge of presump-
tion), not unsuccessfully, to vindicate the charac-
ter of the late Sir J AMES CAMPBELL, some excuse
will, I trust, be made for my again attempting to
shield his memory from the calumny which at-
taches to it, by the recently published report
upon the plague in Corfu, as transcribed (and I
believe, faithfully for my perusal) from the
Morning Herald of the 29th ultimo. The only
difficulty I regret is, my absence from, and away
from access to my papers left in England, as I
should be enabled to answer the report more ex-
plicitly than within the limits of a letter. The
extract transmitted to me begins, " At Corfu
and Cephalonia the circumstances relative to the
plague," &c., and finishes, " these are reports of
such an atrocious nature, that I shall not name
them to your Lordships ; they attacked at once
the character of the British Government, and the
reputation of my predecessor ; such reports could
only have proceeded from disappointed political
views."

To any unprejudiced person, and still more to
those in Corfu at the period alluded to, the whole
tenor of the report must appear, as tending on
the part of Sir THOMAS MAITLAND to enhance his
own abilities, at the ex pence of every other in-
dividual not immediately connected with him.
How could he venture the assertion that he
knew only of the plague in Corfu in February
1816, (whilst the sanitary measures adopted in
consequence, I am sure, were known in far more
distant ports than Malta, with which there was
a regular established communication :) " Proceed-
ing thither, as he says,. immediately after, and
that he then found, instead of the plague being
declared in Corfu, it was almost a proscribed
idea, that the plague existed there at all !" a
proscribed idea indeed l—when, for weeks previ-
ous, the sanitary laws had not only been acted
upon in every respect, as an infected country,
but even to the melancholy, the absolutely re-
quisite extent of inflicting capital punishment,
according to the declared prohibition, for
.clandestinely leaving the infected district. So
much for Sir 'Thomas's veracity in that point, in-
formed, as he pretends to have been, by " hav-
ing carefully examined every thing, and inquired
into every preceding circumstance." I was pre-
sent at one of his careful examinations, when, as
he says, " I sent for and questioned the Physi-
cian, and examined the thing myself ;" yet pre-
viously remarking, " I had no difficulty in de-
claring at once my opinion that it was the plague,
and nothing but the plague." The fact is, Sir
Thomas went down by water, and I accompanied
him, to the ea3tern extremity of the military cor-
don extending across the Island ; at which point
had been fixed the only inland communication
with Lefchimo, under the inspection of a sanitary
deputation. What actual observation could he
make of the infected district by a distant view of
one or two of the suffering villages, for lie never
went above a hundred yards from the beach
where he landed ? He there communicated ut
the intervening barriers with the Physician he al-
ludes to, by no means sparing abuse, even before
he could receive information, and urging most ve-
hemently what would have been his own mea-
sures ; one of w hich, but for the respect due to
my superior, I would have laughed at, viz. why
they had not built up stone walls round the in-
fected spots, as he had done in Malta ? although,
from his own personal, though distant observation,
at the very moment, of the country in general, he
could have remarked the material difference be-
tween the interior of Malta,und of the more exten-
sive and intersected district,including the straggling
villages known, and, I repeat, declared to be under
the plague. His ascertaining " that no man was
permitted to say anything of the plague," at least
in the light he places it, is absurd to a degree,
not to give it a stronger term ; and he certainly
did issue a proclamation, stating, as if no precau-
tions whatever had been taken, having seen every
thing himself, and given such directions on the
actual spots of contagion, as must ensure suc-
cess ; and this proclamation grounded noon
his day's excursion to Lefchitno, during a hich
the greatest portion of the time, though within
good observation view of that district. 1 f
my memory serves me, the plague in Malta
commenced under the government of Sir Hilde-
brand Oakes : How, then, was Sir Thomas Mait-
land placed in a " different predicament" at
Corfu with regard to the selection of his men
and officers ? I3oth at Corfu and Malta he ar-
rived at periods, when, for the service he speaks
of, he was in all probability equally unacquainted
with the respective garrisons, and in both of which
sanitary measures had been acted upon by both
their respective Governors : and yet he reflects,
not only upon his predecessor, hut upon the offi-
cers and men, who had, in a great measure,
perhaps too much so for so distressing a duty,
been selected as more calculated for that service ;
their " being taken Generally from a very irre-
gular return," may well be doubted from the
long known experience of Slr James Campbell
as an Adjutant General, and who probably was
as capable to, and did hate, t! ‘e duty carried on

in this respect, as correctly as Sri. Thomas Mad'
land could do. I confess Ido not see why the/
should be " of course, therefore, exposed to corn'
munication with the persons in the infected dig'
trict ;" and here I must beg to advert again to his
examining trip to Lefchimo, to shew how one of
his first changes of men and measures yr°
exposing them to contagion, and even tha
remaining portion of the island. Whilst con•
tinning his conversation with the Physician,
he desired me, as I had originally planned and
formed the cordon, to look at the changes mad•
by an officer, selected a day or two previous.'
My object had been to extend the troops, Ili
small chosen parties, as far as the force allowe°
me, across the island, nearly two-thirds of the
line being along the bank (opposite to Lefchiino)
of a small river, and keeping the respective poi/
within view, and communication by every possible
means. A second cordon, composed of the Native
Militia, were similarly posted about a quarter 0,
a mile in the rear, thereby reserving a sort ,1
neutral unoccupied ground between both cordoll4
as the militia, having no distinction in dress from
any peasant of the country, might be easily mil'
taken for such by the soldiers : the cordon3,llo"
ever, being kept distinct, and cormnunicatiO
only by regular patroles, any native seen between
the two, or near the first line, might naturallf
excite suspicion, and be liable to be fired opon:"•
The change I allude to was, some of these satin
posts being indiscriminately advanced into the
soldiers' line, consequently doing away with the
main object of their being kept distinct : so tile'
a peasant of Lefchimo might have secretly miled
with the soldiery, and deceive or pass tbeilf
under the im..pression of his being one of the 1
litia. I made the observation to Sir T. Wil'
land, but, I believe, he let them remain so; An,
with all the " ingenuity and talent displayed W
support of his measures, for four months, to g'tl
rid of the plague," he might more it"tifj
have ascribed its cessation to the ordinary en
natural course, which it takes in all eastern Car;
tries, under any quarantine regulations. I'd.
daily returns of casualties before his arrival, and
afterwards can best prove whether the OP
had not reached its usual height, and was eel'
upon the decline, when it came under the ales•
sures suggested by Sir Thomas's absolute
dom, emanating from which came also the fins,
proclamation, to say that it was "fairly exteror
nated !" and so it might be partially supposed`
from the long period he says it raged after hi
arrival, and in the ordinary course of climate°
a
season.
I have one more remark to make, and that if.
upon time latta.r part of the extract sent to ale'
which I have more fully detailed in the roily
meucemeot of my letter. Of what atrocious fl,;
lure could be the reports, not even to be name';‘,
h attackingthoug at once the character of
British C overtime,' t, and the reputation of
James Campbell !! Can it be imagined that
officer in authority, so high in rank, would Mfof.
mentioned such reports of his predecessor
tt
equal rank, of one, with whom in early darbe,
had served, and lived with upon the same
to
ne-al's personal Staff, and yet attribute thern.
disappointed political views, without further o.
mediate public notice, besides their also sittoo,
ing the very character of his own country's
ei
vermnent ! Never, Sir, amongst the censoro
so gratuitously, and so interestedly, heaped siltocl
my lamented friend and General, have I hest
of these reports; and whilst my blood b°l`isia,
the perusal of them in such dastardly, emb,-;ell
ous terms, I cannot help praying to 117ilm•
that I may yet fall in with their authors, rat el~t
deed, they survive Sir Thomas Maitland hi°liss
and force them to be more explicit than bed
been respecting them, in his self-opiniaaS,
• •
report. I remain, Sir, &c.
0. A. ANGELO•
Major, and formerly Aid-de-Camp to Sir J._,

COURSE OF I.:MAL-INGE, July 49. e,
A tostettlant
Ditto. at Sight
Rotterdam
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Paris,3 Day's sight
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notirdeaux, ditto
Berlin 0 eof
7 ,i,..,
Ft zitik rot ton the 51,6 n
Pete: shorgh
Vienna 9 57
Trieste 9 37 OS
Ntadrill
i: Kr 10
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Collis .. • 5.17s.17 7 , Fir0r
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Bilbox
Barcelona
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Let{hot It
GeLem , . l5 -Venire, It al. Lir. 27
Malta - __Naples 4oi og.
Pale' too
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BULLION.
Poi-lucid Gold, i n Coin
Forenen Gold, ill Bars
New Doubloons
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Silver `4tandard in liarc,

o pc'
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BIRTHS. ar,..lobj
At Society Hall, Edinburgh, on the 26th init.,-- '
in of°
Taw,e, of a daughter.
At Einburgh, on the 24th inst., Mrs. John CocXb'l"-'
daughter.

MARRIED. FA"'of
On the 28th inst., at St. Bride's, Richard Byr',
Camberwell, to Joanna, eldest daughter of Benjami'l •
Chatham-place. Of;
On the 28th inst., at St. Mary Abbot's, Kensington' pelf
James Sanders, of Bruce.erove, Tottenham, to Ai3l'''
daughter of Mrs. Lewis, of Kensington-square. f 001'
On the 27th inst., at the residence of Mr. A. Henry' °j,/ff'd°;,
don-square, Mr. Elias Lindo, eldest son of David 111,i jig
Esq., of Leman-street, to Susan, fifth daughter of
S. Lyon, of Cambridge.

114 '
DIED. t.,
At No 79, George-street. Edinburgh, on the If)tb irjl j
Thomas Ruddintan, in the ilst year of his age. sgy
On S eturclay last, suddenly, at Hortrich, near Bolctli;tbisc'
44, Francis Duckinfield Astley, Fsq.. of DuckiillitV,
t"
one of his Majesty's Justices of the Peace.
~,on
suddenly, Mrs. Richards, wife of Mr. S. Ric',
„If
Talbot Inn, Manchester. al' --
On the 26th inst., at Greenwich, aged 62, Mrs. Grun
I
of Mr. Grundy, olEarlistreet, Ilorseferry.road. o 6 1.g.1
On the 26th inst., at Bristol Hot-wells, in her 1"--
Jane, the eldest (laughter of Mr. Wood, of Dulwicli. wiilv
On the 28th inst., at Forty-hill, Enfield, Mrs. Antnear.
of the late John Lewis Andre. syn.. F.Rq., in h'r 16°' A
' Pfi
' - - ---
• JO -
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