The Sun.
London, England, 1840-09-18 00:00:00

THE EARL OF CARDIGAN AND

THE 11th HUSSARS.

(Continued from The Sun of yesterday.—Abridged

-
from the Globe.)

Mr. Harvey, about the same time with Captain Rey-
nolds's last letter, wrote a letter to Lord Hill. The
folowing are the chief passages in this document :
" Athenwum Ciub, June 4, 1840.

My Lord—l had the honour of an interview with
your Lordship on Thursday last, respecting my rela-
tion, Captain John W. Reynolds, of the 11th Hussars,
who was consigned to my friendship and protection by
his last surviving parent, a charge of which his conduct
has given me every reason to be proud. I have to
thank your Lordship for your very courteous reception
of me, and for assurances which left on my mind the
conviction that the whole case between Capt. Reynolds
and his Commanding Officer would be completely in-
vestigated by your Lordship. Captain Reynolds has
since been released from arrest, and after an interval of
some days there is no evidence that your Lordship's
attention has been directed to anything but the insula-
ted and comparatively unimportant point referred by the
Commanding Officer of the regiment, and to Captain
Reynolds' behaviour on that point.
" Knowing, therefore, as I took the liberty to men-
tion verbally, your Lordship's kind and paternal feel-
ings towards the younger branches of the army, I am
forced to the belief that your Lordship is still unin-
formed of the bearings of the whole case
My age, disposition, and retired habits, render me pe-
culiarly averse to every species of dissension or publi-
city ; but under a full view of this case, I have ad-
vised Captain Reynolds to make another appeal to your
Lordship, and to submit a distinct statement of all
the facts and circumstances under which he feels himself
aggrieved.
" I say all,' because, however strong individual facts
may be, the accumulation of circumstances appears to
me stronger. These, in my humble, but cool judgment,
arc of such a nature, as if fully and fairly investigated
before a General Court Martial—which I venture to
submit with the utmost deference, justice requires—
will completely bear out this course of proceeding. . .
" My Lord, with every feeling of respect,
" Your Lordship's most obedient humble servant,
(Signed) " HENRY HARVEY.
'°To General Lord Hill, &c., &c., &c."

Mr. Harvey not having received any reply from Lord
Hill to this letter, again addressed his Lordship as fol-
lows :

" Athenmum, June 16, 1840.
MY LORD,—I take the liberty of recalling your
Lordship'i attention to my letter of the 4th instant,
which, after having been ten days before your Lord-

ship, remains, equally to my surprise and regret, un-
noticed, unanswered. If this be accidental, I pray your
Lordship's pardon for the remark ; but though unknown
to your Lordship, I beg to say, that I am a private
gentleman ; have for many years of my early life had
the honour to hold my Sovereign's Commission as an
Indian Officer ; and that I came legitimately before
your Lordship as the guardian and protector of a❑
orphan, in whose situation and prospects I am most
deeply interested.
" My Lord, a very small portion of the correspond-
ence in the affair between Captain Reynolds and Lieu-
tenant-Colonel the Earl of Cardigan has been shown to
me at the Horse Guards, and I have now the honour,
with all respect and deference, to solicit, both for my-
self and for Captain Basil Hall, the young gentleman's
uncle, who wishes his name to be joined to mine in this
request, that your Lordship will have the goodness to
direct that we be furnished with all the documents
touching this unfortunate affair, for our own satisfaction,
and for that of the relations and friends of Captain
Reynolds.
" I beg distinctly to amid that Captain Reynolds is
no party to this request, and that he is in no way privy
to our intentions of making it.
" I have the honour to be, my Lord, &c. &c.

(Signed) " HENRY HARVEY.
" To the Right Hon. Lard Hill, &C. &c.
" Horse Guards.
" P.S. As I am not resident in or near town, may
I beg, as a great favour, an early reply."
The following is Lord Hill's reply ;
" Horse Guards, June 17, 184 C.

" have the honour to acknowledge the re-
ceipt of two letters from you, dated the 4th and 16th
instant, and to acquaint you that the case of Captain
Reynolds was put into a due course of investigation as
soon as it was brought to my notice, and has now been
finally disposed of ; but I did not feel myself justified in

entaring into a correspondence with you or any other
gentleman unconnected with the army, upon a point ex-
clusively affecting military discipline, however desirous
I may have been in this instance to have shown you a '
mark of my personal respect.
" With regard to your application to be furnished
with all the documents touching this matter, I beg to
observe that it is not usual to give papers from the
Office to any individual whatever, unless required to do
so by the proper legal authority, in the regular course
of judicial proceedings.
" I have the honour to be, Sir,
" Your most obedient servant,

(Signed) " HILL.
" Henry Harvey, Esq , Athenwurn Club."
Upon the receipt of the above, Mr. Harvey addressed
the following letter to the Secretary at War. We
subjoin the most important passages :
" To the Right Honourable T. Babbington Macaulay,
Secretary at War.

" Sir,—l have the honour to lay before you state-
ment of facts supported by every document which I
can obtain, respecting transactions which have recently
occurred between Lieutenant-Colonel the E irl of Car-
di; an, commanding the 11th, or Prinee Albert's Own
Hussars, and my relation and ward, Captain John W
Reynolds of that Regiment, son of the late Lieutenant-
General Reynolds, a distinguished Indian Officer ;
and I implore you, Sir, to exert the prerogative of your
high office of Secretary at War, to do justice, and pro-
tect the weak against the undue exercise of arbitrary
power.

" I am aware of all the disadvantages under which
this appeal is made. On the one hand rank, power,
station, and all the influence which deservedly belongs
to the high character of the General Commanding the
Army in Chief. On the other, a young Officer, making
most serious complaints against his Commanding Officer.
The only manner in which I can meet this, is by a sim-
ple reference to the details of the case.

" Captain Reynolds has distinctly complained of the
Earl of Cardigan's conduct throughout this transaction
as arbitrary, unjust, and offensive to tie feelings of a
gentleman, in first sending him an improper message by
another Captain of the regiment, and following up
this by unbecoming and insulting language ; by confin-
ing him to close arrest for four days, without reporting
it to head-qu'arters ; by illegally detaining him in
arrest upwari'as of eight days, contrary to the Articles
of War ; 'ay reporting to head-quarters that he had
made a qualified concession, which Captain Reynolds
denies to be fact ; and by conduct quite improper dur-
ing certain discussions which took place. Such, Sir,
are the complaints which Captain Reynolds has pre-
ferred. For which, his conduct, motives, and character,
have been stigmatized in a manner unworthy of an offi-
cer holding her Majesty's Commission to bear ; and a
Court-Martial, by which alone the truth can be ascer-
taiaed, has been refused both upon Earl Cardigan
against whom the complaints are made, and upon Cap-
tain Reynolds for making them.
" I am told, Sir, that a prejudice is to be raised
against my young friend, in that he is fractious, trou-
blesome, insubordinate ; that he has endeavoured to
raise a party in the regiment ; that all the other officers
of the regiment are cordial with Lord Cardigan ; that he
has employed a lawyer, and various such insinuations.
" As to dissensions in the Regiment, and the cordi-
ality of the Officers with the Commanding Officer, I
have nothing to say , but I deny the insinuations
against Captain Reynolds. If, however, presumptions
from past conduct are applicable on one side, they are
equally to be applied on the other. In regard to a
lawyer having been consulted, I deny it, both for Cap-
tain Reynolds and myself. Captain Reynolds, in a
very important stage of the business, when released
from arrest, naturally consulted me, and I recom-
mended him to state his grievances to Head Quarters ;
but his letter was written when at a distance from me,
and I did not see it until it had been delivered in.
Moreover, Sir, I am not a lawyer ; I have had the ho-
nour, for eighteen years of my early life, to hold com-
missions as an ' Indian Officer ;' and I am now on half-
pay, with a pension for a wound received in the earliest
and not the least glorious of our noble Duke's victo-
ries. In short, Sir, Captain Reynolds has throughout
trusted to the justice of his cause, and to his own honest
heart, which is the best casuist
I am told, Sir, an argument is to be raised to the
effect that Captain Reynolds, having once acceded to
the terms of Lord Hill's recommendation, was bound,
both in duty and honour, to drop the discussion, and to
forget all that had passed. And so he would, S.r, so
he had engaged to do, honestly and without subterfuge ;
but the terms were not kept with him.
" An attempt has been made to cover Lord Cardigan
from elle very serious charge brought against him, that
of illegally detaining Captain Reynolds
Adjutant-General in arrest up-
wardsTnat owf
heeignhat
casedays'is once reported
inferiorcivart
quarters.
releaseß y
mtrre from
ta
head-quarters,
e ad -
qua. writes—
` rt et
es r—s ,
ovrearnytd utem.
arrest.' This cannot be
denied, but it is denied thath
headoad amffsa i rn
fwas the
A dj reportednta n tto.
General's original
thme,
Commander-in-Chief
affair was still in
Lord Cardigan's hands, and
was officially not informed of it.ornmoarndder-in-Chief
power of dealing with it is also provedL by his having
Ichanged the manner of the arrest from ' close' to ' arg-
I rest at large,' and also by the opening of the Adjutant-
General's
Y, wherein it
General's letter, dated 26th Ma
dis-
tinctly said, that Lord Cardigan, by his own authority,
had detained Captain Reynolds in arrest.
If, Sir, any doubt should be suggested to your
wind of your power to interfere in an affair concern.
ing the discipline of the army, I beg you to refer to
Article of War No. 120, which, though sufficiently am.
biguous, will adapt itself to all ease, of a Royal Duko

holding the high office of Commander-in-Chief; and of
a General on the staff only, commanding the Forces.
" It will not fail to arrest your attention that in the
present case the General at the bead of the army has
neglected to do that which the clause enjoins ; viz. to
examine into the case' in any legal or liberal sense of
the term. And that he has done that which he is not
empowered to do ; viz. he has adjudicated and finally
disposed of the case,' without having reported to, and
received the orders of the Sovereign.

" Sir, this is matter for grave reflection, and permit
me to add, for your interference, as the legitimate ad-
viser of the Sovereign
" I have the honour to be, Sir,
" Your mast obedient and humble servant,
(Signed) " HENRY HARVEY.
" Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall, June 20th, 1840."

The reply from the Secretary of NVar is as follows :
" War Office, June 23, 1840.

" Sir,—lt is, in my opinion, clear that the Article
of War, No. 120, does not authorise me to take any
step whatever in the case of Captain Reynolds, ex-
cept under the direction of the General Commanding in
Chief'. According to that Article, which does not ap-
pear to me at all ambiguous, Captain Reynolds, if he
thinks himself ill-used by Lord Cardigan, may apply to
Lord Hill, in order to obtain justice. Lord Hill is
then required to examine into the complaint, and to re-
port upon it to her Majesty, either by himself, or
through the channel of the War-office. The Secretary
at War is not authorized to make any inquiry. On the
contrary, he is by implication precluded from acting,
except as an organ for transmitting the opinion of the
General Commanding in Chief to the Crown. This
construction is, I believe, sustained by the invariable
practice. Ido not believe that, within the memory of
the oldest officer, any Secretary at War, when there
has been a Commander-in-Chief, has ever taken upon
himself to pass judgment on a question like that be-
tween Captain Reynolds and Lord Cardigan.
" The finance of the army is the proper business of
my department. The discipline belongs to the depart-
ment of the General Commanding in Chief. Of course
the line which separates the two provinces cannot be
drawn with perfect accuracy. Some questions which
conceits the discipline of the army concern also the
public purse. On such occasions Lord Hill would not
think himself justified in acting without reference to
me. If, for example, a paymaster were sentenced to
dismissal for negli;ence or dishonesty, Lord Hill would
not mitigate the sentence without consulting the Secre.
trary at War, who is the guardian of the pecuniary in-
terests of the State. But the case which you have sub-
mitted to me is not one in which the pecuniary in-
terests of the State are either directly or indirectly
concerned. It lies entirely within the jurisdiction of
the General Commanding-in-Chief, and whether his
decision be, or be not,: just, I have no pretence for in-
terfering.

" I have the honour to be, Sir,
" Your most obedient humble servant,
(Signed) " T. 13. MACAULAY.
" Henry Harvey, Esq."
Mr. Harvey then again addressed the Commander.
in-Chief and Lord Melbourne, and also Prince Albert,
on the subject of Captain Reynolds's arrest. The fol-
lowing answer was received from Prince Albert's Pri-
vate Secretary :
" Buckingham Palace, July 11, 1440,
" Sia,—l am commanded by his Royal Highness
Prince Albert to acknowledge the receipt of your letter
addressed to me, forwarding copies of all the corre-
spondence which has taken place upon the subject of
Captain Reynolds's misunderstanding with Lord Car-
digan, and I am to acquaint you, that had this matter
been referred to his Royal Highness at an earlier stage,
it. would have been his Royal Highness's duty, as Co-
lonel of the Regiment, to have given every considera-
tion to it, and to have forwarded it, with any observa-
tions that might be necessary, to the Commander-in-
Chief for his decision.

"The question, however, having been already brought
before and decided upon by the Commander-in-Chief,
his Royal Highness cannot interfere any further re-
specting it. I remain Sir,
" Your faithful and obedient servant,
(Signed) " G. E. ANSON.
" Henry Harvey, Esq., &c., &c."
Lord Melbourne also made the following reply :
" Downing-street, July 16,1840.
" Sir,—l beg leaee to acknowledge having received
your latter of the 4th inst., with the enclosures, and
remain, Sir,
" Your faithful and obedient Servant,
(Signed) " MELBOURNE.
" Henry Harvey, Esq., Athenaeum Club."
Mr. Harvey addressed a second letter to Prince Al-
bert's Private Secretary ; in the course of which
he observed--' So deeply have these indignities
wounded the minds of this high-spirited young
Officer and myself, that I had advised him to claim
his undoubted right of requiring that the whole case
should be reported to her Majesty—or to lay his com-
mission at, her Majesty's feet, with a Memorial of
the injuries he has received. But the assurance
which I now feel from the knowledge that
the whole of the facts, as far as they can
lae stated in writing, are understood by his
Royal Highness, and that my young friend's character
and honour will be duly appreciated, has induced me
to pause in that my original intention, and to place our
i whole reliance upon his Royal Highness's gracious con-
sideration, without presuming to point out the means
which his Royal Highness may think best calculated
to restore Captain Reynolds to his own self-respect, or
to expect any immediate interference on the part of
his Royal Highness, as Colonel of the Regiment, for
the reasons which you, Sir, have been so kind as to
communicate by his Royal Highness's command.
" I have the honour to remain, with all duty, sub-
mission, and gratitude to his Royal Highness,
" Sir, your faithful and most obedient Servant,
(Sinned) " HENRY HARVEY.
" The Hon. G. E. Anson, Private Secretary, &c.
" Carlton Club, July 21, 1840."

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.

FROM THE EVENING PAPERS OF YESTERDAY.
(From the Standard.)
We rejoice as sincerely as our respected Contempt).
rary of the Morning Herald can possibly do, that the
life of the unhappy prisoner Garrett should have been
spared, but we are not, therefore, disposed to impugn
for one moment either the propriety of the remarks
made by the Learned Judge upon his case, or the
verdict which succeeded them. " A man fondly
loving his children (says our Contemporary) is
driven to desperation by absolute want, and in a
state of frenzy resolves on destroying their lives
and his own. He might, to be sure, have resorted
to the alternative of an union workhouse, but he
preferred death to the tender mercies of the Bastile
system ;" in fact he murdered his children, and at-
tempted to destroy himself, rather than submit to the
degradation and discipline of a union workhouse. This,
however strung a proof it may supply of the dreadful
repugnance of the poor to enter a new Poor-law bas-
tile, offers little that can extenuate his crime, If the
desperation which stimulated him to 'murder his child,
amounted, as our Contemporary appears to suppose, to
insanity, a different verdict might have been expected.
But as acts of premeditation were, if we remember
aright, proved in evidence on the trial, they deprive the
case of any such extenuation. Nay, the fact inferred
by our Contemporary, that the prisoner having duly
weighed the miseries inevitable from a modern work-
house, with the dreadful alternative he contemplated,and
feeling that "separation from his children was tog dear a
price to pay for the miserable pittance of a poor-house,"
determined to destroy them ; would lead us to believe
that he acted with a degree of premeditation wholly
inconsistent with the frenzy of desperation. Deeply,
therefore, as we must commiserate this unfortunate man,
and willingly as we admit the propriety of remitting the
capital punishment (43 one of those instances in which
this privilege of the Crown is most fitly exercised), we
cannot but believe that any other course than that
pursued both by judge and jury would have been per-
nicious,

(From the Courier.)

We noticed some days since the letter of Dr. Chal-
mers to the Rev. Mr. Buchanan, of Glasgow, which,
for a very obvious purpose, found its way into the Tune,.
We do not think that purpose has been answered.
There is nothing in the letter to give assurance that
there is no split among the Non-Intrusionists ; and since
its appearance the Procurator of the Church has entered
the field, and expressed his belief that the Church
intends to repeal the Veto -law ; from which we may
gather, that any attempt to do this will meet the
opposition of the powerful Whig party in the
Kirk, of which the Procurator is now the head. In
the letter itself there is something like a " retract,"
when the Reverend Doctor tells his friend that nothing
said by him in his last pamphlet is to be regarded as
asking the Church to enter blindfold on the rescinding
of the Veto, " without a prospective reference to the
steps that follow." We expressed a hope, in what
we formerly said in regard to Dr. Chalmers's pam-
phlet, " \‘, hat is the Church to do now that we had
not mistaken the Reverend Professor's meaning,. We
begin to fear now that we must have done so. We cer-
tainly imagined, that in proposing the repeal orf the Veto-
law, he was looking rather to the past. than to the
future, as dictating the suggestion. W e undersiood
him to have come to the conviction Cult the Veto was

illegal ; and that consequently, like art lioncst man and
good subject, he was led to propose its being rescinded,
without reference to the steps that are to follow,'
Let these be what they may, we imagint :d the doom of
the Veto was sealed. But it would t ippear, from the
letter to Mr. Buchanan, that if the Cal 1, which requires
the assent of a majority, to make goo, 1 a presentation,
cannot be obtained, and to which, it • would seem, the
Church is to attempt returning before she seeks the re-
peal of patronage, then the Veto is at ill to remain the I
law of tl,e Church 7. Now, with his enthusiasm, and
surely with his dear-bought exvirience, Dr. Chalmers
must kr,nw well that the CAD-I.Ai has no
,more chance of
carrying the Call through Pe,rlinnent thua she had of
gaiisiog the Veto.