The Sun.
London, England, 1856-10-01 00:00:00

(No. 3.—Copy.)

Hartland Abbey, Sept. 20, 1856.
My Lord,—ln reply to your letter received last evening,
containing an extract from the Daily News paper, report-
ing a speech made by me at Torrington, I have the honour
to inform your lordship that the Daily News' version of
that speech is very incorrect. I referred to your lordship's
public speech at Leeds, which I simply stated as unsatis-
factory to me. I gave no reason for my opinion; nor did I
mention anything about " trying back," or " Balaklava,"
or " equivocal conduct." I alluded to what I understood
to have been the case—that your lordship's commissions
had cost you between 30,0001. and 40,000/.—l remain, my
lord, your lordship's obedient servant,
(Signed) GEO. STUCLEY BUCK.

(No. 4.—Copy.)

üblin, Se pt. 26, 185.
Sir,—l have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter
of the 20th inst., in reply to mine of the 18th inst., and I
regret to have to observe that nothing can be more un-
satisfactory, more uu-straightford, or evasive, than your
reply ; and, as I conclude you acknowledge the correct-
ness of the report of your speech in the Daily -Yews, with
the exceptions you have referred to in your letter of the
20th inst., I have only to state that you thereby justify
every expression with regard to your conduct which I
adopted in my letter of the 18th inst. With respect to the
commencement of your unwarrantable allusion to myself,
stating that I had given 40,0001. for my commissions,
whilst your guest, Col. Morris (to whom you were very
properly doing honour on that occasion), obtained his
through. merit alone, I ranst admit that the manner in
which Cot Morris has been promoted since the charge of
the, Light Cavalry Brigade at Balaklava, is certainly a
much more agreeable way of obtaining promotion than by
paying 40,0001., supposing that statement to be true.
Col. Morris, as senior captain of the 17th Lancers, led
them in the attack at Balaklava, and for his services has
since been made a brevet-major and Companion of the Bath,
a brevet-lieut.-colonel, colonel in the Turkish Contingent ;
als,) has held an appointment in the Adjutant General's
office, London, a staff appointment at Scutari, the post of
assistant quarterma,ster-generA in the Turkish Contin-
gent, and is now assistant adjutant-general in the camp
on the Curragh. This proves that officers in our service do
not obtain promotion by money alone. As to the com-
parison you draw between Col. Morris and myself, viz.,
"'That these was no necessity for him to explain his con-
duct, like Lord Cardigan at Leeds," it, is clear that he,
never having been attacked by anonymous libellers, had
no ground for entering into any defence of his conduct.
With rega7rd to the charge of the Light Cavalry Brigade
at Balaklava, us you appear to beignorant of what occurred
there--and as I have hitherto, in returning thanks on
several occasions for honours conferred upon me by my
fellow-countrymen, only spoken of the brigade generally—
I must now afford some information as to the part all the
officers took in that affair.
Col. Mcrris told you in his speech in returning thanks
that I put myself at the head of the brigade (which I did
by order). He also told you that Capt. Nolan was imme-
diately killed after moving off (he was at the time riding
about independently as a staff officer). It was my duty
to lead the brigade over more than a mile of ground into
the Russian battery. (Captain (now (Lieut.-Col. Morris)
followed me into the battery, in command of the 17th
Lancers, and was very soon after cut down. Capt. Old-
ham, who followed me also in command of the 13th Light
Dragoons, was blown to pieces on entering the battery.
Of the two squadron officers of the 17th Lancers, Captain
Winter was killed, and Captain White (now Brevet-Major
White) severely wounded, and brought to the ground short
of the battery. Of the two squadron officers of the 13th
Light Dragoons, Captain Good was killed, Captain Jenyns
(now Brevet-Major Jenyns, C. 8.) was slightly wounded,
and had his horse killed. Captain Percy Smith had his
horse killed, and was slightly wounded ; and the three re-
maining officers of the 13th Light Dragoons, Tremayne,
Jervis, Chansberlayne, had their horses killed. Of the
remaining officers of the 17th Lancers, Captain Webb was
mortally wounded, Sir Wm. Gordon severely wounded,
and Captain Morgan and Lieut. Cleveland (afterwards
killed at Inkerman) survived. Captain Maass (now Bre-
vet-Major Maxse), nay aide-tie-camp, was wounded short
of the battery ; and Sir G. Womhell, my extra aide-de-
camp, had his horse killed, and was taken prisoner for a
time ; and Captain Lockwood, my aide-de-camp, here or
later, was killed, Of all these officers, it would be invidious
to state that any one distinguished himself more than
another. For myself, having led this brigade into the
battery, I pursued my direct course as leader, a course
which one horse could take, but in which a line of troops
could not well follow from the number of guns, limber
carriages, and other impediments which stood in the way.
Thus, coming upon a large force of Russian cavalry, I was
attacked by two Cossacks, slightly wounded, and nearly
dismounted.

The survivors of the brigade all went about as they came
upon the masses of the Russian cavalry and retreated. The
whole of the remnant of the brigade was retreating at the
same time, and a few minutes only intervened between
the retreating from the lino of guns which we had attacked,
of all the parties engaged in the affair, including the sup-
porting regiments which had come into the affray in suc-
cession under their respective commanding officers. I have
further to observe that the confusion was so great after
passin
g the battery, that the 17th Lancers and 13th Light
Dragoons reversed their position in brigade, and the rem-
nant of them c one out in the retreat on the opposite side
of the valley to that in which they had advanced.
It is with reference to a desperate affaie of this nature,
which I had the honour of leading, that you have consi-
dered it becoming is you as a country gentleman, and a
county man in Devonshire ,and Conservative member of a
large borough, to rise in your place and utter a slanderous
insinuation against me, which you are unable or unwilling
to account for; and this after my conduct had been com-
mended in the strongest terms in all the official despatches
addressed to the Government from the seat of war.
I tell you that such conduct is totally unworthy of the
position you hold; and yon may depend upon it that, if
your constituents at Barnstaple were ultra-Radicals instead
of Conservatives, they would reprobate your conduct ; for
be their politics what they may the British public are
always
just and fair towards men who are placed in the
sbea::::feooufntheir country in positions of danger and {Hifi-
cultY, and despise slanderous insinuations, feom whatever
quarter they may come; and those which you have thought
proper to titter against me on a recent occasion were pro-
ded upon the calumnious statments of some anony-
TorT publication, which the respectable part of the press
too generous to encourage by any notice.—l am, sir,
your obedient servant,

Col, G. s, Buck (Signed) CARDIGAN.
Aigp.