The Sun.
London, England, 1856-09-23 00:00:00

" MILITARY TRAIN.-MEMORANDUM.

" Having had before me a letter which has been for-
warded to me for transmission to Lord Panmure, signed
by certain non-commissioned officers recently discharged
from the Land Transport Corps, on the part of a body
styling themselves the Central Committee, I have give*
the three points of complaint therein contained my best
consideration.
" 1. The terms of enlistment into the Land Transport
Corps were (as stated in theletter)trations and clothingfree.'
If any man has been chat ged for his rations for a single day
let them inform me' and the error shall be instantly rectified ;
but no such claim has leiched me. With regard to cloth-
ing, the men have a clear title to compensation, and they
shall have it. It has never been denied to them. But
will any rfffiecting man consider the circumstances under
which this corps of 8,000 were raised, organised, served in
a war 3,000 miles from home, and were discharged again,
all within fifteen months, and tell me whether it was with-
in human possibility to, prevent certain claims accruing,
on account of a want of a supply of uniforms to some, and
arrears of pay to others ? It should be recollected that
though the Land Transport Corps was raised in Entland,
it was organised in the Crimea, in the midst of constant
work,in the presence of the enemy. The men were sent
out in bulk, as the merchant says, with one set of accounts
for all; and they were no sooner landed than they wore
not only dispersed to battalions occupying a large extent
of ground (from Balaklava round by the camp of the 10th
battalion to the third division, and from that
again to Kaman, about 25 square miles).; but they were
also away on detachment to E:Prtch, Eupatoria, Sinope,
Balchick, Samsoon, Trebizond, Scutari, and Ismail ; aye a
party of the corps have actually traversed Asia Minor,
from Samsoon on the Black Sea to Aleppo, and Alexan-
dretta in the Levant, which no other portion of a European
army has done, I believe, since the days of Xenophon, and
his 10,000 Greeks. The first thing required was to get
England's work done, and the next to re-arrange the ac-
counts of the men thus, of necessity, disputed. The non-
commissioned officers and men of the Land Transport
Corps have done the former right well, and their officers,
who have also had their ahare,of the work, are now assent•
bled at Horfield, closely employed upon the last most im-
portant duty, and I call attention to the placard I have
published on the subject.
" 2d. With regard to the discharge certificates furnished
to the non-commissioned officers and' men of this cones, I
have been informed that the document directed to be
used on the occasion is termed a ` Protecting Certificate,'
and is a valid document, and I have given orders that any
man who desires to have a character from his former offi-
cer may have it recorded upon the back of his certificate.
"3d. A claim for" three months' gratuity has already
been made to me, and I forwarded it for the consideration
of the Secretary for War, and I was informed, in reply,
that Lord Panmnre ' has already had before him the ques-
tion of granting the indulgence to the Land Transport
artificers, and he deCided, and is still of opinion, that no
ground existed for'so doing;' and I must say that I entirely
concur in his lordship's views of the case, although I id
d
forward the application on behalf of the corps. No people
know better than Englishmen the meaning and value of a
bargain, and I only desire those men who have preferred
this claim to read over the terms of their enlistment, and
if they there find any reference whatever to three months
gratuity on discharge, I will be content to forfeit my
mission, and become chairman of the Central Committee
myself.
Men should not forget the parable of the labourers in
the vineyard ; those who have agreed for a penny, have
no right to seek snore because others get it. • The Turkish
Contingent and the foreign legions are irregular corps,
and are doubtless made exceptional cases of on that ac-
count. But the Land Transport Corps is a part of her
mojspy's realm forces, and ail ouch Were to be do4t

by the sanao rules and regulations as are applied to th•
soldiers of the aimy.

(Sigled) "M. M`MunDo."
A postscript was added, conveying a feeling o
the part of Colonel 111.‘Murdo of being desirous of
assisting the men under his command in every way
he could.

Mr. AUSTIN, however, made some comments of
a strongly condemnatory character as to-the man-
ner in which the men had been treated. Colonel
M'Murdo had admitted their claim in respect of
clothing, but gave them no notion how they could
obtain it.

The CHAIRMAN recapitulated all the grievances
under which the Land. Transport Corps laboured.
Serjeant BARRETT moved, and Corporal DAVIES
seconded, a resolution t 3 the effect that a deputa-
tion be appointed to wait on Colonel M‘Murdo, to
know whether the Protection Paper was to be con-
sidered a bona fide and legal discharge, and
whether the men were to consider themselves dis•
charged, disembodied, and disbanded.

Several other resolutions were proposed. and
carried in relation to the claims of the men as to
clothing, and
A vote of thanks to the chairman terminated the
proceedings.