The Sun.
London, England, 1856-03-14 00:00:00

ground for the appointment of a committee to review the
campaigns of the last two years.
Admiral WALCOTT— I merely seconded the motion : I
did net say a word as to the vote I should give. (Laughter.)
Ibeg it may be clearly understood that my vote will entirely
depend upon the answer the right hon. baronet the member
for Carlisle may give to the gallant admiral's charges.
Sir C. WOOD—I must beg to say that when a member
of this house—

and gallant officer, not in thh heat of debate, but in a let-
ter addressed to the edithr of the rtmcs, on the 10th of
January in the present year, raises a substantial issue,
which I should be most happy to see tried before any tri-
bunal. He says •
I ask, were ti he Government sincere in their wish to cripple
Russia,in 1854, and were they serious in 1855, for certainly
no one judging by their actions can think so ?
(" Hear, hear," from Sir C. Napier.) Now, that is a point
fairly raised and broadly stated, and certainly nothing
could be more satisfactory to me, if it were possible, than
that it should be fairly exa,neiued. Again, the honourable
and gallant officer has'expressed his opinion, first stated
in his letter to Mr. Irousi,ies, and repeated to-night, that
my correspondence with him contains proof of treasons of
which I have been guilty. Amore grave accusation could
not be brought twainst any man, and certainly Lam under
taditticulty, the Government zefusing an inquiry as to the
course which, consistently with my public duty, it is open
for me to take. I think, as the matter now stands, it is
an exceptional case, and, although most reluctant to read
my own private letters, which I think are my own pro-
perty, yet, in present circumstances, I deem myself corns
pelted to trouble the house with some extracts from my
correspondence with the lion and gallant officer. It will be
open to him to assent to my using his answers if he thinks
fit.
Sir C. NA.PIER—Use everything you like. (A. laugh.)
Sir J. GIULIANI —But before I proceed to this point I
shall refer to whit fell from the hon. and pliant officer
with reepect to the evidence which ho said I gave before
'the Sebastopol Committee relative to the use of private
letters. With'the permission of the house I shall read a
portion of that evidence. ' There was a private letter writ-
tea by me on the 25th of October, 1854, to Admiral Dun-
das, who was then in command of the Blac!:. Sea fleet.
That letter was made a public document by being referred
to and qpote4 in a despatch to Admiral Derides, dated
Admiralty, 28th of December, 1851, which I read before
the Sebastopol Committee, at the same time stating that I
should not have felt myself at liberty to use the private
I tter of the 25th of October had it not, by the despatch of
the 28th, been made a public document, and had I not re-
ceived the sanction of the noble viscount at the head of
the Government. The cheirman then asked—

Admiral iVALCOTT- -Oh, I did not know that that was
the rule. (Order.) Mr. Speaker— Sir —I really was not
!sensible that such was the case. (Laughter, and cries of
order.") •
Sir C. WOOD—When an hon. gentleman gets up and
seconds a motion it implies that he considers the motion
one that ought to be made. The gallant admiral must be
ewer° that if he had not seconded the motion it would at
°ace have fallen to the ground. However, I am glad to
see that even the gallant admiral who seconded the motion
does not approve of it. (Laughter.)
Admiral WALCOTT again essayed to explain, but he
was prevented by the cries of "Order," and the advice of
lir. Spooner, who sat near him.
Sir C. WOOD, in continuation, observed that it really
did very much strengthen the opinion he entertained, that
he ought to resist toe motion when he heard the only
Berson the gallant admiral could find to second it—which
ne did certainly in not very complimentary terms--
avow that he came forward only because be did not like
to see is brother officer adrift, and that he did not, in fact,,
approve of the motion. (Hear.) He agreed entirely with
the gallant gentleman when he said it was not desirable
tnat the men of the sword should be made subject to the
luela of the pen • but ho thought likewise that it would not
be desirable that the conduct of men of the sword should
he investigaiel bye committee of thet house. (Hen , hear.)
There were a great number of things which a committee of
that house might very properly inquire into; but such a
committee would not no a very convenient tribunal before
Which to bring the behaviour of a gallant officer, or the
Conduct of a campaign. (Hear.) If the hon. and gallant
admiral would move a vote of censure on the right hon.
oaronet, or would move to impeach him, as at on ',time he
seemed not indisposed to do, such a course would be open
to hirn ; but an investigation before a select committee
Iveeleld not by any means- be a necessary preliminary to such
step. He (Sir C. Wood) would ask the house whether,
with the exception of a correspondence which ought never
to have been read at all, the gallantgenthan en had brought
forward one single reason that would justify his motion?
The gallant admiral had never been censured. He had
been directed to haul down his flag ou his return from the
'Relic') oil which no had been sent, as other admirals had
done before him, and a; Admiral Dundee had done last
Tear. During the debate on the navy estimates last ass-
!ion the right hon. baronet (Sir J.' Graham) had expressed
pretty strong terms his approbation of the conduct of the
"°altic fleet ; and when honours were distributee it was nut
the Government's fault that the gallauthdiniral had not
received his share. (Hear.) lie (Sir C. Wood) could not sit
down without saying a few words iu vindication of asgallant
an officer as over stepped, and upon whom the hon. gentle-
num (Sir C. Napier) had made au unjustifiable attack—lie
emeant General Jones. (Cheers.) If there was one person in
4er Majest's service who be might say was mare gallant
Oat% anothyer it was that distinguished officer, who from the
time when he was the leader of the forlorn'hope at Badajoz
clown to the present day, had never been wanting iu the
service of his country. (Cheers.t The gallant admiral, IV-
AerPiUg to the operatiena in the Baltic lastyoar, corm lamed
of Admiral Dnutias for leaving part of his fleet at Cron-
atalt while the rest of his force was boinbardiug Swea burg.
cut surely it was as necessary in 1855 to leave a strong
feree before Croustadt to . prevent the Russians sallying
forth as it was in 1854. (Hear.) The gallant admiral find
underrated the number of gun-boats at Sweaborg—there
Were el.) instead of 15 ; and those were more than suffi-
Vent for the destruction of Svveabore. The mischief had
test
in the faulty construction of the mortars. It was said
t"t a mortar ought to stand 500 rounds, whereas those
.which had proved the most durable were some which had
been used in the last war. Ono that had been used at
'Algiers had stood eOO rounds ; whereas mortars of more
lnederrr construction had become unserviceable after being
sired 100 times, or even fewer. (Hear.) He (Sir C. Woed)
11)'d not agree that the honour of the British Navy had
1 • eels at all imperilled; nor did he consider that a coin-
leittee of the House of Commons would be necessary for
arts vindicatiou ; for, although the caution—the gallant
officer opposite (Admiral Walcott) said wisdom —of the
ueaians had prevented it from reaping eclat, there had
111 ,ever been campaign iu which every rankiu the servicee
rem the admiral down to the cabin boy, had behaved
with snore gallantry. (Cheers.) Viewing, then, the 'ap-
reilituieut of a committee as uncalled for and even ridicti-
una, ha hoped the house would, by a vote as nearly unto
za
lamus as possible, reject the motion. (Cheers.)
„ J. GRAHAM—The house must have observed the
te"lattulte; experienced by the hon. and gallant member for
'oeutiews.rk in finding a seconder for his motion. The hon.
and gallant officer on the third bench (Admiral Walcott)e
with that generosity that belongs to his profession and to
hi
personal character, said he could not bear to see a
brother officer adrift and not throw him out is tow-rope.
(~Year, and a laugh.) .Sir, if the hon. and gallant member
'or Christchurch had not come to the assistance of the hon.
Ittld gallant member for Southwark, my impulse would
have been to second that motion—(cheers)—for, after all
thathas- passed, I am glad to meet him heie face to face.
(near, hear.) Accusations against me have been gravely
Preferred,
o
reetfl„ the
eequently repeated, made immediately on the
gallant aduiiral to this house, and from day
to day postponed,.nntil we have arrived at the Easter re-
e;
and this motion, so formally announced, has never
been made until this night, although upon occasion of
'notions for going into Committee of Supply it was open
to the hon. and gallant officer to have brought it forward-
Neves Sir, nothing would have prevented me from sup-
t"rting this motion except the declaration of the right
care. gentleman the First Lord of the Admiralty, made
upon his official responsibility, that the appointment of
etja committee would be inconsistent with the interests of
' public service. As far as any personal wishes and
onour aro concerned, it would be the greatest possible
nstisfaCtion to me that this committee should bo ap;
Feinted ; that every scrap of paper I ever addressed to the
hon. and"gallant admiral should be produced before the
aominittee ; and that I should give evidence before the
committee as well as the gallant admiral. (Hear, hear.)
Sir, the hon. and gallant athriral is no doubt a very good
lodge of the relative strength of fleets and their positions,
but be must permit Rio to say that ho is not an equally
good judge of strong language. (A laugh.) The zallaelt
'..tluairal commenced his speech by promising to deliver
oinaself with temper, with moderation, and justice; and I
not be wrong if I read the charges which the gallant
admiral contained in one speech, but teat a very long
011 - The following, then, are the charges which the
gallant admiral says I ant guilty ueion
cowardice—(" Hear," from Sir Chidees Napier)—that I
'aye written from the Adiniralty letters so jesuitical that
le other person could have put them on paper—that the
etlour of an offiche net iiefe'in auy hande—thet I 'heve
eeo guilty, in his opinion, of treason (Sir C. NAPIER— " I
t►CV®r said so"]—that I was never in earnest in the Rus-
;tat' war—that the Emperor Nicholas might have been at
the head of the Admiralty with more advantage to British
Interests than myself (Sir C. NAPIER, rose to explain, but
ding met by a cry of "Order !" resumed his seati—that I
esired to make the gallant officer a victim, anti that I was
VitY of conduct unworthy of a gentleman. (Hear, hear.)
"ea are the charges which the gallant admiral has pre-
Ferrol against me after deliberation, and after announcing
pia
4 deterininetion to use no language that was not charac-
terised by temper,. by moderation, and by justice. (Hear.)
t Sir,,l should like to call the attention of the house
(/ the use that has been made of my private correspondence
'With the gallant officer. (Hear.) The house will remember
lea
nos ok exception tO the course pursued by the hon.and
ember for Wallingford (Mr. Malins) in a former
-esaiou with respect to this subject. I complained of the un-
,elPected use made ou that occasion of public despatches
.;eithheld by the Government on the ground that their pub-
Lleation would bo injurious to the public service, and of
Private letters, written with, certainly, the utmost confl-
uence at the moment, to an officer employed in an arduous
,ceinnaseid—produced without consulting the writer of those
letters, or obtains ag. his permission—the letters garbled also
111 the order of time, and their production open to every
possible objection which could be taken to the use of pri-
Irate correspondence. I have every confidence in the cor-
Dletness of the view which you, Sir, take of the rules of the
"(Ise and I am satisfied, atter having sat here for a long
and having had much experience in dehato, that there
a% beeu no such UEO in former debates of public or pri-
Late despatches, and that, if an. appeal had been made
"" you, Sir, any such use of private despatches
end public letters would not have been' allowed. After
'll that has occurred, I think it is necessary that I should
ceall the attention of the house to a further at
been made of this private correspondence. Iholdo in
31,0 hand an extract from a newspaper—the Sheffield Free
'Press—which contains a correspondence that, with the
permission of the house, I will now read. Mr. Ironsides,
resident in Sheffield, makes a proposition, at a public
ll'teeting there, "that Mr. Roebuck be requested to move
the appointment of a committee to inquire into the Bahia
expedition of last year." He proceeded to state that he
Tel heard such s description of the 1 tters between Sir
ttures'Graham and Sir Charles Napier that Ire had written I am, yours very faithfully, J. R. G. GRAHAM.
to Mr, Grant, the editor of the Morn:iv Advertiser, who,' Vine-Admiral Sir C. Napier, K.C.B.
.1110 was informed, had them in his possession, to send them Now, sir to that letter I received an answer from the gal
.1.) him. Mr. Grant replies thus to Mr. Ironsides lent admiral, which I have hero ; but it is his letter, not
London, Juno 11, 1855. mine, and whether I shall reset it to the house depends
Dear Sir,—l had ip my possession for six weeks the whole upon the wish of the gallant admiral.
correspondence—not copies, hut the originals—which paesed Sir C. NAPlER—Certainly ; read it; and the letter of
between Sir James Graham arid Sir Charles Napier, from tho the 24th of November also.
starting of the Baltic expedition last year till its return, but I Sir J. GRAHAM continued,—l have already said that
returned it to Sir Charles Napier a mouth ago. Sir *Char:es I have not that letter. I will now read the gallant adtui-
aPentancously placed the docUmentiein my hands—which, I ral's answer to mine of the 24th of February. It is as
iced not say are of infinite importance—on the understand- ; follows
Ine that I should not allow them to go out of my sight. I I le, Albemaeleatreet, Feb. 24, 1854.
'lad, however, no prohibition as to showing them to friends, l My dear Sir James,—l thought it my duty to point out to
thyeoufros;lowing
aed, had you chanced to call on me while they were in. my you what I thought the best way of manning the fleet, to in.-
Poseession, I should have had much pleasure in showing them sure a great, glorious, and speedy victory over the Russians.
I') you. I have uo hesitation in saying that, it I have any I never made difficulties when service was requited; and
idea of what evidence is, these letters would suffice, with other after a long life spent in honour lam not going to make them
u 1 ds consider
Commissionm yse myself aocowardeels
to declinean d unworthy
aly
service,o f h
bl do i
facts of undoubted accuracy, to convict Sir James Graham of nowl
should
treason. -ng
Yours truly,
„Teem Gluier. her-Majesty it
everL arod(Nhealpseoran neverte declined service, no more shall I, wil-
e,' the receipt of this letter Mr. Ironsides writes to Sir
cularlyn after the confidence you placed'with the
Charles Napier, refers to the statements of Mr. Grant, and
means y(2 disposal, will do all I can for the honour and
asks Sir Charles to let him have the letters. In reply, Sir
country,' which shall not be tarnished
Charles Napier sends the following letter to Mr. Ironsides :
gloryo,fitmmy ueen and
Merchistoun, Horndean, June 17, 1855. in my hands ; and I certainly have no apprehension of failing
either in good will or hearty concurrence with the Board of
' Sir, —Mr. Graut lias told out the truth. I did not
give those letters to him to publish, because I might have Admiralty.
CeaIIARLES NAPIER.
been accused of giving my plans of attack to the enemy; but I am, my dear Sir James, very faithfully
when
it is decided not to attack the parts I pointed out, and 1
To that letter I immediately return
'emote there •
e, re no danger of publication, I shall go to Lord
,repMlyydear Sir Charles,—l do not anticipate that I shall ask
-almerston, and ask him if he will give the papers.to the
you to undertake any "desperate" service ; 'and hen I
,
house, and if he refuses, I shall then publish them, whatever
if: the consequence to myself. I have no hesitation in saying,
offered you this command, I was certain that thean honourt of
safelywhtoh confidedlcould
place
oy
had I done what Sir James Graham wished me to do, plainly
0
meansbe
xleressed in letters both public and private, I should
silo tyhoeueronauptprayreanutd
distrust
tenth estfloafg mighttho
lost her Majesty's fleet ; and I think Sir James Graha
'your disposal was the sole cause of some uneasiness on in iart
serves impeachment for goading me to do in the winter what
,eon at.
Your note has dissipated all doubt and apprehensionoTraoind
e wag advising me not to do in the summer. Roebuck was
te,esuccessful with his Sebastopol Committee that he ought to shall be most happy to see you at the Admiralty e-nt
t„l'e tie Baltic. Sir James Graham has beeu publicly ac- 11 o'clock, when we will discuss the arrangements which it
at
'led by me of perverting my letters and of endangering the willbe necessary to make.
eDeen's fleet, and that accusation ought not to lie dormant.
, J. H. G. Gamlen.
Were I am, my dear Sir Charles, yours very faithfully,
lin Parliament it should not sleep for 24 hours. Ido ,
Itloct
show
it right to send you the papers, hut would be glad. i Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Napier,
sleeve them to you had lan opportunity.—Yours truly, ! Now. Sir, I shall frankly tell the house why I hesitated
CHAS. NAPIER• long before I edvised my colleagues anti her Majesty to
hon. and gallant officer is the best judge of whet appoint the gallant admiral to that command. I did besi-
;Mount of sleep this question may have deprived him, bet tale long, and I will tell the house the reason why. The
his
al the appearance of the house during the delivery of hetise will remember that on a firmer evening the gallant
en! speech I do not think his sleeplessness extended to aliniral talked very conteMptuensly of coastguardsmen,
seas, hon. members present. (A- laugh.) I would Just ob- with bald heads and spectacles. (" Hear, hear," from' Sir
'ro, before proceeding further, that in the unlimited C. NAPIER.) Now, Sir, I hail the honour of some private
publicationadvanced
enjoyed by the hon. and gallanteafficer lie has acquaintance with that gallant officer very many years
aeovranced one charge both against myself and against he aigo, and landsman as lam and ignorant of naval affairs, as
ernment with which I was connected, that, if it wee; may be, I had imbibed very much the opinion from ,him-
`O
with the public interests, Ido think Might with self, that after 60 no admiral was really co efficient in time
propriety
beinvestigated before a committee. The latra of war as he himself might desire to be—certainly not tie

You state that you would not have felt yourself at liberty
to use it if it bad not been made a public document by the
despatch of the 2Sth ; but is not any private document relat-
ing to pu.blic matters public ?—I conceive not ; I conceive
that no person has a right to usa a private letter without the
consent of the writer, whether that gentleman be in office or
out of it. (Hear )
Is not that a private letter of your own ?—Thc letter of
the '2sth of October was a private letter, written by me to
Admiral Dundas, but I should not have used that letter had
it not been made public by the despatch which I have just
read.

Nor if it related to public matters? —Certainly not ; I
should not consider myself at liberty, with reference to the
conduct of admirals with whom I corresponded on an occa-
sion like this, to make use of my private correspondence.
This extract from my evidence will show the value of the
statement made by the hon. and gallant °Mem that I de-'
Blared before the Sebastopol Committee that private letters
might be made public documents at the will of the Ad-
miralty.
Sir C. NAPIER—You were so reported in the news-
papers.
Sir 3. GRAHAM—So much'for the evidence before the
Sebastopol Committee ; and to the principle there laid
down I have already told the house it was my wish to ad-
here, were not the circumstances of this case very peculiar.
I have shown the, houie the use already made of my pri-
vate correspondence, wiabout my conrout, by the hon, and
gallant officer. I have told the house that I would be glad
to have this question referred to any tribunal, with the
whole, of the correspondence, public or privwe ; but the
house had heard objections from ofliciol authority—the
head of the Admiralty—to the institution of any such in-
quiry, and new it only remains for me in vindication of
the truth, to which the hon. and gallant officer attaches so
much irnpn•tance—(" Hear, hear," from Sir C. NAPIER)
and to avoid that special pleading which the hon. and
gallant officer is so anxious to avoid—("llear, hear," from
Sr; C. N APIER) —though perhaps I should have little diffi-
culty in ir ,ving, were I to refer to the rep.)rt of our pro-
ceedings last year, that such artifices are not unknown in
the debates of this house—to read, with the permission of
the house two or three of my private letters addressed
to the honourable and gallant admiral. (Hear.) I shall
commence with the circumstance which attended the
appointment of the gallant admiral to the command of the
Belt;.: fleet ht the commencement of 1854. The hon./and
gallant officer is most anxious that truth should be stated
unreservedly in the matter. lam sorry thus early in what
I have to address to the house to state that a misunder-
standing on a matter of fact exists between the hon. and
gallant admiral and myself. If I did not misapprehend
him, I think he stated that I promised him the command
of the Baltic fleet in November, 1853. Am I right in so
understanding the hon. an.. gallant officer?
• Sir C. NAPIER—The facts aria these :—The right hon.
baronet wrote lo mo in February, 1854, that he had ap-
pointed Admiral Fanshawe to the command of the Ameri-
can station, ant that it was his intention—l quote from
memory—tO keep me at home lost a war might break out,
and if there should be no war to send me to Sheerness. I
saw the right hon. baronet the next day, and put this
question to him, "Am Ito understand you to mean that I
am not to go to America because, in the event of war, you
intend to appoint me to a command in the Baltic. and in
the event of no war to send me to Sheerness?" His reply
was, " Ires."

Sir J. GRAHAM continued—l have by me the copy of
a letter written by myself to the hon. end gallant officer on
the llth of February. The hon. and gallant officer was
very instant in his'application to the for the appointment
to this command. I have his letters here ; but shall not-
use them unless he presses me to do so. Ho urged me
'very mm-h to give him the appointment ; he held out
n:any inducements why I should do so, intimating among
other things that his popularity in the service was such
that his appointment would lead to an early influx of
sailors to the fleet; and he adduced many reasons why,
both on account of public grounds and personal merit, the
command was due to him. I declined upon more than
one occasion an interview with the gallant admiral, and he
complained of my reluctance to see him as inconsistent
with the respect which I then felt for him. Upon the
11th of February. thereforo,..l wrote to him this lotter—
Sit NAP rEß—Read the letter of the 24th of No-
vember.

Sig J. GRAHAM—I have not that letter here, but the
hon. and gallant officer is at perfect liberty to read it if he
pleases. I will road my letter of the 11th of February in
answer to the applications which he
,made to me, urging
that the appointment should be given to him. It is as fol-
lo.rs e

Admiralty, Feb. 19, 185 t.
My dear Sir Charles,—The appointment to the command of
the North F!ea fleet is a very serious affair, and cannot be de-
cided in a hurry. While the question is pending there is no
use in discussing it with you; and this is the reason why I
have avoided a personal interview, not intending to mark any
want of respect, but desirous to prevent any needless disap-
pointment. War is not declared ; no fleet is yet assemb'•.ed ;
and no final arrangements are at present concluded. In these
circumstances it is not in my power to make any communica-
tion to you at this moment.
Vice-Admiral Sir C. Napier, K.C.B „
So matters stood on the 11th of February. In the perform-
ance of my duty, however, having consulted with my col;
leagues in the Cabinet, and taken her Majesty's pleasure
with respect to the appointment, I notified to the gallant
admiral, somewhere about the 231 of February, that he.
had been selected to that high command. I had an inter-
view with the gallant admiral somewhere about the 231 of
February, and intimated that eireatristance to him, and
upon the '24th of February the impressions which were
produced by that interview were conveyed to the gallant
admiral in the following letter :
Admiralty, Feb, 24, 1851.

My dear Sir Charles,—The conversation which I had with
you yesterday has loft on my mind the painful impression that
the means which the Admiralty has provided for fitting out
and manning the North Sea fleet are, in your opinion, insuf-
ficient for the occasion and unequal to au encounter with the
Russians on fair terms. • _

I have done my best to provide a force which I consider
adequate to the duty to be performed ; and any exertion
which this board considers necessary will be made without
intermission. You urged on me the propriety of offering,
bounty, of transferring the seamen from the Queen's yacht
to the flag-ship, and of inviting the gentlemen of England to
forego their summer's amusement ou the sea and to lay up
their yachts.

Tneso are signs of distress, wldch I consider impolitic and
unnecessary, and which I cannot sanction.
If you are dissatisfied with the preparations that have been
made and aro in progress, and if you have not entire confi-
dence in the strength of the combined forces of France and
Engl md, you had better say so to me at once, and decline
to accept a command which, in your opinion, would not re-
dound to your honour or to the safety of you country.
It will be far better that • you should refuse the offer of
th's c ,mmand than undertake it with any such misgivings.
1 have marked my confidence in you by offering it ; if you'
decline it on account of the insufficiency of the means which
will be placed at your disposal, I must endeavour to make
some other arrangement as soon as possible.
Without a goodwill and hearty concurrence, this board and
the Commander-in-Chief of the Baltic fleet cannot work well
together.