The Sun.
London, England, 1856-02-11 00:00:00

THE WAY TO WINDSOR.

(From a Correspondent of the Morning Advertiser.)
How is it that every officer of family influence or
rank who has not distinguished himself in the Cri-
mea, or whose conduct has been questionable, or
more than questionable, either in the field or any
department of tke army, is immediately invited,
on his return, to Windsor Castle ? While the ink
of Sir John report is scarcely dry ; while
Col. Gordon, Assistant Quartermaster-General of
our ill-fated army, still lies under the strongest offi-
cial censure, for incapacity as a soldier and " discre-
pancy" as an accountant; whils tit is understood that
the gallant officer is engaged in preparing a defence
of his conduct, he is invited to Windsor Castle,
admitted to the highest honours of a subject, and
permitted to see his case virtually prejudged 11)37
the Crown. But such is not in this case, the
reward of incapacity alone. Colonel Gordon is the
son of the Earl of Aberdeen, the imbecile and un-
happy Cunctator of modern days, whose senile
procrastinations and despotic tendencies drifted us
into that war by whose conduct England has been
actively, as she was before passively, betrayed.
Poverty is said to make us acquainted with strange
bedfellows—Politics, it would seem, cause a strange
mixture of guests at the hospitable board of the
Queen of this realm. We congratulate Sir James
Scarlett, the hero of the heavy cavalry charge of
Balaklava upon his prandial honours. This is not
all. Orders are prostituted, until it becomes a
disgrace and a compromise for brave and efficient
men to receive them at the hands of her who
should be the fountain of honour.

Again, in the list of those upon whom the three
degrees of the Legion of Honour are conferred,
there are names not only notorious to the army as
those of incapables, but at least, in one instance,
something infinitely worse.
Admiral Sir C. Napier refused an order. Why
did not Sir De Icy Evans and Sir Colin Camp-
bell follow his example ?
Sir James Simpson may be a brave man, for all
we know, but he showed himself an unfortunate
blunderer in the affair of the Redan. Stern military
judgment would apply to him a harsher term. The
man who played the game-stroke of the siege, with
a handful of raw recruits, is not exactly a fitting
person to receive titles and decorations from a
grateful country.
By such acts as these we are degrading ourselves
in the eyes of the world, and bringing contempt
upon what is left of an army, of which it may be
said that the heroism of the unrecognised and un-
rewarded in it is only to be rivalled by the unwor-
thiness of those who have hitherto, with but few
exceptions, borne off the rewards.

••••••.
DIMIIYISELED PROSPECTS OF PEACE.

It will be seen from, the Court Circular, that most
unpretending but very important publication in flimsy,
that the Cabinet Council, which met on Saturday, sat
for the unusually protracted period of nearly four hours.
Though the secrets of the Council-chamber are con-
ventionally presumed to be inviolable, we can state
with the greatest confidence-, not only that the subject
which chiefly occupied the attention of Ministers was
the coining Ounferences in Pais, which are to com-
mence on Wednesday week, the 20th instant, but that
circumstances have just occurred which considerably
diminish the probability of such a peace as this
country can accept. Russia is already beginning to
betray the cloven-foot of insincerity. It is now ascer-
tained that she is not prepared to concede, either in the
Baltic, or the Black Sea, what we deem indispensable.
Whether she may, in the end, if she finds she cannot
help herself, make a virtue of necessity, we do not, of
course, know. But we have no doubt the event will
confirm the accuracy of our statement, when we say
that she will on no account make those concessions to
us regarding the revision of her Asiatic territory, which
England regards as one of the most important of all the
concessions which we demand from her. The only con-
cession which Russia appsars willing to make is the re-
linquishment of the slip of territory in Bessarabia. In
these critical circumstances, Lord Palmerston is the only
man to whom the country looks with confidence. We
need not add, that corresponding to the extent of the
popular confidence in the Noble Lord is the measure of
his responsibility. We cannot doubt that he is fully
alive to the awful responsibilities of his position.—
Morning Advertiser.

AWFUL DEATH NEAR WATERLOO-BRIDGE.—An acci
dent of a somewhat remarkable character, by which an
unfortunate man was literally cut to pieces and instantly
killed, occurred on Saturday last, on the river Thames,
about midway of Waterloo and Blackfriars-bridges.
From the inquiries made it appears that a lighterman of
the name of Hosier, who resided near Vauxhall-bridge,
was out with his barge on the river, and attached to his
vessel was a small wherry, which he used to take him
ashore when his barge was moored in the centre of the
water. Whilst navigating his craft on Saturday, by some
means which could not be ascertained, the smaller vessel
got adrift, when the unfortunate man made an attempt to
regain it by j umpisg off his barge, but it is to be regretted
that instead of alightieg into the boat he fell into the
river, when just at the moment a sailing barge came
alongside of the other vessel and crushed the poor fellow
so tightly as to break his collar bone, one of his arms,
both thighs, and several ribs, and at the same time the
anchor of the sailing barge, which was hanging over the
stern, caught the man in tbo lower part of the abdomen,
the sharp points or teeth of the anchor penetrated the
flesh, and owing to the swift speed the craft was travel-
ling the body of the man was ripped open, and the
bowels and heart completely exposed. A number of
watermen and river pollee constables at once put off in
their boats, and the unfortunate sufferer was extricated
before he had fairly sunk. The mangled body was at
once taken ashore, but it is hardly necessary to state
that life was quite extinct. The remains were forthwith
removed to the deadhouse of Christ Church Workhouse,
and given into custody of Kibblewhite, the summoning
efficer, who gave the necessary intelligence to Mr. Carter,
the coroner, who will forthwith hold an inquest on the
body. From what can at present be learned, it ap-
pears to have been impossible for the men in charge of the
sailing vessel to have altered her course in sufficienttime
to have prevented the melancholy accident.
WILFUL PERJURY TO MAIN A REWARD.--A few
weeks since a number of incendiary fires occurred in
the neighbourhood of Barnsley. In one of these, wheat
stacks of Mr. Hattereley, to the value of nearly 1,0001.,
were destroyed. After the fire ha I occurred, but not
until a reward of 50/. was offered to any person who
would give information, two brothers, named Samuel
and John Dyson gave information to Superintendent
Green that they were coining from Carlton about
half-past twelve o'clock on the night of the fire,
when they saw a man, named Joseph Marsh,
corning from the direction of the staeks at the time
the fire broke out, [that they seized him and charged
him with setting fire to the stacks, when he admitted the
fact, and offered to give them 10/. to say nothing about
the matter. Upon this information Marsh was appre-
hended, and, upon the evidence of the Dysons, com-
mitted to take his trial. Circunistancee having arisen
to lead to the belief that Marsh had been a victim to
the cupidity of the Dysons, and that the charge was
made for the purpose of obtaining the reward of 501., a
subscription was set on foot, and a fund raised to de-
fend Marsh at York, and on the cage being heard h
was acquitted. On Thursday, at the Barnsley Court
house, an information was laid by Marsh against the
Dysons for wilful and deliberate perjury. Evidence
was adduced showing that Marsh was in bed at the
time at which he was said to have been wet by the
prisoners. The :bench were of opinion that the pri-
soners had committed wilful perjury, and committed
them for trial at the next York agi4'—'3ll"c4C4'er
Citariicos.