The Sun.
London, England, 1856-02-28 00:00:00

ROYAL WARIMINT.

SIR J. M'NEILL AND COL. TULLOCII'S
REPORT.

Copy of Royal Warrant appointing a Board of Genera
Officers to inquire into the statement-, contained in the
Report of Sir J. 111`Neill and Col. Tulloch, and the
Evidence upon which that Report was founded.
Victoria R.—Whereas by instructions issued by our
Secretary of State for the Wer Department, bearing date
the 19th day of Feb., 1855, Sir J. M`Neill and Col. Tul-
loch were "directed to. proceed to the Crimea, in order to
inptire into the whole arrangement and management of the
Commissariat Department, and to acquaint themselves with
the mode by, which supplies of food, forage, and any other
articles were obtained for our army there, and also to exa-
mine carefully into the system of accounting, with a view
to its simplification : And whereas, by additional inetruc:
tions issued by our said Secretary of State. bearing data
the 22,1 day of Feb , 1855, the said Sir J. litc'Teill 'and
Col. Tallech were further directed to make inquiries into
the alleged delay in unshipping anddistributing the cloth-
ing and other stores supplied for the use of our said army
And whereas, the said Sir J. M`Neill and Col. Tulloch
made to our said Becretary of State two reports, the first
dated Constantinople, the 10th day of June,.1855, and the
second dated Louden, Jan., 1850 ; and the same have, by
our command; i.beeil laid before our tyro helms of Perlin-
menctogether with the evidence taken by the said Sir J.
:11'Neill and Col. Tulloch : And whereas the conduct of
certain officers on our General Staff and others in our army
has been animadverted upon in the said reports and evi-
dence And whereasthe sail officers have demanded a full
inquiry into their conduct : Now we, taking the whole mat-
ter into our consideration, and being desirous that the
truth should be made manifest, andAlaat justice should be.
done to all parties, think it necessary that an inquiry
should be male by the general officers hereinafter named
into the. statements contained is these reports and evi-
dence affecting our officers above referred to : Our will
and pleasure therefore is, and we do hereby nominate and
appoint our right trusty and well:betoved John Baron Sea-
ton, General of our Forces, Knight Grand Cross of the
Most Hononrable Order of the Bath, and Knight Grand
Cross of the Must Distinguished Order of St. Michael and
St. George ;, our trusty and well-beloved. Sir Thomas
M`Lfahon, Bart., General of our Forces, Knight Com-
mander of the Mist Honourable Order of the Bath ; our
right trusty and well-heloved cousin, Henry Beauchamp,
Earl Beau Champ, Genera! of our Forces; our trusty and
well-beloved Sir John Bell, Lieutenant-General of our
Forces, Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Order
of the Batb; our. trusty and well-beloved Sir William.
Bowan, Lieutenant-General of our Forces, , Knight
Com-
mander of the Most Honourable Order of thena.th ; our
trusty and well-beloved Jonathan Peel, Esq.; Major-Gene-
ral of our Forees; our trusty and well-beloved 'William
Thomas Knollye,Esq., Major-General of our Forces, to be
a board, of which we further appoint John Baron Seatou
to be president, who are to meer accordingly for the pur-
poses above-mentioned. And you are hereby required to
give notice, with as little delay as possible, to the said ge-
neral officers when and where they are to meet for the said
inquiry ; and you are hereby directed to summon such per-
sons as may be judgml necessary by the said general officers
to give ialormatiou upon the slid matters : And the said
general officers are hereby directed to hear and examine
such persons touching the same; and they are further
hereby authorised, empowered, and required, after strict
examivation_into the matters before-mentioned, to snake
a report thereon, together with their opinion, whether the
said officers of our army, above referred to, be or be not
responsible to any and what extent for the unsatisfactory
condition of our said army, or any portion thereof, noticed
by Sir John M`Neill and Colonel Tulloch in their reports,
and the evidence thereunto attached : All which you are
to transmit to us through our Field-Marshal Commanding-
in-Chief, to be by him laid before us for our consideration ;
awl for so doing, this „shall be, as well to you as toOnr said
general officers, and all others concerned, a sufficient war-
rant.

'Given at our Court at Buckinghlm :ndacp, this' 25th day
of February, 1856, in the 19th year of our age.—By her
M►jeety'a command.
(Sinned) . PANMIIRE
To the vTudf,.,-1-Alvocato-General, or hi. Depnty.

IRELAND.

DUBLIN, TIIESDA.Y AIORNING.

SLIGO ELECTION.

Mr. Huldlestone, of the Enizlish bar, has gone to
Sligo to solicit the votes of the Conservative electors cf
that borough. Not being a native his chance of election,
is doubtful. Mr. Knox, however. it nppaars, has re-
signed is his favour, declining to divide the Conserva-
tive interest in Sligo.
LIBF.L.-2,000/. DAMAGES. •

An action for libel was tried yesterday at the.Wich-
low acsiz-s, in which the Rev. Hugh Prior was plaintiff,
and William Kinnealy, Esq., ,defenclant. Damages were
laid at 5,000/. The jury gave a verdict for the plaintiff
for 2,000/ , with 6d. costs.
The facts of the case are briefly these :- -The plaintiff
is the rector of the important parish of St. Mary's,
Clonmel, and the defendant was the editor of a paper
calleti the Tipperary Leader. The libel complained of
was ino.4 false and malignant, and impugned in the,
most offensive manner the character of a minister of
the Established Church. The plaintiff when he coal-
ineccel his duties as .a °locum:10 was connected with
tilts county of Wicklow. He subsequently bocame
the ,rector of Limon, and was the dispenser of the
charities of many benevolent persons. Among, those
be assisted were persons of the name of Longworth
and a woman ca.ned Maria Longworth, stating that
she was their sister, and in very destitute circum-
stance=, obtained reli,f from the plaintiff. He was
recently: appointed to the rectory of St. Mary's, Clop-
mel, and Maria Longworth, having annoyed his resi-
dence, was given by hit servant into custody, and
imprisoned in Cionmel gaol. This was an illegal act,
and she having intended to bring an action. fur false
imprisonment it was compromised by the payment of
a sum of 6/. • • - •

The first of the libels complained of• appeared in
the Tipperary Leader ai if from a correspondent; and
„attributed to the plaintiff an improper intimacy with
" the buxom Miss Longw,rth. Another article in-
sinuated that the plaintiff was the father of her child.
The Counsel for the plaintiff dwelt upon the grievous
and injarione effects of these unfounded articles, and
called upon the jury to punish the cowardly libeller by
giving exemplary damages.
The Rev. Mr. Prior wag examined, and in the most
express and positive terms denied that there was the
slightest foundation fer the charges referred to in the
libels in question. •
Mr. Johnston stated they were also prepared to prove
by several witnesses the abandoned character of the
woman named in the publication, and that she had stated
to several persons who was the father of her chill.
Mr. 'Lawson addressed the jury for the defendant,
stating that his client deeply regretted having been mis-
led by his correpondent into the assertion of charges
which he now felt were without any foundation. He had
expressed his regret by tendering his apology in the
columns of the Tipperary Leader, a journal which the
jurors he addressed might have heard of, and the plain-
tiff would not have displayed less of Christian forbear-
ance had he accepted the same apology offered to bim.
The jury 'were. not in estimating the dainages to take
into account any e,ttaeks made on the Protestant Church
or the early Refor.ners ; and although, ;wheri,.the facts
wore ascertained, there -existed no foundation for the
charges preferred by Maria Longworth ; yet, in the first
instance, when her c •mplaint wag preferred before the.
MayorlS Court, the ca-e wore a different, aspect. Thejury brought in a verdict for the plaintiff, with
2,000/. darnAgee and (id, costs.
It may be observed that the Tipperary Lender ceased
to exist. shortly after the publicatdua of the libels ou the
Rev. Mr. Prior.