The Sun.
London, England, 1856-02-18 00:00:00

honoured with public decorations and afterwards
reflected on as some officers bad been, he would
have torn the badges from his breast and flung them
at the feet of the donors. Lord Panmure answered
that the honours had been bestowed for bravery in
the field, and any charge which wasmade against the
possessorsas to any dereliction of a secondary nature
could in no way detract from the lustre of the
actionsfor which the decoration weregiven. And what
were those actions with a lustre? What was the pas-
sage of arms in which Lord Lucan distinguished him-
self pre-eminently ? What was Sir Richard Airey's
brilliant exploit, what Colonel Gordon's ? As they
say in the house, we pause for a reply. Lord Lucan,
indeed, sent the Light Brigade headlong to destruc-
tion, but he did not go with them. It was not his
place. Had his duty required him to head the
charge, he would doubtless have done so with the
spirit to be expected of every Englishman from the
lowest to the highest. But the fact is that he did
not distinguish himself in any extraordinary way,
for want, no doubt, of opportunity. He neither
took a part in the successful charge of the Heavy
Brigade, nor the glorious disaster of the Light.
Lord Cardigan acquitted himself as others did,
where all acquitted themselves gallantly. He
neither did more nor less than any other man in
that devoted band. Perhaps, however, in saying
this we are saying too much, for it is reported that
there was an officer in the charge who rallied the
broken remnant of the brigade, and gave order to
their retreat, and that officer was not the General
Lord Cardigan. It should be the pride of the coun-
try to consider the high bravery displayed on this oc-
casion as common, and to callfor something more for
distinction. That something more used to be express-
ed in the old-fashioned word "conduct in the field,"
which comprehended with courage, presence of mind,
resource, judgment, and the seizure of opportunity.
For example, among the thousands and thousands
here and in every part of the civilised world who
are full of admiration of General Williams, how
little any one thinks of his bravery, how much'il
more the mind dwells on his inexhaustible energy,
his all-pervading vigilance and care. The conduct
for which an officer merits praise, honour; and ad-
vancement is not only the conduct in the face of
the enemy, but the conduct which enables him to
face the enemy with his forces made the most of in
every way. His men, his arms, his horses will be
in the most perfect condition that circumstances
improved to the utmost may permit of. He will
not be chargeable with any of those derelictions
which the Minister of War classes of a secondary
nature, for he will regard the care of his men and
horses primary duties, not secondary, and be would
consider himself disgraced if he could not take a
part in operations against the enemy because he had
allowed his horses to perish, and thereby re-
duced himself to the condition of a non-com-
batant, and a mere encumbrance on the
army. But, assuming that a decoration was
due to the gallantry of Lord Cardigan in the
Balaklava charge, the question remains why the
inspectorship of cavalry was given to an officer who,
however brave, had signally and disastrously
proved his unfitness for the care of horses. A.ssuni-
ing also that Sir Richard Airey had on some occa-
sion distinguished himself gloriously, and earned
the order with which he is decorated, yet it is to be
asked, why is he made Quartermaster-General at
home, when almost all the great disasters are refer-
able to his adtniuistratian of that office in the
Crimea? What General Airey's exploits against
the enemy may have been we know not, but they
have been great indeed if they have made a tithe
of the havoc with the Russians that his adminis-
tration made with the British army, perishing for
want of what he had the means of affording, and
neglected to afford. In the common phrase to ex-
press disorder, things were " here and there"—
that is to say, starvation here, and the supplies
that should have furnished plenty, there ; want in
the camp, abundance at Balaklava.