The Sun.
London, England, 1856-03-22 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE BUN.

Sin,—Sir James, in his speech, accused me of not
Fending a report on Sweaborg till September the 231
On looking over my papers, I find that, owing to the
weather, I did not get off Sweaborg till the 12th of June.
On the 2d of July Sir James wrote to me as follows :
"The Cabinet has taken into consideration the statement
contained in your private letter to me ou the subject."
The following is an extract of my letter :-" The only
way to take or destroy Sweaborg would be by a large
military force occupying the islands, and throwing shells
into it, and I send Amiral Chads's report." The admiral's
report was a very clear one. This Sir James industri-
ously concealed from the house. On the 18th of July,
after due consideration, I sent another report, and, as it
is of great importance to me, I beg, sir, you will have
the kindness to reprint it :
"The only successful manner of attacking Sweaborg that
I can see, after the most mature consideration, assisted by
Chade, who is a practical man, and knows more about gun-
nery than any man in the service, is by fitting out a great
number of gun-boats, carrying one gun with a long range,
and placing them west of Sweaborg, and south of Helsine.e.
fors. Every shell from them would tell somewhere, and
perhaps not five per cent. from theenemy would take effect.
Back them by the fleet, to relieve the men, and in the
course of the summer Sweaborg would be reduced to ashes,
and Helsingfors aLso, if it was thought proper; and I don't
see why we are to be mealy-mouthed' in time of war. The
ships, you will see, could not be destroyed, because they
could move out of the way.
" I was at the siege of Martinique, many years ago.
We could not batter. Fort Bourbon, as it lay higher than
the ground around it, but 50. mortars; in -three warless.
plunging their shot into it, made it surrender. And whe-
ther mortars are placed on shore or in gun-boats is quite
immaterial ; indeed, the latter have the advantage, for
when their shells began to tell, and our blood began to
warm, the ships would move up to the batteries, and close
quarters would knish what the mortar-boats began.
"I sent you home copies of all the plans I had, and if
you will lay them before the Engineer and Artillery officers,
I will be bound for it they will agree with me that is the
only way to destroy Sweaborg, without au army superior
to the Emperor of Russia's, which we are not likely to
bring into the field. It is too late this year, but be all pre-
pared next, now we know the anchorage, and begin early.
" I forgot to say that the islands within range may all
be put in requisition for 13-inch mortars. The expenses
would be very great, no doubt, but if wo are to bring the
war to a conclusion, expense must not be thought about."
This letter the Admiralty deny having received. I
li
wish to know what Sir James bee done with it. He
said I sent home no report before the 23d of Sept., which
was the reason he could send no appliances in 1854.
With regard to Bomarsund, Sir James read two let-
ters of mine, recommending 10,000 men to be sent there
—bat he suppressed the extract of another letter, as fol-
lows :—" The third plan is to attempt Aland Islands.
To do this (as we have no troops) it would be necessary
far the whole fleet to proceed to the anchorage pointed
out on Capt. Sullivan's chart, leaving vessels at the en-
trance of the gulf, to watch the Helsingfors squadron.
Land all the marines and the French troops,* which
would amount to 5,000, a great number of heavy guns,
and lay siege to Bomarsund, attacking at the same time
:n front if found practicable ; if net, land 10,000 seamen
and make soldiers of them." Why did Sir James sup-
press this, unle4; in order to injure me ? it is worse
than Capt. Christie's affair.
I have shown that Sri James contemplated no further
operations after he knew of the intention of withdraw-
tug the French army ; but when he found the people
were discontented, a council of war was ordered on the
4th of September, and it was unanimously decided that
nothing more could be done at that season of the year.
I, therefore, was not to blame.
A second council of war was ordered on the Olin of
September, to take General Jones's plan into considera-
tion. This plan, Sir James said, I sent home without
comment. This is not true. I did comment as fol-
lows The place is of too much importance to be
feebly garrisoned, and if we have 5,000 men at Back-
hol men they would pass over from Gustavus Sward
10,000 men, and make them all prisoners." The date
of this letter to the Admiralty was the 27th of August.
This council of war was not held because the French
army had gone, and the Admiralty knew at the time
' they gave the order that it was decided they were to go.
A third council of war was ordered on the 12th, and the
French admiral declined attending it, as be had already
given his opinion, and my own admirals unanimously
agreed that they saw no reason to change theirs.
Now, sir, it will be recollected that my second recon-
naiseance, an account of which was sent borne on the
23d of September, was recsived by the Admiralty on
the 4th of October, the day that the report of the cap-
ture of Sebestopol arrived ; and they perverted my
letter, wickedly and maliciously, and goaded me to at-
tack Sweaborg, contrary to the opinion of two councils
of war ; and on the 9th of October (the day that they
knew Sebasvpoi was not taken), without waiting for
my reply, they contiadinted the order, and directed the
itre

How does Sir Jambs-getout of this t „UAL hlinkad
altogether, and told the house the bat,le of Alma was'
fought on the I.sth of September. That had nothing to
do with my report, which was dated the 23d, and ar-
rived the day of the hoax ; and that was what caused
the quarrel between the Admiralty and myself ; and Sir
James nianagsd it so weal, that he led the house en-
tirely away from it.
Sir James says it was my neglect i■ not sending
house a report before the 23d of Septeinher, 1854, which
prevented him from sendintr appliances necessary for the
attack of SNeaborg„ in 1354. I have shown that I did
send my report, dated the 13th of July ; and as for his
talking of sending out appliances, it was quite impos
Firile, and he knows it was.
In 1855 tlity only managed to send out 32 gun and
mortar-vessels, and bad not one gun on the islands,
though the French had ; and Admiral Dundas was so
seneNe that his means were insufficient, though assisted
by 8 French gun-boats, 4 mortar-vessels, and, I think, 4
or 5 mortars on the islands, that he never c nitemplated
bringing up his large ships ; and yet he was one of the
lords who wished toe to attack with 8 or 10 sail.of-the-
line, though the intricate nature of the ground, from
rocks awash and reefs under water, rendered it difficult
to select a position for the mortar-vessels at proper
rangeel- Even Captain Sullivan, who had surveyed the
ground, got on shore, and the ships which engaged the
batteries were obliged to haul off. It may be askeet, why
Admiral Dundas did not go in when he sax the whole
place in a blaze? There were two reasons. His fleet was
not assembled, and his mortars were all split, and the
admiral had none to replace them.
Sir Jetties says this affair ought not to rest here. So
say I. His Admiralty have been accused of perverting
my despatches to save themselves from blame, and urging
nee to act contrary to the decision of two councils of war,
ordered by themselves, and to attack a fortress which
not an admiral in the service would have ventured to do
with my means, and which one of their own boarl, with
all his additional appliances, would not do ; and at the
same titre I write, 200 sail of gun and mortar boat, be-
sides whit are preparing in France, are getting ready
for the Baltic (if the war continues), to do what I was
expected to do with nine or ten Fail of the line.
The whole of the summer of 1854 I was praised more
than ever an admiral was, both publicly and privately ;
111 and now, in 1856, every nttempt has been made by Sir
J. Graham and Admiral Berkeley to destroy me, because
I resisted their conduct towards me, and all the power
of Sir James's ridicule and special pleadings, true or
false, brought against me, to damage my reputation.
When I came home a court martial was refused—an
appeal to the Prime Minister not noticed—an appeal to
the House of Commons in 1855 successfully resisted,
and an investigation into the operations in the Baltic
met with a serious charge preferred against me by the
late First Lord of the Admiralty, supported by the Senior
Naval Lord, accusing me of being the cause of proper
appliances not being sent to the Baltic in 1854 to attack
the enemy ; and a further charge of having caused the
delay in the attack of Cronstadt—a charge little short
of high treason, and, if true, I ought to be removed from
the list of admirals.

If an investigation, which I shall ask the Admiralty
for, is ordered, I can tell both Sir J. Graham and Sir
F. Berkeley it will not redound to their honour, at one
time advising me not be goaded op, and that they ap-
proved of all I did, and then turning against me, and
doing everything they could to annoy me.
Sir. F. Beikeley said my nerves were gone. He has
done enough to destroy the nerves of a much stronger
man ; and I should l►ke to hare seen how the gallant ad-
miral would have conducted. the Baltic fleet the flr,t
campaign, bad it been entrusted t,) him ; but that the
Government took very good care not to do.
The reporter of the Times represents me as having said
that I had the gout ; I said no such thing—it was a per-
fect mistake.—l am, sir, your obedient servant,
CHARLES NAPIER.

Marinoa. Admiral Dundas's Letter.

DEATH OF LIEUTENANT WOOLvEß.—Lieut. Richard
Woolver (1815) died lately at Chelsea. This officer
entered the navy Jan. 1, 1806, as midshipman, on board
the Malta, 84.
UNIVERSITY DEGREES.—Tn the present Ministry there
are eight first-class men—Sir G. Lewis, Sir C. Wood,
Sir G. Grey, Lord flarrowby, Lord Wodehouse, Labou-
chere, Lowe, and Sir R. Bethell.- The Lord Lieutenant
of Ireland, Lord Carlisle ; the Governor-General of
India, Lord Canning ; and the Governor-General of
Canada., Sir E. Head, were first-class men. If former
Administrations be regarded, we have lately had Sir R.
Peel, Gladstone, Cardwell, and Sir F. Baring. Of the
last eight Chancellors of the Exchequer five have been
first-class men. The permanent Under-Secretary for the
Colonies, Herman Merivale ; the permanent Secretary to
the !Admiralty, Thomas Phinn ; the Chairman of the
Board of Customs, Sir T. Freemantle ; the late Deputy
Chairman, George Dawson ; the Receiver-General of
the Customs, Sir F. Doyle ; the Secretary of the Poor-
law Board, Lord Courtney ; the Secretary of the Council
of Education, Ralph Lingen ; the Emigration Commis-
sioner, Sir F. Rogers—were all first-OW omen,--Bombay,
qtyarterlY AT" •