The Sun.
London, England, 1858-04-26 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Sir,—As your readers will be gratified to hear
the most recent tidings of the great South African
explorer, I beg to send you extracts from letters
he has addressed to me from Sierra Leone.

Your obedient servant,
RODERICK I. MURCHISON.
Belgrave-square, April 23.

"Sierra Leone, March 30.

" My dear Sir Roderick,—We have been for five days
coaling and watering on the 'grave of the white man,'
and, for a sepulchre, it really looks well. From its
character I expected to find it a great mud bank like
Quilirnane, but found, instead, a rocky promontory,
pretty welt covered with tropical vegetation, and having
high hilts in the background it presents a beautiful land-
scape. It is wonderfully free from mosquitoes, that
plague of hot climates, even though the atmosphere
has the hot steamy feel which prevails where the insect
abounde. It is to be hoped that they bare suffered from
the ravages of the fever for which this place has become
famed, and mea❑ to remain away, Some of the older
inhabitants (and, among the rest, Mr. 04.1ficId, the tra-
veller, whom I was happy to meet here hale and hearty)
inform me that Sierra Leane has been much more healthy
during the last ten years than it was. previously. T❑is
I conclude to be the result of the drainage of Kroo
Town, which has been accomplished by the present
Governor, Colonel Hill. The streets, which formerly
were full of holes, where the water lay stagnant,
filthy and green till the sun licked it up,
diffasingiu the meanwhile the fatal seeds of fever and
de ithi have all been raised in the middle, and runs made
for the surface water to flow into the k ea. This is a
great impeovement, and a corresponding amelioration
of public health has been the result. That, however,
which we is Saw lend call the Whiskey fever' cannot
be cured by governors, and climates are often blamed
for the effects of the dram and other irregularities.
" We were here on Sunday last, and saw an ordina-
tion ecrvice by the bishop, an energetic good man. He
was a missionary formerly, and a better man for a
bishop could not have been selected. The Sunday is
wonderfully well observed, as well, I think, as ny %here
in Scotland. Looking at the change effected among
the people, and comparing the masses here with what
we find at parts along the coast where the benign in-
fluences of Christianity have had no effect, the man,'
even, who has no no❑sense about him,' would be ob-
liged to confess that England has done some good by her
philanthropy ; aye, Ind an amount of good that will
look grand i❑ the eyes of posterity.
A ewe largo ship, the Ceteutta, came in here to coal.
This would be a better place for that and for getting re-
freshments than St. Viucent's if the means were "
as
tvoiiple LsiptemakussTooNf Et.
pro-
vided for doing what is eedel quickly, for no port dues
are charged during the first 96 hour . Fruits are very
cheap, hut there are no hotels nor put lic conveyances.
. . We are to sail to-day for the Cape.
" Yours, &e.,
" To Sir R. 11furchison."
In a previous letter, written as he was approach-
he
ivoegrySfiaevroruarLabeloenveOyDagte. lofctilre Pearl, and says :
"The cepiain is all we could wish, and the steam
launch has stood steadily to ber lashings in the roughest
waather we had."
He adds :

"All my companions are busy in preparation for the
great work before ur. lam very thankful to have such
a lot. There stern to be none of the cantankerous per-
suasion among them. Long may they continue so.
E :1 rytYng has Leen propitious hi' herto, and I tru-t we
shall have the Divine ble.eing on our labours."

RIGA DIER CARTBEW AND GENERAL

WINDIIAIII.

;UPPLEMENT TO PAPERS (NO. 6) RELATIVE TO THE

MUTINIES IN TII-4 EAST INDIES.
NO. 1.

Brigadier Carthow, convaland.ng Madras Troops,
to th© Chief of the Staff.
Canlpore, Dec. 15, 1857.

Sir,—With reference to 3 our communication to
me of the 9th December, conveying the remarks of
his Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, regarding
my retreat from the positon I had been directed
to defend by Major General Windhatn, command-
ing the ford, on the evening of ihe 28!li. Nov., I
beg I may be permitt,.d most respec fully to state
that I was under the full impression that I had due
authority from the major-general to rotire when the
post became no longer tenable. I received a ver-
bal messace during that day, either from the late •
Cap' ain Al'Orae or Lieutenant Budgenu (I cannot
recollect which), that, when I could hold out no
longer, I was to rct're to tha entrenchment where
her Majesty's Glib Regiment was located. I can-
not call to mind receiving any cap I..ss instructions
to that effect from Mijor-General Windham him
self ; but I am under the impression that the major-
general, on the previous evening, made some such
remark as, " Well, gentlemen, when we can hold
out no longer, we must retire to the en.ronclunei t."
Under that impression I acted diving the day, and
made my retrograde movement into the entrench-
ment in the evening, and, I trust, his Excellency
' will be able on this explanation to exonerate me
from blame and censure in that particular respect.
—I have, &c.

M. CARTHEW, Digadier,
Comm.inding Madras Troops.

No. 2,
The Chief of the Staff to Major-General Wiudham

commanding sth Btigade.
Head-quarters, Camp near Cawnpore,
ll)cemly2.r 19, 1857.
Sir, —I have the honour t 3 iuclos3 for your re-
mark„s a letter received from Brigadier Carthew,
in answer to a memorand-am written by order of
the Commander-in-Chief; and for warded through
you by the Asistatit Adjutant-General of the
Army, conveying his Fieellen:...y's opinions on the
retreat of that officer from the post intrusted to his
charge on the 28th Nov., 1857, wi.hout, as his
Excetlency conceived, any discretion having been
left him for such a movement on his part. His
Excellency would be much obliged to you to com-
municate to me, for his information, your opinion
as to whether Brigadier Cjrttiew had reas in to
imagine that a discretionary power was left to him
in the exercise of his command of the post in ques-
tion, which could be interpreted in the sense im-
plied in the inclosed letter. His Excellency's im-
pressions on this subjeA were founded on the fact
of the general surprise displayed hy 'yourself and
others at the abandonment of the post in question,
after you had proceeded with the reinforcements
demanded some short time before, almost imme-
diately after his Excellency arrived at the entrench-
ment. have, &c.
W. It. MANSFIELD,
Major-General, Chief of the Staff.

No. 3.,
Major-General Windham to the Chief of the Staff.
December 19, 1857.
Sir —ln answer to your communication of to-
day, I have the honour to state, for the information '
entation of my views. 02
aht it my duty to hold as
think Brigadier Carthew
hasoti
uo hisniinil
superior
gaEoldixof
tete,
olealffilfelf
ceattecioicwesy:2,:ipatt
slb,
tieh,aistoacut:gu 1
general meeting of the
all up iu the fort, even if it were
d, as we might expect a
hTehnlerefore I was resolved that every one
large number of women and children, sick and
wounded, to arrive shortly, that it would be cruel
,j3trhighalkdiin:
tis)ol7iso:uihtl)duietbbotld on as long as possible, and if obliged
to fall back they could not come to the fort
his big guns. When I took down the
at last. In the plan of defence we abandoned
detachment
imme-
diately nir
wentowebl listtehzovaf ielltdd ordered
82Id !voas oi
at r tooth e
w,
s cramped
as3i
s t_
it was a sharp
and narrow in its streets thinking it
the enemy
. colfights. Watsonand i m
amned-
o f thifelescittoy
go to him, and saw
the centre
in hopes this force
would have prevented the necessity of his retiring,
which was the cause of my being surprised at it.--
I have, &c.
C. A. WiNnitAx, Major-General.
twohim coonmtphrireo3adofthteirlee.

No. 4.

The Deputy Adjutant-General of the Army to the
Secretary to the Government of India.
lrOsnuereest,e rnelYativ e to Brigadier M.
h t e Uri
In!
Head-quarters, Camp, Cawnpore, Dec. 22, 1857.
despatch of the 10th
in
sSti. r,, —an
dW iitths reenfee
ge and Bithoor-read
nit., I have now the
Commander-in-Chief, to
forward, for submission to the Governor-General in
aCh
toa
honour
tcohirs
vwbn'
by direction
oddrti '
erf
ee
cioi
tcni eo
notifof
let
Council, copies of letters as per margin.* When
the memorandum dated the:9th inst. was written, a
copy of which was transmitted in my above letter,
and in which the conduct of Brigadier Carthew
was commented on by his . Excellency, the Com-
mander-in-Chief was under the strongest impres-
sion that Brigadier Carthew .had retired from his
pest, on the 28th of November, without orders,
and that no discretionary power had been given
to him. Sir Colin Campbell conceived it to be an
i imperative duty to mark what he considered to bt
i a violation of one of the first principles of war. It
appears, however, that his Bxcellency's impression
was erroneous, and it is a platter of the sincerest