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

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SIIN.

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
ho 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
Quilimane, but found, instead, a rocky promontory,
pretty well covered with tropical ♦egetation, 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
abounds. It is to be hoped that they have suffered from
the ravages of the fever for which this place has become
famed, and mean to remain away. Some of the older
inhabitants (and, among the rest, Mr. Oldfi Id, the tra-
♦eller, whom I was happy to meet here hale and hearty)
inform me that Sierra Leine has been much more healthy
during the last ten years than it was previously. This
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,
diffusing in the meanwhile the fatal seeds of fever and
de ,t 1); have all been raised in the middle, and runs made
for the surface water to flo w into the sea. This is a
great improvement, and a corresponding amelioration
of public health has been the result. That, however,
which we in Soo•land call the Whiskey fever' cannot
be cured by governors, and climates are often blamed
for the effects of the drain and other irregularities.
" We, were herb -on-Sttnday last; land sitter An ordina-
tion service by the bishop, an energetic good man. Ile
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 eny %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 nonsense about him,' would be ob-
liged to confess that England has done some good by her
philanthropy ; aye, and an amount of good that will
look grand in the eyes of posterity.
" A fine large ship, the Calcutta, came in here to coal.
This woul f be a better place for that and for getting re-
freshments than St. Vincent s if the means were pro-
vided for doing what is needed quickly, for no port dues
are charged during the first 96 hour,. Fruits are very
cheap, but there are no hotels nor public conveyances.
. . We are to sail to-day for the Cape.
" Yours, &c., DAVID LIvINGSTONE.
" To Sir R. 'Murchison."

In a previous letter, written as he was approach-
ing Sierra Leone, Dr. Livingstone speaks of the
very favourable voyage of the Pearl, and says :
" The captain is al► K e could wish, and the steam
launch has stood steadily to her lashings in the roughest
weather we had."
lie adds :

"All my companions are busy in preparation for the
great work before ur. lam very thankful to-have such
a lot. There seem to be none of the cantankerous per••
suasion among them. Long may they continue so.
Everything has been propitious hitherto, and I trust we
shall have the Divine blessing on our ►abours."

RIGADIER CARTHE W AND GENERAL

WIND fl Alll.

UPPLEMENT TO PAPERS (NO. 6) RELATIVE TO THE

MUTINIES IN THE EAST INDIES.
No. 1.

Brigadier Carthew, commanding Madras Troops,
to the Chief of the Staff.

Cawnpore, Dec. 15, 1857.
Sir,—With reference to your communication to
me of the 9th December, conveying the remarks of
his Excellency the Coinntandor-in-Chief, regarding
my retreat from the postion I had been directed
to defend by Major-General Windham, command-
ing the force, on the evening of the 28th Nov., I
beg I may b 3 permitted most respec.fully to state
that I was under the full impression that I had due
authority from the major-geueral to retire when the
post became no longer tenable. I received a ver-
bal memaize during that day, either from the late
Captain M'Crae or Lieutenant Budgeon (I cannot
recollect which), that, when I could hold out no
longer, I was to retire to the entrenchment where
her Majesty's 64th Regiment was located. I can-
not call to mind receiving any express instructions
to that effect froth Major-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 cn.renclimei t."
Under that impression I acted during 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. OARTHEw, B!igadier,
Commanding Madras Troops.

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

commanding sth Brigade.
Head-quarters, Camp near Cawnpore,
Dccemb3r 19, 1857.
Sir' —I have the honour to iuclos3 for your re-
marks a letter received from Brigadier Carthew,
in answer to a memorandum written by order of
the Commander-in-Chief, and forwarded through
you by the Ai,sistatit Adjutant-General of the
Army, conveying his Excellency's opinions on the
retreat of that officer from the post intrusted to his
charge on the 28th Nov., 1857, wi'hout, as his
Excellency 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 Carthew had reas sn 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 lin-
plied in the inclosed letter. His Excellency's im-
pressions on this subject 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.—l have, tkr,c.

W. lit. MANSFIELD,
Major-General, Chief of the Staff.

No. 3.
Major-General Windham to the Chief of the Staff.

December 19, 1857.
Sir,—11l answer to your communication of to-
day, I have'ithe honour to state, for the information
of his Excellency, that 1 think Brigadier Carthew
esentation of my views. On
has made a fair rep,
the night of the 27th, at a general meeting of the
superior officers, I thought it my duty to hold as
much of the town as I could, as we might expect a
large number of women and children, sick and
wounded, to arrive shortly, that it would he cruel
to shut them all up iu the tort, even if it were
possible. Therefore I was resolved that every one
should hold on as long as possible, and if obliged
to fall back they could not come to the fort
at last. In the plan of defence we abandoned
the centre of the city, thinking it too cramped
and narrow in its streets for the enemy
to enter with his big guns. When I took down the
detachment of Rifles to Brigadier Carthew's assist-
e I observed it was a sharp fight, and eimme-
diately went and ordered Licut.-Col. Watson and
companies of the 82d to go to him, and saw
two
him on the road there. I was in hopes this force
would have prevented the necessity of his retiring,
which was the cause of my being surprised at it.—
I have, dro.
C. A. WiNnuAxt, Major-General.