The Sun.
London, England, 1858-11-17 00:00:00

MR. THACKERAY AND MR. EDMUND THE C
YATES-THE GA.RRICK CLUB.

A case which promises to be of considerable in-
terest in literary and club circles, and whiCh will

raise an important and novel point, is to be tried

by one of the common law courts, at Westminster,
probably during the sittings at nisi Arius after the
present term. It arises out of the dispute between
Mr. Thackeray and Mr. Edmund Yates, both mem-

burs of the Garrick Club, which arose under the

following circumstances : Under the title of
" Literary Talk," Mr. Yates published an article
having for its subject Mr. W. M. Thackeray, and
thus described his " appearance"—Mr. Thackeray

is 46 years old, though from the silvery whiteness
of his hair he appears somewhat older. He is
very tall, standing upwards of six feet two inches,
and, as he walks erect, his height makes him
conspicuous in every assembly. His face is blood-
less, and not particularly expressive, but re-

markable for the fracture of the bridge of his nose,
the result of an accident in youth. He wears

small grey whisker, but otherwise is clean shaven.
No one meeting him would fail to recognise in him
a gentleman. His bearing is cold and uninviting,
his style of conversation either openly cynical or
affectedly good-natured and benevolent ; his bon-
hommie is forced, his wit biting, his pride easily
touched, but his appearance is invariably that of a
cool, suave, well-bred"gentleman, who whatever may
be rankling within, suffers no surface display of
his emotion." Mr. Yates then proceeded to com-
ment on Mr. Thackeray's genius :—" It was with
the publication of the third and fourth numbers of
Vanity Fair' that he began to dawn upon a read-
ing public as a great genius." Then, " His success
culminated with Lectures on English Humorists
of the Eighteenth Century,' which were at-
tended by all the Court and fashion of Lon-
don, The prices were extravagant ; the
lecturer's adulation of birth and position was
extravagance ; the success was extravagant."
The publication of the article in question
having been brought to the knowledge of Mr.
Thackeray, he wrote to Mr. Yates, with whom he
had been on speaking terms as members of the
same club, in which he described the article "to
be not offensive and unfriendly merely, but slan-
derous and untrue." Mr. Thackeray concluded
with the following admonition—" I;beg, as I have
a right to do, that you will refrain from printing
comments upon my private conversation, that you
will forego discussion, however blundering, on my
private affairs, all that you will henceforth please
to consider any question of my personal truth and
sincerity as quite out of the province of your
criticism." Mr. Yates immediately rejoined by
a letter, in which he rejected Mr. Thackeray's
" angry understanding" of his phrases, adding,
" If your letters were not slanderous and untrue,
I should readily have discussed the' subject with
you, and avowedmy earnest and frank desire to set
right anything I may have left wrong." Mr.
Thackeray then submitted the correspondence which
had passed betiveen Mr. Yates and himself, toge-
ther with the copy of the article to which he had
taken exception, to the committee of the Garrick
Club. " I think," wrote Mr. Thackeray, "I may
fairly appeal to the committee of the Gar-
rick Club to decide whether the complaints I have
against Mr. Yates are not well founded, and
whether the practice of publishing such arti-
cles as that which I enclose would not be fatal
to the comfort of the club, and is not intoler-
able in a society of gentlemen." Mr. Yates, having
heard that Mr. Thackeray had adopted this course,
wrote to ask the committee to suspend their judg-
ment until he could consult his friends and prepare
his own version of the case to lay before them.
This was on the 19th of June, but on the 23d Mr.
Yates wrote to the committee, questioning their
right to entertain the matter at all. " The article,"
he said, " mayibe in exceedingly bad taste, but
the committee is not a committee of taste!
The committee held a special meeting on the
26th, and came to a decision expressed in certain
resolutions.- They resolved that ifwas competent
to them to entertain Mr. Thackeray's complaint ;
that the complaint itself was well grounded ; and
that the practice of publishing such articles, being
reflections by one member of the club against any
other, would be fatal to the comfort of the club
and intolerable in a society of gentlemen. The
committee further resolved, that Mr. Yates was
bound to make an " ample apology," or retire from
the club. Mr. Yates declined either to retire or
to apologise, and stated he would appeal to a gene-
ral meeting on two questions—first, whether the
ease between Mr. Thackeray and himself was such
a case as should be submitted to the committee at
all ; and secondly, " Whether Mr. Thackeray has
any right to call for an apology from me when he
has so‘very arrogantly and coarsely addressed me."
The result was that Mr. Yates' subscription was
returned, and it was intimated to, him that he was
expelled the club. He has therefore instituted an
action against the committee for trespass, in refus-
ing to allow him to enter the club, and this will
raise the important question, as affecting the rights
of members generally, whether the club had the
right to expel Mr. Yates or not. It is understood
that there will be a large array of legal talent on
both sides, and the trial, both from the nature of
the issue and the position of the parties, will possess
great interest. The Attorney-General has been
ve.tained for the committee of the Garrick Club.
Mr. Edwin James, Q.C., is to lead the the case on
behalf of the plaintiff, Mr. Edmund Yates.

,AMPAIG.N Ilti OUDE,,

The following is the official memorandum of pro-

posed operations in October, 1858 :
" To be drawn from Rohilcund, for operations in
north-west of Oude, clearing Mohumdee, Nowrun-
gabad, &c., and. proceeding to establish itself at
S eetap ore :
" From Bareilly, Lieut.-Col. Remmington's Troop
of Horse Artillery ; from Shahjehanpore, light field.
battery (four guns), heavy field battery, two squa-
drons Carabineers (200 sabres), Mool‘tanee Horse
(600), Capt. Cureton's 60th Rifles (Ist battalion) ;
from Bareilly, 93d Highlanders ; from Almora, 66th
Goorkhas.

"2d Punjaub Cavalry to send 200 sabres to
Shahjehanpore, the remainder of the regiment being
divided between Bareilly and Pilleebheet. The
detachment Light Field Battery (two guns), now
at Jellalabad, to be drawn into Shahjehanpore, un-
less the commissioner think it absolutely necessary
that it should remain. The distribution of artillery
between Moradabad and Bareilly to be revised, re-
ducing the strength at the former place. The two
guns belonging to Major Hammond's battery, from
Meerut to Moradabad.

" Force for operations in the 13yswarra country :
" Brigade (including a detachment which marched
to Bismu Nudder) now at Sultanpore, under Briga-
dier Horsford, to keep open the communication
between Sultanpore and Fyzabad.
" F Troop Royal Horse Artillery (6 guns) ; de-
tachments field battery (2 guns) ; heavy field battery
(8 guns) ; sth company 13th battalion Royal Artil-
lery; detachment Madras Sappers; her Majesty's 7th
Hussars (417 sabres) ; Hodson 's Horse (312 sabres);
head quarters and wing of her Majesty s 53d Foot;
2d battalion Rifle brigade, Ist Madras Fusiliers,
sth Punjaub Rifles.
" The Brigade now at Pertaubghur, under Bri-
gadier Pinckney.—Col. Gordon's light field battery
heavy field battery, Major Le Mesurier's Reserve
Company of Royal Artillery, Sikh Company. of Ar-
tillery, Major Stokes's Pathan Horse,. her Majesty's
32d and 54th Foot, Ist Sikh Infantry.
" Third Brigade to consist of—en route from
Roorkee, Major Lennox's Company, Royal Engi-
neers ; from Lucknow, Delhi Pioneers, Major Mid-
dleton's Troop Royal Horse Artillery ; en route,
Ist Irregular Cavalry ; en route to Azimghur, Jat
Horse ; coming from Cawnpore, her Majesty's 79th
Highlanders ; Allahabad, Belooch Battalion.
" Brigade to move from Sundeelah, on Sundee.—
From Lucknow, Col. Nicholson, with a company of
Royal. Engineers; from Cawnpore, heavy field bat-
tery and light field battery ; en route down coun-
try, two squadrons of Carabiniers • from Nawab-
gunge (Cawnpore-road), Wales's Horse ; Ist Regi-
men of Oude Police avalry,.her Majesty's 20th
Foot; from Lucknow, left wing of her Majesty's
23d Foot, two battalions of Oude Police.

" The duty of this brigade will be to clear the
country, to the westward beyond Sundeelah, and
establish itself at Sundee, or at such point as may
be indicated by the chief commissioner of Oude.
" All these various columns, namely,from Shahje-
hanpore, Nawabgunge (on the Cawnpore-road),
Sultanpore, Pertaubghur, &c., might commence .
operations on the same day, viz., the 15th October.
In addition to the troops enumerated there will be
left to guard the Doab, of corps en route, Major
Moir's Horse Artillery, her Majesty's 9th Lancers,
and the 19th Punjaub Native Infantry.
" It is proposed, further, that one of the regi-
ments belonging to Fyzabad should be thrown
across the Gogra as soon as the river is bridged. A
regiment of police being now in formation at that
place, it is presumed that this may be done without
danger. If there be any risk, the portion of the
troops now at Durreabad (which is very strong)
may be drawn back to Fyzabad.
" As many of the Bengal Sappers and Miners as
are fit for duty to come from Roorkee to Shahj e-
hanpopre ; Colonel Tombs' Troop of Horse Artillery
from Meerut to Delhi ; Major Kay's Troop of Ben-
gal Horse Artillery from Delhi to. Lucknow, to re-
lieve Major M'Kennan's Troop of Bengal Horse
Artillery, which will proceed to Meerut.
" One battalion of British Infantry, with two
squadrons of Queen's Bays, to Nawabgunge (Cawn-
pore-road). There is already a troop of Horse Ar-
tillery at Nawabgunge.
" It addition to what is stated above, the troops
now in Lucknow, Nawabgunge (Bamburkee), Dur-
reabad, and Fyzabad, will all be kept moveable, to
be made use of for the reduction of the country,
amounting to about 5,000 Europeans and 2,000
natives."