The Sun.
London, England, 1861-07-12 00:00:00

AQUATICS.

THAMES NATIONAL REGATTA.
FIRST DAY.
THIS RESIDENT THAMES WATERSIDE FOURS.
Bain's crew, Lambeth
Nil Desperandum ..
The Rifleman crew
_ _ . .... 0

The winners went right away, and won as they liked.
The final heats for the Scullers' Race Open to all the
World, the Pair Oar Race Open to all the World, the
Champion. Four-oared Race, and the Waternian'a Appren-
tices, will be rowed this afternoon.

M. Meyerbeer and M. Auber have acceded to
the request made to them by the Commissioners of the
London Exhibition of 1862 to supply o,musical compositio
to be executed at the opening,

" Time works wonders," they say—but nowhere
so frequently as at the Horse Guards. Let but a
year or two elapse, and you may possibly see an
officer who barely escaped being tried by court-
martial, not only purged of his offence, but pro-
moted and rewarded. The public have scarcely re-
covered from their surprise at the colonelcy be-
stowed upon General Eden, when they are startled
by the intelligence that General Windham, of
Cawnpore fame, has been rewarded with a Colonel's
allowance for life. It is difficult to believe that the
War Minister can seriously approve of these Horse
Guards' extravagancies. It is rather to be feared
that circumstances hardly permit the Minister to
exercise that control over a headstrong military
clique which is so imperatively needed.
No one, surely, has yet forgotten the siege of
Lucknow. For months the gallant band of
English, men and women, had been shut up in
that beleaguered town. Early in the war Sir Henry
Lawrence had perished, and even Havelock and
Neil had only succeeded in entering the gates to
be shut up without the possitility of delivering
either themselves or those whom they came to
rescue. It was a terrible trial to those who had
friends and relatives within those frail defences.
But at length the news came that Sir Cohn
Campbell was advancing to their relief. With the
utmost anxiety and the utmost promptitude
every available man had been collected, for the
enterprise was full of hazard. It was not
simply to relieve a mere garrison of soldiers,
but to bring back in safety through a crowded city
and a country swarming with an armed host of
Indians, a great company of women and children.
Now, there was one thing upon which the success
of the whole depended. Sir Colin might succeed in
penetrating into Lucknow—he might succeed in
bringing
venoutsueccveeerdy iwnopmraontecatnindg cthheildlonaglilvien; lolef
surrounding hosts until he reached the bridge of
Cawnpore. But unless that bridge was held in per-
feet safety—unless when he reached it the means of
crossing the river were secure, so that he might
place his precious charge in safety within the lines
of Cawnpore—all his elaborate preparations, all the
promptitude of his officers and the gallantendurance
of his men, would be utterly useless. To secure
Cawnpore, therefore, and the bridge across the
river from the attacks of the rebels, was the vital
point. It was a service of the utmost moment. But
the task was comparatively easy, All that the
officer left in charge had to do was to remain upon
the defensive, to repel any attack that might be
made upon him, but to risk nothing—to keep stea-
dily within his entrenchments. The officer selected
to hold Cawnpore was Major-General Windham,
whose conduct at the Redan, although it had occa-
sioned a lively controversy, certainly greatly con-
tributed to place him in Parliament, and to procure
for him a command in the East. His orders were
distinct to maintain his position—to keep the
bridge safe, and to await the return of Sir Colin.
But this did not suit the spirit of Gen. Windham.
He would go forth to meet the enemy. But instead
of success, he was compelled to fall back within his
entrenchments--his men became demoralised, the
communication across the river was in peril, and
had it not been for the opportune presence and
activity of Sir Cohn, the whole army, with all the
women and children under their protection, might
have been driven into the river and drowned. At
the critical moment when the gallant old Scotchmau
had all but succeeded in his perilous task, the mis-
guided activity of a subordinate almost robbed him
of success. :History does not report what passed
between the Commander-in Chief and Gen. Wind-
ham when they met on that anxious night. But
from that moment until the end of the Indian cam-
paign we do not remember that Gen. Windham ever
took part in any active operations. He was sent
away to take the command of a district where
everything was comparatively quiet. The salary
of £4,000 was hardly enough to satisfy a soldier's
pride, but assuredly it was more than enough to
satisfy the claims of General Windham. If at the
=meat of this failure it had been proposed to
confer upon him a regiment, even the House of
Commons of these degenerate days would have
interposed to cancel so gross an appointment.
At that time, therefore, nothing more was at-
tempted than au indignant protest from the IJuke
of Cambridge in behalf of au absent officer, and
soon after an elaborate defence by an artillery
officer who took part in the Cawnpore disaster.
But " time works wonders ;" years have passed ;
the story has been partly forgotten. The General,
we shall now be told, behaved with the utmost
gallantry in the affair of Cawnpore, and since that
time he has of course exercised his command to the•
perfect satisfaction of his superior officers. In addi-
tion to all this, we shall be told that according tcs
the Horse Guards' regulations he is next on the list
fur a regiment, and as he must soon vacate his com-
mand in India, the only thing to be done is to make
up the emoluments which he will lose by those
attached to a colonelcy.
Such arguments will no doubt prevail. The War
Niinister and the Commander-in-Chief, after haviere
proved, as of course, they easily may prove, that the
rules of the service, made for the benefit of such
men as General Eden and General Windham, have
been strictly followed, may possibly wax indignant
at the idea of being supposed capable of doing an
injustice to the General in order to avoid the abuse
of acrid political fanatics. But clear-sighted people
will readily perceive that sinecure colonelcies were
intended as rewards for those who have made them-
selves notorious, not by failure, but by success. And.
the appointment of General Windham, like the
appointment of General Eden, is one more proof of
the incapacity of the Horse Guards to distribute
military patronage.—Daily News.