The Sun.
London, England, 1844-04-17 00:00:00

privileges of the Church, he should not vote for the
motion.—(Laughter.) It appeared that the Hon.
Member for Hull was afraid there :might be a crush on
Sundays. Now if any of the gentlemen who had spoken
to-night would stand up in the cathedral on a Sunday
and deliver his oration there, there would be no crush
at all, for the people would be too happy to escape.
Mr. HUME in reply said that he was happy to find
that every one in the House agreed with him in opinion
except the Hon. Member for Oxford, who ought to have
been born 300 years ago, in order to have had an oppor-
tunity of carrying out the opinions which he advocated.
He was gratified by hearing the opinions which had
been expressed by the Right Hon. Baronet at the head
of her Majesty's Government, and was glad to find that
he would lend his assistance to the good work. Even
the Hon. Member for Sussex, who had never agreed
with anything since he entered the House, participated
in the general feeling, although he would not vote in
favour of the motion. He hoped this general expression
of opinion would produce a beneficial effect, and that
next year they would find that their great object was
attained. The Right Hon; Baronet seemed to appre-
hend some technical difficulty in the way of the motion,
and in deference to the Right Hon. Baronet's opinion,
he should withdraw it.
The motion was then withdrwn.
HONOURS TO THE PENINSULAR ARMY.

Sir ANDREW LEITH HAY then rose to move an
address to the Crown, that her Majesty will be graciously
pleased to confer an honorary distinction on the surviv-
ing officers of the Peninsular army. Previous to the
Easter recess he had given notice of a motion to call the
attention of the House and of the Government to the
services of the officers of the Peninsular army, leaving it
to the House and to the Government to determine what
line it would be best for them to adopt; but not finding
that it was the intention of the Government to agree to
his view of the case, he had determined to take a diffe-
rent ground, and to move for an address to her Ma-
jesty, praying her to bestow some honorary dis-
tinction upon the officers of the Peninsular army.
It might be urged that this was not a re-
spectful course to adapt. He did not wish to dictate
to the Government, but considering the circumstances
under which the British army had served in these never-
to-be-forgotten campaigns, he felt it to be his duty as an
humble individual to recal to the recollection of the
House what were their services, and to advocate their
cause before the Government, the House, and the coun-
try, and to leave it to them to determine what were the
rewards which thesa services merited.—(Hear, hear.)
He might be met with the objection that too great a
length of time had elapsed since the performance of
their services to authorise him in bringing forward such
a motion as the present. lie would briefly recal to the
recollection of the House the circumstances attending
these campaigns which they seemed to have forgotten.
It might also be said, that if any person ought to take
up the case, it was that great and illustrious man who
had conducted these campaigns in a manner so credit-
able to himself and so glorious to his country.—
(Cheers.) The Duke of Wellington, however, he be-
lieved had .had no opportunity of bringing the matter
forward. He had not taken the place of the Duke of
York in the command of the army until the year 1828,
and he believed it was an invariable rule with the Duke
of Wellington never to ask for any rewards for his offi-
cers or for himself. In all promotions the only part the
Duke of Wellington had taken had been when requested
by the Government to recommend officers for promo-
tion to recommend such officers in accordance with the
desire of the Government. Another thing also should
be remembered that at that time medals and honorary dis-
tinctions were not so general as they had been of late years.
He thought at that time the Duke of Wellington was not
called upon to interfere. At another period, he alluded
to 1840, applications were made to the Noble Duke by
the officers of the Peninsula, but he had at that time
relinquished the office of Commander-in-Chief, and
therefore had no power to interfere. He believed that, as
far as the interference or non- interference of the Duke of
Wellington went, he was justified in the course he had
pursued. But at the present time the circumstances
were different, the Duke of Wellington was now Com-
mander-in-Chief and a member of the Cabinet, and,
therefore, he might now properly interfere. He was sure
of this, that the case of the officers he was about to bring
before the House was most deserving of its atten-
tion.—(Hear, hear.) The Hon. and Gallant Member
then went at some length into the details of the services
of the officers of the Peninsular army, and expressed his
surprise that they had not been rewarded as they de-
served. What, he would ask, would have become of the
Duke of Wellington and his forces had it not been for
the Peninsular army ; and yet this being the case there
were many men, whose names he could mention, who
had received no distinction. Among them were Colonels
Cavendish, Chatham, Vandeleur, Townshend, Lovell,
Grant, Scott, and several others; they had received no
medals for their services, while there was not a drum-
boy who had heard the sound of cannons at Waterloo
who had not received distinction.—(Hear, hear.) Why,
his Right Hon. and Gallant Friend opposite (Sir H.
Hardinge) had received no medal for the Peninsular war,
although, he would venture to say, he would consider it
the highest honour he could have.—(Hear, hear.) He
believed that all the greatness of the British army arose
from the Peninsular war. The lion. and Gallant Mem-
ber then referred to the gallant conduct of several
officers, all of whom had received no distinctions
for the heroic course they had pursued.—(Hear, hear.)
He had endeavoured to recal to the memory of the House
some of the circumstances connected with the Peninsular
war; and he should now state what was his intention
with regard to the motion he had brought forward.
That motion was for an address to the Crown, praying
that her Majesty would be pleased to bestow some dis-
tinction on the surviving officers of the Peninsular army.
In making this motion he did not wish to interfere
with any course her Majesty's Government might think
proper to take, and if his Right Honourable and
Gallant Friend would state that the Government
would take up the matter and do justice to
these officers, he for one should be too happy
to leave the question in their hands. It would be
stated, perhaps, that the time had gone by—that it was
impossible, even if they wished it, to confer these dis-
tinctions now. But nothing was easier, in reality, to
effect. What he proposed to do was this, that medals
should be granted to every officer now surviving who
was in the Peninsula, and who served in any of the
great actions of that war. He should propose also that,
according to the last paragraph of the order by which
these honours were formerly granted, in the cases of
those officers who had died, the medals should be sent to
their families.--(Hear, hear.) Nothing could be more
simple than this. This was a large field to go over. It
was a large field to examine to get at the records of so
large a number of regiments ; but it was not so difficult
to get at the details of that smaller portion of the British
army engaged in the Peninsula. The cause he was ad-
vocating was that of fifteen regiments of ca*lry and
sixty regiments of infantry, which all bore on their
standards the noble distinction of the names of
the battles in which they had served during
that war. There was also another class of men,
who ought not to be excluded from sharing in
these honours. Those were the officers who had served
in the Peninsular war, who were still living, but who had
retired from the service. He did put it to the Right
Hon. and Gallant Gentleman whether he would not
support him in obtaining for these old officers these
honorary distinctions. It might be considered folly at
this time of day to talk about this question, but it was a
fact that there was not an officer who had served in the
Peninsula who did not consider himself degraded when
he saw on others the decorations that had been lately
bestowed. He did not talk of it as a matter of jealousy.
Let the Governor-General of India distribute decorations
to the whole Indian army. In his opinion the more
that were given the better. In all services the more of
these rewards that were given, the more likely that good
services would be performed. Would any one tell him
that any officer of Napoleon, wearing the Cross of the
Legion of Honour on his breast, would ever allow an un-
decorated officer to pass him in the race of glory 2
(Hear, hear.) He believed that spirit of emulation was
one of the great engines of Napoleon's military power.
The enthusiasm of that army could not be described.
He would mention one other fact connected with this
subject. When the Russian army, under General
Suvaroff, took the city of Prague by assault, he found iu
the arsenal a stock of 20,000 musket-balls. These
balls he had struck into medals, with the word
" Prague" inscribed on them, and these were dis-
tributed among his soldiers. When the Russian army
entered Paris in 1814 many of the veteran soldiers in its
ranks wore and exhibited this mark of honour with pride
and exultation. It had often been asked why should the
House of Commons interfere in matters of this kind. It
was said that it was by the Crown alone that honours and
distinctions ought to be bestowed. But this was not the
first time that this question had been discussed in the
House of Commons. He found that after the battle of
Waterloo, on the 29th of June, 1815, Mr. Charles Wynn,
an authority he believed as high as any in that House
on subjects connected with its privileges and rights, and
the proper conduct of its business,—Mr. Wynn, on that
occasion, proposed that medals should be given to all
the survivors of the battle of Waterloo, and of the same
' materials both to officers and men. This proposal was
made during a discussion on the propriety of erecting a
national monument, the proposition of the medals being
a substitute for that plan. With regard, then, to the
form of his motion, he bad an authority to which he was
sure the House would listen ; only two hours ago he
had heard the Prime Minister of the Crown say, " Do
not legislate on resolutions, why not ask for an address
to the Crown." lie (Sir A. L. Hay) did ask for an
address to the Crown, and he would ask his Right Hon.
and Gallant Friend, who bore on his breast the blazon
of nine victories, to let his own good feeling guide him
in assisting to carry this motion. He had not brought
it forward with any purpose of making a display
or to secure an opportunity of talking in that House, for
he did not often trespass on their attention. But feeling
strongly for a large portion of as meritorious officers as
ever shed their blood in the service of any country, who
were aggrieved at not having granted to them what they
asked, he had ventured to make this proposition. i
As he saw the Right Hon. Baronet, the First Minister
of the Crown, present, he would state in his presence
that invariably since he had been at the head of the Go-
vernment, when he had seen him rise in his place to
move the thanks of that House to officers for their dis-
tinguished services, he had seen him do it in a truly
feeling manner. fie had not done it in that cold and
official manner which was often exhibited on such occa-
sions. lie showed that he not only thought of himself
while he spoke of those men—but that he thought of his
country at the same time. lie therefore called on her
Majesty's Government in the same manner to consider
not only what the effect of this motion would be on the
officers of the Peninsular army, but the effect it would
produce on the country at large. The Hon. and Gallant
Gentleman concluded by making the motion of which
he had given notice.
Lord ARTHUR LENNOX said he had been re-
quested, to second the motion of_his Hon. and Gallant
Friend, and he now rose to do so with great pleasure.
azythilig could suppose that a vote is