The Sun.
London, England, 1827-01-19 00:00:00

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No. 10,721.

PUBLICATIONS.

FTHE SECOND VOLUME of Mr. SAUT-
1. LEY'S HISTORY of the WAR in SPAIN and POR-
TUGAL, will be published on Monday.

This Day was published,
ANEOST important and interesting POSTHU-
MOUS LETTER of His Royal Highness the DUKE of

THE POSTHUMOUS LETTER

OF HIS LATE ROYAL lIICIPIESS
FREDERICK DUKE OF. YORK AND OF ALBANY.

RUTI &ND -HOUSE, ARLINCTON-STREIT,

SEPTEMBER 1, 1826.

Fir LOVED FELLOW-COUNTRYMEN !

The painful disease which afflicts me, and the remedy which
silust now unavoidably he applied to its temporary alleviation,
warn me of the numbering of my days ; of the frail thread of my
:,xistence ; and that, in all human probability, I shall not succeed
to a Crown which I never coveted ; and which, how much so-
ever it dignifies our admirable Sovereign and my most beloved bro-
ther, is no less graced by his possession.
May the blessings of " Almighty God !" of " The King of
Icings !" continue to accompany his days ! May these be yet
long in the land which has now done justice to his capacious soul,
and to the many excellencies of his noble nature !—And may an
increasing and uninterrupted harmony subsist between the King
and his people ! so that the many trials, with which the greatness
of our country must unavoidably he attended, may lead only to
6-4 u-secession and consolidation of power.
These are the prayers of my heart; of a Prince who feels him-
self within the grasp of death.
Had it been otherwise—l could have unaffectedly resigned the
fascination of a diadem to a younger Prince, if the motives for
such relinquishment might have been accepted, and not miscon-
ceived by my country—for the Crown of England, however ar-
duous and eventful may be the performance of its many constitu-
tional functions, and restricted and defined its prerogatives, yields
to no earthly sceptre in brilliancy of honour.
Under the influence of these solemn impressions, and with the
conviction that--my life is fast ebbing—l feel a most earnest and
invincible desire, to address to my " beloved fellow-countrymen"
a few observations relative to the principles which have actuated
,ny conduct, either officially, or- as a Peer of the realm.
Of England the Princes, in these latter days, are too narrowed
in their means, compared with a richer nobility, to leave behind
ihem any memorials either of their personal taste or munificence.
from a feeling of constitutional jealousy, " the country does every
thing."
Let, then, the following observations, springing at least from an
honest heart, be considered as the only legacy which the Duke of
`fork has in his power to bequeath to his country !
Far is it from any intention, to enter upon any. review of the
,nilitary career of my earlier days ! those operations were min-
ducted jointly with our continental allies, and are subjects fitter
for the pen of the historian. The result of my experience tended,
however, to convince meohat much was deficient in the military
economy of the British army ; and that the success of a campaign
depended not more on the courage of troops, and the conduct of
battle, than in the interior order and precise regulations of regi-
mental routine, and the efficiency of materiel.
If it should he expected of me, that I refer to the charges and
accusation of Mr. Wardle—l may be permitted to say, that it
was completely in my power to have suppressed the whole of that
:nest unfair proceeding. I' might have been disposed thus to
have acted, had I believed that any woman could have been so
base, as to have treasured up a private correspondence, written in
the moment of an infatuated and infatuating connection; as the
future means of threat and annoyance to one, whose fault as towards
such female was, a careless and most unguarded confidence. The
charges against me sprung out of the consequences of an unsus-
pecting and too artless a disposition; nor bad I the least 'conscious-
ness of the extent of surmise with which a cold-hearted and in-
triguing woman had surrounded nte, I could not believe, and
did not image, that in a character which appeared all frankness
and seem& never more pleased than in endeavouring to oblige,
and render servicss; evidences of good tiMper,* and kind dispo-
sition were but the cloaks of a cold and calculating and venal
mind, of which I became the dupe,—Men of much stronger and
more resolute tempers might have been caught by a lees skilful .
tempter, and consummate hypocrite.
It cannot, however, be said of me, that the instances in which
aty patronage was thus grossly misapplied or abused, were many
--they were, indeed, too few to create suspicion in my mind, that
I was giving way loosely to the requests of a fascinatingly-man-
nered woman; nor were they more than men placed in situations
of influence might reasonably be permitted to grant to the claims
of friendship, to those connected with them by habits of confiden-
tial intercaurse, or social unreserve. That such principles are not
the soundest or most discreet, whereby 'to regulate the appoint-
ment of official men, or the attainment of military command, I
am very ready and willing to admit ; and I do trust—that every
other period of my long and unremitting service to my King and
country, as " Commander-in-Chief," justify me in asserting--
that these momentary weaknesses were exceptions to the general
tenor of my conduct and the principles which directed me in the
bestowing of military preferment.
Nor was it ever objected to me, that the very few individuals
which were benefitted by the intrigue and recommendation of
Mary Ann Clarke, were unfit objects or unworthy to hold the
King's Commission. I should have felt much more acutely on
this matter, had such been the case ; and that, in addition to the
manner of attainment, the bad quality or the unfitness of the pro-
moted had been urged 'against me. If such then was the case
(and I contend strongly that such was the case), it would seem
that my general character and official habits had been such, as to I
deter the favourite from daring to propose to my consideration
any unworthy object. Thus, the extreme point of accusation
would extend to this :—that by means of an acquaintance
with Mary Ann Clarke, some few were brought under my
notice sooner than, without such means, they otherwise might
have been.