The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-02-24 00:00:00

it was,

to approve of anything- beyond the ability displaye'd by
Ellenborough in the application of the resources of India to
the purposes of the war in Affghanistan.

The votes of thanks were then put and agreed to seriatim,
and their lordships adjourned.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—McrNDAT

Sir ROBERT PEEL proceeded, in pursuance of his notice,
to move the thanks of the house to the Governor-General
of India, and to the officers and men, both British and na-
tive, for their services in the late military operations of Aff-
gbanistan. He began by disclaiming all intention of casting
any political reflection, even in the remotest or most oblique
way, upon the course previously pursued by Lord Auckland's
government; and, after alluding to the general character of
wild and romantic interest attaching to those distant services
and scenes, he explained the position of affairs at the acces-
sion of Lord Ellenborough. He related the outbreak of the
rebellion, the movement of Sir Robert Sale from Cabul to
Jellalabad, and the attack then made upon the British, in-
cluding the murder of Sir A. Burnes; the preparation of a
military force by Lord Auckland, the news which reached
him of further disasters, and his subsequent orders to Gene-
rals Pollock and Nott for the withdrawal of the forces. It
was but just to say, that with the discretion thus exercised
by Lord Auckland, Sir Jasper Nicholls's opinion had coin-
cided. It was easy to criticise that discretion, at this dis-
tance, and after the event ; but in the judgment of Sir R.
Peel, the resolution taken by Lord Auckland was justified
by the circumstances under which it had been adopted. The
state of affairs, however, at the arrival of Lord Ellenbo-
rough, being undoubtedly very discouraging, he adopted a
new policy, of which the objects had been all accomplished.
True, he had, on the 19th of April, directed General Nott to
retire from Candahar ; but Lord Ellenborough had then re-
ceived nexs of the surrender of Gbuznee, and of the failure
of General England in the attempt to relieve General Nott;
and, meanwhile, General Pollock and General Nott had been
writing to the Governor-General to represent'the difficulties
of their respective positions. The loss of beasts of burden,
indispensable for securing a supply of food, had amounted in
months to the number of 30,000 animals. These cir-
ances were an ample justification of Lord Ellenbo-
rough's first order of withdrawal. The Governor-General
had been charged by Lord John Russell with offering such
an insult to Mr. Amos, an eminent lawyer, as compelled
that gentleman to resign his situation. But Mr. Amos's
wife bad written a letter, in consequence of the report of
Lord John's speech, stating that there was not a word-of
truth in the report 7- that he bad always intended to resign
at that time; and that Lord Ellenborough had treated him
with the utmost politeness and courtesy. Sir Robert Peel
then proceeded to specify the services of Generals Pollock,
Nott, and Sale. General Pollock, on arriving at the scene
of his duty, had visited the hospitals—had provided for the
care of the sick, as well as for the comfort of the effective
troops—and had brought them back from a state of unplea-
sant feeling to a zealous and loyal spirit, as it appeared from
Quintus Curtius that Alexander had done, in those very
regions, more than two thousand years ago, when discontent
had crept in among the Macedonian forces. Sir It. Peel
recapitulated the successive military achievements of General
Pollock, terminating with the capture of Cabul. He then
traced the victorious progiess of General Nott; and after
paying a tribute to the services also of the captains and lieu-
tenants, did justice to the high English spirit which breathed
in General Nott's letters. Lastly, he eulogized the many
and great services of Sir Robert Sale, his fortification of
Jellalabad, interrupted as it had been by the shocks of an
earthquake, his gallant defence of that city, and his success-
ful attack on Akhbar Khan, checkered only by the loss of
the brave and lamented Colonel Dennie • and he, in passing,
alluded to the heroism of Lady Sale, and of the late Lieut.
Sturt, whose valour she has touchingly commemorated. It
was impussible to describe al. these services without feeling
,pride in the British name ; those services had proved that it
was a name which the long interval of peace had not im-
paired; and they were an earnest that further efforts, when
occasion should require, would continue to be made with
glory and with triumph that J. RUSSELL said that, considering all the circum-
the order of withdrawal be' had issued on the 19th of April,
stances, he was not disposed to blame Lord Ellenborough for
though he was of opinion that his share of the direction of
the military operations displayed neither steady nor sound
judgment, and that he Was not, therefore, specifically entitled
to a vote of thanks. He would not, however, take upon
himself the invidious task of opposing it.
Mr. litmus vindicated the conduct of Lord Ellenborough.
Mr. How regretted the excesses committed by our troops
on their retreat from Affghanistan and expressed a fear that
their conduct on that occasion would defeat any expectations
which might otherwise have been anticipated of an extension
of our commerce to that country, by the destruction of every
mart beyond the Indus.
Sir H. HARDINGE said he did not credit the reports which
had gone abroad of those excesses, and believed they would
turn out to be incorrect, and that on the contrary it would
appear that after the storming of Istalif the soldiers bad dis-
played the greatest humanity to the women and children.
He regretted the burning of the bazzar, but it had adjoined
the mosque, at the door of which Sir W. Macnagliten had
been
that an example was necessary. generally considered
sir
E.
c barbarouslyoLEß
a murdered,ooK
d ici
n oatn dit b
e
liewveasthe rumours of those

excesses.
Sir R. INGLIS approved of the Governor-General as well
as to the officers and army.
Mr. HUME was much gratified by the explanatons given
by Sir H. Hardinge, though he exceedingly regretted the
destruction of the bazaar. He censured the whole policy of
Lord Ellenborough,
which was altogether for withdrawal,
there being no less than nineteen orders to that effect. The
hon. member concluded by moving as an amendment that
the vote to Lord Ellenborough should be deferred until
fuller information was before the house.
Mr. B. BARING read from the papers directions by Lord
Ellenborough for the troops to advance.
Lord EBRINGTON said that as the vote of thanks was con-
fined to military operations he would not support the amend-
ment.
Mr. HOGG expressed a hope that Mr. Hume would with-
draw his motion. He then entered upon a lengthened
defence of Lord Ellenborough's conduct, and observed that
Mr. Hume must have some correspondence with India, for
he had stated matters not to be found in the blue book, and
his credulity appeared to be equal to his discretion, for he
believed everything he heard. The forts destroyed in the
retreat were, he said, garrisoned by land pirates, and there
was no hope of keeping then, in check except by razing them
to the ground.
Mr. MANGLES sought to impress upon the house the fact
that from March to July Lord Ellenborough was continually
writing to General Nott, advising him to withdraw, and this
before a single step had been taken to retrieve the national
honour. Even the order he had sent to advance was only
permissive, allowing General Nott to advance if he thought
proper to do so, thus shifting the responsibility from his own
shoulders, where it
ought to remain, to those of General
Nott.
Colonel T. WOOD denied that Lord Ellenborough had
shifted the resuonsibilitv from his own shoulders by giving an
indispensable discretion to General Nott.
Captain BERNAL,
requested Mr. Hume to withdraw his
amendment, as every word uttered on that motion was so
much detracted from the value of the vote itself. He was
of opinion that Lord Ellenborough was entitled to this vote
of thanks, and he was not disposed to give it to him in a
niggardly spirit. He hoped the officers who conducted the
war would get something more substantial than this vote of
thanks.
Sir H. DOUGLAS expressed an earnest hope that the vote
of thanks then before them would be agreed to unanimously,
and in expressing
his full assent to the proposition of the
right hon. baronet he did hope that the vote of that house
should not be less acceptable to his gallant-comrades in arms
from thi,circurnstance of its being supported in the bouse by
an old officer who had served many years, and who pt least
had acquired sufficient experience to appreciate the merits of
those distinguished services which it was the object of the
present motion to mark with a strong expression of grati-
tude. The circumstances in which Lord Ellenborotigh found
India were so fully explained and so clearly laid down by the
right hon. baronet who brought forward the present motion,
that it became unnecessary for any one else to enter into fur-
ther detail; but thus much he might, at least, be permitted
to observe—that the intention of Lord Auckland was, that
the British army should retire within the Indus with As little
discredit as possible, while the determination of Lord Ellen-
borough was that our forces should retire with the utmost
possible credit. If Lord Ellenborough had been so: rash as
to have directed armies to advance at one and the same time
from Jellalabad and from Candahar—if the noble Governor-
General had given such an order, then most assuredly the
House of Commons would never be found giving its thanks
for anything
so rash and ill-considered. But Lord Ellen-
borough did nothing of the sort. He took a course infinitely
wiser—he acted upon the prudent maxim of receding in order
that he might more efficiently advance. By holding these
two positions he was enabled to issue clear and precise direc-
tions for the combined movements which subsequently took
place, and which were attended with such signal success. It
both those posts were occupied by
was deal., frorn'the despatch of General Nott, and from the
other papers which had been laid before parliament,' that as
British troops, the atten-
tion of the insurgents would be diverted, and our ultimate
success rendered safe from the assaults of our enemy. The
India, appeared to him (Sir
policy pursued by Lord Ellenborough and the manner in
which he had supported the military operations carried on in
H. Douglas) to merit the highest
enconiums, and it afforded him the greatest possible Eatisfac-
don to bear testimony to the merits of his governinpnt and