The Statesman.
London, England, 1820-09-12 00:00:00

.. s

--:.. .

-`•!..7.•,..f.,

LEICESTERSHIRF: 3111.111.1

, Ti e controversy respecting the Address of the privates
of tt• Leicestersiei-e Militia to the Queen, has continued
it ar..:e.tr%, without ahatetnent. and the fresh Address
irsr.srt.itted from them to her 31ajevry, last week has or-
cas;otted it would seem, the publication of the tortes-
yorsietlce that had taken place on •the subject. This
sl.ens with what concern these Addresses are regarded
in certain quarters: anti of what importance the senti-
ments of private soldiers have become in the present
tisnrs. The letters themselves can br appreciated withont
tur!iser comment. as mar also the opinion of the Adjutant
the noble Colosnel refers.

Leleeeter. August 17.
Sta—As Lieutenant-Colonel of thr Leicester Regi-
ment of Militia, I request the favour of you to send
cane tte names of the two individuals whoses,iirnatures
were to the :address purportimr to be the Address of the
pr;tates of that Regiment to the Queen, and also to men-
tine from whom you received it, and by whom it was
presented. I asl.these questions, as it appears that the
private* of the Reeinieat never even heard of the Address
olvrtrg the time they were embodied. and I observe it
LeArs dire three slaws previous to their dismissal.
I Lave the honour to be, Pe.
To Alderman Wood. M. P. S:. N. HULSE

Loneon. .I,.rist 30. 140.
atu honoured with your letter of the 26111,
recuestioc sue to send yea the names of the two h-
si~t its signatures were to the Addre,s lately sent
to err. purporting 19 be an Address from the Privates of
the Regiment under roar command; also to mention
from whom I receiredit,and by whom it eras presented:
and I should undoubtedly at once give con the informa-
tion desired, were I not induced to infer, front the par-
ticularity and frame of your questioning, that the Ail-
dre.s is considered by the connuandants of the Leices-
t..rshire 31Ditia, of an improper character; anti that pro-
ceedirgs may be in Contemplationlogainst the individuals
of the Ifogunent, by whom the Address was signed.
Your omitting to assign the ultimate object of the in-
quiry. fortifies me in this 'lmposition and I shall not
therefore feel myself at liberty to send you the names
of the parties without their previous concurrence, unless
it appeared that the Address was not intended by the
Privates of the Recipient to hare been presented to her
Majesty. If the Address pnrporting to he an Address
from the Privates of your Regiment. was not, in truth,
on!Eorised by them, I shall not be found backward in
exposing the ileception ; but shall he most anxious to
Five
tots all the information in nay power. For the re-
ser% howey..r. I must decline doing more than referring
you to the tierjeant-itlaiiir, who, I ant informed, was
st:,tweiied hr the officers of the Regiment to repress
the shunts of the Privates of the Leicestershire Militia
in favorer of her Majesty; frogs whom I should 'ppm-
ben.i yirt will i.e. able to obtain much more satisfactory
information than it is in my power to give.
I remain. Sir. tour obedient servant,
(Signed) MATTHEW WOOD.
Tu Lieut. Col. Hulse.

Arliototoot-.Sheet. MA &pt. IRO.
SJ —llavinf seen two letters which have recently
I.re- eachangeA between yourself and the Lieutenant-
Cotenel of the Leicestershire regiment of Militia, I feel
it invumbent upon me, as its Colonel, to inform you that
the questions put to you by Lieut.-Colonel Ilarse, were
not asked with any view of proceeding against those
men whom you asiiht uanee. a, baring sLenel the Ad-
dress to the Queen, purporting to he !root the Privates
of that regiment. I ain not aware of any proceedings
that torte/ he instituted against them •, certainly not,
afar it has been satisfactorily ascertained, that the two
names, which it is understood were alone subscribed to
the Address, were aifiXed to it without the knowlerlge
of the men themselves, by individuals not helongiug to
the Corr. An instance of such palpable fabrication is
'rarer's- oo record, and the detection of it was due to
the instilled honour and military character of the regi•
anent ; no I since it was evident, either that the pers,:n
to whom the snopositions Aildfess was transmitted. hart
heen egregioasly doped, or that her Majesty, to whom it
was presented. lead been shamefully imposed upon.
I...rut-Colonel noise felt himself called upon to afford
yoa the opportunity. which I now again ulfcr, of assist-
leg in the espositre of the tranaaction.
ohserre that your letter :diodes to the reported
abo.its of the men in favour of her Majesty upon the
dishaa ling of the Regiment. I transmit to yon the
ropy of a letter. w hell, upon that particular point, 1
hare received from my Quarter-Master ; hi which the
real cireurostanees five occurred upon that occasion are
fully detailed. It is right that I should add, that ill de-
tiirteing persons are at this moment making the most ac-
tive eseetions to entrap some of the Privates into a late
avowal of their sanction of the Address, in the teeth of
the positive disavowal st hick was fully and decisively
given a few slays sine:. by 110 private.:, to the non-com.
onissiimed officers who went round for the purpose of
ascertaining the real state of the case, and who, front
accidental circumstance*. were Unable to see the re-
mainder of the men. 1 hare the honour, &r.
(Signed) RUTLAND.
To Alderman Wood. Colonel Leicestershire Regiment.

Leicester, Srpf. 3, ISO.
MY Lotto ncoos--1 beg leave to acknowledge the re-
reirt of your Grace's let 'er of the Ist inst. and lost no
time in seeing the Serjeant Major and again inquiring
from him the particulars of what took place in the drill
Geld the evening before the regiment was disbanded.
It was the custom, during the period of training, for
the men to fall in at their companies private parade,
both morning and evening, when they were marched by
their respective Non-Cotainissioned Officers to the drill
field.
The companies hail marched to different parts of the
field, and the orders had liven read to them, when the
Serjcant 3laior called for the Serjeants to collect their
reports ; during this time four or five men in plain clothes
joined in conversation with some of the grenadiers, and
No. 1. Company. One of them said, romp my lads, give
us three cheers for the Queen, (stad said Now) whets
two of the grenadiers and one of No. I, Company, pulled
off their caps and cheered, and not more than eight or
nine seemed to take any notice of it. On seeing this,
he immediately fell them in. and the townsmen skulked
away. Shortly afterwards I arrived, when the Serjeant
Major reported to me what had occurred. I blamed
him for not ascertaining their names and place of re-
sidence.

. .....
Alderman Wood must hare been misinformed res-
pecting the Serjeant Major being sent by the Officers to
repress the shouts of the men, as there were no Officers
present. The Adjutant and myself only attended the
drill (and lie was dining out that day) Colonel Hulse
thinking the men would conse on much faster under the
Serjeants till they became perfect with the fireleck. The
day the regiment was disbanded, there was no parade,
except by companies, to give in their arms and accou-
trements at the magazine. I commenced taking them
in at six o'clock in the morning, two companies at-
tending every hour till the whole was received, and no
men could conduct themselves more properly than they
dill during the time I was receiving them.
I have before Mated to your (inc.a that the men were
marched from their private parades. morning and even-
lug, to the drill fieltf, under the Serjeants ; at twelve
u'elock the whole regiment assembled In the Market-