There has appeared in ano...
The Times, 1824-03-31T00:00:00

There has appeared in anoter ing paper,a long and apparentlyofficial letter,professing to be written by Sir HE}- BERT TAYLOR (as it bears the initials of his namne), and ad- dressed to Lord LONnONDERgY, on the subject of Mr. BAT- TIER'S treatmeilt in, and removal from, the 10th Hussars. We really hardlyknow whether we slould consider the pro- duction as authentic or a forgery, its tenour and composi- tion are so singular; yet, as it is subscrib.td by an honiour- able name, nid speaks of hon ou rable persona.rs, we shall at least treat it respectfully, till its autlhEnticity is disavow- e(l. It is uniecessarv to repeat here NIr. BATTIER'S com- p1aints: all whIo give themselves the trouble to rea d these remark.s are, no doubt,already acquainted with them ;- how the officers of the lotlh treated hlimn with contempt on his entrance into that regiment; how he was, in conse- quence, obliged to quit it; how, during his stay, LarJ LONDONDERRY ordered him from the mess.rooi, to which lie was a subscriber; how the l0tli wvere secretly rcpri- manded; and how -Mr. BA'r'TIR, o0; quitting the regi- ment, publishled the account of his treatment, together with that of the secret repritnan(ls, which he had learned from a commueication or ackniowledgment madle to hlim- self by Sir FiwteaaRT TAYLOR. lVe know, from long observation, what it is for one in Mr. BATTIRR'S SituationI to contenid against the great--to repel their insults, or to attempt the correction of the abuses springing from their miscondluct. The old Englisah spirit is not yet tot.lly subdued, or else a man hbad better sit down in humility, receive the wron,s which are heaped upon hiim with thallkfulness, and leave his oppressors to the stings of their own consciences, or at least to the retri- bution of a future state: he is sure to bc ruined if he at- temnpts to defend hinself. However, we must put in a plea, from a sense of feeling on the present occasion, on be- half of the conitrite; and we have the greater hope of the efficacy of our intercession, inasmuclh as those for whliom we supplicate are not in the mrost humble state. MA-1r. BAT- TIER hard stated, that it was a comtnon plhrase with the lOtlh to say, " We sometimes bully the people at the Horse- "Guards, and thcy somnetimes bullv us;" but surelv,after the satisfaction afflrded to the 10tli on the present occasion by theletter (supposing it to be genuine) conttained in this dav's journal, vitlh the permission to make it public, thie loth vill spare the people at the Horse Guards in future, or at least for sorre time; and not bully those who chowv fh1 most meek andcl conciliatory disposition towards them. This letter, in(leed, so far as intention goes, is ' a prime thing" for the 10th; but, unhappily, men in tbe presence of those of wvhom they stand in awe, are not always in full pos- session of their faculties-the execution does Tnot equal the design. Il'e, who are not military people, can hardly conceive a reason why an officer with the highest ch1aracter from twvo different cavalry regiments-the 5th Dragoon Guards and 18tIbHussars-should, when broughit into the 10ltl, "C labour " under an evident incapacity and unfitness for the duty of " a regiment of cavalry ;" or, above all, why his ignorance shouldl be incorrigible-why he should be unable to learn. Yet, admnitting the truth of these charges against Mrr. BAT- TIER, (loes it not still seem remarkable that the improper treatment he received at the mess should be overlooked, sinirly because he was going to leave the regiment, and wvould not join it again ? WVere this doctrine to be esta- blished, a regiment, or a corps of officers, has only to wait till one of their bodly has negotiated an exchange, and then to heap any insult UpoII the individual quitting them. " I "am directed to acquaint you," says the short letter ad- drtssed to Mr. BATTEtER, and also published to-day, " that as his Royal Higlness has already, in consequence of the " rcport inade some time since, of your unfitness for cavalry " service, expressed his intention of rcomlmnending you for " the purpose of a Lieutenanicy of Infantry, he does not " consider it necessary to notice further. what has passed to " you in a regiment wvhich you will not be calledl upon again ' " to joins." These observations refer to the exclusion fromj the mess: upon which we are going to renmark. The dinner fromn which AMr. BATTIER was e:zcluded was on the 24th of November. It wvas only the day before oni the 2Sd, that he received his formal leave to come to En,- land, though it is certain that he had been allowi.d to absen t himself from some military (luties a day or two be- I fore; but meanwhile he had regularly dined wvith the mess. Now wvhat, in part, leanls us to doubt of the authenticity of the letters now published is, that they take not the least notice oF the most important fact in the whole transaction, wvhch is, that the leave of absence was not to connmence till the 29th. It was to begin on the 29th, five days after the celebrated mess-dhaner, andl to termi- iate on the 28th of Februarvy Tlhe long letter nonv publishled (leals out nmany strong ex- pressions of Mr. BATTIER'S " UTTER u7nfitnzess for the " (luties of a cavalry officer; of the IMXPOSSIBILITY of his " erer becoming sufficiently improved by drill or instriuc- " tion:" and all this respecting a man " of whose gualifi- " cations as an officer and a gentlemani, Lieutenant-z'olenel GORDON,OftheSth Dragoon Guards,ColonelMu atRHAY and " Lieutenant-ColDonel lI'uGls, of the 1Stlh Ilussars, had "spoken ,ivh.ozit reserre." These, however, ute not the points to which we wish to attract attention, but to the follOVing circumstance:-It is said in one part of the letter, that " it wvas owing to this want of capacity " that Alr. BATTIElt was told, by order of his Royal "1i,lhness, that he ha(d better remove from the loth by retiring to half-pav." Now be it observedl. that it is here allowved that thle first idlea of Mr. BATTIER'S removal originated at the Horsc-Guards: and what again would lead us to doubt the autheniticity of this paper is, that before read- ing manyasentences farther, we find a fiat conrtradiction of this assertion, and Mr. BATrI a himself charged "with "retiring fromn the loth Hussars, for the avowed purpose of Nlibelltig the Commander-in-Chief, Lord LONDONDERVY, " aud the Ret giment !" How could Mr. BATTI ER retire for ally purpose, when the thought of his retiremenit was sug- gested, and the time and mode of it prescribed, by another? IVe might notice other inconisisteneies in the letter, but sonme allowvance should probably be made for the anxiety to appease;. and therefore wve desist.