The Sun. — 1855-04-02 (London, England)

EXCUSE FUR CRUELTY TO  THE WOUNDED.  The following despatch, addressed to the Danish Minister in St. Petersburg, to whom the protection of British interests in Russia has been confided, will be read with surprise and indignation iu England. It is dated St. Petersburg, 21st Feb., and has reference to the documents handed to the Russian Government by the Danish Minister, containing the depositions taken at a species of court martial before Sebastopol with regard to the cruelties practised by Russian soldiers on their wounded prisoners " Monsieur le Baron,—Previous to the receipt of the letter, with which you honoured me on the 4th instant, Prince Menschikoff had made the Lnperial Cabinet aware of the steps taken by Lord Raglan and General Canrobert after the battle of Inkerman. _ _  "I;;eply to that communication, the Commander-inChief, Prince Menschikoff, had declared that an unarmed enemy is and always will be under the protection the Russian flag. "This principle requires neither comment nor cocfirrnation. Whilst referring to it, M. le Baron, I feel called upon to remark, that if soldiers of the enemy may unfortunately have on the field of battle become the sacrifice of isolated acts of cruelty, information that has subsequently raached us has brought to our knowledge a grave circumstance, which it is of importance to recor - _ - - - .  "We have, in fact, learned, that on the day of Inkermann, English soldiers that were supposed wounded and disabled, raised themselves from the ground and fired upon our troops as they passed by them in their attlck on the esieicy. " Our soldiers, wounded by bullets coming from hands they believed disarmed, may have thus allowed themselves in the, heat of action to be carried away by a bloody revenge. " Humanity blames this most undoubtedly ; but they are in some degree provoked to it by an enemy whom they certainly could not look on as unarmed, since he still continued to make a murderous use of his weapons. ",The fortune of war is subjected to laws, which must be upheld. among them is one that deserves to be mentioned here. That one—namely, that an enemy is not at liberty to make use of his weapons at the moment of laying them down for the purpose of killing those who are giving him quarter. It is with great regrA that we have heard the instance of an English officer quoted, who, after having handed over his sword to a Russian sub-officer with one hand, shot him with a pistol, aimed quite close to him, with the ~ttier. " Whilst acts of this nature sere to characterise the fury of the struggle, they.at the same time suffice to explain the sad consequences which it has brought in its train. "If you read through again, with attention, the minutes appended to your lett:er of the 4tli inst., you will observe that, in the majnrity of the cases mentioned, the retaliation of the En.lisla soldiers was a bloody one. Fa: removed from al! proneness to contention and revenge, ue confine onrselves to drawing the conclusion that it would be desirable for both armies that a strict observance of ttie la vs of humanlty on the field of battle I should be introduced._  " Prince IlenichikCff has on his part ha-itened to fulfil the duties in this respect that.the authority of his command, and the express will of the Emperor,-impose upon him.  " We rc‘ckon with equal confidence on the honourable sentiments of the commanders of the English army. " I do not hesitate, M, le Baron, to exp:ess to you this confidence, and return you herewith the documents which you had the goodness to communcite to me. I have not failed to bring them to the knowledge of Prince Menbehikoff, and to request him to- take the evidence contained. therein into serious cc nsideration, in crier that he might contribute with all his power to confer on the,present stripjgle the character of moderation, from which two nations that respect themselves shoulel never depart, even though involved in a conflict, to which we should be happy to put an end, if conciliatory views on the part of the Government of her Britannic Majesty corresponded to our own. Accept, &c.,