THE EARL OF LUCANMy Lords, I am anxious, before I make the Motion with which I propose to conclude, to read two letters. The first is addressed to me by the Adjutant General, in answer to the application I made for a reconsideration of my case, in consequence of the new charges brought forward against me by Lord Raglan, and is as follows—
Horse Guards, 12th March, 1855.MY LORD,—I have had the Honour to lay before the General Commanding in Chief your Lordship's Letter of the 5th instant, in which you express with increased Anxiety your earnest Desire, in consequence of the perusal of Field Marshal Lord Raglan's Letter to the Duke of Newcastle of the 16th December, 1854, that your Lordship's whole Conduct at Balaklava on the 25th October last may be investigated by a Court martial.I am desired to assure your Lordship, that the General Commanding in Chief has given to your Case the most careful and deliberate Consideration, and his Lordship sees no grounds for altering the Decision which has been already communicated to your Lordship, that he cannot recommend that your Conduct on the 25th October should be investigated by a Court-martial.I have, &c.(Signed) G. A. WETHERALL, A.G. "Major General the Earl of Lucan, &c. &c.To this letter I have sent the following reply—Hanover Square, March 12.SIR,—I have just had the honour of receiving your letter informing me that the General Commanding in Chief adheres to his decision not to allow my conduct on the day of the action at Balaklava, the 25th of October last, to be investigated by a court-martial, as I earnestly prayed. I venture to remark, that it is unprecedented that charges so damaging to a general officer, imputing to him, as they do, inattention to one order, misconception of a second, and incapacity to execute the instructions he had received, should be brought against him by his Commander in Chief without an opportunity of meeting them being afforded to him. These charges are now for the first time brought against him by his Commander in Chief without an opportunity of meeting them being afforded to him. These charges are now for the first time brought under my notice, four months after the event, and are of so grave a character that, if well-founded, they should have incapacitated me from being continued for one hour longer in a command for 383 which I had shown myself so wholly unfitted. Sir, a great wrong is thus done me, as I confidently affirm that, had the court-martial been conceded to me, I should have had no difficulty in establishing the injustice of the charges contained in Lord Raglan's letter of the 14th December, by the testimony of the most distinguished officers, not only of our own, but also of the French army.I have the honour to be,Your obedient servant,LUCAN, Major General.I believe that in order to place these documents in your Lordships' hands, it is necessary that I should move that they be presented by the Government, which I beg to do.
§ LORD PANMUREsaid, that the documents the noble Earl had read were not yet in his possession, nor had he ever seen the letter which had been sent by the noble Earl in reply to the communication addressed to him by the Adjutant General conveying the Commander in Chief's decision not to grant the application for a court-martial. He had, however, to state, on the part of the Government, in reference to that proceeding, that he should be prepared to justify the decision of the General Commanding in Chief at any time, should their Lordships think it right to enter into any discussion of that question.
THE EARL OF LUCANsaid, he was glad to hear the noble Lord make such an announcement; and that he would in consequence give notice now, that on that day week he intended, in order to bring the whole subject under discussion, to move for the production of Lord Raglan's Report of the battle of Balaklava, and also of his (Lord Lucan's) Report of that action.
§ THE EARL OF ELLENBOROUGHsaid, he thought that, as the noble Lord (Lord Panmure) had consented to the discussion of the subject, he could not well refuse to grant the papers which had been asked for; but he must, with all respect to his noble and gallant Friend (the Earl of Lucan), call attention to a great irregularity which his Motion involved. The letter his noble and gallant Friend had received from the Commander in Chief was an official letter; and it was not competent, according to the practice of that House, for any noble Lord to read an official letter addressed to himself and then move for its production. He trusted that the course his noble and gallant Friend had thought fit to take would not be drawn into a precedent, for though in this instance it might not be attended with any great inconvenience; in others very serious mischief might result.
§ Motion agreed to.