§ THE QUEEN'S Message of yesterday read.
§ EARL GRANVILLEMy Lords, I have upon the present occasion a peculiarly agreeable duty to perform, in which I am sure I shall meet with the 315 support of every one in this House; for, after the manner in which General Have-lock's name has been received wherever it has been mentioned, there can be no doubt that the House will cordially welcome any reward which Her Majesty may please to confer upon that gallant officer. I am sure also that every one of your Lordships will join with me in regretting that the circumstance of General Wilson being an officer in the East India Company's service precludes this House from marking its admiration of his noble services in the same way as those of General Havelock; for General Wilson has greatly contributed, under Divine Providence, to the successes which we have obtained. With respect to General Havelock, his claims upon the gratitude of the country are great and of long standing. He entered the army some considerable time ago—in 1815—so that he is not now a young man. Shortly afterwards he went to India, and served, I believe, in every campaign, and has been engaged in every principal action in India from 1824 down to the close of the late Persian war. It would be tedious, as it is unnecessary, to enumerate the number of stars and medals which that gallant officer bears upon his breast. Upon his return from the late Persian expedition he reached India almost simultaneously with the fearful outbreak of the Native soldiery which we so much deplore. He was immediately sent to join General Neill, with a very weak column of four regiments, partly Sikhs, and a small body of artillery, commanded by Captain Maude. He marched from Allahabad to relieve Cawnpore, but, as we all know, arrived too late to prevent one of the darkest pages being added to our Indian history. He effected one of the most extraordinary marches to be found in military annals. With his force decimated by fever and cholera, exposed to the effects of the heat at a season during which hitherto it had been considered impossible to move troops in India, he met and defeated the enemy no less than four times, inflicting great losses upon them on each occasion, between the 5th and the 16th of the same month. After leaving Cawnpore he marched to relieve Lucknow, and, after crossing the Ganges, he fought two battles on the 29th of July, one early in the morning and the other late in the evening, and in both again was victorious. However, being encumbered with sick and wounded, and his force very much reduced 316 in numbers, he was compelled to retrace his steps, to recross the river, and to await at Cawnpore the arrival of reinforcements. These reinforcements he received under the command of General Outram, who, I must remind the House, following the distinguished example of the late Commander in Chief, Lord Hardinge, in the Sikh campaign, most chivalrously and honourably to himself confined himself to his civil office, and accompanied General Havelock as a volunteer, in order that that gallant officer might have the credit which so properly belonged to him of having conducted the victorious troops under his command to the relief of the besieged city of Lucknow. His force then consisted of 2,700 men; they again crossed the Ganges, attacked and carried the enemy's position at Alumbagh on the 21st of September, and afterwards fought another battle under the walls of Lucknow. They ultimately arrived at Lucknow, but I am sorry to say that at present we have no information that their efforts have been crowned with that complete success which we all so earnestly desire, the expedition having been chiefly undertaken to rescue some of our helpless countrywomen and their children, who were surrounded by enormous bodies of Sepoys in arms. It must be the first wish of every one that God in His divine providence will permit these gallant heroes to effect their purpose, and that we may receive that information ere long. Our present duty, as your Lordships, I am sure, will unanimously agree, is by every means in our power to testify that we entirely concur with Her Majesty in wishing to do honour to one of her bravest and most distinguished soldiers. I beg, therefore, to move the following Address to Her Majesty:—
"That this House returns Her Majesty the Thanks of this House for Her Majesty's most gracious Message, informing this House, ' That Her Majesty being desirous of conferring a signal Mark of Her Favour and Approbation on Major-General Sir Henry Havelock, Baronet, K.C.B., for the eminent and distinguished Services rendered by him in command of a Body of British and Native Troops in India, and particularly in the gallant and suc- 317 cessful Operations undertaken for the Relief of the Garrison of Lucknow, recommends it to the House of Lords to concur in enabling Her Majesty to make Provision for securing to Sir Henry Havelock a Pension of One Thousand Pounds per Annum for the Term of his natural Life; and to assure Her Majesty that this House will cheerfully concur in enabling Her Majesty to make such Provision."
§ THE EARL OF DERBYMy Lords, it would be impertinent in me to attempt to follow the noble Earl in the statement which he has just made, especially as upon a former occasion I expressed my high sense of the services of General Havelock. I am happy, however, to have an opportunity of expressing my entire concurrence with the noble Earl in the eulogium which he has so justly pronounced upon General Wilson, whose name I inadvertently omitted to mention when I addressed your Lordships on a former occasion. I should be sorry if, in mentioning the names of distinguished officers, it should be thought that I had intentionally passed over one to whom we are so deeply indebted. I can only say for myself, and I believe I may say on behalf of every one of your Lordships, that we cordially concur in the Address which the noble Earl has moved. If there is one other name which I may venture to mention upon this occasion, it is one to which I adverted upon a former evening—the name of one who I trust still survives, and to whom the thanks of this country are eminently due—I refer to the gallant officer who so long commanded at Luck-now, Colonel Inglis, who, with all the anxieties attendant upon the presence of his wife and children, has nevertheless so nobly fulfilled the duties of his perilous position as commandant of the garrison. I am quite sure my noble Friend will feel that it is only right we should do justice to persevering gallantry under such trying circumstances.
§ EARL GRANVILLEI most heartily thank the noble Earl for the cordial manner in which he has seconded the Address. I would only wish to point out, in respect to what has just fallen from the noble Earl, that this is not the proper occasion or place to discuss the 318 distribution of honours, which is the prerogative of the Crown. It will be sufficient for me to remind the House that, although it would be most gratifying to confer honours on the spot where they are earned, yet that when they have to be conferred at home it is necessary for the Government to await complete official information.
§ At a later period of the evening,
§ THE DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE,who had been absent when the Address was moved, rose and said: I wish, my Lords, to set myself right with your Lordships with respect to my absence from the House in the early part of the evening, when Her Majesty's gracious Message in reference to General Havelock was under consideration. I am perfectly aware that I am out of order in adverting to that subject now, but I am extremely desirous that my absence should not be supposed to be intentional, and I am sure your Lordships will give me credit for speaking with sincerity when I say that there is not a single Member of your Lordships' House who is more anxious to do honour to so gallant and distinguished a soldier as General Havelock than myself. Many greater campaigns, no doubt, than that in which he has been engaged can be found recorded in history; but I very much question whether an arduous service has ever been performed with greater zeal, devotion, judgment, or discretion by any officer in command of troops than has been within the last few months displayed by the distinguished General whom your Lordships have this evening honoured. Not only have the troops under his command been opposed to very large bodies of Native soldiers, who have surrounded them on all sides, but they have had to contend against one of the severest of climates—a foe equally formidable. It has, indeed, been often stated, so trying is that climate, that European troops could neither march nor fight during the summer months in India. In encountering its severity our troops have had to endure great suffering, but they have, nevertheless, performed their duty nobly. As has been stated to your Lordships, all troops, beyond doubt, look up to their leader; and Sir Henry Havelock possesses, I believe, among other distinguished qualities, that which enables him to induce his men cheerfully to follow him in carrying out any undertaking in which he may desire to embark. 319 He is beloved by his troops, and therefore the duties which he requires at their hands they zealously discharge. I trust, my Lords, that the service in which he is now engaged will be brought to a satisfactory conclusion. We cannot but look with anxiety for the results which we expect daily to hear; but I doubt not that if that service is possible it will be performed by this distinguished officer. It is also but right that, while honouring General Havelock, we should also concede due honour to Sir James Outram, who upon this occasion waived his claim as a general officer of higher rank and allowed to Sir Henry Havelock the distinguished honour of relieving Lucknow. It is gratifying also on such an occasion to be able to allude to officers of both services—that of the East India Company as well as that of Her Majesty. In doing honour, as we have done this evening, to an officer of the Queen's service, I am glad to think that an officer of the East India Company's service—I mean Sir Archdale Wilson—has not been forgotten. It is gratifying to find both these services so zealous and acting so entirely in harmony; for so alone, my Lords, can the interests of the country be properly attended to. I understand that in the course of this evening a noble Friend of mine (the Earl of Derby) alluded to another gallant officer whom he thought deserving of honour (Colonel Inglis). I believe my noble Friend behind me (Earl Granville) replied, that although this was not the place in which these things could be decided upon, inasmuch as it concerned the prerogative of the Crown, yet, at the same time, he was quite ready to state that a considerable difficulty existed in conferring these distinctions off-hand, because the information we received from the seat of war was so scanty, and came at such long intervals. My Lords, that is precisely the view which I take of this case. I can assure you on my own part, and in conjunction with my noble Friend behind me (the Secretary for War), that we have the greatest desire at once to meet the cases as they arise, and to award distinctions as soon as possible after the actions which call for them, knowing full well that half the value of those rewards and distinctions lies in the fact of the services being acknowledged on the spot. But your Lordships must at the same time be aware that the great events which have 320 taken place in India are so peculiar, the distances between the several scenes of action are so enormous, the cases are so isolated, that we have had great difficulty in procuring information on which we can safely and speedily act in the distribution of public honours; and though in General Havelock's instance there can be no question that he deserves the honours bestowed upon him, and my noble Friend has been able to advise Her Majesty to act at once, there are many other cases which will probably have to be met respecting which we are not yet in a position to determine without information. I am happy to have an opportunity of making this statement, because I have seen it declared in some quarters that there has been a remissness or a slackness in conferring these honours. As far as I am concerned, I am sure there is every disposition to bestow honours on all those to whom they are due; and I am sure that no honour which your Lordships can pay, or which Her Majesty in the exercise of Her prerogative can confer, is too great for the services rendered not alone by those who led our troops in India, but by those gallant troops themselves. I can only, my Lords, conclude by expressing my entire and cordial concurrence in the vote to which your Lordships have come this evening.
§ THE EARL OF DERBYAs the Royal Duke has done me the honour to refer to something which fell from me this evening, I hope both he and your Lordships will believe that in introducing the name of Colonel Inglis into this discussion I had not the slightest intention to be guilty of the presumption of even suggesting the bestowal of any honour upon that or any other officer. I quite agree with the Royal Duke in the difficulty which must be experienced in procuring proper information in these matters, and I think that the fewer recommendations of individual officers for rewards and distinctions which are made by Members either of this or the other House, or from any private quarter, the better. These, however, ought to be derived directly and spontaneously from the Crown, for unless that is so they lose a great deal of their value, while, at the same time, the Crown loses a great part of that which is its proper prerogative. I do think, however, that in discussing the services of General Havelock, and the rewards bestowed upon him in con- 321 sequence of those services, relating too, as they did, to the relief of Lucknow—the occasion was not an inappropriate one to introduce some mention of the services, the perseverance, the exertions under great difficulties which have characterised Colonel Inglis as commanding the regiment principally concerned in the defence of Lucknow.
§ LORD PANMUREwas happy to think that while Parliament would confer upon General Havelock, a Queen's officer, a substantial mark of the favour of the Crown and the nation, a similarly substantial mark of the favour of the East India Company would be recommended by the Directors and would no doubt be conferred upon his gallant companion in arms, Sir Archdale Wilson. With respect to all the other brave officers with whose names and exploits in India the country was familiar, he perfectly concurred with what had fallen from the Royal Duke, and thought that any suggestions respecting the bestowal of honours upon them would be an interference with the prerogative of the Crown, while it would lower the value of those honours even in the eyes of the officers who were to receive them.
Address ordered, Nemine Dissentiente; the said Address to be presented to Her Majesty by the Lords with White Staves.