To The Editor Of The Time...
Sir,--The conductofan individual, howeverrespectable is sometimes open to censure- and though I acquit Sir Hi. Taylor, of baving prin- cipally promoted an act of injustice, still, as his name is given to the public as having sanctioned it, he must bear the odiam. Had a fair statement been giveni, Cornet Battier, though deprived of re- dress, and oppressed bv a power from which he had no appeal, might have found consolatiou in the svmpathy of his friends and in the indignation of the armv,-he might hare contented hbnself with the publicity of hiscase, asd left tbe')eople at the hlorse-Guards to re- joice in triumlph over their tyranny. But the case has been misre- presented, and this unfortunate man, after having been insulted by his brother officers, reviled by his Colonel, and reprimanded by the Commander-in-Cbiet, has at last reached the thrine of pitv; and, by the militarv secretary,is spoken of with contempt. CornetBattier ex- changed into the 10th on joining the regiment he was cut; lhe applied to the military SrctXrTry, who privately censured the officers of that corps. In this case, a private reprimand is thought sufficient to atone for an insult pub- licly given. The offence was known, so ought to have bcen the re- paration. Thefact is, it was no reprimand at al'; and if it was of so li!t'e imnortance, the colonel himself was not officially acquainted with it. But what slhall T say of a set of men who insult at their own table an officer they never sagw, who, forgetting the rales of societv, if they ever knew them, show themselves to be so innately vulgar, that had .Mr. Battierbeen asavagz they woul( not have liscovered it? Feeling his incapacity as a cavalry officer, he either, following his own inclination, or the opinion of Sir C. Orant, determined to retire. While his exchange was completing, leave, as is frequently the case, was granted him. Once,'during that leave, he re-appeared at the mess, and was dismissed the room by Lord Londonderry. The coarseness of the language, the madness of the man while he per- formed that act, I shall not expatiate upon: mv informer beard the one, and was wvitness to the other; but I appeal to the whole army, whether an officer returning to the mess for one dav (whilst on leave) is ever excluded ? I admit the thing is irregular; bat I affirm, officers constanty remain mnembers of the mess after their leave has commenced ; and even after they are gazetted out of thie regimaent to which they belong. As the charge inCreases, and the offence be- comes more serious, the feelings rise in proportion, the passions are quickenced, and the mind cannot in tranquillity contemp atetheguilt of falsehood. What will the world say, when I affirm Lord Lon- donderry did know of the officcrs' conduct to hr. Battier, and the Duke's private reprimand ? But, however serious, this is a matter of civil argument, between two parties who will probably settle the point in dispute without any serious manifestation of displea. sure. I The Private Secretary has proved Ir. Battier to be weak and in- discreet, but bevond that, nothing. lAerecriminatse on Alr. Battier, | but in no way justifies the conduct adopted towards him. In the latter p,rt of his letter, his argauents are far-fetched, and wide of the subject. To conclude: we hear a panegyric on the Commander-in-Chief. Illerit meets its reward, and guilt its punishment. A Cornet, unfit for hi3 .ituation, has an offer ofa lieutelancy in the infantry;and the Lieut..Colenel of the lOch Hus-ars finds a quiet retreat in an ex- change hardly ever heard of. Two officers ate acknowledged to have disgraced themselves, and both are rewarded. A private job to prevent public exposure is judicious beyond measUre; but the parties ought to take care a third person is not in the secret. (olonels Hughes and CGordon ought now to be promoted, and consistencv would shine forth as die leading feature in this trans- action. This is not the cause of an individual, but that of the armv. The same power exerted unjustly againist one would operatc against all. The M inister whio in his civil capacity oppresses the Deg-gar, soon ensISves tthe nation. M1II,ES. TO THE EDrTOR OF THE TI.MS.