[ 817.] To the King. London, 11th February, 1828. I have the honour to submit to your Majesty the report of a motion by Lord Carnarvon in the House of Lords this night. The debate turned principally upon a speech lately spoken by Mr. Huskisson upon the hustings at Liverpool. Upon which topic having been introduced by Lord Carnarvon, Lord Goderich and Lord Lansdowne explained, the former in much detail, the circumstances which had broken up the late administration; and the latter a material part of a conversation between Mr. Huskisson and himself, of which Mr. Huskisson had stated only a part to the electors of Liverpool. I availed myself of that same opportunity of stating to the House of Lords that I had given no guarantee to Mr. Huskisson of the nature of that which he had been represented, as I believe erroneously, to have stated to the electors of Liverpool that I had given. All of which is humbly submitted to your Majesty by your Majesty's most dutiful and devoted subject and servant, WELLINGTON. The Duke of Cumberland to Colonel Cooke. DEAR COOKE, I own I should have liked to have seen his Cabinet otherwise composed, still I feel perfectly assured that he found it necessary to constitute it as he has done; and, though there may be persons that may agree with me in this opinion, yet I doubt not that they will cordially support him in his laudable endeavours, after the sacrifices he has personally made; for I am certain it cost him much to take the decision of resigning the Commandership-in-Chief and saddling himself with the toils and labour he will have to encounter. I own I do not like the idea of the command of the army being submitted to a Board; 1st, for this must ultimately lead to the utter ruin of the army, as I never knew anything succeed where there was more than one person to take the management and responsibility; only see how the Austrian army is degenerated, since the command has been administered by a Board. 2ndly. You may depend upon it that such an arrangement will ever be considered as a humbug, and that the country will suppose that the Duke has reserved the patronage of the army in his own hands; and finally there will be those who will construe this, as if there was a doubt on the Duke's mind as to the stability of his government, and therefore he has made this arrangement in order that, if his government should not stand, he might resume his office. You see I give you fairly my views of the subject, sincerely, as I figure to myself what may be started by those who are not the honest supporters of the present government. The Duke's speech, the first night, I highly approve of; but must equally condemn those of Lord Londonderry in the Lords and of Mr. Jenkinson in the Commons. Anything that showed worse taste I never remember to have read in my life; besides, I believe all that the latter stated of his brother to be a perfect fabrication of his own, as I understand that to this hour Lord Liverpool is not in a state of mind to judge or think, and that he did not even know that Canning was dead. Young Seymour told me he had met him, a short time before he left England, driving out with his lady, and that he looked completely as an automaton; but supposing even this were not the case, and admitting all to be gospel that he stated, still there is no denying that it was very bad taste and false policy saying one word of his brother on the occasion. I wish our friend Hertford was named the Lord Chamberlain, if he would not take a more efficient situation in the government, such as the Lord-Lieutenancy of Ireland, for which he possesses every talent, and with his princely fortune could do an immensity of good there. I own, had I been in the place of the Duke of Devonshire, I certainly would not have resigned; for he need not give himself up to politics, never having in his life shown any talents that way; and after all it is a sorry profession. I am expecting a letter from the Duke, as he sent me a message he should write to me very shortly. Do you continue to write to me all that passes, as you know no one feels more interested for the welfare of his country than Yours very sincerely, ERNEST. [ 818.] To Viscount Beresford. MY DEAR BERESFORD, London, 13th February, 1828. I have received your letter this morning regarding the agency of the Artillery, which I take the opportunity of a moment's leisure at Windsor, after the Council, to answer. The agency of the Artillery is not and never was exactly like that of a regiment, and it has become less so than ever it was. No change of agents has been made for the last nearly thirtyfive years, I believe, excepting partially; and such changes have, in every instance, involved delay in the settlement of accounts and losses to the public. The whole of the agency is now for a sum of not less than 700,000l., and there are accounts with storekeepers, as paymasters of artillery and detachments from Ceylon, with North America, Africa, the West Indies, Mediterranean, &c. Greenwood has lately paid in all his balances, and settled his accounts, up to the last moment required by the Regulations; and it was only a year ago that I was obliged to give him an allowance for performing part of the business, which act was founded upon our having drawn all the balances out of his hands. All this is well known in Parliament, as well as that the Ordnance have lost 40,000l. heretofore by the transfer of part of the business to Ridge's; and more recently a considerable sum by a similar transfer to Mr. Wray. We are going to have a Finance Committee, before which all these things will come out. You have the undoubted power of removing the agents from the whole or any part of the concern. The question for you to decide is whether it is prudent at present to exercise that power, considering the circumstances of the case, as they have been above represented to you. It cannot be considered a case of private interest. Mr. Campbell may have claims upon you, but the public interests and those of the government must be considered; and you could not expose the government to the charge of the public interests having been forgotten in this arrangement, and great losses risked in order that you might provide for Mr. Campbell. I think likewise you should consider what others will think of this affair, who will have to protect it in the Finance Committee and to defend it in Parliament after it will be adopted. I here close this letter and the subject altogether. I assure you that I have not heard one word from Greenwood, or from anybody connected with them, upon the subject. I spoke or wrote to you originally because, as I told you, I had heard the report that you intended to remove Greenwood casually mentioned. I have heard it frequently since, and I would earnestly recommend you not to do it. But I feel no interest in the case, excepting on public grounds, and to avoid for yourself and the government the trouble which the discussion will occasion. Hardinge told me this morning that you would be the security for Mr. Campbell, which I earnestly entreat you will not be, on any account. This would make you liable to every description of misrepresentation. Believe me, &c., WELLINGTON. MEMORANDUM ON THE REDUCTION OF THE KING'S TROOPS [819.] IN INDIA. 14th February, 1828. The following arrangement must be adopted respecting the King's infantry in the East Indies : : The bargain between the King and the East India Company sanctioned by the Act of Parliament is, that the East India Company are to have the service of 20,000 men, including officers of the King's troops, of which 3076 have been cavalry. These were composed as follows, by an arrangement made in the year 1824: In the year 1825, the Company required an augmentation in consequence of the Burmese war, and four regiments were sent out, it was agreed that none should come home, and that the whole of the King's infantry in the East Indies should be of 1000 rank and file each; thus making the establishment of the King's troops in the East Indies, including officers and noncommissioned officers, 26,016. The East India Company have the power, and are likely to exercise it, of calling upon his Majesty's government to reduce the establishment of his Majesty's troops in the East Indies to the number fixed by Act of Parliament, viz., 20,000 men, including officers; and the mode in which I proposed to reduce the number of troops in the East Indies to the establishment was by reducing the numbers in each regiment of infantry to 740, being the amount of a regiment in the King's service in all parts of the world. In order to bring the expense of these twenty regiments as nearly as possible to that of sixteen, I propose that, in future, the regiments going to the East Indies should leave the number of officers equal to that of one company recruiting in England. Of the regiments now in India, no officers should be promoted without purchase until the officers of one company of each should be reduced. This arrangement will reduce the expense of the 20,000 men to nearly what it would cost for the maintenance of the same number according to the arrangement of 1824; and it will be a great convenience not only to the service in the East Indies, but likewise to his Majesty's service in general. WELLINGTON. MEMORANDUM BY SIR WILLOUGHBY GORDON UPON REDUCING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE KING'S TROOPS IN INDIA. Horse-Guards, 18th February, 1828. The intention of the late Commander-in-Chief, the Duke of Wellington, having been, for the reasons expressed in his Grace's Memorandum dated February 14th, 1828,* copy of which is herewith annexed, to reduce the establishment of his Majesty's infantry in the East Indies to the numbers fixed by Act of Parliament, viz. 20,000, including officers; and his Grace having proposed, as the best mode in his opinion of doing this, to reduce the establishment of every regiment of infantry in India to the same numbers of men as every other regiment in the King's service, viz. 740, so that the expense of 20 regiments of infantry upon the reduced establishment may be, as nearly as possible, equal to that of the expense of 16 regiments upon the former establishment of 1000 men; it may be useful to make the following observations upon the whole of this subject: Observations. The ordinary annual expense of a regiment of infantry in India, of 1000 rank and file, or, as including officers and non-commissioned officers, of 1128, * See page 265. |