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    hostility of the Uncle . During- that tremendous war against the first Napoleon , England gathered strength from the struggle , and towered loftier in her isolation , when unparalleled dangers were to be encountered by unexampled efforts . In alliance with the second Empire she is losing all the power and all the prestige she won in combating the first . The day will assuredly come ( we do but anticipate it ) when the British people will demand an account of these things ; and then the Journal of the Four Winds will not be the last to sound the trumpet of alarm .

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    THE CAVALRY IN THE CRIMEA AND LORD LUCAN . The campaign in the Crimea has hitherto afforded little scope for the use of the cavalry of either of the allied armies . The affair on the Bulganab was a skirmish of horse artillery . The Cossacks showed a great respect for Captain Maude ' s battery , and retired after a mere display of force . At the Alma the nature of the ground , and the backwardness of the Russians , gave the handful of British horsemen no opportunity for a charge . But at Balaklava , on the 25 th of October , they made two charges , and they showed the enemy that his dread of the British sabre and lance was certainly well founded , by performing one of the neatest , and one of the maddest and grandest charges ever executed by the horsemen of any country . Into the details of that act of unparalleled heroism we need not enter at this time of day . In every town , in every hamlet , in every cottage , the glory and the tragedy of that fatal charge are but too well known . A few hundred British horsmen , gallantly led , rushed headlong against jan army in position , knowing that they went to certain destruction j and returned , jreduced by two-thirds , indeed , but rich in that glory which is the soldier ' s most coveted reward .

    They will serve , as long as England is a nation , as the most conspicuous illustrations of two of our national virtues—courage in danger , and devotion to duty . Butjustic © ^ and .. more _ thanjusj ^ ce , _ gTatUude _ to the men and officers who performed that exp loit is one thing- ; justice to the officer who bade them perform it is another . Lord Lucan was the author of that charge . He has been recalled ; he has appealed to his peers , and to

    his military superiors , and he has placed himself on , trial before the public , when the public , in the great interests of the moment , had almost forgotten him . His conduct , and his recal , are now matters of history j and as such we can freely discuss them . But before we came to the main question raised , the military merits of Lord Lucan , so strikingly tested on the 25 th October , it will be necessary to state why he was recalled .

    It will be remembered that Lord Raglan , in recounting the battle of Balaklava , said that the charge of the Light Brigade took place in consequence of a " misconception of instructions " on the part of Lord Lucan . This was a mild phrase , too mild indeed . Nevertheless it piqued Lord Lucan , and he remonstrated with his commanding officer in a way that necessitated either his recal or the withdrawal of his remonstrance . He declined , when called upon , to withdraw the remonstrance ; Lord Raglan forwarded a statement of the facts , fcnd an ample vindication of himself , to the Minister of War , and Lord Lucan was recalled . On his return home Lord Lucan

    simultaneously demanded a court-martial , and stated his case in the House of Lords . The Comtnattder-in-Chief declined to advise the Queen to grant him a court-martial , and on Tuesday he again appealed to the House of

    Lords . On this occasion a despatch from Lord Raglan was placed in his hands , which , had he been less hasty in his proceedings , he would have seen before he . mentioned the matter last week . That despatch places the whole affair before the public , and shows that Lord Lucan should have been recalled in 1854 , instead of 3855 . Let us state why . On the morning of the 25 fch October , the Russians , under General Liprandi , assailed and carried the redoubts erected in advance of Balaklavaand occupied by Turkish troops ;

    , and their cavalry , bounding forward , were met in full course by the Heavy Brigade , under General Scarlet , and driven back with loss ; one portion of them flying from the fire of the Highlanders , whom they attempted to charge . The Infantry from the camp were rapidly coming up , and Lord Raglan , hoping to save the guns in the redoubts , sent an order to Lord Lucan to advance the cavalry , and take every opportunity of recovering the heights . " They

    will , " he added , "be supported by Infantry , who have been ordered to advance upon two fronts . " But Lord Lucan took no notice of this order !• He threw no men forward . He could not see the enemy , and he made no attempt to see them . The Russians were securing their position on the hills , and removing the guns . Lord Raglan was naturall y surprised at the inertness of the cavalry , which of course deranged his combinations . He then sent Captain NoLAtf with this written order : —

    " 'Xord Raglan wishes the cavalry to advance rapidly to the front , follow the enemy , and try to prevent the enemy carrying away the guns . Troop of Horse Artillery may accompany . French cavalry is on your left-. . "' Immediate . "' R . Aikey . ' Let Lord Lucan himself describe the scene that ensued on the arrival of the gallant

    Nolan : — " After carefully reading this order , I hesitated , and urged the uselessness of such an attack and the dangers attending it . The aide-de-camp , in a most authoritative tone , stated that they were Lord Raglan ' s orders that the cavalry should attack immediately . I asked him , ' Where , and what to do ? ' as neither enemy nor guns were within sight . He repliedin a most disrespectful but significant

    , manner , pointing to the further end of the valley , 'There , my Lord , is your enemy ; there are your guns . ' So diHirict , irTiny opinion , was your written instruction , and so positive and urgent were the orders delivered by the aide-de-camp , that I felt it was imperative on me to obey , and I informed iLprd Cardigan that he was to advance ; and to the objections he made—and in which I entirely agreed—I replied that the order was from your lordship . "

    Lord Lucan had attended so little to the first order that he actually forgot its purport ; for he tells us that the cavalry were drawn up to support infantry , whereas Lord Raglan had expressly stated that the cavalry would be supported by infantry ; and , in point of fact , the Fourth Division , th © Guards , and Bosquet ' s Division were on the march . But when , in a moment of passion , he ordered the Light Brigade to charge , in spite of Lord Cardigan ' s objections , he so far forgot his duty as a

    commander , that he did not bring up the horse artillery ; he gave no notice to the French cavalry of whose position he had been informed ; he only moved up in support two regiments of the Heavy Brigade . More than this , he did not know the position and numbers of the enemy against whom he hurled the Light Brigade . The act was not that of a soldier who knows the art of war ; it was that of a man in a passion , blind to everything except the gratification of his own irritated feelings . He earned his recal .

    These comments may sound severe ; but they are justified by the facts . It is clear that what Lord Raglan desired his general of cavalry to do , was to make a demonstration against the enemy . He was first ordered to advance ; finding he did not move , Lord Raglan ordered

    him to advance rapidly , and told him to " try " and prevent the enemy from carrying away the guns . Instead , of advancing , and trying what he could do , ' he ordered an attack at all hazards ! In point of fact he took his orders from the lips of Captain Nolan , instead of acting on the written words of Lord Raglan ; and he destroyed the light Brigade . Had he been cool enough to understand the English

    language ; had he known his place well enough to disregard the heated words of Captain NOLAN "; had he known his duties , and felt that he could perform them ; had he been all eye and ear to what was going on in front of him ; in short , had he been a real general of cavalry , the Light Brigade would not have made that glorious charge , but the Russians might have been driven over the Tchernaya .

    But where lies the original error ? There , we answer , where lie so many other errors and faults in this campaign — in our system of training and selecting officers . Lord Ltjcan , had he not been a Peer , would never have been trusted with a brigade , much less a division , of cavalry . Nobody can doubt but that

    "he was appointed through back-stairs influence ; and the blame of the Balaklava charge must fall , to a great extent , upon those , whoever they are , who appointed an incapable officer to the command of the British cavalry . If we want to make an example , let an example be made of those who appointed Lord Lucan , and of Lord Lucan himself .

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    THE NEW REIGN IN RUSSIA . ¦¦ . _ In = another place we have discussed the remoter and more uncontrollable elements of the war which " the new Czar inherits . We have shown how much easier . it was for Nicholas to summon his hosts than it may be for Alexander to dismiss them again . We are unable to consider the question of p eace or war under one aspect only , after the manner

    of Mr . Bright ; but in order to testify to that gentleman the sincere respect we entertain for the sincerity of his purpose , a respect not at all diminished by difference of opinion , and to prove to him our own desire for peace , if a peace at once prudent and honourable can be obtained , ' with ample indemnity for the past and ample security for the future , we invite his attention to the following summary of a communication received from a foreign

    correspondent , who augurs favourably for the restoration of peace from the disposition of the new Czar . We cannot say that we attach the same importance to the personal character of a man who may be but a fly on the wheel of that s 5 stem which Fbter the First bequeathed to his successors . But we will let our correspondent speak for himself ; our readers will decide : —

    " The Emperor is dead , Vive VEmpereur / There is nothing changed but the name , we shall be told ; but it fortunately happens that the son does not always resemble his father , and it wo uld be difficult to produce two such characters as that of Nicholas . Russia breathes again , and hopes : after the iron rule of Nicholas , Alexander II . will have an easy task . The first question to be considered is , whether this change of rulers will bring war or pence . On tins point wo find the Times and the Morniixj Postal issue . While the organ of the City expresses tno desire to terminate tho war , the organ of tho Pnme Minister is unwilling to deprive its patron of the witli

    laurels ho is to win by carrying on the war vigour . Tho Manifesto of Alexander II . declares that ho will pursue the policy of Peter tho Pirst , ot Catherine , of Alexander , and of hia father . Now . tno htme policy of Alexander and of Catherine vas a liberal policy . Catherine gave tho Statut : Alcxundor emancipated tho serfs in tho Baltic provinces , and gave a constitution to Poland . With regard to foreign policy , wo must not forgot that if tho European lWors had lost all faith in tho word of Nicholas , tho son liaa not as yet in any degrco compromised his sincerity . Material guarantees are less imperative against a sovereign whose honour has not incurred Suspicion , And as , on the other hand , wo know that tho prc-

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    _ T H B L BA DB B > . . [ Saturday ,

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), March 10, 1855, page 232, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2081/page/16/