Correspondence.

WERE HAVELOCK'S HIGHLANDERS COWARDS?

THE 78TH HIGHLANDERS AND THE EDITOR OF THE ARMY AND NAVY GAZETTE.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE CELTIC MAGAZINE.

INVERNESS, 8th April 1881.

SIR,-I am able and willing to defend myself with the pen, or any other weapon if need be; but when my mouth is systematically closed in one direction, I must seek a fresh voice elsewhere. My letters having been refused publication in the Army and Navy Gazette, and a grave charge cast by that journal upon the honour of the "Ross-shire Buffs," having to my mind been very insufficiently atoned for, I request you will be good enough to give a place in your pages to all that has passed on this head, and, along with others, lend me your generous help to show the baselessness of the calumny, as also the poor chance of fairplay a writer, striving to be conscientious, may expect, if he have the temerity to attack such a Gargantuesque monopoly as a pocket Military Paper, edited by a crack ex-war correspondent.

The following appeared prominently in large type on the fourth page of the Army and Navy Gazette, of 12th March 1881:

"A British officer,' says General W. to Colonel C., 'is bound to tell the truth.' 'I beg your pardon, General,' replied C., 'it is the one thing a British General cannot do-sometimes.' The force of that remark is in the application of it. No general can find fault with his men in public despatches, though he may rate them as Havelock did the 78th, when he told them they had the cholera in their hearts, as well as their stomachs. Sir G. Colley, at all events, took on himself all the blame of the failure at Ingogo."

Several officers, qualified to know, having written to contradict the foregoing, the following paragraph appeared on page eight of the next issue of the Army and Navy Gazette, March 19th, 1881. This disclaimer, such as it is, is not given any prominence, but is huddled away into the Regimental news, and printed in small type :

"78TH REGIMENT.-A 'Staff Captain' writes :-'The remark of the late Sir Henry Havelock, to which you refer, did not apply to that fine old regiment, whose deeds, from the first to the last of the Mutiny, have not been surpassed since the British Army was first created. Being on the Staff of the force then under General Havelock's command, I can speak with authority as to the fact.' Several correspondents have corroborated this statement, but no one has denied that the words were used by the irritated General, although it cannot be supposed the gallant Rossshire Buffs ever deserved them."

Seeing the inadequacy of the disclaimer, I wrote to the editor of the Army and Navy Gazette as follows:

NAVAL AND MILITARY CLUB, 23d March 1881. SIR,-In your issue of the 12th inst., a leading item appeared stating that on a certain occasion General Havelock charged the 78th Highlanders with cowardice. On the 19th you inserted a quotation from the letter of

a "Staff Captain" denying this, and added "No one has denied that the words were used by the irritated General." They were possibly used during the first battle of Butseerut Gunge, but this is outside the point. You then continue "although it cannot be supposed the gallant Ross-shire Buffs ever deserved them." This is only a qualified disclaimer, and it was inserted most obscurely, under the heading "78th Regiment," in the Regimental news (where arrivals, departures, and such trifles appear), whereas the original calumny appeared in large print, in a prominent part of the paper. The regiment is at present in Candahar, and is unable to defend itself, but, on its behalf, I demand that a disclaimer shall be printed in your next issue, and given equal prominence to the original article complained of, and further, that the writer of the said item, if he be possessed of any sense of fairness, shall express regret for having most needlessly wounded the feelings of a large body of officers. No one should make statements which he is not prepared to substantiate, and therefore, under these circumstances, I consider my demand to be nothing beyond what is due.-I am, sir, your obedient servant,

COLIN MACKENZIE, late Captain, 78th Highlanders.

This letter was not published, but on the central page of the Army and Navy Gazette of 26th March 1881 (the most prominent part of the paper), the following graceful comment upon it appeared :—

""Colin Mackenzie, late Captain 78th Highlanders,' writes on March 23 from the Naval and Military Club,' to observe that, on the 12th inst., what he calls a leading item' appeared in this paper, 'stating that on a certain occasion General Havelock charged the 78th Highlanders with cowardice.' No leading or misleading item of the sort ever appeared in this paper; but alluding to a well-known incident of Havelock's march, we quoted an angry phrase of his, addressed, as we erroneously thought, to the 78th, and sets (sic) the matter right, without naming the other corps, in our next issue. We are not going to accept Captain Colin Mackenzie's opinion as to the qualification or non-qualification of our disclaimers,' as he calls our remark; nor are we going to allow him to appropriate our space as he thinks fit. The writer of the paragraph is as much interested in the honour and good repute of the 78th Highlanders as the 'late Captain' in question, and he is the last man in the world to wound the feelings of the officers of the regiment. If the 'late Captain' would but condescend to read what was said carefully he will see, we hope and believe, that there could not have been, and that there was not any intention to disparage a corps which does not need the advocacy of any officer to protect its reputation, nor dread the efforts of any 'defender' to injure it."*

After this attack upon me (when I considered I had only been doing my duty in defending the honour of my old corps), I, in self-defence, wrote the following letter to the Editor of the Army and Navy Gazette, trusting to his sense of fair play to publish it :

NAVAL AND MILITARY CLUB, March 31, 1881. SIR,-I do not question the good taste of the notice you vouchsafe to

*The Editor would appear to be answerable for the grammar of this paragraph; unless indeed, as is not unlikely, the printer's devil may have been among the compositors.

my letter of the 23d inst. in your issue of the 26th, and I appreciate to a certain degree the disclaimer (I again use the word advisedly) which you make as to the charge of cowardice against the 78th Highlanders. But I cannot pass it bye without certain observations.

You deny that your charge implied as much, but I leave it to the public to say what they infer from such a phrase as "the cholera in their hearts, as well as their stomachs." You say that if I "would but condescend to read what was said carefully," I would see, you "hope and believe," your want of intention "to disparage a corps," &c. My perception is hardly so keen.

You say "the writer of the paragraph," or item, "is as much interested in the honour and good repute of the 78th Highlanders as the 'late Captain."" Hardly! If the writer had ever served in that corps he would never have perpetrated his blunder-and if he never did serve in that corps, then he cannot possibly have its honour so near at heart as one who did serve.

You have lost sight of the whole gist of my letter of the 23d, which was to draw attention to the fact, that your reply to the letters of your correspondents was insufficient and placed in an obscure part of your paper, and that I demanded a full denial, to which there should be given a prominence equal to that of the original calumny.

Doubtless ere this you have received sufficient assurances of your error. I am satisfied with the upshot, and will not say who has eaten the leek, though I might add—

The truth you speak, doth lack some gentleness

And time to speak it in: you rub the sore,

When you should bring the plaster.

I have stated my name, and am willing to quote my authorities, whereas your informant keeps his incognito.

You have stated that you are not going to accept my opinions, nor are you going to allow me to appropriate your space as I think fit. My letter, which you did not publish, and which was simply in defence of my old corps, surely does not warrant such an answer; and, in common fairness, I must ask you to insert this reply in your issue of Saturday. At the same time I reserve my undoubted right to reproduce the whole of this matter, together with such further observations as I may think warranted, in columns other than your own.-I am, Sir, your obedient servant,

COLIN MACKENZIE, late Captain, 78th Highlanders.

The Army and Navy Gazette of the 2d April 1881 was published in due course, but it contained neither my letter nor any comment upon it; although it exhibited one of the editorial staff endeavouring to blunder out of another "inaccuracy." Inaccuracy is the curse of journalism, and lest I incur its odium, I will at once state my authorities, as against my masked opponent, who apparently drew his long-bow at a venture. I have it from Sir Henry Havelock Allan, General Havelock's son, and a host of officers, non-commissioned officers, and private soldiers, who served with Havelock's column, and whose names would fill several pages of your Magazine, that General Havelock NEVER told the 78th that "they had the cholera in their hearts as well as their stomachs." That gallant old veteran, General Sir Patrick Grant, who was Commander-in-Chief in India, from the death of General Anson till the arrival of Lord Clyde, and consequently during Havelock's march, never heard of such a speech being addressed to the

78th. If he had, would he be likely to esteem it an honour to be their full Colonel to-day?

If Havelock's true opinion of the 78th is required, his own words will be sufficient to prove it. In his confidential report on the regiment, just before leaving Persia, he says:

"There is a fine spirit in the ranks of this regiment. I am given to understand that it behaved remarkably well in the affair of Khooshab, near Bushire, which took place before I reached the army; and during the naval action on the Euphrates, and its landing here, its steadiness, zeal, and activity under my own observation were conspicuous. The men have been subjected in this service to a good deal of exposure, to extremes of climate, and have had heavy work to execute with their intrenching tools, in constructing redoubts and making roads. They have been, while I have had the opportunity of watching them, most cheerful; and have never seemed to regret or complain of anything but that they had no further chance of meeting the enemy. I am convinced the regiment would be second to none in the service, if its high military qualities were drawn forth. It is proud of its colours, its tartan, and its former achievements.”

Havelock, writing to General Neill, after the second battle of Butseerut Gunge, 5th August 1857, says :-"If I might select for praise without being invidious, I should say they (the Madras Fusiliers) and the Highlanders are the most gallant troops in my little force."

After the third battle of Butseerut Gunge, Havelock published an Order of the Day, 12th August 1857, of which the following forms part: "The Fusiliers and the Highlanders were, as usual, distinguished, The Highlanders, without firing a shot, rushed with a cheer upon the enemy's redoubt, carried it, and captured two of the three guns with which it was armed. If Colonel Hamilton can ascertain the officer, noncommissioned officer, or soldier, who first entered this work, the Brigadier will recommend him for the Victoria Cross."*

Describing the grand charge of the 78th Highlanders at the battle of Cawnpore, 16th July 1857, Havelock writes:-"The opportunity had arrived for which I have long anxiously waited, of developing the prowess of the 78th Highlanders. Three guns of the enemy were strongly posted behind a lofty hamlet well intrenched. I directed this regiment to advance, and never have I witnessed conduct more admirable. They were led by Colonel Hamilton, and followed him with surpassing steadiness and gallantry under a heavy fire. As they approached the village, they cheered and charged with the bayonet, the pipes sounding the pibroch. Need I add that the enemy fled, and the village was taken, and the guns were captured?"

In his Order of the Day after Cawnpore, he said:"Soldiers! your General is satisfied, and more than satisfied, with you. He has never seen steadier or more devoted troops; but your labours are only beginning. Between the 7th and 16th you have, under the Indian sun of July, marched 126 miles, and fought four actions. Highlanders! it was my earnest desire to afford you the opportunity of showing how your predecessors conquered at Maida; you have not de

* Lieutenants Campbell and Crowe entered together. Campbell took cholera next day and died, and Crowe was recommended for the V.C. He did not, however, live long to wear his honours.

generated. Assaye was not won by a more silent, compact, and resolute charge, than was the village near Jchajmow on the 16th inst."

Marshman, in his life of Havelock, relates that the night after the battle of Cawnpore, "when the arms were piled, the General called the officers of the Highlanders together, and assured them that he had never seen a regiment behave more steadily and gallantly, and that if ever he reached the command of a regiment, it would be his request that it should be the 78th, and he desired them to convey this assurance to their men.' Arrived in the Residency of Lucknow, Havelock resigned his command to Sir James Outram, but his opinion of the 78th Highlanders never changed from that day, until he was laid in his lonely grave, beneath the tree in the Alumbagh.

So much for the charge against the 78th. I leave it to my countrymen to say whether the reckless assertion that they were rated by Havelock for having "the cholera in their hearts as well as their stomachs," has been clearly disproved or not. Ross-shire lads are keenly jealous of the honour of the old Ross-shire Buffs. Let them never forget that their national motto is, "Nemo me impune lacessit," and that “ oor Scots thistle will jag the thoombs" of any boggling journalist who attempts to make too free with it.-I am, Sir, your obedient servant,

COLIN MACKENZIE,

Late Captain, 78th Highlanders.

THE TARTAN AND THE KILT-FEELING IN CANADA. TO THE EDITOR OF THE CELTIC MAGAZINE.

Montreal, 14th March 1881.

SIR,-In common with their fellow-countrymen at home and abroad, the Highlanders and Scotchmen of Montreal and elsewhere within the Dominion of Canada had learned with unrestrained indignation of the proposal to abolish the distinctive tartans of the Highland Regiments in the British Army. A meeting was arranged to have been held in Montreal on Friday, 11th March, but in the interval since its inception the news of the explanations and disavowal of the Secretary of State for War reached us, and the meeting was in consequence abandoned.

Anticipating the possibility of expressing my own views on the subject at the meeting, I had written them down in a condensed form, and this I subsequently sent to the Montreal Herald. I send you by this mail copies of that paper, of dates 11th and 14th March, in order that, if you see fit, you may insert the extracts referred to in the columns of the Celtic Magazine,-Yours very truly,

JOHN MACDONALD,

THIS Communication reached us too late for last issue, but even yet we think it right to let our readers all over the world see how much our loyal Canadian Highlanders felt and acted in thorough sympathy with their brethren at home at a time when their aid might have proved of great service in influencing the authorities at the War Office. Mr Macdonald, who, by the way, hails from Tain, Ross-shire, and whom we had the pleasure of meeting in Montreal last year, is a credit to his native county even among the good Highlanders of Montreal; and we are glad to give