when describing the battle of Corunna, that Captain Hardinge, a staff-officer, who was near Sir John Moore, attempted to take off his sword, which had entered the deep wound in his shoulder made by the cannon shot by which he was struck; that Captain Hardinge proposed to Sir John to unbuckle the sword, that the torment occasioned by its entry into the wound might be relieved; but that Sir John Moore stopped him with this affecting speech, "It is as well as it is. I had rather it should go out of the field with me." The historian adds that, in this manner, so becoming a soldier, Sir John Moore was borne from the field, refusing to part with his sword in the moment of death. After the battle of Corunna, Sir H. Hardinge was present at the battle of the Douro, at the battle of Busaco, in the lines of Torres Vedras, at the battle of Albuera, at the three sieges of Badajoz, at the siege and capture of Ciudad Rodrigo, at Salamanca, at Vittoria, where he was severely wounded, at Pampeluna, at the battles of the Pyrenees at Nivelle, at Nive, and at Orthez. It will be remembered, that my gallant friend was at Ligny, two days before the battle of Waterloo, and he was only prevented from taking his share in that great action by the severe wounds he received at the battle of Ligny. We cannot forget what a distinguished part my gallant friend took in the battle of Albuera; and it is possible that he learned in that action what confidence could be justly placed in the desperate valour of British soldiers. It is probable that the recollection of the battle of Albuera, and of the change in the fortunes of that day, accomplished chiefly through the valour of the British infantry, may have induced my gallant friend to persevere under all discouragements in his latter and equally glorious battles, and to place a just and not disappointed confidence in the enduring valour of the British troops.

So much for the services of my gallant friend, Sir H. Hardinge. As I said before, he has now completed forty-eight years of military service. The career of that other gallant officer, whom her Majesty has elevated to the British peerage, has not been less distinguished. For fifty-two years has Lord Gough served in the British army; and no one would have supposed from the vigour, the energy and the heroism of his conduct, that fifty-two years of active service could have passed over his head. Sir Hugh Gough was at the capture of the Cape of Good Hope, at the attack on Porto Rico, and at the capture of Surinam. During the Peninsula war he commanded the 87th Regiment at Talavera, where he was severely wounded, at Barossa, at Vittoria, at Nivelle, where he was also severely wounded; at the sieges of Cadiz, and at Tarifa. He also commanded the British army at Canton, and during almost all the operations in China; and he was with the right wing of the army of Gwalior, which fought and gained the battle of Maharajpore. These are the services rendered by that gallant officer previous to the late campaign, when he was Commander-in-Chief of the army in India. It would be presumptuous in me to attempt to do justice to his signal services. I believe he is known to the British army as a man of the most heroic valour, and that his valour and skill inspire confidence in all those whom he commands. I will not speak merely of his valour and his skill,- these are admitted by all who are acquainted with the history of our Peninsula and Indian wars. But, I must take this opportunity of placing upon record an instance of his devotion to the service of his country, which he, probably, little thought would ever be mentioned within the walls of Parliament, but which I conceive to be at least as honourable to him as any services he has rendered in the field. After the termination of the Chinese campaign, Lord Gough was nominated to the command of the forces in Madras. It was thought expedient, at a period subsequent to his nomination to this command, that the military and civil command should be united in the hands of one person-that person having the advantage of previous personal communication with her Majesty's servants. Lord Tweeddale was selected for the govern

ment of Madras; and, as I have said, it being thought desirable in the circumstances in which that presidency was then placed to unite the military and civil commands, Lord Tweeddale superseded Lord Gough in the military command. That was a severe trial to a British officer-a severe trial to one who had been victorious in China. Now, what was the answer returned by Lord Gough to the Commander-in-Chief, on its being intimated to him that the public service required the union of the two commands? Many officers would have felt deeply mortified; but I consider the answer of Lord Gough to be so honourable to him, and to set so striking an example of what is the duty of a British soldier under such circumstances as I have mentioned, that I have determined to present to the House the letter written by the gallant officer on that occasion:

"I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Lordship's letter of the 30th of April. However mortifying it may be to me to find myself deprived of the appointment to which I had been so graciously nominated, I beg to assure your Lordship that I bow, without repining, to any measure that may be considered beneficial to the interests of my country. To serve that country in the higher walks of a profession which I entered as a child, I came to India, and especially to China, and I trust your Lordship will believe, that while my Sovereign considered my services useful, they were, as they ever shall be, freely, and, I hope, energetically rendered; but when they are no longer required, or when the public exigencies in such an important portion of our foreign possessions as Madras are deemed to clash with my individual advantage, I hope I may say, that I am one of the last men in the army who would not readily sacrifice self-interest. My gracious Sovereign's unsolicited nomination of me to the chief command at Madras was received by me with thankfulness; and whenever, for the furtherance of Her Majesty's service, it became expedient to place another in that situation, whether in a single or a conjoint capacity, I should not have wished my private interests to stand in the way of the public good. That I feel rather disappointed, I cannot deny; but I am not the less grateful to my Sovereign for her gracious kindness towards me; or the less sincerely and warmly thankful to your Lordship for the renewed proof of kind consideration which your letter conveys. With the earnest and anxious prayer that the union of the civil government and military command at Madras may fully meet the expectations of the Government,

"I have, &c.,

"H. GOUGH, Lieutenant-General, "Commanding Expeditionary Land Force."

This, in my opinion, is one of the most creditable letters ever written by a military man; and proved, I think, that the writer was worthy of a higher trust than that of Commander at Madras. I trust that these instances of apparent self-sacrifice, and of devotion to the true interests of the military service, will ever meet with their just rewards; and though Sir Hugh Gough, when he wrote that letter, never contemplated that a consequence of this might be his appointment to the chief command in India, yet I rejoice that such a noble devotion to the public service was followed by a reward to which he has proved himself to be fully entitled.