SIR DE LACY EVANS ON THE WAR.

Lyttelton Times, Volume V, Issue 275, 20 June 1855, Page 6

SIR DE LACY EVANS ON THE WAR.

On, £ue>*22iidi>u.lt., a -congratulatory! address, .accompanied.by a sword valued,at- t6o;guineas, ,waSipr«se,ntedto.Sir.De LacyiE-vansibytaidepu-4ation>/iQin &he inhabitants, of theainited' PardiameiHary. borougbs<of Hy^e,iFolkestone,>an(l •SandgHte/ ;!The presentatio'iii.tuok place .-in ione of.lheJarge.salQons.of the;Barilion 'Hotel. 'The .deputatiqntwasheaded by Mr. fßrockmaivM.P., .for, the(distr,ict,(and included.ahoufcisixty gentle-,me,n»-among „whpm were the .Mayor of Hythe, £he 'J^ayproof jJßttlkestone, Colonel .Sandilands, I Mr. Lacon, controller of Customs at Folkestone, th&.churqh wardens >,ofr the several -parishes, and >jthe .ahieftneri .and ,'CuuncUlors -of Hythe . anjd (F a olkes£one,\&c. ,After,Mr. Biockmanhad adi 4/essed Sjr ,De iLacy, and /read 'the address, i .which.welcomed him, home,.iand ,sp.oke in iJjigh ' I jterflas^oCi^iis brilliaiit.car.ear, SifiDetLacy'E'Kan.s replied iat^so,oie length, taking occasioniin-the .cpurse,of his,speech to,allude to>theuwar, and the actual the army. The > passage,will;b.e read,with interests— * "..He'.had, observed,-that great complaints were ' •/daily ma.de of tthe,man>agement'of the;war, and iti>vasasserted that,the war'h.ad<made but -slow < .progress. -Nflw-, he • begged- lordiffensvilh-many ■on t that point. He djdinot .consider, .under'the .-circumstances, that the»progi'ess>of the waivhad f been .slow, and she $vas i-sure that/^be,,.result (iWould^shoWftheKJorrectness.qf|hisopinion. ,No isuohvwar. as ; that in -which ,(bey«were now^en.gaged fcpuld possibly.be jfinishediin so -short a f time>asrso«ie l y/eve unreasonable gnough'to ex-' .where .suchj^a -cpnnfcsy .as ' I with jts small jmilitar,y;strength, -was ,' tpotjthe.aggressor. tEnglandr^Sjnot-a.militarv! .power,'andithe,aggressov iri|}liepfe&ent war wag ya < ,vefy,iinppr,Uut ! >nilHary^power ? jpassessed 'df i vast resources—orte.wihicb. alwayVmaintained a *v,ery. t large ( a*iny, s ftud ,was .always, prepared for j not, in^edj-fpr aggi!esSsion."\Hence,>at j ,the .outbreak ,uf .-the pvesant .bosiilities, J jEnglandihad^-Do't Veen prepared.^vUh a Jarge ' .standingjarroy. 'J'trwas.iinpassibte.we could <al- \ i>vays;hav« a^p^rfeot war establishment on a'mili- ' ,tary,s.ciile. We thad .enjoyed'^4o years of .peace, ' _#.ud .opinions .W4»uld-not admij- q£ the .continued ,m«vi\Heuiiace ,pf a (large standing army. ' He would jecalil to their minds .the^many wars in .^biqh ithis c^unUy had been .engaged, it <>yould iie Sqani that the British"forces seldom attained decisive success until at Jeast a third jc,ainpa,ig,u ,had $&t iv. He in-iglitaustance the •war ,whiob. immediately iojlowed the bxeakin? out of the Fxepcb. Resolution. England was great a/id powerful as a commercial nation, and he shad nod,Qubt jlhait the pjeseni contest would bebwught Ao a as decisive in its results as it wauM be glorious to British arms. Thje^rmy $eot to^e Crimea, though young, had vindicated the Jionour of its iCounlry/Tuere was «o other army to send. It was young, but it had ,done its duty. Afany mistakes in details had certainly opcurml, hut they had been the rasuU Qf inexperience. No want of judgment, iv his mind, had been evinced by any officer of" that staff in which he had jthe honour of holding an hujnble pw«t. Some battles had been fpught in .which our army had gathered glory, iv alliance jvith the armies of France-—an alliance he would pronounce the most devoted and loyal, and which the spirit of ibis country fully appreciated." When he had concluded, Mr. Hart, one of the deputation, alluded to the reports of the present syretehed condition pf the army in the Crimea, and the anxiety of the public mind on the subject: upon which Sir De Lacy Evans observed :— " That he had of late read many statements ou the cunditipn of the troops. It was not his province on that occasion to enter into this question, but he had no objection to say one. tiling, and that was, that when he left headquarter, the army was not in the condition described in some reports. More be could not say. He would again remind them, that at the com.

itteiMseinentfuf- a, war-'inanytmiUiakes- generally took/^lace,;(uk(Lafter< 40~.yeiws'->peace 'suchnnibfcikes oughfctn'ot to -oecasioiiumtch surprise. > H e iwould'take this opportunity oJ'-?siiyiiig,t that <h e fuHy > appreciated. the ''kind "sympathy y, ow So generously'evinced by all classes for the<army • andihe had no-doubt tlie-coiuluctnursi&d byitfie people-would .beithe forerunner.pf'gteatJesuits "