With a prospect of such support, my brother's enemies were not likely to be idle. He had been warned more than once of their undermining operations; but strong in conscious integrity, and unwilling to suspect others of conduct which he would have scorned himself, he "held straight on" upon his usual course, till he found himself overwhelmed by a mass of charges affecting his conduct, both in his military and civil capacity.
All that malice could invent or ingenuity distort, was brought forward to give importance to the accusations laid against him. Every trifling irregularity or error of judgment was so magnified, that a mighty fabric was raised on a single grain of truth; and the result was, that towards the close of the year he was summoned before a court of inquiry at Peshawur.
That which seemed principally to give color to the charges against him was, that there was undeniably confusion and irregularity in the regimental accounts; but this confusion, far from having originated with him, had been very materially rectified. He had succeeded to the command in October, 1852, and within twenty-four hours started on a campaign which lasted between seven and eight weeks, without any audit of accounts between himself and his predecessor, who had, immediately on making over the command, left for England; so that he found a mass of unexplained confusion, which he had been endeavoring, during his period of command, gradually to reduce to some order. This he had to a certain extent accomplished when summoned unexpectedly to undergo an investigation and meet the gravest accusations.
I will, however, in preference to any statements of my own, which might not unnaturally be suspected of partiality, insert here, though it was written at a later period, a letter, giving an account of the whole affair, from one whose opinion must carry the greatest weight with all who know him, either personally or by reputation, Sir R. Napier. It has somewhat of an official character, as it was addressed to the colonel of the 1st Bengal European Fusileers, when my brother subsequently rejoined that regiment.
And I may here observe, with regard to anything which I may now or hereafter say reflecting on the conduct and motives of those concerned in this attempt to ruin my brother's prospects, that I should not have ventured to make these remarks simply on his authority, unless I had had them confirmed, and more than confirmed, by men of the highest character, both civil and military, who were cognizant of all the transactions, and did not scruple to express their indignation at what they characterized as a most cruel and unjust persecution.