The Express.
London, England, 1851-12-04 00:00:00

—makes the Winces military service one of the
shortest roads to ruin a young man can enter.
It is not from the evidence et isolated maples
that so heavy a judgment on the 08-duty career
of the British officer is pronounced. Instances are
too frequently oozing out ie the pages of the
public journals to forbid the hope that they are
exceptions only, to a general rule. Of the
men who gain, by payment or gift, the h0n07r75
her MAJESTY'S commission, a vast per tentage are
driven to sell out or resign, in from three to five
years, by the pressure of pecuniary embarrassments.
Few examples of the kind have ever been so calcu-
lated to shock civilians and to scandalise the army
as that presented in the trial in the Court of
Queen's Bench, for conspiracy, reported in this
paper yesterday and the day before. In the
year 1843 a young gentleman of 18, named KEN-
NEDY, left Sandhurst College to join in Canada the
89th Regiment, to which he had been gazetted en-
sign. It happened that in the ship which took him
out a Lieutenant HOLDER ALLETNE, of the 2nd
Light Infantry, and brother of a schoolfellow, was
also a passenger. Young men —young soldiers
especially--strike up confidential tnendships with-
out much formality • and KENNEDY, it would
seem, suddenly made a boom friend of HOLDER, un-
folding without reserve his hopes and expectations.
Among these was a fortune, in no very distant perspec-
tive ; he did not exactly know how much, but some-
thing respectable. It may not perhaps be fair to con-
clude that Mr. HOLDER ALLETNE determined to
profit by this disclosure, by a subtle and deeply laid
scheme, but after-events induce such an infer
ence. Arrived at Montreal, KENNEDY found his
schoolfellow, MACGEACUY ALLEYNE, a lieutenant in
his own regiment. by great good fortune, HOLDER
ALLEYNE was ordered on detachment to within
a few hundred yards of Montreal; he was
elected an honorary member of the 89th mess,
and the brothers, KENNEDY, and a Lieutenant
D'Anee formed themselve3 into a partie carrL'e of
" jolly companions." Mr. KENNEDY'S professional
income was 961. per annum ' • and, as he drew ano-
ther hundred a year from his family, he did not see
why ho should not cut as great a dash as his friends.
He set up a pony chaise, a sleigh, and three horses.
As he was almost of age, he had necessarily acquired
enough economical experieuce to be able to do this
upon a fraction less than a couple of hundreds a
year. Then being, at that advanced time of life,
excessively clever at all manner of games of chance,
he gave the gambling-houses a visit, and lost
twelve hundred pounds to a Mr. STUART, at roulette
(which he paid by a post-dated bill), and a bet of
500/. to HOLDER .tLLETNE. Of course ho knew all
about horse-flesh, and went to the races—" twice."

Thus accomplished, Mr. KENNEDY returned to
Englund ; by and bye his three friends, the
ALLEYNEi Will IYAILCY came back also ; and, as
he had come into the bulk of his fortune,
they clung to him very warmly. The hobby of
the whole party was horses. KENNEDY bad a
racer, and Hor.i,E.a ALLEYNE had "picked up" a
little English Inure from an English dealer, a won-
derful trotter; could do her eighteen miles within
the hour. Incredible! Mr. KE.NNEDY knew better,
he would back his Custignette against ALLEYNE'S
" Pigeon " for 3001. Done. The cash was posted ;
but, on the eve of the race, Castignette (who was
kept in DAacv's stable) was found with one of her
pasterns cut to the bone. She, of course, could not
"come to post "at the appointed time, and KENNEDY
forfeited his stake. Still he would not believe in all
that was said about "Pigeon," HOLDER ALLEYNE'd
marvellous trotter. And "after dinner" one day he, in
the presence of a third brother of the ALLEYNEs and
D'Aucv, made ono of the most extraordinary bets
ever perhaps " booked." We shall quote it literalist
from his own evidence :

The bet th a was made was 100/. that the mare could
not trot 12 miles within the hour, 2001. that she could not
trot 13 miles. 4001. that she could not trot 14 miles in the
hour, 800/. that she could not trot 15 miles in the hour,
1,6001. that she could not trot 16 miles, 3,2091. that she
could not trot 17 miles, .504/. that she could not trot 14
miles, and 5001. that she could not trot IS miles, all within
the hour. The total amount of the bets was 7,3001. The
match was to come off on or before the Ist of January,
1847. Holder Alleyne was to name the time and place, to
give me one week's notice, and he might a ithilriw upon
the payment of .100/. No./0./lea was named Mat 1 could
pay. 1 mica tither win the bet or pay.

Seven thousand three hundred pounds, that a mare
which the backer had " picked up" by chance from
a dealer could trot seventeen miles in an hour ! New
Year's Day approached and KENNEDY became a little
nervous. D'Auev had become his Adjutant profes-
sionally, and privately his bosom friend and ad-
viser.

On the 12th of December (continued Kennedy in his
evl-
deuce) I received a letter from Holder Alleyne, to say that
he hoped I should have my money ready by the day, as I
was certain to lose the match. He said he should be ready
to trot the match on the let of January. It was to take
place on Salisbury Plain. I saw hrticaohy Alleyne and
LPArey previous to receiving that letter. The former said
he was certain I should lose the match, because he had been
in a gig with his brother only a d.iy or two previous on the
road between Cheltenham andTewkesburv, drawn by the
mare, Pigeon, mid that she had trotted 18 miles within
the hour, and dune it with case. Ile recommended me by
all means to compromise the bet, and that he and his
brother, Joseph Alleyne, would use all their influence to
induce their brother to grant me good terms, and that he
had no doubt he would do so if I wrote to him. D'Arcy
advised me also to compromise it.

These friendly persuasions were so effectual that
KENNSDY eventually gave a draught on his army
agent to Houma ALLEYNE for 7,3601., on condition
that he should become half owner of the mare, and
participator in two matches of 1,0001. each.
Thus far the plot of this sporting drama is not very
complicated, the characters being simply a victim
and two or three sharpers. But the villainy does not
appear till the last act. Mr. KENNEDY naturally
found his way rapidly to that resting place of all
"fast" young gentlemen, the Queen's Bench. Ile
was obliged to sell out of the army; and, after his
relations had rescued him from debt and disgrace,
trey got him a cadetship, and he hid his shame in
lndia. If he had not become a better ho soon be-
came a wiser man; for ho learnt in reference to his
Pigeon adventures four very important facts: firstly,
that the wonderful mare was no mere chance pur-
chase, but was no other than " Fanny Jenks" cele-
brated all over Canada for her swiftness, and brought
over here and re-named "Pigeon" by HOLDER AL-
I IRENE for fraudulent purposes; secondly, that when
bar owner wrote the bragging letter, and suborned
VAncv, and his brothers Wavier's' and JOSEPH,
toeliole KENNEDY into compromise, the mare
Was or her master thought she was) dead lame and
Mold
not possibly have won ; thirdly, that 'Mimi'
hid received 1,0001. for his clever persuasions to the
eseipromise ; and fourthly, that the two matches in
Which KENNEDY was to participate were merely pee.
tended ones, concocted by HOLDER ALLEYNE to COM-
piste the fraud with another retired British officer
Named COYLE, now imprisoned in Newgate for the
'rime of forgery. Thus enlightened, Mr. KENNEDY
indicts his quondam dear friend for conspiracy: and
the Middlesex House of Correction was ap=
by Lord Csisrmitt as the new quarters of the
ALLITNE and Mr. D'ARCY. But it is aid, low*
ever, that, being out on bail, they arrows* the ha-
• cot question better to their salliastion, by
leaving England before the conclusion at the pro-
ceedings.
How much of blame of such disgraceltd transac-
tions as these is due to the want of proper guidance
and supervision of the young men in the army
by their superiors, it is not very easy to appor-
tion. In all the cases of which the pablic are
made cognisant, in consequence of proceedings in
the insolvent or criminal courts, but few regi-
mental cheeks seem put upon the non-pro-
feessonal delinquencies of subalterns ; nor is much
help extended to their • xparienee. In the present
instance the gratifying feet appears, that their
reckless conduct was not wholly.passed over by the
higher authorities. It was shown in evidence that the
adjutant-general in Canada took KENNEDY to task
for his furious addiction to gambling; and the eom-
=sate of the northern district reprimanded both
llm mad D'Aacv, when they were subsequently quar-
tos& at Omlisio, for the same vice.
One came an these call for an increase of those
elite which have been wisely begun, to introduce
moo cultivated intellect into the military service
finw it could heretofore boast of. That, by the new
Iliditions, the most ordinary scholastic knowledge
skald be made indispensable to a youth before he is
allowed to bear arms in the QUEEN'S service, is, it
is true, the most that could be done as a beginning.
But the beginning has come rather late. Had the
cultivation of more ennobling amusements than
gambling and horse-racing been earlier the rule
instead of the exception: had oar officers been taught
and encouraged in their youth to employ their Id.