The Express.
London, England, 1849-09-07 00:00:00

peered on evidence are so astoandiag that they most
not be allowed to pate nano-iced.
pt appear+ that Lieutenant 131tAtIAM and Mr.
Ehnon, both officers of her Majesty's ship Childers,
ander the commend of 1011,1 CIIARLES PITMAN, lately
deserted from the *Lip at the Cape of Goad Hope.
They were tried by court-martial and punished, net
sternly, if the nature of the offence be considered,l
but eel severely if the amount of provocation be I
taken into account. In turn, these officers apply for
a covet-martial upon Commander Prnean upon
chariots of " general trashy aid oppression,* " film
fatemena in the log of her Majesty's ship
Childers," and " tales expenditure of stone."
Now some of the instances ef cruelty sworn to
by the witnesses are so horrifying, that it is necessary,
to &tea them in the exect words of tke report. Of I
ogre deposed io general terms that there was a gnat
deal of flogging in the ship, and a severe black list,
and that the commanifer's conduct was incomistent
and rigorous; that he would puni.h a man severely for
a fault one day. and that, were a similar fault to
happen the next day, it would be considered a slight
one ; that the men were pe.rfahi el by beie g obl-ged
to carry their handspikes and h•mmocks clueing day
or eight, when it was their turn to be below ; and
that they wets ordered to walk the deck for four or
sir boors at a time for trivial offrntee, each a+ ap-
pearing dirty at muster, or not furling a sail pro-
perly. It was furt've deposed that a general wait
or discipline in the ship, and frequc nt change of officers,
was owing to the severe and inconsistent mantes
adept. d by the comma, der.
Tr.ese are the general terms of the charges—the
first instance brought forward is that of a man named
Haig, who received 48 lashes with t' e " eat-o•-nine-
tails" for staAing candles to burn below when the
ship was quite dark, being battened down, owing to
boisterous weather. The witness says that this moo,
after te ing fl gged, " was kept fur several days a pri-
soner on deck, abaft, on the stern grating.. The
weather at that time was very cold and boisterous,
insomuch as it was impossible to remain on de.-k
without being wet through," and that the man
" ewers. Ware Air *v., released from
the grativs." He was invaliJed and vent toEmg•
laud insane, his offence having beta at. sling a fear
owe les when the ship was in a stare of daskeess.
the next 04/12 was that of a marine named Wane,
wh e jumped overboard from the Cnilders, when a'
sea, and wise drowned. It arpears that this man bad
been frequently:punished by C mrnaoder PITMAN,
and. one dry, during very boi.te roue weather, when
it must be known that in small vessels men cannot
keep tnemselves clean, WIIITE appealed at muster
trite his clothes dirty and belly weeded, one whams
swearing that the test of the crew were net clean' r
than himself. Commander Prritor, however, said
that he would Aug him; "that he would give him
four dosen next morning." The man immediately
walked from the quarter-deck to the bead of the ship,
jumped overboard, sad was drowned. The general
belief on hosed, of coarse, was that he jumped over-
board is omeneence of the threatened flog-
ging, acd ye. it appears that an entry
we.. mule in the sbp's 1 g to the effect that he
jumped owe/bawd heftiest, "be au ordered forward
to wa-b himself." N e further inqeiry was made into
the matter between September, 1816, and Augias*,
lel9—a teastitul specimen of the paternal care of
the Admiralty far their marines.
It appears further that a very novel kicd of
punish' cut was invented by this commander—that of
scrubb:ng the heads of the boys with a scrubbing-
leu-h when the thermometer Mood at 80 &erns.
One boy is described as being taken of er tha opera-
tion to the g..lley Are by Mr. BLAKE, ti .e es-istar t.
swoon, who was obliged to hold his tend blere the
fire "la recite him." He was naked, and meatless
Lam leing scrubbed.
Again, a seism tamed MACLEAN receives thirty-
six 1041411 for " being dirty at division." Now this
soft if birbari y was considered a cane-anus in
Ituderiris Rind •Ni, and yet we find that it can pri—
med, unchecked far three years, iii her Majesty*. ship
Caildere, in this age of en ighte =Dent and pttilc.n-
thrnpy, ar.d is only txp tied alter the punithuser t of
the chic ( sufferers. (ha mri, go-sled to deseeretion,
drowns hum elf; another is kept, titer flogging, for
five days and nights on a grating, exposed to wet and
boisterous weather without the least covering. He
beco res insane before the punishment is over. These
fro s are duly reported at head-quavers, and jet
the cumin sneer is left to exercise his pecu-
liar talents for tormenting officers and men
for three years, and it is not until ater e almost
imperalleled i ruceening rf desertion by two officers
that ti e matter is brought to light. Why is this?
Simi ly b •eausr it is perfectly evela Indite oad in the
Navy ti at an inferior officer who makes a charge
epee st • superior is sore to be ruined. Ile has no
chance of red ea. The members of the c art-martial
if one be gratin d, are all en thr higher ranks of the
service; their sympathies are all engaged in
support of their brother offic •r, and they do
all in their p-wer to seppre a a pr.cti,e
which might being t' emselves before a simi-
lar tribunal. The junior is sure to be crushed.
No captain will mane him into his ship aft. rwardir.
He is looked twin u a firebrand, and never rims ie.
the service. All this is perfectly well cede rttood,
and accounts for the otherwas inexplicable fact that
officers could submit to see men murdered and driven
to the machouse, boys scrubbed till they were s. nee-
if PP, and men fl,gged for the moat trivial offences,
rather than expose the abominable misconduct of
their command, r. No excuse can be made for their
own desertion, but it it lead to refoem in the system,
good will spring out of evil.
'then we hear of the midshipman's steward,
also, having committee suicide, atter having been
punished several times, and expressly declaring that
he had been driven to the act by the cruelty of the
commander. A second man also appears to have
gone insane All this is sworn to by officers as
believed by them, and geacratly believed in the ship.
In what a situation does this place them as well as
their commander. They are accessor:es alter the
fact. They have not exposed the cruelty which drove
two men to suicide, some said a brother officer also to
nu. ide, and deprived two men of reason. They let
all this go on for three years uncheked by exposure.
This eau only be explained, not excused, by the con-
stitution of naval c urns martial.