The Express.
London, England, 1866-04-26 00:00:00

DIRECT COMMISSIONS.

names of the sueoeseful
ination at Chains Hospital
I 24, 1866 :
flames. Marks.
Birch, E.
G W 00. W. F. C.
Laing, R. J. W 2,921
Johnson, C. 8.
Barberton, A. M.
Pryer,-A. C
R. 2,890
, J.
ICJ=I,II.II. F.
: 11111, P. G.
Iltiesrdo, A. 0.
' WCalmont, .1. M 2,730
I Hamond, G. E. W. 0 1,710
I Chimers, F. P.
I
Wird. F.
TWor, C.
Horton, T.
Belford, R. A.
Poehln, N.
Maxwell, Hon. Jb
o 011LsBy, E. O'Dmna 2,533
I Pam, J
1 Chsrnock, J. L 2,415
I landau. C. P.
Laotiere, W. M. 0 2,275
Be, G. B.
Bromhead, 0.
Collis, W. C. . 2,835
MMaher, V.ontgo H. 2,erie, Hon. G. A. 2,306
290
Gully, 8. M.
Conant, E. H.
Ridley, H. C. M.
Gibbs, T. F.
Deering, C. L H.
Lowe, P. M.
Atkinson, J.
Made, J. H. C 2,197
Yves, R. H.
Mends, J. P. ...... -
Brooks, A. V. H.
Beale, W. 8 2,070
Purdon-Woodroofs, H 2,066
Herbert, F. J. A.
Tarquand, W. M. 0.
Murphy, L 1,976
Rhoades, T. H. 0.
, 184111, J. N.
Montgomery, H. C. O.
Brown, H.
, ' Wickham, E. W. H.
, i Jones, E. W.
From, 0.
, , Haydn, W. C. L.

ATTEMPT TO MURDER A COLOUR-SERGEANT
OF THE 44TH REGIMENT.

On Monday morning a private belonging to the I
44th Regiment, stationed here was taken before three of
the borough magistrate' on • charge of cutting and wound- ;
ing Colour-Sergeant William Whittaker, of the same regi- ,
went, by stabbing him several times with a bayonet. The
facts disclosed a very determined attempt to murder, al- ,
though the charge was simply for unlawfully wounding.
Whittaker appears to have been sergeant of the guard at the
Citadel, Dover, on the night of Friday last. About 9 o'clock '
in the evening the prisoner was paraded for night-guard,
when Corporal Braney, thinking he was intoxicated, took
him to Sergeant Whittaker, who pronounced him in an
unfit state for duty, and ordered Corporal Williams to see
his things taken off and the man taken from the guard-
room to the " dryroom." Sergeant Whittaker then sat
; , down at a table to make out his report, and the prisoner
Iwas being divested of his accoutrements, when all
of • sudden he seized hold of • rifle with
fixed bayonet, and clearing his front, made •
full charge at Sergeant Whittaker. The sergeant, hear-
ing • noise from the rifles, looked around, and was in the
act of jumping up, when the bayonet passed between
his fingers, and penetrated his body. At the time the
prisoner made the second charge he ejaculated, " There,
you ! you shan't report another man drunk." The
wounds the sergeant hail sustained prevented his de-
fending himself, and the prisoner quickly followed up the
second with • third thrust, which, as Corporal Williams
said, must have gone through the body of Whittaker
had he not rushed upon him and twisted the musket and
bayonet from his grasp. Sergeant Whittaker was
removed to the military hospital, where he was
treated for the wounds, but, though suffering mush
from his injuries, he was able to give evidence on
Monday. The prisoner pleaded drunkenness, and
said the guard might have prevented what he did had they
been disposed to do so ; but it was proved that the pri-
soner was not so drunk as not to know what he was doing,
as on the following morning he told a comrade
that he stabbed Sergeant Whittaker the night
before, and inquired whether he was much hurt. It
was also shown that tho guard could not have warded off
the bayonet from the sergeant without great risk to them-
' selves, as the man lowered the weapon to charge, and
I cleared his front to get at the sergeant. It is said the pri-
x soner bears a very bad character in the regiment. The ma-
. gistrates committed the man to take his triaL—Doter
Chronicle.

THE MACKAY GCN.—EXPERIMENTS AT CROSBY.
—During the week some experiments with a 12-pounde
Mackay gun have been proceeding at Crosby, near Liver-
r
pool, under the inspection of a member of the Ordnance
elect Committee, and of Captain Pigeard, Imperial naval
attache to the French embassy, and a number of artillery
officers. On the first day the experiments were for range,
and were very satisfactory. On the second day the ex-
periments were for accuracy, the practice being at a target
1,500 yards distance. Though the wind was high, and the
practice difficult, in ten shots the target was struck twice,
while the average deviation was not more than two or
three yards. Practice was also given to show the ricochet,
which was stated to be one of the best features of the gun,
being particularly straight, a result particularly valuable
in field and siege guns.
FENIANISM IN THE ARMY. —A court-martial was
held in the Royal Barracks, Dublin, on Tue.& , on John
Flood, a gunner belonging to the Royal • ,on a
charge of using seditious language. Some time since the
prisoner had been tried and found guilty of having written
a treasonable letter to the Irish People, for which
be was sentenced to two years' imprisonment,
and to be "drummed out" of the service. While
being conveyed to the prison on the 19th ult. to
undergo the term of his imprisonment, he took off his
cap in the barrack-yard and called for three cheers for the
Fenian Brotherhood and the Irish republic. Mr. Concan-
non, LLD., appeared as counsel for the prisoner, and
banded in a protest to the jurisdiction of the court, on the
ground that Flood, having'been dismissed the service, was
amenable only tube tried by the ordinary tribunals. The
court overruled the objection, after which evidence in sup-
pork of the charge was gone into. The finding of the court
has been transmitted to the military authorities.
The Union Steamship Company are now com-
pelled, by virtue of their snail contract, to convey mails
between this country and the Cape of Good Hope in 35
days instead of 38, as heretofore. They are also now com-
pelled to convey mails to Algoa Bay.