The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-10-16 00:00:00

' divided by eight water-tight compartments of oak, six
inches thick, fastened in the strongest manner. Her
e timated cost is 850,000 dols. In all the mechanical
details of the construction of this remarkable ship
human skill seems to have done its utmost. At the
present time the construction of steam pr•lpellers for
ordinary mercantile service seems to be attracting more
attention. The Novelty Iron Works have a very fine
working model of a propeller engine, and it is anticipated
that ultimately this class of vessels will occupy an
important place in our mercantile marine. For naval
purposes,its superiorty is undoubted.

THE MILITARY FRICAS AT BRIGHTON

We have already stated that a series of " freaks,"
as they were mildly termed, had of late been prac-
tised by certain of the officers of the 4th or Qne"n's
Own Regiment of Light Dragoons, now stationed at
Brighton, on some of their own number, and particularly
upon one Cornet Ames, which had resulted in a report
to the Horse Guards, a special enquiry into the circum-
stances by General Lawrenson, the General commanding
the brigade of which the regiment forms part, and the
close arrest of three officers—namely, Lord E. V. Tem-
pest, Cornet Birt, and Lieut. Winstanley, preparatory,
as it is supposed, to a court-martial. The account in
question was in several respects imperfect, and we
are now in a position to throw additional light on the
whole transaction, 49 far at least as regards the
outrage upon. Cornet Ames—for outrage it undoubtedly
was, if the attendant circumstances are capable
. .

of being established in evidence—which led immediately
to the official enquiry before General Lawrenson. Lord
E. Vane, one of the officers implicatf
already known to fame in connecti

ed in the aff.tii.

n with a serioi

sault he committed just about a year ago upon the
.nanager of the Windsor Theatre, for which he was fined
.E. 5 before the local magistrates, and had afterwards to
pay £25 in damages in an action of trespass tried in the
Court of Queen's Bench, arising out of the same trans-
action. Mr. Thomas Harting Ames, the cornet on whom
the " freak " in question so-called was practised, is about
22 years of age, and the son of an independent gentleman
—not of a clergyman, as was erroneously stated—
residing in the neighbourhood of Regent's park, London.
He only joined the regiment so recently as the
13,,h of August last, and, almost prom the very day
he did so, he has been subjected to a continual
series of " practical jokes," as they are designated in
co ninon parlance. These he bore good.humouredly for
the most part, and to show that he was not wanting in
esprit de corps it may be stated that on one or two occa-
sions when he entered his room, and unexpectedly found
some of his brother officers there—at present it does not
appear whom—taking liberties with his property, he
quietly pocketed the affront, and sat down and entertained
them for the remainder of the night. Recently, on return,
ing to his quarters, he discovered that his room had been
forcibly entered in his absence, and his stook of candles
melted in a vessel on the fire, and hung outside the
window, with some of his regimentals. Even this,
which was only one of a great number of affronts,
does not seem to have exhausted his
_forbearance ; and it was not until au assault and great personal in-
dignity had been played off upon him, that he appealed
to his commanding officer, Lieutenaut-Colonel Low,
for protection. It happened iu this way, according to the
best information that can be obtained in a matter on
which so much secrecy is observed in military society at
Brighton. It ought first, perhaps, to he stated that
Cornet Ames is said to be a young man of a frank, pliant
disposition, but, though the son of a gentleman in good
circumstances, not having either the means or the incli-
nation to launch into extravagant courses, he seems to
have given umbrage to seine of the younger among his
brother officers by personal habits little iu accordance
with their own in some respects. The regiment to which
he belongs is stationed at two separate places in Brighton,
one being the Preston Barrcks, on the outskirts of the
town, and the other the Pavilion Barracks, in its
centre, and about a mile and a half distant from
the former. The officers mess is at the Preston
Barracks, and there, too, are the quarters of
the three officers now under arrest. Hornet
Ames, on the other hand, though called on to do duty daily
at the Preston barracks and to dine at the mess there, has
rooms in whic!t he lives and sleeps at the Pavilion Bar:
racks. On Sunday, the 21st S Ttember last, he dined as
usual at the mess, where, as he has complained to his
friends, he received some insulting language from Lord
E nest Vane. On that occasion, we believe, Lord Ernest
Vane sat at table, with Birt on his left hand and Ames on
his right, while Winstanley was seated opposite, but not
immediately. During dinner, it is said, Lord Ernest Vanp
kept up a constant fire of taunts against Ames in an under
tone, accompanied with many offensive expressions, which
we forbear repeating at the present stage of the enquiry,
After dinner Ames took two or three glasses of wine,
and then, about half past nine o'clock, rose to depart. He
was followed, however, into the passage by Vane and
Birt, both of whom seized hold of him and dragged him
into Lord Vane's room, Lieut. Winstanley and Cornet
Fyfe following. There he was forcibly held down on a
sofa by Birt and Vane, while Winstanley went into Vane's
bed-room and brought a pair of scissors, which he gave to
Vane, arid with which Vane completely denuded him of hie
whiskers on the left side of his faoe, Winstanley and Pyfe
looking on. This escapade over he (Ames) was dragged
along the passage to the antechamber adjoining the mess-
room, in which co gee is served alter dinner, and in this
condition pushed violently in, were some of the rest of the
officers were, by Birt and Vane. He appears to have
made what resistance he dared to this treatment,
but was overpowered by superior force. Here,
sthiloxdas.feeveevtrii o,lilgeiothnc,e is inclined to ask what use he made
of his legs and arms, while subjected to all
violence
siluerelyishe migayhotuhngavemeamnPlo;veedilall hisnigh
ogffretahtisnaintalriaglumit)e%ansToof
do
hu justice,defenceh with far w
rme more effect
heotte statesoward
that he so far controlled his feelings as to forbePr to strike
men who were his superior officers, even under that amount
of provocation, knowing that to do so was a high military
offence under the articles of war. One cannot but smile at
the notion of a man ever being charged with such an
offence under the circums!aeces. lie finally lefc, the
Preston barracks ab ut half-past ten o'clock, and returned
to his quarters at the Pavilion. He had reached the top
of the stairs leading to his apartments, and was about
to apply the key to the door of his sitting-room,
which he had locked oa leaving in the earlier part of the
(lay, when he heard voices at the foot of the stairs
which he recognised, but whose the voices were it would
nut be desirable to state here, for obvious reasons. Not
wishing to encounter the parties, knowing who they were,
he retired by another way to a part of the court-yard, from
which he heard them burst open the door and afterwrds
saw a light in his room and the shadows of people inside on
the window-blinds. On their retiring from the barracks,
which they did in no long time, he proceeded to his room,
where he found that the furniture had been turned topsy-
trirvy, his drawers pulled out of their places, and his linen
thrown about the floor, two of his hats smashed, and hi,s,
bed completely saturated with water. He slept on the tioo.,
of his room that night. Other damage was done, but it is
unnecessary to give the details. Next morning he related'
the whole circumstances to the adjutant of the regiment:
Lieutenant Jennings, with a request that he would report
them officially to Lieut.-Colonel Low in command of the
depot, which he did. Lieut.-Colonel Low in his turn re-
ported them to the Horse Guards, which led to the special
cr..quiry by Gen. Lawrenson, and to Lord Earnest Vaue,
Ha
indignityrd i
pumpingn A'
Cornet Birt, and Lieut. Winstanley being called on to
deliver up their swords, and being plat d under close arrest,
hi which they have remained since Monday week, when the
visit of Gan. Lawrenson was made. It is stated, as a
matter of course, that either a court martial, or what is
called a " court of enquiry," will be held to investigate the
transactions in question, as the Judge-Advocate or his
Deputy shall decide, it remaining, we believe, with him
accordiug to custom, to decide by which of these tribunals
the offence is cognisable. This statement of fag
has been collected with great pains and care,
and, in the main, we believe it is such as
wi'l be given in evidence before any military tribunal by
which the matter may be investigated. 14tuch of it is
necessarily and unavoidably, under the
rryvz
,ionolafeusl
:ssa
leoanyl:
ex parte character, and it must be read with that qualificas
ties ; but it is substantially that on which the advice of
counsel has been taken, before whom it was laid by ark
hot
ihst Lcihehi oge professional
cril
degree, we
etswedee,ri. justice,
to of.i ,
publish
hi N Ylui
mr:i
a t oli
uAe nuni'di eensresnat ant nds toi hl
i i hse ei ft
:deb' neaireciw. tsnii I itulhgt:ihnaewd;
whatever to
Aapttatb)phri
mrryooi
pi
eebssjnerst
it
lossiaAnbdasiihllaiteri
eyilahl
eq.
is
euAt
fdmtoegehlmi
sluseaentt
cneeiclossi
cteattn.
tuaii
hsmorsoreeanTfi
ct
ghoyhmhat. e
vhtebiaetneolnogttrthictai
remains
lteerroiaecomnekiume€eear
attffiinihwngseesi:ettatretihinesooodeu
enir
smps:eapri
ahlv
iti:eci_visaehl implicated a
alone,
feeling,z ud t o
with insure
hiss thefdriorengenerdei
friends
attenhsdet
im-
plied iu the memordroasi,
ahpmu
ries
maoe matter
army,
cos, allrsuai
would
o,
professional
have
. ‘piveaurvabiedtl meanstvigroundsreciensne bebystfahted that Corne't
r memorandum
hdlutemahst
itiimhtif s hjte
hleutel oyahv,maelnerstnl 1 overlooked sucho3bok:feebedytvoe
rtyh eo
rac e anenes
ril
rine outragethe
the late commander in chief, inhereterenTe to ardroif
offered to an ensign in the 60th Regt., at Preston, in that
1.11 id
guardian
,''
of he
had tamely submitted to the gross and insulting language
t being governed and contr have considered
applied to him or to the
minding in Chief's knowledge, would
unworthy to hold
Ensign es a commission in her
upon him, and if the facts personalhad eorn come n todi indignity of
Corn-
"is"thEevegryuao
Tear. " If," said Hardin g° on that occasion, "Ensign ----
, 1 1
1e d
his
byo continued,wt nh e
honour,
articlesh hisaot
r-
laid dea,n in the Judge-Advocate's letter
he shrinks from availing
circulated by the Secretary at War, in transmitting the
Mutiny Act and the articles of' war of that year to every
twe',ll,aeatrjhi. eebs tselyeth'esiirssseetcrarl vreayinnerkeal ~yt
vv.
regiment, that if an officer passes over without notice an
insult offered to him he is liable to be brought to a Court-
martial, not because he declines to fight a duel, but because
himself of those means which the
articles of war and the justice of his brother officers place
at his disposal, when redress for an insult is not prevented
by his own misconduct."