The Sun.
London, England, 1863-06-19 00:00:00

pients. He called upon the committee to express by the
division their disapprobation of the interference of the State
wi'h the education of the people.
Lo, d C. HAMILTON criticised the speech of the At-
torney-General for Ireland, and regretted that he had intro-
duced subjects beside the queation before the committee,
viz., the maintenance of the model schools by public grants

of money.
Mr. BLAKE supported the amendment.
Mr. MONSELL also supported the amendment, and
contrasted the relative cost of the two systems.
Mr. LEFR,OY protested against the system of national
education in Ireland, because it was not founded upon
Scriptural truth; but, at the same time, he should abstain
altogether from voting on the present occasion.
The committee divided—
For the am.;ndment
For the vote as it stood
Majority —B4
Mr. HENNESSY moved that the chairman should re-
port progress.
Lord PALMERSTON hoped that, after the long discus.
sion which had taken place, the committee would proceed
with a single v, te.
Mr. MONSELL thought that at half past 12 o'clock they
ought not to proceed further.
Sir R. PEEL said that the vote had been postponed from
a former evening on the unthrstanding that it would be com-
pleted on that night.
The committee divided—

For reporting progress
Against it llt
Majority
Mr. HENNESSY appealed to Lord Palmerston not to
proceed, as the house would have to meet again at 12
o'clock.

Sit R. PEEL wad ready to give any information sought
for on the vote; but he hoped the committee would go on.
Captain JERVIS said that a very important bill was
coming on after supply, and it would not be right to attempt
to discuss it at that hour of the morning.
Mr. HENNESSY moved that the Speaker leave the
chair.

The committee divithd, when the motion was negatived
by 110 to 31.
On the motion of Colonel GREVILLE,
The Chairman was then ordered to report progress.
The Charitable Uses Bill passed through committee.
The Mutiny (East India) Act Repeal Bill was read a
second time.
Sir Robert Hitcham's Charity Bill was read a second
time.

Ruthin Charities Bill was read a second time,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne (St, Mary Magdalen Hospital)
Bill was read a second time.
The Militia Pay Bill went through committee.
The Land Drainage (Provisional Orders) Bill was passed
through committee.
The Marriages Registration (Ireland) Bill was read a
third time and passed.
The Stipendiary Magistrates Bill was read a second
time.

ELECTION PETITIONS BILL.

The following were named the select committee on the
Election Petik ions Bill :—Mr. Ayrton, Sir G. Grey, Mr.
Massey. Mr. P. Bouverie, Lord Henley, Mr. Monsell, Mr.
Herbert, Mr. Sergeant Kinglake, Sir W. Heathcote, Sir
W. Miles, Mr. Knightley, Mr Adderley, Mr Walpole, Mr.
Hunt, and Mr. Sergeant Pigott.
The house adjourned at 20 minutes to 2 o'clock.

LAW INTELLIGENCE—June 18.

COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH.
DICKSON V. LORD COMBERDIERE AND OTHERS.

This was an action for conspiracy against Lord Comber-
mere, Lord Lieutenant of the Tower; Gen. Peel, M.P.,
(late Secretary of State lot War), and the Earl of Wilton,
Colonel of the 2d Tower Hamlets Militia, in depriving Lieut-
Col. Dickson, by false and malicious representations, of the
position of lieut.-colonel of the 2d Tower Hamlets Militia.
The defendants pleaded not guilty. Great interest was
manifested in the proceedings; and as each party is deter-
mined to fight the matter bnd investigate the circumstances
to the utmost, the case is likely to occupy the Court four or
five days. The Earl of Wilton, Lord Combermere, Count
Nesselrode, Major-Gen. Hodgson, and Rear-Admiral Cut-
ton, occupied seats on the bench.
Mr. Coleridge, Q.C., Mr. Denman, Q.C., and Mr. Gordon
Allen were counsel for the plaintiff; the Attorney-General,
Mr. Bolin, Q.C., Mr. Lush, Q.C., Mr. Dowdeswell, Mr.
Field, and Mr. Milward were counsel for the defendants.
Mr. Coleridge, in stating the plaintiff's case to the jury,
said it was one of no ordinary character; but, on the con-
trary, it involved matters of considerable importance to the
plaintiff's professional and honourable life and career, and
equally so to the honour and character of each of the three
distinguished defendants. The plaintiff, in early life, had
been in the 2d Queen's Royals, and served in India under
Sir Lionel Smith. He returned from India and joined the
51st, and afterwards exchanged into the 25th. In 1836 he
raised a regiment under the sanction of the Government for
the service of the Queen of Spain, and he served with great
distinction under Gen. Sir De Lacy Evans. On hie return
he was shortly after appointed to the 77th, from which he
soon after retired. In 1842 he was sent out by the then
Colonial Secretary, as civil commissioner in one of the
Cape of Good Hope districts, and received from Sir
George Napier, Lord Maitland, and the Earl of Derby,

testimonials for the efficient manner in which he dis
charged those duties. On his return he applied to the late
Duke of Wellington, who was then Lord Lieutenant of
the Tower, who presented him to the majority of the
2d Tower Hamlets Militia, Earl Wilton, who was a civilian,
being the colonel—a piece of honorary distinction. During
times of peace militia regiments were my kept up in skele-
ton, and at the time Lieut.-Col. Dickson joined the regiment
Col. North, M.P., was the major, a gentleman named Cowell
was the adjutant, and Mr. 0' Shaunessey was the captain
and paymaster. The officers of the 2d Tower Hamlets were
appointed by the Lord-Lieutenant of the Tower Hamlets
and the Constable of the Tower, but could only be dis-
placed by the Queen, acting under the advice of the Secre-
tary of State for War. In May, 1854, during the Crimean
war, the regiment was called out for 21 days' trairing ; the
headquarters were at Bethnal-green, and, having gone

through its training was disembodied from that time till
March, 1855, when it was again called out and permanently
embodied, owing to the great drain upon the regular army
from the Crimean war. The militia, when embodied, was
subjected to tht Mutiny Act, the Articles ot War, and cer-
tain regulations for the army, and one of the regulations
was that the commanding officer should conduct the affairs
of the regiment and look after in a general way the affairs
ot the mess, and see that the mess bills were regularly paid,
and that the regiment did not get into disrespect in reference
to it. The mess fund of a militia regiment consisted of a
compulsory contribution of 30 days' pay and a voluntary
contribution of 8 days' pay, and there was what was called
the regent's allowance of £l5O per annum for each com-
pany. In March, 1855, when the regiment was called out,
no regular mess committee was formed, but however the
plaintiff and the Earl of Wilton went on amicably up to
March, 1855. Articles were, however, obtained necessary
for the requirements of the mess, and it appeared that dur-
ing Col. North's time there was an inspection luncheon

which came to between V.O and £4O, and afterwards the
question of payment was raised, and it was arranged,
with the consent of the Earl of Wilton and the other
officers, that it should be paid for out of between £3OO
and £4OO belonging to the regiment in the hands of the
paymaster, and a cheque was accordingly drawn for
it. Afterwards there wa3 a presentation of co-
lours by Lady Wilton, when another luncheon was
given, and as there was a large assemblage, which included
a number of ladies, the expense was between £6O and £7O,
and as in the former case payment was ordered out of the
funds in hand. In August, 1855, Colonel North left the
regiment, and the plaintiff was appointed the liew enant-
colonel. It was accordingly determined, as Col. North was
very popular in the regiment, that he should be presented
with a piece cf plate, and the money was raised by subscrip-
tion. The presentation of a piece of plate without 801120 kind
of entertainment, the learned counsel said, was a very dry
affair; and it was arranged that the presentation should take
place at a luncheon, which was done at a cost of between
£3O or £4O, which had to be provided for in a similar man-

ner as the two former. In Oct., 1855, the mess was regu-
larly formed. It appeared that during the embodiment of
the regiment there was a fete at Cremorne for the benefit of
the Wellington College. Some portion of the Guards was
there, and also the 2d Tower Hamlets Militia, and they took
part in what was to have been a representation of the taking
of Sebastopol, but, unfortunately, the stage up which the
soldiers were to charge gave way, many of the men falling
with their bayonets fixed, and others falling on them.
Several were seriously injured, and most of them had their
clothes torn. A dispute took place afterwards about the
payment of the injured or destroyed articles, which was
afterwards inquired into and explained satisfactorily by
Lieut.-Col. Dickson, but notwithstanding, after that Earl
Wilton charged him with malversation of the funds of the
regiment. The learned counsel then proceeded very
minutely to enter into the circumstances of the disputes
which arose subsequently between the parties relative to
the supplying of the mess articles and their payment.
There was a sergeants' mesa fund established, and also a
maternity fund for the benefit of the wives of the privates,
and there was a complaint that Lieut.-Colonel Dickson
had retained for a long time improperly a sum of £45.
There were other matters connected with the affairs of the
regiment which tended to increase the misunderstanding
between the parties. The mess accounts were in disorder,
there baying been no regular audit of the accounts,
and the tradesmen who had supplied the plate, glass, wine,
&c. likewise pressing for uayment. There was great di ffi
culty in getting money with which to liquidate the demands
on the regiment, and the Earl of Wilton gave £lOO, and
Col, North and others subscribed; but as the regiment had
been disbanded suddenly the resources for the mess fund
were cut short, and the result was that the mess was several
hundred pounds in debt. It was therefore in reference to
matters in connection with the state of the finances of the
regiment that the alleged false representations were made
which led to the plaintiff's dismissal from the command of
the regiment. The plaintiff declared that all the circum-
stances of the regitneut, the purchase oi the articles, the
non-formation of a mess committee, were well known at the
time to the Earl of Wilton, end that the plaintiff was in no