The Sun.
London, England, 1862-03-04 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDA:i EVENING, MARCH 4, 1862.

to compare our militia with that army, because they are not
exposed to the destructive influences to which the regular
army is exposed in such climates as India and Canada. The
number of men of all arms in this country, including in-
fantry, cavalry, and artillery, is 81,614, and including the
Indian depots, 89,238. The number of our men in stations
in Europe is 17,048. In Asia, excluding India, 8,185; in
Africa, including the islands, 7,233 j; in America, 24,289,
which is larger than usual in consequence of the reinforce-
ments lately sent there ; in Australia, excluding New
Zealand, 12,034; in New Zealand by itself, 3,965; in India,
75,899 (but this number will shortly be reduced)—making a
total, including India, of 227,159. The committee will imme-

diately see from the great number of the stations at which the
men are placed the difficulty which exists in making any
considerable reduction in the number of men. We propose,
in consequence of some addition to our settlements on the
coast of Africa, to add a fourth West India regiment,
Three West India regiments already in existence have been
reduced from 10 to 8 companies; and the cost of the whole
four will not be much in excess of the three. The recruiting

for the army has been stopped since last autumn, and the
committee will see that the number of men proposed this
year is less than that of last year. There is, however, one
point in these estimates which may excite remark. I allude
to the increase in the number of the staff. (Hear.) I dare

say many hon. gentlemen will say this has resulted from
undue influence on the part of the Horse Guards, who are
always wishing to increase the staff, I think I can satisfy
the committee that there is no real increase, and that it is

merely nominal, with the exception of a small addition to
the medical staff, made for the purpose of the Canadian
forces, it being thought desirable to send out some add,tional
men to North America in the event of war occurring.
There were then ten officers added to th 3 medical staff. 230

have been tranferred from 7 to the military store accoun
Formerly the store officers had no commissions, but now they
had commissions. Comparing the pay of some of the princi-
cipal branches of the army as it was iu 1853-54 with the
present year, it will be seen, confining ourselves to the vote
of pay and allowances, that there is an actual diminution
since the former period. I will give the committee a com-
parative stateracnt for certain branches of the army, taking
the pay at so much per head. In 1853.4 the Life Guards and
Horse Guards had £66 4s. 2d. per man, in the present year
they are to have £5B 9s. 4d. The cavalry of the line had
£45 13s. in the last year, this year they will have £3B 25.4 d.
The Foot Guards received then £36 7s. 3d., against £32
16s. bd. The infantry of the line received then £2B 16s. 9d.,
as against £27 Is. 11d. this year. Therefore, whatever may
be the increase in the expenditure of the army, there has
been none in the pay and allowances. But although that is
the case, the condition of the men has been improved, as I
will presently show. One cause of the increased expendi-
ture has been the new establishments of different sorts con-
nected with the army. In the first place, since the Crimean
war military trains have been created, which is an entirely
new branch. The army hospital corps and the commissa-
riat staff corps are entirely new. Great additions have like-
wise been made to the commissariat and medical staff offi-
cers, and the purveyor's department has been almost en-
tirely reorganised. Those are important departments of
the army, tending materially to its efficiency, but of course
attended with increased expense. There had also been of
late a great increase in the charge for gunpowder. The
amount of practice in infantry regiments is certainly a new
feature ; we give it to the volunteers, and besides the experi-
ments with the great guns consume an immense quantity. I
cannot say hew much each explosion cost at the recent expe-
riments with Sir W. Armstrong's 300-pounder. Again there
is a large increase in miscellaneous stores. Government is
obliged to keep pace with scientific discovery, and hence the
experiments which are often so costly. At this moment there
is a large party who think that the Enfield rifle should be
discarded and the Whitworth substituted, when the ex-
pense would be enormous, and we should therefore be un.
willing to incur it ; but still we must say that no useful
improvement is neglected in ours, whilst adopted in foreign
armies. I believe I have now put the house in possession
of all the facts that relate to the efficiency of the army.
General PEEL complained of the omission from the esti-
mates of regular debtor and creditor accounts with regard
to our manufacturing establishments, and in his opinion the
comparisons which were drawn of the men voted from year
to year for the army at home and in India were fallacious.
Sir G. C. LEWIS said the new arrangement for the re-
payment of moneys by the Indian government was made
during last session after the estimates were voted ; therefore
it was not possible to make any other arrangement for this
year; nevertheless, a new mode of payment was introduced,
and with regard to the effective services it was made a mat-
ter of account between the War Department and the India
Department. The money was paid over directly to the War
Department under the authority of the Treasury. The pre-
sent India establishment was rather under 80,000 men.
Mr. W. WILLIAMS said he felt strongly disposed to
propose a reduction of the force mentioned in this vote, but
he was aware he should receive no support from the com-
mittee. (Hear, hear.) The standing army and the auxi-
liary forces of different kinds, and the army in our various
dependencies, were in the aggregate equal to any army of
any military power on the continent. It was quite a new
thing for England to have such a large standing army.
Colonel NORTH said, if our army had only to defend
England, the hon. member might have cause to complain,
but he should remember that it was sent to America and all
other parts of the world, and that being so it was not so
large as other armies.
Mr. WHITE wished his hon. friend the member for
Lambeth had moved a reduction of 10,000 men. (" Hear,
hear," and laughter, and cries of "Move.") Well, then,
he would move that the number of men be reduced by
.0,000.

Colonel NORTH asked the hon. member from what part
of the army he would take these men ? (Cries of "Order.")
The committee then divided, when there appeared :
For the amendment

• Against it
The vote was then agreed to.
On the vote of £5,355,596 for pay and money allowances
for land forces,
Major KNOX said that in moving that the vote be re-
duced by £1,038 14s. 7d., the amount of pay and allow-
ances to the general commanding the brigade of Guards in
London, he had no intention of attacking the Guards, but,
on the contrary, believed that the real enemies of that
force were those who opposed a similar motion last year,
when the vote was only carried by three in a small house.
This appointment was first created to make a place for a noble
lord who had just returned from the Crimea. (Hear.) It
was held by him for five years, and as long as the five years
lasted nothing was said about it, but on their termination
the matter was broached in the house, and a strong feeling
evinced in regard to it. The noble lord at the head of the
Government said the reason for having a major-general to
command the Guards was that it produced unity of com-
mand, instead of that command being bandied about from
one officer to another. The strange part of the matter, how-
ever, was, that while he received major-general's pay, the
major-general who was at Aldershot only received briga-
dier's yay. An hon. and gallant general (General Upton)
had said that, as far as the discipline of the Guards was
concerned, such an officer was not required, and that they
got on quite as well before as after the appointment.
Sir G. C. LEWIS said the creation of the office had
really been described as a job to provide an appointment for
a noble lord who had formerly been in the Guards ; but
Lord Rokeby was not now brigadier-general of the Guards.
The appointment was at present held by Gen. Crawford ;
and if it had been simply created for Lord Rokeby, ho pre-
sumed it would have been abolished when he vacated the
office. (Oh, oh.) At all events the question was whether
there existed any public ground for the appointment. He
had no reason to believe that it had been created for an in-
dividual. The military authorities of the day became aware
of the defective organisation of the Guards, and this office
was then created for sufficient reasons, to remedy that evil.
He trusted therefore that the committee would not be led
away by the arguments of the hon. and gallant gentleman
who had made this motion.
The committee then divided—
For the amendment
Against it
Majority -50
The vote was then agreed to.
£706,892 miscellaneous charges.
Mr. WHITE asked whether the men had any share in
the increase of £7,000 under the head of field allowances ?
Sir G. C. LEWIS said there were allowances made under
the authority of a Royal warrant to officers serving in the
field.

The vote was then agreed to.
On a vote of £211,677 for the volunteer corps,
Lord ENFIELD wished to know what the increase in
the force was this year, as compared with the last.
Mr. WILLIAMS said that in this vote there was a charge
of £3 per man for yeomanry cavalry. This seemed to him
a very heavy charge.
Lord LOVAINE wished for a return of the number of
effective volunteers, and of the days on which they had
attended drill.
Sir G. C. LEWIS said there already existed materials for
supplying the information the noble lord desired. With re-
spect to the union of the yeomanry with the volunteers, it
seemed to him more convenient that the votes should be
taken together.
Col. KNOX said that, catsidering the sum voted for the
yeomanry force, and with the example of the volunteer
officers serving without any charge upon the state, the yeo-
manry officers should at least not ask for any increased pay.
Mr. W. E. FORSTER feared that unless some assist-
ance were gives in the refitment of volunteers when the
present uniform was worn out, the numbers would fall off
tfrom want of means. He did not ask that the volunteers
should be paid, but certainly something should be done to
o meet the uniform difficulty.
Lord A. VANE said he did not mean that the volunteers
should be paid, but he thought that some assistance should,
be given towards the expense of uniform. If the Govern-
ment did not come forward to help the volunteer movement
in this point, he believed it was likely to die out.
Mr. BUCHANAN, speaking for Scotland, could assure
the Government that if something were not very soon done
for the volunteers, the force would rapidly waste away.
The vote was agreed to.
Committee to be resumed on Thursday n.ext.
INDIA STOCK TRANSFER BILL.
This bill was read a third time and passed, '

EXCHEQUER BILLS BILL.
This bill passed through committee.
CONSOLIDATED FUND BILL.
This bill was read a third time and passed.
MERCHANDISE MARKS BILL.

Sir F. GOLDSMIDT objected to the further progress of
the bill.
After a few words from Mr. GIDSort,
The bill was read a second time.
OFFICERS COMMISSIONS BILL.
This bill was read a second time.

The prisoner said he should do no such thing. The
officer told him that he should break the door open.
The prisoner told him he had no right to do so until
he brought the fire engine, as he was insured, and
put himself in a fighting attitude. The prisoner
shortly, however, unlocked the door. The oask had
been burnt, there were straw, wood, and coals near
the cask. The fire having been put out the prisoner
locked the door of the store and said to the police-
man, " What odds was it to you if the d—d old
place had been burnt down, as I was well insured ?"
The policeman then asked him to go with him to
the stationhouse, and the prisoner walked quietl3
with him. When they arrived at the station the
policeman gave him in charge for setting his store
on fire. The prisoner said if he had known that
was his intention he would not have come so quietly.
The conduct of the prisoner was very strange. He
had been drinking, but was not drunk. He said
he supposed that his pipe must have dropped in the
straw when he went down to get some coal. Two
buckets of water put out the fire. The prisoner was
a grocer. The prisoner became very violent and
much excited when at the station. There were seve-
ral bits of lucifer matches lying about in the store.
The prisoner had had several attacks of deliriuna
tremens, and at the time in question he was drunk
and not master of his own actions.
It was shown that the prisoner's premises had
been insured ever since November, 1851.
For the defence it was contended that the charge
was not fully made out, as there was no evidence of
any intent in the prisoner to set his premises on
fire or to defraud. It was evident that the prisoner
was in a state of madness that day and night, and
mightr have dropped some light from his pipe.
The
learned judge having summed up,
rhe jury returned a verdict of not guilty.
John Nicholas was indicted for maliciously
wounding Henry Leslie Kennedy, with intent to
murder him, at Aldershot, on the 7th November.
Mr. H. T. Cole and Mr. Massey prosecuted. The
prisoner was undefended.
This is a case that was for some time called tin
Aldershot murder, but Kennedy having been shot,
and as was supposed fatally, by dint of great sur-
gical skill has ultimately recovered.
The prisoner was a private in the Military Train.
There was some theatrical performance at the Camp
at Aldershott. He had been cast to play some minor
part, but as he grumbled about, Kennedy, who was
sergeant-major, told him if he could not conduct
himself as a man he had better go home. The pri-
soner was much annoyed at this, and usod very
threatening language. About 12 o'clock at night
Kennedy went to his hut, sat down, and was in the
act of taking off his boots, when there was a knock
at the door. Kennedy said " Come in." The pri-
soner entered and asked Kennedy what accusation
he had against him, raised a short carbine which
had been concealed under his cloak, pointed it at
Sergeant-Major Kennedy, and shot him through
the body. The sergeant-major ran to the other end
of the hut and called out that he was shot. The
prisoner was instantly secured. He said to Sergeant
Ward " Don't you twist my arm ; you shall have it
next." The bullet was afterwards found in a book
on the table ; it was buried in the book, The pri-
soner was taken to the guardroom. He said he
should not have shot the sergeant-major if he had
not turned him out of the theatre. Upon being
taken to the police station the prisoner put on his
boots and said " All my trouble is over now ; the
deed is done, and I shall hang for it, and deserve
it ;" that if he had had a weapon at the theatre he
would have shot the sergeant-major he was so
exasperated. He asked why his braces were taken
from him. He was told to prevent him hanging
himself. He said they need not trouble; let the
county find a rope ; let every trade find its own
tools ; that it was a shame to take his cap from him,
as they would find him a cap when he was hung.
Sergeant-Major Kennedy said that he heard the
report of the carbine, and felt a blow.on his chest,
and he then became insensible. He was still under
the doctor's hands.
Mr. Reynolds, the surgeon—Between 12 and 1 in
the morning I was called to see Kennedy, who was
reported to have been shot. I found him lying on
the floor on his face, pulseless, and apparently
dying. I found a bullet had penetrated the chest,
and passed out between the shoulder-blade and
and the spine. There was an escape of air,
which indicated an injury to the lungs ; the course
of the wound was upwards. The ball passed be-
tween the ribs, and did not injure the bone. For
a fortnight he was in a most dangerous state. I
then had some little hope.
The prisoner went into a rambling account of the
theatrical annoyances. Between drink and temper
he loaded his carbine and ran to the hut to know
more about it. When he got there he was more
mad, and took out the carbine, which caught in
something and went off, but he did not intend to
hurt the sergeant-major, as he had not offended
him, and he was the only than who would have
taken his part.
Mr. Justice Blackburn then summed up. The
question was whether it was the intention to kill
and murder Sergeant-Major Kennedy. Upon the
evidence there could be little doubt but that
the prisoner, if he knew what he was doing, in-
tended to kill the Sergeant-major.
The jury found the prisoner guilty.
The prisoner was then sentenced to be kept in
penal servitude for life.
(Before Mr. Collier, Q.C.)
Jeremiah Drake was indicted for stabbing and
wounding George Rook.
Mr. Beetham prosecuted, and Mr. Buller de-
fended the prisoner.
The prosecutor was a police constable, and went
to apprehend the prisoner on a warrant for poach-
ing. He took the prisoner into custody, and as
they were going along the road, in an unfre-
quented spot the prisoner tried to escape, and
stabbed Rook in several places with a knife.
Mr. Buller contended that the wounds were in-
curred by accident.
Verdict, guilty; sentence, 12 months' imprison.
ment.

MIDLAND CIRCUIT-RUTLAND, MARCH 1,

CROWN COURT.

- -
Lord Chief-Justice Cockburn took his seat in this
court at noon, and commenced trying prisoners, the
majority of the cases being very ordinary and un-
interesting.
Charles Enoch Springthorpe was arraigned upon
the coroner's inquisition, and on an indictment
charging him with the manslaughter of James
Davy.
Mr. Cockle conducted the case for the prosecution,
and Mr. Merewether for the defence.
It appeared from the opening statement of the
learned counsel for the prosecution, and the evidence
adduced in support of it, that the prisoner was em-
ployed by the London and North-Western Railway
Company as a fireman, and in that capacity accom-
panied Meadley, the foreman in the erection of
engines, and Whittle, the driver, on an engine
making a trial trip from Wolverton to Bletcbley
and back. Upon the return of the engine from this
trip, Whittle, who was the person in authority, left
the engine to inquire of Mr. Donkin, the foreman,
what he should do with the engine, having given
no order that the engine should be moved or the
regulator touched. Mr. Meadley and Davy got
down, and Meadley then closed the regulator.
After Whittle had left, two or three men, among
whom was the deceased man, Davy, came to the
engine to examine it ; and Davy for this purpose
put his right hand between the spokes of one of the
front wheels. The prisoner had then remounted
the engine, and was on the footplate, and, having
looked on each side of the engine, he went to the
regulator and opened and shut it ; this caused the
driving-wheel to go round, hod Davy's arm was
wrenched from the socket, and himself thrown to
the ground with such force that his left arm was
broken. The injuries suffered resulted in his death
on the Bth of January following. On the part of
the prosecution it was represented that the act of
the prisoner in opening the regulator was unlawful,
as being an infringement of rule 257 of the com-
pany's regulations, which prohibits any fireman to
move an engine except when instructed by the
driver, and unless he has also an order from the
superintendent.
It was elicited, in the cross-examination of Mead-
ley, that when Whittle and himself got off the
engine it was not put out of gear, but left in mid-
gear only, with the regulator shut ; and, further,
that according to rule 264, the duty of the fireman
upon getting down from the engine was not to
leave the engine in steam without shutting down
the regulator, and putting the engine out of gear.
Mr. Merewether contended that there was no in-
fraction of rule 257 by the prisoner, as he not only
did not move the engine, but was not shown to have
had any intention to move it, and also that rule 257
was only intended to apply to engines on a journey.
For the effects produced by the opening of the regu-
lator the prisoner was not responsible, since it was
owing to the engine not having been put out of gear
by Mr. Meadley that the driving-wheel turned
round in such a manner as to inflict the injuries
which caused the death of the deceased. He con-
cluded by commenting on the affliction manifested
k by prisoner when he perceived how terribly Davis
had been lacerated, and called witnesses to his cha-
racter as a careful and steady servant, and to prove
that nothing had been done by him but what a care-
ful fireman would naturally do under the circum-
stances, and that Davis's act in putting his hand be-
tween the spokes of the wheel was not an ordinary
or proper mode of examining the engine.
Mr. Cobkle having briefly replied,
His Lordship summed up the evidence, telling
the jury that the charge would not be made out un-
less they were satisfied that there had been negli-
gence on the part of the prisoner ; and although