The Sun.
London, England, 1862-11-03 00:00:00

7HE ARMY.

A general Horse Guards' order, signed by Major-
Gen. Sir J. Y. Scarlett, K.C.8., has been received
at Chatham garrison, directing that the service
ammunition issued to the troops shall in future be
expended annually in practice, and replaced from
time to time by a similar quantity of the ammunition
supplied for the universal practice of the corps. By
this arrangement the service amunition, being ex-
changed every year, will always be maintained in
good order, even in damp climates. This increase
is accordingly to be carried out on receipt of the
next annual issues of practice ammunition, and any
objection which may be made in the first instance,
on the score of exchange affecting the shooting in
cases where the service ammunition has been an
unusually long time in possession, may be met by
commanding officers with an order to use it in file
and volley firing, or at short ranges, where a little
diminution in the strength of the powder is not of
so much consequence.

A notification from the Horse Guards has been
received at Chatham garrison that the next ex-
amination of candidates for admission to the
Royal Military College, Sandhurst, under the
regulations dated Horse Guards, Ist of May,
1862, will be held on the 17th of December next.
The examination of candidates for the Royal
Artillery and Royal Engineers for admission to
the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, under
the Horse Guards' regulations of the sth of May,
1862, will take place on the sth of Jan. next. The
examination for direct commissions will be held on
the 26th of January next, and the examination of
candidates for the medical department of the army
early in the month of February.

The troops in the camp at Colchester have com-
menced " marching out" into the country every
Wednesday by brigades. This arrangement will
be adhered to during the winter season, weather
permitting. Recruiting has been commenced for
the Ist battalion, sth and 6th Regiments, and the
34th, 54th, and 56th. It is stated that the force
stationed at the camp is to be increased by an ad-
ditional battalion,

The sergeants of the Portsmouth division of
Royal Marine Light Infantry held their annual
competitive rifle contest at Browndown during the
past week, under the pate onage of Col.-Commandant
Ayles and the officers of the division, who contri-
buted three valuable prizes for competition. The
shooting throughout was above the average. The
first-class prizes consisted of the officers' contribu-
tion, and comprised-Ist, a richly-chased silver
inkstand; 2d, a handsome seven-day timepiece, with
bronze mountings; and 3d, a silver tankard. The
other prizes consisted of a Stewart's achromatic
rifle telescope, a gold signet ring, and sums of
money. The winners were presented with the
prizes by the Sergeant-Major of the division, in
the sergeants' messroom, on Friday evening, in the
presence of their officers.

BARBAROUS 7REATIIEN7 OF A PARISH

APPRENTICE,

On Saturday, at the Ilford Police-court, John
Robins, master of the Gauntlet, fishing smack, of
Barking, was brought up in custody, having been
captured at Grimsby, on a charge of ill-treating
Joseph Rodwell, an apprentice on board the vessel,
who had since died. Mr. C. Wilson conducted the
prosecution, and Mr. Young defended the accused.
It appeared the deceased was apprenticed to Mr.
Bailey, the owner of the Gauntlet, by the guardians
of the Hampstead union, and during his last voyage
to Iceland and back he is stated to have been as-
saulted in the most shocking manner by the pri-
soner, and when the smack returned to Barking last
week he was found to be dead. The body was re-
moved ashore, and witnesses at the coroner's inquest
spoke of the inhuman treatment which the unfortu-
nate lad received. Mr. Davison, surgeon, spoke of
the emaciated appearance of the body. Death re-
sulted from disease of the lungs, and a verdict to
that effect was returned, the jury remarking upon
the ill-treatment which the deceased had been sub-
jected to.
A gentleman, named Mitchell, who took an inte-
rest in the case, then applied for a warrant to arrest
the captain of the smack upon the charge of assault-
ing the lad with intent to do him serious harm, &c.,
and the prisoner was accordingly taken into custody.
Alfred Patterson, an apprentice on board the
Gauntlet, stated that the deceased lad, Joseph
ltodwell, died on Oct. 17. He had seen the prisoner
beat Rodwell during the first voyage from Barking
to the North Sea and back. He saw the prisoner
beat him several times with a rope as thick as his
three fingers. The next voyage was from Barking
to Iceland, and they stated on that voyage in May
last. During that trip he saw the prisoner beat
Rodwell several times with a rope and with a hand-
spike, and with the end of the mainsheet, with a
knot at the end. Had seen Rodwell's back full of
bruises. Whilst they were in Iceland the prisoner
told some of the crew to lash Rodwell to the wind-
lass, and they did so in his presence. The prisoner
then beat him with a piece of line, and ordered some
of the men to tar his back. (Sensation.) It was
done by some of the men while the prisoner stood
and looked on. A second time he was lashed to the
windlass by the master's order, and after being
flogged his back was covered with bright varnish.
When he was beaten at the windlass the boy was
stripped.
About a fortnight elapsed between the
gs. Deceased was ill for about a ort-
etwiglifit °ogegfoinre he died. Both at Iceland and on the
voyage,home he was kept without food. Had known
him to go 48 hours with only a biscuit and half a
pint of coffee. Had seen him kept at his line for 24
hours at a time, and had seen him fall about the
deck, he was so weak. The prisoner had also seen
him in that condition. The Gauntlet put in at
Grimsby,
but onhe thdpassage home. Deceased was then
alive, tied on the passage from thence to
Barking. Recollected the prisoner going ashore,
and he told the mate that Rodwell was not to have
any food until he (captain) came on board again.
He was moped after he was tarred. Did not know
why the prisoner should have ill-used him in the
way he had, except that he hated him.
Cross-examined by Mr. Young—The deceased was
of dirty habits, and he (witness) had complained of
him. Had heard the men say that he was offensive.
James Green, another apprentice on board the
Gauntlet, said the statement of the last witness was
all true. Had seen the deceased lashed to the wind-
lass and flogged, and the tar and varnish put on his
back. Saw him beaten with a handspike, a pump
break (handle), and a mop staff, by the prisoner.
Had seen him beaten since they left Grimsby be-
cause he was so weak that he could not stand at his
line and fell about. Had known him kept without
'food for 24 hours since leaving Grimsby. Heard the
prisoner say to the deceased, " I will make your old
guts as long as a 40 gallon bow line." Saw him
struck on the day after they left Grimsby.
Cross-examined—Had complained of the dirty
habits of the deceased. The prisoner had struck
him (witlieFs) on the face with his fist, and had
drawn blood, and he had also been struck by him
with a handspike over the arm. Prisoner said he
had not kept the course, but he had. The captain
only struck the boys ; he was frightened to hit the
men.

Mr. D raison, surgeon, of Barking, deposed to
making a post-mortem examination of the body,
which was much emaciated ; a shortness of food
would produce it. The body was covered with
sores, and there was an abcess on the left knee.
Death arose from diseased lungs. The deceased must
have been in a weak state some time. One lung
was gone ; and what was described as laziness might
arise from his very weak condition and his inability
to work. There was no food in his stomach.
It having been intimated that the bench would
send the case for trial, and a material witness being
absent, a remand was applied for.
Mr. Young would not object, but he hoped his
client would be liberated on bail, tie was a respect-
able man, and any reasonable amount of bail was
forth coming.
Mr. Wilson trusted the bench would consider be-
fore they let the captain go at large
on bail. These
poor apprentice lads lived at Barking, and it was
difficult to conjecture what influence might be

brought to bear:upon them. It was a very serious
offence charged against the prisoner.
The Chairman (Mr. Barclay) said they thought
they might liberate the prisoner on finding two
sureties of £5O each, and entering into his own
recognisances of £lOO to appear next Saturday.

INFANT 1110R7ALITY IN THE METRO-

POLLS 21IROUGH SUFFOG'2I2I.I6III-:

Yesterday an inquiry was held at the Ship Ta-
vern, Litnehouse, by Mr. Raffles Walker, the de-
puty coroner, respecting the death of Thomas
Walker, an infant, six months old, which had been
suffocated under the following circumstances :
Mary Anne Walker, 1, Ring-court, Park-street,
said that the deceased was placed in bed on Thurs-
day night, and slept between herself and her hus-
band. Her husband had gone to bed at seven or
eight o'cloct , not sober. He had not been sober all
the afternoon. The next morning she found the
deceased child cold, and apparently dead. She went
for the doctor, who pronounced life extinct.
Dr. Andrews said the child died from suffocation.
Parts of the body were livid. Deprivation of air
by being covered over with bedclothes would cause
death.

The Coroner said that it was high time the pub-
lic attention should be directed to the great morta-
lity amongst infants arising from suffocation. He
had recently held nine inquests in two days upon
children who had thus lost their lives. The parents
almost invariably attributed the death of their chil-
dren under such circumstances to convulsions, lest a
suspicion of infanticide should attach to them—but
there was no doubt that the carelessness—or the
over-fondness—of the parent was in fault. He
(the Coroner) did not agree with those who ascribed
the suffocation of children to design, for he ob-
served that but comparatively few cases occurred
during summer, but that the numbers invariably
rose during the winter, and that the fatality oc-
curred principally on Sunday and Monday morn-
ings. The causes appeared to be these—on the
approach of cold weather parents in their anxiety
to keep the children warm wrapped them
up in heavy bed clothes, so as to deprive them of
all access to pure air, and with delicate infants
death as surely resulted as if they had been burked.
Secondly, on Saturdays parents of the lower order
spent their time between marketing and the public-
houses, and returning home lete and tired, overlaid,
and so killed the children. Sundays, amongst the
same class, was devoted to heavy eating and drink-
ing, and even more than on Saturday nights chil-
dren were crushed and asphyxiated. It was there-
fore a matter of some moment that at the present
time parents should be put on their guard with re-
spect, not only to the danger of destroying the lives
of their children, but of involving themselves in the
suspicion, however unfounded, of infanticide.
In the particular case under notice a verdict was
returned, "That the deceased died from suffocation,
but how the suffocation was caused there was no
evidence to show."