The Sun.
London, England, 1865-10-16 00:00:00

COURT-MARTIM..

PORTSMOUTH, Saturday.
This morning a court-martial assembled on board
the Victory, flag-ship of Admiral Sir Michael Sey-
mour, G. C. 8., to try Mr. William Rogers, paymaster
of H.M.S. Basilisk, for that he being on full pay and
active service, did, between the 20th of September
and the sth of October, 1865, drink intoxicating
liquors to such an extent as to incapacitate him
from discharging his duties, such being unbecoming
the conduct of an officer.

The Court comprised :—Capt. Gerard, J. Napier
(president), of the Terrible ; Capt. Seccombe, Duke
of Wellington; Capt. Lacy, Himalaya; Capt. Her-
bert, Royal Sovereign ; and Commander Simpson,
of the Royal yacht Victoria and Albert.
Mr. Edward Hoskins, of Gosport, sat as officiat-
ing judge advocate, and Mr. Thomas Cousins,
solicitor, of Union-street, Ports-ea ; and Mr. Albert
Besant, solicitor, of Union-street, Portsea, appeared
as prisoner's friends.

Capt. Hewitt, of the Basilisk, prosecuted.
The witnesses having been called and the charge
read,
The prisoner said he did not wish to trouble the
Court to hear evidence, as he desired to plead guilty,
and to make a few statements in extenuation of his
conduct.

The Court acquiesced, and Mr. T. Cousins, on
behalf of the prisoner, then read the following state-
ment :—Her Majesty's ship Basilisk, to which he
(the prisoner) had the honour to be appointed on
the 16th of April last, having been ordered for ser-
vice in China, and being on the point of sailing, he
obtained leave and went to London on the sth of
Oct. for the purpose of taking farewell of his step-
daughter and son. He dined with them at the In-
ternational Hotel, and afterwards slept there. He
was naturally distressed in mind at leaving his wife
and children for so many years, and was compelled
to rise at five o'clock the following morning in
order to catch the six o'clock train for Sheerness,
and being in bad health he was unable to take
any refreshment at starting, and did not do so
until he arrived on board, when he took some
wine, which unfortunately produced an unpleasant
and unusual effect upon him. He was compelled
during the greater part of the day to lie
down, and on the following morning, still feeling
very unwell, he consulted the surgeon of the ship,
and he placed him on the sick list, and reported the
case to Captain Hewitt. He (the prisoner) be-
lieved that his illness arose chiefly from excitement,
and distress at parting from his wife and chil-
dren. He had had the honour of being nearly 21
years in her Majesty's service, having joined on the
16th of January, 1845, and for a period of 14 years
and seven months he served unremittingly. During
that time he received the highest testimonials from
his officers. Amongst others he received certificates
from Admirals Sir Charles Cochrane and Sir George
Seymour ; and he would also refer the court to the
certificates given him by Commodore Sir Gordon
Bremer, dated the 16th of November, 1848 ; also
to those given him by Commodore Sir Henry
Eden on the 9th of July, 1850; from Captain It.
Harris, on the 6th of March, 1855 ; from Admiral
Sir T. Cochrane, on the 31st of December, 1855 ;
from Mr. Ashby, secretary to Admiral Sir George
Seymour, on the 2d of July, 1856 ; from Captain
Nicholas Lefebvre, 11th December, 1856; and to
those from Commadder Hoare, 21st September,
1859. In all, the certificates which he had received
in her Majesty's service amounted to no less a
number than twenty-one, and he begged most re-
spectfully to request the kind and serious considera-
tion of the court to them. In the latter end of the
year 1859 he joined the Prometheus, and was sent
to the coast of Africa. On arriving there, he almost
immediataly felt the ill effects of a tropical climate,
and especially after ten months' service in the river
Lagos. He did not feel justified in denying that
his illness was partly caused by the use of intoxi-
cating liquors, but he respectfully submitted to the
Court that his certificates proved that for a period
of nearly twenty-one years he had endeavoured to
discharge his duties in her Majesty's service to the
best of his ability. In conclusion, he humbly
prayed the Court to take a merciful view of his case.
Dismissal from her Majesty's service would be an
insuperable disgrace to him, and utter ruin to his
wife and children, who were entirely dependent
upon him for support, and who were almost heart-
broken at his present miserable position. He would
not attempt to justify that for which he must own
himself partly guilty, but under peculiar circum-
stances. Be threw himself on the mercy of the
Court, and called their attention to his long
servitude, and to the certificates he had that day
produced. _
The numerous certificates of character were read
by the judge advocate. They all bore testimony to
the ability, sobriety, and general good conduct of
the prisoner.
Capt. Hewitt was also examined for the prisoner,
and in reply to questions as to how the prisoner
conducted himself during the time he had been on
board the Basilisk, said that up to the 3rd of Oct
he had always performed his duty with zeal and
attention, not only as paymaster, but also in doing
duty on one or two occasions as assistant paymaster.
From what he saw the prisoner was an officer
thoroughly up to his work ; and up to the time of
his going on leave he (Capt. Hewitt) saw nothing
in his conduct or manner that would lead any one
to suppose he was addicted to drink.
The court was then cleared, and on re-opening,

The President said that the decision of the Court
was, that the prisoner should be dismissed her
Majesty's service, but in consideration of his previ-
ous good conduct the case would be recommended to
the consideration of the Lords of the Admiralty.
The sentence of the Court caused some surprise.
A few days ago Lieut. Dundas, the son of a gallant
admiral of that name, pleaded guilty before a court-
martial on a similar charge, and—producing no cer-
tificates of 23 years' good conduct—was simply
remanded and adjudged to lose his seniority.

THE VOLUNTEERS.