The Sun.
London, England, 1854-08-19 00:00:00

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in. There is little more to say about this we tit;'F.l..- `'''
than the first. Colonel Garrett has a short
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very short memory indeed. The truth or falsehood of th' ' -•- '
declaration must be gathered from such sources hosedik -I
we have indicated above. Can there be any reasonable -
doubt, had the conscience of the Colonel befi ream- clear
is the matter, had he had any confidence in his own" pane -.
tion, that his denials would have been delivered in a v
different tone ? The fact seems to have been that, as far
as the officers are concerned, the regiment under Colonel
Garrotes command was in a most discreditable and die.
orderly condition. The officers' quarters were a rear
beargarden. The barrack-yard was strewn with their
bedding, their doors were smashed in, the water in their
cans flooded the passages—everything spoke of vulgar riot.
It is certainly not surprising to us that a young man wiso
had just just joined, and had been made the object of the
usual regimental jocularities, should have been called a
fool by his Colonel for uttering a complaint. Why didn't
he fall into the ways of his regiment ? As'he rose in its
service, he who had been pulled out of bed might pull
others out of bed in his turn. Glorious result ! When the
exasperated subaltern at last threatened appeal to a h-khez.
power the business became more intricate. A rebuke from
the Colonel was necessary, and the result of that rebuke
tabooed man
the
man complainingintheregi subaltern
menwit
hthereafterevery became
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a
turned ine,sthhis handuntilim,in self-defence atellfe-ngtehhcee
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it no longer,
ngier,alid
As far as the second head of the charge is concerned—
namely, that which refers to Captain Nicholas, it would
only seem necessary to say that the prosecutor had not 84.
cient confidence in his case to hroduce his man in .1.1161,
and subject him to cross-examin-ttion. Courts-mart
mysteriouslivi b
d_e
_n tribunals,che oo outweighs
tawn
te reipa
7,
va:
dhns
ensign."
we must not draw eomparimul
between their practice and that of ordinary courts of jus-
tice ; but it may be permitted us to say that, according to
the notions of civilians, the non-production of Captain
Nicholas would at once dispose of the charge against Lieut.
Perry in which his name is involved. Independently,
however, of this blot in the prosecutor's case, there is
positive evidence, in the shape of a letter written by one
Lieutenant Waldy, to show that in one case, at mess,
Captain Nicholas had called one Ensign Coots "a d—i
os fonreoafl
aonln.wil"tthuhNeen assumedabear
erl
looking oneifet . . rg e
Istnfuncil i
pointn
into, es s
forctof
ftahcet,°ffith
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e'er:was portion
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the
case
ecetciountiotnhaitnvnoolturtthecomultdlvfesorial _ .-.
momen lend ear to their statements. The term is a strong
one, bu we invite the attention of our readers to the
minutes of the defence, and to the letter of Lieutenant
Waldy, which we reprinted in our leading columns yes-
terday, land to the contradictory statements of Lieutenants
Hesketh and Curtis. In conjunction with the points al-
ready adverted to, there is conclusive evidence of such we-
vious combination among the officers of the 46th in what
is called the officers' assembly, anti upon other
•
that the oaths of all become as the oaths of -occasicese„,
one. - -Wilt it
be credited that in the course of the present inves-
tigation one young officer swears that the officers' assem-
bly upOn the occasion in question was held for the
purpose of auditing the mess accounts, and another,
that the case of Lieutenant Pen.) was the point under
their consideration? Surely Lord Hardinge, who hes
been so eager to probe the charges against this
unfortunate young gentleman to their depth, cannot let
the cases of Lieutenants Waldy and Curtis pass without
some animadversion. But, indeed, the case against the
officersi of the 46th does not stop at this point. The
testimony of many of the witnesses was tainted with the
same Marks of vindictive combination. What of that
unchaste champion of chastity, Captain Colin Campbell,
whose :wrath was roused to so ungovernable a paint
because his young brother officer had upon a single occasion.
called him by his christian name at the mess-table ?
What of Major Maxwell, of capricious memory? The
whole trial, however, is too disgusting and disgracefuL
The officers of the 46th have contrived to lower the
character of a British officer in the public estimation for
many years to come. An English barrack seems to be
something between a brothel and a cockpit, as cockpits
were half a century ago. Cannot greater order be intro-
duced into the government of the army, and a repetition
of these painful enquiries be avoided for the future ?
Perh4 one of the most efficient methods of suppressing
the evil would be to do away with the system of close
inquiris altogether. A thousand times better that
scandal should be known than that it should be simply
suppressed. Another remedy would be that all officers
appearing as witnesses should be liable to a stringent
cross-e amination, and a general reform of the proceedings
of Con ts-martial. With every readiness emphatically to
1 admit hat Colonel Kelly and the members of the present
Court have endeavoured to give a gentlemanly tone to the
whole investigation, it is impossible not to see.that great
injustice has been done to the prisoner by the system of '
proceeding in these Courts. May their decision, deipite
of this, be such as to do justice to Lieutenant Perry, to
maintain the character of the army, and to give satisfac-
tion to the public !—Times.

RAIL WAY INTELLIGENCE.

MIDLAND. . .
' - •
The half-yearly meeting of this company `was held at
Derby yesterday ; Mr. John Ellis, chairmin', of the --,
board of directors, presided. . • . •
The report stated that the directors have to report an -
increase in the traffic of the railway during the past half-
year, amounting to 44,4891., over'' the 'cor•respondhig - •
portion of the last year 1853, and they have much plea-
sure in proposing to you an increase of "dividend. The
balance available is 199,1401., and the directors recom-
mend that a dividend "(less income-tax) 'be a-e- eTa 11 e d
payable on the Ist day of Septemlier next', of 1/. 15si
upon each 1001. Consolidated Stock ; 11. ls. 3d. upon
each 1001. Consolidated Birmingham and Derby Stock ;
31. upon each 1001. Consolidated Preferential Stock ;
11. 10s. upon each Erewash Valley Share ; 34. 51c1.
upon each 161. 13s. 4d. share, being a half-year's interest
upon 51., and 136 days' interest 'upon 31. 13s; 4d., at the rate rate of 44 per cent. per annum, leaving 10,4321. ls.
Bd. to be carried to the account of the current half-year.
The working expenses maculated- as-nonal, have batik
"431. 13s. Bd. per cent., as ag-ainst 441. 17s. Bd. per cent.
for the corresponding half year. The engineer, Mr.
Barlow, reports the line to be in good working order.
The CHAIRMAN said, as the accounts had been in the
hands of the shareholders for some time, they were no
doubtperfectly aware of the position in which the affairs of
the company now stood. He wished to refer to one or two
points in the accounts. They would see that the increase of
their receipts was to thearnonnt of 45,0001. ; and, looking
at that fact, it might be well to review the affairs of the
company since the period, four years ago, when they
took the responsibility of management upon themselves,
and boldly met the difficulties in which, at the time to
which he referred, they were involved. They at that
time declared a dividend of only 16s. ; now their divi-
dend was increased from 16s. to 355. This fact was
' extremely gratifying to the directors, and he was sure
it must also be extremely gratifying to the shareholders.
He moved the adoption of the report.
A conversation ensued, in the course of which
Mr. GEE, of Nottingham, contended that the com-
pany was in no better condition than it was last year,
and that the line had only earned, after all, during the
last half-year, a dividend at the rate of 3 per cent. He
wished to know when the capital account was to be
closed?
The CHAIRMAN said the accounts which had been
published would speak for themselves ; and if he (Mr.
Gee) would tell them how they were to build sheds and
workshops without money, the directors would be
obliged to him.

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The CHAIRMAN, in reply to a que.stion, said the cost
of the Worcester and Hereford line would be about
600,0001. A large local subscription had been mad.,
but it was feared that if the London and North-Western,
Midland and Abergavenny, did not render assistance,
it would not be opened. It was an important line, as
it opened into the narrow gauge system of Hereford-
shire and South Vales.
The report was then adopted unanimously.