The Sun.
London, England, 1854-08-18 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, AUGUST 18, 1854,

THE COURT-MARTIAL ON LIEUTENANT

him be was ' a d--il son of a bitch of an Ensign.' This
was at mess, he having given Nicholas the lie direct.
" Believe me, yours truly,

P,dREY.

Tha second—or, as it may with greater propriety
be said, the third—court-martial upon Lieutenant
Perry, is now in a fair way of bringing its proceed-
ings to a conclusion. Any man of ordinary under-
standing who has attended to the couse of the evi-
dence delivered before these three courts of military
investigation must necessarily come to the following
conclusions. Her Majesty's 46th Regiment of In-
fantry, considered with respect to its officers, is in
such a condition that if well nigh all those persons
were to receive a hint to-morrow that the Queen
had no further occasion for their services the intel-
ligence would occasion very little regret. Besides
poor Lieutenant Perry, one or two exceptions of
which we knovi nothing there may be ; but, from
the Lieutenant-Colonel downwards, all of whom we
have had any cognisance during the course of
the present proceedings come before the public
either as a parcel of riotous unmannerly schoolboys,
or as the abettors of a vindictive and ungentle-
manly combination against a brother officer. The
second point which appears on the face of the pro-
ceedings is, that the prosecutor throughout has
arrogated to himself functions which belong exclu-
sively to the court. He has by his single authority
stopped the cross-examination of his witnesses; he
has fixed limits beyond which evidence could not be
received as to the condition of the regiment. The
third point is, that the witnesses necessary for the
prisoner's defence were despatched out of the coun
try to the seat of war just before their presence
was required. Against the sentence of the first
Court-martial upon Lieutenant Perry we have
no complaint to make. It was certain that, when
driven to desperation, he did strike his unman-
nerly and brutal assailant to the earth. This was
a specific fact, of which no denial was possible, and
it is to be presumed that, according to the usages of
the service, the Court had no option but to attach
to such a proceeding the penalty of dismissal from
the service. When they qualified this sentence
with an earnest recommendation to mercy, upon
the ground of the enormous provocation he had re-
ceived, the members of the Court did their duty—
they acted like " officers and gentlemen." The
fact that certain portions of their proceedings
were informal and irregular, and that therefore
the whole inquiry was quashed, cannot take away
from the propriety of the decision. All was as
it should be—the Court martial did its duty. But
what a comment upon the conduct of Colonel
Garrett may be extracted from this sentence !
He had recommended.—if we remember right—that
both Lieutenants Parry and Greer should sell out,
He had drawn no distinction between the luckless
lad who was assailed and his brutal assailant. In
the course of the investigation he had pressed
against the young gentleman with the full force of
his position. As far as depended upon him, not a
point was omitted which could tell against the
prisoner—not one which was favourable to him
was allowed to be drawn forth without struggle
and argument. We, who care nothing for the
good or bad will of the military authorities, and
who simply give utterance to public opinion, say
that the proceedings of that Court-martial pre-
sented but a sorry spectacle to the world ; and
by everybody's mouth not the subaltern, but
the commanding officer, has stood condemned.
Now, when Lieutenant Perry escaped from
the hands of his persecutors upon the first
charge, was it proper, was it decent, to put him a
second time upon trial for a statement to which lie
attached his signature at the request of his legal
adviser ? Granting, for argument's sake, that that
statement might have contained expressions which
exceeded the truth, according to Colonel Garrett's
view of his own case, had he not as much reason
to crave oblivion for the past as the young man
against whom lie was proceeding with so much
pertinacity ? If, on the other hand, the state-
ments in Lieutenant Perry's letter were true, or
nearly true, there was the more reason for not put-
ting him to the proof of assertions which, however,
true, might in the Colonel's opinion be impossible
of proof. The officers who compose this second
Court-martial are, of course, in the position of a
jury sworn in to try a particular cause. They have
nothing to do with extraneous matter. It will at
a subsequent stage of the proceedings be for the
' General Commanding-in-Chief to consider all the
circumstances under which the letter was written,
the bitter spirit in which Lieutenant Perry was
hunted down on the first trial, the manner in which
the second trial upon Lieutenant Greer was con-
verted virtually into a fresh trial of Lieutenant
Perry, and the whole tenour of the proceedings in
this third case. Was the writer of the letter a
witness, he could not criminate himself. Was he
virtually the prisoner on his trial, he was justified
in protesting against any insufficient examination
of witnesses. What is the evidence of author-
ship ?—what of publication If Courts-martial
sit as courts of honour ample allowance should be
made for the fact that since these trials began
Lieutenant Perry's acts and words have
been the acts and words of his legal adviser.
If they sit as courts of law, ought the irregulari-
ties ever to have arisen against which this letter
was a protest ? There is a point to which we trust
the attention of the members of the Court may be
directed. They are not called upon to decide
whether or no upon the evidence now before them
they believe the prisoner's statements with regard
to Garrett and Nicholas to be founded on fact.
The question is, had he himself sufficient grounds
for believing in the truth of his representations ?
" Well knowing it to be false" is the essence of the
charge.
There is not a word to say against the manner in
which Colonel Kelly and the Court have managed
the present proceedings. Their communications
with the prisoner have been characterized by un-
varying courtesy and consideration. But how
these gentlemen must loathe their work ! We wish
it were possible to say that the official prosecutor
has invariably acted with the same propriety. It
was painful to the feelings of every right-thinking
man to find that the witnesses for the prosecution
were admitted to make statements against the pri-
soner 's character, but that when Lieutenant Perry
put a question or two to try their own these ques-
tions were dubbed "recrimination," and were
strangled in their utterance. For example, Captain
Colin Campbell had lifted up his voice and testified
against the prisoner because he had heard that he
had associated with prostitutes. - That was his
reason for " cutting " Lieutenant Perry. Upon
the next question he was compelled to admit that
he had been guilty himself of the like delinquencies.
Had the prisoner been allowed to follow up the
examination, lie could have dismissed Captain
Campbell from the court with the value of his evi-
dence still more grievously shaken. In steps the
prosecutor with
his theory of "recrimination ;"
a theory to which Colonel Kelly should never have
lent a moment's ear. It might not be necessary to
enter into the question of the morality of other
officers, if that had been the real point at issue ;
but it was material to the case in hand to shake
the testimony of the witness then present. Now,
his testimony was that he avoided Lieutenant
Perry's society because he had heard that lie asso-
ciated with prostitutes, while it turned out that he
associated with prostitutes himself. The question
was not as to Captain Campbell's chastity, but as
vas?
? Lieutenant Perry's com-
panyto the truth or falsehood of his statements. The
public will with difficulty believe that he, being
at
twhl realiit nht entering further forolo was,
ground,shad whatavo i
ya ground alleged. But, if that was not
The prosecutor snuffed
this branch of the investigation out with his t
"re-
crimination" snuffers. In other words, a witness
to character cannot be cross-examined on his own !
Is this court-martial law
the moment into
the details of Lieutenant Perry's defence as they
will be found in another portion of our columns
this day, we cannot dismiss this subject without
recurring once more to the monstrous fact that the
trial has been proceeded with in the absence of ma-
terial witnesses for the defence. Not only are the
witnesses absent, but they were actually sent away
under the authority of the virtual prosecutor, the
officer of the commandingregiment just before
they were wanted. Again, the whole system of
the prosecution has been confined to the introduc-
tion of one officer after another. Each in turn is
asked a few set questions. Each in turn enjoys the
of memory When most perfect vigour en any point
can be made to tell against Lieutenant Perry_
each in turn is afflicted with a most unfortunate
forgetfulness when any point arises in his favour.
What can you do with a youngster in a red coat
who boldly declares "he can't remember ?" Two
officers only have committed themselves somewhat
further than the general assertion—Captain Camp-
bell and Lieutenant Waldy. It will be remembered
that this latter officer stepped forward in his place
in the swearing platoon to testify in favour of Cap-
tain Nicholas. He had never heard, never writ-
ten anything against that officer. Straightway
was handed him a letter in his own writing, a copy
of which, taken from Tuesday's proceedings, we
subjoin :

" IV.- T. WALDY."
But for the preservation of this letter, by almost a
miracle, where would poor young Perry have been ?
The letter is not only valuable as evidence of a par-
ticular point in the cause, but as a general descrip-
tion of the doings in her Majesty's 46th Foot. We
know not what the motto of the regiment may be ;
let us humbly suggest that, whatever it is, -it may
be changed for " _Non mi ricordo !"

BAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

GREAT WESTERN.

The half-yearly meeting of this company was held
yesterday at Bristol, Mr. Charles Russell in the chair.
The notice convening the meeting having been read,
The Cweineseser said—l shall not detain you with any
long analysis of the traffic for the last year. The general
results respecting it are clearly stated in the opening
paragraph of the report of the directors, and those re-
sults, I trust, you will consider to be satisfactory. They
exhibit a solid and healthy increase in both branches of
our revenue, amounting to no less a sum than 98,3001.
upon the ha‘f-year. The complaint ordinarily made is,
that increased receipts are consumed by increased
working expenses. Upon the present occasion that is
by no means the case, for you will perceive, that in
order to obtain that large increase our working ex-
penses have been increased only to the extent of
28,700/. There is a very large addition certainly to be
carried to our interest account, which absorbs as much
as 50,0001.: but it must be borne in mind that this
charge is occcasioned by the completion of the Birming-
ham and Oxford line, . a vcry extensive line, which as
yet has no communication whatever towards the north,
and of which, therefore, the traffic must be considered as
totally undeveloped. Our Parliamentary proceedings
have been rendered necessary rather in order to oppose
those schemes of other companies which are considered
to be injurious to us than to promote any new projects
of our own. (Cheers.) In point of fact, we have not
had one new project of our own for the last session of
Parliament. (Hear, hear.) The few bills that we
have found it necessary to bring in have been for the
purpose of carrying out old arrangements which have
been long in progress, and which have been re-
peatedly approved of, so that we may hope we have
now obtained all the powers that will be essential
for us to have ; and, for my owa part, I can see
no necessity whatever that we should again proceed to
Parliament for a very long time to come. (Applause.)
In our opposition we have for the most part had success.
In one important measure only have we failed. The bill
for the Ss liebury and Yeovil line was carried out by a
combination of interests that it was impossible for us to
resist. The money, however, has still to be raised—the
line has still to be made. It will scarcely be possible
that this should be done without the pecuniary aid or
guarantee of the South-Western Company ; and every
meeting of that company shows that the South-Western
proprietors are growing more and more determined that
they will not invest the funds of that company in
lines to be constructed through districts such as those
which lie between Salisbury and Yeovil. The efforts of
the Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton Company
have for some time been directed to the object of eman-
cipating themselves from the obligations under which
they were placed by their act of incorporation to con-
struct their line upon the broad gauge, so that it might
be worked continuously with the Great' Western line.
A short time ago we obtained a decree from Vice-Chan-
cellor Kindersley, enjoining them not to expend any
further money on their narrow gauge until they should
have completed their broad gauge to the same extent.
We obliged them to insert in their bill a clause placing
themselves under considerable pecuniary penalties, if
their line was not completed upon the broad gauge
within certain specified periods. The projects of the
London and North-Western Company were directed in
the last session of Parliament chiefly to measures of
amalgamation by which they would have widely ex-
tended the sphere of their influence, and rendered them-
selves to that extent more formidable to their neighbours.
Among these projects were bills for a traffic arrange-
ment equivalent to an amalgamation arrangement with
the Midland Company, for amalgamation with the North
Staffordshire line, for the lease and purchase of the New-
port, Abergavenny, and Hereford line, and for the lease
and purchase of the Birkenhead line. Now, all these mea-
sures, particularly that respecting the Birkenhead line,
have beenl extremely injurious to the interests of the
Great Western Company. They were ail either defeated
or withdrawn. That company succeeded, indeed, in carry-
ing a line into the coal district of Cannock-chase, an ob-
ject in which we failed. The ironworks situate on our
line between Birmingham and Wolverhampton stand in
great need of supplies of coal, which are becoming nearly
exhausted in that quarter, and it would have teen as
great convenience to them if they could have been
carried by our line. I believe, however, that the
interests of the iron masters, more than those of our-
selves, will suffer by our failure, and we must endeavour
to supply their wants for coal from the north-western
districts by bringing them over our Shrewsbury line.
The measure of the greatest importance to us which I
passed in the last session of Parliament was the Shrews-
bury
amalgamation, for which we have had such long
and severe contests. As we have not succeeded in
' obtaining those facilities by which we hoped to render
its pressure upon us less burdensome in the earlier years
of its operation, we certainly enter on that agreement
1 under some disadvantages. One of the terms of the
agreement was to take effect from the Ist of January,
1854, and it has therefore been in operation several
months before we can judge the operation or the
management of the line—indeed, before the act giving
it to us had passed. During that period the London
and North-Western has continued to pursue its policy
of destroying the traffic on the Shrewsbury and Bir-
mingham line, by diverting it and charging at the low
fares of is. for conveying second-class passengers 70
miles round by their Staffordshire line. Between Bir-
mingham and Wolverhampton there has been no means
of communication except by the Stour Valley line, and
every effort that the London and North-Western
Company could make to close that line against the
Shrewsbury Company has been made. To the north,
the Birkenhead Company, under actual agreement with
the London and North-Western Company, has with-
held every facility that could be possibly afforded to the
traffic of the Shrewsbury and Chester Company.
Under these circumstances, is it to be wondered at that
the traffic of the Shrewsbury Company should fall
short ? We were quite prepared for such a deficiency,
and, as far as we were able, we devised such arrange-
ments for meeting the defect as we thought to be
entirely from all objection. The means that we pro-
posed were to postpone the payment of any deficiency
which might arise in the traffic of the Shrews-
bury Company for two years, to spread such de-
ficiency over the following five years, in order that
it might be governed by the improving traffic of
the Shrewsbury lines themselves, and at the ex-
piration of that period, if any deficiency should arise,
then in that event, and in that event only, it should
be charged against the revenue of the Great Western
Company. There was not, there never has been, the
most remote intention of charging this deficiency against
capital, or anything of the sort. On the contrary, such
expedients were expressly prohibited by the very terms
of the act. The sole purpose we had in view was, to
devise a plan by which the receipts of the Shrewsbury
line should be made responsible for the payment of the
Shrewsbury dividend, instead of casting the burden upon
the shareholders of the Great Western Company. It
seems to me• that nothing could have been more fair, I
nothing could have been more reasonable, and nothing I
could have been less injurious to any human being ; and
such was the only object which we had in view. The
House of Commons saw no objection to that arrange-
ment, for they passed a clause we inserted in our bill for
the purpose without any difference of opinion. The com-
mittee of the House of Lords saw no objection to it,
for, though they proceeded to disapprove of the acts-
we had introduced in the first instance for the purpose,
they authorised us to state their entire approval of a
clause we had subsequently framed for the same purpose.
But, notwithstanding the concurrence of these high autho-
rities, the London and North-Western Company deter-
mined that they would offer an uncompromising opposi-
tion to our plans. We might have determined to post-
pone our bill, and bring it into Parliament in next session,
with such a clause as would meet the purposes we had in
view. But this course was at least questionable on the
grounds both of good faith and good policy. On the
ground of good faith it was hardly consistent with our
verbal engagement with the Shrewsbury Company to let
slip the amalgamation, which was actually in our grasp,
and leave it to the chances of another session of Parlia-
ment. It v4ould hardly have been consistent either with
economy or prudence to postpone a measure we must
have brought in in the next session of Parliament, when
we must have encountered the same vexatious contest
from which we had just escaped, and that with our
friends disheartened by defeat, and our enemies embol-
dened by success. We might probably then not have
been able to accomplish better results than those we have
already procured. (Cheers.) We determined therefore to
adopt the third course—to take the bill at once without
the clause, to secure the alliance, to render ourselves free
from all imputation of bad faith, and to trust to the
spirit and good faith of our proprietors, which has never
failed to carry us through the most difficult points in
the warfare adopted by our opponents. (Cheers.) .Hev-
ing now accomplished this alliance, let us consider for
one moment what are the inconveniences that we are
oh.
to
meet by the particular form in which it has been
tained. We have to meet a deficiency of 30,000/. in the ,
revenue of the Shrewsbury Company, and to enable us
to do that we must submit to the loss of one-half per
cent, dividend on one half-year. This is the most direct,
whicheire 1.
the most straightforward, and the safest course
we could have pursued. The grounds on which we may
feel confident that the increase of receipts on. our line
will be sufficient not only to supply this deficiency, but
to meet all other demands which we have on us, are, ,
first, that the injurious competition of the London and'
North-Western against the traffic of time Shrewsbury
Company cannot, I am satisfied, be persisted in, when
that company, instead of being a small or insulated body,
shall form part of a large and powerful system, capable
of protecting and vindicating itself. (Hear, hear.) If ,
the traffic upon the Shrewsbury lines were not exposed
to that competition, if they were enabled only to levy
the ordinary charges upon that traffic, the present
amount of it, without any increase, would be ample to
cover the dividend of 3i per cent. which we guaranteed.
(Cheers.) Secondly, by the Ist of September we shall ,
have a continuous line between Wolverhampton and
Birmingham, passing through one continuous country,
abounding in manufactories and population, in our own !
pos,e. • -- ssion and under our own control, from London to
Chester. Thirdly, fiv the additional powers which have
beeis 01)tisined,oyer the Birkenhead Company, and by the
facilities that will hd afro-raid-to -us by Mr. Cardwell'sl
public act, we shall have opened to nil an unobytructed 1,

to exchange,
ngLawler that I
These are very
" Windsor, June 12.
should
h wisho"u 1 il
dyywdoi dear ahrt
wouldoPet rarkyen
2, —he
inlmtf i
oya
nof
after
roa ryyo
00
uruerai
el rally
servanteg. oi
jolly quarters; lots of women, and we have a drag
that is, I for Ascot
and are<going in grand style. YOU owe me 3/.
owe it to you. I hope you may live till you get it. I have a
good mind to exchange myself, being pretty well tired of the
South Devon.' The drill is worse than ever, beginning
at 7 a.m. and very often till ti o'clock p.m. We are obliged
to ask leave to go to London ; although there may be , no
~,Irade on that day, it k all the same. How does Knapp
bear his lieutenancy' ? I think 1l will be taken down a
peg or two ; but you need not tell him .so,.popultkr feeling.
being very much against him here. Coote has had several
takings down here Already; the other day Nicholas told

course of traffic, not to Birkenhead only, but to Man-
chester also. Fourthly, we have reason to expect that
the Birkenhead docks will, at no remote period of time,
be sufficiently completed to admit large vessels, when
the trade of that port must be very largely increased.
Fifthly, we have every reason to believe that the local,
traffic upon the Shrewsbury Company's lines is snscep-'
tible of very large extension, particularly in coal. W
shall have besides for the first time appropriated to our-
selves a through traffic from London to the manufa.ctur-'
ing districts of Lancashire, passing over 228 miles of
railway belonging to ourselves ; and ultimately there
can be no doubt that a more economical and a
more efficient mode of working the line can be accom-
plished under a united and combined system than is,
possible to be the case under a divided management and
separate establishments. Our traffic must gradually and
rapidly increase to such an extent as shall not only com-
pletely cover all the deficiencies which we have now to
meet, but shall justify all the expectations we have ever
formed of our northern lines.

Mr. Saunders, the secretary-, read the report, of which
the following is an abstract :
"The accounts for the half-year, to the 30th of June,
1854, in comparison with those for the corresponding period
in 1853, present the folow•ing results, the same extent of
railway being open during each period :