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

12.1

PUBLICATIONS.

THE WAR.

To be hart at all the Libraries,

NAVAL AND MILITARY INTELLIGENCE.

11HE NEW and POPULAR NOVELS,
PUBLISBED BY HUES r AND BLACKE TT,
Successors to Henry Colburn,. 13, Great Marlborough-street.
Mrs. TROLLOPE'S LIFE and ADVENTURES of a CLEVER
WOMAN.
THE VILLAGE MILLIONAIRE. By the Author of" The For-
tunes of Woman."
VI VIA. . By Mrs. J. ELPIIINBTONE DALRYMPLE.
MAGDALEN HEPBURN. By the Author of "Margaret Mait-
land."

The screw propeller, for the Royal Albert was put in
place yesterday. She is to be undocked on the 28th
inst. Her topsailyards will be crossed to-day. On the
16th inst. over 1,500 persons visited this splendid ship,
among whom were about 350 of the mechanics from
Messrs. Mares' building-yard at Blackwall.
The Centurion, 80, is ordered to be fitted with a screw
propeller.

CREWE RISE. By Joan C. aAFFILESON.
EDWARD WILLOITUHI3 Y. By the Author of " The Discipline
of Lire."
AUBREY. By the Author of "Emilia Wyndham."
PILE SHE MILLAR. By the Author of " The Kinnears."
Also, just ready. in 3 vols.,

The Boscawen, 70, Captain W. F. Glanville, from
Portsmouth for the West Indies, and the merchant ship
Caroline Harris, from Quebec, with timber for the dock-
yard, arrived at Plymouth yesterday (Thursday) morn-
ing. _ _

MATTHEW PAXTON. Edited by the Author of "John Dray-
:on," " A ilieford," &c.

Her Majesty's ship Indefatigable has gone round to
Leith to complete her complement of seamen previous to
sailing for Brazil, where she will carry the flag of Rear-
Admiral Hope Johnstone, appointed to the command on
the South American station.
The Longboat is ordered to proceed to Dover to raise
men for service in dockyard craft.
The Janus and Lizard remain at Sheerness waiting
Admiralty orders fcr their departure.
Dr. Waller, Assistant-Surgeon, yesterday took up' his
commission at Sheerness for service in the Royal George.
He waits a passage out, being borne as a supernumerary
on board the Waterloo flag-ship.
Mr. George Garrett, extra clerk in the Storekeeper's-
office, took up his appointment yesterday, and com-
menced duties.

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day the two companies left for Turkey. The • regulations
direct that companies for service shall be taken from the
senior captains downwards. Now, it is somewhat elsneark-
able that in the present instance this regulation should
have been departed from, and that that departure should
have removed from me some most' important witnesses.
The senior company was on detachment at Kensington.
The next company (Captain Wombwell's) had 41 men on
detachment, and therefore could not be expected to
embark for Turkey. The next company (Capt. O'Toole's)
were all at head quarters. The next three companies in suc-
cession of seniority were Capt. Campbell's Capt. Garrett's,
and Capt. Piper's, each of which have only 1 officer, 1 aer-
reeeant, and 1 private on detachment ; so that they were
ady ancifit to embark yet still they were passed over, and
Captain Hardy's company taken, in which were two of my
most important witnesses—Captain Hardy and Lieutenant
Shervington. Ido not say that this partial and unex-
plained selection, contrary to the regulations, was intens
tional; but I do say it was suspicious and h'as lost me the
aid of much valuable evidence ; and it is somewhat re-
markable that Lieutenant Sherrinton, the senior lieu-
tenant, should have been attached to a company the cap-
tain of which was his junior in the service. If, however,
I have not been fortunate enough to secure the attendance
of those officers of the regiment who would have befriended
me by honest and unbiased testimony, I have produced
before you witnesses so uninfluenced and unprejudiced
that their evidence is above suspicion ; and I have opposed
to all the non mi ricordo evidence of the prosecutor the
evidence of witnesses whose moral testimony is unanswer-
able. Paymaster Corcoran, who is as free from the influ-
ence as he is above the corruption of my opponents, has
given evidence which leaves with it the impress of perfect
truthfulness. He speaks of facts which could not have been
concerted ; he states what took place in :clay, 1853, when
no one could have anticipated this inquiry. He has shown
them that he was acquainted with my persecution, that he
gave me advice and told me how to act, and that he ad-
vised me to write through the colonel to the general of the
district, and that I told him I had done so ; and that I
went to him the following morning much excited and in
tears, and told him that I had reported certain officers to
Col. Garrett, and that he had called me a fool for so doing,
and that I was like a child escaped from my mother's apron
strings. Could all this have been invented by so staid and
respectable a witness for this occasion ? Could I have in-
vented it in May, 1853, to meet the present purpose ? Bat
is not the evidence supported, not only by Capt. Chambers,
but also by the unwilling evidence of Lieutenant Curtis,
who said he did not deny having said, "I think you (mean-
ing myself) have got the worst of reporting this time, old
fellow." Captain Chambers, now an officer with the
Fourth West Yorkshire Militia, and a gentleman of con-
siderable fortune, who was in the 46th,has given evidence,
not only that Lieutenant Curtis told him that Colonel
Garrett had called me a fool for ray pains for reporting,
but that the fact was openly spoken of among the ofi-
cers. This evidence is above suspicion ; and, if what he
says be true, it shows that the truth has been suppressed
by all the witnesses for the prosecution, which impresses the whole of the evidence against me with suspicion, if it
does not stamp it with conspiracy and perjury. The evi-
dence of Major Stuart shows that all the witnesses have
vderrebs es afroirn ga
not only been unjust towards me, but have strained that
injustice into falsehood when they stated in their stereo-
roe
atyopde typed
swaggeringanssv e r answers, tmhaatianle r
.was
oalshunnedalso
s shows
vrf for
thatr n
subaltern in my situation, when complaining of personal
annoyance, was hopeless, and that practical jokes were not
repressed but encouraged, and were common in the regi-
ment for many years. The witnesses called on my behalf
have also spoken to my credit and my honour,
not have done so had I been the infamous character and ccharacterer repre-
sented by some of the prosecutor's witnesses ; who, in their
zeal to crush me, proved too much when they endeavoured
to blast my reputation and to create a prejudice against
me. When I was accused of impertinent familiarity, it
transpired that I had once, in kindly addressing a brother
officer at the dinner table, called him by his Christian
name. Then I was accused of supposed debauched habi's, •
which turned out ultimately to have been a
_slander upon me. My disgusting conduct towards a friend of one wit-
ness was so discreditable that the vindictive witness
who asserted it was reluctantly compelled to acknowledge
that his friend regarded the whole affair as a joke ; and
when this witness discovered a general difficulty in keep.
ing mo within the bounds of discipline, it turns out that,
while on leave at Cork, I had gone to Middleton, and had
written to my servant, with directions either to get an
extension of my leave or to give me notice of its refusal ;
and that leave was given, and my attendance not required.
This witness must have been sadly in need of breaches of
discipline to have distorted so simple an occurrence to my
disadvantage. These are my antecedents referred to by Col.
.Garrett. Again, I was assailed by another witness for
'disgraceful conduct in a money transaction ; and I appeal ,
to this assembly of British officers, and I ask them
whether the charge, so maliciously insinuated against me,
was not as groundless as it wasdishonourable? Although I
have been assailed by vindictiveness and calumny beyond
the charges made against me, I have exhibited an amount
of forbearance in the disclosures I have made, which ought
to insure me the generous sympathy, at least of Col.
Garrett and many of the officers of my regiment. •
I have called no evidence on the third and fourth charges,
although I could h..ve maintained those charges by the
evidence of absent witnesses ; but I submit that the pro-
secator's own witnesses have proved the statement made
by me in reference to Captain Nicholas to be true, for Cap-
tain Campbell does not deny Captain Nicholas' participa-
tion in practical jokes, and Lieutenant Waldy proves the
coarse and opprobious expressions used by Captain •
Nicholas; for will any member of this Court believe that
the expression at the end of that letter, ' I never saw such
fan,' did not mean that LieutenanWald7 was present
and saw and heard what took place ? And if, as he says
in his lettkr, this took place at the mess, how can the wit-
nesses for the prosecution be believed who state they never
heard Captain Nicholas use opprobious words towards any
young officer ? But, as I before observed, the evidence
against me on the third and fourth charges simply amounts
to no witness having recollected Captain Wisholai ill-
treating young officers, or aiding or abetting in so doing,
but the glaring, obvious, and manifest defect in the prose-
cutor's evidence is, not the prevarication of his witness, but
the suspicious absence of Capt. Nicholas in support of the
third and fourth charges. I must crave the patience of
the Court for a few moments in drawing attention to three
important features in the evidence foe the prosecution.
There are two circumstances which took place before many
officers—one of them was the public conversation after
mess of Colonel Garrett having called me a fool for report-
iallng
e; another was the fact of Captain Nicholas having
called Ensign Coote a -- son of a bitch of au ensign at
the mess. Now, all the witnesses for the prosecution
deny having heard either of these subjects referred to,
or profess not to have recollection of them. Now, I leave
it to this Court to conceive how it was possible that such
circumstances could have escaped the observation and the
memory of so many men ; and, in my case, is it not far
more likely that my memory should be more accurate and
retentive, when I was the subject of reproach and sought
any only remedy ? Is not the one who receives a wound
more likely to recollect it than he who with careless.
ness and indifference deals out the blow ? The othrx
fact to which I beg to draw attention is, that when
my reputation was assailed by specific charges I was
sable to refute them. I have refuted them, and
I have, moreover, refuted the charge of being overbear.
ing and swaggering hi any manner. Many witnesses swore
to my overbearing and swaggering manner,
which is denied
by Major Stuart; now, are they to be believed on other
points to which they have attempted to speak ? Again,
there is another important circumstance. Colonel
Garrett
said that all the subalterns were assembled to hear the
reprimand he gave to Lieutenant Curtis on my complaint;
yet it is very remarkable that only one subaltern has given
evidence of his being present and having heard that repri-
mand, although there were 18 subalterns in the regiment
at that time. Captain Chambers, who was then a lieute-
nant, has stated in evidence that he was told on that occa-
sion he was not wanted ; but where is the evidence of any
one witness for the prosecution who attempts to say that' Colonel Garrett did not use the opprobrious epithets to-
wards me, or who has attempted to say I did not write a
letter to the General of the district in reference to the in-
dignities I received, and who has attempted to say that
Captain Nicholas never did ill-treat young officers, or aid or
abet in so doing ? Net one. I, therefore, under all the
circumstances, respectfully submit that the case as at-
tempted to be made out against me has failed, and has ex-
hibited all the vindictiveness, preconcert, and perjury of
which I complained when I first opened my defence. The
case of the prosecutor is either sound in all the charges or
sound in none. Falsehood on one charge contaminates all
the evidence on every charge. I have felt great difficulty
in the preparation of ray defence, and only closed my own
evidence yesterday; and I havefound the amount of evi-
dence before me so extensive and so diversified in its nature,
character, and incident, so contradictory and inconsistent,
and so tainted with vindictiveness, forgetfulness, and sup-
pression of the truth, that I trust every allowance will be
made for my feeble and inefficient defence. In forbearing
to call distant witnesses, I have had regard to the public
interests and to you, for I desired no longer to fatigue you
with a prolonged and delayed consideration of my case. I
have now done, and cast myself upon your sympathies and
your love of truth and justice; for I solemnly declare, in
the presence of this imposing assembly of British officers,
and in she presence of my country and any final Judge,
that I am innocent of the charges preferred against me ;
and I leave myself, my conduct, and. my reputation in
your hands, with a consciousness that vou will do me bus'
fro Amt
tthhee caoundei
ni of the
itehhe
Nra dads r easpse
etdhiel
yr e
tick; and may God defend the right !"
rwepasreassledondbychtehere
Court.
Major-General Wetherall—As I cannot admit the truth
of sonic of the statements made by the prisoner and the
inferences drawn therefrom, I must request that the Court
be adjourned until half-past one o'clock
tomorrow.
The Court was then adjourned.