The Sun.
London, England, 1854-08-07 00:00:00

THE WINDSOR COURTS-MARTIAL.

A writer of travels, now many years back, gave
to the world a quarto upon the condition of
certain of the Arabian tribes. Among other places
touched upon in this volume was the
.town and
people of Muscat. This portion of his subject
the author dismissed in a very brief chapter, con-
taining merely the following pregnant words :
"As for manners, they have none ; and their
customs are abominable." Now,- if a writer
in our own time should wish to convey to
his readers a comprehensive idea of the tone
which pervades the society of officers in cer-
tain regiments of the British army, we say
it with the greatest pain, he could not do better
than adopt the precise words of the historian of
Muscat. Can anything be more purely disgraceful,
disgusting, and humiliating than the revelations
which have taken place in the course of the
various Windsor Courts-martial ? It is not our
intention to-day to offer any especial comment
upon the various reports we have published of
these most unsatisfactory proceedings. Whether
or no his persecutors can succeed in raising a
colourable pretext for completing the ruin, in a
military sense, of the luckless youth who was so
unfortunate as to receive a commission in the 46th
Regiment is a question merely affecting an indi-
vidual. The Courts-martial, however, may, if they
please, by an unjust decision, affix a deeper stigma
upon the character of the British officer than it has
mbaruytaplirtoyveofto
wthheichwowrledbtahvaet
acTtsheoyf
yettile rvecaeriivoeuds.
loantleylyrciheeaurirde to sombueckhuaorwe
unottbaet they may be censuredxceptional cases, which
by the superior authorities ; that they are not the

results of extraordinary ruffianism in the subal-
terns, and extraordinary neglect on the part of the
,f commanding officer of a particular regiment, but
e that they receive the approbation of a military
court of inquiry, and the sanction of the Horse
; Guards. We trust, however, it will not come to
that. A most heavy responsibility at the present
moment rests upon the Courts-martial—a respon-
? sibility compared with which the decision upon
the case of an individual is but a feather in the
rbalance. The issue upon which they have to
decide is substantially whether the officers of the
English army are henceforth to be considered gen-
tlemen, or not gentlemen ? Should the decision—
as we cannot and will not anticipate—be in oppo-
sition to the justice and exigencies of the case, we
may readily distinguish, as heretofore, that a man
is a British officer by virtue of his red coat and
epaulettes ' • but that he is therefore a person
actuated by the high and chivalrous sentiments
which inspire the conduct of English gentlemen,
and that he is fit to be admitted to their society,
will not necessarily follow. Any man who has
perused the evidence given before the two former
Courts-martial may very readily form his judg-
ment on the brutal attack to which young Perry
was subjected. It would be a sorry sight indeed
if a Court of English officers—the Commander-
in-Chief, 'nay, the Queen herself—were brought
upon the scene as virtually approving that
attack by denying to the young man who was sub-
ls jected to it the right of defending himself with his
e own right hand against the last indignity which
can be offered to a mangy cur. Under other circum-
,s stances we would not allow ourselves even hypothe-
•tically to hint at the possibility of such a result ;
but there is something disheartening in the appoint-
,
ment of this second Court-martial even before the
, decision was known as to the former proceedings.
It was not well to multiply proceeding upon pro-
d coaling against an unfortunate lad—to throw him
down a second time bound hand and foot before
h those who had previously so cruelly misused him—
to place him in a position in which he cannot meet
oath with oath, but is put to a well-nigh impossible
proof—to leave him a second time in the position of
a prisoner, when every man who has followed the
particulars of the transaction knows well that the
man really on his trial in this case is the command-
ing officer under whose auspices such disgraceful
irregularities have occurred. Even as a friendly
proceeding to Col. Garrett the form of this second
Court-martial is a mere mistake. No rational man
will pay any serious attention in a case of this kind
to theistatements of the half-dozen officers who
step forward to swear, one after another, that they
" don't remember." Is it possible by multiplying
non-proofs to arrive at a demonstration ?
The simple fact is, that Colonel Garrett should
himself be brought before a court-martial to answer
for the condition of his regiment. Until that is
done, nothing is done. It is the condition of the
46th Regiment upon which we require informa-
tion. When we say the 46th Regiment, we are
sorry to add that two military commissions of in-
quiry are at present sitting to investigate the con-
duct of officers in other regiments, which, as it is
stated, has been to the full as bad as that of the
junior officers of the 46th, To what extent, then,
does the evil prevail ? Is it to be understood that
many other regiments in the service are deeply
tainted with the unpleasant peculiarities of Colonel
Garrett's young friends ? Our own experience of
life has not been that of the mess-room and the
barrack, but certainly in no public school of the
kingdom, at neither university, among no circle of
young men in London who aspire to the character
of gentlemen, have we over heard of such scenes of
ruffianism and vice as appear to have prevailed in
certain corps in the Queen's service. Since the
46th Regiment has become so notorious, the doings
of the younger officers in the British army have
been much canvassed, and many of their methods
of wiling away time have been brought to light.
There may be exaggeration here, and incorrect in-
formation there, but no one can doubt that d
in the
main the charges are true, and that _
able tone of debauchery does unfortunately prevail
In every
wai
en otn the
r ug s
t, superfluousyounger
forofficersus t
oo f the s
ayt.
haartmwye. d
oI tniost,
young men of gentle-
d
regimentinclude there are to be found all, in so general an accusation.
eras mairnds, who look upon
such lyscteenmeps
over, many regiments in ch the commanding whi
with disgust and abhorrence. There are, more-
atnidioscelewanheicrh
officers do their duty, and which are entirely free
from the taint of violent immorality or ruffianism.
Every man of any military experience affirms—and
we doubt not with truth—that the character of
a regiment depends upon that of the commanding
officer. It is not enough to maintain decency at
fifimenulgotes.
not
cffii
en icHaeplriotshrt
otosauumngbtahaki
hteo
esso
ewimsnenui tgoshhtt et
aadosefuskethayri
tso owi
of a m
t lw,e
nadengoedehadhmri
sasapcl
adeny.r. •
the mess-table and on parade. It is among the
the effect of that influence in their manners and
their conduct. There is no question of espionage
or secret police. In so limited a circle as that of
regimental society all the acts and words of each of
its members soon become known to his companions.
The commanding officer can very quickly see with
whom he has to deal. Every flow and then a black
sheep will creep into a regiment, as elsewhere. A
young man of thoroughly vicious mind will every
now and then obtain a commission, and then he
must be got rid of as quietly and as quickly as
possible ; but we do not think so ill of young
Englishmen—the sons, at least, of English gentle-
men—as to suppose that they are not amenable
to the influence of their commanding officer, if,
indeed, he be a person fit for command—a man
who by his own life sets before them the example,
haveof that line of conduct which it is right they
should pursue. We believe most men who
)
been called upon to make the trial have never
found it a hard task to keep young Englishmen
in
order by working unostentatiously upon their
r
and self
better feelings and sentiments of 1
Colonel Garrett,
respect. It is this influence w
ted
pear to have neglec .—Tintes.
and,we fear many other commanding officers, ap-

populated and
.11ierthyr &
DECREASE OF PAUPERISM AND CRIME.—It iS a pleas-
olf nAt the
rdaeanrsee,l y
in, circumstance that generally throughout South Wale 3
there has been a gradual but sure decrease in the amount
crime has diminished full 50 per cent., and at . , c.,
the Pem-
broke and Carmarthen Assizes there were only four
uofunrilmigehtaenrledpaluopcearliM
soners for trial, while at Glamorgan noserious charge
was on the calendar. The diminution of
the present moment is great, there being pauperism at
ablebodied poor in the -various uni scarcely any
owing to the active demand for labour, on-honses. This is
large amount of emigration and the
arising from the
being carried on. The outdoor the number of works
have also been much diminished,oor application for relief
were it not for the high and the expenditure,
materially lowered.rate of provisions, would be