The Sun.
London, England, 1849-09-13 00:00:00

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LONDON, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1849.

Already is our prediction as to the downfal of
the present system of courts-martial beginning to be
verified. Commander PITMAN has been dismissed
her MAJESTY'S service. That ignominious sentence,
which was yesterday pronounced on the petty despot
of the Childers—that sentence, which will rejoice the
heart of every true man in these wide dominions—is
the inevitable antecedent of the reversal of the unjust,
because excessive, punishment recently inflicted upon
Lieutenant GRAHAM and his companion. The dis-
grace and degradation of the person whose systematic
cruelties, while wearing the uniform of the Royal
Navy, drove two gallant and excellent officers to
desert from actual desperation, form a glaring testi•
mony of the want of some impartial and duly-qualified
tribunal to adjudicate upon all such casualties.
Here was a miserable tyrant casting a slur upon the
noblest, because the most national, of all our noble
and national professions—maltreating so bitterly those
who had the misfortune to be subordinate to him
in rank, that two or possibly three were goaded to the
commission of suicide, and that two others were
maddened so as actually to subside into a state of
insanity—and yet while the infamy of these proceed-
ings is revolting the whole soul of England, and
making the islands echo with the voice of popular
indignation, two of ire victims of this little CALI-
GULA. of the Ocean are subjected to the additional
harshness of an unmerited dismissal. Far are we
from any inclination to number ourselves among the
apologists of desertion, regarding, as we do, the crime
of desertion to be one of the most heinous that can be
committed by any one wearing the sword of fealty
either in the military or the maritime profession.
Yet this we are bold to aver, that extenuating
facts are admissible in regard to the offence
of desertion as in regard to any other
infraction of codes moral or material, human
or divine. And of all circumstances that could
by any possibility be advanced in extenuation of the
act of a deserter, none could be more fully entitled to
consideration than those, the reality of which were
yesterday determined at Plymouth. If this man was
the ruthless and relentless persecutor he is declared
to have been, especially during the period of his
authority on board the Childers—if his brutality pro-
duced, as the fruits of his command, not subordi-
nation, or good seamanship, or a cordial and unanimous
aachment, but insanity, suicide, and desertion—
then was the otherwise culpable act of Lieutenant
GRAIIAM not culpable, but justifiable, one might
almost say commendable. For the generous and
gallant heart of a J3ritish seaman, whether
an officer or a man-before-the mast would
naturally prefer any course rather than
that of submission to the fury of an ignoble and
vindictive temperament. 'With such tartars as this
arch-tartar of the Childers commanding the war-
ships of her Britannic MAJESTY, it would have been
scarcely possible for NAPOLEON, on the field of
Austerlitz, to remark that this country could afford
to lose the victor of Trafalgar, seeing that all the
sailors of England were Nelsons.
_ •

So execrable, in our estimation, is the conduct of
such wretched offenders as Commander PITMAN, that
if such were rendered the alternative, we would
rather have seen Lieutenant GRAHAM promoted to
the rank of Commodore than dismissed the service,
for an act in which he vindicated the independence
of spirit most honourable in his profession.
But Commander PITMAN has been dis
missed the service ; and his name will hence-
forth be only borne in recollection as that of
one who endeavoured to cast a slur upon a flag
which had hitherto fluttered over the brave and the
gentle, over officers and over gentlemen. It was the
beautiful exclamation of the philanthropist HOWARD,
when lying on his death• bed—" Bury me under the
grass ; place a sundial over my grave ; and let me be
forgotten." Happily for the human race, neither the
deeds of the persecutor nor those of the benefactor
are so speedily obliterated from remembrance . One
memory is preserved as an example, the other as $
warning ! One as a noble prototype worthy of imita-
tion, the other as a detestable monstrosity, ca-
pable only of exciting abhorrence. Let the
late Commander of the Childers find a bitter
consolation in the knowledge that the horror
excited by his cruelties is even now exercising
a wholesome influence over the community. So
far his otherwise pernicious career will prove in
the end beneficial. Through the miseries of his
victims the next generation will obtain a salutary
exemption from excessive severity. And among the
other advantages which will accrue from these
hitherto baneful proceedings, will be one little intended
by the man who has experienced that degradation and
punishment which, in the estimation of all England,
he has so sichly merited. The case—ae showing
the extreme injustice of the recent treatment of
Lieutenant GRAHAM and his comrade—will, as we
have before intimated, conduce to the more rapid dis-
solution of what was already perishing; we mean the
existing system of courts-martial.
Now that the Commander of the Childers has been
abruptly and peremptorily dismissed the service, Mr.
GRAHAM and his brother officer will necessarily, and
as a matter of course, he reinstated. So far, a case in
point will have been afforded to those who clamour
for this reform in the general management of naval
courts-martial. Another and equally glaring exam-
ple, corroborative of the arguments advanced against
the present system of conducting, military courts-
martial, has been afforded within the last few months
by an instance of injustice so glaring and undeniable,
that it has become already more notorious than any
other court-martial petkaps upon record. Of
course, we allude to the atrocious en
tence pronounced by a supercilious and
incompetent tribunal upon Captain GEORGE DOUGLAS,

late of the 16th Regiment. The indignation ex-
pressed by all the organs of opinion which have yet
broken silence upon the matter is something almost
wholly unexampled. Journals advocating the opinions
entertained by all political parties—every one of the
organs of the law, and with these the several organs
of the military and naval professions—all have coin-
cided in the opinion which we were the first to express
publicly, namely, that if this officer has not been most
cruelly ill-judged, then has no man ever groaned under
ill-treatment since the subsidence of the Deluge or the
dawn of Creation. Thanks, however, to that right noble
sentiment which is harboured in the bosoms of our
popular and hereditary representatives, the subject
will at the very commencement of the next session
be brought before a higher tribunal than that of either
a naval or military court-martial, aye, before a higher
tribunal than that of the Horse Guards or the Admi-
ralty, before the double tribunal of the two Houses of
the Imperial Parliament. Then my Lords Commis-
sioners of the Admiralty, then my Lord Duke the
Commander-in-Chief, with all his congenial colleagues,
will have to abide by the decision of those who are
most competent in the wide realms of her Britannic
MAJESTY'S dominions to decide what is in
truth and in deed conduct becoming an officer
and a gentleman. Of the result of this
supreme investigation we have not one moment's
doubt. We have not a doubt that a subject
so plain and visible in its legality— a subject
conducted, moreover, by the most formidable as well as
the most brilliant members of the Lords and of the
Commons—will receive that scrutiny which has be-
come requisite for the maintenance of the purity, the
dignity, the nobility, the gallantry, and the elevated
patriotism which are essential to, and have heretofore
characterised, the leaders of our soldiers and of our
sailors. Then will the existing system of courts-
martial not only be doomed, but destroyed—and in
the abrogation of the present laws the national repu-
tation will be vindicated.

There is a general and growing feeling throughout
the country that no great or comprehensive legal
re-
forms can be hoped for until the system of legislation
is materially altered. This feeling
has acquired ad-
ditional strength from the admirable letter of Lord
BROUGHAM to Sir JAMES GRAHAM, " on the making
and digesting of the law," to which we have already
referred. His Lordship has clearly and distinctly
shown that there is a fundamental imperfection in
our whole course of legislation, by which the
most valuable and best digested measures
are deprived of their efficacy and rendered
comparatively useless, that leads to a looseness of
language and contradiction of terms, which has so
frequently been deplored by some of our most
eminent judges, when compelled to frustrate the
intentions of the Legislature by a too strict ad-
herence to the wording of new enactments.
This imperfection is ascribable to defects in the
machinery rather than in the principles of legis-
lation. The different statutes are the result of
isolated and unconnected labours. The various
measures are prepared by individual members
or by parties connected with the Govern-
ment, but there is no communication between the
framers of the several enactments. The " unity of
design " that is so essential is completely wanting.
One provision will be found to be perfectly incon-
sistent with another ; nay, portions of the very same
clause or sentence will be conflicting. Each person
has a particular object in view, and to attain that
object everything else is disregarded. General prin-
ciples and former enactments are alike forgotten, and
Bills are introduced in both Houses which, if suffered
to pass in their original form, would occasion the
utmost difficulty and confusion.
But how could it be otherwise ? In every other
science a long course of attentive study is considered
necessary to qualify persons to form sound opinions,
or to practise any art. But every man seems to con-
sider that he is born a legislator, competent to frame
the most complicated enactments with the utmost
facility. Under such circumstances grave mistakes
in the drafting of Bills are looked upon as mere matters
of course, that do not subject the introducers
to any censure or reproach. There is, in fact,
no responsibility anywhere. No individual or body
can justly be called to account for any errors, however

It is scarcely better after the contemplated measure
is brought before Parliament. Alterations will be
made in both Houses without the slightest reference
to the remainder of the Bill—new matter will be in-
troduced wholly at variance with former clauses,
which are suffered to remain unchanged notwithstand-
ing subsequent so-called amendments. The sim-
plest rules are disregarded—the same words are
used in different senses, the same points enacted in
lifferent language. This laxity of expression neces-
sarily exposes the judicial interpreters of the law to
the greatest embarrassment and difficulty, and
occasions a vast quantity of expensive litigation,
unnecessarily consuming the public time, and abso-
lutely ruinous to the parties engaged therein. But
all this mischief results from the want of co-opera-
tion and communication between the legislators
by whom the various Acts are framed and
carried through Parliament. The country has dis-
covered to its cost the heavy expenditure to which
it has been subjected in consequence of a similar
want of co-operation between the designers of our
steam-vessels and of the machinery by which these
vessels are to be worked. The loss there is easily to
be ascertained—the pounds, shillings, and pence
that have been absolutely wasted form heavy
items in the national balance sheet. But the
losses not only to the national Exchequer but to pri-
vate individuals, the consequences of grave defects, by
which criminals escape the punishment due to their
crimes, and the grossest injustice is perpetrated under
the name of law, can never be sufficiently appre-
ciated. They are of infinitely greater importance
than any merely pecuniary considerations or any
public outlay, however enormous and unavailing.
We have already alluded to the mode in which
Lord BROUGHAM proposes to improve the system of
legislation—viz., by the " appointment of a board or
court of five members, irremovable without address of
both Houses, to which either House might refer any
Bill, and whose opinion might be taken upon the
draft of any Bill before its introduction." This would
undoubtedly be a great amelioration, which would
remove the chief objections : this board would, we
suppose, consist of Members of both Houses, and be
framed in accordance with the plan (alluded to in the
postscript of Lord BROUGHAM'S letter) originally pro-
pounded in 1834, for the " appointment of a joint
Committee of the two Houses, five Lords and
seven Commons, sitting under a judge, examining
the whole disputed facts of a Bill, and returning a
verdict to be binding, in point of fact, on both
Houses." The mutual jealousy, however of the here-
ditary and representative legislators prevented this
admirable suggestion from being carried into execu-
tion. Neither would consent to abandon any portion
of their independent action, although they had several
competent representatives on the General Committee.
Most sincerely do we hope that this absurd distrust
may terminate, and that a proposition may be
adopted which would secure the most valuable results
without in any degree trenching on the recognized
privileges of either House.

The Emperor of Russu is so overjoyed by—
the triumph of his arms we cannot call it—the result
of his intervention in Hungary, that he can hardly
find adequate means to give vent to his satisfaction.
To hear of the honours he has decreed to Prince
PASKEWITCII, and to read his proclamations to the
army, it might reasonably be imagined that a new
Pultowa had covered the Russian arms with glory, or
that another French host had retreated from the
flames of Moscow. " My children," writes this
most fraternal EMPEROR, " GOD has vouchsafed to
bless your zeal, your manly bravery, and your un-
tiring perseverance amidst the greatest difficulties."
'low complimentary is this to the Hungarians, if
literally understood. The small forces of a weak and
struggling state were enabled to present the "greatest
difficulties" to the invading hosts of Russia and
Austria combined, so much so that, notwithstanding
the "manly bravery" so conspicuously displayed by
the valiant troops, it was rot until bribery had come
to the assistance of bravery, on the one hand, and
treachery had undermined the difficulties, on the
other, that the victory (?), the cause of so much gra-
tulation, was achieved. " My children," continues the
EMPEROR, "you did your duty, and the insurrection
is quelled." Then, after a triumphant allusion

to the fact of the enemy having surrendered
to Russia alone a side-thrust at the dearly
beloved Austrian ally the proclamation con-
cludes with the following passionate outburst :
" Honour and glory to you! Honour and glory to
your victorious leader ! You have again, as you
always do, proved yourselves worthy of the name of
the victorious army of all the Russias. My thanks to
all and each of you! I am satisfied with you ! ! I
am proud of you! ! !"
Having thus exhausted all the eulogistic epithets at
his command, the EMPEROR affixes his imperial signa-
ture to the document. They say that a royal speech
is generally remarkable for its small amount of truth-
fulness ; but rarely, if ever, has a royal or imperial
discourse or document equalled in the absurdity of
its untruthfulness the last proclamation of NICHOLAS.
It is, in fact, a sarcasm more cutting than any oppo-
nent could have contrived upon the result of the
Hungarian campaign. If the valour of the Russian
arms alone had really and indeed effected the subju-
gation of Hungary, however much we might lament
the catastrophe, we could pardon the self-gratulations
of the victors; but, as it is!—as it is ! when we know
that other influences than the sword and the bayonet
have thinned the patriot ranks, the boastful exultation
of the EMPEROR, appears positively ridiculous. The
conduct of the absolute Prince has recently been
sufficiently characterised by its audacity and unrea-
ionableness, but this last act gives it the finishing
touch. To congratulate soldiers on the " manly
bravery " exhibited in an enterprise achieved by cor-
ruption and treachery !

DELAY OF THE FOREIGN MAILS.

In consequence of the stormy weather which pre-
vailed last night throughout the channel, our Paris
journals and other foreign intelligence have been
unexpectedly delayed. This must account for the
meagre and abreviated character of the subjoined in-
formation relating to the countries of the European
Continent.

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC.

Very shortly before going to press we received the
Paris journals of yesterday. Consequently, our glean.
ings from their contents must be unusually brief, be-
cause unusually rapid and cursory.
At the Council held on Tuesday, where it was de-
cided that there was no necessity for an early convo-
cation of the Assembly, the Ministers prevailed on
the PRESIDENT to abandon his intention of returning
to St. Cloud, where he has been for some time re-'
siding.
As to the prospect of the Empire in lieu of the
Republic, the following paragraph will show what
are the feelings of M. TUIERS
" The President," says the Constitutionnel, "was re-
ceived at Fontainbleau with demonstrations, if possible,
more warm. Not only cries of Vive l'Empereur,' were
heard, but cries of Vive la Famille Imperiale.' Fon-
tainbleau is, in fact, full of Imperial souvenirs.
Everybody knows how Napoleon loved this place.
To him the Chateau owes its principal em•
bellishments. It was there he took refuge after
his defeat; there may be seen the table on which he
signed his abdication; there the flight of steps from
which he bade adieu to his old soldiers. The acclama-
tions which followed tho President proved that the in-
habitants of Fontainbleau possess heart and memory, and
that they envelope the uncle and the nephew in the same
sentiments of gratitude and respect."
It was currently reported that the French Govern •
ment had addressed a most determined note to the
Camarilla at Gaeta. The Commission of Cardinals
had threatened to quit Rome, and it was even said
that Cardinal ALTIERI had left.

Seven Socialists, who were arrested on Monday,
the 27th ult., at an eating-house established by the
Association of Cooks, were released from confinement
on Tuesday.
La Patric confirms the report of the nomination of
General RANDOM to the command of the army
in Rome.

An absurd report that an offer of mediation had
been made to the POPE by the Russian EMPEROR
was afloat in Paris, but contradicted.
The Three Or Cents. closed on the Paris Bourse on
Wednesday at 55g. GOc.; the Five per Cents. at 88f. 40e.;
Orleans Railroad Shares, 7701.; Rouen, 5301; Great
Nnrthera, 440 f; Avignon, 225 f.; Vierzon, 3101.; Basle,
1051.; Paris and Strasburg, 355 f.; Tours and Name',
302 F. 50.
BUSINESS DONE IN FOREIGN RAILWAYS AT THE
LONDON STOCK-EXCHANGE. SEPT. 12.

Boulogne and Amiens, 6%—Central of France (Orleans and
Vierzon), 12% Namur and Liege, st, Northern of
France, 23% dia.— Paris and Rouen, 21 —Rouen and Havre,
10 j4,..Sambre and Meuse, 2%.

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