The Sun.
London, England, 1846-08-10 00:00:00

THE DEBATER.

This is a very useful Bvo. b37lreCleric Rowton. It
contains, first. a series of debates upon r-ell-chosen topics;
neat, outlines of debates upon other interesting subjects;
and, thirdly, questions for discussion, to all of which
are added references to works best calculated to assist
the student in forming sound opinions upon the various
topics suggested. The author wisely considers that the
practice which has long prevailed of attempting to teach
youth the art of speech, by simply committing to me-
mory and reciting hackneyed pieces of declamation, is
based in error. It merely clothes the mind with the
liveries of other men's thoughts, and when the suits are
worn out, the intellect is left in an unfruitful condition.
The mind is best educated by teaching it to think—a fa-
culty best developed by discussion, in the place of reci-
tation. Mr. Rowton, by the arrangement and style of
his work, has illustrated the value of this proposi-
tion with much felicity. The rising generation may
very profitably peruse ibis publication.

FLOGGING AT HOUNSLOW.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE. MORNING! CHRONICLE.

have hitherto abstained from all defence of my
conduct with reference to the late court-martial and inquest
on private Frederick White of the 7th Hussars, trusting that
when the mass of false reports and distorted facts had been
cleared away by time and inquiry, the good sense and feel-
ing of the public could not fail to do me justice ; but deli-
berate false statements made by a recognised authority, such
as are presented by Mr. Wakley's address to his jury, can-
not be slurred over without personal denial. I pass over
the question as to whether flogging was the cause of the
man's' death. I leave that to be treated by surgeons in
general and the Medical Times (vide Medical Times of
Saturday, August 1). I pass over the question as to whether
it was fitting and decent that Mr. Wakley, utterly throwing
aside the opinions of the other uninterested medical men,
should recommend the jury to abide by the single opinion
of Mr. Erasmus Wilson.

I pass over whether it was right that even after Mr.
Erasmus Wilson's discovery, it was proper that the body
should be re-interred without at least giving the other me-
dical gentlemen an opportunity of seeing whether it really
was a fact that such a change was there or not; and lastly,
whether the most general mode of obtaining correct evidence
on any point is to question and admit the evidence of the
criminals themselves, as was done throughout, in the vast
mass of irrelevant matter brought before the inquest. On
all these points I say nothing, but leave them to the world
and the medical profersion to deal with, and pass at once
to the broad statement made by Mr. Wakley, in his address
to the jury, that in this case there had been a deliberate
attempt to hold back that investigation due to the law, to
the regiment, and to society. We will now see how far this
statement is justified. On the morning of the 11th July, it
was reported to me by Surgeon Warren that private White
was in a state of danger, from an acute attack of inflam-
mation, that the progress of the disease was rapid, and he
feared it might terminate fatally. I immediately desired
Dr. Warren to report the facts to Sir James Macgregor, the
head of the medical board, and on this report Dr. Hall was
sent down. The man died that night. A post mortem exami-
nation was then made on the 13th, of which the following is
a [ Thi copy.
s document has already appeared in our columns. ]
On the receipt of this I forwarded it direct to the Adju-
tant-General. The ordinary course in the service is to bury
men the second day after death, whereas this man died on a
Saturday, and the application was made on the Monday to
bury him. On the Wednesday following, or almost five days
after his decease (and that in the hottest weather ever ex-
perienced in this country), the arrangement for his burial
was made, as is usual in the service, by his troop, and an
attempt is made to fasten a charge of misrepresentation
and concealment on the authorities, because the troop
sergeant, who bore the application (utterly ignorant of
the case), in answer to a question of what the man died,
says, " Of his liver ;" although in his ignorance he ap-
pears to have been as near the mark as Mr. Wilson, in
the opinion of other medical men. Still, to prevent any
misconception arising from this statement, as I found there
were various reports afloat, I sent-over to Dr. Trimmer
a copy of the medical certificate on the post mortem
examination the following morning. It was during the
period between the Saturday of his decease and the
Wednesday of his burial that the speculation of public
curiosity was attracted--not from any suspicions (as the co-
roner states) in the regiment as to the cause of the man's
death, nor from any suppressed publication of the medical
examination that had taken place, but from mischievous
misrepresentations, for which I can scarcely be supposed
answerable, as there were no circumstances regarding this
man's death that could embarrass a commanding officer. It
is quite clear that there could be no necessity for concealing
it on the part of the " people in the barracks," and it is
equally clear that the mystery which the coroner alleges to
have hung round the report of this man's death when men-
tioned at the registrar's office, and to the clergyman, was a
mystery that could be traced no further than themselves, and
solely of their own creation. Nor am I aware that the
inquest has elicited any facts, with the exception of Mr.
Wilson's discovery, that the public might not have been
in possession of had they applied to the proper source.
From the time of the post mortem examination, I further
beg to say thatl placed no bar to the free communication
between the soldiers and civilians. The usual ingress and
egress to the barracks went on between both parties, which
would scarcely have been the case had I been anxious to
suppressinformation. Before the inquest sat I desired
Captain Thurley, the senior officer of my regiment, to wait
on Mr. Wakley, and give him every information in his
power, which was done. And 'further, I wrote at the same
time to Mr. Wakley myself, to the effect that my most
anxious wish was to afford the public, the coroner, and
ttmo
ihfoy e
the andrYstedta, although not summoned, I was there in readi-
ness,'every aid in my power to assist their investiga-
tion—stated,
anxious to answer any question that any member
jury might wish to put, and requested him to read
letter to the Court. It, however, suited his purposes
better to put it m his pocket, and not name it until
the end of the examination of the second week,
when he made casual mention of it. Mr. Wakley appears to
think that I ought to have reported and made statements on
the circumstances of the man's death, directly to himself and
other civil authorities, and by no means seems to divine
that my duty, as a soldiQr, was simply to give a full and
clear statement to superior military authorities, and having
done so, to act afterwards solely on their orders. Be this as
it may, I trust that I have made clear to the public that
there was no attempt at concealment on my part or that of
the regiment ; and, therefore, that his statement on the
opening of his address to the jury was utterly unfounded,
and calculated to bias most unnecessarily the minds of the
ury and the public at large.—Your most obedient,
(Signed) J. WHYTE, Lieut.-Col. 7th Hussars.
Hounslow Barracks, Aug. 5, 1846.

Thursday morning, just before ten o'clock, a portion
of the roof of a range of stabling and workshops in the oc-
cupation of two or three persons, fell with a fearful crash in
Addle-hill, Doctors'-commons. The whole of the lead gut-
tering was ripped off, and the major part of the tiles fell into
the street. Several persons who were passing at the time
narrowly escaped.
VICTIMISING EXTRAORDINARY AT WORCESTER:Our
city has been visited during the last week by a couple of
accomplished swindlers, who have managed to victimise a
number of our fellow citizens to a very unpleasant extent.
Under the names of Thompson and Harris they obtained
from Mr. Nash, house agent, the possession of Trimmer's
late Brewery in Quay-street, where they said they intended
carrying on the business of dry salters, engaging workmen
to make the necessary alterations. For their abode they
took a house in Chesnut. walk, and commenced furnishing
it at other people's expense. Messrs. Sparkes and Thompson,
ironmongers, and Mrs. Niehools, furniture agent, High-
street, Mr. Brimmell and Mr. Moseley, rope-makers,
Mr. Davis, cheese-factor, Mr. Bevan, hatter, Mr. Wood,
" honoured" with
yadsanyot actually Bthleaierkfriars,
commands,fand amnadnythoetyhers,thuswegoret
together a large
quantity of furniture, spirits, ale, and otherthat requisites
for
for
nothing
housekeeping,
ie r
ea dayn
nd weon e needmoney.
A stehaeryc ehl
com-
menced their residence at the house, Mr. Holmes employed
his gardener to see the premises fastened up at night, and
wheuh e le thehfte. o
placen on Tuesday evening, everything was
as it should going
to the house the next morning,
cownaatenrtsohthedransfoerfred to more portable
his surpise may be better conceived than described to find
that it had been stripped of everything it formerly contained ;
&c., more than half the grapes, not at all
the furniture was all removed, the head of the ale barrel had
been taken off,
vessels, its apples, wall-
fruit, filberts, &c.
ripe, were removed from the hot-house, and all the things,
together with the gentlemen tenants, had mysteriously
disappeared. It seems probable that a horse and cart were
used for the more speedy conveyance of the articles, as a
galairdd eitsn
quantity of oats and beans were found in the manger, but, as
the canal runs hard by, they might very easily have been
put into a boat and avisked off conveniently enough. 11l
news flies apace, and the unfortunate dupes of the swindlers
besieged the police office in the morning filling the Inspec-
tor's ear with their numerous complaints, but, as yet, nothing
that we can learn has been done towards their pursuit and
apprehension. Both the men had a respectable and trades-
men-like appearance, were very stout, Thompson being about
the middle height, and Harris, who was tall, made use of
the Staffordshire brogue in his conversation. It seems that
they had been lodging for a fortnight in the Lowesmoor, and
had not paid any rent. We trust they may be caught.—
Worcester Herald.
ROYAL THAMES YACHT CM:M.—The monthly meet-
ing of the above club took place on Thursday evening at the Piazza
Hotel, Covent-garden, Captain Harwell, the vice-commodore presid-
ing, in the absence of Lerd A. Paget, the commodore. The minutes
of the last meeting having been read and confirmed, the Marquis of
Stafford'and seven gentlemen were bailotted for, and elected mem-
bers of the club. Captain Wheeler, the treasurer, announced that,
in obedience to the vote of the club, 3001. had been invested in the
Three per Cent. Consols. Several gentlemen were proposed for bal-
lot at the next meeting, and after thanks had been awarded to the
Marquis of Anglesey and Lord Paget for having sent the band of the
Blues to the recent sailing match, and the same compliments having
been given to the vice-op:Li:Uodore, a 8 enairmau of the evening, the
pruceediugo torminAted!