The Sun.
London, England, 1846-08-20 00:00:00

(Hear, hear.) He had witnessed the bad effects
of corporal punishment in the navy, and he
Was rejoiced to find that its cruelties and
absurdities were being exposed to the public. The lash
could only be defended upon the ground that it degraded
the victim, for it could not be defended on the ground of
its inflicting severe physical pain, because that argument
was brutal, not to say disgraceful, to human nature.
Well, then, did the lash degrade its victim in the eyes of
his comrades ? No, it did not ;it only excited the sym-
pathies of all who witnessed the punishment, and this
was manifest from the instance of it they had seen in
the case of Mathewson.—(Hear, hear.) Was he de-
graded . eded 7 Would the 7th hussars say he was degraded
on hearing the tribute of respect which had been paid to
him by a humane and Liberal Member of the British
Senate ?—(Hear, hear.) He would pledge himself for
the statement that men could be disciplined just as well,
nay better, without than with the power of inflicting cor-
poral punishment.—(Hear, hear.) Why, look at
Napoleon ?—(Cheers.) How was it that he endeared
his men to himself ? Was it by the lash ?
No ; it was by kindly acts, of no great mag-
nitude in themselves ; and why should not
the same system prove as effective in England as in
France?—(Hear, hear.) Moral influence was the pro-
per means by which to secure discipline, and when that
influence was resorted to the army and navy would be-
come greater ornaments to the nation than even they
were at present.—(Hear, hear.) The truth was, the
regulations of both the army and navy ought to be re-
organised, and the power of the Admiralty, as well as
of the Commander-in-Chief, rendered more in confor-
mity with the spirit of the times, and pieced more
within+ the censure, control, or supervision of the public
—(near, hear.) Why, look how Sir Sidney Smith,
Lord Codrington, and Lord Nelson—names which the
British nation would never forget—had commanded
their men without resorting to corporal punishment,
and why was it this policy should not succeed as a
general rule?—(Hear, hear.) For his own part,
he would have the whole regulations of the army and
navy reformed— the pay of the men increased—the pre-
sent mode of enlistment abolished—the men allowed to
retire after a certain number of years' service, and to vote
for members of the Legislature; and, above all, the pri-
vilege of having their grievances tried and adjudicated
upon by a jury of officers and men in the same way that
civilians are tried..—(Cheers.)
The Rev; J. NactioLsosr, who headed a deputation, was
glad to have an opportunity of addressing the meeting,
although at the time it wt s oren d he was miles away ;
and, he might say, without any intention of indulging in
the metaphor, he had come there at a railroad pace to
denounce a system which was opposed to Christianity,
and to the word of that great and good Being whose attri-
bute was mercy. He reminded the meeting, that on the
very day the Prime Minister was stating to the
House of Commcns the change he proposed to make in
the system, the inhabitants of Hounslow were assembled
in public meeting, for the purpose of petitioning the
Legislature to abolish the lash ; and when they heard
what the plan was, they met again and formed a local
Committee, to remain in existence till the voice of the
people prevailed, and the system was altogether
wiped away from the British statute-book.—(Hear.)
He was there in the double capacity of being an advocate
for the abolition of a detestable system, and the head of
a deputation from the inhabitants of Hounslow, sent
there publicly to thank their noble, honourable, and
respected Chairman, in their name, for his independent
and unflinching conduct while sitting on a recent inquest
as Coroner for Middlesex. Now, with regard to the
question of flogging, what was it that gave rise to it?
Officers in the army attributed it to drunkenness, but
what caused that drunkenness but canteen system.
which they themselves had established.—(Hear, hear.)
Let them do away with that system, and adopt a moral
and instructive plan, and there would.be less of drunken-
ness, and no necessity at all for resorting to the brutal-
ising-, detestable, and inhuman cat-o'-nine-tails.
Mr. LUKE HANSARD rejoiced to find that they were
going to establish an institution for procuring the aboli-
tion of the practice of corporal punishment in the army
and navy, end he assured the meeting that he perfectly
concurred in the spirit of the resolutions which had been
read to them, namely, that the common soldier should
be treated as a fellow-being and a citizen rather than a
brute devoid of all human sensations and feelings.
Mr. EDWARDS, a naval officer, said it was not his in-
tention to trouble the meeting with a long speech, because
they had met together more for the purpose of doing busi-
ness than talking. He accordingly produced a cat-
o'-nine-tails commonly used in the navy, which, as might
be expected, caused a considerable sensation; and read a
return of the number of persons flogged in the army and
navy during the last few years, which tended but little
to subdue the sensation which had previously been
excited.

Mr. CURTEIS, M.P., said he had come to town solely
for the purpose of attending that meeting—not so much
to speak as to watch the progress of public opinion
upon this subject.—(Hear, hear.) He had always been
opposed to the system of flogging, and he was glad to
find that the public voice had been raised against it in
such a manner as to bid fair shortly to produce the
downfall of this abominable system.—(Efear, hear. He
was glad to hear that the Duke of Wellington had ex-
pressed a hope that he might live to see flogging abo-
lished, because the Duke being upwards of seventy
years of age, it was hardly possible that he could
survive many years longer, and they had
good reason to expect that the downfall of the system
was near at hand.—(Hear, hear.) He did not quarrel
with the officers who administered the law, but with the
system itself; and though he was a radical economist,
he was quite prepared to vote for any additional ex-
pense which might attend upon the substitution of a
moral for the present disgraceful system.—(Hear, hear.)
Now, with regard to the Hon. Gentleman who occu-
pied the chair, he thought the country owed a deep
debt of gratitude for his manly and independent conduct
while presiding over the late inquest. While he was
upon this point, be thought their thanks were also due
to the jury, and he must say it was unworthy in any
Peer to attack the verdict of that jury solemnly come to
upon oath.—(Cheers.)
Mr. VINCENT regretted that the merits of the military
system had been introduced upon that occasion, because
he had met there solely for the purpose of protesting
against a horrible system, and forming a society to
procure its abolition.—(Hear, hear.) He deeply
sympathised with that object, and, although as
a member of the Peace Society, be was opposed to arms
altogether, yet if the nation would have soldiers, in the
name of common humanity, let them be treated as men
and not as beasts.—(Cheers.) The system was sup-
ported on the ground of its moral influence. Why, good
God, what nonsense that was, when was a man ever
flogged into morals or morals into him?—(Cheers.) No,
so sanguinary a system could not be justified by any
plea, and he, therefore, blushed to see the names of Mr.
Macaulay, Mr. Ward, and Mr. B. Hawes, who had aided
many a good cause, amongst the members who voted
against a motion which was calculated to throw some
light upon this subject.—(Hear, hear.) If the system
was to be defended, let it be left to officers in the army
and the Duke of Wellington, and not the friends of
moral and intellectual improvement.—(Hear, hear.)
Nor was it a question of how many lashes should be
given, because one lash produced just as much of moral
degradation as five hundred.—(Cheers.) It was
a question of whether the child of God
should be tied up like a dog and lacerated more savagely
than they would flog a horse.—(Cheers.) No, the
nation would not suffer it, and ho felt confident that a
moral combination amongst the people would bear down
this, as it had often before,borne down other evils.
Mr. CLEAVE, the newsvendor, and late naval officer,
strongly urged upon the meeting the necessity of looking
up and pressing their representatives in Parliament
upon this subject, and getting a pledge from them to
vote against flogging.—(Bear, hear.) The iron Duke
had to be consulted upon this matter, and let them re-
member that the people had gained many a bloodless
victory over that nobleman by the means he had men-
tioned, and they could do it again, by forming a moral
combination against this terrible flogging system.
The resolutions were then put, and carried unani-
mously. .
Mr. WRIGHT, of America, then moved—

•
"That a society be now formed, to be called The
Flogging Abolition Society,' and that a committee, con-
sisting of the following gentlemen, with power to add to
their number, be appointed to carry its objects into
effect :

J. Brotherton, Esq., M.P. John Hastings, Esq., M.D.
J. W. Boyes, Esq. John Meredith, Esq.
The Rev. J. T. Cuffe, ILA. W. B. S. Taylor, A. AL
T. S. Duncombe,Esq., M.P. George Thompson, Esq.
John Drakard, Esq. Wm. Williams, Esq., M.P.
Wm. Ewart, Esq., it.P.

" That Mr. Henry May, and Mr. Thomas Plume, be
the secretaries ; that a subscription be now entered
into to promote the objects of the society ; and that
donations and subscriptions will be received by the
members of the committee, the secretaries, and the fox-
lowing bankers :—Messrs. Strahan, Paul, and Co., 217,
Strand : and Messrs. Glyn, Halifax, and Co., Lombard-
street."

The resolution was seconded by Mr. G. THONPSON,
and carried unanimously. _ _

The meeting was subsequently addressed by Mr.
THOMAS Monars, author of " Recollections of Military
Service, in Germany, Holland, and France, in 1813,
1814, and 1815 ;" and several other gentlemen connected
with the army and navy.
Thanks were then voted to the Chairman, both for
his conduct as coroner, as well as in the chair, and the
meeting broke up at half-past ten o'clock. .

The Society for Improving the Condition of the
Labouring Classes, with which the Labourers' Friend Society
is now united, has just received the munificent legacy of one
thousand pounds, bequeathed to it in the will of the late
James Tomlin, Esq., of West Mailing, Kent.
Mr. Newman is about to pay a long visit to Rome,
with the view of completing his preparation for the priest-
hood.

LADY MORGAN'S " WILD Inuit GIRL."—A new edi-
tion of this celebrated romance, has just been published, com-
plete fo,. 65., with a new preface and notes, forming a volume
of" Colburn's Standard Novels." "We are not among those"
(says the Examiner), "if any were, who had forgotten 'The
Wild Irish Girl,' but we are not the less gratified at her pre-
sent re-appearance. The Wild Irish Girl' was the first
product of a genius regulated by discretion of the soundest
kind, and aiming at some of the noblest objects of intellectual
ambition, the advancement of the cause of freedom, and the
general elevation of the human species. We have here the
first of a long and brilliant series of services rendered to Ire-
land, through the attractive instrumentality of romance. In
the spirited and sparkling preface to this re-publication, we
have ample proof that the philosophy of the author has not
enervated her patriotism. We recognise the same true-
hearted and courageous Irish woman, composing her enthu-
siastic story in the -Lieutenancy of the Duke of Bedford, and
re-editing it opportunely, after many days of various fortune,
on the auspicious advent to power of another Whig Viceroy."
Dispatches were sent off yesterday evening from the Co-
lonial-office for the Governors of Hong-Kong and Ceylon.
Captain Elliot had an interview yesterday with the Earl of
Clarendon at the Board of Trade.