The Sun.
London, England, 1846-08-03 00:00:00

1 circumstances, however—as when, for instance, the
official rulers of the State obstinately fail to antici-
pate the just wants of the subject—the establishment of
such bodies oftentimes, and particularly in periods of
advanced civilisation, indirectly become wholesome
instruments of reformation. We have never felt
alarmed at the word " repeal" having been prefixed
as the title of the associates of Conciliation Hall. We
bear in mind the circumstances and events antecedent
to their enrolment. We know that the same men
belonged to different associaticns, rapidly formed and
rapidly dissolved, with very harmless titles, and that
that of repeal was only finally adopted when they
despaired of obtaining justice from the Imperial
Parliament. Let but justice be done now, and repeal
will ere long be considered as nothing better than an
enthusiastic delusion. Diplomatists, when negotiat-
ing treaties, always set out by asking for a great deal
more than they expect to have conceded to them; and
Mr. O'CONNELL, by force of circumstances, has, in
the exercise of his political mission, as the appointed
expositor of his country's wrongs, been driven to
the same tactics. He has lauded repeal to the skies,
but we all know well enough that political equality
for Ireland with England and Scotland is all that he
expects and all that he hopes for. From Sir ROBERT
PEEL on resigning office, and from Lord JOHN
RUSSELL on his acceptance of it, the two great poli-
tical leaders of the day, it has been enunciated that
Ireland shall be no longer subjected to invidious dis-
tinctions. Since then, Mr. O'CONNELL has told them,
in Conciliation Hall, that, provided they be accom-
plished, he thinks they ought to pause. With this
good sense and moderation on Mr. O'CONNELL'S part,
and with his merited influence over millions of his
countrymen, Mr. O'BRIEN and his " chosen few"
may be safely left to sink back into their original
insignificance.

The voice of public opinion has at length been
heard in high places ; the feelings which have been so
much excited by the shocking death of the unfortu-
nate young man, WHITE, at Hounslow, have had
their effect in directing the attention of the highest
military authority to the question of corporal
punishments in the army. Lord J. RUSSELL on Friday
announced that he had seen the Duke of WELLINGTON
and also the Secretary- at-War upon the subject, and
that the Duke, as Commander-in-Chief of the army,
had measures in contemplation, not, we regret to say,
with a view to the total abolition of corporal
punishment, but with a view to regulate its
exercise. Under these circumstances, and feel-
ing that it would be inconvenient to have a
discussion in the House on the subject
before the Duke had matured those measures, the
Noble Premier requested Dr. BOWRING to postpone
the motion of which he had given notice, and pro-
mised that he would shortly be able to inform
the House of the nature of the intended mea-
sures ; he also promised, in answer to a
question from Dr. BOWRING, whose exertions
are so creditable to him as a man of humanity and a
philanthropist, that if he (Dr. BOWRING) was not
satisfied with the orders of the Commander-in-Chief
when promulgated, an opportunity should be
afforded to him of again bringing the subject
forward befote the end of the session. If
no other result followed the agitation on the
subject, much that is valuable would already
have been attained ; there is little doubt that
any new regulations on the subject must have the ef-
fect of greatly restricting both the quantity of the
punishment, the number of lashes sanctioned in each
individual case, and also the number of per-
sons on whom they may be inflicted ; but
we sincerely trust that the friends of the soldier
and sailor will not be . satisfied with anything less
than the total and immediate abolition of the hor-
rible cat. We conceive, that of all others, military
men are the last to whom a question of such magni-
tude should be submitted. Old prejudices influence
their minds; the long-continued existence of the
atrocious system has, in too many instances, worn
away the horror with which they must,
in the earlier stages of their career, have
regarded each individual case of flogging. Habit
has been said to acquire the force of second nature,
and thus they come to look at that which at first
harrowed up their better feelings as a usual and
necessary evil. The question must be considered by
from any
,bias, and who are capable of
giving a sound, common-sense opinion on
the subject. Naval and military men may be
very good witnesses, but they are unques-
tionably the worst judges 'to whom the decision
of the subject could be referred. The only possible
ground on which the practice could for a moment be
supported is, that its existence is indispensably ne-
cessary for the maintenance and preservation of the
discipline in both branches of the service ; it is not
sufficient that it may be a strong auxiliary in the hands
of a commanding officer, but can the efficiency of
the army or navy, by any possibility, or by any
means, be secured without a recourse thereto ?
That it is possible to do without it, the condition of
the French army and navy, in which it was totally
and entirely done away with by NAPOLEON BONA-
PARTE, during the existence of a war of the greatest
magnitude, when, if ever, such an adjunct would be re-
quired, and in which it has not since been restored, will
sufficiently attest. What is there in the nature of
Englishmen that they cannot be acted upon by the
same motives and influenced by the same considera-
tions that are found to be of sufficient weight with
Frenchmen ? The assertion is a grievous
wrong to our countrymen. It is not tolerated
or sanctioned, at least to the same extent,
in the services of any civilised nation in the world.
Can it be believed that within five years, from 1839
to 1843 inclusive, no less than 14,759 British sol-
diers and sailors have suffered the barbarous and
cruel infliction ? On an average during that period 245
of our brethren, our defenders, have been so tortured
and degraded in every month, and yet the Parliamen-
tary Return (308, session 1845), in which five regiments
on foreign service, from which no returns were re-
ceived, are excluded, attests the fearful, the astound-
ing fact. How many of those 14,759 yielded up
their lives, and suffered a death of unparalleled seve-
rity, for some trivial offence-..how many bro-
ken hearted men, with enfeebled and de-
cayed constitutions, lingered on a wretched
and spiritless existence, or gave themselves up to
dissipation and intoxication, ending in total depravity,
it is impossible for us to conjecture. IVe fear that
the victims were more numerous, their histories more
heartrending, than the public can form any con-
ception of. The clear and lucid explanations given
by Mr. WILSON in his evidence, to which
we have already referred, and the admirable letter
on the physiology of flogging, from "CENSOR,'
which we published in The Sun of Tuesday, all show
how fatal an injury to the skin, whether the result
of a burn or a lash, may prove to the sufferer, that
it may induce lingering disease and death
Our columns last night recorded the death of
a brave young man, JAMES CATTERMOLE, who burnt
his hands severely on the 12th July last, in extin-
guishing a fire which had seized on the clothes of his
young mistress. Although he received the kindest at-
tention, the most able professional assistance, and al-
though the burns to his hands were healed in the course
of a few days, he gradually sunk, and on

Monday last died from the shock to the system
occasioned by the excitement and the injuries received

from the burning. This melancholy case affords a

strong corroboration to the opinions of Mr. WILSON

and of " CENSOR." Why, then, should these things be ?
Why should the lives of our fellow-creatures be so

unnecessarily, so cruelly sacrificed ? The most zea-
lous advocates of the system, the most ardent and en-
thusiastic supporters of the necessity of flogging in the
army and navy, admit that the less flogging there is
the better ; that the ship or the regiment in which
there is the most flogging is invariably the worst
managed. Witness Sir GEORGE COCKBURN who, so
far as the navy is concerned, made this statement on
Friday night. If this be true, can there be a stronger
argument for the withdrawal of the power from
the persons who so abuse it ? Two recent in-
stances occurring in the 55th Regiment are

recorded in the columns of our Contemporary the

Rymouthjourna/; it states that in one, a man named
lIIGGINs, was sentenced to 200 lashes for selling a
portion of Ms kit, and threatening to throw his boots
at Colour-sergeant WILLIAMS. What taunts or pro.

vocation urged the unfortunate man to the latter

put of his offence against military discipline