The Sun.
London, England, 1858-12-02 00:00:00

THE CANNONADING AT QUEENSTOWN,

The court-martial on board her Majesty's ship
Nile, in the harbour of Queenstown, on Lieutenant
Luckraft, of her Majesty's ship Hawke, on a charge
of having, while drunk, beat the ship's company
to general night quarters, and opened fire from the
ship, on the night of the 31st of October, which
had been adjourned from Monday, was resumed on
Tuesday morning at 10 o'clock.
The prisoner's defence was read, which, after re-
ferring to the evidence of the different witnesses to
show that he was perfectly sober when the drums
beat to night quarters, and that it was improbable
he could have got drunk after, when he could have
tasted no liquor, proceeded to state that it was
much more probable that the staggering and
thickness of speech which had been deposed to
were produced by a constitutional affection, called
by medical men a congestion of the brain, which
he would endeavour to prove had been pro-
duced in him by long exposure in a tropical cli-
mate. The defence then stated that the best evi-
dence would be produced to show that he was sub-
ject to such attacks, and that they might produce
all the symptoms which he had exhibited on the
night in question, and which had led to the suspi-
cion that he was drunk.

Lieut. Pickard, First Lieutenant of the Hawke,
was then examined, and stated that he had never
seen the prisoner under the influence of drink pre-
vious to the 31st October, and that he had never
hesitated to leave him as commanding officer of the
Hawke when circumstances required it. The pri-
soner had also been frequently commander of the
Hawke at Plymouth. Believed the prisoner to be
of a nervous temperament,, from his manner and
the peculiar nervous twitching of his head and
eyes, which were observed in him since he joined
the ship. Witness's opinion was that the prisoner's
conduct, as an officer and a gentleman, had been
always perfectly correct while on board the Hawke,
up to the 31st October.

Mr. Thomas Heywood, paymaster of the Hawke,
also stated that he had observed the prisoner to
suffer occasionally from nervous attacks while on
board the Hawke, particularly a few days after
joining the Hawke at Plymouth, when the pri-
soner requested him to write an application for 42
days' leave, and when witness endeavoured to as-
certain the reason, he seemed perfectly unaware
why he wished to get the leave.
Mr. George Simmons, additional paymaster of
the Hawke, also gave evidence as to the nervous
temperament of the prisoner, and as to his uni-
formly correct conduct up to the 31st of October.
Mr. John M'Kay, chief engineer, Stephen Cuer,
boatswain, and George Creed, carpenter, all de-
posed that the prisoner was sober up to 9 o'clock,
and the two latter stated that aboat ten minutes
past 9 he told them the ship's crew were going to
quarters, and he then was quite sober.
Rear-Admiral Alfred Luckraft, father to the
prisoner, was next sworn, and deposed that
while the prisoner was serving in China he
wrote several letters to him (witness), stating
that he had on several occasions suffered from sun-
strokes, one of which was a very severe one ; and
from his letters after that he appeared to be very
depressed. He returned in Nov., 1857, in a state
of great weakness and ill health, and on several
occasions showed symptoms that made him appear
as if he had been drinking, though witness knew
very well that he had not taken any drink, and
that it would have been impossible for him to have
taken it without his knowledge. Witness did all
he could to keep prisoner from being employed
until he should be in a better state of health ; but
he got an appointment in the Hawke, and he wished
himself to join. Witness, before allowing him to
go, made inquiries about the Hawke and her cap-
tain, and finding that she was a quiet harbour ship,
he allowed the prisoner to go to sea in her.
A certificate was then read from Dr. Magrath, of
Guernsey, which that gentleman had sworn to,
stating that he had been in attendance on the pri-
soner after his return from China, and considered
him to be naturally nervous and excitable, and pos-
sessed of a naturally weak mind, which would be
likely to break down in after life. The certificate
also deposed to the state of nervous excitement
under which the prisoner laboured while under the
doctor's care, which led him to impress on the pri-
soner's father that he should not go to sea for at
least 6 or 12 months.

An affirmation from the sister of the prisoner,
made before Mr. Gallagher, J.P., of Queenstown,
was next read, in which she stated that the prisoner
after his return from China, had frequently laboured
under fits of nervous excitement during which he
appeared to suffer under delusions, and sometimes
did not recollect afterwards whatl had occurred
while labouring under one of those fits.
Dr. Alexander Eugene M'Kie, staff surgeon of
the fleet, was then sworn, and stated that he had
served in China, and was acquainted with the
diseases peculiar to the climate. Believed that
sun-stroke produced congestion of the brain, and
that such a disease caused by sun-stroke had
a great tendency to relapse. Believed that
a staggering:gait, temporary mental delusions,
flushed face, and embarrassed speech were
produced by such a disease, and that frequent
relapses had a decided tendency to produce mental
disorder. The symptoms mentioned sometimes had
the appearance of drunkenness. A person drinking
spirits to a moderate extent under such circum-
stances would be much more liable to have his head
affected than ordinary persons.
A letter was read from Admiral Richards, lately
one of the Lords of the Admiralty, addressed to the
prisoner, which referred in high terms of praise to
his uniform good conduct; and certificates were
read from the following ships of her Majesty's fleet
in which he had served—Sybille, Encounter, Ven-
geance, Impregnable, Caledonia, and Victory.
Dr. Robert Bernard, surgeon of the Hawke, was
called by the Court and examined, and he gave
similar testimony to that given by Dr. M'Kie, as to
the effects of sun-stroke, and the symptoms pro-
duced by congestion of the brain.
This closed the evidence on both sides, and the
Court was cleared.
After an interval of about an hour and a half the
public were again admitted, when
The Judge-Advocate read the decision of the
Court, which declared their opinion that the charge
was proved against Lieut. Edward Alfred Luck-
raft, but in consideration of the medical testimony
which had been produced and his previous good
conduct the sentence was that he should be dis-
missed from her Majesty's ship Hawke and ren-
dered incapable of serving in her Majesty's em-
ployment again.
The Court then broke up, and the prisoner was
released from custody.
The sentence does not preclude Lieut. Luckraft
from receiving half-pay.