The Sun.
London, England, 1860-01-02 00:00:00

THE ARMY.

During the recent very unfavourable weather
the troops at Aldershott have been in a great mea-
sure Confined to their huts and barracks, even the
usual marching out two or three times a week for a
distance of eight or ten miles and back having been
constantly interrupted. The weather, indeed, for
the last fortnight at camp has bean most tempes-
tuous, with such incessant storms of heavy rain
that the surrounding country has been almost con-
verted into an immense quagmire, which even the
drainage in the immediate neighbourhood of the
camp itself fails to do more than mitigate. The
total force at present in the Aldershott
including men on furlough, amounts to 16,000 of
all arms, of which number about 13,000 are actually
in camp, divided into three brigades of infantry
and one cf. cavalry, as follows :-Ist brigade Con-
sisting of.the Ist battalion of the 11th, second ditto
of the 19th, the 58th Regiment, and Royal FA-
therne Militia ; 2d brigade, the 2d battalion of the
11th, 2d battalion of the 18th, the 2d battalion of
the 20th, and the King's Own or Ist Tower Ham-
lets Militia. The 3d brigade consists of. the 2d
battalion of the 12th Regiment, Ist battalion of the
16th, 2d battalion of the 11th, and the
2d or Royal
Lanarkshire Militia. The cavalry brigade is only
composed of the 18th Hussars and 13th Dragoon
Guards, with two troops of Horse Artillery. With
the infantry are four field batteries, f
wi,rain, and
detach-
ments of the Royal Engineers, Military
a complete hospital staff—in fact, the whole per-
sonnel and materiel necessary to enable a division
of 15,000 men to take the field at a moment's no-
tice.its The 2d battalion of the 24th was, until
recent gross insubordination., attached to the 2d
brigade, but is now en route for Cork, No regiment
has yet been named to supply its place in camp•.
The very novel punishment which the authorities
have inflicted on the men of the 24th for their
recent murderous broach of discipline has ex-
cited no small amount of surprise in camp.
The reason of this feeling will be evident to our
readers at a glance, Pew _ regiments like
being quartered at Aldershott for and- long Pe-
riod ; indeed, the only reason for which the
men like it at all is, that lesstheyfitve;iib night duty
there, having at least four or hts a week in
bed, while at all other quarters in England the men
are. on. duty nearly every other night.. The novelty
of thisindulgence at Aldershott, soon wears off,
especially \\len against it are balanced the dulness
of the camp and the excesF_eive fatigue duties enforced
there in the way ef madmakin,g and draining. For
the wear and tear of clothes consequent upon the
latter work " batta" money was formerly allowed.
Now it has been discontinued, to the great disgust
of the men, so that for these and other causes there
are very few regiments which, alter a month's or six
weeks' duty at Aldterahott, would not rejoice to
escape from it to any quarters, and mare particu-

larly during the winter. If, then, insubordinate 1
regiments are only to be punished by the infliction
of a boon for which they long, how is discipline to
be maintained there at all Soldiers are apt at
learning these lessons, and will not be slow to per-
ceive that while no amount of good conduct liberates
them from Aldershott, they have, on the other hand,
only to turn round and murder one or two of their
comrades in another regiment to be at once ordered
off, like the 24th, to some pleasant garrison town.
A monopoly of the roadmaking and draining at
Aldershott for a couple of months would really be
an efficacious punishment for a riotous regiment,
and the north and south camps are iuffieient]y wide
apart to keep asunder the most pugnacious corps.
One thing is certain, that, with the present novel
mode of punishment, the Commander-in-Chief will
only be able to keep regiments at Aldershott as long
as they themselves may please to remain, and not a
day beyond.
Major-General Hay, Inspector-General of Mus-
ketry, has visited the camp at Colchester, and in-
spected the 9th and 10th battalions. The Major-
General instituted a searching inquiry into the
course of practice pursued during the past year,
and examined the men to whom prizes had beon
awarded in respect to their knowledge of the
theoretical principles on which the new system
of rifle instruction is based. About 25 inva-

lids, belonging to the 9th and 10th battalions,
have left the camp fur Chatham, in order to receive
their discharge. In the course of the past week a
rather serious disturbance has taken place between
some of the City of Dublin and Donegal Militia on
the one hand, and some of the privates of the 6th and
56th Regiments on the other. Fists and bludgeons
were unsparingly used on both sides, and before a
strong picket, despatched to quell the disturbance,
could reach the scene of action, two men belonging
to the 56th Regiment were seriously hurt. It
seems the combatants had an old grudge against
each other, and resolved to settle the matter by a
regularly concerted fight.

EXECUTION AT YORK.

YORK, SATURDAY EVENING.
Charles Normington, who was convicted at the
recent Winter Gaol Delivery for Yorkshire, to-day
forfeited his life for murdering Mr. Broughton, at
Roundhay, in August last. The execution of the ill-
fated youth took place at noon, upon the scaffold
behind York Castle.

Immediately after the jury pronounced Nor-
mington guilty, and the learned judge had passed
sentence of death upon him,the culprit became very
much exhausted, and was unable without assist-
ance to walk from the dock across the Castle-yard,
and to the condemned cell. On arriving in this
apartment, Normington was greatly depressed, and
burst into tears, but said nothing at that moment.
Mr. Green, the deputy-governor, who was present,
impressed upon him the importance and necessity
of making good use of the short time allotted to
him in this world, and not to utter another lie.
Normington then said—" I will not. It was me
that did it, and the other man stood by. It was
me that got his watch. I gave it to him (meaning
the other man), and he kept it while we got to
Leeds. I went to pawn it. I had not been in his
company before that day. 'We went that morning
near to Marsh-lane Railway Station, and he told
me his name was —, and that he lived near
---." Normington did not just then recollect the
name of the place, and said that " a fair is held
there, but I cannot tell the name just now. It was
about four miles from --. He was -- years of
age, and —in height. We went to two or three
pawn shops, and after we had pawned it (the
watch) I gave him 3s. of the money, and kept the
other myself, and then we parted. I have not seen
him since. He pulled his (deceased's) waistcoat
open, but it was me who took his watch."
We do not mention either the name of the man
alluded to or his place of residence, lest such pub-
licity should defeat the ends of justice. 'With this
explanation our readers will know the reason why
the blanks are not filled up.
The morning following his conviction, Norming-
ton was visited by his mother, who during the
painful interview begged in affectionate terms of
her son to tell the whole truth. The culprit
replied, " I have—l have told Mr. Green all about
it." Mr. Green then inquired of Normington,
" Is it where the other man lives ?" and he
replied, "Yes, that's the place; it is about four
miles from --." On Monday last the culprit
was visited by his father and his cousin, and
of course the interview was of a heartrending
description. Nothing, however, transpired at this
visit which requires special remark. The mother
of the culprit again saw her son on Wednesday last.
She was in great distress, and she earnestly im-
plored him to pray for the forgiveness of his sin's.
He replied, " I have already done so," and V4en
went on to state his belief that he should e!otain
pardon Prom God.
The culprit has more recently acknowledged that
he was the man who murdered Mr. Broughton, in
similar terms to those he had used previously. He
partook of his meals with an appetite as good as
the rest of the prisoners, slept well at nights, and
seemed quite resigned to sae:: the death that
awaited him at noon to-day.
It is worthy of observation that the culprit was
entirely devoid of educati,on, he could neither read
nor write, and he lanaentably proved in his case at
least the truth of ttee remark that " Ignorance is
the parent of vice." Being desirous of addressinc,
his parents and other relatives, but not being able
to lase the pen, several letters to them were written
for him, th.e communications containing the senti-
ments ay.hich he wished to convey, and some parts
of fly: letter are couched in his own language. We
su'ajoin copies of two letters sent to his parents,
which were handed to our correspondent after the
execution to-day :
"Mv DEAR MOTIIER,—I send you these few
lines, and I sincerely hope they will find you in
good health. lam glad to tell you that lam quite
well, and my mind is quite easy; and I assure you
that I do not fear my fate, for I put all my trust
in the Lord Jesus Christ. In him I Lope to find
rest and pardon for all my sins. I hope, dear
mother, that you will not fret, but pray for me,
and believe me I have quite resigned myself, and
do not dread the hour so fast approaching. I pray
the Lord to give me strength here and peace here-
, after. I believe in His promise to pardon the
greatest sinners ; and I believe he will forgive me
and grant me the rest I pray for. Therefore, dear
mother, do not fret for me. I can assure you I feel
very happy in my mind. I hope and believe that I
shall soon be in everlasting happiness and rest; for
believe me, I fear nothing, trusting entirely in the
Lord. I hope you will pray unto Him,
you will be saved and enjoy eternal happiness.
This, dear mother, and that
is my sincere
and it is hoped we shall meet again in the kingdom
prayer for you,
of heaven, where we shall be far happier than here,
in the world of trouble. I think of all my friends,
and pray for you an, and hope you will do the same
• for me.
• " I remain, dear mother, your affectionate son,
•• •; " CHARLES NORMINGTON."
• 0,-; hanilaafi note-" York Castle, Dec. 28, 1839.

"Dear Father,—I have had my mother here to
see me this morning, and have taken my last fare-
well of her in this world. It is very hard to part
with you, my dear parents, but it is the Providence
of God, which I hope will be beneficial to you and
all my friends, and I pray to God that my fate may
be a warning to everybody, and be the means of
bringing you to a saving knovrledge of the truth as
it is Christ Jesus. Dear father, if it be God's will
that we should not meet again on earth, I hope
that we shall meet in heaven. I have one wish
to express to you, which I hope you will grant me.
I am perhaps going a little too far in dictating to
you, but I hope you will consider my last, and, I
may say, my dying wish, that is I hope you will be
again reconciled to my mother, and I hope
live together again you will
•and be happy. I don't want
to hurt your feelings, nor yet to upbraid you
with
things anything, but I wish to say that
might have been different if you and mother
had lived in the fear of God, but I pray that you
will begin now,
when I shall have a hope of meet-
ing you again in heaven. Unless you do there will
be no hope for you. Dear father, I hope you will
take them, things into consideration. You know
what a great sin you have committed by leaving
my mother and your family to the wide world in
the way you do. Dear father, I could die now con-
tent if I thought you and my mother would live
together again. • I pray for you and I forgive you,
and I hope God will forgive you. I now must con-
clude, with kind love to all ; hoping to meet you all
in heaven. I must now bid you an eternal fare-
well, and may God bless you and all my friends.
"I remain your affectionate son,
CHARLES NORMINGTON."

The culprit caused to be written two other let-
ters, one to his mother, and another to his uncle
and aunt. Normington exhorted his mother to pray
for him and for herself, and stated that ho was at
peace with the world. In the communication to
his uncle and aunt, he stated that " I do not despair
but the Lord will pardon me. I own Ido not de-
serve pardon, but I hope and trust in him, and in
His mercy, for He delighteth not in the death of
a sinner, but that he should turn from his wicked-
ness and live."' _ _

This juvenile malefactor, only 18 years of age,
since his condemnation uniformly manifested a pro-
per demeanour, and showed tokens of a religious
spirit, the whole tenor of his conduct being quite
becoming of any person placed in his awful posi-
tion. The Rev. J. C. Thompson, the chaplain of
the Castle, was unremitting in his attendance ul oa
the murderer.

This morning the culprit rose early, and waB soon

after visited by the Rev. Mr. Thompson, who prayed
long and earnestly with him. At noon the proces-
sion was formed and moved to the scaffold. In a
few moments afterwards the criminal had ceased to
exist. There was, as usual in such cases, a large
number of spectators.

FINALE OF TIIE FOIMEST DIVORCE

CASE.

The famous Forrest divorce case, which has been
dragged through all the intricacies of the law
for nine years, has at length been brought
to a termination. The cause was first tried in New
York in 1850, when the jury gave a verdict in
favour of Mrs. Forrest, awarding alimony at the
rate of three thousand dollars per annum. Mr. .
Forrest, dissatisfied with this award, appealed, and. .
all possible means were employed to obtain a new
trial. To those who take an interest in the turn-
ings and windings, the quips and quirks—we are ,
almost going to say the absurdities of the law—the
contest was exceedingly entertaining. There were
motions and countermotions, demurrers, replies, and -
rejoinders, applications for commissions to the
other end of the world, or the North Pole, perhaps ;
delays, postponements ; and, in fact, everything
that legal ingenuity could suggest was done to gain
time. So, six years slipped away, Mr. Forrest had
continued his triumphant artistic career, and still
maintained the place which he has held at the
head of his profession during more than a quarter
of a century. Mrs. Forrest, resuming her maiden
name, essayed the stage, but with only moderate,
success. Mr. Forrest's fortune was at least half a
million, while she had only her professional'
earnings. He declined to pay her anything what-
soever in the shape of alimony, having, like the
Jew of Venice, "an oath in Heaven" to contest
the case to tho bitter end. The only money re-
ceived by Mrs. Forrest from her husband was
some small allowances while the cause was being.,
tried. And now, when the final issue is reached •
—when the judge who presided at the trial, and'
the most important witnesses who testified upon it
are dead, we have an award which compels Mr.
Forrest to pay at least double the sum given to Mrs.
Forrest by the jury, and three times what it could
have been settled for previous to the trial. The re-
feree awards to Mrs. Forrest four thousand dollars
per annum from the time of the trial, and compels
Mr. Forrest to give bond and mortgage security for
its prompt payment. What with counsel's fees,
and incidental expenses, &c., the sum total to come
out of the great tragedian's pockets, to say nothing
of the wear and tear of his temper, which must
have been something awful, will not be much less
than a hundred thousand dollars ; and, withal, he
has a fair prospect of paying alimony for many
years to come, Mrs. Forrest's being considered, in
the assurance view, a good life. In fact, annui-
tants, like office holders, rarely die, and never
resign their claims.

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