The Sun.
London, England, 1832-08-28 00:00:00

plaint to a bigha military authority ?—I have already
said there is still something let there for a soldier if he
wakes a vexatious appeal to a commanding officer ; I did
not know how that might be brought against me, being
ignorant of military law.
In the event of a soldier feeling himself aggrieved, did
you not know you could complain to your commanding
officer, and if you felt aggrieved by your commanding
officer you could brim; your comp Lint before th,. next
military authority within your reach, either by leter or
verbally ?—I knew that each could he done, but I never
thought of doing so ; I knew that could be done, on the
same information I have already stated, not from having
heard the Articles of it read or read them myself, but
from having heard others say it could be done.
Did the regimental Court.martial, when you entered on
your defence, give you the option of cant.; witnesses?
Yes; I was asked if I had any witnesses to call ; I !aid
no ; I said I would call the witnesses who had tome for
the prosecution in my defence.

Who was the clerk, as you eill him, of the Court-martial ?
Lieutenant Somerville wrote the evi.!enee.
'as he a member of th Court ?—Yes.

Have you ever seen a min punished for refusing to ride,
or is it the custom of the regiment to permit a Choice?—l
never saw any man punished in tim rfygiment before
since I came into it.

Neither for that or any other offence?—For no offence.
ta it the custom of the regiment to permit a choice?
—No, I do not think it is.

When did you enter the Political Union of Birming.
1;4212?-1 nevcr entered the Political rnion.
Were you a member of any Political Union before
you enlisted ?—No.

Had you an ides, when you enlisted, that you were not
to be paid by the King ?-1 had the same idea when I
enlisted that I afterwards expressed to Major Wyndham.
What was your oecuvation previous to your being a
soldier ?—A gardener.

Had you been accustomed to ride?—l cannot say I had
been accustomed to ride ; I have been on a horse's back,
but it had never been customary for me to ride.
You bad not been in the habit of riding touch ?—I
never was in the habit of riding at all.
'When you say that you never thotn•ht of applying to
any superior officer, do you mean that it never occurred
to yea, or what do you mean ?—Yes, it occurred to me,
but knowing that there were such words as these in the
Articles cf War, which I have already spoken of, about
vexatious arpoal, I did not know but that my application
to the officer might be construed into a vexatious appeal,
and that I might therefore suffer for :t. Ido not mean
to say I was sure that it would be so : I thought it might
perhaps be ao; and, therefore, it was better for me not to
do it.
The witness withdrew.

The following witnesses were then examined :-
6 Lieutenant and Riding-master a Private Thomas Scott.
Giiiies. h Mr, David Cope.
6 Mr. Henry Simons, Stafford, 1. Sergeant-Major Atkin.
shire Yeomanry. h Sergeant William Sikes.
b Sergeant John Glen, b Assistant-Surgeon Alexander
a Private Robert Brown. Stewart.
a Private Thomas Darling. b Private Robert Robinson,
6 Sergeant-Major Michael Nei- b Private C. Guist.
son. b Sergeant-Major Alexander
b Lieutenant and Adjutant St. Gardiner.
Vincent William Ricketts. b Corporal William M'Lure.
Thos.: witnesses marked thus (a) were called by Sorrier,
ville : those marked thus (b) by Major WyndlAas. So-
mervillle had three witnesses summoned, hut did not exa-
mine them ; the Major examined all the witnesses he sum-
moned,

Major Charles Wyndham, Royal North British Dra-
2,(sons, then tendered himself as a witness, and, having
bren rernindal by the Judge Advocate of the extreme
responsibility under which be was placed in regarrl to
the answers he might give to such questions as were put
to him, was examined as follows by - the JUDGE Anvo-
c•arE (July 27, 1832):
Do you recollect, when you first heard, on the 28th of
May, of some charge of disobedience against privztte So-
merville, as to what had passed in the morning in the
riding-house?--Yes, it was in the morning.
About what time was it?-_I think before we went to
the field. We went to the field at two o'clock; there were
some rejoicings on the King's birth-day. We had a little
rejoicing before we went out, and after that I took the
regiment out to a field-day; and we returned about
four o'clock ; the❑ I got a written crime ; before that I
beard that he was confined.

Will you look at the minutes of the regimental court-
martial where a crime is set out, and state whether that
was the crime which was given to you ?—Yes, tl.at is the
crime.

From whom was it first you heard of the matter having
taken place in the riding-school ?—From Adjutant
Ricketts,

Did you give any directions of what was to be done
with private Somerville at that time?—None ; I heard he
was in the guard-house, and he was left there.
When did you direct that he should ke brought to you ?
—Not till the following morning.
When he was brought to you, will you state what
passed between you and him ?—I found him in the pas-
sage, and I had been in the room probably a minute when
I sent for him. Lieutenant Ricketts was in the room,
and the Sergeant-Major brought him in by my order. I
presented the crime to him; and I said, Somerville, this
is your crime, lam sorry it should have appeared. That
was the commencement of the conversation. I said I did
not expect it of so young a soldier; he looked at me, and I
think the words he said were, lam sorry for it. Ido not
think said any thing more, except that he mentioned
something about his horse being unruly; I think he said he
could net manage the hor,e, those were the words. I said it
is highly improper conduct, a high disobedience of orders,
and I regret it very much ; I was sorry to see he did not
express some contrition, I thought a soldier would have said
mare. My object in seeing him was, if he should have
spoken well for himself, to have released him. He
did cot say that which I expected ; I said it was an
act of insubordination, and, as near as I recollect, I
said it cannot be overlooked. He said nothing more.
The Weekly Dispatch was lying on the tab!e, I
took it up, and said, Somerville, I am afraid, my
lad,--I think that was the expression,—you are fond of
writing in the newspapers; he seemed surprised; 1 then
said, Is this letter from you ? he then stopped a short time
and said, it was he that bad written the letter. I thi n
read the letter, or extracts from it, and I think I com-
mented on the letter, saying, I was sorry to see a young
soldier writing in a newspaper, and particularly on politi-
cal subjects, which I considered was not a soldier's duty ;
he then said he did not know, he believed he had a right
to write in the newspapers. I said you have no right to
comment upon the conduct of your regiment, and say what
is not the fact ; you have written a libel on the regiment; I
said that is not the business of a soldier. I read some more
lines, and came to a passage about what the Scotch Greys
would do in case they were called out to act. It is a long
time since. I cannot recollect the words, but they were
to this effect : that to quell a mob they would do so, but
would not lift up their arms againt the people. I said, this
is strong conversation, and asked him what he meant by
it; I said you ought to know your duty better than to ex-
press any suck libel on the regiment, and I asked him
what he meant by it. Then I said, Do you recollect, my
good fellow, you have sworn allegiance to the King, and
you are paid by the King? Then that begat a conversa-
tion, the words of which I do not recollect, except having
seen them in the paper, something about his being paid by
the King, and that only as long as lie was for the people,
or words to that effect.

Is that your own recollection, having, been refreshed in
any manner, that he did use those words in particular ?
Yes; he said he was bound to the King as long as he
went with the people, or words to that effect. I then told
him again that I was sorry to see so young a soldier com-
mence in that manner.: Again I said that it was not
the business of any soldier to meddle with politics, and I
regretted very much that he had libelled the whole regi-
ment ; that, I think, ended the conversation. I then
desired the sergeant-major to take him back to the guard-
house, which was instantly done.
You have stated that you commented on the extracts
which you read from the Dispatch?-1 did.
To what effect did you comment on them ?—To the
effect that I was surprised. I had been twenty years in
the regiment, and never heard of a soldier using such lan-
guage, making use of all our names in that kind of way.
It had been a conversation throughout the whole of the
barrack-yard, ever since Sunday. The Dispatch was
shown to me along with other people ; no one could
make out who it was. Various people were suggested.
One man in particular, and everybody believed it was him
hut myself. My opinion is, that when a man will write
on one subject in a paper, he will write on another, and I
fixed on private Somerville as the writer, having then in
my possessio❑ in my room, a manuscript piece of poetry,
which I sent up that evening, as any one was challenged
in the Dispatch to see the letter at the Dispatch office.
I sent it up to Lord Arthur Hill, and said, " Will you do
me the favour to compare this with the letter they have
challenged the public to see." I got no answer to my
letter on Tuesday. We were still in doubt as to the wri-
ter, until the man confessed that he had written the letter
in my room. I had not received Lord Arthur Hill's letter,
which rather surprised me, for there was time for it, and
I was in doubt up to that time. My idea was, that it
was too well written for a soldier. One part I thought
might have been Written by a soldier, the rest I said could j