The Sun.
London, England, 1861-11-13 00:00:00

THE ATTEMPTED MURDER Al

ALDERSHOTT.

ODIHAM, HANTS, Nov. 12.

At the ordinary petty sessions held to-day at the
George Hotel, Odiham, before Lord Dorchester and
Mr. Raikes Currie, Private John Nicholas, of the
3d battalion Military Train, was placed at the bar
and charged, on the information of Superintendent
Howard, of the Aldershott police, with shooting
with intent to murder, Sergeant-Major Henry Les-
lie Kennedy on the night of the 6th inst.
The prisoner, who was brought to Odiham from
Winchester Gaol in the custody of Superinten-
dent Everitt, of the Hampshire Constabulary,
appears to be about thirty years of age. He
is of short stature, but upright and soldierly
in appearance—a dark, bilious complexion, sharp,
restless eye, aquiline nose, thin lips, determined ex-
pression, no beard or whisker, but thick, bristling
moustache. He was perfectly calm, and seemed to
feel very acutely the position in which he stood. It
is stated that when taken into custody by the police.
man he appeared "quite sober," but there is no
doubt but that he had been drinking deeply before
he committed the act. Whether he had drunk in
older to acquire courage to do the deed, or whether
the deed resulted from the drink remains to be
seen. It is clear that after he shot the sergeant-
major he behaved like a man in a state of drunken-
ness, calling out to his comrades, "To the rescue!
Rescue, my lads ! Don't allow a pal to be taken,"
and the like; while to Sergeant Ward, who had sup-
planted the prisoner in the part which he was to
have taken in the amateur theatricals, he said in a
threatening tone, "It will be your turn next." The
prisoner was formerly in the East India Company's
service. He is a native of Birmingham, was often
in hospital since he joined the Military Train,
and born generally a very bad character in the
regiment. Siuce his apprehension another rifle has
been found loaded in the barrack. It is said to be-
I long to an extremely well-behaved, orderly, and
respectable soldier, against whom no suspicion could
attach ; and, as the owner denies all knowledge of
its being loaded, it is supposed to have been pre-
pared by some other hand for deadly service when
the opportunity occurred. These numerous cases
certainly appear to demand the strictest investiga-
tion.

Superintendant Howard, on presenting the pri-
soner before the Bench to day, said that he had to
apply for another remand, as, owing to the precari-
ous state of Sergeant-NlajJr Kennedy, it was ex-
tremely doubtful whether he could recover. He was
a little better on the previous night; but, if inflam-
mation set in, all hope would be banished. The ball
had gone completely through his body, and shattered
to atoms the small red book of " Military Instruc-
tions," and had passed through the back of the
" Troop- book"—a volume thickly bound in calf, like
a ledgcr. He produced the medical certificate,
which was as follows :

"I certify that Sergeant-Major Rennedy's wound
is of a highly dangerous nature, and that he is still
in a most precarious state.
" F. E. REYNOLDS, Surgeon, 3d batt.
Military Train."
" Aldershott, Nov. 12."
The only witness examined today prior to the
remand was

Sergeant John Salter, who deposed—l am a ser-
geant in the 3d battalion Military Train, stationed
at Aldershott. I was in the hut with Sergeant-
Major Henry Leslie Kennedy on the night of
Nov. 7. I saw the prisoner at the bar enter the
hut. He went straight up to Kennedy and
said, " What's this accusation you've made
against me ? " He had a loose cloak over
his shoulder at the time, and before a reply
could be given he raised a rifle carbine from
under his cloak. The carbine produced is the same.
It is not much above four feet long, and was quite
concealed under his cloak. The muzzle of the car-
bine was downwards, and, without raising it to his
shoulder, the prisoner pointed it at the sergeant-
major, fired it, and shot him through the body. The
sergeant-major was taking off his boot at the time,
and had got his right leg over the left for that pur-
pose. The ball entered at the breast and went out
at the back, and very nearly went through me.
There is an exploded cap on the nipple of the car-
bine now. The sergeant-major is still alive ; but
he is very bad, and the doctor gives no hopes of his
recovery.
The evidence taken on the former occasion was
then read over; and, as it is necessary to a proper
understanding of the case, and has not previously
been published, a summary of it is subjoined,—
Police-constable C. Conway, No. 207, Hants Con-
stabulary, deposed—About 1 o'clock on the morning
of the 7th of November last I was on duty in Alder-
shot, when I received information that Troop Ser-
geant-Major Henry Leslie Kennedy had been shot
by Private John Nicholas, of the 3d battalion Mili-
tary Train. In consequence of the information I re-
ceived I went to N. Hospital, in the South Camp, and
saw Sergeant Kennedy, shot through the body. I
went from there to the officers' quarters, and received
from Ensign Ramsay a rifle carbine, N 0.41 (that now
produced). It had been recently discharged, and
had an exploded cap on the nipple. .I also received
from Mr. Ramsay nine rounds of ball cartridge
and ten unexploded caps. I then went to the
guard-room, where I found the prisoner handcuffed.
He appeared to be quite sober. I told him that he
was charged with attempting to murder Sergeant-
Major Kennedy. Ho made no reply. He,then called
for his boots, and, when putting them on, said,
" All my troubles are over now." I got an escort
and took him towards the police-station. On the
way there he said, " The deed is done, and I shall
hang for it. I deserve it." I cautioned him to be
careful what he said, for I should have to repeat it.
He had no cap on, and he said that it was a brutal
thing to take him along like that; they would not
serve him so bad as that when they hung him, for
they would find him a (cap then. He then asked
me if it was his rifle that I was carrying, and I
said that it was. He asked me, " Did'nt I think
that he was a good marksman ?" He also said, in
reference to the altercation between him and Ken-
nedy, that his feelings were so harrowed and exas-
perated that if he 'had a weapon he would have
killed him on the spot. I again cautioned him to
be careful, and took him on to the station. When
we arrived there I searched him and found on him
a rifle-stopper, No. 41, corresponding with the
number of his rifle, and two unexploded caps. Those
two caps with the two given me by Ensign Ramsay
and the one on the nipple of the rifle made up the
regulation number of 23 supplied to each soldier—
and the nine rounds of ball-cartridge, with the one
discharged, made up the 10 rounds—the usual
supply of ammunition:

The prisoner, who said nothing in his defence,
but looked extremely dejected, was again remanded
to Winchester for a week, when he will be brought
before the justice, and no doubt committed for trial.

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