The Sun.
London, England, 1861-07-11 00:00:00

ALLEN V. THE DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE.

Mr. Sergeant Shee and Mr. Joseph Brown were
for the plaintiff; the Attorney-General, Mr. Mellor,
Q.C., and Mr. Welsby for the defendant.
The declaration in this case contained two counts
for false imprisonment in Newgate, for a period of
four days, and in the Queen's Prison for four
months, under the following circumstances :—The
plaintiff is a lieutenant in the 82d Regiment of
Foot. In the year 1859 he was convicted of the
manslaughter of a native in India and sentenced to
four years' imprisonment without hard labour. He
was sent to Agra, and thence to England. When
he arrived in this country he was taken first to
Chatham, then to Millbank, then to Weedon ; from
Weedon he was transferred, by warrant under the
hand of the Adjutant-General, to Newgate; thence
to the Queen's Prison. In November last he was
released, the Court of Queen's Bench being of
opinion that, under the Mutiny Act and the A-
rticles of War, his confinement in England was
illegal, on the ground that Lord Clyde, in whose
discretion the fixing of his place of imprisonment
was, had, in the first instance, directed that he
IShuuld. b 11upt iu the fort-of Agra., and that there
was no order in writing from him for Lieutenant
Allen's transfer to England, even if Lord Clyde had
power to order Mm to be imprisoned in this coun-
try. It was admitted that the Duke of Cambridge
was answerable for the act of the Adjutant-Gene-
ral, and the plaintiff now sought to recover from
his Royal Highness damages for such false im-
prisonment. The following admissions were also
made, which, as they throw much light upon the
transaction, we print in full. They are as fol-
lows :

" 1. That the plaintiff was, at the tinfe of his arraignment
and trial hereinafter mentioned, a lieutenant in her Ma-
jesty's 82d Regiment of Foot, stationed at Shahjehanpore,
in the East Indies, upwards of 120 miles from Fort Wil-
liam.

"2. That he was, on or about the 13th of February, 1359,
arraigned before a duly constituted general court. martial at
Shahjehanpore aforesaid for the murder of a native Indian
servant, named Bilassee, and was by such court-martial
found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to imprison-
ment, without hard labour, for four years.
" That the said sentence was duly confirmed by Lord
Clyde, then commanding her Majesty's forces in India;
and that Lord Clyde, by order in writing, appointed the
place of the plaintiff's imprisonment to be in the Fort of
Agra, in the East Indies.

4: That on or about the 29th of November, 1859, by
order in writing made by Lord Clyde, it was ordered that
the plaintiff should be delivered over to military custody for
the purpose of being removed to England.
"o. That the plaintiff, being then a prisoner, was accord-
ingly delivered over to military custody for the purpose,
and was in such custody brought over from the East Indies
to England, where he arrived on or about the 20th of June,
1860.

"6. That the following general orders were issued by
Lord Clyde and were in force at the time when plaintiff
was under sentence, relating to the treatment of prisoners
undergoing the sentence of a court-martial :
" The first six menthe to be close ; the prisoner to take
two hours' exercise daily under the charge of a sentry. His
meals to be provided by the staff officer of the garrison ; no
books to be allowed him except those recommended by the
chaplain.
"' The next hdf-year a free supply of books to be afford-
ed; he is to be allowed to receive visitors for one hour
daily, to be allowed one personal servant and coolies at his
own expense.

" "fhe third half-year, and during the remainder of his
confinement, the prisoner to be allowed to take exercise
without the sentry, to be allowed to supply his own table,
a bottle of beer or a pint of wine every two days to be
allowed him, on the understanding that any excess on the
prison allowance is to be defrayed from his own private re-
sources.' "

Mr. Sergeant Shee havin,, opened the case for
the plaintiff, Mr. Brown called Lieut. Wm. Henry
Craven Alien-:

I am the son of the Rev. W. H. Allen, chaplain
of the forces at Brighton. I entered the service as
ensign. lam now 23. I was in India in several en-
gagements. I was beSieged in the gaol at Shabje-
hanpore. I was there in Feb., 1859, and was tried
by court-martial for the murder of a native. I was
found guilty of manslaughter. I had no legal
assistance at my court-martial. After my sentence
the officers still associated with me. The colonel lent
me his horse to take me to Agra. There I was ordered
not to go beyond the Delhi gate. I had a mile and
a half of space within the fort. I messed with the
artillery officers and. went out shooting. I received
my pay while in India. I was taken to Calcutta,
and thence to England. I was treated like any other
passenger. On my arrival I was taken to Chatham,
thence to Millbank. There I was treated like a con-
vict. Then'to Weedon, and then to Newgate. [The
warrant of the Adjatant•General was here read,
authorising the Governor to detain him as a pri-
soner, and stating that he had been convicted of
murder.] I was kept in solitary confinement for
four days on prison diet. I had only the books
allowed me by the chaplain. I was removed to the
Queen's Prison on July 28. [The memorandum of the
Adjutant-General, stating conviction of murder,
was read.] On Nov. 24 I was liberated—in four
months. In obtaining ray discharge my law ex-
penses were about £9O.
Cross•examined by the Attorney-General—l en-
tered the army in 1855, and obtained a commission
without purchase by the interest of the Duke of
Cambridge. iVy regiment went to the Crimea.
The war was over when I got there. In October,
1855, I obtained the rank of lieutenant, also with-
out purchase. I served in India during the mutiny.
The court-martial sat three days. There was no
lawyer on either side. The sentence was confirmed
by the Commander-in-Chief. He said it was severe,
but just. Agra is one of the hottest parts of India.
went there one •
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