The Sun.
London, England, 1842-02-17 00:00:00

COURT-MARTIAL in the TOWER.

On Tuesday the Ist battalion of Fusileer Guards quartered in
the Tower were assembled on the parade, to hear the proceedings
of a district Court-martial read over on private Stoddart, who had
been tried for unbecoming and tinsoldier.like conduct while on
duty in the Bank of England, on the night of Saturday, the 29th
ultimo, The circumstances which led to the trial were these :
The guard which attends the Bank every night is accompanied by
one of the officers of the regiment, who is allowed a guinea, and
a dinner, prepared for him at a neighbouring hotel. On the
night in question the officer in command of the detachment had
a fine saddle of mutton cooked for his dinner, and waited for
some time in expectation of receiving a visit from a friend, who
had promised to take dinner with him. The officer, however,
was doomed to eat his mutton alone, and after making a hearty
meal and sipping a glass or two of wine, he left the remains
of the feast on the table, and went round the Bank to look after
his men. On his return to the apartment in which he had dined,
he found the mutton and wine had vanished, and immediately
gave information to one of the Bank porters, who came to the con-
clusion that the robbery had been committed by three of the
clerks, who were detained until a late hour on the same night
making up some accounts of an important nature. The clerks
had been eating their dinner in another apartment, and were
just leaving it, whet. the porter and his assistant charged them with
stealing the remains of the officer's dinner, and attempted to take
them into custody The clerks, who are highly-respectable men,
indignantly repelled the charge, and the porter and his assistant in
e u
ed•
tundaote. He wn.Twwaos foofrtclet i
the
clerks
tto i
gotrolom,
• The affair soon reached the
ear of the resident cashier, who left his apartments, and ordered
the scuffle
away,c a
nn
butwhich
the
e y ensued,
turnedth i third wasp we
the instant liberation of the clerk who was under arrest, and in.
timated to the officer that it was very probable some of his own
met had made free with the mutton. The detachment were imme-
diately mustered, and a rigid search was determined on. No
sooner were the guard assembled than one man, a private, was ob-
served to remove something from his cap, and throw it behind him.
It proved to be some of the mutton, and he was interrogated en the
subject, when he accused another soldier, and a general crimination
and recrimination took place, wkich ended in Stoddart, and another
soldier, named Smith, being deprived of their arms, and placed under
detention. It appeared that Stoddart was the sentinel on duty op-
posite the building appropriated to the accommodation of the officer,
and it was suggested to him by Smith, after the officer had finished his
dinner, that there was a good chance of obtaining a "tuck out,"
and he took the other's post, put on his cap, and shouldered his
musket, white Stoddart committed the robbery. The mutton was
divided among several men, but ere they had finished their share
the plunder was discovered. Stoddart, in defence, pleadetl that
Smith first green the mutton, and instigated hi.o to commit the
robbery. Swift,- who had been in the service for eight years, anti
had obtained one:stripe forgood conduct, was acquitted, but Stott.
dart was fountiguiltY, and sentenced to forts days' imprisonment
in the Penitentiary, wher,e lie now is.
The porter who so injudiciously interfered in the matter, has
been suspended by the Directors of the Bank.

The Municipal Council of Nantes has voted the
erection of a monument to the memory of General Cambronne