Star.
London, England, 1809-10-02 00:00:00

711 E CIVIL AND MILITARY AUTHORITIES

AT MADRAS.

The following will be found to be a correct state-
ment of the dispute between these two public Bodies.
It is drawn up from official documents :
_ _

It appears that Sir JOHN CRADDOCK, when Com-
mander in Chief of the Madras establishment, having
in view some economical reforms, addressed a private
and confidential letter to Lieut. Colonel .loin Musltto,
Quarter-Master-General,rdquiring his opinion concern-
ing a subs;sting contract, by virtue of which tents were
furnished by Officers commanding native corps. Co-
lonel 'AWN no, in compliance with this order, presented
a report counselling the annulling of the contract ; and
the suggestions of the Quarter-Master-General were
acted upon by the Governor. The report in the mean
while had been dt p, sited in the Secret Department of
Government, and sus concealed from the public till
the arrival of Sir G. L knrimv as Governor, into whose
bands the papers fell. He immediately imparted them
to Adjutant-General Lieut.-Colonel CAPPER, Consi-
dering them of a public nature, and the Adjutant-
General did not hesitate to give them publicity. The
allegations contained in tl4e report were now consi-
dered as an unjust reflection upon the Officers of the
native corps ; and unworthy motives were ascribed
to the Quarter-Master General, as having in view the
procuring of the contract for himself.
The following seems to have been the offensive
part of the report :—" Upon the observation and ex-
" perience of six years, formed upon the judgment of
" practical effect, it appearkthat officers commanding
11 native corps have strong inducvmetts from interest
14 to neglect their most important duties, in orderthat
their corps shall not be in a state of efficiency fit
" for field service."

Notwithstanding it was afterward contended by
Colonel Ml•xno that this was a theoretical opinion, the
whole corps of native officers felt themselves aggrieved,
and a charge was drawn up against him, which was
signed by 32 nut of 51 Officers, and the remainder
would have signed the charge also, but from their
being at a great list :nee. The ground of the charge
against the Quarter-master General is, " In having in
" his plan for the abolition of the tent contract, lately
" held by Officers commanding native corps, made
" use of false and infamous insinuations, thereby ten-
" ding to injure our characters as Officers, and other-
" wise injurious to our characters as gentlemen."
The Commander in Chiel, General MACDOWALL,
being solicited to inve.tigate the conduct of the Quar-
ter-Master-General, submitted the charge to the Com-
pany's Judge-Advocate-General ; but that Gentle-
man was of opinion, that not the Quarter-Master-Ge-
neral, but the Officers sikning the charge, should be
brought to trial, considering their charge as an attack
upon the Government. It was replied, that not the
measure proposed and acted upon, but the allegations
of the report, were objected to ; and the King's So-
licitor-General being next applied to, was of opinion
there were grounds for bringing the Quarter-Master-
General before a Military Tribunal. On this the
Commander-in-Chief determined to prosecute the
Quarter-Master-General, whom the Government re-
solved to defend ; and a contest for authority took
place. The following documents have been trans-
mitted to us :

1. A letter, (Jan. 30) from the Commander-in-
Chief to Lieut.-Colonel MUNRO, ordering him to be
placed under arrest preparatory to trial.
2. The answer of the Quarter-Master-General,
(same date) in which he says, " A sense of public
duty induces me to notice the extraordinary spec-.
" tacle of an officer holding one of the first situations
•• under government, being placed in arrest by a Corn-
" minder-an-Chief; for a report prepared under the
" special orders of the preceding Commander-in-Chief,
46 which the latter declared upon record to be the
•• combined result of his own,-and that officer's re-
" 'flexion, and which has received the entire : ppriiba-
" Lion of this and the Supreme Government."- The
Quarter-Master-General desires the Commander-in-
C'iief to inform the Governor of his proceeding.
On this Colonel MuNno tendered to the Comman-
der in Chief a remonstrance and appeal, to he for-
warded to the Civil Government, or board : this, how-
ever, the Commander in Chief declined presenting,
saying, in a letter (dated 23d January. No. 4.) to
Colonel MUNRO : " I think it will be allowed that
66 your present attempt to make a reference to a Civil
" Government is novel and unexampled, and striking
" a blow at the root of military authority, which
" cannot be sufficiently reprobated."
5. A remonstrance from Colonel MUNRO addressed
to the Chief Secretary of Government.—( Same date.)
6. A letter from the Chief Secretary of Govern-
ment to the Commander in Chief (dated the 2tth Ja-
nuary) recommending him to release Colonel MUNRO
from his arrest.

7. The reply of General MACDOWALL, protesting ;
against the Interference of the Civil Authority, and
contending that a Court-Martial alone could decide
between the Quarter-Master-General and the Officers.
He censures him for communicating with the Go-
vernment.
8,9, 10. Other letters followed, in which the Com-
mander in Chef declared, that without the express
order of the Governor in Council, he could not release
the Quarter-Master-General from the arrest. The
t 6 Covet nor, therefore, sent the older.
56 s ! On this, the Commander in Chief issued the Ge-
-32 3 ner.tl Orders, censuring the conduct of the Quarter-
-54 Master-General, and took leave of the army, which
54 ti!
56 4 induced the Governor in Council to remove him from
66 6 his command, after his embarkation. These docu-
-64 o imeats were inserted in the STAR on the 16th of July.
66 6 We shall now add a few facts to those already
4;7
63 0 • known.
•
65 co I After the departure of General MACDOWALL, the
51 n Government, on the 6th of February, issued ex.
65 planatory and conciliatory General Orders*, in yin-
-66 I ' FORT ST. GEORGE, FEHR VAR Ir 6.
•
67 3 G.A. by Government.
62 6 The Honourable the Governor in Council, havingiately adopted
6 the measure of ordering the replace of the Quarter-Master-Gene-
ral of the Army from arrest, and it being discernible that the cit.-
' cutnstances connected with that measure should be distinctly and
57 a publicly understood, there being reason to believe, that a great
degree of misapprehension has hitherto existed, the Governor in
I Council thinks it proper to state, that the Quarter-Master-General
55 was placed under arrest by the late Commander in Chief, on char-
-55 'y4 s founded on a report which was submitted by the Quarter-
, li.,L.ster-General, in conformity to express orders; which report
having been approved and adopted by the Commander in Chief,
52 3I lieutenant-General Sir John Craddock, was communicated to the
ktir,ht Hon. the Governor in Council of Fort St. George, and fi-
t 1-331 Y laid ba*r* the Supreme Government, under whose approba-