Star.
London, England, 1811-10-22 00:00:00

PCINISHAdATS in the PATUGUESE ARMT.

The punishments are vArions, and some of them
very different from those in use among the British
forces. For ad capital offences, the criminal is either
sentenced to be shot or strangled ; hanging is never
practised in Portugal. For crimes not capital, thc.
most ordinary sentences are, banishment to Africa,
ici labour at the public works with a chain about the
allele or wrist, imprisonment, Ste. When a delin-
quent is sentenced to suffer corporal punishment, it is
genetally 20, SO, or 50 pancadas de eetteda de prancha,
which he is ordered to receive. Of this kind of
isunishment, the following is an explanation :
' In the Portuguese army it is not necessary to bring!
a soldier to a Court-Martial fcr every petty crime;
the Commanding Officer of a regiment can order a
man to be " pancaded" at his pleasure • he can even
give him fifty of these pahcadas ; and a Court-martial
by its sentence can inflict no more when, therefore,
a Portuguese soldier gets drunk, or .commits any crime
'for which a British soldier would be tried by a regi-
mental court.rnartial, and sentenced to be flogged,
his chastisement is very summary. He is paraded in
front of the battalion, attended by the Commanding.
office, the adjutant, serjeant-major, or corporal of the
regiment ; !leis there told, that in consequence of mis-
conduct, he is to receive so many 44 itancadas ;" the
will of the commanding-officer being the law. In some
instances the than is made to take off his jacket ; but
in general, the senior corporal comes up tohim, draws
"his sword, and begins to lay across the shoulders with
the bread side of it. If the corpora 4 do not lay it on
with all their force, the Se.jeant-major attacks them.
Of all existing military punishments this is the most
severe. The-heavy sword of the corporal has no spring 1
whatever in the blade ; and where this punishment is
inflicted by a strong-armed man, it is most terrible. I
pave known (says a military writer) more Chad two
ta- three instances where the surer has 'dropped
down dead from a rupture of the airta, immediately
alter receiving dully of these pasisadas. -
Marshal llitaisroao at length ordered a small cane
to be used instead of the sword, which, though gill
keeping up the national metlyid of, punishing, depriv.
e‘,l it oi its fatal consequences. When his Excellency
t :ok the command of the Army, the officers and non-
commissioned officers, were in the habit of kicking
and buffeting the soldiers on every occasion; and I be-
lieve lo4fCcustom had made striking the soldier lawful.
Be, however, seehis face decidedly against this prac-
tice fit was also so repugnant to the feelings of British
Othcen, that those who were appdinted to cistismand
regiments, immediately put a stop toilt—andt. I be-
lieve, no*, an Officer, is scarcely ever herrn to lift
his hand or cane to a soldier. Informer times the in-
ternal ec.niJrny or the regiments and companies was
but little attended to; and 'though the soldier w„;s
robbed and pillaged by his Serjeant and Furiel, he sel-
dom could procure any redresi ; but when the'British
Officers joined this service, they endeavoured to make
the soldiers feel that they were men ; and it was by at-
tending to their complaints, endeavouring to have jus-
tice done to every one, and by giiiing the soldier a con-
fidence in himself, and in his officers, diat the army
s been brought to its present high stateof discipline.