Star.
London, England, 1820-09-28 00:00:00

THE ARMY.

COURT MARTIAL ON LIEUTENANT-COLONEL ST. C EON. r.
FRENCH, OF THE SIXTH DRAGOON GUARDS,
CHARGES PREFERRED AGAINST HIM BY THE EAL
OF CARHAMPTON, COLONEL OF THE REGINIEsT.

•
[For a Copy of the Cheies, and a List of the Members e
Cart, see the Slias of September so.],
The proceedings commenced at the Horse Gunn. ,
on Tuesday se'nnight, and the he.o log of eri.hr..:
occupied the Court four days.

Major Wit.ossmq, and Payrhaster HAT, were eramirel
support of the First Charge—relative to Colonel Frencli*,: ice
ing a female in the Barracks, and calling her Mrs. Freud), the
not his wife; - •

Adjutant CRAntos SWAT, Captain Attnattv Frncr,,v, a! e
Corns WILLLAM MARTIN, in support of the Secon.l
inflicting a greater punishment on three Strjealits w
dered by a Court IVartiat ;
Cornet Atmars• and Veterinary• Surgeon IlAvwmtn, in - -.
port of the Third Charge—traffickiog in the sale

Cornet Moires; and ,Mr. HARM% (a Gort ri:11 .. rt 9
dealer), In support of the Fourth Charge—further Cl:ar,
dealing in horses;

Cornet ILL:, and Paymaster Mir, in support of the

Charge—same subject ;
Captains Ilan, Rua-11E136; 111‘Dowas., Faisonsou, 3'.a i
1.7161150 N ; and Serjeants l'lrr and Gissow, iu 14upp:•,: • A
Sixth Charge—cutting out and defacing leaves of the 'From; I.
gister of Horses.

The Court met on Monday last, pursuant to a,
journrnent, and

Colonel FRENCH, being called upon for hi; d,-
fence, proceeded to read a statement from a urine •
paper which he held in his hand. It commenrit
with expressing his desire to call the attention of
Court to the unqualified language made u,se of .3
the part of the prosecution, before he submitted t
answers to the charges which had been preferi,,i
against him. The person who had originated II,:
prosecution had indulged in cruel, foul, and nr.
founded calumny—a calumny unheard of toward,:
person whose conduct as an Officer and a Gentler:Lc:
was never once called in question, by those who li•:•!
the best opportunity of forming an estimate hf it : he
trusted, however, that the rancour of so malicious a
libel on his character would make no unfavourab
impression on she Court, composed as it was of t
tlemen of high and unsullied honour, who knew and
felt what was due to the feelings of a man hohling
the rank he did in his Majcsty's service. Had he
been guilty of the ignominious and disgraceful crai-
duct imputed to him in the sixth charge, he would hay.:
deserved transportation—he would have deserved ta
be put to the wheel-harrows of Austria, or to be sent
to Botany Bay. From this Court he had nothing to
fear; yet his feelings suffered more than he could ex-
press, from the foul and atrocious representatii us
which had been made by the-prosecution, althoug4
the Press, with a generous regard to jaistice, had for-
borne to pUbfish them till he was;heard in his d:-
fence.. 1,% hat could have. induced..xlie
who was the prosecutor in this case to hav-e acted b..•
him is such a mannerthe (Colonel French) was at
loss to saf, as he 2i always treat* that Noble Lard
with tlie.greatest.possible respect: but surely he ought
to have made himself inuph hetter.acquainted with
the nieure Of the eviaenie which was to be produce.?,
beToie fie—thus wantonly sported with the charactc:
and conduct of a Lleutcuant7Colonel ,of an old a:.l
distinguished lieellient.,/je (Colonel,French) tro,tel
tba .w the see itwas die business, as net
as the imperatrve duty'd that Noble Lcird, .to Iny:
put himself in possession of an accurate statement
facts, both with respect to the charges themselvo,,
and the motives of the parties who had undertaker
to establish them.-- How-he incurred the enmity of
the Noble Lord, he knew not ; but this he knew, that
his grand offence was committed on-the 26th of,fOne,
1818, when he rejected some saddlery which hat
been purchased by Paymaster Hay. He should now
refer to the charges, as they had been, exharitel
against him ; and he should submit it to the Court,
that no eVidence whatever had been 1:$-ranee:Ito sub-
stantiate the first chargeof keeping-a 'woman in the
barracks of the regiment, who was not hi; wife: there
was no proof to shew that she was-not his wife; a: d
he should satisfy the Court, by the testimony of sevc-
ral most respectable witnesses, that no Lady w..s
more sensible of female delicacy, or more retired and
circumspect in her habits. From no part of her ccn-
duct- could any bad example be apprehended ; and
he should prove that he had never been-seen with Ler
in public, during a period of •mbre than 25 year,
that they had lived together, except on the march rt
the regiment.. It would have been but justice in the
Noble Lord to have taken it for granted, that a con-
nexion which had lasted so long, • and- with such un-
abated -attachment, might have been involved in soma
mystery to delicate for public developement, and
to have believed that where there was so much col-
stoney, there could have been no Mine. But it ap-
peared the Noble Lord had got new and more serr'-
tive perceptions of moral.rectitude; yet how was 1-a
to make that out a crime in 1820,. which he did rot
consider so twenty years ago? But the Noble Lent
must have well known, that his (Colonel French'sl
conduct in this particular was not such as to offer
any violation to the feelings of society—he knew it
all along, and it was only when an unworthy purpc,e
was to be served that a complaint *was made, i.t•liica
was equally cruel and unmanly. Cruel, indeed, I:
'was, in the extreme, for should he deny his bei:7,
married, how agonizing must it not.be to the fcelind
of a Lady of a refined mind; and should he acknow-
ledge her as his wife, be might probably incur the
lasting displeasure of an aged patent, who at preieti;
contributed handsomely towards his income) a"
whom he should rather die than offend—[His feel-
ings were here so overpowered, that he sheit tear
and appeared for the moment unable to Proceed
He was happy to say that no Officer was more in tt-
your with the Regiment than he was from the fir
moment he had joined it, nor was there one who was
more earnestly zealous in promoting its best interest:
He had taken upon himself the duty of Paymaster,
and if the books were inspected, they would sinew
the accuracy with which he had , kept the account,.
On the subject of the first' charge he should offer 110
fuither observations; convinced that the Court wouki,
from what he had said clearly perceive the spirit is
which it had originated. The Paper then con:we:uteri
on the statements whichthad been made by the pro-
secution in support of the second charge, 'elan% e
Colonel French s having awarded a more severe
nishment to three Serjeants of the Regiment, ti
the Court-Martii autorized, lc went on to •

th it the discipline of the Repiment required tha.
something more should be done than Was determined
by the Court-Martial.-- Colonel French having here
read the Regimental Order on the subject, observed
that his conduct in the affair had met with the full
approbation of Lord Edward Somerset, who was
sent down by his Royal Highness the Commander-
in-Chief to inspect the Regiment. The three Ser.
jeantq, *Laughlin, Byrne, and Gilroy, had. acted
• most improperly, and it was necessary that a suitable
punishment should be adjudged in consequence:
1114Laughlin and another serjeankhstd indulged in a
deep-rooted mutual animosity, and such a spirit re-
• quired to be treated with more than usual severity,
as it was subversive of discipline and good order.
IlLsving taken into consideration the previous good
conduct of serjeant Gilroy, for a series of years, he
had temitted the sentence passed upon him, hoping
• that he would see the error into which he had fallen,
and'act better in future. Those who had observed

l!is -Cotiduct as a-Military Officer, would readily al-
: lo V, that his invariable practice was, rather to remit
'fiii;ifshOnt, when he could do so consistently with
ilirintelffa.the service, than enforce it rigorously.
The Court.would perceive that he might have re-
duced the serjeants to the ranks in the first instance,
without having brought them to a Court-Martial at
After adverting to some discrepancy in the evi-
`tience,rielative to the revision of the order of the
Vourt-Martial, he nekt• proceeded to reply to the
third &tree, With respect to his having dealt in
bases.- Thie charge, he' submitted, was completely
disproved- by the evidence of surgeon Hayward. Ac-
cording to that evidence it appeared that he (Colonel
Frcnclr) had never comniissioned him to purchase
horses for him ; he did not deny, however, that he
had purchased horses, but certainly not in such a
manner, or in such numbers, as could prove him to
be a regular horse-dealer. He therefore submitted
reTectfully to the Court, that no stain in this respect
cciud attach to his character as an Officer, holding
n reserctahle rank in his Majesty's service. The
t-ourcwould see to what an extent he had purchased
1,-rses during, the last three years, when it appeared
tl :t the citric number was not more than twenty-
lam, waking only eight for each year. He would
rcceiest of the Court to lcok at the hocks of the Re-
ginient, aud satisfy themselves as to the regularity
and correctness with which he had kept them. It was
very grateful to him to have met with the approba-
tion of all those superior Officers who had an oppor-
tunity or witnessing his conduct. He would ask the
Gant if they saw anything in that conduct, as it
came under their consideration, to warrant his being
cut off from the harmless amuscPent of buying horses?
Could any man say that he ever in the course of his
life had recourse to those schemes and artifices which
characterize the regular horse-dealer ? He believed
that no man, however disposed he might be to injure
him, would have the hardihood to answer in the af-
firmative. He now came to consider the fourth
charge, which was contained in the statement of his
having fraudulently sold a mare to Cornet Hall. The
whole of this statement, as made by Paymaster Hay,
was a gross falsehood.. It was, perhaps, very fortunate
for him (Cu]. French) that Paymaster Hay had given
his testimony on the occasion, as it enabled him to
shew by the evidence of Cornet Hall, the shocking
intiimy of the present prosecution. Yes, he would
say infamy; for he submitted to the Court, that never
WAS prisoner brought before a Court-Martial, by the
most malicious proseCutor, under a string of more
wicked aspersions. Cornet Hall stated, upon his
oath, that no sale had taken place, and that it was
only a conditional agreement.' The Papernext com-
mented on the evidence' in support of the two re-
maining charges, which it represented to be entirely
groundless. As to his having destroyed any of the
Troop Accounts, the charge was grossly. false; and
if they had been destroyed, it was certainly without
his knots ledge or concurrence. But even admitting
that they could not be produced there was still suffi-.
cient evidence, from the monthly and half-yearly re-
tains of the Regiment, to prove how he had acted,
with respect to the interest of the service. He la-
M:arted that in this particular the Noble Lord- had
shewn so much ignorance of the common forms of
military duty. He should now for a moment beg
leave to revert to the third Charge. That Charge
he referred entirely to Captains Hay and Stephenson,
together with the Riding Master. These indulged
feelings towards him quite different from the other
Officers, and he knew it was customary to examine
the motives by which persons giving evidence
against a prisoner were actuated. In Courts of Jus-
tice this rule was strictly attended to; and he doubted
not but the Cant which he now had the honour to
address would- he Aquaily observant of it. He could
not possibly think of charging either Captain flay
er Captain Stephenson with a wilful falsehood ; yet
:•zte thing was certain, that Captain Stephenson had so
set himself in array against him, as well as against'
f:e rules of the service, as to subject himself to a
levrimand from high authority. This he had never
forgiven him iColunel French), and he therefore did
not hesitate to be the bearer of a most unbecomingg,
message from the Noble Lord, who was the prose-1
cutor. Captain (lay was the son of the man who
was the great mover of this proSecutien. He did
not object to him on that account, though it was
natural to suppose that the mind of Captain Hay
s!lould be influenced by an undue bias against him.
Most sincerely did he thank the Court for the patient
attention they had given him, as well as for the cour-
test and indulgence he had experienced from them
since the proceedings commenced. He would leave
his honour and his hopes in their hands, under the
full assurance that they would restore him to society
with a character unsullied by this investigation,
which, in place of injuring him, would only prove
the vindictive malice of his enemies--CCol. French
was "we svery much affected.)—His only fortune
was his sword, yet he would rather hide himself in
the deei.cst caves of the wildest desert, than be at
M.eiltto range.the universe witha stain upon his ho-
LO6r. Colonel French having concluded his statement,
.Lord CAINLANIPTON expressed a wish to see the
reaimental.account.boOks; which were accordingly
pi.o,.i.ced, and the President informed his Lordship
is 4...1u be c.,mpetent to him to inspect them. The
INf was entering into some conversation with
. fiench,, relative to certain documents which
to nave been taken away by the latter,
. h.:. was beep upted -by the Court, who stated
L p that such a course of proceeding was
a:, and xouldd nut be allowed.

Colonel FRINCH now proceeded to call witnesses,
and the first that was called was

Lieutenant-Colonel &mummy of the 33d Foot. He had
been a Major in the Carbineers, and second in Command in th
absence of the senior Major. He quitted the regiment in Sep-
tember, 1813. He was appointed to the regiment In January,
181 t, and joined it in Jul,. He served in it till Slumber,
when be was promoted. lie did not know the lady in question
in this case. had never seen Colonel French at any place of
public entertainment with her. lie never saw her with him at
all, whether walking or riding. He never heard that the cir- '
cumstance of Mrs. French being in the barracks of the regiment
gave offence or pain to any married lady of the regiment. He
never knew of Mrs. French conducting herself in a manner to
hurt the feelings of married ladies, or to set a bad example to
the junior Officers. He had known Colonel French since 1812.
He always considered him a man of high honour, and as an
Officer, very attentive and zealous. In the opinion of the wit-
ness the regiment, while under the command of Colonel French,
was kept in the highest order.
Cross-examined by Lord Caaffaurrox—Witness is a single man.
A conversation here took place between his Lordshlp.and the
Court upon the point, whether the witness should answer a ques-
tion respecting Colonel French's having dealt in horses previ-
ously to the last three years, the period mentioned in the charge.
The Jenne-Ai:woe...re was of opinion, that the question ought
to be admitted, as it canie within the object for which the wit-
gess was called, which was to depose to the general character of
Colonel French.

The question was then put accordingly, and the witness an-
swered that he heard Colonel French bought and .iold horses--
11e could not state any particular time or number.
lie-cfrimirud by Colonel FRENCH—IIe had never heard that in
these dealings Colonel French acted in a manner contrary to the
character of an Officer and a Gentleman.

The witness was here ordered to withdraw, but was again
recalled. He was then asked by Lord CAMSAMPTOX, whether
he was not present upon one occasion when a Serjeant of the
Carbineers ►hrew up his cap in the air with joy, and said.he
had got leave of absence, because he had bought a horse of Co-.
Wadi French ?

The Court decided, that this question not referring to any
period of the last three yeah', was inadmissible.
Colonel Fa x' begged that it might be admitted, as he should
be enabled to give a satisfactory answer to it; but the Court,
however, said it could not be allowed, and the witness retired.
Najor CHARLES IRWIN was the next witness sworn; and
The PRtSIDENT observed, that nu evidence but what related
to character could be received, beyond the period of the last
three years.

Wine was then a resident in London; was a Major in the
Car:)iorers, and quitted that regiment fourteen months ago. He
had served in the regiment upwards of twenty-three years. Hy
had been six years, or very nearly that time, a Field Officer.—
He knew the Lady in question in this case; he had never seen
Colonel French at any place of public entertainment with her—
not, he was sure, within the last twenty years. lie had never
seen Colonel French walk or ride publicly with her, not even
on the march; for he never marched with Colonel French, ex-
cept on one short march, from Iladdington to Edinburgh, about
nine years ago, and then Colonel French marched at the head of
the re intent. Ile had never seen the Lady walk in the barrakks,
except from her bed-room to the sitting-room. He had even
heard It observed by married Ladies, that they lived for months
near her, and never saw her by any chance. Witness is a mar-
ried man. He had never heard that the circumstance of Mrs.
French bring in barracks, gave pain or offence to any married
Lady. Ile had never seen anything in her conduct, or that of
Colonel French, that could, by any possibility, be considered an
outrage on society, or on the feelings of the married Officers : it
was far from it. He had never seen anything particular that
could operate as a bad example to the junior Officers, further
than if Colonel French was not married (and whether he was or
not, witness could not take upon himself to say), then, he be-
lieved, that wtuld be a bad example to the junior Officers.
Lord Caauastrrois here observed, that if Colonel French
copid prove his marriage with the Lady, it would set the matter
at rest at once, and he would withdraw the charge, after having
first apologised to the Court for having brought it.
The Coral' said, that that depended entirely on the conviction
which Colonel French had on the subject, as well as on his own
views and feelings.
Cross-era mined by Lord CARHAUPTON%—Witness did not believe
that his wife, Mrs. Irwin, had ever seen the Lady in question in
the course of her life.

Major W:LDMAN sworn.—He is a Major in the C,arbineers,
and second in command. He has served with the regiment two
years. lie saw the Lady in question once. He had never seen
Colonel French at any place of public entertainment with her.
He had never seen him walking or riding with her in public.—
He had never seen them walking together in the barracks. Wit-
ness is married. He never heard any complaint made of Mrs.
French bring in barracks, •r even the subject spoken of. He
had never seen her but once—never in public, nor did hr believe
she went into public. He saw nothing in the conduct of Colonel
French that could set a bad example to the junior Officers. Of
the Lady he knew nothing.
Cross-trammed by Lord CA IMAM rrotr.—Mrs. French was in the
Barracks of the Regiment before witness left the Regiment to
attend the Court-Martial. He could not state positively whe-
ther she accompanied Colonel French on the march of the Re-
giment from Newcastle to Birmingham ; he conceived she did ;
he did not know for certain. He had never spoken to the Of-
ficers on the subject; he imagined she accompanied Colonel
French, but could not say positively. Witness commanded the
Regiment on the march.
Be-crammed by Atoned Faxitc-a.—Witness believed that Mrs.
French was now allowed to remain in barracks, in consequence
of an application from Sir John Byng, the Commander of the
District, to his Royal Highness the Commander-in-Chief. Sir
John Byng desired that the apartments of Colonel French should
not be interfered with tIU the answer of the Commander-in-
Chief was received.

In answer to a question from the Passiormr, witness stated
that he had received an order from Lord Carhampton for the
removal of Mrs. French from the barracks. This order he
skewed to Colonel French, who referred him to a letter of the
/14jutant-General, in answer to one from Captain Stephenson
relative to barrack-room. Witness then referred the matter to
Sir John Byng, who gave orders that Colonel French's apart-
ments should not be interfered with till the pleasure of the Com-
mander-in-Chief was known.

A short conversation here took place or. the order which the
witness had received fur the removal of Mrs. French, but it ap-
peared that it did not refer to the matter of the charge, as it was
dated an recently as the 10th September.
Captain Nl'Doweee called and sworn. Ile was the late
Adjutant of the tith Dragoon Guards. lle had served upwards
of twenty years in the re&imcnt. Ile knows the Lady in ques-
tion perfectly well. lie had never seen Colonel French and her
.out together; he had never seen them anywhere together in
public' except on the march; he had very frequently heard her
quiet and retired habits highly commended by the 'married
Ladies.of the regiment ; he had heard them express their sur-
prise that they had never seen her oat, and express theiseappre-
hensions lest such close confinement might injure her health.
He had heard those Ladies say, that they had lived for mondas
in the same building with her, and had never seen her; he had
never heard the slightest complaint made by married Ladies of
Mrs. French living in barracks ; or thateit gave pain or uneasiness
to any of them. Ile certainly b#ieved that there was nothing,
in the conduct of Colonel French, or of the Lady in question,
which could set a bad example to the junior Officers; quite the
' contrary. lie knew General Goldie to be married; that Ge-
neral had the command of the regiment for five years, and had
I been in the same barracks with witness, who never heard that
he made the least complaint of Mrs. French being in barracks.
Witness knew that General Goldie, while in command of the
regiment, had frequently gone to breakfase with Colonel French,
In his room. General Goldie had not been in the regiment for
tat last nine years. During thirteen years that witness had as
opportunity of witnessing the conduct and disposition of the
Lady in question, lie found both to be praiseworthy in the high-
est negrce. She was mild, humane, kind, and charitable. She
invariably administered to the wants of the married women of the
regimeanziv ins them money,wine,victuals,and other. necessaries.
Cartain C.terrazu.sworn--ffie had been in the Regiment since
Marcia, 1019, and is married. He once saw the Lady in ques-
tion. lie had never seen Colonel French at any place of public
entertainment with her, nor did he see them walk or ride toge-
ther. Indeed, he had never seen them out together, though be
had lived for five weeks close by the apartments of Colonel
French. Witness had often vobserved how very quiet and re-
tired the Lady lived. He had never heard that her being in
barracks gave pain or offence to the married Ladies of the Re-
gime; t. He saw nothing in her conduct, or that of Colonel
French, to outrage the feelings of society, or of married per-
sea., nor slid he observe anything that could set a bad example

td the junior Officers, except the lady's not being married could
be so construed. 'This, however, was mere matter of opinion,
and he hoped the Court would not call upon him to pronounce
positively upon it.
Captain Rurn.znos examined—Witness is senior Captain ;
has the direction of the Mess Committee when at head-quarters.
latterly Colonel French paid the bills, and kept the accounts of
the mess. Colonel French took very great interest in the mess
of the Regiment.
Cross-eramined by Lord Caanastrros—Colonel French evin-
ced that interest, by exerting himself in every respect to make
the mess comfortable, respectable, and reasonable.—Colonel
French had kept the accounts of the mess ever since the Pay-
master gave them up—perhaps about a year or upwards. Colonel
French dined at the mess; but witness did not believe that he
paid his quota weekly, as the other Officers did. Witness is
not a married man.

Lard Enwaas► Someaser was examined on the second Chart?,
relative to the punishment of the serjeants with more severity
thin the Court Martial allowed. He had received an order
from bi, Roy..! Highness the Commander-in-Chief in March
last, to make a minute inspection of the Carbineers, or 6th Dra-
goon Guards. He had been two days and rather more engaged
in that duty. He passed part of that time in examining the
books of the Regiment in the Adjutant's office. Ile was per-
fectly satisfied with the state in which he found them. The
Court-Martial Bank was here presented to his Lordship, and
he stated that he had examined the whole proceedings relative
to the Court-Martial on the serjeants. lie had seen the order
which Colonel French had issued on the subject. He entirely
agreed with Colonel French that the sentence was inadequate,
and he approved of the animadversions made by 'Colane! French
in the regimental order on the conduct of the serjeants. To
the best of his recollection. Sir Andrew Barnard was in the
room at the time. Ile found the Regiment in extremely good
order, the interior economy was well attended to, the horses in
good condition, and of a good and serviceable description. No
complaints were made either by the Officers or Privates. lie
had received the order of the Commander-in-Caief to inquire
into some particular circumstances which occurred between
Colonel French and an Officer of the regiment, and which form-
ed the subject of a Special Report to his Royal Highness.
By Lord CA lIHAMPTON.—Did your Lordship approve of the ad-
ditional punishment ordered to be inflicted on the three ser-
jeants?---I do not reccllect that I made any particular remark
on that part of the order. Certainly, on due consideration, I
should not have approved of it.
Ilere the PRESIDENT observed, that however high might be
the respect which they must entertain for the opinion of an Of-
ficer of such long standing as Lord Edward Somerset, the Court
must not be bound by his opinion. . The Members alone must be
the best judges whether the punishment was excessive or not.
Some difference arising among the Members as to whether
the question should be put, the Court was ordered to be cleared;
and when it was opened, the Paissossir declared it as the opi-
nion of the Court, that the proceedings should stand as they
were. He also declared it as the opinion of the Court, that a
question put to Major Irwin on a former day, with the answer,
should be expunged from the minutes. _ _

. _
Lord Caen/surto); then put one or two questions to Lord
Edward Somerset respecting the inspection of regimental books;
but one of the Members of the Court observed, that the witness
could not be cross-examined on points on which no questions
had been put to him during his direct examination.
The witness had seen books with leaves pasted, and whenever
he did so, he generally asked the reason of it, and in general he
received a satisfactory explanation. Upon some other questions
being put respecting books, one of the Members of the Court
observed, that the books now alluded to were private memo-
randum books, and had nothing to do with the charges.
Were you satisfied with the appearance of the books when
you inspected them?
The Psxstexter.—Lord Edward Somerset has already said he
was satisfied with the appearance of the regiment and the books;
he has said that the regiment was in very• good order.
Des your Lordship recollect whether the officers were well
mour.ted ?—I do not recollect, as I did not inspect the officers.
Colonel FRENCH now proceeded to bring forward
evidence to his character. The first was a letter ad-
dressed to him by Lord George Beresford, in which
his Lordship expressed regret at being unable to at-
tend the Court-Martial ; but declared that he had al-
ways considered him as a good Officer, and as one
who had been always attentive to promote the good
of the service.

The next letter was from Sir John Byng, who
stated, that, during the three years he had known
Colonel French, he had always found him a good
Officer, afid zealous in promoting the good of the
service. A letter to the same effect from General
Barnett was also delivered in by Colonel French, and
read to the Court.

The following Officers of the Regiment were then
called, and gave evidence to character :
Major lawns said he had been in the Regiment for twenty-
four years; that he was well acquainted with Colonel French;
and that, in all situations and transactions, he had ever consi-
dered him as a man of the highest honour, and a perfect Gen-
tleman in every situation in life: and he did not believe his Ma-
jesty had a more zealous Officer in the service, nor one sn en-
tirely devoted to its interest.
Major WarmAx, the next witness to character, declared, that
Colonel French had always conducted himself as a good Officer,
and a Gentleman.

Captain Iturri.rtscr had known Colonel French for twenty
years, and in all his transactions with him, had known him to
be a man of honour and a Gentleman • and as an Officer, he had
always been most zealous for the good of the service.
Captain FERGUSON, who had known Colonel French twenty
years, said he had always conducted himse)f as a Gentleman and
an Officer, zealous for the good of the service. •
_ _ _ _

Captain IIACDOWALL said, Colonel French had always been
remarkably attentive to the soldiers, and zealous to promote the
good of the service and he had always considered him a man
of honour, and a Gentleman. He also considered him so much
a man of humanity, that, in many instances, he was too lenient
with regard to punishment; nor did he ever use unnecessary se-
verity in any one instance.

Here the case closed on the part of the defence.
Lord CARHAMPTON said, he wished to address the
Court in reply : the Court signified its readiness to al-
low him time to prepare his reply, and adjourned to
Wednesday.
SIXTH AND LAST DACr.WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 27.
Between eleven and twelve o'clock the Court as-
sembled, and shortly after the Earl of CA RHA mrrott
came into Court, leaning on the arm of a Gentleman.
His Lordship then produced a written paper, con-
taining his reply to the defence of Colonel FRENCH,
and read it to the Court. It began by a declaration
on the part of the Noble Lord, that, in bringing for-
ward this prosecution, he had not been actuated by
any of those cruel and calumnious motives. imputed
to him by Colonel French. On the contrary,'he had
been most anxious to avoid-making the charges; but
when he found that the directions given by his Royal
Highness the Commander-in-Chief had not been at-
tended to—when he found that Colonel French had
acted contrary to those directions--he then felt him-
self under the necessity of carrying on this prosecu-
tion on the part of the Crown. It was a matter of
the greatest moment to the public service of the coun-
try, and he conceived that a soldier and an Officer
must be unworthy of the name he bore, if he did not
consider the preservation of military discipline to be
paramount to every other object. He felt it necessary
to state to the Court, that this business had been pro-
crastinated during a period of many months; and this
circumstance he could easily account for. It was his in
tention to have b=ought the charges forward long ago ;
but he was prevented from doing so by illness, which
brought him to the point of death ; and while in that
state, his medical. attendants would not allow him to
interfere in any public .business. He was, therefore,
under the necessity of protracting this prosecution,

..befonrihe period within which it onghtlegniarly tb
have been brought forward. But as soon as an in-
terval of ease permitted him, he endeavoured to col-
lect the several facti on which the char i
es were
t.unded, He assured the Court, th .t so far from
having any malice .against Colonel French. he was
the first who had :.ecommended him for promotion.
—lle had long wished to bring the Colonel to an
reiplanation respecting the different points connected
with the charges ; but such explanation was al-
' ways evaded. He must repel the imputation that had
been thrown out against him as to the-cause of this
proceeding. The fact wa:, that Colonel French
had a long time ago propoi&l to him an arrange-
ment for supplyin., the soldiers with equipments.
He had represented that a saving of £3OO a year
might be made in their clothing, by not employing
the regimental tailor any longer, but by getting the
clothes from Sheffield. He also made a similar pro.
posal with regard to the saddles. But he (Lord Car-
hampto::) told the Lieutenant-Colonel that he did not
went to save £3OO or any other sqm ; and rejected
his proposal. Now with regard to the first of the
charges, he would refer the Court to his opening
address in which he had stated his motives for
bringing it forward : and the facts of that charge
were not denied by the Colonel. It was not denied
that he had been in the habit of driving about the
streets in the most public manner with that woman,
and the notice and observations of people in a great
town upon an Officer acting in such a manner must
be highly prejudicial to the service. With regard to
his absenting himself from the regimental mess,
the Colonel had stated that he knew of no order
which corn2elled him to attend the mess: but it
was well known to have been the wish of the Com-
mander-in-Chief. As to the second charge, he was
at a loss to know how the good of the service could
have been promoted by inflicting an additional pu-
nishment on men against whom a punishment had
already been awarded ; and .it such an act was
suffered to pass without notice, it might sanction
the greatest injustice on other occasions. On the
subject of Colonel french being a dealer in horses,
he grounded his defence against that charge on
the fairness of his transactions ; and declared that
he had done no more than what every other Cavalry
Officer had been in the habit of doing. He should
leave it to the Court to determine whether that had
been the practice, and whether it was a practice that
ought to be suffered to exist ; for it was allowed,
there could no longer be any competition in the
selling of horses to young Officers, and it would be
most detrimental to the service ; and besides, Major
Hartley had written a. letter to the Colonel recom-
mending him to give up the practice, because it
would be impossible to preserve due discipline in the
regiment if he did not. He denied that the transac-
tion with Cornet Hall originated with Captain Hay,
nor was it from that person that he (Lord Carhamp-
ton) had an account of it ; but he had obtained his
information from various other quarters. On the
subject of the sth Charge, he had only to say, that
the horse which had been purchased; and after-
wards sold by Colonel French, came to the regiment
along with a lot of troop horses, and he (Lord Car-
' hampton) did conceive, on that account, that. it
was a troop horse in which the Lietitehant-Colonel
had been trafficking, and making an undue profit.
On the other charge, that of having made altera-
tions in the regimental books, the Colonel did give
an order to Captaiu Hay to paste paper over the
leaves of the books; and that he conceived could not

have been done for any other purpose than to shut
out the information which should always be given
respecting every transaction connected with the regi-
ment. He was, therefore, justified in supposing that
the leaves had been cut out for the purpose of con-
cealing the transactions relating to dealing in horses.
The books had been sent from his (Lord Carhampton's)
office ; and Captain Macdowall acknovdedged that
they had been mutilated. The act, therefore, must
have been the act of one operator, and the spoliation
must have been done. with the knowledge of the
Commanding Officer. His idea was, that regimental
books ought always to be kept in a regular and
given form ; and that the mutilation of such records
was a matter of the most serious consequence, and
ought to be strictly inquired into. It was with
that impression he had used a certain expression
which had been noticed by Colonel French.--
[The Noble Lord here referred to something stated
by him in his address to the Court, which he was not
prepared to deliver on the first day of the trial; but
which, we understand, was delivered on a subsequent
day-after the strangers had retired from the Court.]
His Lordship concluded with observing, that he had
now stated everything which he considered material
in this case; that he had done no more than what he
felt to be his bounden duty as an Officer; and that
he should respectfully take his leave of the Court.

Colonel FRENCH now applied to the Court for per-
mission to make some remarks upon whit had fallba
from Lord Carliampton.
The PRESIDENT told him that as no new fact bad
been given in evidence, he could not reply to wha;
was considered as the concluding part of the trial.

Lord CARIIAMPTOL-44 If Colonel French is per-
mitted to addre,s the Court respecting anything I
have said, I claim the right of replying to him."
The PRESIDENT.—" As no new evidence has been
brought forward, it would be contrary to the rules of
the service to allow Col. French to make.any reply."
The Members of the Court expressed themselves
of the same opinion.
The Pftitsfoxtur stated, that Colonel French had
just informed him that Lord Cathcart was then wait-
ing in an adjoining room, ready to come forward,
and speak to the character of Colonel French, if the
Court would allow him to be called. It certainly
would be very material for hilt to have the benefit
of so respectable a testimony.
The JUDGE ADVOCATI said, that the proceeding
would be altogether irregular. Colonel French ought
to have called his witness before the prosecutor ad-
dressed the Court.

• The Court agreed in the opinion, and the Pant-
RENT declared that the trial was concluded.
The sentence cannot he made public, until it is sub-
mitted to and receives the approval of his Majesty.

•
Yesterday, a Court of • Directors was held at the
East India House; when Captain DALaYMPLE was
sworn into the command of the ship Vansittart, con-
signed to St• Helena, Bombay, and China.